AN AFFAIR 
 
 IN 
 
 THE SOUTH SEAS 
 
 A STORY OF ROMANTIC 
 ADVENTURE 
 
 BY 
 
 LEIGH H. jIKVINE 
 
 Publishers 
 T. FISHER UNWIN 
 
 LOINTDON. E.G. 
 
 PAYOT, UPHAM, & CO., San Fkancisco, Califobnia 
 
 1901 
 
 A: 
 
Copyright, 1901, by Leigh H. Irvine 
 Registered at Stationers' Hall, London, England 
 
 Typography by The T. C. Rl'ssell Company 
 San Francisco, California 
 
TO 
 
 CERTAIN FRIENDS. 
 
 W. H. M., A. R., AND H. W. B. 
 
 Hebe is a simple tale of adventure in the balmy South Seas, — 
 a sort of romance of a dreamer adrift in sunny lands. I trust that 
 enough of human interest has been woven into the story to carry 
 you pleasantly to the far-away places described. 
 
 When you read of old Captain Swanson, and Hadley, and 
 Doctor Saville, please remember that none of their imperfections 
 are charged to you, since you have never seen a line of the story. 
 
 Your kind words, however, have encouraged me to carry this 
 little romance to a conclusion, and, whether you shall like it, or 
 whether it shall offend you, please look upon it as a modest token 
 of friendship. 
 
 Thanks are due to Mr. Arthur M. Allen, of the San Francisco 
 Chronicle, for friendly services in certain nautical matters, though 
 he is not to be blamed for departures from technical terminology. 
 
 The great kindness of my old friend J. V. can never be forgot' 
 ten. No character in any story has a larger heart than that which 
 beats in his breast. 
 
 I hope that W. D. C. will not be disappointed when he sees how 
 far this effort has fallen short of his expectations. Time may yet 
 enable the author to make amends for many shortcomings in this 
 work. 
 
 L. H. I. 
 
 San Francisco, November, 1900. 
 
OPPORTUNITY. 
 
 MASTER OF HUMAN DESTINIES AM l! 
 
 FAME, LOVE, AND FORTUNE ON MY FOOTSTEPS WAIT. 
 
 CITIES AND FIELDS I WALK ; I PENETRATE 
 
 DESERTS AND SEAS REMOTE; AND, PASSING BY 
 
 HOVEL AND MART AND PALACE, — SOON OR LATE, — 
 
 I KNOCK, UNBIDDEN, ONCE AT EVERY GATE ! 
 
 IF SLEEPING, wake; IP FEASTING, RISE BEFORE 
 
 I TURN AWAY. IT IS THE HOUR OF FATE, 
 
 AND THEY WHO FOLLOW ME REACH EVERY STATE 
 
 MORTALS DESIRE, AND CONQUER EVERY FOE 
 
 SAVE death; but THOSE WHO DOUBT OR HESITATE, 
 
 CONDEMNED TO FAILURE, PENURY, AND WOE, 
 
 SEEK ME IN VAIN, AND USELESSLY IMPLORE, 
 
 I ANSWER NOT, AND I RETURN — NO MORE ! 
 
 John J. Ingalls, in Saturday Evening Post. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. Page 
 
 I. Sounding for Recruits 9 
 
 II. A Late Conference 18 
 
 III. Along the Wharves 86 
 
 IV. Off for the Dreamy Belt 48 
 
 y. A Night of Horrors 75 
 
 VI. We Reach Atollia 95 
 
 VII. Welcomed by Chiefs 112 
 
 VIII. An Atollian Bridal 129 
 
 IX. We Found a State 157 
 
 X. Our Flag of Justice 181 
 
 XI. Old Bill Banks 203 
 
 XII. The Poisoned Arrow 216 
 
 XIII. A Cave in the Wilderness 236 
 
 XIV. Voices of the Dead 252 
 
 XV. My Island Empire 271 
 
an affair in tfie ®outl) giea0* 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SOUNDING FOR RECRUITS. 
 
 WHEN I saw Atollia first, I neither 
 knew nor guessed how great a part 
 it was to play in my life. The air was 
 tropical, the sun bright, the sky ripe with 
 the colors of afternoon. I had been for 
 years in the fogs of San Francisco, strug- 
 gling hard to succeed at the bar, and the 
 outlook was discouraging. Here was a 
 promising field of life ; the prospect was 
 wild and pleasing, — and the sight of a 
 new world, after manj^ weeks at sea, set 
 my pulses leaping. The picture of that 
 island is before me as I write ; but I must 
 elbow it aside until it is needed in the story 
 I am about to tell. 
 
 I intend to give an account of certain 
 thrilling adventures on the island of Atollia, 
 
3ln Stffair in t|)e ^outl) ^eas 
 
 one of the most charming Edens of the 
 South Seas, and to tell how it became peo- 
 pled with white men, and ruled in a way 
 that led to happiness ; how the hopes and 
 fears of a company of good people cuL mi- 
 nated in that far-away land. 
 
 My name is no great part of this story, 
 but you should know it; so I write it here 
 for your information, — I am Lee Hadley. 
 
 Throughout the year 1886 I was a brief- 
 less lawyer in San Francisco ; my finances 
 were low, my clients were few, and the out- 
 look for an income that would supply my 
 wants was discouraging. Despite the fact 
 that a few large firm.s controlled the bulk 
 of paying business, I held on bravely, hop- 
 ing that I might make a strike on some 
 lucky case. During those days of gloom 
 I lived the half-starved life common to 
 four or five hundred other lawyers around 
 me, who earned a bare subsistence. It 
 was often a battle to pay rent, and to 
 make both ends meet ; so I passed many 
 days of melancholy idleness in the bleak 
 and forbidding city of fogs. 
 
 10 
 
^oitnliingf for Ken:uit0 
 
 The night of October 20, 1886, was stormy 
 and terrifying. It was a time of high winds 
 and heavy rainfall, and the sea was wild ; 
 the Federal life-saving crews were alert, and 
 ships near the headlands were in peril for 
 many hours, — never safe until they had 
 made their ofFmg, far beyond the thunder- 
 ing seas of the ragged coast. In the city, 
 every swoop of the rising storm blew down 
 signs, and the wind whistled in overhead 
 wires, or dashed the rain in blinding tor- 
 rents against windows and through door- 
 ways. 
 
 During this havoc of the elements I sat 
 alone in my modest bachelor quarters in an 
 humble hotel; reflected over many questions 
 of individual destiny, in a mood the most 
 gloomy; wondered, as I pondered alone and 
 morose, how many fellow-creatures were that 
 moment hungry and homeless, — and finally 
 thanked God that things were no worse with 
 me than I have told you. 
 
 Just as I was in this reverie of musing, 
 three vigorous knocks at the door ended my 
 dreaming, and Dr. Saville, an old friend, was 
 
 11 
 
^n Affair in tl)e ^ntitl) ^ead 
 
 announced by the boy who ran the elevator 
 and answered bells. 
 
 Now, Doctor Saville was a man of brains 
 and education, a friend, the like of whom 
 one meets but few times, even in a long 
 life. Though eccentric to an unusual de- 
 gree, he had a good heart, and he spent 
 half his time treating the poor, without fee. 
 Well, he dashed in with spirit, as was usual 
 with him, and surely I never was hap- 
 pier to see a friend. He had force enough 
 for ten people. Picture a tall, spare man, 
 bubbling over with energy; a person of many 
 schemes, but of small executive capacity. 
 He was a good converser, and when the 
 company was to his liking, he warmed one 
 like a genial fire. 
 
 He led the conversation from the moment 
 he entered the room. The storm, and its 
 effect upon the poor, moved him deeply ; 
 and when he recounted certain scenes of the 
 day, as he had witnessed them in adminis- 
 tering to impoverished sufferers, his kind 
 face took on a look of pain ; there was an- 
 ger in his tones, — and curses (the mellow, 
 
 12 
 
^ountJinff for Eccrttitc 
 
 musical swearing of an impulsive man) em- 
 phasized his utterances. As his imagination 
 became inflamed, his heart went out to the 
 neglected victims of poverty and disease. 
 He denounced the civilization that left so 
 many men, women, and little children un- 
 shod and unfed. These things struck him 
 in their gloomiest phases, and he foretold 
 bloodshed and chaos for the country that 
 tolerated them, 
 
 " Why, I 've seen little babes and their 
 mothers dying for lack of warmth and food 
 this very day," he exclaimed; "and I ask, 
 what harvest such a civilization will reap, 
 save a harvest of blood. Damn the trusts 
 and monopolies ! " he cried, in flaming 
 wrath; and before I could calm him he had 
 called down the vengeance of all the gods 
 upon courts and legislatures and many other 
 ancient institutions that lay at the very 
 foundation of my profession. When he 
 had cooled a little, I said, — 
 
 " Doctor, you 're too tender-hearted, too 
 much overcome by the suffering you see. 
 You should reflect that the poor will be 
 
 13 
 
9la Slffair in tl)e ^Dutl; ^eafi 
 
 with us always; that the world is better off 
 to-day than it ever has been, in spite of the 
 poverty around us." 
 
 " I challenge your statement," he exclaimed 
 with impatience; " but even if you are right, 
 I don't have to stay in this country and see 
 this misery, — and I don't propose to stay 
 much longer. There 's an escape at hand, 
 and all wise men ought to go. Now, if 
 you 're sensible, you '11 give up your grub- 
 bing life here, join my company, and make 
 a hit." 
 
 " Doctor ! Doctor ! " I exclaimed ; 
 " you 're still dreaming of the impossible ; 
 still building Utopias for the salvation of 
 mankind. Tut, tut ! there 's nothing but 
 greater ruin at the end of all such dream- 
 ing." 
 
 " It 's no dream this time," he replied, 
 " but I 'm going into a plain, common-sense 
 proposition, where there '11 be enough for 
 all. A business man of ripe years and large 
 resources is at the head of the expedition, 
 and success is at the end of it. Now, look 
 at the bright side for once, and you '11 be 
 
 14 
 
^ottaHtufif for Kecruitfi 
 
 happy in the end. I can fix it so you can 
 join the party and get out of this starving 
 law business." 
 
 " I 'm ready to get into anything that 
 assures a future," I said, half in earnest, 
 half in politeness ; " but I can't give up even 
 my poor prospects on a gambling chance. 
 If I leave here, it must be to embrace a 
 certainty ; for I 've decided to follow the 
 old mining advice, * Don't throw away 
 dirty water until you 've got clean.' " 
 
 "That's all right," he said; *'and I can 
 show you the very waters of life ; yes, a 
 paradise for a man of your age. Let me 
 see, how old are you?" 
 
 "Thirty," I answered. 
 
 "Thirty, t-h-i-r-t-y," he pondered, fum- 
 bling over the pages of an insurance manual 
 (such as doctors use) which he took from 
 his vest pocket. " I '11 find your expectancy 
 of life. At thirty, your sailing-chart calls 
 for thirty-five years more. They 're soon 
 gone — soon wasted — if the life is dull and 
 useless, as most men's are in the bustling 
 struggle of cities. Why, take my own life 
 
 15 
 
3tn Slffair in tl)e ^outl) ^eaa 
 
 for illustration ! Here I am, at fifty, booked 
 for less than twenty-one years, and it 's high 
 time for me to be moving. But the man 
 who '11 save us all is sixty-three, — and he 
 has but twelve years to live, if he verifies 
 the table." 
 
 Now here was a regular sermon, fired at 
 me offhand, and listened to without inter- 
 ruption. 
 
 " You don't know Cap'n Swanson, do 
 you?" he asked, continuing ; " rich old fel- 
 low; was a lucky dog at sperm-whaling in 
 the Solander belt ; self-made man, and 's 
 well made, every inch. You must know 
 him. He 's got millions, and his head 's 
 full of grand ideas about a colony for 
 the uplifting of humanity ; he 's got the 
 spot picked out, and knows the South 
 Seas as well as I know San Francisco ; 
 talks cannibal languages, and 's got a 
 heart as tender as a child's ; looks like 
 Evangelist Moody, and 's just as good a 
 man." 
 
 The Doctor brooked no interruption dur- 
 ing his monologue, which he ended abruptly 
 
 16 
 
(attnUtns for Eecruitfi 
 
 on looking at his watch, and hurried away 
 to see a patient. 
 
 " Think it over, and join us," he said, as 
 he left ; " for it 's the chance of a lifetime to 
 escape from drudgery and disappointment." 
 
 He was gone before I could ask any fur- 
 ther questions ; and I sat thinking over the 
 odd visit of a queer visitor. It was not the 
 first time the Doctor had come to me with 
 plans of an earthly paradise, and I en'^ied 
 him for his large bump of hope. 
 
 When I went to bed that night I had no 
 more idea of joining his company of cq\o- 
 nists, than you have, this moment, of 
 becoming a liarpooner on a whaling- shif>. 
 
 17 
 
sin 9lffatr in tl)e ^ontb ^ead 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A LATE CONFERENCE. 
 
 ABOUT a fortnight after the visit, Doc- 
 - tor Saville came to my office in high 
 spirits; he said he had wound up his affairs, 
 and had determined upon a cruise in tropi- 
 cal waters, where he felt that he would find 
 a permanent home. 
 
 *' Our plans are nearing completion," he 
 said, " and there 's still a chance for you to 
 join the company, if it 's your wish ; so I 
 suggest that you close your office for a six 
 months' sea voyage ; and when we get to 
 our destination there '11 be no compulsion 
 about staying. If you don't like the looks 
 of things, you can return with the ship that 
 we send back for more machinery and pro- 
 visions." 
 
 I said I was willing to investigate the 
 
 18 
 
% late Conference 
 
 scheme, and that I might decide to join the 
 expedition, confessing, at the same time, 
 that he had aroused my curiosity. 
 
 *' Then, if you '11 give me a few hours to- 
 night," he replied, " I '11 take you to our 
 meeting, and if you like our plans and the 
 people you see, you can take the obligation 
 that we all take, and join the company." 
 
 It was agreed that the Doctor should call 
 for me at eight o'clock that night. He was 
 on time, eager to take me to his friends. 
 We got on a cable-car, which landed us by 
 the moonlit waves of the Pacific in less 
 than an hour. The surf was booming, the 
 sea-lions were barking, and the air was full 
 of noises of the sea as we entered the Seal 
 Kock House, the place of conference. 
 
 I was led to Captain Swanson's rooms and 
 introduced to the sturdy old man who was 
 destined to change my career as much as if 
 he had bought me at a slave market. 
 
 "This is my friend," said the Doctor, 
 when we had come to the Captain's quar- 
 ters, " who 's wasting his fine abilities in a 
 struggle to succeed at the bar, — but I hope 
 
 19 
 
9[a Affair in tl)e ^outl) ^eaa; 
 
 he '11 give up the notion of spending his 
 years chained to a desk." 
 
 "Young man, I am glad to meet you," 
 said the old Captain ; " you 've got a good 
 face, and we need such men as you in this 
 company." 
 
 " I 've come to learn more about your 
 plans," I replied ; " and I might like to go 
 with you, on probation ; but I 've little faith 
 in any scheme to build an earthly paradise. 
 You can't get golden conduct out of men of 
 lead." 
 
 " Earthly paradise be damned!" exclaimed 
 the old sea-dog ; " what fool 's thinkin' of 
 building an earthl}^ paradise ? Why, man, 
 I 'm going to take these good people to one 
 that's already built, — not by men, but by 
 God. You 've never been in the dreamy 
 isles, I guess. Well, I reckon you '11 think 
 you 're in the Better Land before you get 
 back from where I take you. Right in 
 here 's the secret directions to the place," 
 said he, as he clapped his big, rough right 
 hand over his heart ; *' and it 's a land of 
 coral strands and virgin soil, — why, bless 
 
 20 
 
^ late Conference 
 
 you ! a regular Garden of Eden, just wait- 
 ing for good people to come and use it. 
 Not much building about that, is there ? 
 Young man, trust the old Captain ! " 
 
 This sounded like an honest speech, and 
 no second glance was required to see that I 
 was in the presence of a man of original 
 character and strong impulses. I was about 
 to ask him some details about the expedi- 
 tion, when our talk was broken up by the 
 arrival of a crowd of colonists. 
 
 I saw that everybody was in deep ear- 
 nest; some were dreamy socialists, full of 
 theories for the reformation of the world, — 
 but many seemed to be joining the colony 
 either for an outing to the South Seas, or 
 because things were so bad with them that 
 there was little prospect of making them 
 worse. Some were friends of the Captain 
 (and possibly had been the recipients of 
 "loans" never meant to be repaid), and I 
 believe they would have followed him any- 
 where, so great was their faith in him. 
 
 There was a lawyer who had been a 
 police judge until his health failed ; his 
 
 21 
 
2ln Affair in t!}e ^oatj) ^eatf 
 
 frail physique, and frequent hints of com- 
 ing dissolution, admonished him to seek 
 health in some balmy climate, and he 
 looked upon the Captain as a savior ; he 
 expected to live only a few years, at best, — 
 and hardly any time at all, unless he could 
 hurry into an atmosphere that would prove 
 balm to his lungs. His name was William 
 Davis. 
 
 But most of the men had an odor of the 
 sea in their talk ; they longed for the old 
 life of travel, and welcomed the prospect of 
 a voyage over the Pacific as much as if it 
 were to be a trip to the fountain of child- 
 hood. They were living the happy days 
 of youth over again. 
 
 I was introduced to an intelligent ma- 
 chinist, — John Randolph, — who said he 
 was descended from the great Virginian of 
 that name. He had been a sailor, but had 
 become "a rusty old landsman," as he ex- 
 pressed it ; but our proximity to the waves 
 and the prospect of a voyage stimulated 
 him like wine. A light came into his eyes 
 when he looked out of the window upon 
 
 22 
 
% late Conference 
 
 the throbbing sea, which trembled in a 
 moonlit path to the west ; and he longed 
 for the mysteries of distant lands and the 
 wonders of the summer ocean. I fancied 
 that the plash of the waves and the singing 
 of the surf in the caves of the cliff made 
 him eager for the life of his boyhood; and 
 he talked earnestly of the expedition. 
 
 "There are atolls in the sea, out yonder," 
 he said; "and it's everlasting June beyond 
 the sunset, after you get into the dreamy 
 belt, far from the scenes and noises of city 
 life." 
 
 "And what are these atolls like?" I asked. 
 
 "Why, they're coral islands," he said; 
 "and are generally fringed with palms and 
 beautified by natural lagoons, — and the na- 
 tives live on cocoanuts and climate ; if they 
 want to trade with foreigners, they make 
 their cocoanuts into copra, — and copra 's 
 the same as money in the South Seas." 
 
 It was evident that Randolph would go 
 with the party ; that he was but one of a 
 type that was numerous, — men with memo- 
 ries of the sea ; some of them wind-stained 
 
 23 
 
^n Affair in t^e ^cutlb ^eas 
 
 by recent voyaging. But there were many 
 of a different type, as I learned by a little 
 talking and listening, — students, teachers, 
 ministers, and men moved by a desire to 
 explore a new country. All were bent on 
 bettering their condition, and there was a 
 hopeful air about the whole party. 
 
 I was soon impressed that every man of 
 them was anxious for the day of sailing, 
 which, I judged, would not be delayed many 
 weeks. Doctor Saville flitted here and there, 
 like a leader at a singing-school. He had 
 a word with this man or that, then a whis- 
 pered consultation with Captain Swanson, 
 — and he seemed to know every man's 
 name, perhaps the private circumstances of 
 each life ; nor did a single detail appear 
 to slip him during the hum of much talk- 
 ing by men separated into many groups. 
 He was a sort of secretary of the company, 
 carrjdng a book of names, each the auto- 
 graph of the signer, — all subscribed under 
 a brief agreement to join the expedition. 
 
 During this time I knew nothing more 
 of the details of the proposed excursion 
 
 24 
 
9t late Conference 
 
 than I have set down ; but I was told that 
 matters would be explained very soon. It 
 was about half-past nine o'clock when Cap- 
 tain Swanson rapped on the chairman's 
 table with a heavy mallet (made of an ele- 
 phant's tusk), at the same time crying, 
 " Men, fall in ! " with such volume and com- 
 mand of tone that I knew he had been long 
 used to uttering commands. When the 
 order rang out, every man awoke from his 
 musings. Swanson led the way, and the 
 entire party marched from the room to a 
 much larger one, arranged like a hall 
 for meetings, — but the furnishings were 
 unique, even startling. 
 
 A strange feature of the larger room was 
 its South Sea atmosphere, subtle and all- 
 pervasive. There were hundreds of things 
 of a type I never had seen before, accus- 
 tomed as I was to San Francisco, — baleen 
 and bones of whales, a stuffed man-eating 
 shark of enormous size and striking natural- 
 ness, rare specimens of beautiful coral, the 
 dried tentacles of devil-fish, and like won- 
 ders that I cannot describe here. 
 
 25 
 
^n Affair in t!)e ^outb ^ead 
 
 Along one side of the wall there was a 
 glass case that contained the bleached skulls 
 of human creatures ; and suggestively close 
 to these ruins of man's life lay cannibal 
 clubs, powerful bows, and poisoned arrows, 
 all encircled by rare beads that had been 
 necklaces for savages. Hard by these the 
 eye beheld hideous images of distorted crea- 
 tures, — idols as ugly as the horrors of a 
 nightmare, carvings of men dying in the 
 clutch of serpents, and like productions of 
 island carvers, and of artists of China and 
 Japan. 
 
 It was explained that the Captain had 
 collected everything in the room during 
 his cruisings as the skipper of a sperm- 
 whaler ; but before I got further details 
 we were rapped to order by Doctor Sa- 
 ville. Some fifty or sixty chairs were 
 arranged in front of the desk, behind 
 which sat Captain Swanson and the Doctor. 
 
 " Captain Swanson will explain our plans, 
 for the benefit of prospective members," 
 said Doctor Saville, after the half-hundred 
 of us were quietly seated. 
 
 26 
 
^ late Coaference 
 
 "Well, I '11 begin at the first, firstly," 
 said the old Captain, as he stroked his short 
 gray beard, his stout figure bulging over 
 the little table, "and you men who don't 
 know what 's in the wind will soon see it 's 
 as simple as A, B, C. You don't want any 
 balderdash, but plain facts ; truth 's what 
 counts. In the first place, I 'm getting 
 along in years, as you can see, and I want 
 to do some good, as well as have a good 
 time, before I die ; and secondly, I 've got 
 more money than some folks have got hay, 
 and I could n't live long enough to spend it 
 decently in this country. I 've got neither 
 chick nor child ; all I ever had were buried 
 out yonder in the deep, long years ago, — my 
 wife, who died in the China seas twenty 
 years past, and Billy, my boy, who was 
 killed by a whale, — and some of you boys 
 helped sew his canvas shroud and bury 
 him in the ocean. And I 've been lone- 
 some ever since I left that belt of sunny 
 days ; but perhaps that 's only an old man's 
 childishness." 
 
 His voice faltered for a moment, and in 
 
 27 
 
^n Affair in tje ^mtl) ^cag 
 
 that hesitation was the revelation that he 
 had sentiments of a high order, — call it 
 heart, soul, or what you will. 
 
 "But I'll drop that talk," he said, "and 
 say that I 've got a secret spot picked out 
 for those that love happy days and are will- 
 ing to knock about a bit on the seas ; it 's 
 not peopled by whites now, but it 's a white 
 man's country, just the same, — fine enough 
 for angels. There 's room for a big colony 
 of us ; and what 's best of all is, that the 
 people there are my friends, — or their 
 parents were, — and some of the old Ka- 
 nakas down near the line would have 
 done anything Cap Swanson asked them to 
 do, for he was always on the square with 
 them, and helped them out of many a 
 scrape. You see, it 's this way : I speak 
 their language, and I know their ways ; 
 besides, I 'm not going there to rob 'em 
 the way some of the missionaries have 
 done, with a Bible in one hand and a 
 flag in the other, and avarice and deceit 
 in their hearts. 
 
 "Well, men, it 's a healthy country and 
 
 28 
 
^ late Conference 
 
 a balmy climate ; and food grows there 
 just the same as manna that the old preach- 
 ers used to tell about when I was a boy, 
 w^hich they said fell from heaven to feed 
 the Israelites in the wilderness. Now, men, 
 we '11 go there, and help ourselves and help 
 the natives at the same time, for they 're 
 preyed upon by their enemies ; but when 
 we give their enemies a few whirls with 
 machine-guns, I guess they '11 let our island 
 alone. 
 
 "We can use the Kanakas in our fields, 
 and treat them right for what they do ; 
 and if you give them a fair deal, they '11 
 die for you. So our plan is to go there 
 and occupy the country with the copper- 
 colored fellows. We '11 build grass houses 
 (which are best for summer climates), and 
 I guess the carpenters can fix us all right 
 for the rainy seasons, which are not half- 
 bad, anyhow. 
 
 " But the best point is, that I 'm not try- 
 ing to make a cent off anybody. I '11 put 
 up all the money, and when we get started 
 we '11 live like one big family. There '11 be 
 
^n Affair in tbe ^outl) ^eafi 
 
 none of the root of all evil down there, 
 but we '11 dwell together like brothers. 
 We '11 just dig and build, and make what- 
 ever we need, — or I '11 send the ship after 
 it, — and, to put the whole thing in a nut- 
 shell, we '11 just start a little world of our 
 own in a land that God created for a para- 
 dise, only he forgot to put white men there. 
 We '11 build libraries, factories, or what- 
 ever we want, — and that 's the whole busi- 
 ness, so far as I can see. 
 
 "Now, I '11 say to you men that have 
 just joined, that you '11 get a fair deal all 
 through. The good ship Rosalie lies over 
 yonder in the harbor, and I own her. Her 
 hold '11 be loaded fore and aft with the good 
 things we need in our pioneering ; I 've 
 planned with other members of the com- 
 pany, and I tell you we 're not overlooking 
 what 's good and useful. If you want to 
 fall in, there 's no fee, except your pledge 
 to be a man, and obey the laws which we 
 agree on before we start. On the sea I '11 
 be the boss, just like any other skipper, 
 for somebody must rule on the waves ; and 
 
 30 
 
St late Conference 
 
 who should rule the Rosalie but her owner, 
 who 's proud of her from main truck to 
 keelson ? But, once on the land, it '11 be for 
 you men to decide as much as me." 
 
 At the end of his speech, the old man's 
 eyes glistened expectantly as he extended 
 an invitation to all who had not signed 
 to come up and become members ; and 
 about a dozen honest-looking fellows, mostly 
 mechanics, signed the roll. It was a com- 
 pany of determined men, and I learned by 
 inquiring that many had wives and chil- 
 dren, who were to be carried to the colony 
 on subsequent trips. 
 
 It was now late, and the company dis- 
 persed. Doctor Saville and I lingered a 
 while for a talk with the old leader. We 
 walked along the beach for an hour ; a 
 silver moon rode in the west, lighting the 
 restless waves and showing the foaming 
 line that marked the breach of the surf. 
 Face to face with Captain Swanson, I saw 
 that he was a man of rugged countenance 
 and great muscular power ; he stood nearly 
 six feet, but his great weight gave an 
 
 31 
 
§ln Affair in t^t ^outl) §)ck& 
 
 appearance more stocky than so great a 
 height usually indicates. His discourse was 
 earnest and business-like, though by no 
 means profuse, — but it could not be called 
 scanty. His heart was plainly bent on 
 establishing a happy colony in the South 
 Seas ; and when he warmed to his subject, 
 there was something inspiring in his words, 
 — ' perhaps a note of confidence, born of 
 strong character and of a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the country he was to visit. He 
 had the determined gray eyes of a warrior, 
 — and none but a man of courage would 
 have crossed him when anger aroused their 
 fires. At his ripe age there was no surplus 
 ebullition, as in Doctor Saville, who worked 
 under a constant pressure of high spirits ; 
 but there was enough caloric to keep up an 
 adequate supply of well-directed energy. 
 
 The best of it all was that something 
 eminently reassuring beamed in the brusque 
 Captain's glance ; he left a pleasant feeling 
 of confidence,-— and I soon realized why so 
 many who knew him described him as a 
 man with " a good heart." 
 
 32 
 
^ late Conference 
 
 Before we parted I found myself much 
 interested in the projected cruise, and the 
 Doctor, slapping me familiarly on the back, 
 said, "I think we '11 get you in yet, old 
 man ; for, the more you think this thing 
 over, the better you '11 like it, and the more 
 you '11 despise the treadmill you 're in." 
 
 *' Hold a bit, Doctor," returned the Cap- 
 tain ; '* don't try to make the young man 
 dissatisfied with his place in life ; don't 
 urge anybody to give up a position ho 
 likes, for he might regret it; but," — and 
 he turned to me, — "if you want to join us, 
 I can promise you the finest cruise you 
 ever took." 
 
 You see, there was something alluring 
 about the whole business of these people, 
 especially to a struggling lawyer, whose 
 uncertain income had to be worked like a 
 Chinese puzzle to make it cover current 
 obligations. I had seen enough to make 
 me want to know more, and I knew that 
 the Doctor would keep me informed con- 
 cerning the progress of the colonists. 
 
 "Come down to the Mission Wharf any 
 
 33 
 
^n Affair in tl)e ^outl) ^cag 
 
 day," was the Captain's parting invitation, 
 "and you '11 see our men loading the Rosalie 
 for the voyage. If there 's a bit of the boy 
 left in you, or a drop of sailor-blood in your 
 veins, you '11 fall in love with her." 
 
 I promised to visit the water-front at an 
 early date to see the old tars and colonists 
 at work. On my way home there were 
 pleasant sea-pictures in my mind, such as 
 were awakened first when I read Robinson 
 Crusoe; and I felt that my experiences 
 with Captain Swanson and his party were 
 beginning to warm up the leaven of child- 
 hood. By the time I had reached the busy 
 streets of the city the spirit of boyhood 
 was singularly aroused ; but I was so tired 
 that I camped in my office for the night, 
 rather than make the long trip to my 
 hotel. My blood was now in such a fever, 
 and my imagination so aroused, that the 
 folding-bed in the office looked like a cot 
 in a prison, so cramped and narrow was 
 the room, compared with the freedom I 
 longed for. 
 
 That night I dreamt of plumy palms and 
 
 34 
 
^ late Conference 
 
 coral reefs ; and when I awoke the sun 
 was high, the office was stuffy with the 
 smell of law books, — and a persistent rent- 
 collector (who had made several previous 
 demands, I confess) was hammering on my 
 door, as if he thought I had determined 
 to evade him. Hard are the trials of rent- 
 collectors ! harder those of many a young 
 lawyer, in his struggles to get on in the 
 world ! 
 
 35 
 
^n Mm in tje ^outf) ^xad 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ALONG THE WHARVES. 
 
 OF the conflicting thoughts that raged 
 in my mind the entire day following 
 my trip to the Seal Rock House, I cannot 
 tell at length. There were bills to pay and 
 disagreeable clients to deal w^ith; over their 
 affairs I exhausted my patience and low- 
 ered my energies, without materially in- 
 creasing my store of money, — and finally 
 a growing sense of dissatisfaction with my 
 place in the world made me restless and 
 sad. 
 
 I went to the Mission Wharf, the next 
 day, to see the Rosalie and witness the spec- 
 tacle of sailor-men and hopeful colonists get- 
 ting ready for their sea trip. As I walked 
 along the water-front and viewed the cosmo- 
 politan company of deep-water vessels, I 
 
 36 
 
Sllong: t\)t Wl|)ari3e«f 
 
 realized for the first time the magnitude and 
 variety of San Francisco's growing ocean 
 commerce ; the sight of great four-masted 
 ships, ocean steamers, island schooners, 
 brigs, tugs, barkentines, and many varieties 
 of yachts and barges, revealed a pleasing 
 glimpse of the sea trade ; and when I heard 
 old tars bawling their commands with 
 voices like megaphones, and saw every fel- 
 low tugging manfully at his task, I con- 
 trasted their happy activity and primitive 
 habits with my own life of melancholy 
 w^aiting for clients ; and the primal desire 
 that drives men to action stirred me until 
 I felt the throbbing of that spirit which 
 has made the Anglo-Saxon a creature of 
 deeds. I had not gone far before I was 
 seized with a strange desire to exchange 
 my Micawber habits for a life of action. In 
 this thought I hastened to the dock, thrilled 
 by the sight of every mast and sail in the 
 harbor. 
 
 It was about eight o'clock when I reached 
 the busy wharf, and the morning was glori- 
 ous. Even old hulks took on a youthful 
 
 37 
 
^n Affair in t|)e ^ont^ ^ma 
 
 appearance, transformed by the freshness of 
 the day. Every floating thing glistened in 
 the mellow light, which gave glowing colors 
 to the purple hills, the rising tide, and the 
 handiwork of man ; but of all the splen- 
 dors of that scene, the handsomest single 
 object was the very craft I had come to 
 see, — a masterpiece gently rocking in the 
 tide, bathed in the melting colors of an ideal 
 morning. Kising majestically from the 
 water, the Rosalie was a thing of impressive 
 beauty. There was a figurehead at the 
 prow, — a leaping fawn, — executed with 
 much skill in the carving and coloring. 
 The odor of youth permeated everything; 
 yet in spite of the graceful lines of the 
 vessel, she gave an impression of great 
 strength. On the overhanging stern I read 
 the words, *' Built for Captain Swanson. — 
 Liverpool, 1884." This showed that the 
 craft had not been afloat more than two 
 years, and her strong lines gave promise 
 of long life and heroic service. Her hull 
 was painted a rich sea-green, and above 
 the water she was as white as polished 
 
 38 
 
aiouff t\)t SMl)art3efit 
 
 marble. Everything was as trim, as good 
 shipwrights could build, spick-and-span 
 new, and apparently stanch enough to ride 
 the wildest surge. 
 
 It was under these favorable circum- 
 stances that I first saw the good ship that 
 was to carry me to a new heaven and a new 
 earth, and while I mused she strained at her 
 moorings, as if eager to plunge into deeper 
 w^aters. The tides swayed her gently, and 
 caused her blocks to whistle like the notes of 
 a flute. Many tints of morning were blended 
 in the mirror of the waves, and the sky w^as 
 bright with changing hues. A few miles be- 
 yond, I saw the glint of flashing waters; and 
 not far away, the mysteries of the sea were 
 blended in the mystery of color, the autumn 
 sky brooding over all. I stood in the eye of 
 the morning in a restful spirit of admira- 
 tion, with no more thought of the affairs of 
 my law trade than you have, this moment, 
 of old Lord Coke's pleadings. I felt the 
 ground slipping from under my feet; the 
 life I had led seemed something that be- 
 longed to a distant past, and I was seized 
 
 39 
 
9ln 9Lffair in tl)e ^outl) ^eas 
 
 with a fever for cruising, that made me im- 
 patient. In this humor I gazed again and 
 again upon Captain Swanson's pride ; she 
 lay there like a great sea-bird, ready to 
 unfurl her white wings and sail away from 
 the troubled world of commerce into the 
 sunny isles of the Pacific. 
 
 The wharf swarmed with men in sea rigs; 
 they wore comfortable negligee shirts and 
 loose trousers of ducking, and some of them 
 were regular old salts in appearance, — sun- 
 burnt men with calloused hands, which they 
 carried half -closed, as if ready to haul away 
 at ropes upon the slightest provocation ; 
 nimble seamen, here and there on the wide- 
 spreading yards, tinkering with sailing gear, 
 and making preparations to breast the depths 
 and mysteries of the ocean world. 
 
 I stood for a long time in the shadow of 
 a tugboat- house, drinking in the tempta- 
 tions of the scene, enjoying the panoramic 
 water-front, and reveling in my new-found 
 passion. The workers were loading the 
 ship, and as they dodged in and out of alley- 
 ways of boxes and bales, I felt sure I was 
 
 40 
 
aioTifl: tl)e OTll)ar^efi 
 
 not observed. I had not been at my view- 
 point long when the sturdy Captain walked 
 briskly across the deck and gave orders 
 about the loading. He was the picture of a 
 master, — a man born to command. By the 
 very strength of superior knowledge of his 
 business, and by voice, countenance, and 
 physique, he was one to be heeded ; and 
 the first thing I heard him say showed his 
 command of details. 
 
 " John," he called to Kandolph, the ma- 
 chinist, " tell the men aft to be careful 
 with those boxes of phonograph-cylinders; 
 they should be taken in before the sun 's 
 high." 
 
 I looked aft and saw a dozen men carry- 
 ing boxes into the ship. Every one was 
 labeled " PHONOGRAPH-CYLINDERS — 
 TROPICAL WAX." There was no further 
 inscription, and the packages were so nu- 
 merous that they loomed ten or twelve feet 
 above the barrels of beans, bags of rice, piles 
 of bacon, and other substantial provisions 
 on the wharf. There were about two hun- 
 dred boxes of this character, and each was 
 
 41 
 
^n Affair in t^t S>otttl) ^tua 
 
 large enough to hold ten or twelve ordinary 
 phonograph-cylinders. It seemed a strange 
 cargo; and the longer I watched the men 
 carrying freight into the hold, the more 
 puzzling the circumstance appeared ; for 
 what could strike one as more useless and 
 unsuitable to a pioneer colony in the South 
 Seas, than a supply of phonograph-cylinders 
 that would stock the museums of New York 
 City ? 
 
 Though inclined to ask some of the men 
 the purpose of the shipment, I curbed my 
 tongue, but continued to walk among the 
 bundles, and though many had surely seen 
 me at the Seal Rock House, none appeared 
 to remember me. 
 
 Hard by the boxes were a dozen or more 
 strong crates, each labeled " EDISON'S 
 ELECTRIC PHONOGRAPHS." And a 
 little farther down the wharf was a larger 
 one than any I had yet seen, marked 
 "PHONOGRAPH TOOLS AND EQUIP- 
 MENTS." This mystery of the wharf grew 
 as I watched the men lowering the odd 
 cargo into the hold. 
 
 42 
 
9tIons: t^e S®tl)arbe0 
 
 Without further loitering, I went aboard 
 and inquired for Captain Swanson. He 
 came forth with a hearty greeting, and I 
 was shown to his stateroom, which was 
 furnished as luxuriously as many a city 
 drawing-room. There were some choice 
 landscapes in water-colors, and the entire 
 atmosphere of this home on the sea was 
 cheerful. 
 
 "Have a cigar," said the Captain, as he 
 opened a locker and drew out a box of rare 
 Havanas ; " and after you light up I '11 take 
 you for a whirl through the ship." 
 
 Then he led me to the cabin, showed me 
 the stateroom, and explained the mysteries 
 of the roundhouse and the binnacle. The 
 cabins were elegantly furnished, and near 
 them was a choice library, composed of 
 scientific works, histories, books of fiction, 
 and general literature. 
 
 " How 's this for a layout for the ship's 
 surgeon?" he asked, as he opened a door 
 and led into a treble - sized stateroom 
 abounding in medical stores, surgical in- 
 struments, batteries, and like equipments, 
 
 43 
 
^n 9lffair in tlje ^ontl) ^tua 
 
 the whole pervaded by the clean odor of 
 antiseptics. 
 
 " This is the office of Dr. Saville ; and 
 here" (opening a door that led to a state- 
 room), — "here is his home, which is not 
 far from that of four other doctors ; I think 
 that 's a pretty good supply of physicians 
 for a country where men never die till the 
 machinery 's worn out." 
 
 Next we went into the hold, where some 
 of the stores were pointed out. There were 
 many improved agricultural implements, 
 large quantities of seed and grain for plant- 
 ing, great piles of canned goods and des- 
 iccated vegetables, and thousands of pounds 
 of sugar-cured bacon and ham, beans, rice, 
 and other substantial foods. In a specially 
 constructed compartment between decks the 
 Captain showed me stalls for cattle, sheep, 
 and hogs, and explained that some would 
 be killed on the voyage, and others pre- 
 served for breeding on the island ; these 
 were to be brought aboard at the last mo- 
 ment before sailing. 
 
 " And here 's something else I want to 
 
 44 
 
9llonff t^e miUx)it& 
 
 show you," he said, later, as he led me 
 through a hatch in his stateroom to a more 
 private part of the hold. "If there 's to be 
 any trouble, we 're good and ready for any 
 tribe that forgets its place." And he showed 
 me six Maxim rapid-firing guns, also barrels 
 of powder, piles of ammunition, hundreds 
 of modern rifles, and two six-pounders of 
 improved type. 
 
 "You must expect to have to fight your 
 way," I remarked. 
 
 "Not a bit of it," he said; "but it 's with 
 the copper ones just as 't is among the 
 whites; the best way to have peace is to be 
 ready for war. You never want to go 
 among cannibals with a weak front, — but 
 the chief thing 's to protect the people on 
 our island from the ravages of other tribes." 
 
 " You must be about ready to clear, are n't 
 you?" I asked. 
 
 "Well," said he, "we expect to be off 
 about Thursday of next week, if we have 
 good luck." 
 
 " And you still have room for me, if I 
 should want to go?" I asked. 
 
 45 
 
9tn Mm in tl)e ^outf) ^eag 
 
 " Come right here, young man," he re- 
 plied, as he showed me a spacious state- 
 room, not far from Dr. Saville's office ; 
 "we '11 stow you in here, if you '11 come 
 along. This is snug enough, is n't it?" 
 
 " And there '11 be a chance for me to come 
 back, if I don't like the idea of staying ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " Nothing 's easier," he replied ; *' for the 
 Rosalie ^s got several trips to make for stores 
 and men's families, and it would be against 
 the Golden Rule to keep anybody there, un- 
 less he felt like staying. Why, bless you, 
 one unhappy soul would break up the whole 
 colony, and I 'd spend all I 've got, rather 
 than hold a man down there against his 
 will." 
 
 I stood there weighing the question with 
 singular emotions, glancing meanwhile over 
 the railing into the restless waves. In im- 
 agination I could see the dreamy isles of the 
 Pacific ; the wonders of strange lands rose 
 before me, with their deep wildwoods, their 
 floral beauty, and their sunny seas flashing 
 in eternal June; and I knew that the picture 
 
 46 
 
3tloaff tbe Sm^arijefii 
 
 had come to haunt me through all the years, 
 if I refused the offer, — and on the hnpulse I 
 said, " 1 11 go, if I die for it ! Give me your 
 hand, Captain ! " And I never have felt 
 happier, in all the years since that eventful 
 day, than when I hurried from the Rosalie 
 to my musty law office, there to abandon 
 the life I had known and struggled with, 
 and to take up the threads with which I 
 was to weave a new career. 
 
 47 
 
9[n 2l5air in tht i>attt|) ^eaa 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OFF FOR THE DREAMY BELT. 
 
 I HAD a week in which to make prepara- 
 tions and say farewells to friends and 
 business ; and in the hurry and excitement 
 of doing many things in a short time, the 
 days were swift of wing. 
 
 No limit was placed on colonists' bag- 
 gage, and there was no charge for any- 
 thing that went aboard the Rosalie; so I 
 supplied myself liberally with clothing for 
 the tropics ; stowed away a hundred or 
 more volumes of choice books ; sent my 
 bicycle and typewriter into the hold, and 
 provided such things as I thought would 
 add to the pleasure of a long stay in a 
 distant land. Knowing that there would 
 be many idle hours aboard, I was careful 
 to lay in plenty of violin-strings. My violin 
 
 48 
 
Oft for ibt Dreamp ^elt 
 
 (an heirloom in my mother's family) was 
 as fondly cared for as if it had been a 
 favorite child, and its mellow tones helped 
 to fill many an hour with such melody as 
 goes with music and moonlight nights 
 in tropical seas. Imagine yourself in the 
 moonshine of the quarter-deck, and you 
 will get the outlines of a picture that 
 was frequent. As you gaze into the ves- 
 sePs wake and see the hollows of the 
 sea lashed into singing foam that glistens 
 far astern, a shining path will mark the 
 course ; above the plashing waves you will 
 hear the soft notes of Schubert's Sere- 
 nade^ or the sweet pathos of the Caval- 
 leria Rusticana; the mind, partaking of 
 the witchery of the surroundings, will 
 liken the course of the ship to man's voy- 
 age through the years, and fancy will invest 
 the moonlight and the stars, the many 
 voices of the sea, and the harmony that 
 fills the air, with the charm of that land 
 which the poets of all ages have placed 
 among the stars. 
 
 Such pictures, with us, came gradually, 
 
 49 
 
3[n 3lffair *n t|)e ^otttl) ^eas 
 
 after we were well out of the fogs and cold 
 gales of the North Pacific. But at the end 
 of several weeks' contesting with high winds 
 and boisterous waves, there was a marked 
 difference in the clouds and climate, in the 
 colorings of the sky, and in the waters and 
 the creatures of the deep. You could not 
 say just when the change happened ; but 
 the moment it came, it sweetened the hours, 
 and was welcome to the cheek of care. 
 
 I remember that the first anxiety that 
 pressed upon me in the voyage came when 
 the moorings of the ship were cast off, at 
 the outset ; for there was a troubled spirit 
 and a little taste of bitterness as we were 
 drawn through the pulsing tide of the bay 
 by the puffing tug Vigilant. A spirit of 
 deep loneliness hovered for a time, espe- 
 cially at the moment of my last view of 
 San Francisco, — and when the tug blew 
 us a long farewell, there was a tinge of 
 sadness over all. 
 
 I went below, my mind filled with strange 
 musings. The first thing my eyes fell upon 
 was a part of the ship given over to piles 
 
 50 
 
©ff for tj^e Dteamp ^clt 
 
 of papier-mache, which looked like wide 
 boards ; they were sections of ingeniously 
 constructed houses, so made that the com- 
 monest Robinson Crusoe of a carpenter 
 could find little difficulty in joining them 
 into snug houses. It was with the comfort 
 of a good fire and an extra coat that the 
 sight of these embryonic homes thrilled 
 me. Here was the right thing in the right 
 place, which is one definition of wealth ; 
 so there was a delight in the thought that 
 we had made provision against the teeth 
 of animals and the nakedness of the skies ; 
 and it was comforting to the point of 
 exhilaration that there was upon the sea 
 a sailing warehouse filled with roof-trees. 
 Men of skill and industry awaited the 
 hour of landing, too, and their hearts 
 bounded at the thought of building homes 
 for their wives and children. 
 
 The cattle were uneasy in their stalls, 
 the horses were restless, and the sheep 
 bleated pitifully, disturbed by occasional 
 violent motions in the ship's nose. A 
 fine assortment of hogs grunted in satis- 
 
 51 
 
sin ^£Eait in t|)e S>ont|) S^eag 
 
 faction, happy with the slops and waste, 
 at which they munched as quietly as if 
 rooting in Captain Swanson's land of sun- 
 shine. 
 
 For some days the face of nature was 
 strange ; but I proved a good sailor, carry- 
 ing a sound appetite to every meal. Com- 
 ing from the companion-hatch one glorious 
 night of stars, the full joy of sailing burst 
 upon me for the first time ; the wind in the 
 rigging, the creaking of the blocks, the 
 wash of the water on the ship's sides, the 
 rippling at her bow, and all the voices of 
 the waves, struck responsive chords in my 
 being. Off our port bow the sails of a pass- 
 ing ship glistened in the sheen of night, 
 and the wide stretch of calm waters shone 
 like a lake of silver, broken only by a long 
 southwestern swell, fresh from the eternal 
 wastes of the expansive sea. I glanced 
 at the incommunicable stars, inhaled the 
 invigorating breeze, and paced the deck, a 
 creature of poetry and emotion. Once I 
 passed the Captain, but he was so full of 
 his own affairs that his influence was icy ; 
 
 52 
 
(BU for tl^e ^reamp ^elt 
 
 his hard, piercing eye was upon the busi- 
 ness of the ship's course, — an infinitely 
 more important affair than indulging in 
 moonlight reveries. And this thought was 
 impressed upon me a few minutes later, 
 at sight of a floating wreck of spars. I 
 shuddered when the perils of the sea were 
 thus suggested ; and from that bit of iso- 
 lated flotage I built the story of a tragedy, 
 of a tempest dashing some stanch ship 
 to her doom. As I conjured up the scene, 
 the picture became startlingly real. I could 
 hear the thunder of mad billows upon a 
 storm-swept coast; and in that fury I could 
 see the mountainous waves plunging upon 
 a barrier of rocky cliffs with a shock that 
 vibrated and roared for miles. In the 
 merciless impact of the surge I beheld 
 the very ship of which that stray fragment 
 had been a part ; I followed her to her 
 doom in the Niagara of foam and spray, 
 where brave men died, — their lives gone 
 like the snuffing out of the lamps that 
 glimmered in her cabin when the final 
 billow swallowed ship and men. 
 
 53 
 
sin 3lffair in t|)e ^outl) ^cad 
 
 In spite of the many pleasures of the 
 voyage, I was at times overcome with 
 thoughts of so sad a temper that they 
 differed but little from homesickness ; and 
 yet my San Francisco home had not been 
 marked by those pleasant metes and bounds 
 that go with a freeholder's title, making 
 him swell with pride when he declares 
 that his home is his castle. But the city 
 and its hum sometimes arose in memory 
 to haunt me, especially at such moments 
 as those when I had the glimpse of float- 
 ing spars; for I had lived in San Francisco 
 so many years, that the very things I had 
 hoped for and feared in its busy streets — 
 even the accustomed daily sounds, and 
 the spectacle of its affairs — had woven 
 themselves into the texture of my life. At 
 times I longed for vanished pleasures, — the 
 quiet dinner and bottle of wine at some 
 fellow -bachelor's table; the night at the 
 theater, with the woman who, had my 
 circumstances permitted, might have be- 
 come my wife. But these things were now 
 but monuments of the past, marking the 
 
 54 
 
©ff for t|)e SDreamp ^clt 
 
 resting-place of many a pleasant " miglit 
 have been," though quite useless at sea, or 
 anywhere along the path of duty. So 
 it chanced that, in my darker moods, or 
 when I looked in upon myself closely, I 
 often paced the deck alone ; and I some- 
 times had misgivings as to the outcome 
 of the voyage. Whatever it might prove 
 for some of the passengers (who had prob- 
 ably lived less than a cab-horse existence), 
 I wondered whether I should find a life, 
 as the German agitators say, "befitting to 
 a human being." There was one reflec- 
 tion, at least, that would save the trip 
 from being denounced as a fool's errand, — 
 I should have a glorious outing ; and I 
 took courage as I looked into the billows 
 and heard the stiff breeze soughing through 
 the rigging; for even if the Captain and 
 his colonists should fail. Lawyer Hadley 
 would charge a luxurious vacation to the 
 profit side of life's ledger. 
 
 By the end of the sixth day, Doctor 
 Saville was so far relieved from attending 
 seasick people, that I was favored with his 
 
 55 
 
^n 9lffair in ti^t ^mt\i ^eafi 
 
 companionship, — ever a sunny and stimu- 
 lating influence. Slowly, too. Judge Davis 
 began to rejoice in the delights of a sound 
 stomach ; and when his sea-legs were able 
 to carry his frail body safely, he shambled 
 to the lee side of the deck and became a 
 welcome factor in conversation. To this 
 trio a fourth and sturdy influence w^as 
 often added, — Tom O'Fallon, first mate. 
 He was a quick-witted Irishman of wide 
 sea experience, and a thorough naviga- 
 tor. Full of lively stories, a keen ob- 
 server, and a good judge of human nature, 
 he was the life of many a company on 
 board. 
 
 One evening we had been talking about 
 the prospects of our colony. I was skep- 
 tical regarding Captain Swanson's plans, 
 and I said so frankly. *'I believe a good 
 deal in the survival of the fittest," I said ; 
 "and as most of us have failed in busi- 
 ness, I can't see by what magic we 're to 
 succeed where we 're going." 
 
 *' You 'd help up a fallen horse in the 
 street, wouldn't you?" asked O'Fallon; "or 
 
 56 
 
(BE for t|)e ^reamp ^clt 
 
 would you let it lie, and watch the other 
 horses trample it to death?" 
 
 *' Of course I 'd help it up," I naturally 
 replied. 
 
 "Well," returned Tommy, "the horses 
 you 'd help up might be of good service 
 afterwards, — and it 's the same way with 
 this shipload of men. They 've been down, 
 but this ship 's picked them up. Some 
 of them have never been well fed or 
 well housed, or hitched to a load on a 
 decent road ; have n't had a fair chance 
 to get on their feet, — but they '11 get it 
 now." 
 
 Then Judge Davis contributed an illus- 
 tration that has always lingered on my 
 ear like a truth. "I used to go through 
 the Capitol Park at Sacramento every morn- 
 ing, when I was a boy," he said, "and it 
 was alive with song-birds of rare plumage ; 
 their throats were full of sweet music ; 
 they added a joy to the morning, and 
 they destroyed insect pests. I lately went 
 through the same park. There was not a 
 note that anybody would care to hear ; 
 
 57 
 
^n Affair in tlit S>ottt!) S^eac; 
 
 dirty brown sparrows with screechy chirps 
 swarmed everywhere, sole survivors of the 
 wood. They had murdered every other 
 bird, — I suppose they were the fittest to 
 survive." The Judge looked at me as if 
 to say he had shattered my idol. "Fittest 
 for what?" he asked. "God only knows," 
 he answered, thoughtfully. "And in Chi- 
 cago, where I once lived, a few low-browed 
 Irishmen and uncouth Dutchmen have cor- 
 nered nearly all the industries worth own- 
 ing, driving out men of culture. A few 
 cunning Jews and politicians hover with 
 beak and claw upon the city's commerce. 
 They are the dirty birds of humanity, — 
 brown, screeching sparrows and carrion 
 crows. Are they the fittest? Fittest for 
 what? I call them the cannibals and 
 vultures of society, and the time is ripe 
 for a people with higher ideals than 
 pork and cotton. By the gods, let us 
 plant a nation of high ideals in the South 
 Seas!" 
 
 "And let it be a country where selfish 
 men will not clutch their neighbors by 
 
 58 
 
©ff for tljt Dteamp ^elt 
 
 the throats," added Doctor Saville, with 
 great earnestness. 
 
 It was a moment of fine dreaming among 
 the colonists. The admiral of the seas who 
 gazed from the Santa Maria into the gleam- 
 ing glories of the New World could not have 
 felt happier than did the Doctor at the 
 moment of his speech. He was the pic- 
 ture of hopeful enthusiasm as he stood 
 looking toward the rim of the horizon, as if 
 the solution of every social problem lay 
 just beyond the purple gates of sunset into 
 which he gazed. To him the Captain's 
 island was a world templed with castles of 
 gold, — a place fit for the gods. 
 
 Our conversations during many luxuriant 
 days of sun and trades that followed often 
 turned on questions that would interest 
 students of social problems, rather than 
 those who expect a history of our adven- 
 tures. 
 
 There was an unfortunate fellow aboard, 
 however, whose views were so odd as 
 to attract particular attention ; his eccen- 
 tricities bordered on insanity, into which 
 
 59 
 
2tn 9tffait in tfte ^otttl^ ^tza 
 
 they finally developed, with an ending that 
 lingers like a nightmare in memory. He 
 called himself Professor Bob Davison, 
 though he was generally dubbed " Professor 
 Bob," for brevity. He was too eccentric to 
 carry a sustained part in a discussion, but 
 he expounded his doctrines, from time to 
 time, with marked vehemence ; spoke of 
 himself quite often in the third person, and 
 frequently as the *' celluloid cuff professor," 
 — a name once applied to him by a news- 
 paper, for reasons that suggest themselves. 
 He was a man of striking appearance and 
 good education ; tall, bony, and marked by a 
 nervous, shambling gait. It was evident 
 that he had met with some great disappoint- 
 ment in life, and that trouble had turned 
 his head. 
 
 Shortly after Judge Davis had given us 
 his comparison of the sparrows, Professor 
 Bob arose with a sudden gesture and re- 
 peated a strange sentence, which I had often 
 heard him utter; but now he muttered it 
 in a dazed way, saying, "The foxes have 
 holes, and the birds of the air have nests, 
 
 60 
 
(BU for tbe Dream? ^elt 
 
 but the working-man hath not where to lay 
 his head." 
 
 *' That 's all right, Professor," returned 
 Doctor Saville; "but now we 're going where 
 everybody will have a place to lay his 
 head." 
 
 The Professor did not heed the Doctor, 
 but rambled on in his talk, like one in a 
 dream. "If ever the * have-nots' should 
 unite to get justice," he declared with some 
 violence, " God pity the * haves' ! " 
 
 After uttering that strange sentiment of 
 anarchy he grew calmer for a moment, 
 adding, *' Gentlemen, whistles and bells have 
 ruined our homes by calling the women 
 from their beds to work, which is the cause 
 of human misery. They are working the 
 poor women to death, sirs, and making them 
 slaves of red-headed time-keepers, who give 
 them hell if they 're five minutes late. 
 What 's the result ? A diminished birth- 
 rate, sirs, and artificial food for the poor 
 little babies." 
 
 I cannot describe the strange look of 
 bewilderment and despair that crossed the 
 
 61 
 
Stn Affair in i\)t ^outl) ^eas 
 
 unfortunate man's face at the end of his 
 wild utterances; but it changed every feature 
 and withered every semblance of intelli- 
 gence, as much as if he had been stricken 
 by the hand of death. Everybody saw the 
 transformation with a shudder that chilled 
 the blood, and all realized that the Pro- 
 fessor had gone stark mad. Of a sudden 
 he uttered a wail of despair that sent a 
 chill shivering down my spine, as if the 
 uncanny forces of insanity had penetrated 
 the fortress of being ; he gesticulated like 
 one in torment, all the while crying in 
 a maniacal way, — and before any of us 
 realized the danger, or had recovered the 
 tact and presence of mind to restrain him^ 
 Professor Bob, leaping like a deer, bounded 
 from the deck into the sea. Several rushed 
 to the railing and cried out, "Man over- 
 board ! " meanwhile watching the maniac's 
 desperate struggling in the waves. Hoarse 
 orders, a pulling of ropes, and the main- 
 yards were braced back to check the ship 
 in her course. Quickly a boat was lowered 
 from the davits, but the drowning man's 
 
 62 
 
(BS. for t^c 2:)reamp 43elt 
 
 strength was failing fast. Suddenly he was 
 surrounded by half a dozen monstrous 
 sharks, which had hovered timidly dur- 
 ing the violent struggling. Now that the 
 limp body began to sink quietly, one of 
 the sharks approached boldly; suddenly it 
 turned on its back to the biting position, 
 and its great jaws, like saw-bladed shears, 
 completed that dark tragedy of the sea. 
 Other sharks fought for the flesh of our 
 comrade, and before the ship had drifted a 
 hundred feet, all that marked the grave of 
 Professor Bob was a crimson streak in a 
 shark-infested sea of deepest blue. With a 
 sickness of heart that was weakening I 
 turned from the scene, and that evening 
 those who had known the dead man best 
 recounted his many good deeds and told 
 how his malady had been caused by an 
 injury to the brain, received at an explo- 
 sion in a machine-shop where he had 
 worked. Frightful as his death seemed, it 
 was, doubtless, without pain, — and more 
 merciful, after all, than a life of horrible 
 nightmares in a madhouse. 
 
 63 
 
^n Affair in tl)e S^outl) ^zkh 
 
 For a few days the terrible circumstances 
 of our comrade's death made a topic of 
 much talk, but the subject was soon dis- 
 missed. Had you heard the sailor part of 
 the ship's company singing sea-songs (as 
 I heard them singing, within a week of 
 the Professor's death), you might have 
 shared my reflection, that time, like the 
 wave into which poor Bob plunged, soon 
 engulfs the experiences of the passing hour. 
 
 For several weeks our skipper was so full 
 of the business of sailing that he was sel- 
 dom absent from the deck ; so it was not 
 until we had sailed for several days beyond 
 Honolulu that I had an opportunity to see 
 much of him, for he was a busy, order- 
 giving man. But in the long, halcyon 
 afternoons that followed, sitting on the 
 shady side of the deck, his rotund fig- 
 ure emphasized by a suit of white duck- 
 ing, he was the picture of a courageous 
 pilot at ease. With First Oflicer O'Fallon 
 in charge of the watch, Captain Swanson 
 forgot his cares and became a genteel 
 dreamer. It was then that his character 
 
 64 
 
(BZ for t[)e £)rcamp ^elt 
 
 could be studied, for the part he took in 
 conversation shed a light upon his rugged 
 nature. Many a time I have seen him 
 scanning the waters for every flying-fish 
 and tumbling porpoise within eye-range, 
 as little self-conscious as a child. Once 
 his eye kindled, and he broke short his 
 speech, when a sperm-whale spouted its 
 bushy spray across the shining sea, a few 
 miles off the starboard bow. 
 
 To relieve the hours of their dullness, he 
 had many moving yarns of the sea, that bore 
 the impress of verity, and carried a chill to 
 one's marrow. He had seen whales battling 
 with orca gladiators, those cannibals of the 
 deep, whose most delicate morsel is the 
 tongue of a whale, which they ravenously 
 tear from that monster's capacious mouth. 
 Once, in the moonlight of a perfect sum- 
 mer evening, when all hands were in a 
 tranquil spirit, sailing in the tropics, the 
 ocean had lifted as if by Titanic forces; 
 then a mountain of flesh arose from the sea 
 and churned the ocean into foam; — it was 
 a monster whale in combat with a devil- 
 
 65 
 
9tn Affair in t^t ^otttl) ijcae 
 
 fish, whose writhing tentacles were like a 
 bunch of sea-serpents, its black eyes as ter- 
 rifying as the distortions of a fevered brain. 
 Again, one wild night of booming surf, he 
 had been driven near to his death by an 
 error in a chart of the North Pacific; and 
 before he realized his danger, the roar of 
 breakers thundered so close as to drive the 
 fear of death to every soul aboard. Close 
 upon them, mountains of water tumbled 
 upon a jagged patch of sunken reef, which 
 loomed black and ragged in the lightning's 
 vivid flash, — the next moment white, with 
 thousands of tons of wild waves bursting 
 into spray upon its coral teeth. 
 
 "We escaped by a miracle," he concluded, 
 " as we swept through a narrow channel that 
 marked the one safe course through a reg- 
 ular network of Hell Gates. And, say, men, 
 I 've always thought fate preserved me for 
 this voyage, — to do good before I die, and 
 to fear God while I live." 
 
 That little speech was a chink in the old 
 fellow's character, through which a softer 
 light than common shed its rays ; and I saw 
 
 66 
 
(BU for ibt ^reatnp 48elt 
 
 that there was a mellow background in the 
 rough seafarer's life. He was never a soft 
 man for meekness and creeds, but a man 
 to be trusted in the dark. 
 
 One day, while the trades were softly- 
 blowing, piling continents of clouds against 
 the afternoon sky, I set to the task of lead- 
 ing him into a more detailed outline of his 
 plans than I yet had heard. It was not 
 difficult to draw him into conversation, 
 especially when the theme was his dream 
 of empire in the South Seas. The ambition 
 to found an ideal home for worthy people 
 lay as close to his heart as if it were a 
 matter of the gallows to fail. With all his 
 talking, however, he was more cautious and 
 grave than Dr. Saville ; for he realized the 
 danger of bickerings among the men, — 
 jealousies, quarrels, and final failure. 
 
 "As soon as we get our tents fairly 
 pitched," he said, *'I'm determined to have 
 the women folks here ; for it has been 
 my observation that men cast off on an 
 island get peevish and soon come to blows, 
 whereas the women are like oil on the 
 
 67 
 
an 9lffair in t!)e ^ottt|) ^ea«( 
 
 troubled waters. Yes, sir ; it won't be 
 policy to separate the men for long from 
 their wives and children.'' 
 
 The Captain realized the overpowering 
 sway of his ambition, — a passionate eager- 
 ness to succeed with his colony ; it flamed 
 as high as the desires of youth, — and I saw 
 the outlines of a Napoleonic purpose in his 
 heart. "Let what comes in my way be- 
 ware I " was written in every feature of the 
 grave face of Swanson. 
 
 " I 'd rather drown in these waters, and 
 be unmarked and forgotten," he said, "than 
 lead these honest men to a forlorn hope, 
 or to anything to cheat 'em out of the 
 happiness I 've planned to give 'em." 
 
 "Yes," I returned; "I suppose you feel 
 the responsibilities deeply." 
 
 " Do you suppose I ever go to my pillow 
 without thinkin' of the wives and children 
 we saw wavin' their good-byes?" he asked; 
 "and do you think I can forget those faces, 
 or get any rest until we 're landed high 
 and dry ? Of course the Rosalie 's as steady 
 as a church ; but there 's danger in every 
 
 68 
 
©ff for t^t 2)teamp ^elt 
 
 sea, — pinnacles of rock, typhoons, unmarked 
 reefs, earthquakes, and sometimes death 
 hovering close, even when she looks as safe 
 as a mill-pond. And 1 11 tell you another 
 thing,'' he continued with earnestness ; 
 *'I never expect to see a happier day than 
 when every man 's got his wife and dear 
 ones safe ashore with him : so you see I 've 
 got my work to do and my worries to nurse, 
 while the rest of you are having your larks 
 on deck." 
 
 The time was now ripe for sounding him 
 about our destination, but I was wary 
 of abrupt questioning, which I had known 
 to nettle the old man to a fine temper. 
 As if in anticipation of my thoughts, the 
 Captain led me to his cabin ; and there, 
 by many maps and compasses, surrounded 
 by charts and reckonings, my courage rose 
 to the point of asking what I so much 
 desired to know. 
 
 "How long do you expect to be on the 
 voyage?" I cautiously asked. 
 
 "Well," he began, "you see, we 've passed 
 the Hawaiian group, which 's back yonder 
 
 69 
 
^n Affair in t\)t ^out|) ^ead 
 
 some six or seven sunsets ; and I think 
 three weeks more of fair winds, barrin' 
 accidents or trouble in the hurricane belt, 
 or gettin' stuck fast in the doldrums, ought 
 to put us in the heart of the long-pig 
 country." 
 
 " I don't understand two of your expres- 
 sions, — 'doldrums,' and 'long-pig,'" I said. 
 
 " They 're easy enough," he answered ; 
 "doldrums are the dead calms that make 
 sailors curse about the equator, — and long- 
 pig is what the people where we 're going 
 love to feast on, which is human beings, 
 especially the stuffed chiefs of rival tribes, — 
 all roasted in fine cannibal style." 
 
 " And it 's into such a country that you 
 expect white men to bring their wives and 
 children? God forbid that men's families 
 should have to face such dangers," I said, 
 with a show of disgust. 
 
 "Don't get a false notion of all this," 
 he replied ; " for cannibalism 's caused by 
 famine more than half the time, and the 
 rest is caused by wars with rival tribes : 
 so you see we '11 prevent famine, stop the 
 
 70 
 
©ff fox t^e ^reamp ^elt 
 
 warring, and tame the heathens with our 
 food and guns." 
 
 We sailed without special incident for 
 many days of pleasant weather and fair 
 winds : and at last, one morning, the Cap- 
 tain showed me an entry in his log, saying, 
 with a meaning wink, "We shall be nearing 
 land in a day or two, if fair winds con- 
 tinue." 
 
 "Our destination?" I asked. 
 
 "The very same," he replied. 
 
 " And then your secret of the dreamy isles 
 will be an open book that all of us can 
 read," I returned ; and he said he should 
 be happy when all could see that he had not 
 exaggerated the beauties of the island. 
 
 I glanced at the log, as he invited me to 
 do. The only entry I now recall ran some- 
 thing like this : — 
 
 "Lat. 22° S., Long. 176° W.— Fair weather; 
 all well, and within 200 miles of our desti- 
 nation." 
 
 It is a joy to live over again the glories 
 of that voyage, when, with steady trades, 
 the ship went with a free dash for many 
 
 71 
 
^n 9tffatr in t^t S)Otttl) S>ea£( 
 
 sunny days, gliding like a phantom through 
 a quiet belt of starry nights. From many 
 a dawn to many a dusk we watched the 
 panoramic sky as it changed from tints 
 of silver at peep of day to a rose-colored 
 world that beckoned us toward the scarlets 
 of sinking suns at the horizon. The dawns 
 and twilights of those days linger yet, 
 tranquil as the light and stillness of woods 
 at early morn. 
 
 There were often billows of pearl athwart 
 the blue sky, and across the horizon 
 mountainous clouds raised their snowy 
 crests above the distant shine of the sea, — 
 Alpine peaks in mid-ocean. I can see again 
 those pictures in the air, lying like visions 
 of yesterday in the graceful distance of the 
 leeward sea; again I am amid the restful 
 surroundings of those sea-girt hours, with 
 exclamations of growing wonder on my 
 lips, — for the scenes were graven deep 
 on the tablets of memory. 
 
 Day after day the thermometer registered 
 85° (Fahrenheit) ; but it was the sweetest, 
 driest, coolest air I 've ever felt at that 
 
 72 
 
©ff for tbt Dreamp ^t\t 
 
 mark; — and as for the ship, "the gales 
 of fortune breathed in her favor," as the 
 reading of the log showed for uninterrupted 
 weeks. At times she beat off the knots 
 at surprising speed, in spite of the se- 
 dateness of her motion ; and day after day 
 the sun mounted into a peaceful sky, and 
 the breezes were as rejuvenating as the 
 breath of morning. In the flaming sun 
 there was ever the tempered edge of salt 
 air ; not a suggestion of the parching heat 
 of Arizona, nor of the clammy air of the 
 jungles, — but all was sweetened by the 
 pervading freshness of the ocean. 
 
 And often I felt, with Emerson, that the 
 day was longevity enough, its balms never 
 to be forgotten, — never to be remembered 
 without a fresh bound of the heart. Amid 
 such pictures night often gave a new note 
 to the enchantment ; for the ripening moon 
 beamed upon a dreamy waste of waters, and 
 the stars, "like cities of God," shone 
 lustrous from the skyey vault. 
 
 "A lifetime of this, and good houses 
 to live in, will make a man happy," the 
 
 73 
 
^n Affair in t|)e ^out|) S^eaei 
 
 Captain remarked; "and if you '11 make the 
 land just about what it ought to be, you '11 
 understand why the old beachcombers love 
 the low islands, with bills of fare fresh from 
 the trees every day, instead of grubbin* 
 like niggers for crumbs, or fightin' beastly 
 weather in the States." 
 
 74 
 
SI ^isht of |)orrorfi; 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 
 
 THE next day dawned bright and glo- 
 rious, and the forenoon found a dozen 
 or more of us seated around the Captain, 
 before the sun had mounted high enough to 
 destroy the shade of the pleasant quarter- 
 deck. Doctor Saville, Randolph, Judge 
 Davis, a few mechanics, and a quiet 
 clergyman were of the party. 
 
 "It strikes me that the men aboard are all 
 too enthusiastic over getting rich," ventured 
 the Reverend Charles Lovejoy, after there 
 had been some talk about the prospects of 
 the colony; "and I trust," he continued, 
 "that there will be no serious disappoint- 
 ments." 
 
 "Well, I've never promised anybody that 
 he 'd ever make a dollar where I 'm takin' 
 
 75 
 
3ln SlfEair in tht ^outl) ^eafi 
 
 the company," returned Captain Swanson; 
 " and if there 's a fellow aboard who thinks 
 it 's a land of gold nuggets or greenbacks, 
 he 's been dreaming, — that 's all there is 
 to it. And do you know what we '11 have to 
 do with that sort of people ? Take 'em back 
 and get 'em a new set of brains, or set 'em 
 down to the same old treadmills again." 
 
 " May I ask," timidly returned the clergy- 
 man, "what is the highest reward the 
 average man may expect, if your fondest 
 hopes should come true ? " 
 
 "Just what I 've promised," answered 
 Swanson; "which is a sweet pump and a 
 warm bed, — two of the things money buys, 
 eh? Then they '11 get food and clothing — 
 which they'll need very little of — cheaper 
 than they ever got 'em, 'and without doubt, 
 defalcation, or discount,' as the old notes of 
 hand used to run. Now, parson, do you 
 think any of us '11 worry much about winter 
 fuel, or that there '11 be much of a struggle 
 for bread in the land of bread-fruit, where 
 times loosen up if a fellow gives any stray 
 tree a good shaking?" 
 
 76 
 
at Bifl:l)t of ^ovxavti 
 
 *' Really, I had n't thought of it in just 
 that light," murmured the clergyman; " and 
 I'm beginning to see that you are quite a 
 political economist, after all." 
 
 "A what!" exclaimed the Captain; — 
 " I 'm nothin' of the sort ; I 'm only an 
 old sea captain who 's kept up a thinkin' 
 betimes. Look here I If an old beach- 
 comber never goes to bed hungry, — unless 
 he's too drunk to eat, — and if every old 
 Kanaka can set on his naked haunches with 
 his belly full, why can't we all have plenty, 
 especially with good farmers among us, with 
 tons of seeds, with the latest and best agri- 
 cultural implements, and all sorts of Yankee 
 inventions ? Can you tell me ? " 
 
 The minister made no reply, except to 
 throw up his hands, as if to say he was 
 satisfied. But Swanson was full of talk; so 
 he continued, " I 'm wound up now, and I 
 might as well rattle out some more of my 
 ideas, — but I 'd like to ask the Judge, here, 
 what he calls wealth, anyhow." 
 
 Judge Davis filled his brow with judicial 
 wrinkles before venturing upon an answer; 
 
 77 
 
^n Affair in t^t ^otttl) ^eas 
 
 then he said: "Well, that 's a sort of puz- 
 zler; but I guess you 'd call it an abundance 
 of useful things. A man with plenty of 
 needful goods would certainly be pretty 
 prosperous, or at least a long way from 
 pauperism, even if he had no gold." 
 
 The Captain was pleased with the defini- 
 tion, so he appropriated it, and wove it 
 around his island with considerable inge- 
 nuity, until it seemed to fit the conditions 
 the colonists were to meet. 
 
 "Wealth's what's good and useful," said 
 he ; "a good climate, good roads, seas full 
 of fish, rich soil, timber-lands. How 's 
 that for an offhand list? Well, just wait 
 till you get to my island, which the chart 
 shows is not far away 1 Why, bless you, 
 men are suckled by nature in these South 
 Seas, just like a babe at its mother's breast ; 
 so it 's no wonder that a lot of people stick to 
 the beach like sand-crabs." 
 
 " In such a country there must be plenty 
 of leisure for fine dreaming," I suggested. 
 
 "Yes, if you 've got nothing better to 
 do," replied the Captain. 
 
 78 
 
^ iBiff|)t of pQvvoxii 
 
 "I guess the people get pretty lazy," 
 added Judge Davis. 
 
 ** Not if they 've got brains in their skulls, 
 and don't lay drunk," added the Captain; 
 " for the natives are spry enough to run one 
 another's chiefs down and get them into the 
 boiling-pots ; and a white 's all right, if 
 he '11 stay sober, and keep quiet till he gets 
 'climated." 
 
 "Did you ever know any great activity 
 among the whites down there ? " I asked. 
 
 " Activity ! You bet your last dollar," 
 he answered; *'and the island traders are 
 regular Yankees, as pert as hawks; they get 
 rich swindlin' the natives and doin' up 
 tenderfeet. But there ^s others that do a 
 good deal of work. Why, I 've seen fellows 
 writin' story-books down there, in some of 
 the islands, and professors gathering herbs, 
 and once, some artists sweatin' like niggers, 
 in spite of the palm trees. '^ 
 
 "Well," chimed in the minister, "I sup- 
 pose we shall all have a chance for medita- 
 tion, and I'm rejoicing over the prospect 
 of seeing men look up from their treadmill 
 
 79 
 
2ln Affair in t^t ^mth ^eas 
 
 tasks, and I hope to see them turning their 
 thoughts to the Creator of all the gifts that 
 the new life brings them." 
 
 I thought it was now time to expound, so 
 I turned to the company and said, " I have 
 often wondered why wealthy men become 
 slaves to their callings. You may see them 
 toiling away as if they expected to live a 
 thousand years, piling up more and more, — 
 and I don't envy them at all." 
 
 ** But you 'd like to have their millions, 
 just the same," returned Judge Davis. 
 
 "Only that I might the better carry out 
 my ideas of justice and duty to my fellow- 
 men, and develop my own character along 
 rational lines," I- replied ; " for a man 
 hitched to his fortune, just for the sake 
 of the miserly worship of money, is but 
 another variety of slave, and just as abnor- 
 mal as the one narrowed by poverty. It is 
 a misfortune to regard wealth as a goal to 
 be fought for, as if it were a ticket to 
 immortality. But you have set me adrift 
 from my purpose 1 What I wanted to say 
 is this: the very best things in life do 
 
a Bi^lit of l)orr0rB 
 
 not require money, — at least, not much; for 
 example, the wonders of sleep, the joys of 
 health, the glory of creation, — these lie at 
 the very feet of the humblest." 
 
 "That's the way to put it," said the 
 Captain, "and we want more of that sort 
 of talk." 
 
 "Well, I get wound up sometimes my- 
 self," I returned; "and it's a comforting 
 thought that the stars shed their splendid 
 beauties upon the average man's path as 
 freely as upon the highway of princes. A 
 modest income will supply all that is good 
 and great, for the chief blessing is poured 
 upon us at birth, — I mean the great gift of 
 life itself." 
 
 Doctor Saville carried the thought into 
 more poetic realms. "Into each life may 
 fall the glories of love," he said, "the 
 pleasures of sweet air, the splendors of sun- 
 set and dawn. It requires no millions to 
 unlock the heart or thrill the soul. Don't 
 the actor and orator move rich and poor 
 alike? and don't books open their secret 
 chests and pour their treasures into the lap 
 
 81 
 
9ln affair in t^t ^natl) ^eas 
 
 of the poorest mechanic as freely as into 
 that of the bank president?" 
 
 "Yes; and the gods of fable assumed a 
 common form," said Judge Davis. "Odin 
 lived in a hut. The simplicity of the great 
 is an old story." 
 
 " Christ was born in a manger," added 
 the Reverend Charles, " and the Son of man 
 had not where to lay his head." 
 
 "Leaving the gods and demi-gods to 
 themselves for a moment," said Randolph, 
 "what's a fellow to do if he's busy ten to 
 twelve hours a day trying to get food for 
 his kids ? Do you think he 's got much of 
 a chance with books and actors ?" 
 
 Captain Swanson's reply ended the dis- 
 cussion, for the gong sounded for dinner, 
 and our nipping appetites hurried us to 
 the table. "We'll have no long hours or 
 slavish tasks," he said, as we started for the 
 meal; "for it's to run away from toil and 
 moil, and injustice, and throat-cutting that 
 we're heading for my little Eden." 
 
 Though the day had broken clear and 
 remained calm, there was a kind of trouble 
 
 82 
 
^ Bi5!)t of {)otrorfi; 
 
 upon the sea when we returned from din- 
 ner, and a note of warning rose in the 
 soughing breeze and moaned in the rig- 
 ging; so that in spite of the brightness 
 there was a hint of wildness in the 
 sky, through which flecks of high clouds 
 darted with the swiftness of carrier-pigeons. 
 The glass foretold a serious change in the 
 weather. There w^as a trace of worry in 
 the Captain's face, and the growing rough- 
 ness of the sea threatened to render the 
 decks too sloppy for further discussions of 
 social problems. 
 
 With something akin to the instinct of 
 fowl, the Captain divined trouble ahead, 
 though he merely said, *'The sea's kicking 
 up a nasty mess," as he scanned the horizon 
 with his binoculars, and took the deck 
 from the second officer. 
 
 Within an hour we were spanking with 
 a wild dash before a heavy sea. The 
 Captain's face grew more and more anxious, 
 and the men spun the wheel with increasing 
 difficulty, glancing often into the rough seas 
 behind us, which rose rapidly to the danger 
 
 83 
 
2La aiffair in tU ^outlj ^easi 
 
 line. To add to the alarm, the barometer 
 now fell fast, and the wind mounted to such 
 a pitch that the decks were soon awash. 
 Kites and topsails were taken in, and other 
 canvas was reduced by reefing ; but the 
 billows became so wild that many were 
 seized with great terror, and we were bat- 
 tened in for the first time on the voyage, — 
 the first experience of many at sea. Even 
 the Captain and his sailors were nervous ; 
 for it was plain that if the wind should rise 
 much higher, the straining canvas would 
 carry away, and there would be danger of 
 swamping. Fortunately, the gale grew no 
 stronger, though it continued for some 
 hours with considerable velocity and much 
 booming of heavy seas ; but the Rosalie 
 held her own, darting through the tempest 
 unharmed, and it was a great relief when 
 we were allowed more freedom. 
 
 The night fell dark and wild, but the 
 sea ran no higher. At dusk the sky was 
 full of flying clouds, and by nine o'clock 
 everything was as black as ebony ; the 
 men were up and stirring all over the ship, 
 
 84 
 
^ ^islit of forrorg 
 
 colonists as well as sailors. Captain Sv/an- 
 son had been on deck ever since the storm 
 struck us, his manner grave from the 
 moment the binnacle-lamp was lighted be- 
 fore the wheel. He looked upon the com- 
 pass-boxes often to see how the ship was 
 headed, considered his chart, and said to 
 me as I passed, "We 've only a few more 
 nights before we 're at the end of our voy- 
 age." 
 
 Scarcely had he finished the sentence 
 when there was a cry from aloft, " There 's 
 a strange light ahead, sir!" 
 
 The Captain wiped his glasses, and 
 searched the horizon in vain ; there was 
 not a beam visible, but a few minutes later 
 there came a faint lightness out of the far- 
 away sky, and it grew so fast that it soon 
 lit the horizon, and when it was fuller 
 grown, a kind of sheen fell over the sea. 
 
 " It 's bearing dead ahead, sir ! " repeated 
 the vigil, "and looks as if it might be a 
 ship afire." 
 
 "Then she 's running dead before the 
 wind," said the Captain. 
 
 85 
 
^n Slffair in tl)e ^otttl) ^eas 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir," returned the watch. 
 
 The light increased gradually, like a 
 rising moon ; and it grew larger and more 
 lurid as time wore on, until finally the 
 entire sea was illumined by the strange 
 spectacle of a burning ship in that wdld 
 waste of waters. A long path of light 
 stretched between us and the floating fur- 
 nace, which was now seen rising in lurid 
 outline, and the next moment lost behind 
 leaping seas that danced and roared ahead. 
 With incredible swiftness that phantom of 
 flame plowed through the wild, dark night, 
 until finally our Captain began to alter 
 his course, to make sure of dodging her 
 at a safe distance. Not a«detail of the scene 
 escaped his watchful eye. 
 
 While the spectacle was a mystery, it 
 was the last thought of anybody that a 
 man or rat survived on that dreadful dere- 
 lict, which it seemed must long before have 
 become the charnel-house and crematory 
 of every creature she had carried. 
 
 Imagine our bewilderment and the dia- 
 bolical horror of the sight, when we beheld 
 
 86 
 
a Biffl^t of 5)orrorfi 
 
 figures moving upon the quarter-deck, by 
 the time we had come within about a 
 third of a mile of the burning ship. Some 
 of the dark forms appeared to move sud- 
 denly toward the vessel's waist, as if to 
 launch boats ; but they wilted like leaves 
 in a furnace, and their lives went out while 
 we gazed with horror upon the scene. Six 
 or eight men survived, however, and they 
 were huddled upon the quarter-deck, which 
 was evidently kept cool enough for human 
 habitation by running dead before the wind; 
 for, in spite of the great fire, which was 
 probably a vast quantity of burning oil, 
 the upper sails were whole and drawing. 
 
 On before the wind the condemned ship 
 darted, her wings of flame leaping higher 
 and higher into the blackness, until at last 
 her topsails vanished like wisps of paper, 
 leaving the poor wretches to the flames and 
 stormy seas. But we were powerless to give 
 aid ; for no boat could have lived in such 
 seas as then raged, even if the flying palace 
 of fire could have been checked or over- 
 taken in her desperate race before the gale. 
 
 87 
 
^n 9lffair in tU ^out^ ^cas 
 
 Fortunately for our nerves, the storm 
 somewhat abated, though both gale and 
 waves remained high enough to give us 
 a good taste of the rough side of sea-voy- 
 aging. Everywhere there were extra pre- 
 cautions for safety, and a double watch held 
 vigil ; many colonists were such thorough 
 landsmen that they were overcome with 
 fears of disaster, and so afraid of horrors 
 of the sea that they could not sleep. 
 
 I soon accustomed myself to conditions ; 
 became as comfortable as possible, and gave 
 little heed to the weather. In time, being 
 wholly free from seasickness, I rather en- 
 joyed the rhythmic booming and swashing 
 of heavy seas against the iron sides of the 
 ship, which now and then quivered under 
 the blows, as I lay listening to the "chung- 
 a-lung-a-boom-chung " refrain of the waves. 
 I was lying thus about midnight, in a sort 
 of light slumber, when I was awakened 
 suddenly, as if some one had seized me 
 wdth violence ; the ship quivered, the lamps 
 danced, and consternation reigned. My 
 first thought was that we had either struck 
 
 88 
 
^ Biffl)t of ^orrorfi 
 
 a rock or a hidden reef, or had run upon 
 another ship in the blackness of the noisy 
 night. It was a moment of such wildness 
 and fear that the memory of it is a dis- 
 turbance of the nerves. 
 
 I hastened to the deck in my pajamas, 
 followed by men in all sorts of undress 
 and in all stages of fright ; but their eager 
 questions were lost in the sound of the sea 
 and the roaring of the wind. The third 
 officer saw us, and knew we were stirred 
 by a panic of fear ; so he bawled out in a 
 firm, assuring tone, " There 's no danger, 
 men ! we 've only struck a dead whale." 
 
 But for the glancing blow, the softness 
 of the obstacle, and the mercy of God, this 
 jar would have cost us our masts. 
 
 The pungent odor of rank blubber and 
 escaping gases from the mountain of car- 
 cass drove every man to his bunk. The 
 spongy blubber, like a thousand-ton cush- 
 ion of India-rubber, had saved us from 
 damage ; hundreds of barrels of oil escap- 
 ing from the leviathan made the sea calmer; 
 and the ship was soon free of that island 
 
 89 
 
9ln Mair in t()e ^otttb^^eas 
 
 of decomposing flesh. Thus ended the sec- 
 ond horror of the night, and the Eosalie was 
 soon set in her course again. 
 
 It was far toward morning before the 
 ship's company grew quiet; but, strange 
 as it may appear, that serenity was to be 
 disturbed by a yet more thrilling and 
 mysterious occurrence than either of those 
 that had broken our rest. 
 
 Most of us were asleep when the third 
 event of the night occurred, — but enough 
 were awake to give prompt aid to the crew. 
 The previous awakenings had left men's 
 nerves tuned to concert pitch, and they 
 were ready for action the moment of alarm. 
 
 The wind was still quite boisterous, and 
 the sea was raging, when I first heard 
 a commotion on deck, — the shuffling of 
 mariners' feet above me, the voices of men, 
 and the cry of the lookout that a ship was 
 bearing down upon us. I hastened to the 
 deck, where my eye at once caught sight 
 of a ship's port light. The tempest had 
 abated somewhat, but a great sea was still 
 running. 
 
 90 
 
31 Biviht of |)orror6 
 
 "I don't like the way she acts," said 
 Officer O'Fallon to the second mate, "and 
 you 'd better wake the Captain and order 
 up a few men with Springfields." 
 
 The order was given quickly, and six men 
 appeared, equipped for battle. 
 
 "What's up?" I asked, as soon as I could 
 quietly drop a question to O'Fallon. 
 
 " It may be nothing," he said ; then 
 softer, "and it may be pirates. Anyhow, 
 I don't like the way she 's gone about and 
 headed for us." 
 
 In a few minutes, while O'Fallon stood 
 watching, the pirate's headway was checked, 
 and a sound of cursing broke upon us. 
 It issued from a boat that had been lowered 
 from the approaching ship, which had made 
 no signals, either of friendly office or of 
 distress. The boat was evidently manned 
 by desperadoes ; and, by their curses, they 
 feared neither God nor foul weather, — 
 much less anybody aboard a ship which 
 they mistook, doubtless, for a little island 
 trader. Their shouts and curses rose 
 higher as they pulled nearer to us, and this 
 
 91 
 
^n Affair in tf)e ^Dutl) ^eas 
 
 led to the thought that they were surely 
 both drunk and bent on mischief. 
 
 "Boat ahoy! What boat is that?" thun- 
 dered the second officer, through the ship's 
 largest megaphone, his magnified voice car- 
 rying above the noises of the sea. 
 
 By this time the approaching boat was 
 near enough for us to descry the rogues 
 plainly, for the moon now and then broke 
 through rifts in a wild sky. There were 
 eight disorderly rowers in the boat, all 
 carrying belts with weapons ; by them sat 
 others, with cutlasses and rifles. They made 
 no answer, but rowed sturdily, as if to come 
 alongside and board us by surprise. 
 
 *'If you come closer, you do so at your 
 peril ! " roared the megaphone. 
 
 Their answer was a ringing shot that 
 grazed the roundhouse ; and another fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 " Fire ! " commanded Swanson, whereupon 
 there was the sharp report of six Spring- 
 fields. 
 
 Three of the eight wilted at their oars, 
 one evidently dead, the others groaning in 
 
 92 
 
91 Bisbt of |)orrnrfi( 
 
 great pain. Those who were able turned 
 suddenly and made for their own vessel. 
 
 " If piracy 's her game, we '11 give her 
 hell," he said; *'but don't fire on the poor 
 devils in the boat, unless they bother us 
 again." 
 
 In less than five minutes one of the 
 Maxims was trained on the lights of the 
 pirate ship, — but there was no reply. If 
 the captain of that outlaw of the sea did 
 not think he had overhauled a man-of- 
 war, it was only because our trim Rosalie 
 lacked the bulk and shape of one of those 
 great fighting-machines ; and if he ever ran 
 up the colors of the Jolly Roger again, it 
 must have been after many holes were well 
 calked, and at a moment when he felt sure 
 of his quarry. 
 
 Whether the wretches in that tiny boat 
 of prey, with their dead and dying, ever 
 reached the mother-ship, or whether they 
 were left by her to be swamped, with their 
 black hearts in their wicked breasts, and 
 their foul oaths upon them like a plague, 
 we never knew ; for we caught no further 
 
 93 
 
9Ln Affair in tl)e ^atttl) ^cag 
 
 glimpse of their pestiferous and venture- 
 some cockle. But one vision rises plainly 
 from that night of vivid pictures : it is that 
 of a pirate ship scudding away from us in 
 the broken moonlight, — with the sound of 
 fifty or more ringing farewell shots from the 
 Maxim ranging after her as she hurried on, 
 her course marked a safe distance off our 
 starboard bow. 
 
 94 
 
Wit EeacI) ^toUia 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WE REACH ATOLLIA. 
 
 MORNING dawned so clear, and with a 
 sky so beautiful, that it was difficult 
 to realize the wildness that had enveloped 
 the night. But for the rhythmic southwest- 
 ern swell, there remained not a trace of the 
 storm, and the forenoon was a delight. 
 
 We knew from the Captain's noon obser- 
 vations, and by the spirit that kindled a 
 new light in his eyes, that we were near- 
 ing the gateway to a world of wonders ; 
 and we were thrilled with the prospects 
 of discovery as we drew close to the shores 
 of our new world. Clouds to landward 
 began to bank ahead of us, painted in 
 various hues ; and the charmed port that 
 had cost a long and patient cruise now 
 lay close at hand. 
 
 95 
 
^n Affair ta tl)e ^outl) ^eass 
 
 I cannot find language to tell of the joy 
 we felt at sight of the blessed land, after 
 so many weeks of sunshine and storm 
 upon a vacant sea ; but the words of the 
 ancient legend of India came into my 
 mind, "that the first men ate of the earth, 
 and found it deliciously sweet." 
 
 Our company yearned for the touch of 
 the fragrant earth ; and when the land 
 breeze blew in our faces, resinous with 
 the smell of wild growing things, I was 
 eager to go ashore. Beyond the breach of 
 the coral reef, just at the curve of the 
 land, smoke curled skyward, as if a large 
 part of the people had camp-fires near the 
 shore. Here was an outlook that stimu- 
 lated the fancy, — the prospect of dealings 
 with queer, childlike races ; the people 
 would be strange, and their tongues would 
 be as foreign as if they had got their lan- 
 guage fresh from Mars. 
 
 It was still early afternoon when the coast 
 of our island first loomed ahead, "heaving 
 up in peaks and rising vales," like an ever- 
 green platform in the distance, with peeps 
 
 96 
 
Wit EeacI) ^tollia 
 
 of mountain and hints of tropical luxuri- 
 ance, that sent the blood coursing with the 
 vigor of youth. 
 
 "There!'' said Captain Swanson," there's 
 Atollia, beyond the opening in the reef. 
 "VVe 've been sighted, I guess. Try the 
 glasses, and you '11 see the bamboo houses." 
 
 I seized the binoculars, and the creation 
 that had glimmered like a heap of blurred 
 images in a haze loomed clear beyond the 
 surf. The roofs of bamboo houses lifted 
 above the crest of foam, and I caught a 
 peep of human dwellings among straggling 
 palms. 
 
 Joy filled every heart. It was seen in 
 the relaxation of men's faces, — all smiling 
 and at peace with the world ; some point- 
 ing and explaining; others entranced over 
 the prospect that had risen so suddenly, 
 as if each were a Columbus on the brink 
 of discovery. Doctor Saville and Judge 
 Davis were as excited as children. 
 
 By the time we had reduced sail, the 
 wind fell to a gentle land breeze. The 
 hour was one of unmixed rejoicing and 
 
 97 
 
9lu 9lffair in t\)t ^mtb ^faai 
 
 curiosity. We had come to the one safe 
 and inviting entrance to a calm, reef- 
 locked lagoon ; but on both sides of this 
 quiet gateway the sea bellowed, throwing 
 a mist that hung like a cloud of steam 
 far above the cannonading of the surf. 
 
 Soon after the first peep of the land 
 that w^as to play so important a part in 
 our affairs, we gained the entrance that 
 led to the shores of Atollia ; it was a haven 
 as quiet as the lee of most islands, and 
 the calm fell upon us with great sudden- 
 ness. By heading through a blue streak 
 of peaceful sea and taking in sail we were 
 quickly at anchor in six fathoms of water. 
 The sails were closely bound to the yards, 
 the boats were overhauled, and there was a 
 busy stir among the crew, who put things 
 in shape for a long stay. 
 
 " The Rosalie 's as safe in this landlocked 
 harbor as a child in its mother's arms," 
 said Swanson ; " and the Kanakas used to 
 tell me that their grandfathers could not 
 remember when there was ever any trouble 
 in these waters." 
 
tmt Ecacf) ^tolUa 
 
 "And I hope we '11 be as safe ashore as 
 the ship is here," I returned, sounding our 
 leader. 
 
 *'No danger whatever, if you'll do as I 
 do," he replied ; " for I understand the 
 people and their customs." 
 
 *'Here comes a boat," said O'Fallon; 
 "and she's heading for us." 
 
 Sure enough, right from the direction 
 of that breeze, that smelt of wildwoods, a 
 trim boat was darting toward us ; it was 
 manned by active oarsmen, whose brown 
 skins glistened like statues of polished lava. 
 Island-like, they were naked, but for loin- 
 cloths of tapa and the cloak-like illusion 
 of tattooed designs. 
 
 It was fully a mile to shore, but there 
 was an audible hubbub among the natives ; 
 it came to us on the breeze, and sounds 
 of the tumult fell upon our ears. 
 
 "There's no danger in their cackling," 
 said the Captain, " for they 're as curious 
 as monkeys, and there '11 be as many here 
 as can get boats." 
 
 I clapped a spy-glass to my eye and 
 
 99 
 
^n Affair in ilit ^outl) ^eas 
 
 saw many of the brown-skins embarking. 
 It was plain we were in for a pile of visi- 
 tors. 
 
 "Is it a good sign?" I asked. 
 
 *' Yes," returned Swanson ; " for if we 
 were tapu, not a devil of them would draw 
 near ; and if they only signal for friend- 
 ship, all 's as right as right can be." 
 
 It was not long before the rhythmic 
 stroking of many paddles brought the first 
 boat within a couple of hundred yards 
 of us. 
 
 *' She 's a bird of a thirty-footer," said 
 O'Fallon ; and the men clustered forward 
 to see the natives in their large canoe. 
 
 Presently up shot a bamboo pole from 
 the approaching boat, and the wind whipped 
 a streak of white cloth at the top of it, — a 
 milky streamer. 
 
 " That 's their tapa sign of welcome," 
 said Swanson, "and I'll answer them in 
 the same language." 
 
 So, right before our eyes, the old man 
 pulled at a telescopic, cane-looking affair, 
 until its joints had lengthened like a long 
 
 100 
 
Wit Ecacb 9lt0lUa 
 
 bamboo fishing-rod. From his pocket he 
 whipped out a folded tapa sheet as thin 
 as paper and as tough as silk, — something 
 he must have carried for years. With a 
 sudden twirl it was unfurled ; in another 
 twinkling it was waving aloft like a ban- 
 ner. 
 
 Leaning over the rail, the old man swung 
 it three times. His signaling was answered 
 by a similar wave, and in a moment the 
 visitors were fairly upon us, — as brown 
 and muscular fellows as ever grew. 
 
 "Alofa ! " cried Swanson, with many like 
 soft words of friendly island welcoming, — 
 and they were answered with much spirit. 
 
 Like a flash, every fellow (except one to 
 attend the boat) sprang into the sea and 
 began to swim for us like fish. There was 
 no distrust, but the greatest confidence. 
 The swimmers threw their arms in the 
 freest manner imaginable, and were soon 
 piling over one another upon the deck. 
 They surrounded the Captain, delighted 
 and amazed that he knew their tonofue. 
 He motioned them to be seated ; and they 
 
 ]01 
 
3lii Affair in tl)e ^outl) ^cas 
 
 fell upon their naked haunches in the shade. 
 Unaccustomed as they were to our manners, 
 they were surprised at those of us who sat 
 on stools. 
 
 "I am going to talk to our visitors and 
 explain what this expedition 's drivin' at," 
 said the Captain, clipping his final "g's," 
 as he did often under excitement ; " and I 
 want every man to treat them first-class, — 
 that is, with the greatest courtesy. Some 
 of 'em are the same as kings." 
 
 " How are we to show our feelings ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 " By keeping still until my speech is 
 over," he said, "and then by showing 
 them the sHip, and treatin' them as kindly 
 as if they were your best friends. If they 
 offer a gift, take it, or they '11 be mad ; but 
 don't try to pay anything, or you '11 insult 
 them terribly." 
 
 The Captain then explained, in a fluent 
 ten minutes' talk in Atollian, that we were 
 not traders nor missionaries, such as had 
 harassed the people and devastated the 
 other islands ; that we had left our homes 
 
 102 
 
ffltc Hcacl) ^ttoUia 
 
 because he had told us of the pleasant life 
 and interesting people of Atollia ; that we 
 had brought many good things for planting 
 and breeding, and for pleasures like fishing 
 and hunting, as they should see ; and finally, 
 that we hoped to settle in the island and 
 become their allies and brothers, joint ten- 
 ants of the land. 
 
 There was some further talk, and at its 
 close a shaven-headed old fellow, who 
 proved to be Taipu, the principal chief 
 and ruler of the island, arose and replied 
 that he thought well of our mission. He 
 also said that our coming was not unex- 
 pected, for one of his wives had seen a 
 shark of strange color in her dreams ; it 
 spoke an unknown tongue ; its tail was 
 of the color of bleached tapa-cloth, — and 
 the omen was good. 
 
 "Few men of your race have ever come 
 to our islands," was Swanson's translation 
 of the chief's words ; " but some of us re- 
 member your chief, though we were little 
 boys in that day. As a rule, those who 
 have touched here have never gone away; 
 
 103 
 
Sttt Affair in tl^t ^outl) ^eag 
 
 the palm groves have shaded them until 
 their hair became of the color of foam, 
 and they have died among their children, 
 with the south wind in their faces, by the 
 music of the waves. The coral waxes, the 
 palm grows, but man departs by the gates 
 of death.'' 
 
 There was more of such talk, after which 
 there was a lively bobbing of shaven heads 
 in consultation. The chiefs had our case 
 (and the old wife's dream, no doubt) under 
 advisement. Returning to our part of the 
 deck at the end of some ten minutes' 
 talk, the elder chief spoke briefly again, 
 extending his arms as if to embrace us 
 within their clasp, — a rare gesture of hos- 
 pitality. 
 
 Though none of the colonists ever had 
 set foot on South Sea soil, and though 
 none ever had held dealings with native 
 races, all felt the sincerity of the welcome. 
 
 "You may share our cocoa-palms and 
 bread-fruit," he said; "and all the colors 
 of the rainbows are yours. When the sea 
 makes its music on the reef, and when 
 
 104 
 
®me EeacI; ^tollia 
 
 the wild bird sings, it will be an ode of 
 welcome to our land." 
 
 The old fellow then uttered a grunt, 
 which was responded to by the entire com- 
 pany of large-eyed Polynesians as if it 
 were an amen. Their luminous glances fell 
 upon us with the sincerity of a benedic- 
 tion. 
 
 " Show 'em the ship, and give 'em a 
 hearty welcome ! " said Swanson ; and we 
 fell to the pleasant task of hospitality with 
 unlimited good will. We had not gone far 
 in our demonstrations vfhen the chief sig- 
 naled that other boats were coming. Then 
 he nudged one of his men, who produced 
 a young cocoanut as mysteriously as if he 
 had been a juggler. With a long knife 
 the nut was severed, and the juice was 
 divided equally in the halves, which served 
 as cups. 
 
 Taipu then handed one cup to Captain 
 Swanson, and, lifting the other to his lips, 
 made a soft speech. Its substance was ex- 
 plained to be a sacred pledge of friendship. 
 
 By this time four other boats had arrived, 
 
 105 
 
9lii 9lftair in t!)e ^mtb ^eafi 
 
 and their men vied with one another to 
 swim to the ship and climb aboard. They 
 were as eager as children, and when their 
 predecessors explained the situation, the 
 heartiness of our native friends' welcome 
 was signified by the sound of many voices. 
 
 Down we went into the hold, the islanders 
 follov/ing. They kept close to Swanson and 
 plied him with questions. Our stores of good 
 things impressed them as a floating harvest, 
 and their queries as to the origin of this 
 and that were boundless. Coming to the 
 deck again, the natives halted, and were 
 charmed with the compartment in which 
 our live-stock dwelt. The swine (favorite 
 of all South Sea morsels) caught their eyes, 
 and they lingered with joy upon the sight 
 of such porkers as they never before had 
 seen, — gigantic Berkshires, dignified and 
 tame specimens of hog-culture, wandering 
 fat and tempting in their pens. Chief 
 Taipu sat admiring the hogs with as much 
 fervor as a connoisseur brings to the sam- 
 pling of a favorite vintage. 
 
 "Take your choice," said Swanson; "for 
 
 106 
 
mit Eeacl) Sttollia 
 
 to each chief is due a large hog, — to bind 
 the friendship." 
 
 The eyes of the chiefs beamed, and again 
 the shaven heads fell to consulting. Finally 
 old Taipu modestly chose a small pig. 
 
 The choice was overruled by Swanson, 
 however, who pointed to one of the noblest 
 of the swill-eaters, saying it was Taipu's 
 property. The native aristocrat gave way 
 to the Captain's choice with becoming 
 dignity. 
 
 Five or six of our handiest men helped 
 the chief's servitors to throw a stiff line 
 around TaijDu's magnificent animal, after 
 which two of the best sows remaining 
 were chosen by the two lesser chiefs, rulers 
 of small provinces. The Captain's first se- 
 lection was conducive to breeding, as he 
 explained to the Atollians. 
 
 To make the measure full, two goodly 
 sized shoats were given to Taipu for a feast, 
 — "to be eaten in memory of our love." 
 
 True to island etiquette, the gifts were 
 not refused ; and there was joy when the 
 five presents were lowered into native boats. 
 
 107 
 
sin Affair in tl^t ^autl) ^eag 
 
 The oarsmen were off at a dart, and we 
 learned later that the swine were quartered 
 in an unoccupied bamboo house, where 
 the women and children of the village fed 
 them bread-fruit and young cocoanuts, 
 which were devoured with relish. 
 
 Chief Taipu and his servants remained 
 for half an hour, smoking and chatting 
 with Swanson. All were fine specimens of 
 manhood, the thews and sinews of even 
 the oldest bearing evidences of vigor and 
 athletic training ; and this was not singular, 
 when it is considered that sports are be- 
 lieved to be of the gods, for which reason 
 games of strength and feats of skill form 
 part of the religious ceremonials of Poly- 
 nesian tribes. 
 
 The natives' bodies were tattooed in 
 strange characters, most of them hideous 
 in our sight, though greatly admired by 
 the Atollians. Among the figures, those of 
 sharks abounded ; but this was not to be 
 wondered at, when it is remembered that 
 sharks always had been regarded as gods 
 by the strange men who stood before us. 
 
 lOS 
 
Wit Eeacb ^ttollia 
 
 During Swanson's talk with Taipu, tlie 
 gentle savage remarked that his people had 
 been sorely pressed by their enemies, and 
 that cannibal invaders had within a month 
 feasted on one or two of AtoUia's favorite 
 sons and two women, the captives being 
 led to the sea and drowned by those in 
 charge of the feast. Though the victims 
 knew what was to be done, they had not 
 resisted, but had allowed themselves to be 
 held under the water. Such is the contempt 
 in which death is held by the islanders, 
 that they become stoics the moment they 
 hear the rustling wings of the dark angel. 
 
 The Atollians had been routed frequently 
 by superior forces, and the invaders had 
 carried the advantage of deadly steel- 
 pointed arrows. Many of the chief's people 
 had been killed, many badly wounded ; 
 some had been driven far back into the 
 bush, among the spirits of the wood. Con- 
 sidering the native fear of ghosts, and the 
 many traditions of malign spirits roaming 
 in the forests, the enemy must have made 
 itself felt with great force. 
 
 109 
 
^n Mair in t\)t ^outl) ^cas 
 
 "We have weapons that will kill all 
 mortal enemies," explained Swanson, "and 
 when our man-killers send forth deadly 
 volleys, they roar like the^voices of devils." 
 
 The chief shuddered at this description 
 of Maxims and six-pounders, and the Cap- 
 tain promised to explain the mysteries of 
 his great machines of war as soon as there 
 was an opportunity ashore. 
 
 "You may tell your warriors," said the 
 subtle Captain, " that the men in the great 
 ship have weapons big enough to kill all 
 your enemies, and that no mortals can 
 approach to do us harm during battle ; for 
 these guns search out the enemy at long 
 distances, killing bunches of men as if 
 they were flies. Our guns will also tear 
 up trees and frighten the evil spirits away." 
 
 We gave the chiefs a rousing farewell, 
 a loving and heart-felt cry of "Alofa!" 
 just as they sprang into the sea to swim 
 to their boat. Half a dozen fine chickens, 
 their legs tied with twine, were handed to 
 the visitors as they departed. Care had 
 been taken to select good specimens of the 
 
 no 
 
Wit Eeacl) ^toUia 
 
 whitest birds, white being the native omen 
 of good luck. To have given a thing of 
 bad import — improper in color or form — 
 would have been an unfortunate spoiling 
 of a day well begun. 
 
 Ill 
 
^n ^tffair in t\)t ^autl) i^eas 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WELCOMED BY CHIEFS, 
 
 BEFORE the pink of dawn had grown 
 golden with the shafts of a tropical 
 sun the next morning, we were astir^ eager 
 for debarkation. The ship had been our 
 continent for so long, carrying us to vary- 
 ing climates over the heaving main, that 
 all were anxious to lose our sea-legs and 
 accustom our eyes to the firm-set earth 
 once more ; and when we gazed landward, 
 there was enchantment in the prospect. 
 Of course our imaginations painted a halo 
 there ; but there also existed the back- 
 ground of reality, — a substantial land, fit 
 for any white man's home, and the hand- 
 somest scenery in the world to frame it in. 
 Soon there was a splendid sun, which 
 bathed the coast in the soft lights of early 
 
 112 
 
WLtltomtn bj) CI;ieffii 
 
 morning; and a refreshing trade fell upon 
 us as we looked longingly toward Atollia, 
 preparing to leave the Rosalie for the land 
 where we were to find life marvelous and 
 the habits of men interesting. With the 
 aid of the Captain's binoculars I could 
 see that giant cocoa -palms fringed the 
 shore to the left of the landing ; and at 
 my first peep I beheld many islanders 
 plunging into the surf for their morning 
 bath. 
 
 The Captain gave orders for two boats 
 to be made ready for landing ; soon after, 
 a cabin-boy brought word that Swanson 
 wanted to see me. 
 
 "Sit down, Iladley," he said ; "for there's 
 planning to be done." 
 
 " I 'm at your service," I returned, and 
 sat down. 
 
 "Well," he resumed, "there's ticklish 
 business ahead, and I want you to go 
 ashore with Saville and me. We 've got 
 to call and pay our respects to Taipu and 
 his chiefs ; for if we 'd land and browse 
 around without that, hell 'd be poppin' 
 
 113 
 
^n Affair in tl)e ^oatj) ^CKti 
 
 very soon. It would n't be proper, — and 
 it'd be damned dangerous." 
 
 "They've got etiquette, then?" I asked. 
 
 "Etiquette? Well, I reckon ! "Why, their 
 manners are something complicated, and 
 it's easy to insult them bad, — but you 
 need n't be scared, for I know them and 
 their manners." 
 
 "Then what disturbs you. Captain?" I 
 asked ; " for you call it ticklish ; how tick- 
 lish?" 
 
 "It's this way," he answered; "they're 
 easy turned by superstition at the start. 
 Why, once I knew an infernal old beach- 
 comber to turn loose and convince a whole 
 tribe that a rival trader was full of devils. 
 He did it by puttin' luminous paint and 
 wind-harps in his enemy's warehouse. And 
 what do you think was the result? Why, 
 I'll be eternally lost if those natives didn't 
 dance around the suspected man like devils, 
 and they tied stones to him, offered up 
 witch-prayers, and cast him into the sea. 
 But unless we make a bad break at the 
 start, or unless some stray trader crops 
 
 114 
 
mitkmtti iip CMefa 
 
 up to put a hoodoo on us, there '11 be no 
 trouble." 
 
 "And we are to land now?" I asked. 
 
 " That 's it. I '11 take O'Fallon, Randolph, 
 Judge Davis, Parson Lovejoy, and you in 
 my boat. She 's a twenty-footer, and we 'd 
 better take a well-armed crew along. We 
 must have our final powwow with the 
 chiefs ; we 've got to make our terms about 
 settlin' here, and stick to what we agree. 
 They 've got some queer laws, — but it would 
 make a monkey laugh if white men had 
 to be too strict about obeyin' them. Then, 
 you know, Americans are all kings, any- 
 how ; and we can soon become a South 
 Sea parliament, and make all the laws that 
 are needed." 
 
 "What kind of a treaty do you expect 
 to get out of them ? " I asked. 
 
 "Pretty near anything I want," he said; 
 "but principally the right to a large part 
 of the lands, — exclusive rights, mind 
 you! — and when we've agreed to treat 
 'em right, it must be understood that no 
 damned Kanaka is to step in our way. We 
 
 115 
 
sin SlfEair in t\)t ^outl) ^cag 
 
 must be for peace, but they 've got to see 
 that we '11 have no tomfoolery. The can- 
 nibal business must stop, and things must 
 go Christian from the start, even if we have 
 to turn on the machine-guns and fill the sea 
 with 'em. That 's the only way to deal 
 with man-eaters." 
 
 For the first time, I now saw the harsh 
 side of our eccentric skipper's character ; 
 and as we walked along the snowy decks 
 of the Rosalie^ I thought how solemnly 
 grizzled and gloomily determined that 
 knotty piece of humanity looked, — with the 
 soft colors of the ship for a contrasting 
 background. Surely, he was bringing the 
 rigid and warlike spirit of the Caesars 
 among men whose fathers had never known 
 Homer or felt the influence of the Sermon 
 on the Mount. 
 
 *' While I expect no sort of trouble," 
 he said, "and while I even look for the 
 rulers to welcome us as friends and 
 brothers, I think it wise to go ashore 
 well armed ; so here 's a loaded revolver 
 for you, and a dozen extra cartridges, — 
 
 116 
 
^i^Ftelcometi lip Cl)iefflS 
 
 and here 's a dagger ! The others have 
 theirs." 
 
 And I was at once made into a sort of 
 walking arsenal. In a few minutes we were 
 running down the ladder and stepping into 
 the Captain's boat ; some of us, who were 
 not accustomed to the water, left the ship 
 timidly. We had scarce got a spinning 
 start when another boat, bearing a dozen 
 seamen and venturesome colonists, followed 
 in our wake. Our boats headed for the 
 only visible landing, — a beautiful opening 
 in the tropical forest ; and as we drew near 
 the shore, where the water was as clear 
 as if it had been distilled for a druggist, 
 the coral and rocks — covered with sea- 
 moss — quivered at the bottom like trem- 
 bling foliage. There must have been four 
 or five fathoms of crystal sea of even depth 
 right up to the white sands of the beach, 
 where the surf broke into singing foam. 
 The background of waving green was as 
 pretty as any picture, — but there were 
 many odors of blooming things, with a peep 
 of deep forests beyond. 
 
 117 
 
sin Affair in tl^e ^outl) i^eafli 
 
 The signal of our coming was made 
 by the first natives who saw us ; but they 
 soon stalked away beyond a cape of woods, 
 and were lost in the shadow of some noble 
 cliffs. It was not long, however, until the 
 green was covered with natives, all early- 
 risen and still wrapped in their night- 
 garments of many-colored tapa. It was 
 an odd sight, to look upon so many brown 
 skins in their clinging robes of sleep. 
 Grown folks and children gathered in great 
 numbers, and before our boats were ready 
 for landing, many willing hands were at the 
 proper spot to give help and welcome. 
 
 "The signs are in our favor," said the 
 Captain ; " for the chiefs have given news 
 of our coming, and the people are evidently 
 friendly." 
 
 A message-bearer approached from a 
 steep hill, carrying a bamboo pole crowned 
 with a flag of tapa ; he ran fast, blowing a 
 ram's horn ; it was a noise and custom of 
 friendly welcome, and we felt at ease. In 
 the calm and all-pervading quiet of the 
 scene, we feasted our eyes upon a place of 
 
 118 
 
gMelcomeJ 6p C|)icf3i 
 
 wonders, and I knew for the first time the 
 full meaning of the old saying, that the 
 first experience can never be repeated, — 
 "The first love, the first sunrise, the first 
 South Sea island, are memories apart, and 
 touched a virginity of sense." 
 
 "Alofa I alofa ! " cried the Captain (fol- 
 lowed by many like greetings, that might 
 have been the language of Saturn, for me), 
 when the tapa-flag bearer had got within 
 hearing distance. 
 
 "I've told the black racehorse to tell 
 his ruler we're here," said Swanson, "and 
 he bids us follow." 
 
 The messenger then accommodated his 
 pace to that of white men, and led us 
 toward a grove of cocoa-palms. It was 
 plain that our coming was regarded as no 
 common affair, for the people fell back as 
 we advanced ; it was not fear, but evidently 
 a wholesome respect for the gravity of the 
 conference. 
 
 A drumming soon fell upon our ears, as 
 of some public music ; and it grew louder 
 as we approached, as if the woods held a 
 
 119 
 
^n Affair in tl)e ^mt\) ^tu6 
 
 corps of musicians, — wild, odd music, but 
 of welcome, not w^ar. 
 
 In some ten minutes we had come to the 
 meeting-place of old Taipu. He was there 
 \^;ith many chiefs, and they greeted us with 
 the friendly grunting common among Atol- 
 lians, bidding us to be seated upon large 
 mats that were spread on the ground. In 
 the manner of trained men the chiefs fell 
 upon their haunches, looking like a batch 
 of tailors at their benches. Thus arranged 
 under the trees, we were ready for the 
 conference that was to decide our future. 
 There was a scent of cooking bread-fruit 
 in the air, and the smell of many delicate 
 flowers. 
 
 A bunch of scarlet hibiscus made a fine 
 background for Taipu, whose tattooed 
 chest rose above it when he stood and 
 waved to a servant. Quicker than the 
 service at the finest hotels, two stalwart 
 young men brought forth a large wooden 
 bowl. It contained a white food, not unlike 
 rice in appearance, — the staple diet of the 
 islanders. In a moment more they came 
 
 120 
 
©EelcomeU lip Cl)ieffi( 
 
 with their arms full of young cocoanuts, 
 and later, with an immense pipe. 
 
 *' Do as I do, men," cried Swanson ; and 
 our eyes fell upon him as if we had been 
 hypnotized. 
 
 In a moment the chiefs butted their 
 heads on the matting, as if to appease their 
 gods. Swanson's grizzled head bumped 
 next, and all of us followed in the devotion. 
 
 Then Taipu dipped his forefinger into 
 the food and ate some of it; the lesser 
 chiefs followed, after which the bowl was 
 placed in front of our Captain, and then 
 passed to us. 
 
 "They eat first as a mark of great polite- 
 ness," said Swanson; "for no Atollian ever 
 offers a guest a dish that he has not first 
 stirred and sampled, to show that it is free 
 of poison." 
 
 We each ate a mouthful or two of the 
 food, after which a young and luscious 
 cocoanut was placed before each of us, — a 
 sort of South Sea dessert. Bone knives 
 were passed with which to punch holes in 
 the tender eyes of the nuts, — and we were 
 
 121 
 
^n Affair in t\)z ^Dutl) ^ead 
 
 soon drinking that which no man ever tasted 
 far away from the trees ; it was the natural 
 milk of a wonderful fruit, — and it was as 
 sweet as nectar. 
 
 A large pipe was lighted and smoked for 
 a puff or two by each chief, and then 
 passed to Swanson and the rest of us. 
 When the last man had taken his puff, the 
 ceremony of welcome was ended, and the 
 assembly was declared ready for business. 
 Since none of us knew a word of the 
 language, the Captain explained to the Atol- 
 lians that he would be obliged to interpret 
 it to his "chiefs," — and the explanation 
 was satisfactory. 
 
 Taipu then motioned to Swanson to be- 
 gin. Then the Captain stood up and rolled 
 off enough vowel-sounding words to fill a 
 dozen or two of the phonograph-cylinders 
 that lay boxed up in the hold of the ship. 
 He did not translate it all, but said : — 
 
 " Boys, I 'm tellin' the chiefs what we 've 
 come here for, what we 're going to do 
 for ourselves, and what we '11 do for them ; 
 I 've explained about our big guns and 
 
 122 , 
 
eiSaclcomeU bp Cj^iefci 
 
 told of their deadly work, and they 're 
 pretty well satisfied. I 'm askin' 'em to 
 give us a part of the water-front and all of 
 the hills. I think there '11 be no trouble." 
 
 Then Taipu replied with some vehe- 
 mence and much pointing toward the 
 hills. At times there was terror in his 
 voice ; he seemed to be telling of some- 
 thing that once had happened in the for- 
 est. His speech showed that the fear of 
 ghosts is deeply graven in the Atollian 
 mind ; that they suspect the dead of much 
 evil ; and that men who have eaten their 
 fellows have uneasy consciences. 
 
 Taipu's imagination was tropical in the 
 luxuriance of its fears. He peopled the 
 bush with beautiful singing maidens that 
 often lured men into caves, whereupon 
 the maidens became demons that devoured 
 their victims ; he gave warnings of tempt- 
 ing game birds that led hunters after them 
 until a certain spot was reached, whereupon 
 the hunters became the helpless quarry ; 
 the birds, bands of living devils. 
 
 "I tell you of all this truly, to save 
 
 123 
 
^n 9tfCair in tit ^otiti) l)ca6 
 
 your lives," ran Swanson's interpretation 
 of Taipu's warning ; " that wood is a place 
 of death, and the devils there have the 
 bones of many of our bravest warriors." 
 
 His speech showed the depth of Poly- 
 nesian fear, — the desolation of that region 
 of the brain that reasons from cause to 
 effect; and, though he heard Swanson's 
 statement that all devils would run from 
 our heavy guns, yet he was full of skepti- 
 cism, as was shown by his final summing 
 up: "It may be so, — but you have never 
 tried those guns on these devils." 
 
 So, with the chief's firm opinion of the 
 worthlessness and danger of the wooded 
 uplands, there was no trouble in bargain- 
 ing for all of Atollia beyond the beach. 
 The lowlands, also, were generously divided, 
 and the outlines of a compact were soon 
 agreed to by all the chiefs, native and 
 white. 
 
 The high cliffs and wooded water-front 
 were ours for the asking. Some of the 
 coast was indented with picturesque sea 
 caves, and studded with peaks that bore 
 
 124 
 
mitlcmtti bp C[)ieffii 
 
 the colors of many centuries of seasoning. 
 The rugged outlines of some of the cav- 
 erns at the horseshoe bend of the harbor 
 were as beautiful as ever were carved by 
 sunshine and storm, sea- water, and the 
 forces of gravity. 
 
 " Now we 11 strike a bargain with these 
 bucks without further parleying," said 
 Swanson, "unless somebody's got a sugges- 
 tion to make." 
 
 "There seems no way to improve your 
 plans," said Judge Davis, "unless we po- 
 litely ask them to please get off the island 
 and give us the whole thing." 
 
 Swanson then explained that there were 
 beautiful valleys and fertile mesas beyond 
 the bush ; great belts of rich soil and vast 
 regions of natural wealth a few miles from 
 the cliffs. 
 
 " It 's as hard to get these fellows beyond 
 the beach," said he, "as it would be to get 
 a cowardly fifteen-year-old boy to sleep 
 alone in a haunted house ; and we '11 do 
 these chaps a big service to drive out the 
 devils and reclaim the country." 
 
^n Affair in t^t ^outl) ^eas 
 
 Then we rose to walk through the chief's 
 palm grove and to explore his acres of cocoa 
 trees. My revolver and cartridges felt 
 heavy, and it brought shame to my face 
 to think of our company standing there, 
 armed like pirates. But, after all, these 
 kindly men were man-eaters, and our meas- 
 ures only those of self-protection. 
 
 It was agreed that we might land our 
 stores and begin the construction of our 
 buildings at any time. 
 
 "Our boats and boatmen will help you,'' 
 said Taipu ; "and if you see anything of 
 ours that you want, it is yours for the 
 taking." 
 
 There was some further talk before we 
 started for the beach. Swanson took a 
 beautiful meerschaum pipe from a case he 
 had concealed in his pocket, explained in 
 AtoUian that it would soon change from 
 snowy white to a thing of varied colors, and 
 then offered it to Taipu, with many com- 
 pliments of speech. 
 
 To my surprise, that imperious old canni- 
 bal glanced at the present for a moment, 
 
 126 
 
5l5aei€omcB fcp €l)itis 
 
 wonder and pleasure beaming from his 
 luminous eyes ; but he did not reach for 
 it, neither did he appear to notice the gift 
 or the giver's speech, — he affected to over- 
 look it, as if lightly passing over an insult. 
 I thought our Captain had offended him. 
 
 " It 's a custom of modesty among them," 
 said Swanson, " and they 'd die before 
 they 'd take a gift at the first offer ; but 
 watch him come to his milk when I hold 
 it up again, as if I really meant it ; he '11 
 know I 'm in dead earnest." 
 
 The second offer was made, whereupon 
 the old chief arose with dignity and came 
 forward for the pipe. He filled it with 
 tobacco, and then passed it for the Captain 
 to light. 
 
 "That's the height of politeness," said 
 the Reverend Lovejoy. 
 
 " It looks so," said Swanson, " but the 
 crafty polygamist wants to make sure it's 
 not poisoned or filled with devils ; that 's 
 the truth of it." 
 
 The Captain smoked of the fresh-lighted 
 pipe, then passed it to Taipu, who enjoyed 
 
 127 
 
an Affair in t^z Bmtb ^eas 
 
 a few whiffs before speaking, — and here is 
 Swanson's translation of what the chief 
 said: — 
 
 "Now that you have smoked first, and 
 shown that the pipe is free of harm, I find 
 it sweet. May our dealings always be as 
 frank, and our pipes as free of evil." 
 
 128 
 
3ln Sltclltan ^viUl 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN ATOLLIAN BRIDAL. 
 
 WE started for the beach with pleas- 
 ant impressions of Taipu's wel- 
 come, and with many comforting thoughts 
 of the fair land we had looked upon under 
 such strange circumstances. 
 
 "Well, didn't I tell you about right?" 
 asked Swanson, as we left the place of wel- 
 come to return to the Rosalie. 
 
 "It appears even better than you prom- 
 ised," said I, gazing toward the sunlight 
 playing in tropical surroundings ; " for na- 
 ture seems generous, and the blessings 
 that cost dearly elsewhere are singularly 
 free here." 
 
 " Yes ; the country 's ail right," replied 
 the Captain, "likewise the people, when 
 you take 'em right. I guess the only 
 
 129 
 
9[a 9lffair in tbe l)0tttl) ^tad 
 
 trouble we '11 have will be among ourselves. 
 There '11 be jealousies and all that, but we '11 
 be happy enough if we only pull together.' 
 
 "Yes," said Doctor Saville ; "all we need 
 is a stable form of government, and a cen- 
 tral authority to enforce the laws." 
 
 "And I guess the fewer laws we have, 
 the less trouble there '11 be," said Swanson ; 
 " at least, nearly all the trouble I 've ever 
 seen has come from too many laws, and 
 from unequal laws. It seems to me, some 
 people worship legislatures, and have as 
 much superstitious faith in them as the 
 islanders have in their stone idols. To my 
 plain notion, if we just run along like a 
 ship's company, only with the comforts 
 and fair winds of the land, instead of those 
 of the sea, I sort of guess nobody '11 be 
 much the loser, — and there '11 be lots of 
 happiness among the people." 
 
 We stood waiting for our boatmen to 
 return to the ship with a quantity of fruit. 
 It was a welcome relief to give way for the 
 hour to such primal tastes as rule the 
 simplest races of men. In this country, 
 
 130 
 
9la ^ttollian ^riUal 
 
 nobody was tugging very hard to reach his 
 goal, and nobody was in .hot pursuit of 
 fortune or fame, or anything else he 
 imagined essential to success ; so we were, 
 naturally, at rest, and soon began to view 
 the surroundings with calmness, as if we 
 were brothers of the mountains and the 
 sea. 
 
 "It's a sunny field of life ahead," said 
 our minister; "a spot of rich opportunities 
 for communion with nature." 
 
 "Yes; that's a dreamy view," said Doctor 
 Saville ; " but the prospect of a land of 
 plenty gives permanency to the outlook." 
 
 "For my part," I replied, "I'm only 
 beginning to realize that virgin joy of the 
 senses that travelers say makes life so 
 charming in the South Seas." 
 
 And for the moment the beachcomber, 
 clinging to' the fertile shores of low islands, 
 seemed a philosopher, — Swanson, greatest 
 of men ; for had he not taken us from the 
 retrospect of lost opportunities, and brought 
 us to the country of hope, where every wind 
 seemed fair ? 
 
 131 
 
an Slftair in tl)e ^otttf) ^cas 
 
 We wandered along the beach for some 
 time, waiting for our boatmen to return. 
 The farther we explored, the stranger our 
 surroundings appeared. For one thing, it 
 seemed as if we had reached the most 
 dreamy spot of the globe, where all things 
 were bathed in sleep and silence. Aside 
 from the cries of strange sea-fowl there was 
 no sound but the breaking of the surf, 
 which fell upon our ears in many voices. 
 Besides the quiet, and the pleasing warmth, 
 — with just a welcome breeze from the 
 sea to tone it, — other things told that we 
 were at the doorway of a world of wonders. 
 The beach was much like many others, 
 only more beautiful than any outside of 
 the South Seas, — but the wonders of the 
 wood crowded close to the shore. Aromatic 
 odors filled the air, and birds of rare 
 plumage came from the palm groves and 
 played in the white sands, venturing to the 
 fringe of the surf. In some places green 
 foliage grew to the edge of the sea, by the 
 broken coral ; and back of this picture 
 mountains loomed black and sovereign. 
 
 132 
 
91 a ^tallian ^ritjal 
 
 We explored in several directions, finding 
 the inland waters crystal, — and some of the 
 lagoons were full of fish of many colors. 
 
 Bananas and cocoanuts grew in profu- 
 sion ; there was an abundance of bread- 
 fruit, dates, figs, and papaya ; and with the 
 thought of our cattle, hogs, sheep, and 
 chickens, the prospect was encouraging. 
 
 "There are rich bird islands near here," 
 said the Captain, "and we won't be long 
 learning how to fertilize the coral and 
 volcanic soil so it '11 grow our seeds like 
 a regular flower-garden." 
 
 "I suppose an ambitious trader v/ould 
 look upon these same beauties and possi- 
 bilities in a far different spirit from that 
 we bring," said Doctor Saville. 
 
 " Faugh ! " said Swanson ; " and he 'd 
 blight everything he touched, nine times 
 in ten." 
 
 "The fact that the natives have but few 
 wants, and that they have the most simple 
 tastes, would seem wrong to a trader," said 
 the Keverend Lovejoy; "for I 've read some- 
 where that such spots as this are 'cursed 
 
 133 
 
^n Slffair in tl}e ^outl) ^cas 
 
 with the mildew of primitive content,' — 
 as if satisfaction with God's universe were 
 not a wise philosophy." 
 
 The minister's words furnished food for 
 reflection. 
 
 Ours was the one ship in hundreds — 
 possibly the only one — that had ever 
 touched such an island without carrying 
 a band of traders. Other vessels, cruising 
 over the wide Pacific, — even -those carrying 
 missionaries, — had often resorted to inge- 
 nious methods to stimulate native wants, 
 to the end of selling trifles at large prices, 
 and making " Yankee notions" seem essen- 
 tial to the welfare of the people. 
 
 *'Why, you know the English bucked up 
 against a stone wall in Africa," said the 
 Captain, ""when they had trade schemes 
 afloat. The natives would n't buy what 
 they had no likin' for, — no, sir! and beatin* 
 'em and jailin' 'em would n't make 'em 
 work, either." 
 
 Our boatmen now came with armfuls 
 of luscious fruit, and we were soon hurrying 
 to the ship with glad hearts. And in the 
 
 134 
 
an 9ltoUiaii Actual 
 
 afterglow of that happy day, hope began 
 to take root, and imagination painted briglit 
 pictures of the future. Our shipmates re- 
 joiced when we told of the warm welcome 
 we had met ashore, showed them the pres- 
 ents of fruit, and described the beauties 
 of the island. Our evening meal was eaten 
 with lively anticipations of the morrow ; and 
 we sat down to our meat and broke bread 
 with rosy pictures in our minds, — the hour 
 full of hope, the air a delight. 
 
 That night, large stars studded the deep- 
 blue sky, and a silver moon ripened through 
 the halcyon hours. 
 
 The next day we began active prepara- 
 tions for unloading our lumber, papier- 
 mache sections of houses, carpenters' tools, 
 and the thousand and one things provided 
 for our pioneering. Besides this, there was 
 a lively business of unloading our live-stock, 
 for which ingeniously built bamboo pens 
 had been already made by the natives. 
 Our work went on slowly enough, — no 
 wharf, no conveniences but men's hands, 
 the ship's cranes, ropes, and native boats 
 
 135 
 
9[n Mair in tl)e ^anfo ^t^6 
 
 with outriggers, tliat permitted the carrying 
 of great loads without danger from the sea. 
 In all the toil of these enterprises (which, 
 thus quietly beginning, lasted for many 
 weeks), the muscular natives assisted with 
 great skill, and with a heartiness that was 
 
 o o 
 
 By common consent we followed Swan- 
 son's leadership as cheerfully as we had 
 followed him on the sea. It was practically 
 his country, — Atollian even seemed his lan- 
 guage. 
 
 I assisted the Captain in forming a plan 
 to overcome the more serious difficulties 
 of idleness and selfishness in individuals, 
 though we had little of such troubles. The 
 majority subscribed to an agreement that 
 shirkers should be given curtailed rations 
 and increased work, and which provided, 
 also, penalties of imprisonment, just as if 
 the Captain had been disobeyed aboard 
 ship. But few tried to evade their share 
 of the work, and each workman kept busy 
 at something he could do to the best 
 t.dvantage. Each was a partner (which 
 
 136 
 
an aitollian ^riUal 
 
 the hired man is not), and the result was 
 that we were all eager to see production 
 increase, and to contribute our energies to 
 the result. 
 
 In this preliminary work we had no 
 regular masters, yet in another sense each 
 fellovf was under the eyes of many mas- 
 ters, for every man in the company was a 
 part owner in everything. We saw at a 
 glance that the sloth and bad work of any 
 one of the colonists made waste and incon- 
 venience for all the others ; and one or 
 two reprimands, backed by the opinion of 
 those engaged in the work, soon straightened 
 out the drones. In all this (as well as in 
 the labors of after years) there was no 
 race for riches, the only haste being that 
 caused by our necessities, and by the am- 
 bition to have conveniences. And, under 
 the plans and sympathies of co-operation, 
 labor became a pleasure, — for many hands 
 made light tasks, and the absence of envy 
 was a harmony in itself. The amount of 
 work to be done at a given time was 
 measured by our needs, which increased 
 
 137 
 
9ln 9lffair in tl)c ^out!) ^eafii 
 
 and changed their form with growing lei- 
 sure and culture. 
 
 At the outset, a group of houses was 
 planned near the beach, where there was 
 as fine a prospect as any king would want ; 
 and there, amid the groves of palms and 
 bread-fruit trees, surrounded by all the 
 sweet and entrancing influences of nature 
 in a land of miracles, I spent some of the 
 happiest hours that ever have fallen to 
 man. 
 
 In all directions was the calm splendor 
 of southern seas, in a land of balmy days 
 and soft nights. No poet could have con- 
 jured up a more beautiful scene than that 
 selected for our village. Added to the 
 luster of the dreamy surroundings, there 
 was the constant and inspiring hope of a 
 society without the subordination of classes; 
 and I suppose every man's mind was im- 
 bued more or less with the same idea 
 of Utopia that originally fired Swanson, — 
 at least, there was the desire for brother- 
 hood. Starting our careers like a band of 
 Robinson Crusoes, free from contentions 
 
 138 
 
9[n Etonian ^rttial 
 
 and jealousies, we found fe^v obstacles to 
 prevent the accomplishment of noble pur- 
 poses. We did nothing alone, or from 
 isolated motives ; we wrought as one from 
 the moment of landing. It was decided, 
 without an opposing voice, that if a house 
 were needed, all should join and help to 
 build it, — and any one's cause soon became 
 the cause of all. We felt that it should 
 be so in any well-organized company of 
 people the world over, as the Golden Rule 
 teaches. But selfishness is often as much 
 the symbol of the white man's domination 
 in the virgin isles of the Pacific as in any 
 commercial mart. 
 
 It was several days before we had gone 
 far enough in the work of building places 
 for our dumb creatures, unloading our 
 provisions, arranging living-quarters, and 
 getting our materials ashore, to justify car- 
 pentering on a scale that would show the 
 natives our purposes and designs ; but when 
 sufficient progress had been made to justify 
 active building, and when the olive-colored 
 Atollians began to see our designs in detail, 
 
 139 
 
^n ^fair in Voz ^cutlj ^ead 
 
 willing hands among tliem set to the task 
 of helping us. There >vere many mechan- 
 ics and carpenters to direct our men, and 
 the green hands and natives soon became 
 valuable assistants, 
 
 I never had done much tinkering as a 
 carpenter (except when I thought I was 
 one, in the venturesome hours of boyhood); 
 but I set about my work with a will, under 
 the guidance of the carpenters. No bird 
 ever built its nest more eagerly than I went 
 at my work. My case was that of many 
 of my fellows ; but the sound of shovels 
 and the music of hammering filled the air 
 for many days before we had accomplished 
 much in the transformation of the island. 
 
 At the beginning, all were more or less 
 lonely, the married men most noticeably 
 so. Thus we worked diligently to make 
 time fly, and it was a pretty sight to see 
 us struggling to make Atollia a place of 
 happy homes. Fortunately, nature had 
 done so much for the sites, that there was 
 not much leveling or excavating to do ; 
 and in heavy work the Atollians were 
 
 140 
 
9ln atoUian ^riUal 
 
 valuable allies. Muscular, good-natured, 
 and brimming over with curiosity, they 
 found much of interest in our plans. Day 
 after day they brought blocks of coral 
 for the foundations, and patiently they 
 helped to wheel heavy timbers from the 
 beach; and their boating — that was a 
 godsend, without which we should have had 
 perilous delays ! 
 
 Any man who ever has enjoyed driving 
 a nail into a clean, new plank knows the 
 delight we felt in our first work in this 
 restful country. Every nail was useful, for 
 it meant part of a home ; and a human 
 habitation is a place of hopes and fears, 
 of love and tragedy, whether in England 
 or Pitcairn. 
 
 The natives viewed our operations with 
 wonder ; everything was as new to them 
 as if we had come from another planet. 
 The building instinct was large in them, 
 despite the fact that their ancestors had 
 done their simple building by the same 
 sort of instinct that moves beavers to build 
 dams, or birds to build their nests. 
 
 141 
 
3ln Affair in tlit ^ntttl) l^cas 
 
 Among those who came to see us at the 
 outset, was Tuna, the modest granddaughter 
 of old Chief Taipu, — for princesses and 
 commoners alike were attracted by our 
 work. 
 
 Tuna bore evidences of high breeding. 
 She was by common consent the hand- 
 somest native maiden. Scarce eighteen, 
 her tall, willowy form was a picture of 
 grace and beauty. Unlike many of her 
 countrywomen, her oval features were as- 
 sembled so as to bear a resemblance to 
 the symmetry of the Greek face; and in 
 the rich olive hue of her cheek there 
 dwelt a pleasing dash of color. I thought, 
 as I admired the maiden, rich with the 
 evidences of good health, that I never had 
 seen a more perfect figure of a woman. 
 The thought came that some of her ances- 
 tors must have been white; for there was 
 a suggestion that Anglo-Saxon blood lurked 
 somewhere in her veins, — a sort of pilot 
 of heredity to mold her features into a more 
 perfect visage than is given Polynesians. 
 
 There was a slight haughtiness in her 
 
 142 
 
sin atoUiau ^riUal 
 
 demeanor, as there should be in royal 
 blood ; and her carriage was dignified 
 enough for any queen. Her feet were 
 like bronze, and her bosom was shapely 
 enough for a sculptor's delight, with breasts 
 like young cocoanuts. She had the most 
 pleasing manner imaginable for a maiden ; 
 and I thought how her honest face and 
 comeliness would put to hiding the affected 
 women I had known in many pampered 
 circles. The oftener I compared her with 
 society's garrulous retailers of small gossip, 
 the better I liked Tuna. 
 
 Well, there are always events (among 
 all the tribes of men, for aught I know) 
 that intensify acquaintance, — which is only 
 another way of saying that there is fate, or 
 that fixed laws rule the universe. I sup- 
 pose there were laws of nature directing 
 the course of two of God's creatures in 
 Atollia ; for the affairs of the two in ques- 
 tion ran without hitch or interruption. 
 
 I was learning Atollian fast — and Tuna 
 was mastering colloquial English. You have 
 doubtless observed that some things in this 
 
 143 
 
an Affair in tjbe ^mt\^ ^eag 
 
 world are accomplished with little training 
 in language, little instruction from the pro- 
 fessors, — the children of all races crying 
 much the same ; Love conducting his courts, 
 the world over, without the aid of inter- 
 preters. So it fell that Tuna and I got along 
 faster than by any course I ever have seen 
 prescribed by linguists. From the first she 
 seemed sweet enough to eat, and love of her 
 seized me like a fever, making a madman 
 of me in short order. I boldly told her of 
 my feelings, and our first talk was in the 
 alphabet of love. 
 
 "I much like to live in new house," she 
 spelt out to me one morning, after papier- 
 mache strips had begun to cover the frame- 
 work of my little house, — and from that 
 moment her voice thrilled me, and the 
 dream of her companionship remained. 
 A home with the pretty grandchild of the 
 chief for wife was a plan to put Monte 
 Cristo on his mettle, — and marriage seemed 
 a fit way to crown this strange South Sea 
 venture. 
 
 I should say that when I met Tuna first 
 
 144 
 
^n ^tDllian ^riUal 
 
 no woman had any claim on me, neither did 
 the memory of any rise to haunt the hours ; 
 so whatever hold she got was that which 
 God intended the fair to have over us 
 men, — perhaps it was a plain, low-down 
 animal impulse ; but this I know : the 
 scent of romance and the possibilities of 
 happiness were in it. Up to the hour 
 of our meeting I had lived a lonely life, and 
 the days had been barren of woman's love : 
 so in Tuna I recognized a luring prospect 
 of companionship, the blooming of romance 
 and poetry in my life. 
 
 The surroundings were odd, but the old 
 problem of the one man and the one woman 
 was in it, just the same; and in spite of 
 a polygamous ancestry, I found her clinging 
 to the idea of fidelity with as much tenacity 
 as ever dwelt in a white woman's mind. 
 At first I tried to put her love away from 
 me, though she lay close to my heart, — but 
 the Vv^ant of her would not down ; and when 
 I thought of linking my life to hers in the 
 island way, — well, conscience smote me. It 
 was plain that I must have her with the full 
 
 145 
 
^n 3lffair in tl)e ^otttl; ^eafii 
 
 Christian title of wife, or give her up ; any 
 other course would have disgraced me ; 
 so I made an end of it by resolving to follow 
 the inclinations of my heart, — and few 
 things stop a man in such a mood. 
 
 There was a shyness about Tuna that 
 any proper man likes, but she never was 
 an Indian cigar-sign of a girl, or a doll- 
 faced creature with the coldness of a 
 chromo ; her face showed natural jealousies, 
 passions, hopes, and human feelings. My 
 heart went out to her wholly from the start, 
 and I was as badly turned as any other 
 honest man in love. It now seems that 
 she must have become very dear to me 
 from the first, making herself my most 
 faithful friend, in those strange surround- 
 ings, after the day of our meeting. So I 
 soon forgot all about my old home and its 
 hopes ; its white faces and civilized cus- 
 toms went from me like the memories of 
 youth. All I knew was, that this Atol- 
 lian girl was so dear to me that I could 
 not bear the thought of giving her up ; and 
 as she seemed every inch a woman, and 
 
 146 
 
an atolliaa ^tiUl 
 
 the one fated to be my wife, I threw hesita- 
 tion to the winds. Her odd ways pleased 
 me as a child's ways delight a fond parent, 
 and her little troubles soon became mine ; 
 her joys over daily conquests in English, 
 as much my victories as hers. And I for- 
 got all about my mission in the country 
 of her fathers, forgot everything but Tuna ; 
 and for us two — for us alone — the world 
 seemed to exist ; the people passing im- 
 pressed us only as pictures, and our love 
 was wealth enough for all the years. 
 
 She flitted past from day to day, clad in 
 little besides tapa and flowers (woven into 
 necklaces and clinging wreaths); and when 
 I saw the shine of her body fresh from the 
 surf, there was no suggestion of immodesty 
 in her lithe figure ; it was a bit of the 
 symmetry of the surroundings, a part of 
 the elemental beauty of the scene. More 
 clothing would have been a profanation. 
 
 From the beginning, as I now look back 
 on the scene. Tuna fell under the spell of 
 new associations, and of the white man 
 whose rude carpentering she viewed with 
 
 147 
 
Sla Affair in tfjc ^mtl^ ^cas 
 
 increasing wonder. She watched me as 
 the slieets of papier-mache were gradually 
 joined over the rafters ; and when I brought 
 the various sections from a formless condi- 
 tion to the outlines of a house, her admi- 
 ration and awe increased. Even in her 
 untutored breast was that spark of civili- 
 zation that leads to the admiration of those 
 who can do something useful. 
 
 The rumor of our frequent meetings at 
 the place of building, of our walks in the 
 palm groves and by the beach, of our 
 interest in each other's language, — of the 
 soft words and meaning glances between 
 us, — soon reached Taipu's ears, if, indeed, 
 the chief had not read a few things for 
 himself from what he saw during his saun- 
 terings. It was plain that love had struck 
 me strong ; and I resolved that there could 
 be no real happiness until I should take 
 that maiden for wife, cannibal ancestry and 
 all. The wooing may seem fast to those 
 of my blood, who live in cities and places 
 ruled by the customs of etiquette, — but 
 it was slow for the island life, where 
 
 148 
 
^n Etonian ^ritjal 
 
 matches are made and marriages consum- 
 mated in a day. 
 
 There was some pity, as well as romance, 
 in our relations. Her father had been dead 
 for many years, — the victim of a war with 
 a rival tribe, when Tuna was but a babe ; 
 and Chief Taipu was the only father she 
 ever had known. She was fawn-like and 
 shy, even at her boldest, carrying the 
 modesty of a true princess ; and the most 
 I ever could get from her was an occasional 
 word that she loved me, had faith in me, 
 and never could be happy alone, — all this 
 more earnestly than if she had been a 
 girl at home. 
 
 We went along for weeks without dis- 
 cussing the time of the marriage ; but I 
 think Tuna had looked upon some sort 
 of a union as due about the date of the 
 finishing of the house. I fancy the happy- 
 go-lucky island way was about the most 
 she expected. During all these weeks I 
 thought I was guarding my secret, nurs- 
 ing the main thought close to my heart, 
 as lovers will in every land, — but the 
 
 149 
 
9ln 9lffatr in t\it ^mt\i ^cafi 
 
 community had really guessed the truth 
 from the outset. 
 
 My house was nearly finished, and the 
 natives hovered around with growing curi- 
 osity. My fellow-v/orkmen, foreseeing what 
 was in the wind, volunteered to help in the 
 work, — and, taking one thing with another, 
 the situation was interesting. Many colo- 
 nists were so busy, however, that I seldom 
 met them, unless by chance at meals ; 
 these were most often served on the ground, 
 native fashion, — sometimes on rude boards 
 laid on benches. It happened often that 
 I was at Swanson's table, for we had plan- 
 ning and business together. But my talk 
 was usually limited to details of the colony. 
 Several times I started to discuss Tuna, 
 but the old man changed the subject with 
 some adroitness, linally saying, *' I have 
 nothing to do with advising young men 
 about love affairs ; but I '11 say this : Atol- 
 lian women are as true as steel." 
 
 One morning, shortly after this talk. Swan- 
 eon came to my house in some trepidation, 
 and called me aside for a private word. 
 
 150 
 
^n Etonian ^ritial 
 
 "I come as a message-bearer from Taipu," 
 he said. '' It seems that you and that gazelle 
 of a granddaughter of his are gettin' on 
 famously. Well, the chief offers you the 
 girl, and — of course you'll take her." 
 
 "I don't know about that," I said; ''no- 
 body 's asked for anybody's girl yet, though 
 she 's dear to me, and it may come to a 
 match yet." 
 
 "Well," resumed the old man, "you've 
 lost no time in this courtin', — or so it 
 seems to me, — and now that the offer 's 
 made, I guess you 're pretty near in for it. 
 You see, it 's an insult to refuse such an 
 offer from a chief. To tell you the truth, 
 I 've encouraged this business ; for you '11 
 set a good example, and such unions will 
 make the men happier, as well as bring 
 us closer to these people." 
 
 "Then if it's a critical point of etiquette," 
 I returned, "and if a refusal would cause 
 trouble, I guess I 'd better accept. I can 
 tell you one thing: I love the girl, and I 
 don't want her by the Atollian plan ; be- 
 sides, my desires leap away from any 
 
 151 
 
^n Stffair in t|)e ^outl; ^eag 
 
 trifling. It would be a full measure of 
 my love to marry her right ; and if I 
 thought she understood it all, 1 guess that 
 would be my answer." 
 
 " Understand ! " exclaimed Captain Swan- 
 son. "Why she 's as much a woman as your 
 sister, — and these native girls have the 
 instinct of birds about mating." 
 
 Just then Tuna appeared, young and full 
 of life ; she was singing a native love-song, 
 a picture of innocence as she stood, not 
 far away, with festoons of scarlet flowers in 
 her hair. She hesitated when she saw 
 Swanson ; but I beckoned her to come, and 
 bade him question her and interpret my 
 intentions more fully than I could convey 
 them. He asked me what to say, and I told 
 him to explain the meaning of white men's 
 marriage ceremony. 
 
 "Tell her the depth of my affection," I 
 said, "and explain that I want her for my 
 wife, — not an island marriage, that people 
 discard like a suit of clothes, but an affair 
 for life. Ask her whether she is ready to 
 take the step." 
 
 152 
 
^n Ottoman ^riUal 
 
 Swanson fired out a volley of Atollian ; 
 it ran so fast I could scarcely catch a word, 
 
 — but it must have been full of declarations 
 of love. You see, Swanson was in a hurry, 
 
 — and he did my courting the lightning 
 way, leaving us to spell out the rest at 
 our leisure. All I wanted him to do 
 was to explain the binding nature of the 
 ceremony, — the love part I did not fear. 
 
 Tuna hung her head, her brain spinning 
 with such fast love-making. When he had 
 finished, she looked at me with melting 
 eyes that gave answer. The Polynesian 
 fire lit her face, and on the moment she 
 put her arms around my neck and said, "I 
 lovee you, — I be your wifee." 
 
 Word of our engagement was sent to 
 Taipu, and there was no lull in prepara- 
 tions for the marriage. 
 
 Finally my house was finished, along 
 with many others ; and when the right 
 hour came I sent word to Parson Love- 
 joy that there would be work in his 
 line, and that he had better consult Swan- 
 son as to interpreting the ceremony so the 
 
 153 
 
an 9lffair in tl)e ^outl^ ^cas 
 
 AtoUians would understand the rite that 
 was being performed over their country- 
 woman. Meantime, Tuna had not been 
 idle. With the aid of many nimble-fingered 
 maidens, the four plain rooms of that simple 
 shelter were soon transformed into a place 
 of wondrous wreaths, decorations, and gar- 
 lands of flowers that would make a mid- 
 summer-night's dream of almost any spot 
 you could name. 
 
 And we were married on the porch of 
 that plain little cottage, while the afterglow 
 of a bright day was yet luminous. The 
 entire population was there to witness 
 the first Christian marriage on the island, 
 and to hear Swanson repeat in Atollian the 
 white preacher's strange words. 
 
 Tuna's dress was chiefly a few folds 
 of tapa-cloth, and many flowers, — mine, 
 a suit of white ducking. The natives were 
 summoned by the fascinating drum-beat 
 of Atollians, — a wild music that thrilled 
 my nerves and filled my mind with pictures 
 of that island's blood-stained and savage 
 past. 
 
 154 
 
atn Etonian ^rttial 
 
 I recall little of the scene of the marriage 
 now, — none of the words of the ceremony ; 
 but there rises before me the vision of 
 curious faces of white men and brown, 
 of women and children, like pictures in the 
 glowing light of evening. In that retrospect 
 the trusting Tuna rises, clinging to me for 
 life, — a refreshing tropic odor lingering in 
 the breeze, carrying the sound of breaking 
 surf above the words of the minister, as 
 if it were a marriage of the sea. 
 
 Then I led away my bride of the ocean, 
 passing the places she had known, and rest- 
 ing at last at Taipu's palm grove, where the 
 marriage feast was prepared, — a simple, im- 
 pressive affair, followed by an evening of 
 music and dancing on the moonlit beach. 
 All these seemed like a dream, beautiful 
 as the sunny hours of childhood. 
 
 At last the hour came for the company 
 to break up and for me to take my bride 
 home. I remember that hour more dis- 
 tinctly than any event of my life, — that 
 hour which meant so much to me and the 
 colony. The stump of a yellow moon hung 
 
 155 
 
^n 9lffair in t!)c i^nutlj ^cas 
 
 low in the sky when we started for our home; 
 its light showed the somber forest plainl}-, 
 dense on the hillside leading to the west, — 
 growing darker as we entered our cottage 
 for the night. And I often thank God that 
 we went into that little house as we did, 
 after the luckiest and happiest of events. 
 The music and freshness of that holy hour 
 lent their color to our lives and followed 
 us through the years. 
 
 15' 
 
Wt jFounti a ^tate 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WE FOUND A STATE. 
 
 IT was three months to a day after my 
 marriage, when Tuna, looking seaward 
 from our vine-clad veranda, exclaimed, "A 
 sail ! a sail I " And when I looked over the 
 sunny sea, the outlines of a ship's topsails 
 were plainly penciled against the tropic sky. 
 
 Other colonists were soon astir, for they 
 had seen the same phantom-like sails and 
 rigging looming clear at the sky-line ; and 
 in less than ten minutes the principal hill 
 of our village was crowded with eager 
 watchers, — all scanning the first signs of 
 life on that bleak and sailless sea. 
 
 It was an afternoon of golden sunlight, 
 and the air was so clear that objects afar 
 stood out in sharp outline ; this particular 
 ship, with a distinctness that set our hearts 
 
 157 
 
^n Affair in tbe ^outl) ^me 
 
 beating. In the pervading quiet, the sight 
 of a sail was all-absorbing. There was no 
 sound to break the silence of the deep forest, 
 save perhaps the occasional song of a bird. 
 The blue surge melted to foam on the coral 
 beach, and white birds wheeled slowly 
 through the dome of summer sky, — the sur- 
 roundings a frame for the picture of peace. 
 
 O'Fallon and his crew were due any day, 
 for he had been away more than four 
 months on his memorable voyage to San 
 Francisco, whither he had gone for colo- 
 nists' families and a cargo of stores. As 
 we stood peering eagerly to make out the 
 ship, every watcher hoped the craft was 
 laden with loved ones on their way to 
 Atollia. Slowly that apparition of the 
 horizon came toward us, growing larger 
 as day waned, until at last the ensign 
 streamed from her mainmast, and her top- 
 sails were plain against the field of blue. 
 
 *'Yes; she's the Rosaliej'^ said Swanson, 
 after a long, steady look through the glasses; 
 *' or she 's a mate for her, to a dead cer- 
 tainty." 
 
 158 
 
Wt JFoitnti a ^tate 
 
 There was excitement among the colo- 
 nists, as well as among the natives. To the 
 former, it was the thrill of joy at the pros- 
 pect of pressing the lips of loved ones ; to 
 the natives, it was a devouring curiosity to 
 see women with faces as white as the beach, 
 eyes the color of the sky, and hair like 
 sunlight tangled in the woods at early 
 morn. Then followed that glow of good 
 feeling which comes of the hope of com- 
 panionship to men who have been long in 
 lonely surroundings. Added to this, there 
 was that sense of well-being which goes 
 with the comforts of life ; for the safe 
 arrival of our little ship meant goods, wares, 
 and merchandise of many varieties, besides 
 more lumber, seeds, agricultural imple- 
 ments, and other devices for the betterment 
 of our condition. So, taken as a whole, 
 every prospect was encouraging to our eager 
 crowd. 
 
 As we watched, suddenly there burst from 
 the approaching ship a cloud of smoke, 
 which hovered for a moment, then melted 
 into empty air. It was followed by a heavy 
 
 159 
 
^n 9lffair in tbe ^outl) ^eas 
 
 roar that rose above the thundering of the 
 surf, — and when three such sounds of 
 cannonading had filled the air, we knew 
 the Eosalie had returned; for such a firing 
 of salutes was the signal that had been 
 agreed upon to announce that she was home 
 again. 
 
 Cautiously O'Fallon piloted the way until 
 the Rosalie lay safely at anchor at the place 
 of her original mooring. It was nearing 
 sunset, but Captain Swanson and a dozen 
 men rowed to the vessel to meet the new- 
 comers with words of welcome, and to bring 
 news of their condition to those who waited 
 on the shore. 
 
 O'Fallon reported a safe, fast voyage ; 
 no sickness aboard ; no mishaps of any 
 character, — only rioting, strikes, and star- 
 vation for many thousands in the United 
 States, — the old story of masses and classes 
 at war. 
 
 A glance showed that the ship carried 
 a fair load. Furniture, bicycles, machinery, 
 and brick and cement for the arsenal and 
 warehouse, Avere a large part of the cargo. 
 
 160 
 
Wt jFottntf a ^mt 
 
 Four school teachers and two doctors 
 were among the passengers, and they told 
 Swanson they were glad to escape from 
 the rigors of competitive civilization, and 
 to cast their fortunes with Atollians. 
 
 As there had been no sickness or other 
 misfortune among us, the Captain glad- 
 dened the hearts of many wives and chil- 
 dren with news of the good health of 
 their husbands and fathers. 
 
 Suddenly, day melted into darkness with 
 the swiftness of a shadow, and with the 
 night breeze blowing the sea into gentle 
 ripples, the visiting company departed for 
 the shore to prepare for landing passengers 
 and stores early the next morning. The 
 men waiting on the beach rejoiced over the 
 good news from their families. From some 
 of the women came hurriedly written words 
 of love for their husbands ; others sent me- 
 mentoes of their affection, — one I remem- 
 ber, the picture of her babe, to show its 
 father how much it had grown since he 
 had seen it; so, altogether, it was a time 
 of happiness such as one seldom sees. 
 
 161 
 
^n Slffair in ibt ^outl) ^eaai 
 
 Tuna was delighted with the many evi- 
 dences of wifely affection ; and the girls 
 of the village, some of whom had looked 
 with hopeful glances upon our unmarried 
 colonists, — upon the others, too, I must 
 say, — took heart of hope that they might 
 find loving husbands among our white men, 
 known in Atollia as " children from the 
 land of ships." 
 
 After the women, children, and new colo- 
 nists had been safely landed, there was 
 much work of preparing for their temporary 
 comforts ; but the weather was so benign, 
 the site of our village so convenient, that 
 it was easy to put up tents and swinging 
 hammocks for those who could not find 
 quarters in the six or seven vacant houses 
 of the settlement. 
 
 In less than a week a large quantity of 
 lumber, and many additional papier-mache 
 sections of houses, were landed, and ten 
 or twelve dwellings were soon furnished for 
 occupancy. From that time the construc- 
 tion of houses went forward at the rate 
 of four a day, until our town numbered 
 
 lfi2 
 
Wt ImtCti a ^tate 
 
 seventy-five homes, — many nestling pictu- 
 resquely in bowers of hibiscus and wild 
 vines. 
 
 From the day of landing, our relations 
 with the child-like savages had been far 
 pleasanter than any I had ever heard of 
 under like circumstances. There had been 
 no clashing, because civilization, for once, 
 refused to pounce down upon the innocent 
 with modern guns ; and we neither tried 
 to conquer and plunder them, nor to con- 
 vert them to a religion they could not 
 understand. For another thing, we were 
 not there to barter beyond our necessities ; 
 and for every benefit we asked, we cheer- 
 fully granted a greater blessing. We taught 
 them how to till the soil and raise live- 
 stock ; showed them how to provide in the 
 hour of prosperity against the misfortunes of 
 the future ; and they lived better after they 
 had adopted our methods than at any 
 golden age of their history. To their taro 
 and yams, turtle-food, fish, and bread-fruit 
 — which we ate with a relish — we added 
 pork and beef, chickens, vegetables, and 
 
 163 
 
sin Affair in tf)e ^outf) ijeas 
 
 the wheat foods. Though their tastes ran 
 to simple dishes, they soon learned to like 
 our cooking, and to look upon us as mar- 
 velous producers. I think one reason for 
 their high esteem was that we treated them 
 as equals, and refrained from wounding 
 their feelings. Swanson knew they were 
 sensitive and proud - spirited, and he 
 directed us aright from the start. 
 
 The white men's wives readily became 
 accustomed to new surroundings, and 
 learned to like Tuna and her associates, 
 many of whom, by this time, spoke and 
 understood English fairly well. To some 
 of the colony women, the world here (for 
 the first time) offered a bountiful table, a 
 roof-tree, and that feeling of security which 
 comes from the knowledge that daily bread 
 will be forthcoming. But it took some 
 of them a long time to understand that 
 loaves and fishes were divided among us 
 after a plan of justice, — to each, in a man- 
 ner, according to his needs. In the back- 
 ground was the ever-present hint, however, 
 that if a man would not work, neither 
 
 164 
 
Wt jFounti a ^tate 
 
 should he eat. To the children of the 
 colonists (those, especially, who had dwelt 
 in alleys, and lived on short rations) the 
 village was a perpetual playground ; over 
 it they romped with unabated joy and rosy 
 health, every fear of want driven from 
 their lives. 
 
 The most important event, after the 
 arrival of men's families, was a concert 
 of music in Chief Taipu's palm grove. It 
 consisted of singing by natives and whites, 
 of fluting, cornet solos, etc., by some of 
 our musicians, and of such music as violins 
 and wind-instruments afforded in the hands 
 of amateurs. The music was not so im- 
 portant, however, as a surprise that came 
 as a sort of dramatic interlude, — a leaf 
 torn from the book of life, and held up 
 for us to read. 
 
 During a brief intermission there fell 
 upon our ears a buzzing of native voices 
 in the direction of the musicians' platform, 
 and from an aisle in the palm grove there 
 came a bevy of brown maidens, followed 
 by some of our young men. It was the 
 
 165 
 
9ln 9tffatr in t\it ^otitl) ^ca£« 
 
 opinion of all that we were about to be 
 favored with a song ; but appearances were 
 misleading, for a bit of human life — far 
 more important than the music of a happy 
 company — ruled the stage for the hour. 
 The true situation was explained by Parson 
 Lovejoy in these words : — 
 
 "Ladies and gentlemen, I ask your in- 
 dulgence for a few minutes, while I per- 
 form a simple ceremony that will add six 
 husbands and six wives to our happy 
 village. This may surprise some of you, 
 but it should not ; for love ever has been 
 the religion of humanity ; without it, the 
 heart of the world would wither. These 
 young people have before them the encour- 
 aging example of Mr. Hadley and his duti- 
 ful wife, and the colony will be fortunate 
 if such marriages become the rule." 
 
 Then followed a simple ceremony, where- 
 by six men were married to six women, — 
 and the concert was not resumed until 
 natives and whites had congratulated those 
 who had given us the surprise. A feast 
 and dance in the full moonlight followed 
 
 166 
 
Wt JFotmU a ^tate 
 
 on the beach. I am glad to record the 
 fact that those unions proved a success, 
 and that many happy marriages resulted 
 from the example. In less than a year the 
 only marriageable white women among us 
 (three girls, of not more than eighteen 
 years) were wedded to three brothers, after 
 which every union was necessarily with 
 Atollian women. 
 
 After two months of well-directed labor 
 under the management of the carpenters 
 and builders, the village was richer by four 
 useful structures, — a large warehouse, a 
 schoolhouse of six rooms, a town hall 
 (designed for use, also, as a court of 
 justice), and a building that served at once 
 as a fort and an arsenal. Every man that 
 could be spared from the fields and other 
 work of production aided more or less in 
 the labor of building these community 
 structures. The natives rendered much 
 aid in the business of carpentering. 
 
 The first brick structure was a large 
 warehouse designed to hold machinery, 
 ammunition, and general supplies. Though 
 
 167 
 
^n 9tffatr in t^t ^mt^ ^cas 
 
 many articles of use and beauty had already 
 been stored in houses, there remained 
 thousands of valuables to be disposed of 
 so as to guarantee their safety ; these were 
 placed in the warehouse. Besides steam- 
 engines and agricultural implements, there 
 were sewing-machines, nearly a hundred 
 bicycles, many guns, a few typewriters, a 
 quantity of machinists' and carpenters' 
 tools, and I know not what stocks of 
 groceries, dry-goods, and wearing-apparel. 
 
 The warehouse was the safest place for 
 the common supply of creature comforts, 
 and they remained there until the goods 
 could be segregated and transferred to 
 separate village stores, which were con- 
 ducted by the community. 
 
 The town hall was made of lumber, 
 galvanized iron, and bamboo, with a native 
 thatched roof, — a strange composition of 
 many rude styles of architecture ; and the 
 arsenal, which was of quite solid masonry, 
 was a perpetual wonder to the natives, and 
 a fortress of safety to the village. It was 
 of stone foundation for the first two feet, 
 
 168 
 
Wt jFottutr a ^tatc 
 
 sunk into the lava soil ; above that, for 
 some distance, it was made solid, with 
 thick walls of coral and lime and sand, all 
 skillfully mixed so as to form a surface of 
 the hardness of granite. This was the 
 material to a height of twenty feet. Above, 
 there was a turret-shaped tower of brick, 
 with many suitable openings for firing at 
 any enemy that might come within range. 
 The fort stood at the apex of a hill that 
 commanded a valley near the wood, vx^hich 
 was conveyed to us by TaijDu's original 
 treaty. To us, that forest carried no other 
 fear than that which belonged to it as the 
 possible lurking-place of predatory enemies 
 or wild animals ; but the Atollians feared 
 it as children fear bogy men. The silence 
 and mystery of the jungle were awe-inspir- 
 ing to all of us, as such untrodden wilds 
 ever are to men of imagination ; but to the 
 natives they were absolutely terrifying,— 
 places abounding in cannibal enemies and 
 haunted by the footsteps of ghosts. Even 
 when the fort was almost finished, and when 
 the surroundings were patrolled by brave 
 
 169 
 
an affair in t\it ^ont^ ^eafi 
 
 guards, it was with fear that brown men 
 carried the polished slabs of coral from the 
 beach to the workmen. The soft, cool 
 mornings brought the terrors of fright to 
 their souls, as if the breezes might waft 
 to their ears the death-cry of trapped 
 victims in the jungle. 
 
 When the fort was finished, most of our 
 ammunition and rifles were stored there ; 
 and some of the cannons and rapid-fire 
 guns were placed where they would be most 
 useful in checking an outbreak. By order 
 of Swanson, six men were detailed for guard 
 duty at the fort. A telephone line con- 
 nected the guards' quarters with the town; 
 and this protection lasted until a more per- 
 manent system was adopted by the people. 
 
 I do not know just how long our village 
 might have existed as a mere pioneer out- 
 post, had not some ambitious soul suggested 
 the founding of a permanent organization 
 with the attributes of a state. 
 
 It was Judge Davis who first grasped the 
 problem in its entirety, and took steps 
 to bring order out of our peaceful chaos ; 
 
 170 
 
Wt JounH a ^tate 
 
 and when he had fully stated the reasons 
 for forming a rational government, I saw 
 the advantage of the scheme, and I joined 
 him with hearty good will. A hasty con- 
 sultation showed that it was advisable to 
 explain our views to Swanson and Taipu, 
 to avoid- envy or suspicion. To this end 
 we arranged a conference at Taipu's native 
 house. That there might be the fullest 
 expression of opinion, the question of organ- 
 izing a state was canvassed with the people, 
 and ten representatives were chosen from 
 the ranks of the colonists ; and when we 
 convened, there was the best of good feeling 
 among all classes. The chief was accompa- 
 nied by ten or fifteen native advisers. 
 
 The time of this eventful council was a 
 glorious night of stars, with a dreamy moon 
 later, and our business was dispatched 
 around a large table in the ancient feast- 
 room, a rising breeze from the sea refreshing 
 the air. As we sat discussing the building 
 of a free state in these cannibal surround- 
 ings, my eyes fell upon an assortment of 
 stone images, spears, slings, daggers made 
 
 171 
 
9ln 9lffair in tl^e ^outj) ^cad 
 
 of sharks' teeth, and poisoned arrows, in 
 the background, — dread reminders of our 
 bloodthirsty neighbors". I shuddered at the 
 thought that the man-eating spirit was 
 latent in the very air. 
 
 Swanson rapped us to order and ex- 
 plained the purpose of the meeting, repeat- 
 ing the gist of his words in English. 
 
 " Men, we 're here to see about launching 
 the new ship of state," he said; "and it's 
 proper and sailor-like to see her start right. 
 Now, if she was a real ship for sailin' in salt- 
 w^ater, instead of down the stream of time, 
 I might be of some use ; but here 's where 
 we need lawyers to guide us, and we 've got 
 'em right here to speak. I 'm sure they 're 
 honest, and the prosperity of this country 
 is close to their hearts; — so we'd better 
 listen to what they say. But I 've just one 
 w^ord, myself, before they begin, though per- 
 haps I 'm intrudin' my opinion. It is this : 
 in all we do, men, let us remember our 
 promises to these good natives, — first, be- 
 cause it 's right, and then again, because 
 if we start them against us, they '11 boil hell 
 
 172 
 
Wt JFottnU a ^tatc 
 
 down to a half-pint, and give us a battle 
 to the death. I think our laws should 
 protect them as fully as they protect us ; 
 and let us act so that shame will never come 
 to us or our children." 
 
 Then he explained the nature of white 
 men's governments, the business of lawyers 
 and courts, and the fact that the administra- 
 tion of justice and the guaranty of fair 
 dealing are the aim and function of gov- 
 ernments and laws. He used some rough 
 illustrations, and the chief and his advisers 
 were pleased with the speech. 
 
 "Taipu, we know this is all new to you," 
 he said, at last, "and it will pertain more 
 to our people than to yours ; but we have 
 begun our dealings in a fair, open-handed 
 way, and we don't want you to imagine 
 we would hold underhanded meetings. By 
 the treaty, our governmental affairs may be 
 conducted in any way we see fit, so long 
 as we do not interfere with you and your 
 people ; but we are glad you have honored 
 us with your presence, and we hope you 
 will like our laws." 
 
 173 
 
3ln 9lffair in tl)e ^out^ ^eas 
 
 Taipu rose with dignity, made the polite 
 Atollian royal bow, and replied as follows: 
 "Taipu and his people love the honest 
 white men and their way of doing things, 
 that no others can do, — none but the gods. 
 Their hogs are juicy, and much fat is on 
 the ribs of our people because they have 
 sucked the sweetness from the white man's 
 food. Our young men are plowing and 
 sowing the fields, and our daughters are 
 happy at white men's tables, upsetting our 
 religion by eating at the same board with 
 their husbands. These new customs we 
 have seen prosper in houses of happiness. 
 In spite of our old women and the witch- 
 doctors, no evil eye has fallen upon us, 
 and the white man's touch has not withered 
 the cocoa-palms and the yams. 
 
 "Taipu and his people are proud and 
 full of faith; so I say that your laws shall 
 be our laws, and we render gratitude that 
 we are here to listen to speeches, of wis- 
 dom. It may be that our deified fathers 
 — those who passed into the deep earth 
 when the sea was young, and who now 
 
 174 
 
Wt JotttiU a ^tate 
 
 watch us, — are using your tongues to teach 
 us the way of right." ^ 
 
 When Taipu had finished, there was no 
 further waste of breath in compliments or 
 parleying ; we fell to the business of the 
 council, Swanson acting as interpreter. 
 Judge Davis sounded the note of wisdom, 
 and made the first speech. 
 
 "We stand at the cradle of this little 
 nation," he said, "and we owe a duty to 
 ourselves and to posterity. You have all 
 heard that a tree will be inclined the way 
 the twig is bent in youth ; and that old 
 saw should be applied to government. 
 Then what is our status? We are wholly 
 unorganized ; in such a condition any of 
 the great or small powers of the world 
 might discover this island, declare us law- 
 less adventurers, and absorb us without 
 difficulty." 
 
 " Do you hold that we could prevent such a 
 catastrophe bylaws?" asked Parson Lovejoy. 
 
 ^ It is difficult to translate South Sea languages into 
 English, but the rendering conveys the thought, as 
 nearly as I am able to translate it. 
 
 175 
 
sin Affair in t!)e ^mt\i ^easi 
 
 "Yes, sir," replied the Judge; "beyond 
 all doubt. I am trying to point out that 
 there is a way to get a standing with na- 
 tions." 
 
 Doctor Saville thought the point should 
 be explained; so the Judge said: "It is 
 something like this : International law rec- 
 ognizes the sovereignty and rights of states; 
 but it does not give to castaways the dig- 
 nity of statehood, especially when they 
 have not taken any steps to show that they 
 ever regarded themselves as a sovereign 
 power. Now, we are undoubtedly a com- 
 munity of very earnest and very good 
 people, and we are living peacefully, within 
 certain well-defined limits of territory. To 
 that extent we have the general features of 
 a state ; but many elements are lacking. 
 We are not living under a permanent 
 organization which aims to secure the prev- 
 alence of justice by self - imposed laws. 
 Until we go that far, until we take steps 
 to found a living political state, with a 
 fixed government as its organ to adminis- 
 ter justice, — well, I'm sorry to say we 
 
 176 
 
Wt lonrOi a ;§>tate 
 
 cannot expect to have any standing in the 
 eyes of the world. We should have nothing 
 to lean upon." 
 
 " If there 's any likelihood of any damned 
 old warship nosin' around these waters, and 
 layin' a claim that we 're heathens in need 
 of bein' governed," said Swanson, "then 
 for God's sake let 's plant our flag so deep 
 and strong that we '11 not be prey for any 
 of them." 
 
 "Captain Swanson is right," exclaimed 
 Doctor Saville ; " and I 'm for having Judge 
 Davis draw the plans and architectural de- 
 signs for the state of Atollia. Iladley, 
 how does it strike you?" 
 
 Thus addressed, I could not remain silent, 
 so I chimed in with the Judge's views, say- 
 ing, "I 'm in accord with Judge Davis. 
 There are international and social reasons 
 why we should assume the rights and 
 duties of an independent state. As we 
 grow richer and stronger, there will be 
 need of a government worthy of our con- 
 dition, — a sovereign that all men can look 
 up to as the seat of justice. We must not 
 
 177 
 
^n 9lffair in t\)t ^outb ^cag 
 
 forget that law cannot be pushed aside ; it 
 is the order that pervades and controls the 
 universe, and none can escape its jurisdic- 
 tion. Since this is true, there should be an 
 intelligent and responsible moral power to 
 administer it, even in the smallest commu- 
 nity. 
 
 " Coming to the international question, it 
 strikes me that we should prepare for the 
 day of larger relations ; w^e cannot live 
 always in this undiscovered happiness. If 
 we become a sovereign state, the world (if it 
 discovers us) will regard us as just as large 
 in equality as any nation under the sun ; 
 for old and young, large and small, mon- 
 archies and republics, stand as equals before 
 the law of nations." 
 
 There was not a dissenting voice ; so it 
 was decided to call an early meeting at the 
 town hall, to give the people a chance to 
 form themselves into a state, by adopting 
 a constitution and developing their ideas 
 into the full machinery of a government. 
 I have always held that the state was really 
 formed the moment our views became 
 
 178 
 
Wt jFottnH a ^tate 
 
 unanimous at that original conference, — 
 for to speak of liberty, to move as one, 
 under the inspiration of freedom, is to 
 found a state. 
 
 If it be true that the constitution of the 
 oak tree is indelibly written in the acorn, 
 which contains the sailing-chart for cen- 
 turies of growth, then the organic law of 
 Atollia was latent in our minds that night, 
 and the state sprang into being the hour of 
 our conference. Its leaves and branches 
 may grow for ages ; it may blossom into 
 complex flowers of liberty in years to come, 
 — but it was founded at that first council. 
 The embryonic empire was quickened into 
 life in the flower-scented air of Chief Taipu's 
 feast-room, among the heathen images, as I 
 have stated, — and the business was well 
 done. 
 
 Before we departed for the place of the 
 founding, Taipu showed his appreciation. 
 He said, *'We trust the white men, though 
 we never have seen the great nations they 
 fear. To-night we shall pray to all our 
 gods to make the white man's plans prosper 
 
 179 
 
^n 9lffair in t\it ^outlb ^eas 
 
 until this land sinks into the sea it rose 
 from when the first men were young." 
 
 The moon was bright in the west when 
 we went forth from the council. There was 
 a thundering sound of breakers in the night 
 air, and the breath of flowers was in my 
 path as I walked through a wood of toa 
 to meet Tuna at the gate of our happy 
 home. 
 
 180 
 
<BviV jFlag: of ^Tttfitice 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 OUR FLAG OF JUSTICE. 
 
 IT was in the temperate and flower- 
 scented air of that glorious island that 
 less than two hundred souls met to com- 
 plete the founding of a state, and to select 
 a flag that would be the symbol of political 
 and industrial freedom. Human ambition 
 never coveted a fairer purpose in a fairer 
 land, and our hopes were quickened in 
 the romantic surroundings, — a forest of 
 palms. 
 
 In the colorless light of morning, with 
 just a bloom of pink on the luminous 
 mountains beyond the brimming bay, we 
 were summoned to the place of meeting 
 by the ringing of a church bell, which 
 never, surely, had sounded for a holier 
 purpose, — the founding of a government 
 
 181 
 
^a Affair in tl)c ^outl) gjcafi 
 
 to carry out the doctrines of peace on 
 earth and good will among men. 
 
 The calendar marked December 20th, but 
 the odor of wild lemons and the sight 
 of delicate growing things told that winter 
 was but a name. 
 
 Amid the sweetest influences of nature 
 our state was formed ; and justice was the 
 altar before which we bowed. It was the 
 fittest of places for the cradle of a nation. 
 The birds sang, the surf boomed, and the 
 sun fell like a halo on our natal day. 
 
 Taipu and his followers left us to our 
 deliberations, while they pursued their 
 games and feasts undisturbed ; but Tuna 
 and many other native women sat and 
 watched us in our counseling. It was a 
 striking contrast of simple and complex 
 races pursuing their paths of life side 
 by side. Upon each the surroundings made 
 the impressions peculiar to the mental de- 
 velopment of the people. To the wild 
 Atollians, the wood just beyond our hall was 
 a place of gloom and fear, — an enchanted 
 spot where every tree held a devil ; to us, it 
 
 182 
 
(Bnx Jlas of ^n&titt 
 
 breathed the spirit of poetry and freedom, 
 as to the men who worshiped in primeval 
 forests when the race was young. 
 
 Within our little world, affairs of state 
 went forward with as much precision as if 
 we had been in Boston, Philadelphia, or 
 New York. Even if our Independence Hall 
 was at the remotest end of the earth, it was 
 our temple of freedom, just the same. In 
 its holy aisles we dedicated ourselves to the 
 cause of liberty ; civilization flowered, and 
 "the city of God on earth, with its walls 
 of jasper and its gates of pearl," seemed 
 near at hand, although just beyond the 
 thin walls of our meeting-house the forest 
 lay dark and terrible, with its mysteries of 
 cannibalism and its rites of savagery, — as 
 if the barbaric past were looking in upon 
 us through the same open windows that 
 brought to our ears the sound of the sea 
 and to our nostrils the breath of a tropical 
 forest. 
 
 On the second morning of meeting, the 
 constitution of Atollia became a living law. 
 A white banner, with one blue star in the 
 
 183 
 
9[n Affair in tl)e ^outl) ^eae 
 
 center, was made our flag, and Captain 
 Swanson was unanimously elected Presi- 
 dent, with an advisory board to confer 
 with him on matters of state. 
 
 At the end of these deliberations. Presi- 
 dent Swanson offered a resolution declaring 
 the gold and silver coin of the United States 
 of America the lawful money of Atollia. It 
 was adopted without a dissenting vote. 
 
 "I now ask that an adjournment be taken 
 until ten o'clock to-morrow," he said; where- 
 upon a motion to that effect was made and 
 carried. 
 
 Before the colonists dispersed, however, 
 the President said, "I should like to have 
 the superintendent of census furnish me 
 the name of every person in the state, that 
 I may refer to it in the morning." 
 
 *'The list was finished yesterday," said 
 Kandolph, "and it will be at the service 
 of the President at any time." 
 
 We lingered for a time to greet the Pres- 
 ident as our formal leader. He gave an ear 
 to every little compliment, carrying his 
 honors with pleasing dignity. 
 
 184 
 
(But jFlaff of 3ftiStice 
 
 Before the next meeting was rapped to 
 order the hall was comfortably filled. The 
 only white persons not present were six 
 or eight guards, who Vv^ere at the moment 
 on duty at the fort ; for a rumor had gone 
 out that the President would outline his 
 policy, though nobody knew its character. 
 In this mental attitude, curiosity intensified 
 suspense, and it was an expectant and 
 eager audience that awaited the new ruler's 
 declarations concerning his purpose. 
 
 Finally the rotund figure of Swanson 
 became visible through a side door that led 
 to the speaker's platform. At sight of him 
 we broke into cheering, just like any other 
 noisy and eager throng. But when the 
 tumult and bustle had died away, when 
 the last shout was cut short at a wave 
 of the Captain's hand, the business of the 
 day was on. 
 
 " I have called you here, my good peo- 
 ple," said Swanson, " to say that I want 
 this state to succeed, and I want its people 
 to be happy. Well, I guess you know that 
 already ; but I 've been a business man 
 
 185 
 
^n Affair in tl)e ^out!) ^eas 
 
 with a dash of success in my time, and I 
 know that bartering 's a hard way to do 
 business. A man has n't always got a hog 
 to swap for his neighbor's calf, and if he 's 
 got no money, he has to do business on 
 credit. Now, credit 's a bad thing, for it 
 leads to extravagance and misunderstand- 
 ings ; so we need money to carry on our 
 business. Well, as I 've started out to treat 
 you all handsome, I guess I 'd better keep 
 on. If you '11 excuse me a minute, I '11 ex- 
 plain my meanin' in full." 
 
 The Captain then stepped to a door off 
 the platform, and said, " Boys, roll her in 1 " 
 
 Instantly, four men wheeled in a truck, on 
 which were piled many bags of gold and 
 silver. There was the greatest buzzing of 
 voices imaginable, but silence ensued when 
 the leader came forward to speak again. 
 
 "I want the census-taker and the men 
 who have charge of this money,'^ he began, 
 " to call off the names, and give every white 
 person in Atollia one thousand dollars, 
 with my compliments. The natives don't 
 know what money is, and they would n't 
 
 186 
 
(But 5Ias: of ^netitt 
 
 know what to do with it if they had it, — but 
 we '11 treat them right some other way." 
 
 Though the gift was like the man, we 
 were hardly prepared for such a turn, and 
 the effect of the announcement was aptly 
 described by a woman who sat near me, as 
 "decidedly rejuvenating." It was like a 
 burst of sunshine after a month of rain, 
 though the coin stood for little more than a 
 symbol that had always meant comfort in 
 other lands. As the business proceeded, 
 curiosity gave way to joy, and a group of 
 agitated faces showed the depth and buoy- 
 ancy of our happiness. 
 
 After a brief interval of silence, one of the 
 school teachers made a graceful speech of 
 thanks and appreciation, concluding with a 
 proposal of cheers for the President. There 
 followed a heartiness of cheering that did 
 our souls good. 
 
 *'I thank you," said Swanson ; "but I'm 
 only doin' my duty, — that 's all." 
 
 He then whispered with the census-taker 
 for a moment, scanning a list of names. "I 
 have the names of those now on duty at 
 
 187 
 
^n 9lffatr in tlje ^outb ^cais 
 
 the fort," he said. "They shall have their 
 money the very moment they are off duty, 
 so they can stow it away." 
 
 For more than two hours the paymasters 
 were busy at their task ; and it was an odd 
 sight to see new silver pieces and yellow 
 gold piled high on the table where the 
 cashiers did their counting. After the 
 jingling had ceased, we were called up in 
 alphabetical order, and each was handed 
 his part of the "great divide." 
 
 The sight of so much money made peo- 
 ple's eyes glisten, just as an old toper's 
 mouth " waters " at sight of rum ; but as 
 I saw the distribution (and even when I 
 carried away my heavy load of coin), I 
 thought what dross it was; for our cups 
 of happiness had already brimmed high 
 without the aid of gold, — and the sight of 
 money recalled many bitter struggles and 
 memories, and there was a brooding fear 
 that gold might bring evil to our commu- 
 nity. As if to accentuate this fear, some 
 of the faces attested that poverty and its 
 empty days had stupefied and dwarfed 
 
 188 
 
©ur jFIaff of ^neiitt 
 
 faculties meant for higher development. 
 The crimes of civilization had left their 
 scars on many of our people. 
 
 Our state was by common consent mod- 
 eled after the framework of the Federal 
 government of the United States of Amer- 
 ica, with many principles extended to meet 
 the problems of later times. Though we 
 were in a place of feasting, where a temper- 
 ate and sensible pursuit of wealth brought 
 everybody enough to eat, drink, and wear, 
 we drew our organic law with an eye to 
 a future in which conditions of unequal 
 wealth might readily arise. We sterilized 
 the seeds of monopoly in advance. 
 
 " Let us not allow the noise and trum- 
 peting of our success to blind us to the 
 dangers of the future," said Judge Davis ; 
 "for when the tumult and the shouting of 
 our passing day have ceased, posterity will 
 have to face the old problem of making 
 the loaves and fishes go round. If we let 
 things run themselves, as so many govern- 
 ments of the Old and of the New World 
 have done, they will run to the devil." 
 
 189 
 
9ln Slffair in tl^c ^outb ^^ac 
 
 So it was our constant endeavor to pre- 
 vent property from becoming the posses- 
 sion of the few, while power was the pos- 
 session of the many. We recalled Lincoln's 
 words, uttered when he feared the day 
 that all the wealth of America would be 
 in the hands of the few, — a fear that un- 
 nerved him, and caused him more anxiety 
 than anything during the Civil War. Sq 
 we sought by every device of law, and by 
 such statesmanship as we could summon, 
 to provide for the continued diffusion of 
 wealth, without destroying any proper free- 
 dom of the masses. 
 
 Our hardest fight was with the pure 
 socialists (led by Doctor Saville), who stub- 
 bornly contended that the government ought 
 to make everything, from a box of matches 
 to a bicycle. 
 
 The problem was to keep wealth moving 
 among the people in such a way as to 
 prevent the abuses of monopoly. We man- 
 aged our affairs so well, however, that the 
 state controlled many departments of in- 
 dustry and trade, with marked benefit to 
 
 190 
 
(But IU% of STttfitice 
 
 the general progress ; but the state acted 
 in this field only under the pressure of 
 necessity, and to prevent injury by private 
 capital and enterprise. 
 
 Under such circumstances, every attempt 
 to extend the dominion of the state beyond 
 the bounds I have outlined was resisted 
 by the people as an infringement on their 
 liberties. They refused to vest the neces- 
 sary authority in the administration to carry 
 out anything like an extensive state social- 
 istic programme. 
 
 Despite his growing love of power, which 
 increased with the coming of age, Swanson 
 opposed every attempt or suggestion to 
 strengthen the army, or to extend the 
 functions of the state into realms of gen- 
 eral commerce. 
 
 *' Do you believe we should make AtoUia 
 a military government ? " I once asked 
 him, after there had been some such sug- 
 gestions by the ambitious. 
 
 "Never," he replied; "for that would 
 be too much like rulin' by force. Did you 
 never notice that soldiers are not good for 
 
 191 
 
3[n 9[ffair in tl)e ^outl) ^tua 
 
 anything else ? An army 's simply a fight- 
 in'- machine, — that's all. Soldiers can't 
 have opinions of their own ; they must act 
 as if every devil of 'em believed the same 
 thing, — and that thing's the commander's 
 word. And I tell you I did n't come here 
 to start a tyrant's government. The people 
 must be allowed to think, — and thought 
 would destroy an army." 
 
 "Let us try to carry the religion of the 
 immortal Declaration into industrial life," 
 was Doctor Saville's contention, though his 
 plans were sometimes rather vague. 
 
 "That and the Golden Rule will make 
 this country a paradise," added Parson 
 Lovejoy. 
 
 "However difficult it may be to equalize 
 industrial conditions in a large country," 
 held Judge Davis, " we may be able to estab- 
 lish a just system of work and wages in a 
 small community like this ; and if we start 
 on sound principles, the benefits of our 
 work may go down the ages. Anyhow, 
 let us aim high ; let us aim at the sun, 
 even if we hit only a rail fence." 
 
 192 
 
©ttr jFlaff of ^U6tm 
 
 Such sentiments animated everybody at 
 the convention, and there was unity from 
 the beginning, except, for a time, as to 
 methods. 
 
 "All men are free and equal, just as they 
 are in America," I said ; " but everybody 
 over there admits the harsh destiny of the 
 masses ; so I think we should make the pur- 
 suit of happiness easier by putting the iron 
 heel of the law squarely upon the sharks 
 of commerce. Let us have an income tax, 
 for one thing ; and suppose we make it easy 
 for everybody to get a home, and unlawful 
 for any man to sell his homestead." 
 
 There was not much delay in settling 
 these provisions, for they appealed to the 
 masses as equitable and practicable. 
 
 "Poverty seems as far away from us as 
 the Day of Judgment," said Judge Davis ; 
 "but the advisory board has conceived the 
 happy plan of providing for the future 
 by setting aside a domain where the unfor- 
 tunate will be able to earn their way in the 
 world." 
 
 "As we have about everything we need 
 
 193 
 
9ln Affair in tl)e §>mt^ ^eafi 
 
 ourselves," returned Doctor Saville, "let 
 us show that we are humane enough to look 
 out for posterity. The proposition pleases 
 me and my friends, and we are ready to 
 hear it in detail." 
 
 The audience was silent, for this provision 
 was the last important principle incorpo- 
 rated into our laws. Even the humblest 
 man appreciated the fact that we were the 
 fathers of the country ; and there was 
 something solemn in our making provision 
 for the unborn. 
 
 "There may come a time in the distant 
 future," said Judge Davis, "when the poor 
 will overrun this fair land, for no human 
 society has yet been devised where all were 
 shod and housed and fed through the ages ; 
 so it is wise to provide against the wolf 
 at the door." 
 
 Many vital problems were disposed of in 
 the first days of the government. And 
 as we sat at our loom weaving the fabric 
 of a state that was to last, we strove to cut 
 all defective threads. The work was pleas- 
 ant, the glow of hope over it all. 
 
 194 
 
©ur jFlag: of Suctice 
 
 To recur to the Judge's argument, this was 
 its essence : "If the citizen stands ready- 
 to surrender his life to his country in the 
 hour of its peril, the country should afford 
 the citizen a chance to earn a living when 
 he is crowded to the door of want. 
 
 "It is the duty of the state to take care 
 of defectives, delinquents, and dependents, 
 but the poorhouse plan is bad ; it should 
 be supplanted by the army of industry, com- 
 posed of those who have failed to make their 
 way in the world. The worthy unemployed 
 should be placed where they can earn their 
 living under government direction. 
 
 "The state should furnish fertile lands, 
 machinery, capital, and expert business 
 management for those able to produce crea- 
 ture comforts. The labor of such willing 
 hands, backed by governmental manage- 
 ment and capital, would soon solve the 
 problem of homeless and hungry men and 
 women. It would give little children bread 
 and homes and schools ; and a few hours 
 devoted to productive industry each day 
 would bring food and shelter for all. The 
 
 195 
 
3[n Slffair in t^t ^otttl) ^eaa 
 
 poor would be herded into a co-operative 
 commonwealth, where pure state manage- 
 ment would be applied to a specific class, 
 in a limited area." 
 
 In spite of some opposition, provisions 
 of the character conceived by Judge Davis 
 were set forth in our constitution. 
 
 Before a year, we found ourselves face to 
 face with delicate problems ; for human 
 nature contains restless elements, and fault- 
 finding is in its composition. 
 
 "If God had only made our people as 
 gentle as the climate," I said to Swanson 
 one day, after a little row at a town meeting, 
 *'we might avoid such disturbances." 
 
 " Still, it 's better 'n anything we 've ever 
 seen elsewhere," he returned ; *' but a 
 state 's a state, whether in Lapland or the 
 South Seas, and I suppose there '11 be 
 trouble so long as everybody has a voice 
 in everything. It 's like all the deck-hands 
 tryin' to run a ship, — and 't won't do, at 
 all." 
 
 " Then you believe the rulers ought to 
 have more power?" I asked. 
 
 196 
 
€fnx JIaa: of ^uaitice 
 
 *' That's the point," said Swanson ; "give 
 'em a firm grip while they 're in, so that 
 their rules will be like the order of a mili- 
 tary officer. If you don't vest power in 
 your rulers, you can't have a strong 
 policy." 
 
 "And yet you opposed Doctor Saville's 
 state socialism, which gave the state more 
 power?" I asked. 
 
 "I'm against it," he said, "because it 's 
 not needed in this country, whatever other 
 countries may need. It would take too 
 man}^ mathematicians to figure up whether 
 one fellow had hoed a hill of beans more 'n 
 another, — and they 'd fight if they were 
 paid differently. Life 's too short to fool 
 with such folderol in a country where 
 there 's no labor problem." 
 
 In the light of history, there was much 
 sense in the Captain's observations, for 
 there was never a day in Atollia when any 
 man really feared poverty. The work was 
 easy, and care and worry were thrown to 
 the winds. For this reason, among others, 
 there was no uncertainty or disorder in our 
 
 197 
 
9ln Affair in tl)e ^auth ^cag 
 
 work, which was often made easy by the 
 aid of natives. The men frequently worked 
 together, hence there was little loneliness, — 
 and the rush and strain we had known in 
 other lands never marred the social life. 
 
 Even under these pleasant conditions it 
 was some time before the haunted look of 
 fear — fear for the future — wholly faded 
 from the faces of men whose past had been 
 in surroundings of hunger and want ; but 
 the stamp of courage finally appeared, and 
 they went to their work with a will. They 
 succeeded because advantages were better 
 than the rest of the world offered. Perhaps 
 this offends some hopeful American whose 
 life has fallen in pleasant places, and who 
 thinks his native land fulfills the rosy 
 promises of its youth. But every student of 
 recent history knows that the United States 
 are reaching Old World conditions rapidly. 
 It may be very well for political orators to 
 boast that there is a chance for everybody 
 in America ; they know better. It may be 
 all right for Americans to talk of " room at 
 the top " ; but they do not speak of the 
 
 198 
 
(But JFIas: of Sfttfiitice 
 
 desolation and hopelessness of the struggle 
 presented in the case of the average man, — 
 they hide the facts under a veil of words. 
 
 "Where capital forms itself into monop- 
 oly, and strives for special privileges in the 
 business of making money," said Judge 
 Davis, "let the state conduct the enterprise, 
 whether it 's a street-railroad or gas-works. 
 It would be a progressive step in the line 
 of promoting the general welfare. When- 
 ever private enterprise clogs the diffusion 
 of wealth, and plucks the golden fruit from 
 the tree of opportunity, it is the duty of 
 the state to conduct that enterprise in the 
 interest of the masses. We do not want to 
 inhibit individual capital and enterprise, 
 but we must impress them into the service 
 of the commonwealth. The passive policy 
 of letting things alone has its limit, and 
 there are times when the state must handle 
 questions unflinchingly." 
 
 The Judge's plans became a part of our 
 policy, which may be one of the reasons 
 we were always so moderate and sensible 
 in our commercial life ; for no man ever 
 
 199 
 
^n Affair in tl)t ^nutl) ^cafi 
 
 vras known to kill himself in Atollia in the 
 mad struggle for millions. 
 
 It was the Sage of Concord who aptly 
 said there should be temperance in making 
 cloth, as well as in eating. We agreed that 
 a man should not be a silkworm, nor a 
 nation a tent of caterpillars. So we decided 
 that the corner-stone of our political econ- 
 omy should be the Emersonian purpose, — 
 the care and culture of men. We thought 
 the prevention of poverty and crime was 
 wiser and easier than handling them when 
 they appeared. We held that there could 
 not be oppressive inequalities of wealth if 
 monopolies were prevented. Under such 
 laws there was no sweating and groaning 
 under a weary life of unrequited toil. 
 
 At the end of two years in this idyllic 
 land of sunshine and strange people, we 
 found ourselves as happy as any other 
 crowd of reef-rovers in the entire belt of 
 the South Seas. The problems of food and 
 comfort that knocked at the door of the 
 great outside world for solution were un- 
 known to us. Our troubles pertained to 
 
 200 
 
©ur Jlaa: of ^fttsittce 
 
 our isolated surroundings, and were petty, 
 compared with the world's great worries. 
 How to develop our resources for the needs 
 of a high civilization ; how to build a state 
 for posterity, without overlooking the needs 
 of the passing hour, — these were some of 
 our problems. Yes ; and there was the 
 constant fear that our people might divide 
 into contending factions, and rend society 
 asunder by their jealousies and bicker- 
 ings. 
 
 Our fears caused us to provide many 
 safeguards against state aggression on the 
 proper rights of individuals. At the door 
 of the home the state's power was at an 
 end, except in its general supervision, as 
 in all civilized lands. 
 
 How silently my life glided in Atollia, — 
 from the memory of my struggles in San 
 Francisco, — from care and warping poverty 
 to a regal condition ! And as I sit here 
 now, where summer airs are ever blowing, 
 it seems hard to realize how unhappy I was 
 before I saw these southern seas flashing 
 in the sun. 
 
 201 
 
3tn Affair in tht ^outl^ ^ca« 
 
 As I sit recalling those pleasant times, — 
 the full, ripe days when I was first happy 
 with Tuna, and at peace with my surround- 
 ings, — the past rises before me, so hallowed, 
 so invested with the glamour of romance, 
 that I can see it only as a pleasant waking 
 dream. But the charm of incident is 
 here forever new, rising like a picture of 
 growing beauty, like the glory of music. 
 
 Atollia seems ever young ; life, a perpet- 
 ual revelation. When I try to recall my 
 lonely, fruitless years at the bar, — in the 
 discouraging days before I ever heard of 
 Swanson, — it seems that those experiences 
 must have come to me in another life; 
 for my happiness here seems separated from 
 all past existence by such a gulf that the 
 space is like that between worlds. 
 
 202 
 
mn i5iu ^mu 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 OLD BILL BANKS. 
 
 YEAR after year our lives ran as qui- 
 etly as a summer vacation in a land 
 of flowers, with little to interrupt the seren- 
 ity of our island world. Day after day of 
 peaceful skies and delicate airs, the tides 
 "brimmed into the bay" and filled the 
 lagoons, the palms gave their refreshing 
 shade, and the nights were bright with stars, 
 the sea glimmering with their reflections. 
 
 Atollia grew more beautiful as time 
 passed, until the village stood, at last, a 
 picturesque group of homes, breaking the 
 monotony of nature's vast and lonely wilds. 
 Around us savagery lay hid and expectant, 
 now ruled by superstition, the next mo- 
 ment copying our methods and playing at 
 the arts of culture. 
 
Stn Affair in t|)e ^outl) ^tu& 
 
 With the tints of fairyland floating in 
 varied hues, from the shining surf on 
 shores of coral and sand, to the brilliant 
 greens, penciled blues, and somber purples 
 of the mountains, there was every range 
 of color and inspiration to delight the 
 soul. 
 
 It was a prosperous and happy colony 
 that dwelt like brothers by the pulsing 
 tides of a dreamy island world, — yet trouble 
 was not to be wholly banished from our 
 Eden by the sea. The weaknesses of man, 
 and the conflict of the new and the old, 
 were in the cards ; so we had to reckon 
 with currents and storms beyond the lim- 
 its of our own society. 
 
 There were fewer dissensions among our 
 people than the most sanguine had ex- 
 pected. Our population was so small that 
 there was no scarcity, "no pressure on 
 nature's power of affording subsistence," 
 as Doctor Saville put it; so anything like 
 hard times was unknown to the inhabi- 
 tants of Atollia. Crops thrived, industry 
 outran our needs, justice prevailed without 
 
 204 
 
(BVn WSl ^mU 
 
 appealing to courts, and the natives waxed 
 fatter than ever before in their history. 
 
 In spite of these favorable conditions, 
 however, secret influences were at work to 
 cause us some trouble. As events will 
 show, the natives were ever under the 
 spell of fear. Occultism pervaded every 
 nook and cranny of their lives, and the 
 rankest superstitions ruled them when we 
 thought them happy, prosperous, and on 
 the highway to civilization. 
 
 My eyes were opened to real conditions 
 in a way the most sudden. I came out 
 on my veranda one bright morning when 
 the sky was still rosy with the colors of 
 dawn, and beheld a sight that cast a fear 
 upon me that I cannot compare to any- 
 thing so well as to the discovery of a 
 burglar in one's house. 
 
 You should understand that Atollia was 
 like a great family, savages and all, and that 
 strangers were never seen, even in the remot- 
 est places. If we did not know the natives 
 by name, their faces were familiar, and they 
 were at all times deferential and docile. 
 
 205 
 
^a Slffair in t\)t ^outlj ^cas 
 
 The morning in question I beheld a 
 powerful man walking quietly by a copse 
 of young trees. A swift, cl^ar river divided 
 my cottage and the greensward of the vil- 
 lage from the place where I first saw him 
 emerging from the grove. 
 
 By his walk and stature he was a 
 stranger, and when I clapped a pair of 
 field-glasses to my eyes, a giant sprang 
 before its lenses. His naked trunk was 
 tattooed in several colors, which glistened 
 brighter than the glow of his body; his 
 face was covered with a cropped stub of 
 beard, and there was a look of determina- 
 tion in his grim countenance. He wore a 
 rare cloak of yellow bird feathers, which I 
 did not observe at first, so carelessly was 
 it slung over his naked shoulders. From 
 the great value of such feathers, I knew the 
 wearer was a person of rank and influence ; 
 for few except princes wore such insignia 
 as garments made of the feathers of the oie 
 bird. In all the South Seas such raiments 
 are mantles of the great. 
 
 But the thing that troubled me most 
 
 206 
 
(Bin ^tu ^mu 
 
 was what followed. Fully twenty Atollians 
 passed before the stranger as if in fear. 
 They saluted him with a strange manner 
 of obeisance, and their speech came to me 
 so broken by the distance that I could catch 
 no full sentence of their babbling ; but 
 there was one word spoken so often that I 
 heard it distinctly. It was the soft and 
 expressive noun, "tufa." I had never heard 
 it before, but its frequent repetition was 
 puzzling, and I was convinced that the word 
 had an important meaning. 
 
 Day was now growing, and people of the 
 village would soon be astir ; so the stranger 
 motioned to the natives to be seated ; and 
 they gathered around him in silence as he 
 addressed them briefly in a commanding 
 way. Had they been hypnotized, they could 
 not have fixed a more intent gaze upon 
 their evident master. They hung upon his 
 words as if his discourse were music. 
 
 At the end of his speech there was a 
 suddenness of farewells. The people bowed 
 with marked deference, again cried, "Tufa! 
 tufa!" and dispersed. 
 
 207 
 
an Affair in t\)t ^outl) ^eas 
 
 The tattooed giant then bounded through 
 the forest like a deer, leaving me gazing into 
 the wood, bewildered. By the time I had 
 mused until I was dizzy over the puzzle, my 
 little native wife was astir, and the closing 
 of shutters and doors to shut out the heat 
 of day showed that the village was shaking 
 sleep from its eyes. 
 
 "What does *tufa' mean?" I asked Tuna, 
 as soon as she was up. 
 
 "Tufa? tufa?" she said; "it means the 
 great chief, but it is an old word which 
 we don't use much. Where did you hear 
 it?" 
 
 Her answer startled me like a call to 
 arms, and it was some time before I told her 
 of the ceremony in the wood. You never 
 saw anybody so puzxled as I was, sitting 
 there trying to spell out the meaning of that 
 ominous morning picture. That my neigh- 
 bors were greeting a tattooed white giant 
 as their king, boded evil, — and the thought 
 choked me. Tuna saw my confusion with 
 alarm. 
 
 "What does it all mean?" I asked, after 
 
 208 
 
(BVa ^ill ^mU 
 
 I had told her the details of the strange 
 gathering across the river. 
 
 She drew near and told a story that shed 
 light on the situation, and set me planning. 
 From her description, which teemed with 
 references showing that she was not yet free 
 from superstition, it was probable that the 
 stranger was an ambitious beachcomber 
 known as Bill Banks. He was resident 
 on another island, of which he had become 
 the virtual ruler, holding the real chief 
 in fear by his feats of ventriloquism and 
 sleight of hand. Tuna had heard of his 
 exploits, and she knew it was his habit 
 to make occasional visits to Atollia, and that 
 he levied tribute whenever he saw anything 
 he wanted. 
 
 " Why did n't you tell me about Banks 
 before?" I asked. 
 
 She said she had not regarded the cir- 
 cumstance as important, and that she did 
 not care to worry me over the whims of her 
 people. I suspected that there was some- 
 thing of fear in her secrecy, as if she 
 thought harm might come from meddling 
 
 209 
 
9ln 9lffatr in tl)e ^outl) ^eas 
 
 with the affairs of a man reputed to be in 
 league with invisible powers. 
 
 By close questioning I learned that this 
 desperado was an ingenious scoundrel, a 
 '^jut-throat, and a dare-devil of wide re- 
 sources. By a story current for many years, 
 he possessed hypnotic powers, and was 
 accompanied by powerful devils, known as 
 *'makani,'' or wind-gods. They had thin, 
 shrill voices, and were swift of foot, and 
 the sound of their speaking would dart here 
 and there with the fleetness of shadows. 
 Such was Tuna's story. 
 
 " That 's because the scoundrel threw his 
 voice from him and changed his tones," 
 I said, explaining that I had such powers 
 to a limited degree, and that in my country 
 almost anybody could throw a piping voice 
 a few feet from him. If you could have 
 seen her wondering eyes when I did the 
 "man -in -the -box" talk common among 
 ventriloquists, you would understand the 
 rich field that superstition has among the 
 islanders. Despite my explanations and 
 her belief in my frankness, the experi- 
 
 210 
 
mn mn ^mu 
 
 ments were so uncanny that she shud- 
 dered and was nervous. 
 
 Another feature of old Bill Banks's devil- 
 work was the deft manipulation of coins 
 so that they disappeared in thin air, while 
 the natives looked on in open-mouthed 
 wonder. Pretending to be a sorcerer, he 
 readily convinced the savages that his 
 invisible allies had carried away the disap- 
 pearing articles. 
 
 "Tuna, did you never hear that the hand 
 is sometimes quicker than the eye?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " I don't think it is," she said, " or I 
 never heard so." 
 
 I manipulated a few pocket-pieces, so as 
 to keep her guessing like a child who sees 
 for the first time clever palming and other 
 tricks of the hand. 
 
 " You see I 've got as many spirits as Old 
 Bill," I said, — "and I 've got none at all." 
 
 I could see that Banks was fading as a 
 hero ; but the story of his art of depriving 
 people of articulate speech still lingered in 
 Tuna's memory. From what I could gather, 
 
 211 
 
sin 9lffair in tl)e ^ottt!) ^easi 
 
 the old beachcomber must have possessed 
 rare hypnotic powers, which he used with 
 all the boasting, hypocrisy, and wickedness 
 of an evil mind. 
 
 It appeared that in one or two instances 
 Banks had worked upon his subjects until 
 they were frightened almost to death. By 
 pretended prayers and incantations, and by 
 food-offerings to invisible gods, he paved 
 the way for his work. 
 
 Once he sought an intended victim and 
 began a conversation with him, during 
 which (the Atollians believed) the fingers 
 of devils clutched the unfortunate man's 
 vocal organs and paralyzed his speech. 
 Banks pretended he could force his quarry 
 to linger in speechless agony for years, or 
 even to die, if it were so decreed. 
 
 It was believed that Banks enjoyed the 
 friendship of poison-gods, and that he knew 
 incantations that would turn harmless food 
 into deadly drugs. He convinced the people 
 that he was a diviner in whose vision the 
 future was as clear as the white sands of 
 the beach. 
 
 212 
 
(BVn ^ill ^mU 
 
 A little reflection made it plain that this 
 malevolent and bold schemer was a danger- 
 ous enemy. He knew native character, and 
 was master of many arts of trickery. Ages 
 of superstition had made possible the suc- 
 cess of such a scoundrel. By a command, 
 he might call to his aid dangerous allies 
 from our ranks. Troops of pliable natives, 
 robbed of their reason by fear, and unre- 
 strained by high morals, might serve the 
 wicked white man at any moment. They 
 framed the picture of latent dangers, — and 
 I shuddered at the thought of our weak- 
 ness. 
 
 I heard Tuna's story of the stranger's 
 power with growing surprise, which I con- 
 cealed with difficulty. Though I pooh- 
 poohed these yarns of sorcery, I knew I 
 could not explain them to the natives; and 
 although I made light of Banks's alleged 
 deeds of mystery, the whole situation lay 
 heavy on my heart. 
 
 While I knew we could vanquish any foe 
 that might meet us in open battle, I felt the 
 weakness of modern warfare in a conflict 
 
 213 
 
an 9lffair in t|)e ^nutl) ^eac 
 
 with superstition. Every savage brain was 
 a battle-field, swarming with rebellious 
 beliefs, all intrenched behind bulwarks of 
 ignorance and fear. 
 
 It was plain that there was work to be 
 done ; we must dislodge this devil from his 
 lair, at any cost. His presence on our 
 island was like a plague, and his skulking 
 and secrecy would render him hard game 
 to bag. So long as he hovered near us, 
 there could be no safety, — and we were 
 feverish for the chase. 
 
 The last story of the cunning sorcerer's 
 exploits proved a treasure that saved us 
 at a time of peril. It concerned a quiver 
 ol poisoned arrows carried by Banks. The 
 slightest scratch from one of his mysteri- 
 ous javelins was said to mean a death of 
 agony. 
 
 Tuna knew of men and animals that 
 had fallen victims of these secret missiles 
 of destruction. One, a chief, had refused 
 to allow Banks a third young wife, and 
 in the combat that followed, the ruler 
 apparently won. The white devil shook 
 
 214 
 
mn ^tll iSankfi 
 
 hands with his opponent, agreeing to make 
 no further trouble. But Banks was seen 
 to smile like a gloating demon when he 
 observed that one of his arrows had grazed 
 the victim's naked thigh. Before sundown 
 the chief died in frothing delirium, his 
 body bloated beyond recognition, the flesh 
 black, the face bearing a stare of agony. 
 
 In his cups that night (after a debauch 
 in which he consumed large quantities of 
 a native liquor), Banks boasted that he 
 possessed a bottle of poison that he had 
 extracted from venomous snakes which he 
 had charmed in America. As reptiles and 
 poisonous insects were unknown on the 
 island, the story, and its corroboration in 
 the frightful death of a popular chieftain, 
 terrified the natives, and raised Banks to 
 the standing of a demi-god. 
 
 215 
 
9ln Slffair in tlit ^otttl) ^eafi 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE POISONED ARROW. 
 
 THERE was little peace in my heart 
 until I sought Swanson and told him 
 of the tattooed stranger and his pretense 
 of an alliance with the gods. 
 
 I reached the President's house just after 
 he had finished his labors the next after- 
 noon. The sun was bright, the sea air 
 glorious ; so we walked and talked for 
 hours, as was our custom when grave mat- 
 ters were under discussion. 
 
 It was with regret that I disturbed the 
 old man's sweet, calm hour with a story 
 that meant the beginning of worry ; but 
 duty bade me conceal no detail of what I 
 had seen ; so I gave the rugged leader the 
 narrative, Tuna's yarn and all. 
 
 "We can handle the spears and clubs 
 
 216 
 
C^e |3oi6onetj ^rroto 
 
 and slings of wild tribes better than the 
 cunning of one devil -worker," he said; 
 "for the dealer in black art can draw on 
 darkness and the forest for mystery, and 
 on the natives for men to wield knives." 
 
 Though surprised that Banks had fol- 
 lowers among our people, Swanson was not 
 a stranger to such adventurers' methods 
 and ambitions. 
 
 "He's one of those desperate wanderers 
 who carry disease and devilment through- 
 out the islands," he said; "and I'd almost 
 wager the Rosalie that he 's the same dog 
 that had some English traders put to death 
 as witches in Atuona ten years ago ; and 
 he 's as evil a spirit as ever led white men 
 to destruction or plundered natives of 
 their copra and pearls." 
 
 "Do you look for any grave danger 
 from him?" I asked. 
 
 "It might have been serious," he re- 
 turned, " and it 's all a guess now, for a 
 whole tribe might be honey-combed with 
 rebellion before you 'd know it ; so, you 
 see, you Ve made a lucky discovery. If 
 
 217 
 
^n Affair in t|)e S>out() S^eas; 
 
 their heads get turned, they 're cunninger 'n 
 rats. They might cut your throat most 
 any day, and believe they were killin' a 
 witch. It all depends upon the power 
 that 's controllin' them.'' 
 
 Swanson explained that a man like Banks 
 might do more harm than a thousand armed 
 cannibals, because the wisest rulers and 
 greatest generals are powerless to prevent 
 assassination in their own tents. 
 
 "Why, Hadley," he said, "I tell you 
 that superstition grows here like weeds in 
 a garden. I believe it 's older than war 
 and cannibalism, and that 's say in' a good 
 deal. I think the priests and dealers in 
 hobgoblins were here before the warriors 
 got here with their spears and clubs." 
 
 My recent discoveries showed that Swan- 
 son did not overestimate the hold of super- 
 stition. The power of dealers in the occult 
 was evidently beyond calculation. A be- 
 lief in supernatural agents — ghosts, gods, 
 devils — made the savages constant victims 
 of fear, as their forefathers had been for 
 untold ages ; and I had no doubt that 
 
 218 
 
C!)e |)oifi!OMli arroto 
 
 native sorcerers and men like Banks were 
 viewed as creatures of peculiar sanctity, as 
 if the gods favored and supported them 
 by day and guided them by night. 
 
 "This is the hardest nut we've had to 
 crack yet," said Swanson ; "and I must give 
 you my plans, because I know you 're true- 
 blue. Are you ready to join me in a 
 pledge of secrecy, and to help to quell this 
 rising rebellion by measures that would 
 turn some people's heads?" 
 
 "Captain," I replied, "I'm not the man 
 to wilt in the presence of trials. I 've 
 been happy ever since the day when I 
 first stepped aboard the Rosalie, and I '11 
 not desert the man who showed me the 
 waters of a new life. I believe you know 
 these people, and your plans and ideas 
 command my respect. As I have confi- 
 dence in you, I '11 be loyal to the end." 
 
 "Give me your hand!" he said, "and 
 you '11 see an outlaw outdone. If we don't 
 beat him at his own game, this same Banks 
 will have himself declared king, and our 
 lives won't be worth a puff of smoke." 
 
 219 
 
3ln Affair in t|)e ^outlb ^eag 
 
 I was with him, heart and hand ; but I 
 expressed some fear of results, knowing 
 that we had to deal with trickery among 
 people as cunning as Indians. 
 
 " There 's no trouble about it," he re- 
 turned ; " but you 've got to fight fire with 
 fire, and we must out-Banks Banks. You 
 can rule white men by force, or by appeal- 
 ing to their love of money or power ; but 
 you can't rule a native who believes in 
 another man's ghosts, unless you introduce 
 bigger ghosts." 
 
 "Then it's a case of rivalry among me- 
 diums, and we 've got to go into the spook 
 business ourselves, — is that it?" I asked. 
 
 "Well, it 's something like that," said 
 Swanson. "Now, you see, we 've been doin* 
 famously here among ourselves, and we 
 thought we were all right among the Atol- 
 lians. That shows what little trust there 
 is to be put in them. By an accident 
 you 've made a discovery of a desperado 
 in the bush ; and it looks as if he 'd be 
 potted and we'd be saved, — but things 
 might have run along as smooth as oil 
 
 220 
 
Srije J3oidotie5 ^rroto 
 
 with him, until half the white men woke 
 up some morning with their throats cut. 
 That 's the treachery of superstition. You 
 must never forget that these derils have 
 been eatin' one another, and the women 
 too, for ages, — with all respect for your 
 good wife." 
 
 " Oh, damn relations ! " I exclaimed ; 
 "it's a question of saving throats." 
 
 "Then I 11 say this," said the old sea- 
 dog; "that all the beachcombers in the 
 world can't beat Swanson at the magician 
 business, and when the old man turns loose 
 he 11 drive terror to the hearts of the wisest 
 chiefs, and make them fear him as the 
 master of spirits." 
 
 "The chiefs?" I asked; "do you think 
 our chiefs recognize Banks?" 
 
 "They 're the biggest cowards of all," said 
 he ; " for they Ve ordered so many people 
 put to death, that they 're afraid of dead 
 men's bones whenever they hear the sudden 
 rustle of a leaf. Yes, sir ; if we ever come 
 to grief, it 11 be through the treachery of 
 the leaders." 
 
 221 
 
^n Affair in t\)t ^ottt^ i^eae 
 
 We discussed the situation until the high, 
 clear moon denoted that midnight was near. 
 We walked along the beach, where the 
 clamor of the surf drowned our voices in 
 the eloquent tumult of waves ; and at the 
 end of our deliberations we had decided on 
 a plan that would strike a fatal blow to 
 Banks and his followers. In spite of our 
 democratic ideas and love of fair play, we 
 spelt the word "k-i-n-g," and the path to 
 victory led to a crown. 
 
 The surroundings were unique and the 
 demand for action was imperative. The 
 natives had been ruled by one man since 
 the childhood of savagery ; and the arbi- 
 trary powers of a sovereign seemed the only 
 remedy that would save the little republic 
 of Atollia from destruction by hordes of 
 misguided cannibals. The white man's 
 duty was plain: — he must seize the reins, 
 or be destroyed by the wheels of Jugger- 
 naut. 
 
 I agreed that the only course was a firm, 
 unlimited power over natives, exercised by 
 the same ruler that was the chief executive 
 
 222 
 
(Hit Poifii0netr ^rroto 
 
 of the white men's government ; and I 
 observed that the suggested solution de- 
 lighted the man selected by fate for our 
 leader. His hopes leapt high, and his con- 
 versation, by degrees, revealed the ambition 
 that lay close to his heart. I could now see 
 his plans as under a magnifying-glass : — if 
 he could appeal to mystery and fear, the 
 spirit of revolution would be paralyzed, 
 every stagger at reasoning buried. The 
 natives would even worship him as a god. 
 
 "I 'd rather throw myself into the sea," 
 he said, "than bring a colony out here to 
 have them murdered by a cut-throat like 
 Banks. I 've been more 'n half-fool to be 
 asleep so long, anj^how ; for I knew these 
 barbarians would break loose some day in 
 some kind of deviltry. But it would be a 
 disgrace to the age and countr}^ for a 
 scoundrel who has led the life of a vagabond 
 on the reefs to become a king and ruler 
 over our carcasses." 
 
 The thought that Banks or one of his 
 kind might ever mount the steps of a throne 
 worked the old man into a fine frenzy ; and 
 
 223 
 
an Affair in t\^t ^ontli ^zKsi 
 
 he spoke freely of his plans, which I 
 heartily seconded, agreeing to help him 
 carry them to fruition at any cost. 
 
 "There must be a rigid hand at the helm 
 that controls the native ship of state," he 
 said, as he revolved the problem in his 
 mind. 
 
 "Yes; rigid, very rigid," I replied. 
 
 "No loose brotherhood-of-man idea among 
 the copper-colored ones," he returned, scan- 
 ning my countenance. 
 
 "You're right," I replied; "they must 
 be held by the grip of a vise." 
 
 "Agreed," was his expressive answer. 
 
 One purpose now fired his brain and 
 drove him with the unwearying strength of 
 a steam-engine, — the desire to rule, as he 
 had ruled white and black on the sea. The 
 possibility that the government might fail 
 for lack of firm, level-headed leadership, or 
 because the natives were secretly led into 
 revolt by a wandering trickster, nerved him 
 to heroic efforts. I believe he would have 
 felt the disgrace, rather than the pain and 
 horror of dying, had his last breath been 
 
 224 
 
5r|)e ^otfiionelr 9lrroto 
 
 gasped amid the leaderless bickerings of 
 his fellow-men or in the fury of savage 
 revolution. The driving spirit of the sea 
 captain now dominated his thoughts and 
 nerved every fiber to the pitch of supreme 
 exertion. He worked fast, like a general 
 planning in the thick of battle, — and it was 
 surprising how well he laid his wires. 
 
 It was far past midnight when we ended 
 our council, with an engagement to meet for 
 further planning early the next day. The 
 moon rode far in the west when I entered 
 my house, and I lay for an hour within 
 sight of the snowy surf before sleep silenced 
 its music and ended my puzzling over the 
 making of a king. 
 
 I was on nettles until we met the next day; 
 for my mind was filled with the fear of in- 
 visible dangers. Had I been on a dismasted 
 ship in mid-ocean, the nervousness would 
 not have been so great; for " there is, at least, 
 deliberation in the contemplation of death's 
 silent approach " as one scans the horizon, 
 hoping for a sail. But the fear of an assas- 
 sin's blow is enough to unnerve a gladiator. 
 
 225 
 
9ln 9lffatr in tl)e ibmt^ ^eas 
 
 Swanson was at the place of meeting on 
 time, and we breathed the morning air with 
 high spirits and eager hearts. So full were 
 we of the business of the hour, that the 
 people we passed seemed more like ma- 
 chines than men. Thus, bubbling with our 
 private ambitions, we hurried to our place 
 of conference, like men dreaming. 
 
 The details of Swanson's scheme of king- 
 making were outlined with such minuteness 
 that his foresight and ingenuity were charm- 
 ing. An unexpected confession awaited 
 me, however ; for when the Captain ex- 
 plained his plans, it was plain that he had 
 made provision for an elaborate scheme 
 of devil-work before the Rosalie sailed from 
 San Francisco. The equipments for a lark 
 that would terrify a whole island-ful of 
 cannibals were carefully stored in our ship's 
 hold, even before bacon and beans were 
 in place. 
 
 "The warehouse now holds my secrets," 
 he said, "and there are things hid over 
 there that are more useful than the British 
 navy. Trifles as light as butterflies or dry 
 
 226 
 
d;e ^oifioneU ^rroto 
 
 leaves have been known to stampede a 
 large tribe." 
 
 This statement seemed probable, in the 
 light of what I had already seen of native 
 character, — but the history of Salem witch- 
 craft shows that similar conditions once 
 existed among our own people. 
 
 We decided upon a place for the corona- 
 tion, — a deep, black wood overhung by 
 cliffs, off a bellowing coast of sea-caves. I 
 never have seen a spot of greater loneliness, 
 nor one more suggestive of mystery. No 
 v/onder the native imagination peopled its 
 sunless depths and caverns with ghosts and 
 devils ; for in spite of the yellow sands of 
 the beach and the wondrous colors of the 
 flowers, there was something terrifying in 
 the stillness that reigned in that virgin 
 wilderness. Its climbing forests and rugged 
 canons always were supposed to be the abid- 
 ing-place of devils ; and none but sorcerers 
 and those under a spell of enchantment 
 were thought to have the power to enter 
 that forbidding territory without certain 
 destruction. 
 
 227 
 
9lu glffair in t^t ^outl) ^eas 
 
 Such was the spot we agreed upon for 
 our theater of diabolism ; and there was 
 little doubt that scant paraphernalia would 
 be needed to bend the natives to our will. 
 Our boldness in entering there as masters 
 would be half the battle. A wild night of 
 rugged clouds flying past the moon, the 
 glare of our fires, with darkness and soli- 
 tude for accessories, would go far toward 
 doing the work, — but our path lay along 
 a course of greater boldness, every detail 
 of our plans potent with elements of victory, 
 and we completed our schemes in a mood 
 the most hopeful imaginable. 
 
 At the end of our planning, we found that 
 we had wandered a good distance from 
 headquarters, so we made a brisk start for 
 home, skirting a wood that ran almost to 
 the edge of the village. Along our course 
 the ground was covered here and there with 
 boulders and jagged bits of lava, and a little 
 distance from the open spaces there was 
 a thickness of underwood. Just within 
 the forest, overhanging boughs shut out 
 the brightness of day, giving a tempered 
 
 228 
 
CI)e P0ifl!0aeli 3trroto 
 
 light like the gloaming. The trees that 
 fringed the sea bore wild fruits and coffee- 
 berries, and the ripe things among the 
 leaves glistened like tinsel, the yellow back- 
 ground of limes looming rich above the 
 white line of surf. Some distance in, where 
 the shadows closed up like the coming of 
 night, was the babbling of a brook, some- 
 times the cry of a bird. The place was so 
 uncanny that natives never ventured be- 
 yond the clearing. Though the noise of 
 breaking seas ever fell on the ear, there 
 were often sounds that set one trembling, — 
 and any sudden scurry was enough to make 
 the bravest man reach for his weapon. 
 
 As we passed through this place of 
 gloom there was suddenly a noise within 
 the thicket, and beyond us — too far to 
 be caused by our approach — the air glis- 
 tened with bright butterflies, which flitted 
 away as if disturbed. Almost before we 
 could dart our eyes to the place of the 
 sound, a savage face peered through the 
 thicket, and there was a hum of talking 
 in an unfamiliar tongue. We seized our 
 
^n 9lffair in t1^t ^outj) ^m& 
 
 revolvers, for the shock set our nerves quiv- 
 ering. 
 
 We hurried past, eager to leave that 
 dark place of ambush behind, feeling that 
 we were watched and followed. Our gait 
 was a sidelong stepping, so that we might 
 cover the wood with our eyes as we walked 
 away. Underfoot, the sand was so soft 
 that our steps were muffled, almost noise- 
 less. Within the wood there was an occa- 
 sional sound of a cracking limb, as when 
 a man steps on fallen branches ; but for 
 the most part there was silence. If we 
 were followed after the first few minutes, 
 the soft tread of our pursuers was lost 
 in the damp leaves; but we felt that 
 human eyes were upon us. 
 
 We breathed more freely as we drew 
 near an open space that lay between the 
 village and the place of mystery; but we 
 still clutched our defenders, as if the 
 ground might open and reveal our ene- 
 mies. 
 
 "What foolish dare-devils we've been to 
 venture into such a place," I said, breaking 
 
 230 
 
d)e poififoneU ^rroto 
 
 a silence that had paralyzed speech since 
 the sight of the face. 
 
 "Clumsy bunglers!" said Swanson, still 
 high-strung and solemn. 
 
 We had not gone ten feet farther when I 
 felt the wind of an arrow that flew past my 
 cheek. I wheeled, and fired into the wood, 
 seeing nothing. There was no sound but 
 the report of my weapon. 
 
 Swanson stood pale and firm, his eye 
 kindled as at sight of a foe. With a 
 dash, he fired twice in quick succession, 
 like a man with a moving target before 
 him. A human groan followed, then a 
 cracking of dry limbs, as if men were 
 stampeding through the thicket. 
 
 " I guess I 've bagged something, or 
 given 'em a lead pill to worry with," 
 said my companion. 
 
 Then a whirring sound fell upon us 
 as two arrows whizzed past our heads. 
 We retreated fast, firing as we ran beyond 
 the range of our enemies. A few more 
 arrows came, quite spent before they 
 reached us. 
 
 231 
 
3tn Slffair in ibt ^outl) ^ead 
 
 Of a suddenness that was surprising, an 
 arrow, more viciously aimed than the oth- 
 ers, grazed Swanson's left arm, and fell 
 harmless, not far away. 
 
 *' Nearly got me that time," he remarked 
 as he fired into the forest. 
 
 By this time we were nearing the vil- 
 lage, and people were hurrying toward 
 the sound of our firing, for never before 
 had such a fray startled the community. 
 Our enemies doubtless saw the crowd com- 
 ing, and dared not venture out of the 
 thicket. 
 
 Suddenly my eye fell upon a red spot 
 on the snowy ducking of the Captain's 
 left coat sleeve, which was slit as if by a 
 stab. 
 
 "Don't you know you 've been hit?'^ 
 I exclaimed, pointing to the blood as we 
 ran away. 
 
 He looked, and was surprised that there 
 was no pain, not even numbness. When 
 we were beyond the range of foes I stripped 
 off his coat; and when the left arm was 
 bared, a small wound, like the shallow stab 
 
 232 
 
dLht PDifioncU 9lrroto 
 
 of a knife, was seen to be the extent of his 
 injuries. 
 
 "It stings, now that the air strikes it," he 
 said, — "a sort of burning, as if I'd been 
 touched by a red-hot iron." 
 
 "That's probably the poison," I returned ; 
 " and if you can get at the wound with your 
 mouth, you 'd better suck it with all the 
 force you 've got." 
 
 He did as I bade, and before he had fin- 
 ished that simple surgery he was pale at 
 the thought of death. A weakness seized 
 him when he saw the image of defeat flit 
 by for a passing moment. Since the cut was 
 superficial, every chance was in his favor. 
 
 "If I die of this scratch," he said, "I 
 want you to hound Banks and his crowd 
 to earth, and hang every devil of them from 
 the yard-arm of the RosalieJ^ 
 
 He stood dazed, like a man who feels 
 opportunity slipping through his fingers ; 
 but his senses soon awoke, and the scurry- 
 ing vision of defeat faded. His resolute, 
 pugnacious nature was roused foi battle, 
 and his wrath flamed fierce and eager, 
 
 233 
 
^n Stffair in tl)e ^otitl) ^eajs 
 
 spurred to its utmost by the pricking of 
 that little arrow. 
 
 He was nerved for the fight of his life, 
 and from that moment there was no lag- 
 ging in his plans for the punishing of our 
 enemies. 
 
 " Damn these savages ! " he exclaimed, 
 " I '11 put my heel on their black necks 
 and teach them who 's who in this coun- 
 try." 
 
 Now I saw plainly that he was deter- 
 mined to be king and ruler over all, and 
 his purpose was urged by the resolution 
 and grit of a powerful nature ; it was sus- 
 tained by an abiding faith in himself and 
 in victory. 
 
 By this time we were surrounded by 
 natives and colonists ; their steps had been 
 hurrying in our direction ever since the 
 sound of firing. Doctor Saville was one of 
 the first on the ground, and his medicine- 
 case had not been overlooked. 
 
 I called him aside and explained about 
 the snake-poison, as Tuna had told in her 
 story of the young chief's death. The 
 
 234 
 
Cl)e JJaifionci ^vroto 
 
 Doctor applied soda to the wound, and gave 
 a pill of strychnine to keep up the action 
 of the heart ; then we hurried to our homes. 
 Beyond a slight swelling and a few shoot- 
 ing pains, the poison did no harm, and 
 while the Captain lay quiet for several days 
 we completed plans that we hoped would 
 result in victory. 
 
 235 
 
an ^[ffair in tbe ^ontf) ^cass 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A CAVE IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 OUR thoughts turned at once to the 
 serious problem before us, and we 
 prepared for adventurous work in the dark- 
 some wood that surrounded the southern 
 part of our settlement. 
 
 We had far less to fear from Banks and 
 his immediate company than from his 
 followers in our own ranks, and the diffi- 
 culties of the situation required delicacy 
 and strategy at every step. Hard as were 
 the conditions, we had powerful allies, — not 
 our modern weapons and superior skill, 
 but nature's forces, and the superstition 
 of our enemies. 
 
 Our refuge was the wood; its gray trunks 
 and mossy boughs, its dim vaults and moan- 
 ing winds, were more potent than violence ; 
 
 236 
 
^ Catoe in tf)e Wiiltitvnt&si 
 
 for with right handling they would help 
 to disarm the natives and bring them help- 
 less at our feet. We saw the way plainly, 
 mapped our course boldly, and turned to 
 the inmost darkness of the high trees as 
 hopefully as a general turns to his trained 
 soldiers in the hour of battle. 
 
 Our first work was tedious, difficult for 
 every step of the way, and never free from 
 danger. It involved the exploring of a 
 section of dense forest (in which our 
 enemies might lie concealed and pick us 
 off), and the clearing of a path to the spot 
 chosen for final ceremonies with the chiefs. 
 
 We could not begin our tour, however, 
 without the knowledge of our own people 
 and the aid of a band of muscular workmen. 
 It was necessary to let a few leading spirits 
 into our secret, lest our actions should 
 cause misgivings among the colonists ; so 
 w^e invited Doctor Saville, O'Fallon, Kan- 
 dolph. Judge Davis, the school teachers, and 
 half a dozen representative men to a con- 
 ference. We told the story of Banks and 
 his machinations, and Swanson explained 
 
 237 
 
^u Affair in tlit ^outl) ^eas 
 
 what he could do, if allowed freedom in 
 his work. 
 
 "I can beat this devil in my own way," 
 he said, when the facts were before the 
 committee ; " but there must be no strings 
 on me. I want authority to use force, if it 's 
 needed ; and you 've got to understand that 
 the natives '11 regard me as their king when 
 I'm done, — and if they think I'm a god, 
 it '11 be no man's call to tell them different." 
 
 " It strikes me that there 's nobody here 
 who wants to limit you in any way," said 
 Judge Davis; "for the dangers surrounding 
 us are grave. You know native character, 
 and you have our interests at heart, — so 
 there should be no interference whatever." 
 
 The Judge's ideas prevailed, and the 
 President's plans were sanctioned without 
 question. He was granted authority to act 
 as he deemed best. 
 
 We withheld the details of our scheme 
 for reasons that seemed prudent, and it was 
 given out that we should make a tour of the 
 bush to determine its extent to the south. 
 
 Within a week we were equipped for the 
 
 238 
 
9L Caije in tl)e SSailUernesEi 
 
 preliminary survey. Our party consisted of 
 a score of sturdy men with axes and prun- 
 ing-knives, spades, and sharp hatchets; for 
 there was a thicket to clear before we could 
 proceed far into the grove. Our final salva- 
 tion was the happy chance that we struck 
 the dry bed of a stream, where the inter- 
 lacing vines were young, the boughs being 
 readily severable by the blow of a hatchet. 
 
 The hour of our start was early one 
 purple morning that gave promise of a 
 perfect day. We were followed to the 
 edge of the forest by a crowd of mysti- 
 fied natives, and some of their leaders 
 urged us to forego risking our lives among 
 the dangerous ghosts of the place we were 
 entering. But we defied their demons, 
 and the simple Atollians fled in terror 
 the moment we boldly entered the for- 
 bidden grounds that had been long tabooed 
 by their wise men and sorcerers. 
 
 Going into that dark and lonely jungle 
 was (to them) like entering the empire 
 of the dead. They knew they might tramp 
 for days without coming in sight or sound 
 
 239 
 
3ln 9lffair in tl)e ibmtfi ^cac 
 
 of man, and the legends of their tribes 
 portrayed the fury of demons that dwelt 
 in the silence and gloom of that retreat. 
 
 Swanson's face kindled when he saw 
 the Atollians draw back affrighted, for 
 the summer of his hopes lay in their 
 fear. If he could impress them with the 
 terrors of our march, and the certainty 
 that we should return from the home of 
 devils unharmed, he would be worshiped 
 as a deity ; indeed, he was already a half- 
 god for his boldness. So, at the proper 
 moment, he uttered an Atollian curse that 
 sent fear shivering down the spines of 
 every native in the village. 
 
 "I 'm a bigger devil than all the devils," 
 he cried; "for great devils are my slaves, 
 and I challenge the skulls of dead men, 
 and all the ghosts of hell, to meet me 
 in battle!" 
 
 With that defiant cry, he flourished his 
 revolver and fired six resounding shots 
 plump into the trees. Following this wild 
 orgy, every man in the party brandished 
 his weapon, and several fired their rifles 
 
 240 
 
9L Cabe in t^e mumvm&s 
 
 and revolvers. The natives scampered back 
 to their homes like a flock of frightened 
 geese, and we began our work amid laugh- 
 ter and high hopes. 
 
 " They '11 talk things over with the chiefs 
 and sorcerers," said the Captain, *' and 
 when we come back we '11 be taken for a 
 band of devil-drivers and rulers of the 
 dark." 
 
 Our progress for two hours was painfully 
 slow and discouraging. Foliage grew so 
 luxuriantly that our v/ork through thick 
 clusters was like mowing brush that grows 
 as close as grass, and finally, when we 
 reached a sort of opening, we had to pick 
 our way along the edge of a banana-swamp. 
 Fearing that we might lose our course in 
 a night trip, we drove stakes and ran a 
 line of twine on the swamp side, to mark 
 our path from the chief places of danger. 
 One spot was so marshy under a treacher- 
 ous carpet of weeds and leaves that we 
 covered it with brush and piled blocks of 
 lava on the young limbs. 
 
 Just beyond this rude bridge a huge 
 
 241 
 
^n Affair in tl)e §)out|) ^eae 
 
 banyan sent forth a network of trailing 
 roots, which ran like a tangle of bearded 
 fibers toward the rich, leaf-strewn earth. 
 After two hours of hard cutting and dig- 
 ging, we came to another open space, steep 
 and rocky, with a burst of sun and a sound 
 of running water not far away. From here 
 our way rose and fell until we were be- 
 side a purling brook that ran over " stones 
 as red as rubies." The place had an air 
 of peace, and we rested by the brook for 
 a bit of needed lunch. A chink of sun- 
 light peeped through the foliage, and the 
 singing of a bird echoed as we ate. 
 
 It was a gloomy place for resting, even 
 for white men. Talk as you may about 
 superstition being silliness, there is some- 
 thing in the speechless void of a tropical 
 forest that alarms one, more than the 
 thought of tigers in a jungle. We fared 
 well enough while we toiled, but discourse 
 withered and cheerfulness departed when we 
 stopped laboring and began eating in that 
 tomb of a spot. The place seemed hemmed 
 in, the silence became oppressive, and 
 
 242 
 
^ Caije in tl)e SMilHernedtf 
 
 isolation and loneliness pervaded our spirits 
 like things of evil. A man given to emo- 
 tions might have succumbed to a sense of 
 fear, for the very spot where we spread our 
 food was a vault of high trees, the silence 
 broken by nothing save the occasional notes 
 of birds, the falling of a dead limb, or the 
 music of distant waterfalls. 
 
 "No wonder the poor devils are afraid 
 of it in the night," said Swanson, when 
 he got my ear ; " for the place gives a 
 white man the shivers at high noon." 
 
 A suggestion of eternal dimness haunted 
 the prospect on every hand ; the solitude 
 grew heavier each moment ; and the sough- 
 ing of a sudden breeze overhead made us 
 eager to burrow our way beyond the op- 
 pressive silence. 
 
 We did not stay there long, but drove 
 on with our work while light lasted. The 
 afternoon waned fast in that neck of gloom, 
 and before our watches had marked four 
 o'clock, the close of day seemed at 
 hand. When you remember that we were 
 not in a northern latitude of short days, 
 
 243 
 
^n ^ftair in i\)t ^otttlj ^cad 
 
 but close to the equatorial belt (where night 
 and day are quite evenly divided through- 
 out the year), you will understand how 
 deeply we were buried from the outer 
 world in that tomb of sky-reaching trees. 
 
 It was so dark that there was nothing to 
 do but give up our path-making and go 
 back to the village; so each man shouldered 
 his tools and weapons, and we marched over 
 our new road with becoming pride. 
 
 After twisting and climbing for somewhat 
 less than half a mile, we found ourselves in 
 the full light of day again, proud that the 
 descending sun might mark a good day's 
 work to our credit. It was a great pleasure 
 — the delight of explorers in virgin forests 
 — to note the difference between our tri- 
 umphal journey out of the woods and the 
 painful struggles by which we had fought 
 our w^ay beyond the glare of day. Besides, 
 we should be heroes in the eyes of the chiefs 
 and their fellows, who would view us as 
 conquerors. 
 
 "Another good day's work will land us 
 ^mong the big boulders of the hilltop," 
 
 244 
 
91 Caije in t!)e SSatllicvncfifi; 
 
 I suggested, " or so far within the forest 
 that the natives will think they are in 
 another world, if ever we get them to fol- 
 low us there." 
 
 " Don't overlook the fact that we '11 get 
 them in there before the job's done," said 
 Swanson; "and I'm in for stoppin' just 
 as soon as we reach a proper spot of mys- 
 tery." 
 
 We reached the village before evening 
 lamps were lighted, and the natives gath- 
 ered around us like children at a circus, 
 only some of them were afraid we had 
 brought devils with us ; so they kept their 
 distance. We decided to say little about 
 our explorations. 
 
 "We 've killed many devils," said Swan- 
 son, "but there are many more to destroy, 
 and we '11 fight them again to-morrow." 
 
 The pink clouds of evening now filled 
 the sky, the crowning glory of a heavenly 
 day ; the birds no longer sang from the 
 boughs of high trees, and our weary wood- 
 men, as well as the children of superstition, 
 were soon asleep. 
 
 245 
 
9tn Matr in tl)e ^outb ^tas 
 
 The guards at our fort were doubly vigi- 
 lant that night, the village was patrolled, 
 and every native leader was under the eye 
 of a white man until day bloomed rosy from 
 the sea again. 
 
 There was the very deuce to pay when I 
 got home. Tuna had been weeping, and 
 half a dozen native women fled at my 
 approach. Terror dwelt beneath my roof, 
 and the worst old wives' tales imaginable 
 had been running among the natives. 
 
 My wife was afraid I had been harmed 
 by some invisible force, or lured away by 
 female sirens. Her fears had been inflamed 
 by her visitors, some of them old wenches 
 who pretended to have known of many cases 
 of men enticed to their ruin by spirits of 
 the wood. All this made it a hard job for 
 me to straighten out my domestic fences. 
 Despite all I could say, Tuna implored me 
 to go from her no more ; and it was some 
 hours before I could quiet her. 
 
 My situation was peculiar, for my tongue 
 was tied. I dared not deny that devils dwelt 
 where we had been, and that our business 
 
 246 
 
^ Catje in t|)e Wimtxnt6& 
 
 was with them. Even had I desired to 
 ease matters with Tuna, Swanson's oath 
 and our firing into the bush would have 
 confronted me like a stone wall ; besides, 
 our whole case lay in the vanquishing of 
 devils ; our trump card was the pretense 
 of witchcraft and diabolism. The most I 
 could do was to assure my wife and her 
 friends that we could either put devils to 
 flight or summon them to our aid ; and I 
 convinced her, after much talking, that no 
 white man ever had been devoured by Atol- 
 lian devils, and she was quite composed by 
 morning. 
 
 Our second and third days in the forest 
 brought us to our destination, say nearly 
 two miles from where we entered. We had 
 slashed thousands of heavy vines and felled 
 many young trees to reach the place of rest ; 
 and our entire course was a fight with 
 creeping plants and tangles of foliage. 
 
 Sometimes our path lay around fallen 
 trees or piles of boulders and lava, leading 
 at last to a wild spot of caves, not far fTom 
 the sea. We could not have gone farther, 
 
 247 
 
^n Affair in t\)t ^out^ ^ead 
 
 on account of ragged cliffs, which frowned 
 in the background ; beyond them a black 
 mountain hovered ominous and solemn. 
 
 It was our good fortune that there was 
 little underwood at the place chosen for our 
 temple of mysteries. The spot in front of 
 the cave looked like a clearing, though 
 surely it was a stranger to the axes (even 
 to the footsteps) of men ; but there was 
 not the same gloomy thicket of boughs 
 overhead that there had been elsewhere, 
 and the sun filtered through, more than 
 anywhere else in that region of darkness. 
 
 At the end of the fourth day, we looked 
 upon our work with a thrill of satisfaction, 
 and then returned home over a path wide 
 enough for a horse. Half a dozen rough 
 places needed leveling, there were stumps 
 to be uprooted, a swamp had to be bridged, 
 and here and there footholds were yet to 
 be dug in steep banks. 
 
 We hurried from the twilight of the 
 wood, the spirit of conquerors mounting 
 in our breasts. At last, a few mossy trunks 
 marked the place of exit into the glare of 
 
 248 
 
9t Catoc in t^t mumvntsei 
 
 day ; the breath of the forest no longer 
 scented the air, and we were within sight 
 of home and in hearing of the sounding 
 sea again. 
 
 Within another week we had explored 
 the loneliest cave I ever have seen, built 
 a path to its farther walls, and dedicated 
 its echoing depths to the purposes of white 
 men. 
 
 The light of the brightest day was lost 
 in the depths of this gloomy cavern, and 
 the music of unseen cascades sounded faint 
 in its deep recesses. There were places 
 where the voice played weird pranks as it 
 bounded in echoes against the high domes ; 
 and the strongest hearts were thrilled with 
 awe when the glimmer of a light revealed 
 massive stalactites and broken pinnacles of 
 nature's masonry in the yawning back- 
 ground. 
 
 For several days the sound of our dig- 
 ging and the blows of our hammering 
 filled that great cavern with the mystery 
 of magnified sounds and echoes. The 
 mouth of the place growled and bellowed 
 
 249 
 
^n 9lffair in tl)e Sout^ g>ea0 
 
 when we worked, and gave forth a Babel 
 of voices (as of giants) when we talked 
 or laughed. A cave of devils could not 
 have sounded more riotous than our inno- 
 cent speech, distorted by many reverbera- 
 tions. 
 
 At the end of our labors, an expert and 
 courageous investigator might have found 
 a few batteries and wires carefully entombed 
 in the foundations of the cave, all neatly 
 covered by the masonry and engineering 
 of man. A more extended inspection 
 would have shown tha,t our wires ran to 
 shelves in various stone walls, wherein some 
 of the most delicate and marvelous machines 
 ever invented were skillfully adjusted and 
 concealed for the service of our people. 
 
 Every person in the company was pledged 
 anew to secrecy, whereupon the cavern was 
 left in readiness for our return. Randolph 
 and an electrician drew a rough plan of 
 the interior, after which we went forth 
 into the open, feeling that the cave was 
 ready for the work whenever we should 
 call upon it for assistance. The pressing of 
 
 250 
 
3L Caije in t\it mnintvm&s 
 
 a button would set its lights flashing and its 
 sounds echoing ; the rest remained to us. 
 If we did n't give Taipu and his chiefs 
 taste enough of devils for the rest of their 
 lives, it would be no fault of careful plan- 
 ning. 
 
 In the presence of our devils, Banks and 
 his tricks of voice and hand would appear 
 puny and harmless ; and before we left that 
 place, the vision of success rose before our 
 eyes like a living presence, and we could 
 see the ignoble ending of Banks's career, — 
 his devils defied by the chiefs they had 
 frightened, himself hounded by those he 
 had deceived. 
 
 251 
 
9la 9lftair in tlit ^auii) Btn& 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 VOICES OF THE DEAD. 
 
 ALONG talk with Tuna in the quiet 
 of home convinced me that the 
 natives were under Banks's control to a 
 dangerous degree, swallowing his wildest 
 stories and shivering in childish fear. 
 
 There was new occasion for alarm in the 
 probability that he had started some of 
 them in evil paths during our absence in 
 the wood, — at least, there were evidences 
 that his hold had grown stronger. 
 
 Though my faithful wife now believed 
 in the power of our determined band (in 
 spite of her lingering fear of Banks), it 
 was clear that she stood almost alone in 
 her confidence ; our secret enemy was un- 
 doubtedly the idol of the masses. Tuna 
 told me she believed her grandfather was 
 
 252 
 
Voices of tilt £)ea5 
 
 afraid to forbid his people from going to 
 meet the tattooed outlaw, and she feared 
 that her countrymen might be led into 
 wrong under Banks's leadership. 
 
 By drawing her into conversation more 
 deeply, I learned that even Taipu lived 
 in the shadow of fear. Tuna had over- 
 heard him say it was strange that our 
 men were not on good terms with the 
 ghosts of the dead, nor with such invisi- 
 ble forces as the boasting reef-rover com- 
 manded without difficulty. 
 
 "What can Banks do with his devils?" 
 I asked. 
 
 "My grandfather says he can stop the 
 drouth from killing banana and bread- 
 fruit trees," she replied. 
 
 This was queer doctrine to be thrown 
 in my teeth, and my blood boiled at the 
 thought that the ungrateful old savage 
 had been waxing prosperous on our rich 
 stores for years, while the impostor who 
 pretended to control the seasons had never 
 caused a blade of grass to grow nor a 
 single industry to thrive. His career on 
 
 253 
 
^n Affair in tl)e ^otitl) ^eag 
 
 the beach had been one of sensual idle- 
 ness and unpunished crime. Not content 
 with his undisputed sway over the tribes 
 that followed him, I mused, he now sought 
 to do mischief among our people ; indeed, 
 there was no doubt that he was working 
 fast to achieve his purpose. In this mood, 
 I longed to deal him a fatal blow. 
 
 I lost no time in laying the case be- 
 fore Swanson and the others. After a 
 brief discussion, we decided to hold a 
 council with the chiefs at once, and to 
 lay claim to such powers as no man ever 
 had pretended to possess. 
 
 "We'll keep 'em guessin' from the 
 jump," said the Captain ; " for what your 
 wife 's told you will look mightily like 
 mind-readin', especially since she over- 
 heard a good deal of it unknown to Taipu." 
 
 The next day we got the chiefs together 
 and began our business with a firm hand. 
 Seven were there ; five tall, powerful fel- 
 lows, Taipu, and one other rather with- 
 ered with age. When they were seated 
 on mats, which were thrown in a circle 
 
 25 i 
 
Saicee of t^t £)cali 
 
 on the floor of a chief's feast-house, our 
 people — ten or twelve leading men — sur- 
 rounded them, and Swanson stood iu the 
 center of the ring of chiefs and addressed 
 them with commanding boldness. He spoke 
 their language with uncommon fluency, pas- 
 sion was in his face, and his direct gestures 
 were like the driving of nails. 
 
 When he began his address the natives 
 riveted their eyes upon him, as if to chal- 
 lenge his statements (for he stood dis- 
 counted in their sight); but in less than 
 five minutes the old diplomat had looked 
 them down. They hung their heads and 
 quailed under his accusations. 
 
 "Though we have treated you like 
 brothers," he said, "you've skulked in the 
 woods and plotted with Bill Banks, the 
 enemy of Atollia and of all good men. Like 
 fools and children, you have believed in his 
 powers. I don't think he has any devils, or 
 they are very weak, if they are devils at all. 
 Now, do you know what you have done by 
 listening to this bad white man's talk ? You 
 have made our devils mad, and a few days 
 
 255 
 
9ln ^Sair in tl)t ^outl) ^easi 
 
 ago they wanted to destroy Taipu and all his 
 chiefs. Did n't you see us shoot at these 
 same devils and drive them to the deep 
 wood ? Did n't you see us cut and dig our 
 way to their home? and are we not here, 
 sound and well ? You should hang your 
 heads in shame because of your ingratitude 
 to us, who saved your lives." 
 
 The speech was having a telling effect ; 
 those big, muscular chiefs had troubled 
 faces, and some trembled with fear when 
 Swanson laid it on strong. He went on 
 harder than ever : — 
 
 *'But we have stopped our ghosts from 
 harming you. What 's the use of having 
 evil spirits, unless you can make them work 
 for you? We have made them go to the 
 stars and get your grandfathers' ghosts, — 
 the ghosts of the great dead men who ruled 
 Atollia when all men were giants. We 
 never have lied to you, never have deceived 
 you in any way ; and we tell you now that 
 many devils are our slaves this moment, 
 and they will do our bidding. The spirits 
 of your illustrious ancestors want to speak 
 
 255 
 
©0tccfi{ of tU ^eati 
 
 with you in the wood. They love you, and 
 will do you no injury ; they want to guide 
 you in paths of peace and warn you against 
 your enemies. We will go with you and 
 carry our weapons and charms against evil. 
 You will not be harmed ; for wisdom is 
 at the end of your journey, and good spirits 
 await you at the appointed place. We 
 have promised to bring you to your ances- 
 tors, and nothing will do you any harm. 
 Our word is out, and we have pledged 
 them that you will meet them where the 
 wood is high, and where the voices of the 
 silent ones are awakened into speech.^ 
 
 There was a lively consultation and shak- 
 ing of heads at the conclusion of the speech; 
 and by their muttering, the decision seemed 
 to hang in the balance. 
 
 " If you refuse to do what we have prom- 
 ised," resumed Swanson, "we cannot guar- 
 antee peace or good luck to any of you; 
 but if you act like brave men and brothers, 
 you will go where we have been, — you will 
 let us take you by the hands and lead you 
 to places of safety. In the quiet of the 
 
 257 
 
9ln Slffair in tf)e ^outl) §bm6 
 
 wood you will hear wisdom, and make 
 your peace with the ancient rulers of this 
 island, who are now displeased that you 
 are friendly with our enemies." 
 
 The President drove his speech at them 
 hard, never yielding an inch from the stand 
 taken at the start. 
 
 "We will give up Banks and do whatever 
 you want," said one of the chiefs; "but we 
 fear that your devils would be so strong that 
 they would capture us from you. We have 
 known of devils who lied to their best 
 friends, and some of our people have suf- 
 fered because devils were too strong." 
 
 "Your only safety lies in doing what I 
 have told you," returned Swanson ; " for 
 these are your ancestors ; they are not liars. 
 The invisible powers hate cowards ; and if 
 you depart from our advice, as they have 
 directed it, we cannot help you any more ; 
 every AtoUian will then have to make his 
 own settlement with the ghosts of those he 
 and his ancestors have eaten." 
 
 They halted over the proposition a long 
 time, and finally decided to go with us to 
 
 258 
 
©otcej; of t\)t ^eati 
 
 the forest. It Avas a bitter dose for them 
 to swallow, but fear had them so hard that 
 they turned to us as the safest refuge. 
 Swansoii's pleading reassured them, and 
 they consented like children who first rebel, 
 then follow their father into dark places. 
 
 We brooked no delay, and the next morn- 
 ing the AtoUians prepared themselves for 
 the journey. Their ceremonies of departure 
 were weird beyond anything I ever had 
 seen, — as solemn as a funeral in the South 
 Seas. They bade their terrified and weep- 
 ing relatives elaborate farewells, as if they 
 believed the trip would be the last on earth. 
 
 Half a dozen sorcerers — some ofvthem 
 very old women — crooned their witch-songs 
 while the chiefs were blacking their faces 
 as if for battle. Just before the start (which 
 was not until night) the Atollians girded 
 their loins and bared their tattooed hips, thus 
 completing the most solemn appeal for pro- 
 tection known in all the ceremonials of the 
 people. The ghosts of their departed rela- 
 tives were supposed to notice that such 
 conduct was the offering of contrite hearts. 
 
 259 
 
^n 9tffait in tl)e ^outl) ^ead 
 
 It required great self-command for us to 
 keep our faces straight, but our whole case 
 lay in carrying out the play ; so we allowed 
 ourselves to feel the thrill of new emotions 
 as we marched with that sober company of 
 frightened rulers to the place chosen for 
 our final parley. Two of their leaders 
 carried brands and oil, others spears and 
 war-clubs ; all were fully armed with 
 knives. 
 
 Evening came with a thrilling afterglow 
 over the high woods, a dreamy moon in 
 crescent hanging over the sea ; but there 
 was trouble in the air before night had 
 waned far, and the surf beat higher as the 
 hours wore on. We soon reached the be- 
 ginning of our path, and a little marching 
 brought us into the unbroken silence of 
 the forest. 
 
 We went into the wood quietly, without 
 any flurry or loud talk, Swanson conversing 
 with the chiefs in soothing tones of reassur- 
 ance. But every native's face was solemn ; 
 in spite of their confidence in us, the busi- 
 ness was not to their liking, and the slightest 
 
 260 
 
Voices of tde 5DeaIi 
 
 mishap would have stampeded them like 
 a band of sheep. Even with the fairest 
 winds of opportunity, the problem was deli- 
 cate ; with any unusual sight or sound at 
 the outset, nothing could have held the 
 chiefs together or led them to the cave. 
 
 Our task was much like trying to quiet 
 nervous horses ; for it was a high-strung 
 band we had in tow for a ramble through 
 places of dread and darkness. A strange 
 bird-call or the falling of a tree would 
 have put them to flight, so superstitious 
 were they in their dread of the bush. 
 
 Above us the boughs of great trees stood 
 black and ominous against the sky, but at 
 open places a halo of stars cheered the 
 way. Here and there we stooped to pass 
 under fallen trees, beneath which lay our 
 road to the place of mystery. 
 
 There were several steep and rocky banks 
 to climb, and at such points the footing 
 was not very secure. A delightful sound 
 along the path was the music of a water- 
 fall leaping and thundering in the distance, 
 the tones fading and growing with the 
 
 261 
 
sin Affair in i\)t ^autl) ^eas 
 
 rhythm of the night breeze. All was dark- 
 ness, save the shine of our lanterns and 
 brands. Light from these made a bright 
 path through the void of darkness ; and 
 we moved to the end of our journey with- 
 out a single accident to mar our plans. 
 
 At last we halted before the cavern, 
 and our programme began without delay. 
 Randolph and an electrician entered with 
 their lights, and took their posts within 
 reach of a series of electric buttons that 
 had been provided for starting necessary 
 machinery at the right moment. 
 
 By a happy foresight the buttons were 
 some distance from the shelves provided 
 for the utterance of the sounds that were 
 to terrify the chiefs. Beyond the light- 
 bearers a venerable cliff of stalactite tow- 
 ered above our vision, gray and formi- 
 dable in the flickering glare of the brands. 
 The surroundings were grim ; our breath- 
 ing echoed like sounds in a cistern, — but 
 the space beyond was as silent as Sahara. 
 
 ^' Chiefs and brothers," said Swanson, 
 at the moment when it seemed proper 
 
 262 
 
^oicefi of tl^e £)eati 
 
 to break the silence, "we have promised 
 you that no harm shall come to you or 
 your people from this tour into the black- 
 ness of night. We have brought you to 
 the place chosen by your ancestors. In 
 a few moments they will speak from the 
 cavern. It will be your duty to bow your 
 heads and listen. You are forbidden to 
 ask questions, and are commanded to obey 
 the voices of the dead." 
 
 Randolph then adjusted one of the ma- 
 chines by turning a screw so as to adapt 
 the sound to the distance of the hearers. 
 The parts of this delicate instrument were 
 so combined that the receiver (into which 
 the sounds were first spoken) would trans- 
 form an ordinary sibilant, or hissing sound, 
 into a full tone of great depth and beauty. 
 A condenser changed the low tones (origi- 
 nally uttered into the machine) into a mel- 
 low orotund, which was reproduced with 
 vigor and deliberation by the sensitive 
 diaphragm of the vibrator. 
 
 The button was touched, whereupon a 
 faint electric light shone from the wall 
 
 263 
 
^a Affair in tl)e i^nutl) ^eas; 
 
 of the cavern, at some distance from the 
 chiefs. 
 
 " Taipu," Swanson began, " turn your 
 eyes toward that light ! It is dim and 
 far away, and it gives forth very little 
 more brightness than a glow-worm ; but 
 its twinkling marks the place where your 
 ancestors will speak first. Do not be 
 alarmed at anything you see or hear, but 
 heed the advice of the departed." 
 
 The chiefs peered into the darkness, 
 fixing their vision upon the glimmer of 
 that dim light, their ears cocked for the 
 promised speech. 
 
 "My beloved children of Atollia," said 
 the marvelous little machine, from its tomb 
 under the sprinkle of light, "listen to the 
 words of wisdom here to-night ; for Taipu 
 the First will speak, Aimu and Opu will 
 speak, and all of us will direct you how 
 to live in peace and happiness with these 
 white men, your benefactors." 
 
 The savages stood mute and cold, over- 
 come like men face to face with the resur- 
 rected dead. The first brief speech sounded 
 
 264 
 
^oiceg of tit ^caU 
 
 as if from afar ; but in that crypt of silence 
 and darkness the echoing tones seemed to 
 fill the world with their uncanny mes- 
 sages from the grave. 
 
 Dumbfounded in that place of gloom and 
 terror, the natives' hearts were chilled to 
 hear voices rising as if from the bowels of 
 the earth. 
 
 " Bones of my ancestors ! " exclaimed 
 Swanson ; " this is enough to set their 
 heads spinning crazy." 
 
 If a funeral pyre had turned orator, or 
 a bird had twittered Atollian, the aston- 
 ishment of those addressed could not have 
 been greater. But when the ingenious 
 cylinder began to chant a weird death- 
 song, you should have seen the chiefs 
 gaze with glassy eyes and quivering lips, 
 trembling like frightened dogs. 
 
 Taipu's emotions finally set him whining, 
 and Swanson had a time quieting him down. 
 "7H manu I Iki manur^^ cried Taipu, in 
 a thick, guttural speech, convuked with 
 fear. Even under the rays of burning 
 
 ^ God save us ! God save us ! 
 265 
 
9ln SlfEair in t\)t ^outl) ^tm 
 
 brands of cocoanut-oil, his lips looked 
 drawn and blue, liis features set in the 
 violent agony of fear. 
 
 The light over the chanting cylinder 
 faded gradually, only to be followed by 
 another, then another, until half a dozen 
 had bloomed and faded in various parts 
 of the cavern. Every light was the sig- 
 nal for a speech addressed to the chiefs. 
 Many of these talks were of a general 
 character, such as the recitation of tradi- 
 tions and religious precepts; but at the 
 proper moment the Banks question was dis- 
 posed of in a way that sent gratification 
 to our souls. 
 
 "You have been following Bill Banks 
 and his false devils," said a particularly 
 impressive voice, " and the hour has now 
 come for you to promise the shadows of 
 men that you will renounce Banks forever. 
 Taipu, you and your followers must give 
 answer whether you will abandon this 
 false chief ! We await your sacred promise 
 that you will be men ! 
 
 There was a delay. The mysterious voice 
 
 266 
 
^mt& of tl)e ^eaU 
 
 under the light ceased; the light itself went 
 out, and the chiefs stood trembling. 
 
 "Do you intend to answer us, and avoid 
 the day of wrath?" sounded a deep voice 
 from the black depths of the cavern. 
 
 "0 solemn spirits, we will obey you," 
 cried Taipu. 
 
 "Spare us from harm, and we will be 
 faithful," chimed the others. 
 
 " Then fall on your knees ! " sounded 
 the phonograph, under Randolph's deft 
 manipulation. 
 
 The coppered-colored ones dropped to 
 their knees in the most abject manner, 
 wringing their hands and wailing. 
 
 " Do you promise the ghosts of the silent 
 ones," said the marvelous cylinder, "that 
 you will shun Banks, the evil one ? Will 
 you capture him and put him to punish- 
 ment? Answer, lest you perish in the 
 flames of anger !" 
 
 " Yes, we will do anything, if you will for- 
 give us," sounded a trembling chorus of fear. 
 
 " Then get up from your knees, like brave 
 men," commanded the machine. 
 
 267 
 
3ln Affair in t^t ^mtli ^tua 
 
 And when the wretches stood up, the 
 lights were suddenly turned on again. At 
 the same moment, eight or ten voices of 
 cylinders spoke from various parts of the 
 cave, saying, "Promise, and you are saved; 
 follow the white men, and victory is yours!" 
 and like words of cheer. 
 
 "You must capture Banks and give him 
 a taste of justice," said a voice; "and we 
 want you to treat him as a devil, paying 
 him in the way the old laws provide. Will 
 you carry out our commands ? " 
 
 "We will! we will!" exclaimed the chiefs 
 in unison. 
 
 " Swanson, the great white chief, is a 
 true tufa tola," ^ said the cylinder; "and we 
 demand that he be given all power over 
 Atollians, as if he were of our own blood ; 
 for his heart is big and his head holds 
 wisdom. He is too great a king for tattoo- 
 ing. He shall rule in place of all of you, 
 making his own laws, and escaping the 
 needles of the tattooers, which must be 
 
 ^ Most ancient and respected king, or most power- 
 ful and respected of rulers. 
 
 268 
 
©oiccfii of tU ^eatx 
 
 applied to all other kings to designate 
 their blood." 
 
 " Does the great council of dead kings 
 decree that I am to rule these people as 
 their absolute king?" asked Swanson, — 
 adding, "Please answer these native chiefs 
 plainly, that there can be no doubt or mis- 
 understanding as to my powers." 
 
 "Heed my answer, all Atollians!" said 
 the impressive voice of command. "This 
 white chief is to be head king and ruler 
 over all men, whether chiefs or warriors. 
 His word is to be your only law; and if 
 you disobey him we will torture you in 
 the bowels of the earth, with the bones of 
 the dead. Remember this command, and 
 keep it sacred to your last day ! Obey us, 
 and peace will be yours ; disobey, and you 
 shall not escape the day of wrath ! Now 
 let each chief depart for his home with a 
 light heart, his mind free from fear ! Fol- 
 low your white tufa tola to the places of 
 light and safety, with our blessings upon 
 your heads ! Our power of speech is grow- 
 ing faint, and we are needed by those 
 
 269 
 
^n Slffair in tbt l)Ottt|) ^eae 
 
 whose firesides are beyond the stars. Good 
 by!" 
 
 There was no further speech, except 
 Swanson's command for us to march from 
 the cavern. He and I led the procession, 
 followed by the chiefs. Randolph and the 
 other whites marched behind the natives, 
 and were the last to come from the gloom 
 of the wood to the free acres near the 
 shore. It was a joy to hear the surf and to 
 see the mingling of dawn and dew at early 
 morn ; for the sky was pink and day was 
 peeping from the rosy east. 
 
 When Swanson got my ear for a mo- 
 ment, he said, "Wasn't it damned lucky 
 that I laid in that big supply of phono- 
 graphs the day we sailed?" 
 
 Then the picture of San Francisco's 
 wharves rose before me, as if it had been 
 yesterday, instead of years before, that I 
 stood at the Mission Pier, wondering why a 
 big stock of phonographs, labeled "TROPI- 
 CAL WAX," comprised so mysterious a 
 part of our cargo. 
 
 270 
 
JHp ^ffiilaatr €mpive 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MY ISLAND EMPIRE. 
 
 IN looking over some verses of Psalms, 
 a few days ago, my thoughts dwelt on 
 the frailty of human life ; and I read the 
 words, "We spend our years as a tale that 
 is told." 
 
 No man of middle age can recount the 
 last ten years of his career without realizing 
 how quickly the tale of life is told ; how 
 amazingly swift the noisy years of effort 
 become the silent years of history. And I 
 suppose it makes little difference to the 
 Eternal Power that dwells at the heart of 
 the universe where a man passes his days, 
 if he but spend them well. 
 
 Looking back over the happy years I 
 have lived in Atollia, I cannot wholly regret 
 that fate removed me from the unequal and 
 
 271 
 
9lu Affair in tl)c ^otitl^ ^cafi 
 
 prizeless battle that made life a burden in 
 San Francisco. Of course there are times 
 when I long for the roar of cities, the 
 glamour of civilization, and the companion- 
 ship of men of wide experience and culture ; 
 but for the most part I am content here, 
 where life is largely a holiday, and where 
 a man's mental attitude toward the universe 
 and its problems is calm and impressive, — 
 and largely introspective. 
 
 I cannot escape the feeling that I am 
 chained here now, as much as if I had been 
 banished from the country of my birth. 
 In the first place, Swanson is old and feeble, 
 having sailed to that part of life where the 
 sunken reefs and shallows that spell death 
 lie close at hand ; and the people (natives, 
 and whites as well) seem to look upon me 
 as his logical successor, — king, president, 
 leader. You see, I have been for some 
 years the old Captain's right-hand man, and 
 people think — I won't say how correct they 
 are — that I have the wisdom to run the 
 ship of state when Swanson shall be no 
 more. Well, to leave a land where I have 
 
 272 
 
iHp SfiilatiU empire 
 
 been so happy, when duty and patriotism 
 bid me remain, would be cowardly ; so I 
 long ago banishe^ every thought of going 
 away from the government I helped to 
 create. 
 
 One thing more : If I may call you aside 
 for a private word, there are reasons more 
 personal (some might say more senti- 
 mental) that impel me to stick right here. 
 If you are a family man you will grasp my 
 meaning in a twinkling, for we are all proud 
 of our own. 
 
 I should state that I have two daughters, 
 — just sweet little babes, — and they are all 
 the world to me. I have been long a home 
 body ; for God planted love of children in 
 my heart. It was only yesterday that I 
 held these little girls in my lap, playing 
 with them in the bright sun that filtered 
 through the palm leaves ; and even the 
 blinded sight of a father showed me that 
 they were not pure white. In the strong 
 light, there was a shade in them too dark 
 for the blood of my fathers, — and in some 
 countries the brown tint would make them 
 
 273 
 
9ln Affair in tl)e ^ontl) S)ea0 
 
 miserable. Now, when I think for a mo- 
 ment of taking them away from this land, 
 where they are happy, ^nd in harmony 
 with their surroundings, I fly off on my 
 mettle at the thought of what might occur; 
 for they are half-castes, and they might 
 be humiliated were the color-line drawn. 
 Down here nobody thinks he is any better, 
 — nobody anywhere is better; but if any 
 slanderous tongue should ever call them 
 " nigger," there would be one of the quick- 
 est and hardest fights on record. So, all 
 in all, it is better for the country, and for 
 all of us, that we live on here in peace. 
 
 A few years ago, the thought of a chief 
 without the gay colors of tattooing was in- 
 conceivable to the native mind ; for tattooing 
 was a social and religious rite considered 
 indispensable in the royal family, and faith 
 in its efficacy was ancient and universal. 
 Everybody believed it would drive away 
 storms and give chiefs good luck in battle. 
 We changed all that ever so long ago. 
 Swanson is not tattooed, and his successor 
 will remain white. I say this that you may 
 
 274 
 
JHp STfilanU empire 
 
 understand that I am not to be thought of 
 as another such a looking object as Bill 
 Banks. 
 
 For many years our colonists have been 
 prosperous and happy. Everybody has the 
 creature comforts, even many of the luxu- 
 ries of life, as Swanson promised at the Seal 
 Rock House. There are bicycles and all 
 such modern conveniences to lighten the 
 toil and increase the comforts of man ; and 
 in most respects we are not behind progres- 
 sive communities of America in the inven- 
 tions of the age. About once a year the 
 Rosalie steals away, and returns laden with 
 the goods and comforts of the period ; and 
 not a soul at the great marts where she 
 takes on her cargoes ever dreams that she 
 is anything but a sort of prosperous trad- 
 ing-vessel that plies between civilization 
 and some wild archipelago, — but you know 
 better. 
 
 If ever you should chance to visit us, 
 however, you will doubtless notice that there 
 are no phonographs in Atollia. Some day, 
 things may change, but for the present 
 
 275 
 
^n Affair in tit ^mtii §btK6 
 
 the government has a monopoly of the 
 business of reproducing the human voice 
 on the Edison cylinders. And our old cave 
 of mystery (where we occasionally take the 
 natives to revive old memories) is the only 
 place of the kind in the islands. 
 
 I suppose you want to know what be- 
 came of Banks ; so it would not be fair to 
 leave you in doubt concerning his career. 
 His end was too terrible for detailed dis- 
 cussion ; for the chiefs trapped him in a 
 neck of wood, and he was put to death 
 in the ancient manner of torture. They 
 brought hi^ head to us in corroboration 
 of their story of his death. I confess his 
 taking off was somewhat horrible, — but it 
 was a trick, with many deaths at the end 
 of it, that he would have played us, had 
 he not been foiled soon after I first saw 
 him in the forest. I suppose things had 
 to go as they did, for every new coun- 
 try has its tragedies and conflicts. 
 
 When civilization and barbarism meet, 
 something has to give way, and the re- 
 adjustment leaves many graves along the 
 
 276 
 
iHp 3^6lanli €mpirc 
 
 path. After all, there was something of 
 "the survival of the fittest" philosophy 
 in our supremacy ; for, while I confess 
 that our humbuggery in the cave was a 
 great piece of falsehood, it was an artistic 
 hoax, compared with the poor counter- 
 feiting by which Banks tried to accom- 
 plish our undoing. While we were pretty 
 rank impostors, you must not forget that 
 our lives were at stake, — and I am willing 
 to let the reader split ethical hairs and call 
 us hard names, if such a pastime is pleasant. 
 As I write, the people of Atollia are en- 
 joying that calm of spirit which comes in 
 the sweet hours when man is unfettered by 
 the fear of hunger and misfortune. You 
 say it is the dreamy climate of purple skies 
 that makes us happy ? Not altogether. 
 Even this glory of sunshine and surf would 
 be no delight to men who pass their hats 
 for the favors of the rich. It is our purpose 
 to conduct this government so that it shall 
 never become a cold-blooded commercial 
 arena, where the masses forever grind in 
 treadmills of hopeless toil, while millionaires 
 
 277 
 
3lii 3lffatr in t^t §bmt\f ^easf 
 
 reap the harvests by reason of superior or- 
 ganization and capital, — aided by bad men 
 and bad laws. 
 
 And now, on this last page, with the final 
 drop of ink flowing from my pen, I can 
 exclaim with the great Stevenson, that I 
 know pleasure still, though not complete 
 happiness, which never comes to mortal 
 man, — "pleasure with a thousand faces, and 
 none perfect, a thousand tongues all broken, 
 a thousand hands, and all of them with 
 scratching nails." 
 
 / -^ OF THE \ 
 
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 278 
 
Typography by 
 
 The T. C. RrssELL Co. 
 
 San Francisco, California 
 
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