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 COPYRIGHT, IQ20, BY /j | 
 
 HARCOURT, BRACE AND HOWE 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 EDITOR S INTRODUCTION iii 
 
 MELVILLE S PREFACE 3 
 
 I. A LAND-SICK SHIP ; 5 
 
 II. THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA 10 
 
 IV. RESOLVE TO ESCAPE * 20 
 
 V. TOBY S RESOLVE 34 
 
 VI. ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 40 
 
 VII. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 50 
 
 VIII. JOURNEY TOWARD THE VALLEY 63 
 
 IX. FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO THE RAVINE 74 
 
 X. TYPEE OF HAPPAR? 85 
 
 XI. MORNING VISITORS 99 
 
 XII. TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 117 
 
 XIII. PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 130 
 
 XIV. SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 140 
 
 XV. BREAD-FRUIT 153 
 
 XVI. AT THE Ti 159 
 
 XVII. SKIRMITH WITH THE HAPPARS 166 
 
 XVIII. MARNOO APPEARS 176 
 
 XIX. BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS 193 
 
 XX. A DAY IN THE VALLEY. 201 
 
 XXI. MONUMENTAL PI-PIS 207 
 
 XXII. PREPARATIONS FOR A FEAST 212 
 
 XXIII. THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 220 
 
 XXIV. SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 228 
 
 XXV. KING MEHEVI 243 
 
 XXVI. NATIVE CUSTOMS 254 
 
 XXVII. KINDLINESS OF THE CANNIBALS 263 
 
 * Chapter III has been omitted from this edition. 
 
 464071 
 
iv CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XXVIII. FISHING 272 
 
 XXIX. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY 277 
 
 XXX. TATTOOING AND TABOOING : 286 
 
 XXXI. CURIOUS ODDS AND ENDS 298 
 
 XXXII. A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 304 
 
 XXXIII. MARNOO RETURNS 316 
 
 XXXIV. THE ESCAPE 323 
 
 THE STORY OF TOBY 336 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 WHEN Typee first appeared, nearly seventy-five years 
 ago, the life of sailors was still the glorious and bitter 
 experience that Mr. Masefield describes, and not, as now, 
 a merely foul and discomfortable existence as machine- 
 tender or stoker. The rush of white sails over purple 
 waters and the inescapable miseries of voyages apparently 
 endless were even then a tradition, and a reality as well. 
 At such a time a tale of sea-fever and sea-roving was 
 heartily welcomed. But Melville added new ingredients 
 to the familiar story : the mystery and horror of unvisited 
 cannibal valleys, fearful perils and agonized efforts to 
 escape, and withal a revelation of unsuspected kindliness 
 and simple virtues in the bloodthirsty savages. We need 
 no further reason to account for the high interest which 
 Typee stirred on its appearance. It creates the sort of 
 spell which has held children from play in every gen 
 eration. 
 
 But more than this makes up its permanent value and 
 appeal. The two sailors, in their flight from the whaling 
 vessel, climb with almost magical agility over fresh- 
 smelling cliffs, and come down into a "Happy Valley" of 
 childlike and delightful simplicity. It is a place of 
 laughter and content. The cannibal warriors join mer 
 rily in a pop-gun battle, or stumble in good-natured idle 
 ness over the headstrong trails that form their chief 
 highways. Their sole energetic efforts appear to be spent 
 in lighting fires and carrying on the sacred rites of tattoo 
 and taboo. It is difficult to believe that their guests 
 
vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 were really "in constant danger of being dined upon." 
 But so it was, as the frightful revelations of the pack 
 ages in old Marheyo s house and of the covered canoes 
 in the taboo groves near the Ti abundantly show. It is 
 this astounding mixture of idyll and peril that makes a 
 great part of the abiding charm and interest of Typee. 
 The essential truth of Melville s account is well es 
 tablished. The story has, indeed, been called pure 
 romance. And certainly the author had neither oppor 
 tunity nor inclination while in that "anxious paradise" 
 for taking exact notes of his observations. Nor did he 
 return home until nearly four years after he first set 
 sail. His full and varied adventures included imprison 
 ment in an island jail, chronicled in Omoo, and service 
 on board a man-of-war, which he excellently describes, 
 with its hardships and brutal floggings, in White- Jacket. 
 Yet his recollections embodied in Typee, as verified by 
 the testimony of later travelers, prove to be remarkably 
 correct. One has only to turn to a recent matter-of-fact 
 article, with photographic illustrations, by Mr. J. W. 
 Church* to find confirmation for much of Melville s 
 record. Both the pictures and the text present for the 
 most part a reality flat and lifeless beside the writings of 
 Melville or Stevenson, and so give a less vivid and real 
 sense of the life and customs they portray. In part, too, 
 Mr. Church s statements about long-vanished customs 
 suggest that reliance on "long-bow accounts" by retired 
 sailors and European officials which Melville satirizes. 
 Yet the Geographic article, if less intimate and kindly 
 in its view, only confirms Typee in the claim to essen 
 tial truth which Melville made for it in his preface of 
 1846. 
 
 *"A Vanishing People of the South Seas": The National Geo 
 graphic Magazine, October, 1919. 
 
INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 Typee has been heartily appreciated by those who have 
 discovered it in every later generation. Stevenson wrote, 
 "There are but two writers who have touched the South 
 Seas with any genius, both Americans: Melville and 
 Charles Warren Stoddard." And he speaks of Melville 
 as "first and greatest." Stoddard s South Sea Idylls is 
 indeed inferior only to Melville s and Stevenson s writings 
 in charm and interest. His accounts of the savage 
 dances and the equally savage lomi-lomi interestingly 
 supplement those of Typee. 
 
 The most satisfactory second visit to these islands for 
 one who has voyaged there with Melville is provided in 
 the magical atmosphere and color of Stevenson s The 
 South Seas. Stevenson s descriptions of the handsome 
 natives, with their tints of olive and ivory and their "large 
 luminous, and melting eyes," and his account of their 
 manner, "wild, shy, and refined," "fiercely proud," and 
 of what he calls "almost . . . their deification of chil 
 dren" suit well with Melville s delighted account. He 
 confirms, too, all that Melville foresaw of the miserable 
 results brought about by the coming of civilization. The 
 natives he observed, their arts and enjoyments vanishing, 
 were "dying of discouragement, perhaps I should rather 
 say of acquiescence." He saw ruined houses, where the 
 "insects consumed the walls as if they had been bread, 
 and the rain and air ate into them like vitriol." The 
 Typee valley itself is now altogether uninhabited. The 
 contrast with the contented and superbly healthy natives 
 of Melville s "Happy Valley" is painfully sad. 
 
 STERLING ANDRUS LEONARD. 
 
 THE LINCOLN SCHOOL OF TEACHERS COLLEGE, 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK CITY, 
 January, 1920. 
 
THE text of this edition is complete but for some minor 
 omissions, chiefly philosophical discussions and diatribes 
 against the French and the missionaries. Stevenson has 
 treated these subjects more calmly and definitively; 
 here they merely delay an excellent narrative. A glos 
 sary of Marquesan common and proper names and of 
 other explanations which appear useful, and references 
 to other writers who have treated the South Seas or 
 Melville s life and writings follow the text. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 MORE than three years have elapsed since the occur 
 rence of the events recorded in this volume. The in 
 terval, with the exception of the last few months, has 
 been chiefly spent by the author tossing about on the 
 wide ocean. Sailors are the only class of men who 
 now-a-days see anything like stirring adventure; and 
 many things which to fire-side people appear strange and 
 romantic, to them seem as common-place as a jacket out 
 at elbows. Yet, notwithstanding the familiarity of 
 sailors with all sorts of curious adventure, the incidents 
 recorded in the following pages have often served, when 
 "spun as a yarn," not only to relieve the weariness of 
 many a night-watch at sea, but to excite the warmest 
 sympathies of the author s shipmates. He has been, 
 therefore, led to think that his story could scarcely fail 
 to interest those who are less familiar than the sailor 
 with a life of adventure. 
 
 In his account of the singular and interesting people 
 among whom he was thrown, it will be observed that he 
 chiefly treats of their more obvious peculiarities; and, 
 in describing their customs, refrains in most cases from 
 entering into explanations concerning their origin and 
 purposes. As writers of travels among barbarous com 
 munities are generally very diffuse on these subjects, he 
 deems it right to advert to what may be considered a 
 culpable omission. No one can be more sensible than 
 
 3 
 
PREFACE 
 
 the author: of his deficiencies in this and many other 
 respects; but when the very peculiar circumstances in 
 which he was placed are understood, he feels assured 
 that all these omissions will be excused. 
 
 In very many published narratives no little degree of 
 attention is bestowed upon dates; but as the author lost 
 all knowledge of the days of the week, during the 
 occurrence of the scenes herein related, he hopes that 
 the reader will charitably pass over his shortcomings in 
 this particular. 
 
 In the Polynesian words used in this volume ex 
 cept in those cases where the spelling has been pre 
 viously determined by others that form of orthogra 
 phy has been employed which might be supposed most 
 easily to convey their sound to a stranger. In several 
 works descriptive of the islands in the Pacific, many of 
 the most beautiful combinations of vocal sounds have 
 been altogether lost to the ear of the reader by an over- 
 attention to the ordinary rules of spelling. 
 
 There are some things related in the narrative which 
 will be sure to appear strange, or perhaps entirely incom 
 prehensible, to the reader; but they cannot appear more 
 so to him than they did to the author at the time. He 
 has stated such matters just as they occurred, and leaves 
 every one to form his own opinion concerning them, 
 trusting that his anxious desire to speak the unvarnished 
 truth will gain for him the confidence of his readers. 
 
 1846. 
 
TYPEE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 A LAND-SICK SHIP 
 
 Six months at sea! Yes, reader, as I live, six months 
 out of sight of land; cruising after the sperm-whale 
 beneath the scorching sun of the Line, and tossed on 
 the billows of the wide-rolling Pacific the sky above, 
 the sea around, and nothing else! Weeks and weeks 
 ago our fresh provisions were all exhausted. There is 
 not a sweet potato left; not a single yam. Those glori 
 ous bunches of bananas which once decorated our stern 
 and quarter-deck have, alas, disappeared! and the 
 delicious oranges which hung suspended from our tops 
 and stays they, too, are gone ! Yes, they are all 
 departed, and there is nothing left us but salt-horse and 
 sea-biscuit. Oh! ye state-room sailors, who make so 
 much ado about a fourteen-days passage across the 
 Atlantic; who so pathetically relate the privations and 
 hardships of the sea, where, after a day of breakfasting, 
 lunching, dining off five courses, chatting, playing whist, 
 and drinking champagne-punch, it was your hard lot to 
 be shut up in nice little cabinets of mahogany and maple, 
 and sleep for ten hours, with nothing to disturb you but 
 "those good-for-nothing tars, shouting and tramping 
 over head" what would you say to our six months 
 out of sight of land? 
 
 Oh! for a refreshing glimpse of one blade of grass 
 for a snuff at the fragrance of a handful of the loamy 
 
 5 
 
6 TYPEE 
 
 earth! ts there nothing fresh around us? Is there no 
 green thing to be seen? Yes, the inside of our bul 
 warks is painted green; but what a vile and sickly hue 
 it is, as if nothing bearing even the semblance of verdure 
 could flourish this weary way from land. Even the 
 bark that once clung to the wood we use for fuel has 
 been gnawed off and devoured by the captain s pig; 
 and so long ago, too, that the pig himself has in turn 
 been devoured. 
 
 There is but one solitary tenant in the chicken-coop, 
 once a gay and dapper young cock, bearing him so 
 bravely among the coy hens. But look at him now; 
 there he stands, moping all the day long on that ever 
 lasting one leg of his. He turns with disgust from the 
 mouldy corn before him and the brackish water in his 
 trough. He mourns no doubt his lost companions, lit 
 erally snatched from him one by one, and never seen 
 again. But his days of mourning will be few; for 
 Mungo, our black cook, told me yesterday that the word 
 had at last gone forth, and poor Pedro s fate was sealed. 
 His attenuated body will be laid out upon the captain s 
 table next Sunday, and long before night will be buried, 
 with all the usual ceremonies, beneath that worthy in 
 dividual s vest. Who would believe that there could 
 be any one so cruel as to long for the decapitation of the 
 luckless Pedro; yet the sailors pray every minute, selfish 
 fellows, that the miserable fowl may be brought 
 to his end. They say the captain will never point the 
 ship for the land so long as he has in anticipation a mess 
 of fresh meat. This unhappy bird can alone furnish it; 
 and when he is once devoured, the captain will at once 
 come to his senses. I wish thee no harm, Peter; but 
 as thou art doomed, sooner or later, to meet the fate 
 of all thy race; and if putting a period to thy existence 
 
A LAND-SICK SHIP 7 
 
 is to be the signal for our deliverance, why truth to 
 speak I wish thy throat cut this very moment ; for, 
 oh! how I wish to see the living earth again! The 
 old ship herself longs to look out upon the land from 
 her hawse-holes once more, and Jack Lewis said right 
 the other day when the captain found fault with his 
 steering. 
 
 "Why, d ye see, Captain Vangs," says bold Jack, 
 "I m as good a helmsman as ever put hand to spoke; 
 but none of us can steer the old lady now. We can t 
 keep her full and bye, sir: watch her ever so close, she 
 will fall off; and then, sir, when I put the helm down 
 so gently, and try like to coax her to the work, she 
 won t take it kindly, but will fall round off again; and 
 it s all because she knows the land is under the lee, sir, 
 and she won t go any more to windward." Aye, and 
 why should she, Jack? didn t every one of her stout 
 timbers grow on shore, and hasn t she sensibilities as 
 well as we? 
 
 Poor old ship! Her very looks denote her desires! 
 how deplorably she appears! The paint on her sides, 
 burnt up by the scorching sun, is puffed out and cracked. 
 See the weeds she trails along with her, and what an un 
 sightly bunch of those horrid barnacles has formed about 
 her stern-piece; and every time she rises on a sea, she 
 shows her copper torn away, or hanging in jagged strips. 
 
 Poor old ship! I say again: for six months she has 
 been rolling and pitching about, never for one moment 
 at rest. But courage, old lass, I hope to see thee soon 
 within a biscuit s toss of the merry land, riding snugly 
 at anchor in some green cove, and sheltered from the 
 boisterous winds. 
 
 "Hurra, my lads! It s a settled thing; next week 
 
8 TYPEE 
 
 we shape our course to the Marquesas!" The Mar 
 quesas! What strange visions of outlandish things does 
 the very name spirit up! Cannibal banquets groves 
 of cocoa-nut coral reefs tatooed chiefs and bam 
 boo temples; sunny valleys planted with bread-fruit- 
 trees carved canoes dancing on the flashing blue 
 waters savage woodlands guarded by horrible idols 
 heathenish rites and human sacrifices. 
 
 Such were the strangely jumbled anticipations that 
 haunted me during our passage from the cruising ground. 
 I felt an irresistible curiosity to see those islands which 
 the olden voyagers had so glowingly described. 
 
 The group for which we were now steering (although 
 among the earliest of European discoveries in the South 
 Seas, having been first visited in the year 1595) still 
 continues to be tenanted by beings as strange and bar 
 barous as ever. How interesting the circumstances under 
 which they were discovered! In the watery path of 
 Mendana, cruising in quest of some region of gold, these 
 isles had sprung up like a scene of enchantment, and for 
 a moment the Spaniard believed his bright dream was 
 realised. In honor of the Marquess de Mendoza, then 
 viceroy of Peru under whose auspices the navigator 
 sailed he bestowed upon them the name which de 
 noted the rank of his patron, and gave to the world on 
 his return a vague and magnificent account of their 
 beauty. But these islands, undisturbed for years, re 
 lapsed into their previous obscurity; and it is only re 
 cently that anything has been known concerning them. 
 Once in the course of a half-century, to be sure, some 
 adventurous rover would break in upon their peaceful 
 repose, and, astonished at the unusual scene, would be 
 almost tempted to claim the merit of a new discovery. 
 
 Of this interesting group, but little account has ever 
 
A LAND-SICK SHIP 9 
 
 been given, if we except the slight mention made of 
 them in the sketches of South Sea voyages. Cook, in 
 his repeated circumnavigations of the globe, barely 
 touched at their shores; and all that we know about 
 them is from a few general narratives. Among these, 
 there are two that claim particular notice. Porter s 
 "Journal of the Cruise of the U. S. Frigate Essex, in the 
 Pacific, during the late War," is said to contain some 
 interesting particulars concerning the islanders. This 
 is a work, however, which I have never happened to 
 meet with; and Stewart, the chaplain of the American 
 sloop of war Vincennes, has likewise devoted a portion of 
 his book, entitled "A Visit to the South Seas," to the 
 same subject. 
 
 Within the last few years American and English 
 vessels engaged in the extensive whale fisheries of the 
 Pacific have occasionally, when short of provisions, put 
 into the commodious harbour which there is in one of 
 the islands; but a fear of the natives, founded on a 
 recollection of the dreadful fate which many white men 
 have received at their hands, has deterred their crews 
 from intermixing with the population sufficiently to gain 
 any insight into their peculiar customs and manners. 
 The Protestant Missions appear to have despaired of 
 reclaiming these islands from heathenism. The usage 
 they have in every case received from the natives has 
 been such as to intimidate the boldest of their number. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA 
 
 I CAN never forget the eighteen or twenty days dur 
 ing which the light trade-winds were silently sweeping 
 us towards the islands. In pursuit of the sperm-whale, 
 we had been cruising on the line some twenty degrees 
 to the westward of the Gallipagos; and all that we had 
 to do, when our course was determined on, was to 
 square in the yards and keep the vessel before the 
 breeze, and then the good ship and the steady gale did 
 the rest between them. The man at the wheel never 
 vexed the old lady with any superfluous steering, but, 
 comfortably adjusting his limbs at the tiller, would doze 
 away by the hour. True to her work, the Dolly headed 
 to her course, and like one of those characters who 
 always do the best when let alone, she jogged on her 
 way like a veteran old sea-pacer as she was. 
 
 What a delightful, lazy, languid time we had whilst 
 we were thus gliding along! There was nothing to be 
 done; a circumstance that happily suited our disinclina 
 tion to do anything. We abandoned the fore-peak 
 altogether, and spreading an awning over the forecastle, 
 slept, ate, and lounged under it the live-long day. 
 Every one seemed to be under the influence of some 
 narcotic. Even the officers aft, whose duty required 
 them never to be seated while keeping a deck watch, 
 vainly endeavoured to keep on their pins, and were 
 obliged invariably to compromise the matter by leaning 
 
 10 
 
THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA n 
 
 up against the bulwarks and gazing abstractedly over the 
 side. Reading was out of the question; take a book in 
 your hand, and you were asleep in an instant. 
 
 Although I could not avoid yielding in a great 
 measure to the general languor, still at times I con 
 trived to shake off the spell, and to appreciate the 
 beauty of the scene around me. The sky presented a 
 clear expanse of the most delicate blue, except along 
 the skirts of the horizon, where you might see a thin 
 drapery of pale, clouds which never varied their form or 
 colour. The long, measured, dirge-like swell of the 
 Pacific came rolling along, with its surface broken by 
 little tiny waves, sparkling in the sunshine. Every now 
 and then a shoal of flying-fish, scared from the water 
 under the bows, would leap into the air, and fall the 
 next moment like a shower of silver into the sea. Then 
 you would see the superb albicore, with his glittering 
 sides, sailing aloft, and often describing an arc in his 
 descent, disappear on the surface of the water. Far 
 off, the lofty jet of the whale might be seen, and riearer 
 at hand the prowling shark, that villainous footpad of 
 the seas, would come skulking along, and, at a wary dis 
 tance, regard us with his evil eye. At times, some 
 shapeless monster of the deep, floating on the sur 
 face, would, as we approached, sink slowly into the 
 blue waters and fade away from the sight. But the 
 most impressive feature of the scene was the almost 
 unbroken silence that reigned over sky and water. 
 Scarcely a sound could be heard but the occasional 
 breathing of the grampus and the rippling at the cut 
 water. 
 
 As we drew nearer the land, I hailed with delight the 
 appearance of innumerable sea- fowl. Screaming and whirl 
 ing in spiral tracks, they would accompany the vessel, 
 
12 TYPEE 
 
 and at times alight on our yards and stays. That pi 
 ratical-looking fellow appropriately named the man-of- 
 war s hawk, with his blood-red bill and raven plumage, 
 would come sweeping round us in gradually diminishing 
 circles, till you could distinctly mark the strange flash 
 ings of his eye and then, as if satisfied with his obser 
 vation, would sail up into the air and disappear from 
 the view. Soon other evidences of our vicinity to the 
 land were apparent, and it was not long before the glad 
 announcement of its being in sight was heard from 
 aloft given with that peculiar prolongation of sound 
 that a sailor loves "Land ho!" 
 
 The captain, darting on deck from the cabin, bawled 
 lustily for his spy-glass; the mate in still louder accents 
 hailed the mast-head with a tremendous "Where-away?" 
 The black cook thrust his woolly head from the galley, 
 and Boatswain, the dog, leaped up between the knight- 
 heads and barked most furiously. Land ho! Aye, there 
 it was. A hardly perceptible blue irregular outline indi 
 cating the bold contour of the lofty heights of Nuku- 
 heva. 
 
 This island, although generally called one of the Mar 
 quesas, is by some navigators considered as forming one 
 of a distinct cluster, comprising the islands of Ruhooka, 
 Ropo, and Nukuheva; upon which three the appellation 
 of the Washington Group has been bestowed. They 
 form a triangle, and lie within the parallels of 8 38" 
 and 9 32" South latitude, and 139 20 and 140 10 
 West longitude from Greenwich. With how little pro 
 priety they are to be regarded as forming a separate 
 group will be at once apparent, when it is considered 
 that they lie in the immediate vicinity of the other islands, 
 that is to say, less than a degree to the northwest of 
 them; that their inhabitants speak the Marquesan dia- 
 
THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA 13 
 
 lect, and that their laws, religion, and general customs 
 are identical. The only reason why they were ever 
 thus arbitrarily distinguished may be attributed to 
 the singular fact that their existence was altogether 
 unknown to the world until the year 1791, when they 
 were discovered by Captain Ingraham, of Boston, Massa 
 chusetts, nearly two centuries after the discovery of 
 the adjacent islands by the agent of the Spanish Viceroy. 
 Notwithstanding this, I shall follow the example of most 
 voyagers, and treat of them as forming part and parcel 
 of the Marquesas. 
 
 Nukuheva is the most important of these islands, 
 being the only one at which ships are much in the habit 
 of touching, and is celebrated as being the place where 
 the adventurous Captain Porter refitted his ships during 
 the late war between England and the United States, 
 and whence he sallied out upon the large whaling fleet 
 then sailing under the enemy s flag in the surrounding 
 seas. This island is about twenty miles in length, and 
 nearly as many in breadth. It has three good harbours 
 on its coast; the largest and best of which is called by 
 the people living in its vicinity "Taiohae," and by 
 Captain Porter was denominated Massachusetts Bay. 
 Among the adverse tribes dwelling about the shores of 
 the other bays, and by all voyagers, it is generally 
 known by the name bestowed upon the island itself 
 Nukuheva. Its inhabitants have become somewhat cor 
 rupted, owing to their recent commerce with Europeans; 
 but so far as regards their peculiar customs and general 
 mode of life, they retain their original primitive char 
 acter, remaining very nearly in the same state of nature 
 in which they were first beheld by white men. The 
 hostile clans, residing in the more remote sections of 
 the island, and very seldom holding any communication 
 
14 , TYPEE 
 
 with foreigners, are in every respect unchanged from 
 their earliest known condition. 
 
 In the bay of Nukuheva was the anchorage we desired 
 to reach. We had perceived the loom of the mountains 
 about sunset; so that after running all night with a 
 very light breeze, we found ourselves close in with the 
 island the next morning; but as the bay we sought lay 
 on its farther side, we were obliged to sail some distance 
 along the shore, catching, as we proceeded, short glimpses 
 of blooming valleys, deep glens, waterfalls, and waving 
 groves, hidden here and there by projecting and rocky 
 headlands, every moment opening to the view some new 
 and startling scene of beauty. 
 
 Those who for the first time visit the South Seas 
 generally are surprised at the appearance of the islands 
 when beheld from the sea. From the vague accounts 
 we sometimes have of their beauty, many people are apt 
 to picture to themselves enamelled and softly swelling 
 plains, shaded over with delicious groves, and watered 
 by purling brooks, and the entire country but little ele 
 vated above the surrounding ocean. The reality is very 
 different; bold rock-bound coasts, with the surf beating 
 high against the lofty cliffs, and broken here and there 
 into deep inlets, which open to the view thickly wooded 
 valleys, separated by the spurs of mountains clothed 
 with tufted grass, and sweeping down towards the sea 
 from an elevated and furrowed interior, form the prin 
 cipal features of these islands. 
 
 Towards noon we drew abreast the entrance to the 
 harbour, and at last we slowly swept by the intervening 
 promontory and entered the bay of Nukuheva. No de 
 scription can do justice to its beauty; but that beauty 
 was lost to me then, and I saw nothing but the tri- 
 colored flag of France trailing over the stern of six 
 
THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA 15 
 
 vessels, whose black hulls and bristling broadsides pro 
 claimed their warlike character. There they were, float 
 ing in that lovely bay, the green eminences of the shore 
 looking down so tranquilly upon them, as if rebuking 
 the sternness of their aspect. To my eye nothing could 
 be more out of keeping than the presence of these ves 
 sels; but we soon learnt what brought them there. The 
 whole group of islands had just been taken possession 
 of by Rear Admiral Dupetit Thouars, in the name of 
 the invincible French nation. 
 
 This item of information was imparted to us by a 
 most extraordinary individual, a genuine South Sea vaga 
 bond, who came alongside of us in a whale-boat as soon 
 as we entered the bay, and by the aid of some benevo 
 lent persons at the gangway was assisted on board; for 
 our visitor was in that interesting stage of intoxication 
 when a man is amiable and helpless. Although he was 
 utterly unable to stand erect, or to navigate his body 
 across the deck, he still magnanimously proffered his 
 services to pilot the ship to a good and secure anchorage. 
 Our captain, however, rather distrusted his ability in 
 this respect, and refused to recognise his claim to the 
 character he assumed; but our gentleman was deter 
 mined to play his part, for by dint of much scrambling 
 he succeeded in getting into the weather-quarter boat, 
 where he steadied himself by holding on to a shroud, 
 and then commenced issuing his commands with amaz 
 ing volubility and very peculiar gestures. Of course 
 no one obeyed his orders; but as it was impossible to 
 quiet him, we swept by the ships of the squadron with 
 this strange fellow performing his antics in full view of 
 all the French officers. 
 
 We afterwards learned that our eccentric friend had 
 been a lieutenant in the English navy; but having dis- 
 
i 6 TYPEE 
 
 graced his flag by some criminal conduct in one of the 
 principal ports on the main, he had deserted his ship, 
 and spent many hours wandering among the islands of 
 the Pacific, until accidentally being at Nukuheva when 
 the French took possession of the place, he had been ap 
 pointed pilot of the harbour by the newly constituted 
 authorities. 
 
 As we slowly advanced up the bay, numerous canoes 
 pushed off from the surrounding shores, and we were 
 soon in the midst of quite a flotilla of them, their savage 
 occupants struggling to get aboard of us, and jostling 
 one another in their ineffectual attempts. Occasionally 
 the projecting out-riggers of their slight shallops, run 
 ning foul of one another, would become entangled 
 beneath the water, threatening to capsize the canoes, 
 when a scene of confusion would ensue that baffles 
 description. Such strange outcries and passionate ges 
 ticulations I never certainly heard or saw before. You 
 would have thought the islanders were on the point of 
 flying at one another s throats, whereas they were only 
 amicably engaged in disentangling their boats. 
 
 Scattered here and there among the canoes might be 
 seen numbers of cocoa-nuts floating closely together in 
 circular groups and bobbing up and down with every 
 wave. By some inexplicable means these cocoa-nuts 
 were all steadily approaching towards the ship. As I 
 leaned curiously over the side, endeavouring to solve 
 their mysterious movements, one mass far in advance 
 of the rest attracted my attention. In its centre was 
 something I could take for nothing else than a cocoa- 
 nut, but which I certainly considered one of the most 
 extraordinary specimens of the fruit I had ever seen. 
 It kept twirling and dancing about among the rest in 
 the most singular manner, and as it drew nearer, I 
 
THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA 17 
 
 thought it bore a remarkable resemblance to the brown 
 shaven skull of one of the savages. Presently it be 
 trayed a pair of eyes, and soon I became aware that 
 what I had supposed to have been one of the fruit was 
 nothing else than the head of an islander, who had 
 adopted this singular method of bringing his produce 
 to market. The cocoa-nuts were all attached to one 
 another by strips of the husk, partly torn from the shell 
 and rudely fastened together. Their proprietor, insert 
 ing his head into the midst of them, impelled his neck 
 lace of cocoa-nuts through the water by striking out 
 beneath the surface with his feet. 
 
 I was somewhat astonished to perceive that among 
 the number of natives that surrounded us, not a single 
 female was to be seen. At that time I was ignorant of 
 the fact that, by the operation of the "taboo," the use 
 of canoes in all parts of the island is rigorously pro 
 hibited to the entire sex, for whom it is death even to 
 be seen entering one when hauled on shore; conse 
 quently, whenever a Marquesan lady voyages by water, 
 she puts in requisition the paddles of her own fair body. 
 
 We had approached within a mile and a half, perhaps, 
 of the foot of the bay, when some of the islanders, who 
 by this time had managed to scramble aboard of us at 
 the risk of swamping their canoes, directed our attention 
 to a singular commotion in the water ahead of the ves 
 sel. At first I imagined it to be produced by a shoal 
 of fish sporting on the surface, but our savage friends 
 assured us that it was caused by a shoal of "whin- 
 henies" (young girls), who in this manner were coming 
 off from the shore to welcome us. As they drew nearer, 
 and I watched the rising and sinking of their forms, 
 and beheld the uplifted right arm bearing above the 
 water the girdle of tappa, and their long dark hair 
 
i8 TYPEE 
 
 trailing beside them as they swam, I almost fancied 
 they could be nothing else than so many mermaids 
 and very like mermaids they behaved too. 
 
 We were still some distance from the beach, and 
 under slow headway, when we sailed right into the 
 midst of the swimming nymphs, and they boarded us 
 at every quarter; many seizing hold of the chain-plates 
 and springing into the chains; others, at the peril of 
 being run over by the vessel in her course, catching at 
 the bob-stays, and wreathing their slender forms about 
 the ropes, hung suspended in the air. All of them at 
 length succeeded in getting up the ship s side, where 
 they clung dripping with the brine, and glowing from the 
 bath, their jet-black tresses streaming over their shoul 
 ders, and half enveloping their otherwise naked forms. 
 There they hung, sparkling with savage vivacity, laugh 
 ing gayly at one another, and chattering away with 
 infinite glee. Nor were they idle the while, for each 
 one performed the simple offices of the toilet for the 
 other. Their luxuriant locks, wound up and twisted 
 into the smallest possible compass, were freed from the 
 briny element; the whole person carefully dried, and 
 from a little round shell that passed from hand to hand, 
 anointed with a fragrant oil: their adornments were 
 completed by passing a few loose folds of white tappa, in 
 a modest cincture, around the waist. Thus arrayed, they 
 no longer hesitated, but flung themselves lightly over 
 the bulwarks, and were quickly frolicking about the 
 decks. Many of them went forward, perching upon 
 the head-rails, or running out upon the bowsprit, while 
 others seated themselves upon the taffrail, or reclined 
 at full length upon the boats. 
 
 Their appearance perfectly amazed me; their extreme 
 youth, the light clear brown of their complexions, their 
 
THE BAY OF NUKUHEVA 19 
 
 delicate features and inexpressibly graceful figures, 
 their softly moulded limbs, and free unstudied action, 
 seemed as strange as beautiful. 
 
 The Dolly was fairly captured; and never I will say 
 was vessel carried before by such a dashing and irresis 
 tible party of boarders! The ship taken, we could not 
 do otherwise than yield ourselves prisoners. In the 
 evening after we had come to an anchor the deck was 
 illuminated with lanterns, and this picturesque band of 
 sylphs, tricked out with flowers, and dressed in robes of 
 variegated tappa, got up a ball in great style. These 
 females are passionately fond of dancing, and in the 
 wild grace and spirit of their style excel everything that 
 I have ever seen. The varied dances of the Marquesan 
 girls are beautiful in the extreme, but there is an aban 
 doned voluptuousness in their character which I dare 
 not attempt to describe. 
 
CHAPTER IV* 
 RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 
 
 OUR ship had not been many days in the harbour of 
 Nukuheva before I came to the determination of leav 
 ing her. That my reasons for resolving to take this 
 step were numerous and weighty may be inferred from 
 the fact that I chose rather to risk my fortunes among 
 the savages of the island than to endure another voyage 
 on board the Dolly. To use the concise, point-blank 
 phrase of the sailors, I had made up my mind to "run 
 away." Now, as a meaning is generally attached to 
 these two words no way flattering to the individual 
 to whom they are applied, it behoves me, for the sake 
 of my own character, to offer some explanation of my 
 conduct. 
 
 When I entered on board the Dolly, I signed, as a 
 matter of course, the ship s articles, thereby voluntarily 
 engaging and legally binding myself to serve in a cer 
 tain capacity for the period of the voyage; and, special 
 considerations apart, I was of course bound to fulfill the 
 agreement. But in all contracts, if one party fail to 
 perform his share of the compact, is not the other virtu 
 ally absolved from his liability? Who is there who will 
 not answer in the affirmative? 
 
 Having settled the principle, then, let me apply it to 
 the particular case in question. In numberless instances 
 had not only the implied but the specified conditions 
 
 * Chapter III, an account of the French and the missionaries, 
 has been omitted from this edition. 
 
 20 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 21 
 
 of the articles been violated on the part of the ship in 
 which I served. The usage on board of her was tyran 
 nical; the sick had been inhumanly neglected; the pro 
 visions had been doled out in scanty allowance; and her 
 cruises were unreasonably protracted. The captain was 
 the author of these abuses; it was in vain to think that 
 he would either remedy them or alter his conduct, which 
 was arbitrary and violent in the extreme. His prompt 
 reply to all complaints and remonstrances was the butt- 
 end of a hand-spike, so convincingly administered as 
 effectually to silence the aggrieved party. 
 
 To whom could we apply for redress? We had left 
 both law and equity on the other side of the Cape; and 
 unfortunately, with a very few exceptions, our crew was 
 composed of a parcel of dastardly and mean-spirited 
 wretches, divided among ourselves, and only united in 
 enduring without resistance the unmitigated tyranny 
 of the captain. It would have been mere madness for 
 any two or three of the number, unassisted by the rest, 
 to attempt making a stand against his ill-usage. They 
 would only have called down upon themselves the par 
 ticular vengeance of this "Lord of the Plank," and sub 
 jected their shipmates to additional hardships. 
 
 But, after -all, these things could have been endured 
 awhile, had we entertained the hope of being speedily 
 delivered from them by the due completion of the term 
 of our servitude. But what a dismal prospect awaited 
 us in this quarter! The longevity of Cape Horn whal 
 ing voyages is proverbial, frequently extending over a 
 period of four or five years. Some long-haired, bare 
 necked youths, who, forced by the united influences of 
 Captain Marryatt and hard times, embark at Nan- 
 tucket for a pleasure excursion to the Pacific, and whose 
 anxious mothers provide them with bottled milk for the 
 
22 TYPEE 
 
 occasion, oftentimes return very respectable middle-aged 
 gentleman. 
 
 The very preparations made for one of these expedi 
 tions are enough to frighten one. As the vessel carries 
 out no cargo, her hold is filled with provisions for her 
 own consumption. The owners, who officiate as caterers 
 for the voyage, supply the larder with an abundance 
 of dainties. Delicate morsels of beef and pork, cut on 
 scientific principles from every part of the animal, and 
 of all conceivable shapes and sizes, are carefully packed 
 in salt and stored away in barrels, affording a never- 
 ending variety in their different degrees of toughness, 
 and in the peculiarities of their saline properties. Choice 
 old water too, decanted into stout six-barrel-casks, 
 two pints of which are allowed every day to each soul on 
 board, together with ample store of sea-bread, previously 
 reduced to a state of petrifaction with a view to preserve 
 it either from decay or consumption in the ordinary 
 mode, are likewise provided for the nourishment and 
 gastronomic enjoyment of the crew. 
 
 But not to speak of the quality of these articles of 
 sailors fare, the abundance in which they are put on 
 board a whaling vessel is almost incredible. Oftentimes, 
 when we had occasion to break out in the hold, and I 
 beheld the successive tiers of casks and barrels, whose 
 contents were all destined to be consumed in due course 
 by the ship s company, my heart sank within me. 
 
 Although, as a general case, a ship unlucky in falling 
 in with whales continues to cruise after them until she 
 has barely sufficient provisions remaining to take her 
 home, turning round then quietly and making the best 
 of her way to her friends, yet there are instances when 
 even this natural obstacle to the further prosecution of 
 the voyage is overcome by headstrong captains, who, 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 23 
 
 bartering the fruits of their hard-earned toils for a new 
 supply of provisions in some of the ports of Chili or 
 Peru, begin the voyage afresh, with unabated zeal and 
 perseverance. It is in vain that the owners write urgent 
 letters to him to sail for home, and for their sake to bring 
 back the ship, since it appears he can put nothing in 
 her. Not he. He has registered a vow: he will fill his 
 vessel with good sperm oil, or failing to do so, never 
 again strike Yankee soundings. 
 
 I heard of one whaler which after many years ab 
 sence was given up for lost. The last that had been 
 heard of her was a shadowy report of her having touched 
 at some of those unstable islands in the far Pacific 
 whose eccentric wanderings are carefully noted in each 
 new edition of the South Sea charts. After a long in 
 terval, however, the Perseverance for that was her 
 name was spoken somewhere in the vicinity of the 
 ends of the earth, cruising along as leisurely as ever, 
 her sails all bepatched and bequilted with rope-yarns, 
 her spars fished with old pipe stores, and her rigging 
 knotted and spliced in every possible direction. Her 
 crew was composed of some twenty venerable Greenwich- 
 pensioner-looking old salts, who just managed to hobble 
 about deck. The ends of all the running ropes, with the 
 exception of the signal halyards and poop-down-haul, 
 were rove through snatch-blocks, and led to the capstan 
 or windlass, so that not a yard was braced or a sail set 
 without the assistance of machinery. 
 
 Her hull was encrusted with barnacles, which com 
 pletely encased her. Three pet sharks followed in her 
 wake, and every day came alongside to regale themselves 
 from the contents of the cook s bucket, which were 
 pitched over to them. A vash shoal of bonetas and 
 albicores always kept her company. 
 
24 TYPEE 
 
 Such was the account I heard of this vessel, and the 
 remembrance of it always haunted me; what eventually 
 became of her I never learned; at any rate she never 
 reached home, and I suppose she is still regularly tack 
 ing twice in the twenty- four hours somewhere off Deso 
 late Island, or the DeviFs-Tail Peak. 
 
 Having said thus much touching the usual length of 
 these voyages, when I inform the reader that ours had 
 as it were just commenced, we being only fifteen months 
 out, and even at that time hailed as a late arrival and 
 boarded for news, he will readily perceive that there was 
 little to encourage one in looking forward to the future, 
 especially as I had always had a presentiment that we 
 should make an unfortunate voyage, and our experience 
 so far had justified the expectation. 
 
 I may here state, and on my faith as an honest man, 
 that though more than three years have elapsed since I 
 left this same identical vessel, she still continues in the 
 Pacific; and but a few days since I saw her reported in 
 the papers as having touched at the Sandwich Islands, 
 previous to going on the coast of Japan. 
 
 But to return to my narrative. Placed in these cir 
 cumstances, then, with no prospect of matters mending 
 if I remained aboard the Dolly, I at once made up my 
 mind to leave her; to be sure, it was rather an inglorious 
 thing to steal away privately from those at whose hands I 
 had received wrongs and outrages that I could not re 
 sent; but how was such a course to be avoided when it 
 was the only alternative left me? Having made up my 
 mind, I proceeded to acquire all the information I could 
 obtain relating to the island and its inhabitants, with a 
 view of shaping my plans of escape accordingly. The 
 result of these inquiries I will now state, in order that 
 the ensuing narrative may be the better understood. 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 25 
 
 The bay of Nukuheva, in which we were then lying, is 
 an expanse of water not unlike a horse-shoe. It is, per 
 haps, nine miles in circumference. You approach it from 
 the sea by a narrow entrance, flanked on either side by 
 two small twin islets which soar conically to the height of 
 some five hundred feet. From these the shore recedes 
 on both hands, and describes a deep semicircle. 
 
 From the verge of the water the land rises uniformly 
 on all sides, with green and sloping acclivities, until 
 from gently rolling hillsides and moderate elevations it 
 insensibly swells into lofty and majestic heights, whose 
 blue outlines, ranged all around, close in the view. The 
 beautiful aspect of the shore is heightened by deep and 
 romantic glens, which come down to it at almost equal 
 distances, all apparently radiating from a common cen 
 tre, and the upper extremities of which are lost to the 
 eye beneath the shadow of the mountains. Down each 
 of these little valleys flows a clear stream, here and there 
 assuming the form of a slender cascade, then stealing 
 invisibly along until it bursts upon the sight again in 
 larger and more noisy waterfalls, and at last demurely 
 wanders along to the sea. 
 
 The houses of the natives, constructed of the yellow 
 bamboo, tastefully twisted together in a kind of wicker- 
 work, and thatched with long tapering leaves of the 
 palmetto, are scattered irregularly along these valleys be 
 neath the shady branches of the cocoa-nut trees. 
 
 Nothing can exceed the imposing scenery of this bay. 
 Viewed from our ship as she lay at anchor in the middle 
 of the harbour, it presented the appearance of a vast 
 natural ampitheatre in decay, and overgrown with vines, 
 the deep glens that furrowed its sides appearing like 
 enormous fissures caused by the ravages of time. Very 
 often when lost in admiration at its beauty, I have ex- 
 
26 TYPEE 
 
 perienced a pang of regret that a scene so enchanting 
 should be hidden from the world in these remote seas, 
 and seldom meet the eyes of devoted lovers of nature. 
 
 Besides this bay the shores of the island are indented 
 by several other extensive inlets, into which descend broad 
 and verdant valleys. These are inhabited by as many 
 distinct tribes of savages, who, although speaking kin 
 dred dialects of a common language, and having the 
 same religion and laws, have from time immemorial 
 waged hereditary warfare against each other. The in 
 tervening mountains, generally two or three thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea, geographically define the 
 territories of each of these hostile tribes, who never cross 
 them save on some expedition of war or plunder. Im 
 mediately adjacent to Nukuheva, and only separated 
 from it by the mountains seen from the harbour, lies the 
 lovely valley of Happar, whose inmates cherish the most 
 friendly relations with the inhabitants of Nukuheva. 
 On the other side of Happar, and closely adjoining it, is 
 the magnificent valley of the dreaded Typees, the unap 
 peasable enemies of both these tribes. 
 
 These celebrated warriors appear to inspire the other 
 islanders with unspeakable terrors. Their very name is 
 a frightful one; for the word "Typee" in the Marque- 
 san dialect signifies a lover of human flesh. It is rather 
 singular that the title should have been bestowed upon 
 them exclusively, inasmuch as the natives of all this 
 group are irreclaimable cannibals. The name may, per 
 haps, have been given to denote the peculiar ferocity of 
 this clan, and to convey a special stigma along with it. 
 
 These same Typees enjoy a prodigious notoriety all 
 over the islands. The natives of Nukuheva would fre 
 quently recount in pantomime to our ship s company 
 their terrible feats, and would show the marks of wounds 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 27 
 
 they had received in desperate encounters with them. 
 When ashore they would try to frighten us by pointing 
 to one of their own number, and calling him a Typee, 
 manifesting no little surprise that we did not take to our 
 heels at so terrible an announcement. It was quite 
 amusing, too, to see with what earnestness they disclaimed 
 all cannibal propensities on their own part, while they 
 denounced their enemies the Typees as inveterate 
 gormandizers of human flesh; but this is a peculiarity 
 to which I shall hereafter have occasion to allude. 
 
 Although I was convinced that the inhabitants of our 
 bay were as arrant cannibals as any of the other tribes 
 on the island, still I could not but feel a particular and 
 most unqualified repugnance to the aforesaid Typees. 
 Even before visiting the Marquesas, I had heard from 
 men who had touched at the group on former voyages 
 some revolting stories in connection with these savages; 
 and fresh in my remembrance was the adventure of the 
 master of the Katherine, who only a few months pre 
 vious, imprudently venturing into this bay in an armed 
 boat for the purpose of barter, was seized by the natives, 
 carried back a little distance into this valley, and was 
 only saved from a cruel death by the intervention of a 
 young girl, who facilitated his escape by night along 
 the beach to Nukuheva. 
 
 I had heard, too, of an English vessel that many years 
 ago, after a weary cruise, sought to enter the bay of 
 Nukuheva, and arriving within two or three miles of the 
 land, was met by a large canoe filled with natives, who 
 offered to lead the way to the place of their destination. 
 The captain, unacquainted with the localities of the 
 island, joyfully acceded to the proposition the canoe 
 paddled on, and the ship followed. She was soon con 
 ducted to a beautiful inlet, and dropped her anchor in 
 
28 TYPEE 
 
 its waters, beneath the shadows of the lofty shore. That 
 same night the perfidious Typees, who had thus inveigled 
 her into their fatal bay, flocked aboard the doomed 
 vessel by hundreds, and at a given signal murdered 
 every soul on board. 
 
 I shall never forget the observation of one of our crew 
 as we were passing slowly by the entrance of this bay 
 on our way to Nukuheva. As we stood gazing over the 
 side at the verdant headlands, Ned, pointing with his 
 hand in the direction of the treacherous valley, ex 
 claimed, "There there s Typee. Oh, the bloody can 
 nibals, what a meal they d make of us if we were to 
 take it into our heads to land! But they say they don t 
 like sailor s flesh; it s too salt. I say, maty, how should 
 you like to be shoved ashore there, eh?" I little thought, 
 as I shuddered at the question, that in the space of a 
 few weeks I should actually be a captive in that self 
 same valley. 
 
 The French, although they had gone through the 
 ceremony of hoisting their colours for a few hours at all 
 the principal places of the group, had not as yet visited 
 the bay of Typee, anticipating a fierce resistance on the 
 part of the savages there, which for the present at least 
 they wished to avoid. Perhaps they were not a little 
 influenced in the adoption of this unusual policy from a 
 recollection of the warlike reception given by the Typees 
 to the forces of Captain Porter, about the year 1814, 
 when that brave and accomplished officer endeavoured 
 to subjugate the clan merely to gratify the mortal hatred 
 of his allies the Nukuhevas and Happars. 
 
 On that occasion I have been told that a considerable 
 detachment of sailors and marines from the frigate Essex 
 accompanied by at least two thousand warriors of Happar 
 and Nukuheva, landed in boats and canoes at the head of 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 29 
 
 the bay, and after penetrating a little distance into the 
 valley, met with the stoutest resistance from its inmates. 
 Valiantly, although with much loss, the Typees dis 
 puted every inch of ground, and after some hard fight 
 ing obliged the assailants to retreat and abandon their 
 design of conquest. 
 
 The invaders, on their march back to the sea, con 
 soled themselves for their repulse by setting fire to 
 every house and temple on their route; and a long line 
 of smoking ruins defaced the once-smiling bosom of the 
 valley, and proclaimed to its pagan inhabitants the 
 spirit that reigned in the breasts of Christian soldiers. 
 Who can wonder at the deadly hatred of the Typees to 
 all foreigners after such unprovoked atrocities? 
 
 Thus it is that they whom we dominate "savages" 
 are made to deserve the title. When the inhabitants of 
 some sequestered island first descry the "big canoe" of 
 the European rolling through the blue waters towards 
 their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, 
 and with open arms stand ready to embrace the stran 
 gers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the 
 vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; 
 and the instinctive feeling of love within their breasts 
 is soon converted into the bitterest hate. 
 
 The enormities perpetrated in the South Seas upon 
 some of the inoffensive islanders well nigh pass belief. 
 These things are seldom proclaimed at home; they hap 
 pen at the very ends of the earth; they are done in a 
 corner, and there are none to reveal them. But there 
 is, nevertheless, many a petty trader that has navigated 
 the Pacific, whose course from island to island might be 
 traced by a series of cold-blooded robberies, kidnappings, 
 and murders, the iniquity of which might be considered 
 almost sufficient to sink her guilty timbers to the bot 
 tom of the sea. 
 
30 TYPEE 
 
 Sometimes vague accounts of such things reach our 
 firesides, and we coolly censure them as wrong, impoli 
 tic, needlessly severe, and dangerous to the crews of other 
 vessels. How different is our tone when we read the 
 highly wrought description of the massacre of the crew 
 of the Hobomak by the Feejees! how we sympathise for 
 the unhappy victims, and with what horror do we regard 
 the diabolical heathens, who, after all, have but avenged 
 the unprovoked injuries which they have received! We 
 breathe nothing but vengeance, and equip armed vessels 
 to traverse thousands of miles of ocean in order to exe 
 cute summary punishment upon the offenders. On arriv 
 ing at their destination, they burn, slaughter, and destroy, 
 according to the tenor of written instructions, and sailing 
 away from the scene of devastation, call upon all Chris 
 tendom to applaud their courage and their justice. 
 
 How often is the term "savages" incorrectly applied! 
 None really deserving of it were ever discovered by 
 voyagers or by travellers. They have discovered 
 heathens and barbarians, whom by horrible cruelties 
 they have exasperated into savages. It may be asserted, 
 without fear of contradiction, that in all the cases of 
 outrages committed by Polynesians, Europeans have at 
 some time or other been the aggressors, and that the 
 cruel and bloodthirsty disposition of some of the island 
 ers is mainly to be ascribed to the influence of such 
 examples. 
 
 But to return. Owing to the mutual hostilities of 
 the different tribes I have mentioned, the mountainous 
 tracts which separate their respective territories remain 
 altogether uninhabited, the natives invariably dwelling 
 in the depths of the valleys, with a view of securing 
 themselves from the predatory incursions of their ene 
 mies, who often lurk along their borders, ready to cut 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 31 
 
 off any imprudent straggler or make a descent upon 
 the inmates of some sequestered habitation. I several 
 times met with very aged men who from this cause had 
 never passed the confines of their native vale, some of 
 them having never even ascended midway up the moun 
 tains in the whole course of their lives, and who, accord 
 ingly, had little idea of the appearance of any other 
 part of the island, the whole of which is not perhaps 
 more than sixty miles in circuit. The little space in 
 which some of these clans pass away their days would 
 seem almost incredible. 
 
 The glen of Tior will furnish a curious illustration of 
 this. The inhabited part is not more than four miles in 
 length, and varies in breadth from half a mile to less 
 than a quarter. The rocky vine-clad cliffs on one side 
 tower almost perpendicularly from their base to the 
 height of at least fifteen hundred feet; while across the 
 vale in striking contrast to the scenery opposite 
 grass-grown elevations rise one above another in bloom 
 ing terraces. Hemmed in by these stupendous barriers, 
 the valley would be altogether shut out from the rest of 
 the world, were it not that it is accessible from the sea 
 at one end and by a narrow defile at the other. 
 
 The impression produced upon my mind, when I first 
 visited this beautiful glen, will never be obliterated. 
 
 I had come from Nukuheva by water in the ship s 
 boat, and when we entered the bay of Tior it was high 
 noon. The heat had been intense, as we had been 
 floating upon the long smooth swell of the ocean, for 
 there was but little wind. The sun s rays had expended 
 all their fury upon us; and to add to our discomfort, 
 We had omitted to supply ourselves with water previous 
 to starting. What with heat and thirst together, I 
 became so impatient to get ashore that when at last 
 
32 TYPEE 
 
 we glided towards it, I stood up in the bow of the boat 
 ready for a spring. As she shot two-thirds of her length 
 high upon the beach, propelled by three or four strong 
 strokes of the oars, I leaped among a parcel of juvenile 
 savages, who stood prepared to give us a kind recep 
 tion; and with them at my heels, yelling like so many 
 imps, I rushed forward across the open ground in the 
 vicinity of the sea, and plunged, diver fashion, into the 
 recess of the first grove that offered. 
 
 What a delightful sensation did I experience! I felt 
 as if floating in some new element, while all sorts of 
 gurgling, trickling liquid sounds fell upon my ear. Peo 
 ple may say what they will about the refreshing influ 
 ences of a cold-water bath, but commend me when in 
 a perspiration to the shade baths of Tior, beneath the 
 cocoa-nut trees, and amidst the cool delightful atmos 
 phere which surrounds them. 
 
 How shall I describe the scenery that met my eye, as 
 I looked out from this verdant recess! The narrow 
 valley, with its steep and close adjoining sides dra- 
 peried with vines and arched overhead with a fret-work 
 of interlacing boughs, nearly hidden from view by masses 
 of leafy verdure, seemed from where I stood like an 
 immense arbor disclosing its vista to the eye, whilst 
 as I advanced it insensibly widened into the loveliest 
 vale eye ever beheld. 
 
 It so happened that the very day I was in Tior the 
 French admiral, attended by all the boats of his squad 
 ron, came down in state from Nukuheva to take formal 
 possession of the place. He remained in the valley 
 about two hours, during which time he had a ceremo- 
 .nious interview with the king. The patriarch-sovereign 
 of Tior was a man very far advanced in years; but 
 though age had bowed his form and rendered him almost 
 
RESOLVE TO ESCAPE 33 
 
 decrepit, his gigantic frame retained all its original mag 
 nitude and grandeur of appearance. He advanced 
 slowly and with evident pain, assisting his tottering 
 steps with the heavy war-spear he held in his hand, and 
 attended by a group of grey-bearded chiefs, on one of 
 whom he occasionally leaned for support. The admiral 
 came forward with head uncovered and extended hand, 
 while the old king saluted him by a stately flourish of 
 his weapon. The next moment they stood side by side, 
 these two extremes in the social scale the polished, 
 splendid Frenchman and the poor tattooed savage. They 
 were both tall and noble-looking men; but in other re 
 spects how strikingly contrasted! Dupetit Thousars 
 exhibited upon his person all the paraphernalia of his 
 naval rank. He wore a richly decorated admiral s frock- 
 coat, a laced chapeau bras, and upon his breast were a 
 variety of ribbons and orders; while the simple islander, 
 with the exception of a slight cincture about his loins, 
 appeared in all the nakedness of nature. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 TOBY S RESOLVE 
 
 HAVING fully resolved to leave the vessel clandes 
 tinely, and having acquired all the knowledge concern 
 ing the bay that I could obtain under the circumstances 
 in which I was placed, I now deliberately turned over 
 in my mind every plan of escape that suggested itself, 
 being determined to act with all possible prudence in 
 an attempt where failure would be attended with so 
 many disagreeable consequences. The idea of being 
 taken and brought back ignominiously to the ship was 
 so inexpressibly repulsive to me that I was determined 
 by no hasty and imprudent measures to render such an 
 event probable. 
 
 I knew that our worthy captain, who felt such a 
 paternal solicitude for the welfare of his crew , would 
 not willingly consent that one of his best hands should 
 encounter the perils of a sojourn among the natives of a 
 barbarous island; and I was certain that in the event 
 of my disappearance, his fatherly anxiety would prompt 
 him to offer, by way of a reward, yard upon yard of 
 gayly printed calico for my apprehension. He might 
 even have appreciated my services at the value of a 
 musket, in which case I felt perfectly certain that the 
 whole population of the bay would be immediately upon 
 my track, incited by the prospect of so magnificent a 
 bounty. 
 
 Having ascertained the fact before alluded to, that 
 
 34 
 
TOBY S RESOLVE 35 
 
 the islanders, from motives of precaution, dwelt alto 
 gether in the depths of the valleys and avoided wan 
 dering about the more elevated portions of the shore, 
 unless bound on some expedition of war or plunder, I 
 concluded that if I could effect unperceived a passage 
 to the mountains, I might easily remain among them, 
 supporting myself by such fruits as came in my way 
 until the sailing of the ship, an event of which I could 
 not fail to be immediately apprised, as from my lofty 
 position I should command a view of the entire harbour. 
 
 The idea pleased me greatly. It seemed to combine 
 a great deal of practicability with no inconsiderable en 
 joyment in a quiet way; for how delightful it would 
 be to look down upon the detested old vessel from the 
 height of some thousand feet, and contrast the verdant 
 scenery about me with the recollection of her narrow 
 decks and gloomy forecastle! Why, it was really re 
 freshing even to think of it; and so I straightway fell 
 to picturing myself seated beneath a cocoa-nut tree on 
 the brow of the mountain, with a cluster of plantains 
 within easy reach, criticising her nautical evolutions as 
 she was working her way out of the harbour. 
 
 To be sure there was one rather unpleasant drawback 
 to these agreeable anticipations the possibility of fall 
 ing in with a foraging party of these same bloody-minded 
 Typees, whose appetites, edged perhaps by the air of so 
 elevated a region, might prompt them to devour one. 
 This, I must confess, was a most disagreeable view of 
 the matter. 
 
 Just to think of a party of these unnatural gour 
 mands taking it into their heads to make a convivial 
 meal of a poor devil who would have no means of escape 
 or defence! However, there was no help for it. I was 
 willing to encounter some risks in order to accomplish 
 
36 TYPEE 
 
 my object, and counted much upon my ability to elude 
 these prowling cannibals amongst the many coverts which 
 the mountains afforded. Besides, the chances were ten 
 to one in my favour that they would none of them quit 
 their own fastnesses. 
 
 I had determined not to communicate my design of 
 withdrawing from the vessel to any of my shipmates, 
 and least of all to solicit any one to accompany me in 
 my flight. But it so happened one night, that being 
 upon deck, revolving over in my mind various plans of 
 escape, I perceived one of the ship s company leaning 
 over the bulwarks, apparently plunged in a profound 
 reverie. He was a young fellow about my own age, for 
 whom I had all along entertained a great regard; and 
 Toby (such was the name by which he went among us, 
 for his real name he would never tell us) was every way 
 worthy of it. He was active, ready, and obliging, of 
 dauntless courage, and singularly open and fearless in 
 the expression of his feelings. I had on more than one 
 occasion got him out of scrapes into which this had led 
 him; and I know not whether it was from this cause, 
 or a certain congeniality of sentiment between us, that 
 he had always shown a partiality for my society. We 
 had battled out many a long watch together, beguiling 
 the weary hours with chat, song, and story, mingled with 
 a good many imprecations upon the hard destiny it 
 seemed our common fortune to encounter. 
 
 Toby, like myself, had evidently moved in a different 
 sphere of life, and his conversation at times betrayed 
 this, although he was anxious to conceal it. He was 
 one of that class or rovers you sometimes meet at sea, 
 who never reveal their origin, never allude to home, 
 and go rambling over the world as if pursued by some 
 mysterious fate they cannot possibly elude. 
 
TOBY S RESOLVE 37 
 
 There was much even in the appearance of Toby 
 calculated to draw me towards him, for while the 
 greater part of the crew were as coarse in person as 
 in mind, Toby was endowed with a remarkably pre 
 possessing exterior. Arrayed in his blue frock and duck 
 trousers, he was as smart a looking sailor as ever stepped 
 upon a deck; he was singularly small and slightly made, 
 with great flexibility of limb. His naturally dark com 
 plexion had been deepened by exposure to the tropical 
 sun, and a mass of jetty locks clustered about his 
 temples and threw a darker shade into his large black 
 eyes. He was a strange wayward being, moody, fitful, 
 and melancholy at times almost morose. He had a 
 quick and fiery temper too, which, when thoroughly 
 roused, transported him into a state bordering on de 
 lirium. 
 
 It is strange the power that a mind of deep passion 
 has over feebler natures. I have seen a brawny fel 
 low, with no lack of ordinary courage, fairly quail be 
 fore this slender stripling when in one of his furious 
 fits. But these paroxysms seldom occurred, and in 
 them my big-hearted shipmate vented the bile which 
 more calm-tempered individuals get rid of by a con 
 tinual pettishness at trivial annoyances. 
 
 No one ever saw Toby laugh, I mean in the hearty 
 abandonment of broad-mouthed mirth. He did smile 
 sometimes, it is true; and there was a good deal of dry, 
 sarcastic humour about him, which told the more from 
 the imperturbable gravity of his tone and manner. 
 
 Latterly I had observed that Toby s melancholy had 
 greatly increased, and I had frequently seen him since 
 our arrival at the island gazing wistfully upon the shore, 
 when the remainder of the crew would be rioting below. 
 I was aware that he entertained a cordial detestation of 
 
38 TYPEE 
 
 the ship, and believed that, should a fair chance of 
 escape present itself, he would embrace it willingly. But 
 the attempt was so perilous in the place where we then 
 lay that I supposed myself the only individual on board 
 the ship who was sufficiently reckless to think of it. In 
 this, however, I was mistaken. 
 
 When I perceived Toby leaning, as I have mentioned, 
 against the bulwarks and buried in thought, it struck 
 me at once that the subject of his meditations might 
 be the same as my own. And if it be so, thought I, is 
 he not the very one of all my shipmates whom I would 
 choose for the partner of my adventure? and why should 
 I not have some comrade with me to divide its dangers 
 and alleviate its hardships? Perhaps I might be obliged 
 to lie concealed among the mountains for weeks. In 
 such an event what a solace would a companion be! 
 
 These thoughts passed rapidly through my mind, and 
 I wondered why I had not before considered the matter 
 in this light. But it was not too late. A tap upon 
 the shoulder served to rouse Toby from his reverie; I 
 found him ripe for the enterprise, and a very few words 
 sufficed for a mutual understanding between us. In an 
 hour s time we had arranged all the preliminaries and 
 decided upon our plan of action. We then ratified our 
 engagement with an affectionate wedding of palms, and 
 to elude suspicion repaired each to his hammock, to 
 spend the last night on board the Dolly. 
 
 The next day the starboard watch, to which we both 
 belonged, was to be sent ashore on liberty; and, avail 
 ing ourselves of this opportunity, we determined, as 
 soon after landing as possible, to separate ourselves 
 from the rest of the men without exciting their suspi 
 cions and strike back at once for the mountains. Seen 
 from the ship ; their summits appeared inaccessible, but 
 
TOBY S RESOLVE 39 
 
 here and there sloping spurs extended from them almost 
 into the sea, buttressing the lofty elevations with which 
 they were connected and forming those radiating val 
 leys I have before described. One of these ridges, which 
 appeared more practicable than the rest, we determined 
 to climb, convinced that it would conduct us to the 
 heights beyond. Accordingly, we carefully observed its 
 bearings and locality from the ship, so that when ashore 
 we should run no chance of missing it. 
 
 In all this the leading object we had in view was to 
 seclude ourselves from sight until the departure of 
 the vessel; then to take our chance as to the reception 
 the Nukuheva natives might give us; and after remain 
 ing upon the island as long as we found our stay agree 
 able, to leave it the first favourable opportunity that 
 offered. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 EARLY the next morning the starboard watch were 
 mustered upon the quarter-deck, and our worthy cap 
 tain, standing in the cabin gangway, harangued us as 
 follows: 
 
 "Now, men, as we are just off a six months cruise, 
 and have got through most all our work in port here, I 
 suppose you want to go ashore. Well, I mean to give 
 your watch liberty to-day, so you may get ready as soon 
 as you please, and go; but understand this, I am going 
 to give you liberty because I suppose you would growl 
 like so many quarter gunners if I didn t; at the same 
 time, if you ll take my advice, every mother s son of 
 you will stay aboard, and keep out of the way of the 
 bloody cannibals altogether. Ten to one, men, if you 
 go ashore, you will get into some infernal row, and that 
 will be the end of you; for if those tattooed scoundrels 
 get you a little ways back into their valleys, they ll 
 nab you that you may be certain of. Plenty of white 
 men have gone ashore here and never been seen any 
 more. There was the old Dido; she put in here about 
 two years ago, and sent one watch off on liberty; they 
 never were heard of again for a week the natives 
 swore they didn t know where they were and only 
 three of them ever got back to the ship again, and one 
 with his face damaged for life, for the cursed heathens 
 tattooed a broad patch clean across his figure-head. 
 
 40 
 
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 41 
 
 But it will be no use talking to you, for go you will, 
 that I see plainly; so all I have to say is that you need 
 not blame me if the islanders make a meal of you. You 
 may stand some chance of escaping them though if you 
 keep close about the French encampment and are back 
 to the ship again before sunset. Keep that much in 
 your mind, if you forget all the rest I ve been saying to 
 you. There, go forward; bear a hand and rig yourselves, 
 and stand by for a call. At two bells the boat will be 
 manned to take you off, and the Lord have mercy on 
 you!" 
 
 Various were the emotions depicted upon the counte 
 nances of the starboard watch whilst listening to this 
 address; but on its conclusion there was a general move 
 towards the forecastle, and we soon were all busily en 
 gaged in getting ready for the holiday so auspiciously 
 announced by the skipper. During these preparations 
 his harangue was commented upon in no very measured 
 terms; and one of the party, after denouncing him as a 
 lying old son of a sea-cook who begrudged a fellow a 
 few hours liberty, exclaimed with an oath, "But you 
 don t bounce me out of my liberty, old chap, for all 
 your yarns; for I would go ashore if every pebble on 
 the beach was a live coal, and every stick a gridiron, 
 and the cannibals stood ready to broil me on landing." 
 
 The spirit of this sentiment was responded to by all 
 hands, and we resolved that in spite of the captain s 
 croakings we would make a glorious day of it. 
 
 But Toby and I had our own game to play, and we 
 availed ourselves of the confusion which always reigns 
 among a ship s company preparatory to going ashore to 
 confer together and complete our arrangements. As 
 our object was to effect as rapid a flight as possible to 
 the mountains, we determined not to encumber ourselves 
 
42 TYPEE 
 
 with any superfluous apparel; and accordingly, while 
 the rest were rigging themselves out with some idea of 
 making a display, we were content to put on new stout 
 duck trousers, serviceable pumps, and heavy Havre- 
 frocks, which with a Payta hat completed our equip 
 ment. 
 
 When our shipmates wondered at this, Toby exclaimed 
 in his odd, grave way that the rest might do as they 
 liked, but that he for one preserved his go-ashore traps 
 for the Spanish Main, where the tie of a sailor s necker 
 chief might make some difference; but as for a parcel 
 of unbreeched heathen, he wouldn t go to the bottom of 
 his chest for any of them and was half disposed to 
 appear among them in buff himself. The men laughed 
 at what they thought was one of his strange conceits, 
 and so we escaped suspicion. 
 
 It may appear singular that we should have been thus 
 on our guard with our own shipmates; but there were 
 some among us who, had they possessed the least ink 
 ling of our project, would, for a paltry hope of reward, 
 have immediately communicated it to the captain. 
 
 As soon as two bells were struck, the word was passed 
 for the liberty-men to get into the boat. I lingered 
 behind in the forecastle a moment, to take a parting 
 glance at its familiar features, and just as I was about 
 to ascend to the deck, my eye happened to light on the 
 bread-barge and beef-kid, which contained the remnants 
 of our last hearty meal. Although I had never before 
 thought of providing anything in the way of food for 
 our expedition, as I fully relied upon the fruits of the 
 island to sustain us wherever we might wander, yet I 
 could not resist the inclination I felt to provide luncheon 
 from the relics before me. Accordingly I took a double 
 handful of those small, broken, flinty bits of biscuit, 
 
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 43 
 
 which generally go by the name of "midshipman s nuts," 
 and thrust them into the bosom of my frock, in which 
 same ample receptacle I had previously stowed away 
 several pounds of tobacco and a few yards of cotton 
 cloth articles with which I intended to purchase the 
 good-will of the natives, as soon as we should appear 
 among them after the departure of our vessel. 
 
 This last addition to my stock caused a considerable 
 protuberance in front, which I abated in a measure by 
 shaking the bits of bread around my waist and distrib 
 uting the plugs of tobacco among the folds of the gar 
 ment. 
 
 Hardly had I completed these arrangements when my 
 name was sung out by a dozen voices, and I sprung 
 upon the deck, where I found all the party in the boat, 
 and impatient to shove off. I dropped over the side and 
 seated myself with the rest of the watch in the stern 
 sheets, while the poor larboarders shipped their oars and 
 commenced pulling us ashore. 
 
 This happened to be the rainy season at the islands, 
 and the heavens had nearly the whole morning beto 
 kened one of those heavy showers which during this 
 period so frequently occur. The large drops fell bub 
 bling into the water shortly after our leaving the ship, 
 and by the time we had effected a landing it poured 
 down in torrents. We fled for shelter under cover of 
 an immense canoe-house which stood hard by the beach, 
 and waited for the first fury of the storm to pass. 
 
 It continued, however, without cessation; and the 
 monotonous beating of the rain over head began to exert 
 a drowsy influence upon the men, who, throwing them 
 selves here and there upon the large war-canoes, after 
 chatting awhile, all fell asleep. 
 
 This was the opportunity we desired, and Toby and 
 
44 TYPEE 
 
 I availed ourselves of it at once by stealing out of the 
 canoe-house and plunging into the depths of an ex 
 tensive grove that was in its rear. After ten minutes 
 rapid progress we gained an open space from which we 
 could just descry the ridge we intended to mount loom 
 ing dimly through the mists of the tropical shower, 
 and distant from us, as we estimated, something more 
 than a mile. Our direct course towards it lay through 
 a rather populous part of the bay; but desirous as we 
 were of evading the natives and securing an unmolested 
 retreat to the mountains, we determined, by taking a 
 circuit through some extensive thickets, to avoid their 
 vicinity altogether. 
 
 The heavy rain that still continued to fall without 
 intermission favoured our enterprise, as it drove the 
 islanders into their houses and prevented any casual 
 meeting with them. Our heavy frocks soon became 
 completely saturated with water, and by their weight 
 and that of the articles we had concealed beneath them, 
 not a little impeded our progress. But it was no time 
 to pause when at any moment we might be surprised 
 by a body of the savages and forced at the very outset 
 to relinquish our undertaking. 
 
 Since leaving the canoe-house we had scarcely ex 
 changed a single syllable with one another; but when 
 we entered a second narrow opening in the wood, and 
 again caught sight of the ridge before us, I took Toby 
 by the arm, and pointing along its sloping outline to 
 the lofty heights at its extremity, said in a low tone, 
 "Now, Toby, not a word, nor a glance backward, till 
 we stand on the summit of yonder mountain so no 
 more lingering, but let us shove ahead while we can, 
 and in a few hours time we may laugh aloud. You 
 are the lightest and the nimblest, so lead on ? and I will 
 follow." 
 
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 45 
 
 "All right, brother," said Toby, "quick s our play; 
 only let s keep close together, that s all;" and so say 
 ing, with a bound like a young roe, he cleared a brook 
 which ran across our path and rushed forward with a 
 quick step. 
 
 When we arrived within a short distance of the 
 ridge, we were stopped by a mass of tall yellow reeds, 
 growing together as thickly as they could stand, and as 
 tough and stubborn as so many rods of steel; and we 
 perceived, to our chagrin, that they extended midway 
 up the elevation we purposed to ascend. 
 
 For a moment we gazed about us in quest of a more 
 practicable route; it was, however, at once apparent 
 that there was no resource but to pierce this thicket of 
 canes at all hazards. We now reversed our order of 
 march, I, being the heaviest, taking the lead, with a 
 view of breaking a path through the obstruction, while 
 Toby fell into the rear. 
 
 Two or three times I endeavoured to insinuate myself 
 between the canes, and by dint of coaxing and bending 
 them to make some progress; but a bull-frog might as 
 well have tried to work a passage through the teeth 
 of a comb, and I gave up the attempt in despair. 
 
 Half wild with meeting an obstacle we had so little 
 anticipated, I . threw myself desperately against it, 
 crushing to the ground the canes with which I came 
 in contact; and, rising to my feet again, repeated the 
 action with like effect. Twenty minutes of this violent 
 exercise almost exhausted me, but it carried us some 
 way into the thicket; when Toby, who had been reap 
 ing the benefit of my labours by following close at 
 my heels, proposed to become pioneer in turn, and ac 
 cordingly passed ahead with a view of affording me a 
 respite from my exertions. As, however, with his slight 
 
46 TYPEE 
 
 frame he made but bad work of it ; I was soon obliged 
 to resume my old place again. 
 
 On we toiled, the perspiration starting from our 
 bodies in floods, our limbs torn and lacerated with the 
 splintered fragments of the broken canes, until we had 
 proceeded perhaps as far as the middle of the brake, 
 when suddenly it ceased raining, and the atmosphere 
 around us became close and sultry beyond expression. 
 Thrf elasticity of the reeds, quickly recovering from 
 the temporary pressure of our bodies, caused them to 
 spring back to their original position so that they closed 
 in upon us as we advanced and prevented the circula 
 tion of the little air which might otherwise have reached 
 us. Besides this, their great height completely shut 
 us out from the view of surrounding objects, and we 
 were not certain but that we might have been going 
 all the time in a wrong direction. 
 
 Fatigued with my long-continued efforts, and panting 
 for breath, I felt myself completely incapacitated for any 
 further exertion. I rolled up the sleeve of my frock 
 and squeezed the moisture it contained into my parched 
 mouth. But the few drops I managed to obtain gave 
 me little relief, and I sunk down for a moment with a 
 sort of dogged apathy, from which I was aroused by 
 Toby, who had devised a plan to free us from the net 
 in which we had become entangled. 
 
 He was laying about him lustily with his sheath-knife, 
 lopping the canes right and left, like a reaper, and soon 
 made quite a clearing around us. This sight reani 
 mated me, and seizing my own knife, I hacked and 
 hewed away without mercy. But alas! the farther we 
 advanced, the thicker and taller, and apparently the 
 more interminable, the reeds became. 
 
 I began to think we were fairly snared, and had al- 
 
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 47 
 
 most made up my mind that without a pair of wings we 
 should never be able to escape from the toils, when all 
 at once I discerned a peep of daylight through the canes 
 on my right, and, communicating the joyful tidings to 
 Toby, we both fell to with fresh spirit, and speedily 
 opening a passage towards it, we found ourselves clear 
 of perplexities and in the near vicinity of the ridge. 
 
 After resting for a few moments we began the ascent, 
 and after a little vigorous climbing found ourselves 
 close to its summit. Instead, however, of walking along 
 its ridge, where we should have been in full view of the 
 natives in the vales beneath and at a point where they 
 could easily intercept us were they so inclined, we cau 
 tiously advanced on one side, crawling on our hands 
 and knees, and screened from observation by the grass 
 through which we glided, much in the fashion of a 
 couple of serpents. After an hour employed in this un 
 pleasant kind of locomotion, we started to our feet again 
 and pursued our way boldly along the crest of the ridge. 
 
 This salient spur of the lofty elevations that encom 
 passed the bay rose with a sharp angle from the valleys 
 at its base, and presented, with the exception of a few 
 steep acclivities, the appearance of a vast inclined plane, 
 sweeping down towards the sea from the heights in the 
 distance. We had ascended it near the place of its ter 
 mination and at its lowest point, and now saw our route 
 to the mountains distinctly denned along its narrow 
 crest, which was covered with a soft carpet of verdure 
 and was in many parts only a few feet wide. 
 
 Elated with the success which had so far attended 
 our enterprise, and invigorated by the refreshing atmos 
 phere we now inhaled, Toby and I in high spirits were 
 making our way rapidly along the ridge, when suddenly 
 from the valleys below which lay on either side of us, 
 
48 TYPEE 
 
 we heard the distant shouts of the natives, who had 
 just descried us, and to whom our figures, brought in 
 bold relief against the sky, were plainly revealed. 
 
 Glancing our eyes into these valleys, we perceived 
 their savage inhabitants hurrying to and fro, seemingly 
 under the influence of some sudden alarm, and appear 
 ing to the eye scarcely bigger than so many pigmies; 
 while their white thatched dwellings, dwarfed by the 
 distance, looked like baby-houses. As we looked down 
 upon the islanders from our lofty elevation, we experi 
 enced a sense of security, feeling confident that, should 
 they undertake a pursuit, it would, from the start we 
 now had, prove entirely fruitless, unless they followed 
 us into the mountains, where we knew they cared not 
 to venture. 
 
 However, we thought it as well to make the most of 
 our time; and accordingly, where the ground would ad 
 mit of it, we ran swiftly along the summit of the ridge, 
 until we were brought to a stand by a steep cliff, which 
 at first seemed to interpose an effectual barrier to our 
 further advance. By dint of much hard scrambling, 
 however, and at some risk to our necks, we at last sur 
 mounted it, and continued our flight with unabated 
 celerity. 
 
 We had left the beach early in the morning, and after 
 an uninterrupted, though at times difficult and dangerous 
 ascent, during which we had never once turned our faces 
 to the sea, we found ourselves, about three hours before 
 sunset, standing on the top of what seemed to be the 
 highest land on the island, an immense overhanging cliff, 
 composed of basaltic rocks, hung round with parasitical 
 plants. We must have been more than three thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea, and the scenery viewed 
 from this height was magnificent. 
 
ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS 49 
 
 The lonely bay of Nukuheva, dotted here and there 
 with the black hulls of the vessels composing the French 
 squadron, lay reposing at the base of a circular range of 
 elevations, whose verdant sides, perforated with deep 
 glens or diversified with smiling valleys, formed alto 
 gether the loveliest view I ever beheld, and were I to 
 live a hundred years, I should never forget the feeling 
 of admiration which I then experienced. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 MY curiosity had been not a little raised with regard 
 to the description of country we should meet on the 
 other side of the mountains; and I had supposed, with 
 Toby, that immediately on gaining the heights we should 
 be enabled to view the large bays of Happar and Typee 
 reposing at our feet on one side, in the same way that 
 Nukuheva lay spread out below on the other. But 
 here we were disappointed. Instead of finding the moun 
 tain we had ascended sweeping down in the opposite 
 direction into broad and capacious valleys, the land 
 appeared to retain its general elevation, only broken in 
 to a series of ridges and intervales, which as far as the 
 eye could reach stretched away from us, with their pre 
 cipitous sides covered with the brightest verdure, and 
 waving here and there with the foliage of clumps of 
 woodland among which, however, we perceived none 
 of those trees upon whose fruit we had relied with such 
 certainty. 
 
 This was a most unlooked-for discovery, and one that 
 promised to defeat our plans altogether, for we could 
 not think of descending the mountain on the Nukuheva 
 side in quest of food. Should we for this purpose be in 
 duced to retrace our steps, we should run no small 
 chance of encountering the natives, who in that case, if 
 they did nothing worse to us, would be certain to con 
 vey us back to the ship for the sake of the reward in 
 
 50 
 
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 51 
 
 calico and trinkets which we had no doubt our skipper 
 would hold out to them as an inducement to our capture. 
 
 What was to be done? The Dolly would not sail 
 perhaps for ten days, and how were we to sustain life 
 during this period? I bitterly repented our improvi 
 dence in not providing ourselves, as we easily might 
 have done, with a supply of biscuit. With a rueful vis 
 age I now bethought me of the scanty handful v of bread 
 I had stuffed into the bosom of my frock, and felt some 
 what desirous to ascertain what part if it had weathered 
 the rather rough usage it had experienced in ascending 
 the mountain. I accordingly proposed to Toby that we 
 should enter into a joint examination of the various ar 
 ticles we had brought from the ship. With this intent 
 we seated ourselves upon the grass; and a little curious 
 to see with what kind of judgment my companion had 
 filled his frock which I remarked seemed about as 
 well lined as my own I requested him to commence 
 operations by spreading out its contents. 
 
 Thrusting his hand, then, into the bosom of this capa 
 cious receptacle, he first brought to light a pound 
 of tobacco, whose component parts still adhered together, 
 the whole outside being covered with soft particles of 
 sea-bread. Wet and dripping, it had the appearance of 
 having been just recovered from the bottom of the sea. 
 But I paid slight attention to a substance of so little 
 value to us in our present situation, as soon as I per 
 ceived the indications it gave of Toby s foresight in lay 
 ing in a supply of food for the expedition. 
 
 I eagerly inquired what quantity he had brought with 
 him, when, rummaging once more beneath his garment, 
 he produced a small handful of something so soft, pulpy, 
 and discoloured that for a few moments he was as much 
 puzzled as myself to tell by what possible instrumen- 
 
52 TYPEE 
 
 tality such a villainous compound had become engen 
 dered in his bosom. I can only describe it as a hash of 
 soaked bread and bits of tobacco, brought to a doughy 
 consistency by the united agency of perspiration and 
 rain. But repulsive as it might otherwise have been, I 
 now regarded it as an invaluable treasure, and proceeded 
 with great care to transfer this paste-like mass to a large 
 leaf which I had plucked from a bush beside me. Toby 
 informed me that in the morning he had placed two 
 whole biscuits in his bosom, with a view of munching 
 them, should he feel so inclined, during our flight. These 
 were now reduced to the equivocal substance which I 
 had just placed on the leaf. 
 
 Another dive into the frock brought to view some four 
 or five yards of calico print, whose tasteful pattern was 
 rather disfigured by the yellow stains of the tobacco 
 with which it had been brought in contact. In drawing 
 this calico slowly from his bosom inch by inch, Toby 
 reminded me of a juggler performing the feat of the 
 endless ribbon. The next cast was a small one, being a 
 sailor s little "ditty-bag," containing needles, thread, 
 and other sewing utensils; then came a razor-case, fol 
 lowed by two or three separate plugs of negro-head, which 
 were fished up from the bottom of the now empty recep 
 tacle. These various matters being inspected, I pro 
 duced the few things that I had myself brought. 
 
 As might have been anticipated from the state of my 
 companion s edible supplies, I found my own in a de 
 plorable condition, and diminished to a quantity that 
 would not have formed half a dozen mouthfuls for a 
 hungry man who was partial enough to tobacco not 
 to mind swallowing it. A few morsels of bread, with a 
 fathom or two of white cotton cloth, and several pounds 
 of choice pigtail, composed the extent of my possessions. 
 
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 53 
 
 Our joint stock of miscellaneous articles was now 
 made up into a compact bundle, which it was agreed we 
 should carry alternately. .But the sorry remains of the 
 biscuit were not to be disposed of so summarily ; the 
 precarious circumstances in which we were placed made 
 us regard them as something on which very probably 
 depended the fate of our adventure. After a brief dis 
 cussion, in which we both of us expressed our resold 
 tion of not descending into the bay until the ship s 
 departure, I suggested to my companion that little of it 
 as there was, we should divide the bread into six equal 
 portions, each of which should be a day s allowance for 
 both of us. This proposition he assented to; so I took 
 the silk kerchief from my neck, and cutting it with my 
 knife into half a dozen equal pieces, proceeded to make 
 an exact division. 
 
 At first, Toby, with a degree of fastidiousness that 
 seemed to me ill-timed, was for picking out the minute 
 particles of tobacco with which the spongy mass was 
 mixed; but against this proceeding I protested, as by 
 such an operation we must have greatly diminished its 
 quantity. 
 
 When the division was accomplished, we found that 
 a day s allowance for the two was not a great deal more 
 than what a table-spoon might hold. Each separate por 
 tion we immediately rolled up in the bit of silk pre 
 pared for it, and joining them all together into a small 
 package, I committed them, with solemn injunctions of 
 fidelity, to the custody of Toby. For the remainder of 
 that day we resolved to fast, as we had been fortified by 
 a breakfast in the morning; and now starting again to 
 our feet, we looked about us for a shelter during the 
 night, which, from the appearance of the heavens, prom 
 ised to be a dark and tempestuous one. 
 
54 TYPEE 
 
 There was no place near us which would in any way 
 answer our purpose; so turning our backs upon Nuku- 
 heva, we commenced exploring the unknown regions 
 which lay upon the other side of the mountain. 
 
 In this direction, as far as our vision extended, not a 
 sign of life, nor anything that denoted even the transient 
 residence of man, could be seen. The whole landscape 
 seemed one unbroken solitude, the interior of the island 
 having apparently been untenanted since the morning 
 of the creation; and as we advanced through this wil 
 derness, our voices sounded strangely in our ears, as 
 though human accents had never before disturbed the 
 fearful silence of the place, interrupted only by the low 
 murmurings of distant waterfalls. 
 
 Our disappointment, however, in not finding the va 
 rious fruits with which we had intended to regale our 
 selves during our stay in these wilds was a good deal 
 lessened by the consideration that from this very cir 
 cumstance we should be much less exposed to a casual 
 meeting with the savage tribes about us, who we knew 
 always dwelt beneath the shadows of those trees which 
 supplied them with food. 
 
 We wandered along, casting eager glances into every 
 bush we passed, until just as we had succeeded in mount 
 ing one of the many ridges that intersected the ground, 
 I saw in the grass before me something like an indistinctly 
 traced footpath, which appeared to lead along the top of 
 the ridge, and to descend with it into a deep ravine 
 about half a mile in advance of us. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe could not have been more startled 
 at the footprint in the sand than we were at this unwel 
 come discovery. My first impulse was to make as rapid 
 a retreat as possible and bend our steps in some other 
 direction; but our curiosity to see whither this path 
 
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 55 
 
 might lead prompted us to pursue it. So on we went, 
 the track becoming more and more visible the farther 
 we proceeded, until it conducted us to the verge of the 
 ravine, where it abruptly terminated. 
 
 "And so," said Toby, peering down into the chasm, 
 "every one that travels this path takes a jump here, 
 eh?" 
 
 "Not so," said I, "for I think they might manage to 
 descend without it; what say you shall we attempt 
 the feat?" 
 
 "And what, in the name of caves and coal-holes, do 
 you expect to find at the bottom of that gulf but a 
 broken neck? Why, it looks blacker than our ship s 
 hold, and the roar of those waterfalls down there would 
 batter one s brains to pieces." 
 
 "Oh, no, Toby," I exclaimed, laughing; "but there s 
 something to be seen here, that s plain, or there would 
 have been no path, and I am resolved to find out what 
 it is." 
 
 "I will tell you what, my pleasant fellow," rejoined 
 Toby quickly, "if you are going to pry into everything 
 you meet with here that excites your curiosity, you will 
 marvellously soon get knocked on the head; to a dead 
 certainty you will come bang upon a party of these sav 
 ages in the midst of your discovery-makings, and I doubt 
 whether such an event would particularly delight you. 
 Just take my advice for once, and let us bout ship and 
 steer in some other direction; besides, it s getting late, 
 and we ought to be mooring ourselves for the night." 
 
 "That is just the thing I have been driving at," re 
 plied I; "and I am thinking that this ravine will exactly 
 answer our purpose, for it is roomy, secluded, well 
 watered, and may shelter us from the weather." 
 
 "Aye, and from sleep too, and by the same token will 
 
56 TYPEE 
 
 give us sore throats and rheumatisms into the bargain/ 
 cried Toby with evident dislike at the idea. 
 
 "Oh, very well then, my lad," said I, "since you will 
 not accompany me, here I go alone. You will see me 
 in the morning;" and advancing to the edge of the cliff 
 upon which we had been standing, I proceeded to lower 
 myself down by the tangled roots which clustered about 
 all the crevices of the rock. As I had anticipated, Toby, 
 in spite of his previous remonstrances, followed my ex 
 ample, and dropping himself with the activity of a squir 
 rel from point to point, he quickly outstripped me, and 
 effected a landing at the bottom before I had accom 
 plished two-thirds of the descent. 
 
 The sight that now greeted us was one that will ever 
 be vividly impressed upon my mind. Five foaming 
 streams, rushing through as many gorges, and swelled 
 and turbid by the recent rains, united together in one 
 mad plunge of nearly eighty feet, and fell with wild 
 uproar into a deep black pool scooped out of the gloomy- 
 looking rocks that lay piled around, and thence in one 
 collected body dashed down a narrow sloping channel 
 which seemed to penetrate into the very bowels of the 
 earth. Overhead, vast roots of trees hung down from 
 the sides of the ravine dripping with moisture, and trem 
 bling with the concussions produced by the fall. It was 
 now sunset, and the feeble uncertain light that found 
 its way into these caverns and woody depths heightened 
 their strange appearance, and reminded us that in a 
 short time we should find ourselves in utter darkness. 
 
 As soon as I had satisfied my curiosity by gazing at 
 this scene, I fell to wondering how it was that what we 
 had taken for a path should have conducted us to so 
 singular a place, and began to suspect that after all I 
 might have been deceived in supposing it to have been 
 
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 57 
 
 a track formed by the islanders. This was rather an 
 agreeable reflection than otherwise, for it diminished 
 our dread of accidentally meeting with any of them, and 
 ;I came to the conclusion that perhaps we could not have 
 selected a more secure hiding-place than this very spot 
 we had so accidentally hit upon. Toby agreed with me 
 :in this view of the matter, and we immediately began 
 gathering together the limbs of trees which lay scattered 
 about, with the view of constructing a temporary hut 
 for the night. This we were obliged to build close to 
 i the foot of the cataract, for the current of water ex 
 tended very nearly to the sides of the gorge. The few 
 moments of light that remained we employed in cover 
 ing our hut with a species of broad-bladed grass that 
 grew in every fissure of the ravine. Our hut, if it de 
 served to be called one, consisted of six or eight of the 
 straightest branches we could find laid obliquely against 
 ithe steep wall of rock, with their lower ends within a 
 foot of the stream. Into the space thus covered over 
 we managed to crawl, and dispose our wearied bodies as 
 best we could. 
 
 Shall I ever forget that horrid night? As for poor 
 Toby, I could scarcely get a word out of him. It would 
 have been some consolation to have heard his voice, but 
 he lay shivering the livelong night like a man afflicted 
 with the palsy, with his knees drawn up to his head, 
 while his back was supported against the dripping side 
 of the rock. During this wretched night there seemed 
 nothing wanting to complete the perfect misery of our 
 condition. The rain descended in such torrents that our 
 poor shelter proved a mere mockery. In vain did I try 
 to elude the incessant streams that poured upon me; 
 by protecting one part I only exposed another, and 
 the water was continually finding some new opening 
 through which to drench us. 
 
58 TYPEE 
 
 I have had many a ducking in the course of my life, 
 and in general care little about it; but the accumulated 
 horrors of that night, the deathlike coldness of the place, 
 the appalling darkness, and the dismal sense of our for 
 lorn condition almost unmanned me. 
 
 It will not be doubted that the next morning we were 
 early risers, and as soon as I could catch the faintest 
 glimpse of anything like daylight I shook my compan 
 ion by the arm, and told him it was sunrise. Poor Toby 
 lifted up his head, and after a moment s pause said, in a 
 husky voice, "Then, shipmate, my toplights have gone 
 out, for it appears darker now with my eyes open than 
 it did when they were shut." 
 
 "Nonsense!" exclaimed I; "you are not awake yet/ 
 
 "Awake!" roared Toby in a rage, "awake! You 
 mean to insinuate I ve been asleep, do you? It is an 
 insult to a man to suppose he could sleep in such an in 
 fernal place as this." 
 
 By the time I had apologized to my friend for having 
 misconstrued his silence, it had become somewhat more 
 light, and we crawled out of our lair. The rain had 
 ceased, but everything around us was dripping with 
 moisture. We stripped off our saturated garments, and 
 wrung them as dry as we could. We contrived to make 
 the blood circulate in our benumbed limbs by rubbing 
 them vigorously with our hands; and after performing 
 our ablutions in the stream, and putting on our still wet 
 clothes, we began to think it advisable to break our long 
 fast, it being now twenty-four hours since we had tasted 
 food. 
 
 Accordingly our day s ration was brought out, and 
 seating ourselves on a detached fragment of rock, we 
 proceeded to discuss it. First we divided it into two 
 equal portions, and carefully rolling one of them up for 
 
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 59 
 
 our evening s repast, divided the remainder again as 
 equally as possible, and then drew lots for the first 
 choice. I could have placed the morsel that fell to my 
 share upon the tip of my finger; but notwithstanding 
 this I took care that it should be full ten minutes before 
 I had swallowed the last crumb. What a true saying 
 it is that "appetite furnishes the best sauce." There was 
 a flavour and a relish to this small particle of food that 
 under other circumstances it would have been impossible 
 for the most delicate viands to have imparted. A copious 
 draught of the pure water which flowed at our feet 
 served to complete the meal, and after it we rose sen 
 sibly refreshed, and prepared for whatever might be 
 fall us. 
 
 We now carefully examined the chasm in which we 
 had passed the night. We crossed the stream, and 
 gaining the further side of the pool I have mentioned, 
 discovered proofs that the spot must have been visited 
 by some one but a short time previous to our arrival. 
 Further observation convinced us that it had been 
 regularly frequented, and, as we afterwards conjectured 
 from particular indications, for the purpose of obtaining 
 a certain root from which the natives obtain a kind of 
 ointment. 
 
 These discoveries immediately determined us to aban 
 don a place which had presented no inducement for us 
 to remain except the promise of security; and as we 
 looked about us for the means of ascending again into 
 the upper regions, we at last found a practicable part of 
 the rock, and half an hour s toil carried us to the summit 
 of the same cliff from which the preceding evening we 
 had descended. 
 
 I now proposed to Toby that instead of rambling 
 about the island, exposing ourselves to discovery at 
 
60 TYPEE 
 
 every turn, we should select some place as our fixed 
 abode for as long a period as our food should hold out, 
 build ourselves a comfortable hut, and be as prudent and 
 circumspect as possible. To all this my companion 
 assented, and we at once set about carrying the plan 
 into execution. 
 
 With this view, after exploring without success a 
 little glen near us, we crossed several of the ridges of 
 which I have before spoken, and about noon found our 
 selves ascending a long and gradually rising slope, but 
 still without having discovered any place adapted to our 
 purpose. Low and heavy clouds betokened an approach 
 ing storm, and we hurried on to gain a covert in a clump 
 of thick bushes which appeared to terminate the long 
 ascent. We threw ourselves under the lee of these 
 bushes, and pulling up the long grass that grew around, 
 covered ourselves completely with it and awaited the 
 shower. 
 
 But it did not come as soon as we had expected, and 
 before many minutes my companion was fast asleep, and 
 I was rapidly falling into the same state of happy for- 
 getfulness. Just at this juncture, however, down came 
 the rain with a violence that put all thoughts of slumber 
 to flight. Although in some measure sheltered, our 
 clothes soon became as wet as ever: this, after all the 
 trouble we had taken to dry them, was provoking 
 enough: but there was no help for it, and I recommend 
 all adventurous youths who abandon vessels in romantic 
 islands during the rainy season to provide themselves 
 with umbrellas. 
 
 After an hour or so the shower passed away. My 
 companion slept through it all, or at least appeared so 
 to do; and now that it was over I had not the heart to 
 awaken him. As I lay on my back completely shrouded 
 
OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS 61 
 
 with verdure, the leafy branches drooping over me, and 
 my limbs buried in grass, I could not avoid comparing 
 our situation with that of the interesting babes in the 
 wood. Poor little sufferers! no wonder their con 
 stitutions broke down under the hardships to which they 
 were exposed. 
 
 During the hour or two spent under the shelter of 
 these bushes, I began to feel symptoms which I at once 
 attributed to the exposure of the preceding night. Cold 
 shiverings and a burning fever succeeded one another 
 at intervals, while one of my legs was swelled to such a 
 degree, and pained me so acutely, that I half suspected 
 I had been bitten by some venomous reptile, the con 
 genial inhabitant of the chasm from which we had lately 
 emerged. I may here remark by the way what I sub 
 sequently learned that all the islands of Polynesia en 
 joy the reputation, in common with the Hibernian isle, 
 of being free from the presence of any vipers; though 
 whether Saint Patrick ever visited them is a question 
 I shall not attempt to decide. 
 
 As the feverish sensation increased upon me, I tossed 
 about, still unwilling to disturb my slumbering com 
 panion, from whose side I removed two or three yards. 
 I chanced to push aside a branch, and by so doing 
 suddenly disclosed to my view a scene which even now 
 I can recall with all the vividness of the first impression. 
 Had a glimpse of the gardens of Paradise been revealed 
 to me I could scarcely have been more ravished with 
 the sight. 
 
 From the spot where I lay transfixed with surprise and 
 delight, I looked straight down into the bosom of a 
 valley, which swept away in long wavy undulations to 
 the blue waters in the distance. Midway towards the 
 sea, and peering here and there amidst the foliage, 
 
62 TYPEE 
 
 might be seen the palmetto-thatched houses of its in 
 habitants glistening in the sun that had bleached them 
 to a dazzling whiteness. The vale was more than three 
 leagues in width, and about a mile across at its greatest 
 width. 
 
 On either side it appeared hemmed in by steep and 
 green acclivities, which, uniting near the spot where I 
 lay, formed an abrupt and semicircular termination of 
 grassy cliffs and precipices hundreds of feet in height, 
 over which flowed numberless small cascades. But the 
 crowning beauty of the prospect was its universal ver 
 dure; and in this indeed consists, I believe, the pecul 
 iar charm of every Polynesian landscape. Everywhere 
 below me, from the base of the precipice upon whose 
 very verge I had been unconsciously reposing, the sur 
 face of the vale presented a mass of foliage, spread with 
 such rich profusion that it was impossible to deter 
 mine of what description of trees it consisted. 
 
 But perhaps there was nothing about the scenery I 
 beheld more impressive than those silent cascades, whose 
 slender threads of water, after leaping down the steep 
 cliffs, were lost amidst the rich herbage of the valley. 
 
 Over all the landscape there reigned the most hushed 
 repose, which I almost feared to break lest, like the 
 enchanted gardens in the fairy tale, a single syllable 
 might dissolve the spell. For a long time, forgetful 
 alike of my own situation and the vicinity of my still 
 slumbering companion, I remained gazing around me, 
 hardly able to comprehend by what means I had thus 
 suddenly been made a spectator of such a scene. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY 
 
 RECOVERING from my astonishment at the beautiful 
 scene before me, I quickly awakened Toby and informed 
 him of the discovery I had made. Together we now 
 repaired to the border of the precipice, and my com 
 panion s admiration was equal to my own. A little 
 reflection, however, abated our surprise at coming so 
 unexpectedly upon this valley, since the large vales of 
 Happar and Typee, lying upon this side of Nukuheva 
 and extending a considerable distance from the sea 
 towards the interior, must necessarily terminate some 
 where about this point. 
 
 The question now was which of those two places we 
 were looking down upon. Toby insisted that it was 
 the abode of the Happars, and I that it was tenanted 
 by their enemies the ferocious Typees. To be sure I 
 was not entirely convinced by my own arguments, but 
 Toby s proposition to descend at once into the valley 
 and partake of the hospitality of its inmates seemed to 
 me to be risking so much upon the strength of a mere 
 suspicion that I resolved to oppose it until we had more 
 evidence to proceed upon. 
 
 The point was one of vital importance, as the natives 
 of Happar were not only at peace with Nukuheva, but 
 cultivated with its inhabitants the most friendly rela 
 tions, and enjoyed besides a reputation for gentleness 
 and humanity which led us to expect from them, if not 
 
 63 
 
64 TYPEE 
 
 a cordial reception, at least a shelter during the short 
 period we should remain in their territory. 
 
 On the other hand, the very name of Typee struck a 
 panic into my heart which I did not attempt to dis 
 guise. The thought of voluntarily throwing ourselves 
 into the hands of these cruel savages seemed to me an 
 act of mere madness; and almost equally so the idea of 
 venturing into the valley, uncertain by which of these 
 two tribes it was inhabited. That the vale at our feet 
 was tenanted by one of them was a point that appeared 
 to us past all doubt, since we knew that they resided in 
 this quarter, although our information did not enlighten 
 us further. 
 
 My companion, however, incapable of resisting the 
 tempting prospect which the place held out of an abun 
 dant supply of food and other means of enjoyment, still 
 clung to his own inconsiderate view of the subject, nor 
 could all my reasoning shake it. When I reminded him 
 that it was impossible for either of us to know any 
 thing with certainty, and when I dwelt upon the terri 
 ble fate we should encounter were we rashly to descend 
 into the valley and discover too late the error we had 
 committed, he replied by detailing all the evils of our 
 present condition and the sufferings we must undergo 
 should we continue to remain where we then were. 
 
 Anxious to draw him away from the subject, if pos 
 sible for I saw that it would be in vain to attempt 
 changing his mind I directed his attention to a long 
 bright unwooded tract of land which, sweeping down 
 from the elevations in the interior, descended into the 
 valley before us. I then suggested to him that beyond 
 this ridge might lie a capacious and untenanted valley, 
 abounding with all manner of delicious fruits; for I 
 had heard that there were several such upon the island, 
 
JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY 65 
 
 and proposed that we should endeavour to reach it, and 
 if we found our expectations realised we should at once 
 take refuge in it and remain there as long as we pleased. 
 
 He acquiesced in the suggestion; and we immediately, 
 therefore, began surveying the country lying before us, 
 with a view of determining upon the best route for us 
 to pursue; but it presented little choice, the whole in 
 terval being broken into steep ridges, divided by dark 
 ravines, extending in parallel lines at right angles to our 
 direct course. All these we would be obliged to cross 
 before we could hope to arrive at our destination. 
 
 A weary journey! But we decided to undertake it, 
 though, for my own part, I felt little prepared to 
 encounter its fatigues, shivering and burning by turns 
 with the ague and fever for I know not how else to 
 describe the alternate sensations I experienced and suf 
 fering not a little from the lameness which afflicted me. 
 Added to this was the faintness consequent on our 
 meagre diet a calamity in which Toby participated to 
 the same extent as myself. 
 
 These circumstances, however, only augmented my 
 anxiety to reach a place which promised us plenty and 
 repose before I should be reduced to a state which would 
 render me altogether unable to perform the journey. 
 Accordingly we now commenced it by descending the 
 almost perpendicular side of a steep and narrow gorge, 
 bristling with a thick growth of reeds. Here there was 
 but one mode for us to adopt. We seated ourselves 
 upon the ground, and guided our descent by catching at 
 the canes in our path. The velocity with which we 
 thus slid down the side of the ravine soon brought us to 
 a point where we could use our feet, and in a short time 
 we arrived at the edge of the torrent, which rolled im 
 petuously along the bed of the chasm. 
 
66 TYPEE 
 
 After taking a refreshing draught from the water of 
 the stream, we addressed ourselves to a much more dif 
 ficult undertaking than the last. Every foot of our 
 later descent had to be regained in ascending the oppo 
 site side of the gorge an operation rendered the less 
 agreeable from the consideration that in these perpendic 
 ular episodes we did not progress an hundred yards on 
 our journey. But, ungrateful as the task was, we set 
 about it with exemplary patience, and after a snail-like 
 progress of an hour or more, had scaled perhaps one- 
 half of the distance, when the fever which had left me 
 for a while returned with such violence, and accom 
 panied by so raging a thirst, that it required all the 
 entreaties of Toby to prevent me from losing all the 
 fruits of my late expedition by precipitating myself madly 
 down the cliffs we had just climbed in quest of the 
 water which flowed so temptingly at their base. At the 
 moment all my hopes and fears appeared to be merged 
 in this one desire, careless of the consequences that 
 might result from its gratification. I am aware of no 
 feeling, either of pleasure or of pain, that so completely 
 deprives one of all power to resist its impulses as this 
 same raging thirst. 
 
 Toby earnestly conjured me to continue the ascent, 
 assuring me that a little more exertion would bring us 
 to the summit, and that then in less than five minutes 
 we should find ourselves at the brink of the stream 
 which must necessarily flow on the other side of the 
 ridge. 
 
 "Do not," he exclaimed, "turn back, now that we 
 have proceeded thus far; for I tell you that neither of 
 us will have the courage to repeat the attempt if once 
 more we find ourselves looking up to where we now are 
 from the bottom of these rocks!" 
 
JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY 67 
 
 I was not yet so perfectly beside myself as to be heed 
 less of these representations, and therefore toiled on, in 
 effectually endeavouring to appease the thirst which 
 consumed me by thinking that in a short time I should 
 be able to gratify it to my heart s content. 
 
 At last we gained the top of the second elevation, 
 the loftiest of those I have described as extending in 
 parallel lines between us and the valley we desired to 
 reach. It commanded a view of the whole intervening 
 distance; and, discouraged as I was by other circum 
 stances, this prospect plunged me into the very depths 
 of despair. Nothing but dark and fearful chasms, sepa 
 rated by sharp crested and perpendicular ridges as far 
 as the eye could reach. Could we have stepped from 
 summit to summit of these steep but narrow elevations 
 we could easily have accomplished the distance; but 
 we must penetrate to the bottom of every yawning gulf, 
 and scale in succession every one of the eminences before 
 us. Even Toby, although not suffering as I did, was not 
 proof against the disheartening influences of the sight. 
 
 But we did not long stand to contemplate it, im 
 patient as I was to reach the waters of the torrent 
 which flowed beneath us. With an insensibility to dan 
 ger which I cannot call to mind without shuddering, 
 we threw ourselves down the depths of the ravine, 
 startling its savage solitudes with the echoes produced 
 by the falling fragments of rock we every moment dis 
 lodged from their places, careless of the insecurity of 
 our footing, and reckless whether the slight roots and 
 twigs we clutched at sustained us for the while, or 
 treacherously yielded to our grasp. For my own part, 
 I scarcely knew whether I was hopelessly falling from 
 the heights above, or whether the fearful rapidity with 
 which I descended was an act of my own volition. 
 
68 TYPEE 
 
 In a few minutes we reached ~the foot of the gorge, 
 and kneeling upon a small ledge of dripping rocks, I 
 bent over to the stream. What a delicious sensation 
 was I now to experience! I paused for a second to con 
 centrate all my capabilities of enjoyment, and then im- 
 merged my lips in the clear element before me. Had 
 the apples of Sodom turned to ashes in my mouth, I 
 could not have felt a more startling revulsion. A single 
 drop of the cold fluid seemed to freeze every drop of 
 blood in my body; the fever that had been burning in 
 my veins gave place on the instant to death-like chills, 
 which shook me one after another like so many shocks 
 of electricity, while the perspiration produced by my late 
 violent exertions congealed in icy beads upon my fore 
 head. My thirst was gone, and I fairly loathed the 
 water. Starting to my feet, the sight of those dank 
 rocks oozing forth moisture at every crevice, and the 
 dark stream shooting along its dismal channel, sent 
 fresh chills through my shivering frame, and I felt as 
 uncontrollable a desire to climb up towards the genial 
 sunlight as I before had to descend the ravine. 
 
 After two hours perilous exertions we stood upon 
 the summit of another ridge, and it was with difficulty 
 I could bring myself to believe that we had ever pene 
 trated the black and yawning chasm which then gaped 
 at our feet. Again we gazed upon the prospect which 
 the height commanded, but it was just as depressing as 
 the one which had before met our eyes. I now felt 
 that in our present situation it was in vain for us to 
 think of ever overcoming the obstacles in our way, and 
 I gave up all thoughts of reaching the vale which lay 
 beyond this series of impediments, while at the same time 
 I could not devise any scheme to extricate ourselves 
 from the difficulties in which we were involved. 
 
JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY 69 
 
 The remotest idea of returning to Nukuheva, unless 
 assured of our vessel s departure, never once entered 
 my mind, and indeed it was questionable whether we 
 could have succeeded in reaching it, divided as we were 
 from the bay by a distance we could not compute, and 
 perplexed too in our remembrance of localities by our 
 recent wanderings. Besides, it was unendurable to 
 think of retracing our steps and rendering all our pain 
 ful exertions of no avail. 
 
 There is scarcely anything when a man is in difficul 
 ties that he is more disposed to look upon with abhor 
 rence than a right-about retrograde movement a 
 systematic going-over of the already trodden ground ; and 
 especially if he has a love of adventure, such a course 
 appears indescribably repulsive, so long as there remains 
 the least hope to be derived from braving untried diffi 
 culties. 
 
 It was this feeling that prompted us to descend the 
 opposite side of the elevation we had just scaled, al 
 though with what definite object in view it would have 
 been impossible for either of us to tell. 
 
 Without exchanging a syllable upon the subject, Toby 
 and myself simultaneously renounced the design which 
 had lured us thus far perceiving in each other s coun 
 tenances that desponding expression which speaks more 
 eloquently than words. 
 
 Together we stood towards the close of this weary day 
 in the cavity of the third gorge we had entered, wholly 
 incapacitated for any further exertion until restored to 
 some degree of strength by food and repose. 
 
 We seated ourselves upon the least uncomfortable 
 spot we could select, and Toby produced from the bosom 
 of his frock the sacred package. In silence we partook 
 of the small morsel of refreshment that had been left 
 
70 TYPEE 
 
 from the morning s repast, and without once proposing 
 to violate the sanctity of our engagement with respect 
 to the remainder, we rose to our feet and proceeded to 
 construct some sort of shelter under which we might ob 
 tain the sleep we so greatly needed. 
 
 Fortunately the spot was better adapted to our pur 
 pose than the one in which we had passed the last 
 wretched night. We cleared away the tall reeds from 
 a small but almost level bit of ground, and twisted them 
 into a low basket-like hut, which we covered with a 
 profusion of long thick leaves, gathered from a tree 
 near at hand. We disposed them thickly all around, 
 reserving only a slight opening that barely permitted 
 us to crawl under the shelter we had thus obtained. 
 
 These deep recesses, though protected from the winds 
 that assail the summits of their lofty sides, are damp 
 and chill to a degree that one would hardly anticipate 
 in such a climate; and being unprovided with anything 
 but our woollen frocks and thin duck trousers to resist 
 the cold of the place, we were the more solicitous to 
 render our habitation for the night as comfortable as we 
 could. Accordingly, in addition to what we had already 
 done, we plucked down all the leaves within our reach 
 and threw them in a heap over our little hut, into which 
 we now crept, raking after us a reserve supply to form 
 our couch. 
 
 That night nothing but the pain I suffered prevented 
 me from sleeping most refreshingly. As it was, I caught 
 two or three naps, while Toby slept away at my side as 
 soundly as though he had been sandwiched between two 
 Holland sheets. Luckily it did not rain, and we were 
 preserved from the misery which a heavy shower would 
 have occasioned us. 
 
 In the morning I was awakened by the sonorous voice 
 
JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY 71 
 
 of my companion ringing in my ears and bidding me rise. 
 I crawled out from our heap of leaves, and was aston 
 ished at the change which a good night s rest had wrought 
 in his appearance. He was as blithe and joyous as a 
 young bird, and was staying the keenness of his morn 
 ing s appetite by chewing the soft bark of a delicate 
 branch he held in his hand, and he recommended the 
 like to me as an admirable antidote against the gnawings 
 of hunger. 
 
 For my own part, though feeling materially better 
 than I had done the preceding evening, I could not look 
 at the limb that had pained me so violently at inter 
 vals during the last twenty-four hours without experi 
 encing a sense of alarm that I strove in vain to shake off. 
 Unwilling to disturb the flow of my comrade s spirits, 
 I managed to stifle the complaints to which I might 
 otherwise have given vent, and calling upon him good- 
 humouredly to speed our banquet, I prepared myself for 
 it by washing in the stream. This operation concluded, 
 we swallowed, or rather absorbed, by a peculiar kind of 
 slow sucking process, our respective morsels of nourish 
 ment, and then entered into a discussion as to the steps 
 iit was necessary for us to pursue. 
 
 "What s to be done now?" inquired I, rather dolefully. 
 
 "Descend into that same valley we descried yester 
 day," rejoined Toby, with a rapidity and loudness of 
 utterance that almost led me to suspect he had been 
 slyly devouring the broadside of an ox in some of the 
 adjoining thickets. "What else," he continued, "re 
 mains for us to do but that, to be sure? Why, we shall 
 both starve to a certainty if we remain here; and as to 
 your fears of those Typees depend upon it, it is all 
 nonsense. 
 
 "It is impossible that the inhabitants of such a lovely 
 
72 TYPEE 
 
 place as we saw can be anything else but good fellows; 
 and if you choose rather to perish with hunger in one of 
 these soppy caverns, I for one prefer to chance a bold 
 descent into the valley, and risk the consequences." 
 
 "And who is to pilot us thither," I asked, "even if 
 we should decide upon the measure you propose? Are we 
 to go again up and down those precipices that we crossed 
 yesterday, until we reach the place we started from, and 
 then take a flying leap from the cliffs to the valley?" 
 
 " Faith, I didn t think of that," said Toby; "sure 
 enough, both sides of the valley appeared to be hemmed 
 in by precipices, didn t they?" 
 
 "Yes," answered I, "as steep as the sides of a line-of- 
 battle ship, and about a hundred times as high." My 
 companion sank his head upon his breast and remained 
 for awhile in deep thought. Suddenly he sprang to 
 his feet, while his eyes lighted up with that gleam of 
 intelligence that marks the presence of some bright idea. 
 
 "Yes, yes," he exclaimed; "the streams all run in the 
 same direction, and must necessarily flow into the valley 
 before they reach the sea; all we have to do is just to 
 follow this stream, and sooner or later it will lead us 
 into the vale." 
 
 "You are right, Toby," I exclaimed, "you are right; 
 it must conduct us thither, and quickly too; for see with 
 what a steep inclination the water descends." 
 
 "It does, indeed," burst forth my companion, over 
 joyed at my verification of his theory; "it does indeed; 
 why, it is as plain as a pike-staff. Let us proceed at once ; 
 come, throw away all those stupid ideas about the Ty- 
 pees, and hurrah for the lovely valley of the Happars!" 
 
 "You will have it to be Happar, I see, my dear fellow; 
 pray Heaven you may not find yourself deceived," 
 observed I, with a shake of my head. 
 
JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VALLEY 73 
 
 "Amen to all that, and much more," shouted Toby, 
 rushing forward; "but Happar it is, for nothing else 
 than Happar can it be. So glorious a valley such 
 forests of bread-fruit trees such groves of cocoa-nut 
 such wildernesses of guava-bushes! Ah, shipmate! don t 
 linger behind: in the name of all delightful fruits, I am 
 dying to be at them. Come on, come on; shove ahead, 
 there s a lively lad; never mind the rocks; kick them 
 out of the way, as I do; and to-morrow, old fellow, take 
 my word for it, we shall be in clover. Come on;" and 
 so saying, he dashed along the ravine like a mad man, 
 forgetting my inability to keep up with him. In a few 
 minutes, however, the exuberance of his spirits abated, 
 and, pausing for a while, he permitted me to overtake 
 him. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO THE RAVINE 
 
 THE fearless confidence of Toby was contagious, and 
 I began to adopt the Happar side of the question. I 
 could not, however, overcome a certain feeling of trepi 
 dation as we made our way along these gloomy soli 
 tudes. Our progress, at first comparatively easy, became 
 more and more difficult. The bed of the watercourse 
 was covered with fragments of broken rocks, which had 
 fallen from above, offering so many obstructions to the 
 course of the rapid stream, which vexed and fretted 
 about them forming at intervals small waterfalls, pour 
 ing over into deep basins, or splashing wildly upon 
 heaps of stones. 
 
 From the narrowness of the gorge and the steepness 
 of its sides, there was no mode of advancing but by 
 wading through the water, stumbling every moment 
 over the impediments which lay hidden under its sur 
 face or tripping against the huge roots of trees. But 
 the most annoying hindrance we encountered was from 
 a multitude of crooked boughs which, shooting out 
 almost horizontally from the sides of the chasm, twisted 
 themselves together in fantastic masses almost to the 
 surface of the stream, affording us no passage except 
 under the low arches which they formed. Under these 
 we were obliged to crawl on our hands and feet, sliding 
 along the oozy surface of the rocks, or slipping into the 
 deep pools, and with scarce light enough to guide us. 
 
 74 
 
FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO RAVINE 75 
 
 Occasionally we would strike our heads against some 
 projecting limb of a tree, and while imprudently engaged 
 in rubbing the injured part, would fall sprawling amongst 
 flinty fragments, cutting and bruising ourselves, whilst 
 the unpitying waters flowed over our prostrate bodies. 
 Belzoni, worming himself through the subterranean pass 
 ages of the Egyptian catacombs, could not have met with 
 greater impediments than those we here encountered. 
 But we struggled against them manfully, well knowing 
 our only hope lay in advancing. 
 
 Towards sunset we halted at a spot where we made 
 preparations for passing the night. Here we constructed 
 a hut, in much the same way as before, and crawling into 
 it, endeavoured to forget our sufferings. My companion, 
 I believe, slept pretty soundly; but at daybreak, when 
 we rolled out of our dwelling, I felt nearly disqualified 
 for any further efforts. Toby prescribed as a remedy 
 for my illness the contents of one of our little silk pack 
 ages, to be taken at once in a single dose. To this species 
 of medical treatment, however, I would by no means 
 accede, much as he insisted upon it ; and so we partook of 
 our usual morsel and silently resumed our journey. It 
 was now the fourth day since we left Nukuheva, and the 
 gnawings of hunger became painfully acute. We were 
 fain to pacify them by chewing the tender bark of roots 
 and twigs, which, if they did not afford us nourishment, 
 were at least sweet and pleasant to the taste. 
 
 Our progress along the steep watercourse was neces 
 sarily slow, and by noon we had not advanced more 
 than a mile. It was somewhere near this part of the 
 day that the noise of falling waters, which we had 
 faintly caught in the early morning, became more dis 
 tinct; and it was not long before we were arrested by 
 a rocky precipice of nearly a hundred feet in depth, 
 
76 TYPEE 
 
 that extended all across the channel, and over which 
 the wild stream poured in an unbroken leap. On either 
 hand the walls of the ravine presented their overhanging 
 sides both above and below the fall, affording no means 
 whatever of avoiding the cataract by taking a circuit 
 round it. 
 
 "What s to be done now, Toby?" said I. 
 
 "Why," rejoined he, "as we cannot retreat, I sup 
 pose we must keep shoving along." 
 
 "Very true, my dear Toby; but how do you propose 
 accomplishing that desirable object?" 
 
 "By jumping from the top of the fall, if there be no 
 other way," unhesitatingly replied my companion; "it 
 will be much the quickest way of descent; but as you 
 are not quite as active as I am, we will try some other 
 way." 
 
 And, so saying, he crept cautiously along and peered 
 over the abyss, while I remained wondering by what 
 possible means we could overcome this apparently in 
 superable obstruction. As soon as my companion had 
 completed his survey, I eagerly inquired the result. 
 
 "The result of my observations you wish to know, 
 do you?" began Toby, deliberately, with one of his odd 
 looks: "well, my lad, the result of my observations is 
 very quickly imparted. It is at present uncertain which 
 of our two necks will have the honour to be broken first ; 
 but about a hundred to one would be a fair bet in favour 
 of the man who takes the first jump." 
 
 "Then it is an impossible thing, is it?" inquired I, 
 gloomily. 
 
 "No, shipmate; on the contrary, it is the easiest 
 thing in life: the only awkward point is the sort of 
 usage which our unhappy limbs may receive when we 
 arrive at the bottom, and what sort of travelling trim 
 
FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO RAVINE 77 
 
 we shall be in afterwards. But follow me now, and I 
 will show you the only chance we have." 
 
 With this he conducted me to the verge of the cata 
 ract, and pointed along the side of the ravine to a num 
 ber of curious-looking roots, some three or four inches 
 in thickness, and several feet long, which after twisting 
 among the fissures of the rock, shot perpendicularly from 
 it and ran tapering to a point in the air, hanging over 
 the gulf like so many dark icicles. They covered nearly 
 the entire surface of one side of the gorge, the lowest of 
 them reaching even to the water. Many were moss- 
 grown and decayed, with their extremities snapped short 
 off, and those in the immediate vicinity of the fall were 
 slippery with moisture. 
 
 Toby s scheme, and it was a desperate one, was to in 
 trust ourselves to these treacherous-looking roots, and 
 by slipping down from one to another to gain the bot- 
 tom. 
 
 "Are you ready to venture it?" asked Toby, looking 
 at me earnestly, but without saying a word as to the 
 practicability of the plan. 
 
 "I am," was my reply; for I saw it was our only re 
 source if we wished to advance, and as for retreating, 
 all thoughts of that sort had been long abandoned. 
 
 After I had signified my assent, Toby, without utter 
 ing a single word, crawled along the dripping ledge 
 until he gained a point from whence he could just reach 
 one of the largest of the pendent roots; he shook it 
 it quivered in his grasp, and when he let it go it twanged 
 in the air like a strong wire sharply struck. Satisfied 
 by his scrutiny, my light-limbed companion swung him 
 self nimbly upon it, and twisting his legs round it in 
 sailor fashion, slipped down eight or ten feet, where his 
 weight gave it a motion not unlike that of a pendulum. 
 
78 TYPEE 
 
 He could not venture to descend any further; so holding 
 on with one hand, he with the other shook one by one 
 all the slender roots around him, and at last, finding one 
 which he thought trustworthy, shifted himself to it and 
 continued his downward progress. 
 
 So far so well; but I could not avoid comparing my 
 heavier frame and disabled condition with his light fig 
 ure and remarkable activity; but there was no help for 
 it, and in less than a minute s time I was swinging 
 directly over his head. As soon as his upturned eyes 
 caught a glimpse of me, he exclaimed in his usual dry 
 tone, for the danger did not seem to daunt him in the 
 least, "Mate, do me the kindness not to fall until I get 
 out of your way;" and then swinging himself more on 
 one side, he continued his descent. In the mean time I 
 cautiously transferred myself from the limb down which 
 I had been slipping to a couple of others that were near 
 it, deeming two strings to my bow better than one, and 
 taking care to test their strength before I trusted my 
 weight to them. 
 
 On arriving towards the end of the second stage in 
 this vertical journey, and shaking the long roots which 
 were round me, to my consternation they snapped off 
 one after another like so many pipe stems, and fell in 
 fragments against the side of the gulf, splashing at 
 last into the waters beneath. 
 
 As one after another the treacherous roots yielded to 
 my grasp and fell into the torrent, my heart sunk within 
 me. The branches on which I was suspended over the 
 yawning chasm swung to and fro in the air, and I ex 
 pected them every moment to snap in twain. Appalled 
 at the dreadful fate that menaced me, I clutched fran 
 tically at the only large root which remained near me, 
 but in vain; I could not reach it, though my fingers 
 
FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO RAVINE 79 
 
 were within a few inches of it. Again and again I tried 
 to reach it, until at length, maddened with the thought 
 of my situation, I swayed myself violently by striking 
 my foot against the side of the rock, and at the instant 
 that I approached the large root caught desperately at 
 it, and transferred myself to it. It vibrated violently 
 under the sudden weight, but fortunately did not give 
 way. 
 
 My brain grew dizzy with the idea of the frightful 
 risk I had just run, and I involuntarily closed my eyes 
 to shut out the view of the depth beneath me. For the 
 instant I was safe, and I uttered a devout ejaculation of 
 thanksgiving for my escape. 
 
 "Pretty well done," shouted Toby underneath me; 
 "you are nimbler than I thought you to be hopping 
 about up there from root to root like any young squirrel. 
 As soon as you have diverted yourself sufficiently, I 
 would advise you to proceed." 
 
 "Aye, aye, Toby, all in good time: two or three more 
 such famous roots as this, and I shall be with you." 
 
 The residue of my downward progress was compara 
 tively easy; the roots were in greater abundance, and 
 in one or two places jutting out points of rock assisted 
 me greatly. In a few moments I was standing by the 
 side of my companion. 
 
 Substituting a stout stick for the one I had thrown 
 aside at the top of the precipice, we now continued our 
 course along the bed of the ravine. Soon we were sa 
 luted by a sound in advance, that grew by degrees louder 
 and louder, as the noise of the cataract we were leaving 
 behind gradually died on our ears. 
 
 "Another precipice for us, Toby." 
 
 "Very good; we can descend them, you know 
 
8o TYPEE 
 
 Nothing indeed appeared to depress or intimidate this 
 intrepid fellow. Typees or Niagaras, he was as ready 
 to engage one as the other, and I could not avoid a 
 thousand times congratulating myself upon having such 
 a companion in an enterprise like the present. 
 
 After an hour s painful progress we reached the verge 
 of another fall, still loftier than the preceding, and 
 flanked both above and below with the same steep 
 masses of rock, presenting, however, here and there 
 narrow irregular ledges, supporting a shallow soil, on 
 which grew a variety of bushes and trees, whose bright 
 verdure contrasted beautifully with the foamy waters 
 that flowed between them. 
 
 Toby, who invariably acted as pioneer, now proceeded 
 to reconnoitre. On his return, he reported that the 
 shelves of rock on our right would enable us to gain 
 with little risk the bottom of the cataract. Accord 
 ingly, leaving the bed of the stream at the very point 
 where it thundered down, we began crawling along one 
 of these sloping ledges until it carried us to within a 
 few feet of another that inclined downward at a still 
 sharper angle, and upon which, by assisting each other, 
 we managed to alight in safety. We warily crept along 
 this, steadying ourselves by the naked roots of the 
 shrubs that clung to every fissure. As we proceeded, 
 the narrow path became still more contracted, rendering 
 it difficult for us to maintain our footing, until sud 
 denly, as we reached an angle of the wall of rock where 
 we had expected it to widen, we perceived to our con 
 sternation that a yard or two farther on it abruptly ter 
 minated at a place we could not possibly hope to pass. 
 
 Toby as usual led the van, and in silence I waited to 
 learn from him how he proposed to extricate us from 
 this new difficulty. 
 
FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO RAVINE 81 
 
 "Well, my boy," I exclaimed, after the expiration of 
 several minutes, during which time my companion had 
 not uttered a word; "what s to be done now?" 
 
 He replied in a tranquil tone that probably the best 
 thing we could do in our present strait was to get out 
 of it as soon as possible. 
 
 "Yes, my dear Toby, but tell me how we are to get 
 out of it." 
 
 "Something in this sort of style," he replied; and at 
 the same moment to my horror he slipped sideways off 
 the rock, and as I then thought, by good fortune merely 
 alighted among the spreading branches of a species 
 of palm tree, that, shooting its hardy roots along a 
 ledge below, curved its trunk upwards into the air, 
 and presented a thick mass of foliage about twenty feet 
 below the spot where we had thus suddenly been brought 
 to a standstill. I involuntarily held my breath, ex 
 pecting to see the form of my companion, after being 
 sustained for a moment by the branches of the tree, 
 sink through their frail support and fall headlong to 
 the bottom. To my surprise and joy, however, he re 
 covered himself, and disentangling his limbs from the 
 fractured branches, he peered out from his leafy bed and 
 shouted lustily, "Come on, my hearty; there is no other 
 alternative!" and with this he ducked beneath the foli 
 age, and slipping down the trunk, stood in a moment 
 at least fifty feet beneath me, upon the broad shelf of 
 rock from which sprang the tree he had descended. 
 
 What would I not have given at that moment to have 
 been by his side! The feat he had just accomplished 
 seemed little less than miraculous, and I could hardly 
 credit the evidence of my senses when I saw the wide 
 distance that a single daring act had so suddenly placed 
 between us, 
 
82 TYPEE 
 
 Toby s animating "Come on!" again sounded in my 
 ears, and dreading to lose all confidence in myself if I 
 remained meditating upon the step, I once more gazed 
 down to assure myself of the relative bearing of the tree 
 and my own position, and then closing my eyes and 
 uttering one comprehensive ejaculation of prayer, I in 
 clined myself over the abyss, and after one breathless 
 instant fell with a crash into the tree, the branches snap 
 ping and crackling with my weight, as I sunk lower and 
 lower among them, until I was stopped by coming in 
 contact with a sturdy limb. 
 
 In a few moments I was standing at the foot of the 
 tree, manipulating myself all over with a view of ascer 
 taining the extent of the injuries I had received. To my 
 surprise the only effects of my feat were a few slight con 
 tusions too trifling to care about. The rest of our descent 
 was easily accomplished, and in half an hour after re 
 gaining the ravine we had partaken of our evening mor 
 sel, built our hut as usual, and crawled under its shelter. 
 
 The next morning, in spite of our debility and the 
 agony of hunger under which we were now suffering, 
 though neither of us confessed to the fact, we struggled 
 along our dismal and still difficult and dangerous path, 
 cheered by the hope of soon catching a glimpse of the 
 valley before us, and towards evening the voice of a 
 cataract which had for some time sounded like a low 
 deep bass to the music of the smaller waterfalls broke 
 upon our ears in still louder tones, and assured us that 
 we were approaching its vicinity. 
 
 That evening we stood on the brink of a precipice 
 over which the dark stream bounded in one final leap of 
 full three hundred feet. The sheer descent terminated 
 in the region we so long had sought. On either side of 
 the fall, two lofty and perpendicular bluffs buttressed 
 
FRIGHTFUL DESCENT TO RAVINE 83 
 
 the sides of the enormous cliff, and projected into the 
 sea of verdure with which the valley waved, and a range 
 of similar projecting eminences stood disposed in a half 
 circle about the head of the vale. A thick canopy of 
 trees hung over the very verge of the fall, leaving an 
 arched aperture for the passage of the waters, which 
 imparted a strange picturesqueness to the scene. 
 
 The valley was now before us; but instead of being 
 conducted into its smiling bosom by the gradual descent 
 of the deep water-course we had thus far pursued, all 
 our labours now appeared to have been rendered futile 
 by its abrupt termination. But, bitterly disappointed, 
 we did not entirely despair. As it was now near sunset 
 we determined to pass the night where we were, and on 
 the morrow, refreshed by sleep and by eating at one 
 meal all our stock of food, to accomplish a descent into 
 the valley or perish in the attempt. 
 
 We laid ourselves down that night on a spot, the 
 recollection of which still makes me shudder. A small 
 table of rock which projected over the precipice on one 
 side of the stream, and was drenched by the spray of 
 the fall, sustained a huge trunk of a tree which must 
 have been deposited there by some heavy freshet. It 
 lay obliquely, with one end resting on the rock and the 
 other supported by the side of the ravine. Against it 
 we placed in a sloping direction a number of the half 
 decayed boughs that were strewn about, and covering 
 the whole with twigs and leaves, awaited the morning s 
 light beneath such shelter as it afforded. 
 
 During the whole of this night the continual roaring 
 of the cataract, the dismal moaning of the gale through 
 the trees, the pattering of the rain, and the profound 
 darkness, affected my spirits to a degree which nothing 
 had ever before produced. Wet, half famished, and 
 
84 TYPEE 
 
 chilled to the heart with the dampness of the place, and 
 nearly wild with the pain I endured, I fairly cowered 
 down to the earth under this multiplication of hardships, 
 and abandoned myself to frightful anticipations of evil; 
 and my companion, whose spirit at last was a good deal 
 broken, scarcely uttered a word during the whole night. 
 
 At length the day dawned upon us, and rising from 
 our miserable pallet, we stretched our stiffened joints, 
 and after eating all that remained of our bread, prepared 
 for the last stage of our journey. 
 
 I will not recount every hair-breadth escape, and every 
 fearful difficulty that occurred before we succeeded in 
 reaching the bosom of the valley. As I have already 
 described similar scenes, it will be sufficient to say that 
 at length, after great toil and great dangers, we both 
 stood with no limbs broken at the head of that magnifi 
 cent vale which five days before had so suddenly burst 
 upon my sight, and almost beneath the shadows of those 
 very cliffs from whose summits we had gazed upon the 
 prospect. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 
 
 TYPEE or Happar? A frightful death at the hands of 
 the fiercest of cannibals, or a kindly reception from a 
 gentler race of savages? Which? But it was too late 
 now to discuss a question which would so soon be 
 answered. How to obtain the fruit which we felt con 
 vinced must grow near at hand was our first thought. 
 The part of the valley in which we found ourselves ap 
 peared to be altogether uninhabited. An almost im 
 penetrable thicket extended from side to side, without 
 presenting a single plant affording the nourishment we 
 had confidently calculated upon. We followed the course 
 of the stream, casting quick glances as we approached 
 into the thick jungles on either hand. 
 
 My companion to whose solicitations I had yielded 
 in descending into the valley now that the step was 
 taken, began to manifest a degree of caution I had little 
 expected from him. He proposed that, in the event of 
 our finding an adequate supply of fruit, we should re 
 main in this unfrequented portion of the country 
 where we should run little chance of being surprised by 
 its occupants, whoever they might be until sufficiently 
 recruited to resume our journey, when laying in a store of 
 food equal to our wants, we might easily regain the bay 
 of Nukuheva, after the lapse of a sufficient interval to 
 ensure the departure of our vessel. 
 
 I objected strongly to this proposition, plausible as 
 85 
 
86 TYPEE 
 
 it was, as the difficulties of the route would be almost 
 insurmountable, unacquainted as we were with the gen 
 eral bearings of the country, and I reminded my com 
 panion of the hardships which we had already encoun 
 tered in our uncertain wanderings; in a word, I said 
 that since we had deemed it advisable to enter the val 
 ley, we ought manfully to face the consequences, what 
 ever they might be, the more especially as I was con 
 vinced there was no alternative left us but to fall in 
 with the natives at once, and boldly risk the reception 
 they might give us: and that as to myself, I felt the 
 necessity of rest and shelter, and that until I had ob 
 tained them I should be wholly unable to encounter 
 such sufferings as we had lately passed through. To 
 the justice of these observations Toby somewhat reluc 
 tantly assented. 
 
 We were surprised that, after moving as far as we 
 had along the valley, we should still meet with the 
 same impervious thickets, and thinking that although 
 the borders of the stream might be lined for some dis 
 tance with them, yet beyond there might be more open 
 ground, I requested Toby to keep a bright look-out 
 upon one side, while I did the same on the other, in 
 order to discover some opening in the bushes, and espe 
 cially to watch for the slightest appearance of a path 
 or anything else that might indicate the vicinity of the 
 islanders. 
 
 What furtive and anxious glances we cast into those 
 dim-looking shades! With what apprehensions we pro 
 ceeded, ignorant at what moment we might be greeted 
 by the javelin of some ambushed savage! At last my 
 companion paused, and directed my attention to a nar 
 row opening in the foliage. We struck into it and it 
 soon brought us, by an indistinctly traced path, to a 
 
TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 87 
 
 comparatively clear space, at the further end of which 
 we descried a number of trees, the native name of which 
 is "annuee," and which bear a most delicious fruit. 
 
 What a race! I hobbling over the ground like some 
 decrepit wretch, and Toby leaping forward like a grey 
 hound. He quickly cleared one of the trees on which 
 there were two or three of the fruit, but to our chagrin 
 they proved to be much decayed, the rinds partly opened 
 by the birds, and their hearts half devoured. However, 
 we quickly despatched them, and no ambrosia could have 
 been more delicious. 
 
 We looked about us, uncertain whither to direct our 
 steps, since the path we had so far followed appeared 
 to be lost in the open space around us. At last we re 
 solved to enter a grove near at hand, and had advanced 
 a few rods when, just upon its skirts, I picked up a 
 slender bread-fruit shoot, perfectly green, and with the 
 tender bark freshly stript from it. It was still slippery 
 with moisture, and appeared as if it had been but that 
 moment thrown aside. I said nothing, but merely held 
 it up to Toby, who started at this undeniable evidence 
 of the vicinity of the savages. 
 
 The plot was now thickening. A short distance further 
 lay a little fagot of the same shoots bound together 
 with a strip of bark. Could it have been thrown down 
 by some solitary native who, alarmed at seeing us. had 
 hurried forward to carry the tidings of our approach to 
 his countrymen? Typee or Happar? But it was too 
 late to recede, so we moved on slowly, my companion 
 in advance, casting eager glances under the trees on 
 either side, until all at once I saw him recoil as if stung 
 by an adder. Sinking on his knee, he waved me off 
 with one hand, while with the other he held aside some 
 intervening leaves and gazed intently at some object. 
 
88 TYPEE 
 
 Disregarding his injunction, I quickly approached 
 him, and caught a glimpse of two figures partly hidden 
 by the dense foliage; they were standing close together, 
 and were perfectly motionless. They must have pre 
 viously perceived us, and withdrawn into the depths of 
 the wood to elude our observation. 
 
 My mind was at once made up. Dropping my staff, 
 and tearing open the package of things we had brought 
 from the ship, I unrolled the cotton cloth, and holding 
 it in one hand, plucked with the other a twig from the 
 bushes beside me, and telling Toby to follow my ex 
 ample, I broke through the covert and advanced, waving 
 the branch in token of peace, towards the shrinking 
 forms before me. 
 
 They were a boy and girl, slender and graceful, and 
 completely naked, with the exception of a slight girdle 
 of bark, from which depended at opposite points two 
 of the russet leaves of the bread-fruit tree. An arm of 
 the boy, half screened from sight by her wild tresses, 
 was thrown about the neck of the girl, while with the 
 other he held one of her hands in his; and thus they 
 stood together, their heads inclined forward, catching 
 the faint noise we made in our progress, and with one 
 foot in advance, as if half inclined to fly from our 
 presence. 
 
 As we drew near their alarm evidently increased. 
 Apprehensive that they might fly from us altogether, I 
 stopped short and motioned them to advance and receive 
 the gift I extended towards them, but they would not; 
 I then uttered a few words of their language with which 
 I was acquainted, scarcely expecting that they would 
 understand me, but to show that we had not dropped 
 from the clouds upon them. This appeared to give 
 them a little confidence, so I approached nearer, present- 
 
TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 89 
 
 ing the cloth with one hand and holding the bough with 
 the other, while they slowly retreated. At last they 
 suffered us to approach so near to them that we were 
 enabled to throw the cotton cloth across their shoulders, 
 giving them to understand that it was theirs, and by a 
 variety of gestures endeavouring to make them under 
 stand that we entertained the highest possible regard 
 for them. 
 
 The frightened pair now stood still, whilst we en 
 deavoured to make them comprehend the nature of our 
 wants. In doing this Toby went through with a com 
 plete series of pantomimic illustrations opening his 
 mouth from ear to ear and, thrusting his fingers down 
 his throat, gnashing his teeth and rolling his eyes about, 
 till I verily believe the poor creatures took us for a 
 couple of white cannibals who were about to make a 
 meal of them. When, however, they understood us, 
 they showed no inclination to relieve our wants. At 
 this juncture it began to rain violently, and we motioned 
 them to lead us to some place of shelter. With this 
 request they appeared willing to comply, but nothing 
 could evince more strongly the apprehension with which 
 they regarded us than the way in which, whilst walking 
 before us, they kept their eyes constantly turned back 
 to watch every movement we made, and even our very 
 looks. 
 
 "Typee or Happar, Toby?" asked I as we walked 
 after them. 
 
 "Of course Kappar," he replied with a show of con 
 fidence which was intended to disguise his doubts. 
 
 "We shall soon know," I exclaimed; and at the same 
 moment I stepped forward towards our guides, and pro 
 nouncing the two names interrogatively and pointing 
 to the lowest part of the valley, endeavoured to come 
 
90 TYPEE 
 
 to the point at once. They repeated the words after 
 me again and again, but without giving any peculiar 
 emphasis to either, so that I was completely at a loss 
 to understand them; for a couple of wilier young things 
 than we afterwards found them to have been on this 
 particular occasion never probably fell in any traveller s 
 way. 
 
 More and more curious to ascertain our fate, I now 
 threw together in the form of a question the words 
 "Happar" and "motarkee," the latter being equivalent 
 to the word "good." The two natives interchanged 
 glances of peculiar meaning with one another at this, 
 and manifested no little surprise; but on the repetition 
 of the question, after some consultation together, to the 
 great joy of Toby, they answered in the affirmative. 
 Toby was now in ecstasies, especially as the young sav 
 ages continued to reiterate their answer with great 
 energy, as though desirous of impressing us with the 
 idea that being among the Happars, we ought to con 
 sider ourselves perfectly secure. 
 
 Although I had some lingering doubts, I feigned 
 great delight with Toby at this announcement, while 
 my companion broke out into a pantomimic abhorrence 
 of Typee, and immeasurable love for the particular 
 valley in which we were; our guides all the while gazing 
 uneasily at one another as if at a loss to account for 
 our conduct. 
 
 They hurried on, and we followed them; until sud 
 denly they set up a strange halloo, which was answered 
 from beyond the grove through which we were passing, 
 and the next moment we entered upon some open ground, 
 at the extremity of which we descried a long, low hut, 
 and in front of it were several young girls. As soon 
 as they perceived us they fled with wild screams into 
 
TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 91 
 
 the adjoining thickets, like so many startled fawns. A 
 few moments after the whole valley resounded with 
 savage outcries, and the natives came running towards 
 us from every direction. 
 
 Had an army of invaders made an irruption into their 
 territory they could not have evinced greater excitement. 
 We were soon completely encircled by a dense throng, 
 and in their eager desire to behold us they almost 
 arrested our progress; an equal number surrounding our 
 youthful guides, who with amazing volubility appeared to 
 be detailing the circumstances which had attended their 
 meeting with us. Every item of intelligence appeared to 
 redouble the astonishment of the islanders, and they 
 gazed at us with inquiring looks. 
 
 At last we reached a large and handsome building 
 of bamboos, and were by signs told to enter it, the 
 natives opening a lane for us through which to pass; on 
 entering without ceremony, we threw our exhausted 
 frames upon the mats that covered the floor. In a mo 
 ment the slight tenement was completely full of people, 
 whilst those who were unable to obtain admittance 
 gazed at us through its open cane-work. 
 
 It was now evening, and by the dim light we could 
 just discern the savage countenances around us, gleam 
 ing with wild curiosity and wonder; the naked forms 
 and tattooed limbs of brawny warriors, with here and 
 there the slighter figures of young girls, all engaged in 
 a perfect storm of conversation, of which we were of 
 course the one only theme; whilst our recent guides 
 were fully occupied in answering the innumerable ques 
 tions which every one put to them. Nothing can exceed 
 the fierce gesticulation of these people when animated 
 in conversation, and on this occasion they gave loose 
 to all their natural vivacity, shouting and dancing about 
 in a manner that well-nigh intimidated us. 
 
92 TYPEE 
 
 Close to where we lay, squatting upon their haunches, 
 were some eight or ten noble-looking chiefs for such 
 they subsequently proved to be who, more reserved 
 than the rest, regarded us with a fixed and stern atten 
 tion which not a little discomposed our equanimity. 
 One of them in particular, who appeared to be the 
 highest in rank, placed himself directly facing me; 
 looking at me with a rigidity of aspect under which I 
 absolutely quailed. He never once opened his lips, but 
 maintained his severe expression of countenance, with 
 out turning his face aside for a single moment. Never 
 before had I been subjected to so strange and steady a 
 glance; it revealed nothing of the mind of the savage, 
 but it appeared to be reading my own. 
 
 After undergoing this scrutiny till I grew absolutely 
 nervous, with a view of diverting it if possible, and 
 conciliating the good opinion of the warrior, I took 
 some tobacco from the bosom of my frock and offered it 
 to him. He quietly rejected the proffered gift, and, 
 without speaking, motioned me to return it to its place. 
 
 In my previous intercourse with the natives of Nu- 
 kuheva and Tior, I had found that the present of a 
 small piece of tobacco would have rendered any of them 
 devoted to my service. Was this act of the chief a 
 token of his enmity? Typee or Happar? I asked within 
 myself. I started, for Lt the same moment this identical 
 question was asked by the strange being before me. I 
 turned to Toby; the flickering light of a native taper 
 showed me his countenance pale with trepidation at this 
 fatal question. I paused for a second, and I know not 
 by what impulse it was that I answered "Typee." The 
 piece of dusky statuary nodded in approval, and then 
 murmured "Motarkee!" "Motarkee," said I, without 
 further hesitation "Typee motarkee." 
 
TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 93 
 
 What a transition! The dark figures around us leaped 
 to their feet, clapped their hands in transport, and 
 shouted again and again the talismanic syllables, the 
 utterance of which appeared to have settled everything. 
 
 When this commotion had a little subsided, the princi 
 pal chief squatted once more before me, and throwing 
 himself into a sudden rage, poured fourth a string of 
 philippics, which I was at no loss to understand, from 
 the frequent recurrence of the word Happar, as being 
 directed against the natives of the adjoining valley. In 
 all these denunciations my companion and I acquiesced, 
 while we extolled the character of the warlike Typees. 
 To be sure our panegyrics were somewhat laconic, con 
 sisting in the repetition of that name, united with the 
 potent adjective "motarkee." But this was sufficient, 
 and served to conciliate the good will of the natives, 
 with whom our congeniality of sentiment on this point 
 did more towards inspiring a friendly feeling than any 
 thing else that could have happened. 
 
 At last the wrath of the chief evaporated, and in a few 
 moments he was as placid as ever. Laying his hand 
 upon his breast, he now gave me to understand that his 
 name was "Mehevi," and that, in return, he wished me 
 to communicate my appellation. I hesitated for an in 
 stant, thinking that it might be difficult for him to pro 
 nounce my real name, and then with the most praise 
 worthy intentions intimated that I was known as "Tom." 
 But I could not have made a worse selection; the chief 
 could not master it; "Tommo," "Tomma," "Tommee," 
 everything but plain "Tom." As he persisted in gar 
 nishing the word with an additional syllable, I com 
 promised the matter with him at the word "Tommo," 
 and by that name I went during the entire period of my 
 stay in the valley. The same proceeding was gone 
 
94 TYPEE . 
 
 through with Toby, whose mellifluous appellation was 
 more easily caught. 
 
 An exchange of names is equivalent to a ratification 
 of good will and amity among these simple people; and 
 as we were aware of this fact, we were delighted that 
 it had taken place on the present occasion. 
 
 Reclining upon our mats, we now held a kind of 
 levee, giving audience to successive troops of the natives, 
 who introduced themselves to us by pronouncing their 
 respective names, and retired in high good humour on 
 receiving ours in return. During this ceremony the 
 greatest merriment prevailed, nearly every announce 
 ment on the part of the islanders being followed by a 
 fresh sally of gayety, which induced me to believe that 
 some of them at least were innocently diverting the 
 company at our expense, by bestowing upon themselves 
 a string of absurd titles, of the humour of which we 
 were of course entirely ignorant. 
 
 All this occupied about an hour, when the throng hav 
 ing a little diminished, I turned to Mehevi and gave him 
 to understand that we were in need of food and sleep. 
 Immediately the attentive chief addressed a few words 
 to one of the crowd, who disappeared, and returned in a 
 few moments with a calabash of "poee-poee," and two or 
 three young cocoa-nuts stripped of their husks, and with 
 their shells partly broken. We both of us forthwith 
 placed one of these natural goblets to our lips, and 
 drained it in a moment of the refreshing draught it 
 contained. The poee-poee was then placed before us, 
 and even famished as I was, I paused to consider in 
 what manner to convey it to my mouth. 
 
 This staple article of food among the Marquese 
 islanders is manufactured from the produce of the bread 
 fruit tree. It somewhat resembles in its plastic nature 
 
TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 95 
 
 our bookbinder s paste, is of a yellow colour, and some 
 what tart to the taste. 
 
 Such was the dish the merits of which I was now 
 eager to discuss. I eyed it wistfully for a moment, and 
 then, unable any longer to stand on ceremony, plunged 
 my hand into the yielding mass, and to the boisterous 
 mirth of the natives drew it forth laden with the poee- 
 poee, which adhered in lengthy strings to every finger. 
 So stubborn was its consistency that in conveying my 
 heavily freighted hand to my mouth, the connecting 
 links almost raised the calabash from the mats on which 
 it had been placed. This display of awkwardness in 
 which, by the by, Toby kept me company convulsed 
 the bystanders with uncontrollable laughter. 
 
 As soon as their merriment had somewhat subsided, 
 Mehevi, motioning us to be attentive, dipped the fore 
 finger of his right hand in the dish, and giving it a 
 rapid and scientific twirl, drew it out coated smoothly 
 with the preparation. With a second peculiar flourish 
 he prevented the poee-poee from dropping to the ground 
 as he raised it to his mouth, into which the finger was 
 inserted and drawn forth perfectly free from any adhe 
 sive matter. This performance was evidently intended 
 for our instruction; so I again essayed the feat on the 
 principles inculcated, but with very ill success. 
 
 A starving man, however, little heeds conventional 
 proprieties, especially on a South-Sea Island, and accord 
 ingly Toby and I partook of the dish after our own 
 clumsy fashion, beplastering our faces all over with the 
 glutinous compound, and daubing our hands nearly to 
 the wrist. This kind of food is by no means disagree 
 able to the palate of a European, though at first the 
 mode of eating it may be. For my own part, after the 
 lapse of a few days I became accustomed to its singular 
 flavour, and I grew remarkably fond of it. 
 
96 TYPEE 
 
 So much for the first course; several other dishes fol 
 lowed it, some of which were positively delicious. We 
 concluded our banquet by tossing off the contents of two 
 more young cocoa-nuts, after which we regaled ourselves 
 with the soothing fumes of tobacco, inhaled from a 
 quaintly carved pipe which passed round the circle. 
 
 During the repast, the natives eyed us with intense 
 curiosity, observing our minutest motions, and appearing 
 to discover abundant matter for comment in the most 
 trifling occurrence. Their surprise mounted the highest 
 when we began to remove our uncomfortable garments, 
 which were saturated with rain. They scanned the 
 whiteness of our limbs, and seemed utterly unable to 
 account for the contrast they presented to the swarthy 
 hue of our faces, embrowned from a six months ex 
 posure to the scorching sun of the Line. They felt our 
 skin, much in the same way that a silk mercer would 
 handle a remarkably fine piece of satin; and some of 
 them went so far in their investigation as to apply the 
 olfactory organ. 
 
 Their singular behaviour almost led me to imagine 
 that they never before had beheld a white man ; but a few 
 moments reflection convinced me that this could not 
 have been the case; and a more satisfactory reason 
 for their conduct has since suggested itself to my mind. 
 Deterred by the frightful stories related of its inhabi 
 tants, ships never enter this bay, while their hostile re 
 lations with the tribes in the adjoining valleys prevent 
 the Typees from visiting that section of the island where 
 vessels occasionally lie. At long intervals, however, some 
 intrepid captain will touch on the skirts of the bay, 
 with two or three armed boats crews, and accompanied 
 by an interpreter. The natives who live near the sea 
 descry the strangers long before they reach their waters, 
 
TYPEE OR HAPPAR? 97 
 
 and aware of the purpose for which they come, pro 
 claim loudly the news of their approach. By a species 
 of vocal telegraph the intelligence reaches the inmost 
 recesses of the vale in an inconceivably short space of 
 time, drawing nearly its whole population down to the 
 beach laden with every variety of fruit. The interpre 
 ter, who is invariably a "tabooed kanaka," leaps ashore 
 with the goods intended for barter, while the boats, with 
 their oars shipped, and every man on his thwart, lie 
 just outside the surf, heading off from the shore, in 
 readiness at the first untoward event to escape to the 
 open sea. As soon as the traffic is concluded, one of the 
 boats pulls in under cover of the muskets of the others, 
 the fruit is quickly thrown into her, and the transient 
 visitors precipitately retire from what they justly con 
 sider so dangerous a vicinity. 
 
 The intercourse occurring with Europeans being so 
 restricted, no wonder that the inhabitants of the valley 
 manifested so much curiosity with regard to us, appear 
 ing as we did among them under such singular circum 
 stances. I have no doubt that we were the first white 
 men who ever penetrated thus far back into their terri 
 tories, or at least the first who had ever descended from 
 the head of the vale. What had brought us thither 
 must have appeared a complete mystery to them, and 
 from our ignorance of the language it was impossible 
 for us to enlighten them. In answer to inquiries which 
 the eloquence of their gestures enabled us to compre 
 hend, all that we could reply was that we had come from 
 Nukuheva, a place, be it remembered, with which they 
 were at open war. This intelligence appeared to affect 
 them with the most lively emotions. "Nukuheva mo- 
 tarkee?" they asked. Of course we replied most ener 
 getically in the negative, 
 
98 TYPEE 
 
 Then they plied us with a thousand questions, of 
 which we could understand nothing more than that 
 they had reference to the recent movements of the 
 French, against whom they seemed to cherish the most 
 fierce hatred. So eager were they to obtain informa 
 tion on this point that they still continued to propound 
 their queries long after we had shown that we were 
 utterly unable to answer them. Occasionally we caught 
 some indistinct idea of their meaning, when we would 
 endeavour by every method in our power to communi 
 cate the desired intelligence. At such times their gratifi 
 cation was boundless, and they would redouble their 
 efforts to make us comprehend them more perfectly. 
 But all in vain ; and in the end they looked at us despair 
 ingly, as if we were the receptacles of invaluable infor 
 mation but how to come at it they knew not. 
 
 After a while the group around us gradually dispersed, 
 and we were left about midnight (as we conjectured) 
 with those who appeared to be permanent residents of 
 the house. These individuals now provided us with fresh 
 mats to lie upon, covered us with several folds of tappa, 
 and then extinguishing the tapers that had been burning, 
 threw themselves down beside us, and after a little desul 
 tory conversation were soon sound asleep. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 MORNING VISITORS 
 
 VARIOUS and conflicting were the thoughts which op 
 pressed me during the silent hours that followed the 
 events related in the preceding chapter. Toby, wearied 
 with the fatigues of the day, slumbered heavily by my 
 side; but the pain under which I was suffering effectu 
 ally prevented my sleeping, and I remained distressingly 
 alive to all the fearful circumstances of our present situ 
 ation. Was it possible that, after all our vicissitudes, 
 we were really in the terrible valley of Typee, and at the 
 mercy of its inmates, a fierce and unrelenting tribe of 
 savages? 
 
 Typee or Happar? I shuddered when I reflected that 
 there was no longer any room for doubt; and that, be 
 yond all hope of escape, we were now placed in those 
 very circumstances from the bare thought of which I had 
 recoiled with such abhorrence but a few days before. 
 What might not be our fearful destiny? To be sure, as 
 yet we had been treated with no violence, nay, had been 
 even kindly and hospitably entertained. But what de 
 pendence could be placed upon the fickle passions which 
 sway the bosom of a savage? His inconstancy and 
 treachery are proverbial. Might it not be that beneath 
 these fair appearances the islanders covered some perfid 
 ious design, and that their friendly reception of us might 
 only precede some horrible catastrophe? How strongly 
 did these forebodings spring up in my mind as I lay rest- 
 
 99 
 
ioo TYPEE 
 
 lessly upon a couch of mats, surrounded by the dimly 
 revealed forms of those whom f so greatly dreaded! 
 
 From the excitement of these fearful thoughts I sank 
 towards morning into an uneasy slumber; and on awak 
 ing, with a start, in the midst of an appalling dream, 
 looked up into the eager countenances of a number of 
 the natives, who were bending over me. 
 
 It was broad day, and the house was nearly filled with 
 young females, fancifully decorated with flowers, who 
 gazed upon me as I rose with faces in which childish 
 delight and curiosity were vividly portrayed. After 
 waking Toby, they seated themselves round us on the 
 mats and gave full play to that prying inquisitiveness 
 which time out of mind has been attributed to the ador 
 able sex. 
 
 As these unsophisticated young creatures were at 
 tended by no jealous duennas, their proceedings were 
 altogether informal, and void of artificial restraint. Long 
 and minute was the investigation with which they hon 
 oured us, and so uproarious their mirth that I felt in 
 finitely sheepish; and Toby was immeasurably outraged 
 at their familiarity. 
 
 These lively young ladies were at the same time won 
 derfully polite and humane; fanning aside the insects 
 that occasionally lighted on our brows; presenting us 
 with food ; and compassionately regarding me in the midst 
 of my afflictions. But in spite of all their blandishments, 
 my feelings of propriety were exceedingly shocked, for I 
 could not but consider them as having overstepped the 
 due limits of female decorum. 
 
 Having diverted themselves to their hearts content, 
 our young visitants now withdrew, and gave place to 
 successive troops of the other sex, who continued flock 
 ing towards the house until near noon, by which time 
 
MORNING VISITORS 101 
 
 I have no doubt that the greater part of the inhabitants 
 of the valley had bathed themselves in the light of our 
 benignant countenances. 
 
 At last, when their numbers began to diminish, a 
 superb-looking warrior stooped the towering plumes of 
 his head-dress beneath the low portal and entered the 
 house. I saw at once that he was some distinguished 
 personage, the natives regarding him with the utmost 
 deference, and making room for him as he approached. 
 His aspect was imposing. The splendid long drooping 
 tail-feathers of the tropical bird, thickly interspersed 
 with the gaudy plumage of the cock, were disposed in 
 an immense upright semicircle upon his head, their lower 
 extremities being fixed in a crescent of guinea-beads 
 which spanned the forehead. Around his neck were sev 
 eral enormous necklaces of boars tusks, polished like 
 ivory, and disposed in such a manner that the longest 
 and largest were upon his capacious chest. Thrust for 
 ward through the large apertures in his ears were two 
 small and finely shaped sperm-whale teeth, presenting 
 their cavities in front, stuffed with freshly plucked 
 leaves, and curiously wrought at the other end into 
 strange little images and devices. These barbaric trinkets, 
 garnished in this manner at their open extremities, and 
 tapering and curving around to a point behind the ear, 
 resembled not a little a pair of cornucopias. 
 
 The loins of the warrior were girt about with heavy 
 folds of dark-coloured tappa, hanging before and behind 
 in clusters of braided tassels, while anklets and bracelets 
 of curling human hair completed his unique costume. 
 In his right hand he grasped a beautifully carved paddle- 
 spear, nearly fifteen feet in length, made of the bright 
 koar-wood, one end sharply pointed, and the other flat 
 tened like an oar-blade. Hanging obliquely from his 
 
102 TYPEE 
 
 girdle by a loop of sinnate was a richly decorated pipe; 
 the slender reed forming its stem was coloured with a red 
 pigment, and round it, as well as the idol-bowl, fluttered 
 little streamers of the thinnest tappa. 
 
 But that which was most remarkable in the appear 
 ance of the splendid islander was the elaborate tattoo 
 ing displayed on every noble limb. All imaginable lines 
 and curves and figures were delineated over his whole 
 body, and in their grotesque variety and infinite pro 
 fusion I could only compare them to the crowded 
 groupings of quaint patterns we sometimes see in costly 
 pieces of lace-work. The most simple and remarkable 
 of all these ornaments was that which decorated the 
 countenance of the chief. Two broad stripes of tattoo 
 ing, diverging from the centre of his shaven crown, ob 
 liquely crossed both eyes staining the lids to a little 
 below either ear, where they united with another stripe 
 which swept in a straight line along the lips and formed 
 the base of the triangle. The warrior, from the excel 
 lence of his physical proportions, might certainly have 
 been regarded as one of Nature s noblemen, and the lines 
 drawn upon his face may possibly have denoted his 
 exalted rank. 
 
 This warlike personage, upon entering the house, 
 seated himself at some distance from the spot where 
 Toby and myself reposed, while the rest of the savages 
 looked alternately from us to him, as if in expectation 
 of something they were disappointed in not perceiving. 
 Regarding the chief attentively, I thought his linea 
 ments appeared familiar to me. As soon as his full face 
 was turned upon me, and I again beheld its extraordi 
 nary embellishment, and met the strange gaze to which I 
 had been subjected the preceding night, I immediately, 
 in spite of the alteration in his appearance, recognised 
 
MORNING VISITORS 103 
 
 the noble Mehevi. On addressing him, he advanced at 
 once in the most cordial manner, and, greeting me 
 warmly, seemed to enjoy not a little the effect his bar 
 baric costume had produced upon me. 
 
 I forthwith determined to secure, if possible, the good 
 will of this individual, as I easily perceived he was a 
 man of great authority in his tribe, and one who might 
 exert a powerful influence upon our subsequent fate. 
 In the endeavour I was not repulsed; for nothing could 
 surpass the friendliness he manifested towards both 
 my companion and myself. He extended his sturdy 
 limbs by our side and endeavoured to make us compre 
 hend the full extent of the kindly feelings by which he 
 was actuated. The almost insuperable difficulty in com 
 municating to one another our ideas affected the chief 
 with no little mortification. He evinced a great desire 
 to be enlightened with regard to the customs and pe 
 culiarities of the far-off country we had left behind us, 
 and to which under the name of Maneeka he frequently 
 alluded. 
 
 But that which more than any other subject engaged 
 his attention was the late proceedings of the "France," 
 as he called the French, in the neighbouring bay of Nu- 
 kuheva. This seemed a never-ending theme with him, 
 and one concerning which he was never weary of inter 
 rogating us. All the information we succeeded in im 
 parting to him on this subject was little more than that 
 we had seen six men-of-war lying in the hostile bay at 
 the time we had left it. When he received this intelli 
 gence, Mehevi, by the aid of his fingers, went through a 
 long numerical calculation, as if estimating the number 
 of Frenchmen the squadron might contain. 
 
 It was just after employing his faculties in this way 
 that he happened to notice the swelling in my limb. 
 
104 TYPEE 
 
 He immediately examined it with the utmost attention, 
 and after doing so despatched a boy who happened to be 
 standing by with some message. After the lapse of a 
 few moments the stripling re-entered the house with an 
 aged islander, who might have been taken for old Hip 
 pocrates himself. His head was as bald as the polished 
 surface of a cocoa-nut shell, which article it precisely 
 resembled in smoothness and colour, while a long silvery 
 beard swept almost to his girdle of bark. Encircling his 
 temples was a bandeau of the twisted leaves of the Omoo- 
 tree, pressed closely over the brows to shield his feeble 
 vision from the glare of the sun. His tottering steps 
 were supported by a long slim staff, resembling the 
 wand with which a theatrical magician appears on the 
 stage, and in one hand he carried a freshly plaited fan 
 of the green leaflets of the cocoa-nut tree. A flowing 
 robe of tappa, knotted over the shoulder, hung loosely 
 round his stooping form and heightened the venerable- 
 ness of his aspect. 
 
 Mehevi, saluting this old gentleman, motioned him to 
 a seat between us, and then uncovering my limb, desired 
 him to examine it. The leech gazed intently from me 
 to Toby, and then proceeded to business. After dili 
 gently observing the ailing member, he commenced 
 manipulating it; and on the supposition probably that 
 the complaint had deprived the leg of all sensation, 
 began to pinch and hammer it in such a manner that I 
 absolutely roared with the pain. Thinking that I was 
 as capable of making an application of thumps and 
 pinches to the part as any one else, I endeavoured to 
 resist this species of medical treatment. But it was not 
 so easy a matter to get out of the clutches of the old 
 wizard; he fastened on the unfortunate limb as if it 
 were something for which he had been long seeking, and 
 
MORNING VISITORS 105 
 
 muttering some kind of incantation continued his dis 
 cipline, pounding it after a fashion that set me well 
 nigh crazy; while Mehevi, upon the same principle 
 which prompts an affectionate mother to hold a strug 
 gling child in a dentist s chair, restrained me in his 
 powerful grasp, and actually encouraged the wretch in 
 his infliction of torture. 
 
 Almost frantic with rage and pain, I yelled like a 
 bedlamite, while Toby, throwing himself into all the 
 attitudes of a posture-master, vainly endeavoured to ex 
 postulate with the natives by signs and gestures. To 
 have looked at my companion, as, sympathizing with my 
 sufferings, he strove to put an end to them, one would 
 have thought that he was the deaf and dumb alphabet 
 incarnated. Whether my tormentor yielded to Toby s 
 entreaties, or paused from sheer exhaustion, I do not 
 know; but all at once he ceased his operations, and at 
 the same time the chief relinquishing his hold upon me, 
 I fell back, faint and breathless with the agony I had 
 endured. 
 
 iVIy unfortunate limb was now left much in the same 
 condition as a rump-steak after undergoing the castigat 
 ing process which precedes cooking. My physician, 
 having recovered from the fatigues of his exertions, as 
 if anxious to make amends for the pain to which he had 
 subjected me, now took some herbs out of a little 
 wallet that was suspended from his wrist, and moisten 
 ing them in water, applied them to the inflamed part, 
 stooping over it at the same time, and either whispering 
 a spell or having a little confidential chat with some 
 imaginary demon located in the calf of my leg. My 
 limb was now swathed in leafy bandages, and, grate 
 ful to Providence for the cessation of hostilities, I was 
 suffered to rest. 
 
io6 TYPEE 
 
 Mehevi shortly after rose to depart; but before he 
 went he spoke authoritatively to one of the natives 
 whom he addressed as Kory-Kory; and from the little I 
 could understand of what took place, pointed him out 
 to me as a man whose peculiar business thenceforth 
 would be to attend upon my person. I am not certain 
 that I comprehended as much as this at the time, but 
 the subsequent conduct of my trusty body-servant fully 
 assured me that such must have been the case. 
 
 I could not but be amused at the manner in which the 
 chief addressed me upon this occasion, talking to me 
 for at least fifteen or twenty minutes as calmly as if I 
 could understand every word that he said. I remarked 
 this peculiarity very often afterwards in many other of 
 the islanders. 
 
 Mehevi having now departed, and the family physi 
 cian having likewise made his exit, we were left about 
 sunset with the ten or twelve natives, who by this time 
 I had ascertained composed the household of which 
 Toby and I were members. As the dwelling to which 
 we had been first introduced was the place of my perma 
 nent abode while I remained in the valley, and as I was 
 necessarily placed upon the most intimate footing with 
 its occupants, I may as well here enter into a little 
 description of it and its inhabitants. This description 
 will apply also to nearly all the other dwelling-places 
 in the vale, and will furnish some idea of the generality 
 of the natives. 
 
 Near one side of the valley, and about midway up the 
 ascent of a rather abrupt rise of ground waving with 
 the richest verdure, a number of large stones were laid in 
 successive courses, to the height of nearly eight feet, and 
 disposed in such a manner that their level surface corre 
 sponded in shape with the habitation which was perched 
 
MORNING VISITORS 
 
 upon it. A narrow space, however, was reserved in 
 front of the dwelling, upon the summit of this pile of 
 stones (called by the natives a "pi-pi"), which, being 
 enclosed by a little pocket of canes, gave it somewhat 
 the appearance of a verandah. The frame of the house 
 was constructed of large bamboos planted upright, and 
 secured together at intervals by transverse stalks of the 
 light wood of the hibiscus, lashed with thongs of bark. 
 The rear of the tenement built up with successive 
 ranges of cocoa-nut boughs bound one upon another, 
 with their leaflets cunningly woven together inclined 
 a little from the vertical, and extended from the extreme 
 edge of the "pi-pi" to about twenty feet from its surface; 
 whence the shelving roof thatched with the long taper 
 ing leaves of the palmetto sloped steeply off to within 
 about five feet of the floor, leaving the eaves drooping 
 with tassel-like appendages over the front of the habita 
 tion. This was constructed of light and elegant canes, 
 in a kind of open screen work, tastefully adorned with 
 bindings of variegated sinnate, which served to hold 
 together its various parts. The sides of the house were 
 similarly built, thus presenting three quarters for the 
 circulation of the air, while the whole was impervious to 
 the rain. 
 
 In length this picturesque building was perhaps twelve 
 yards, while in breadth it could not have exceeded as 
 many feet. So much for the exterior; which with its 
 wire-like reed-twisted sides not a little reminded me of 
 an immense aviary. 
 
 Stooping a little, you passed through a narrow aper 
 ture in its front; and facing you, on entering, lay two 
 long, perfectly straight, and well-polished trunks of the 
 cocoa-nut tree, extending the full length of the dwell 
 ing, one of them placed closely against the rear, and 
 
io8 TYPEE 
 
 the other lying parallel with it some two yards distant, 
 the interval between them being spread with a multi 
 tude of gayly worked mats, nearly all of a different pat 
 tern. This space formed the common couch and loung 
 ing place of the natives, answering the purpose of a 
 divan in Oriental countries. Here would they slumber 
 through the hours of the night, and recline luxuriously 
 during the greater part of the day. The remainder of 
 the floor presented only the cool shining surfaces of the 
 large stones of which the "pi-pi" was composed. 
 
 From the ridge-pole of the house hung suspended a 
 number of large packages enveloped in coarse tappa, 
 some of which contained festival dresses, and various 
 other matters of the wardrobe, held in high estimation. 
 These were easily accessible by means of a line which, 
 passing over the ridge-pole, had one end attached to a 
 bundle, while with the other, which led to the side of 
 the dwelling and was there secured, the package could 
 be lowered or elevated at pleasure. 
 
 Against the farther wall of the house were arranged 
 in tasteful figures a variety of spears and javelins and 
 other implements of savage warfare. Outside of the 
 habitation, and built upon the piazza-like area in its 
 front, was a little shed used as a sort of larder or pantry, 
 in which were stored various articles of domestic use 
 and convenience. A few yards from the pi-pi was a 
 large shed built of cocoa-nut boughs, were the proc 
 ess of preparing the "poee-poee" was carried on and 
 all culinary operations attended to. 
 
 Thus much for the house and its appurtenances; and 
 it will be readily acknowledged that a more commodious 
 and appropriate dwelling for the climate and the people 
 could not possibly be devised. It was cool, free to 
 admit the air, scrupulously clean, and elevated above 
 the dampness and impurities of the ground. 
 
MORNING VISITORS 109 
 
 But now to sketch the inmates; and here I claim for 
 my tried servitor and faithful valet Kory-Kory the 
 precedence of a first description. As his character will 
 be gradually unfolded in the course of my narrative, I 
 shall for the present content myself with delineating his 
 personal appearance. Kory-Kory, though the most de 
 voted and best-natured serving-man in the world, was, 
 alas! a hideous object to look upon. He was some 
 twenty-five years of age, and about six feet in height, 
 robust and well made, and of the most extraordinary 
 aspect. His head was carefully shaven, with the excep 
 tion of two circular spots, about the size of a dollar, 
 near the top of the cranium, where the hair, permitted 
 to grow of an amazing length, was twisted up in two 
 prominent knots that gave him the appearance of being 
 decorated with a pair of horns. His beard, plucked out 
 by the roots from every other part of his face, was suf 
 fered to droop in hairy pendants, two of which garnished 
 his upper lip and an equal number hung from the 
 extremity of his chin. 
 
 Kory-Kory, with a view of improving the handiwork 
 of nature, and perhaps prompted by a desire to add to 
 the engaging expression of his countenance, had seen 
 fit to embellish his face with three broad longitudinal 
 stripes of tattooing, which like those country roads 
 that go straight forward in defiance of all obstacles, 
 crossed his nasal organ, descended into the hollow of his 
 eyes, and even skirted the borders of his mouth. Each 
 completely spanned his physiognomy, one extending in 
 a line with his eyes, another crossing his face in the 
 vicinity of the nose, and the third sweeping along his 
 lips from ear to ear. His countenance, thus triply 
 hooped as it were with tattooing, always reminded me 
 of those unhappy wretches whom I have sometimes 
 
no TYPEE 
 
 observed gazing out sentimentally from behind the grated 
 bars of a prison window; whilst the entire body of my 
 savage valet, covered all over with representations of 
 birds and fishes, and a variety of most unaccountable- 
 looking creatures, suggested to me the idea of a pictorial 
 museum of natural history, or an illustrated copy of 
 "Goldsmith s Animated Nature." 
 
 But it seems really heartless in me to write thus of 
 the poor islander, whom I owe perhaps for his unremit 
 ting attentions the very existence I now enjoy. Kory- 
 Kory, I mean thee no harm in what I say in regard to thy 
 outward adornings; but they were a little curious to my 
 unaccustomed sight, and therefore I dilate upon them. 
 But to underrate or forget thy faithful services is some 
 thing I could never be guilty of, even in the giddiest 
 moment of my life. 
 
 The father of my attached follower was a native of 
 gigantic frame, and had once possessed prodigious phys 
 ical powers; but the lofty form was now yielding to the 
 inroads of time, though the hand of disease seemed never 
 to have been laid upon the aged warrior. Marheyo 
 for such was his name appeared to have retired from 
 all active participation in the affairs of the valley, sel 
 dom or never accompanying the natives in their various 
 expeditions, and employing the greater part of his time 
 in throwing up a little shed just outside the house, up 
 on which he was engaged to my certain knowledge for 
 four months without appearing to make any sensible 
 advance. I suppose the old gentleman was in his dotage, 
 for he manifested in various ways the characteristics 
 which mark this particular stage of life. 
 
 I remember in particular his having a choice pair of 
 ear-ornaments, fabricated from the teeth of some sea- 
 monster. These he would alternately wear and take off 
 
MORNING VISITORS in 
 
 at least fifty times in the course of the day, going and 
 coming from his little hut on each occasion with all the 
 tranquillity imaginable. Sometimes slipping them through 
 the slits in his ears, he would seize his spear which in 
 length and slightness resembled a fishing pole and 
 go stalking beneath the shadows of the neighbouring 
 groves, as if about to give a hostile meeting to some 
 cannibal knight. But he would soon return again, and 
 hiding his weapon under the projecting eaves of the 
 house and rolling his clumsy trinkets carefully in a 
 piece of tappa, would resume his more pacific opera 
 tions as quietly as if he had never interrupted them. 
 
 But despite his eccentricities Marheyo was a most 
 paternal and warm-hearted old fellow, and in this par 
 ticular not a little resembled his son Kory-Kory. The 
 mother of the latter was the mistress of the family, and 
 a notable housewife and a most industrious old lady 
 she was. If she did not understand the art of making 
 jellies, jams, custards, tea-cakes, and such like trashy 
 affairs, she was profoundly skilled in the mysteries of 
 peparing "amar," "poee-poee," and "kokoo," with other 
 substantial matters. She was a genuine busy-body, 
 bustling about the house like a country landlady at an 
 unexpected arrival, forever giving the young girls tasks 
 to perform, which the little huzzies as often neglected, 
 poking into every corner, and rummaging over bundles 
 of old tappa, or making a prodigious clatter among the 
 calabashes. Sometimes she might have been seen squat 
 ting upon her haunches in front of a huge wooden basin, 
 and kneading poee-poee with terrific vehemence, dashing 
 the stone pestle about as if she would shiver the vessel 
 into fragments; on other occasions galloping about the 
 valley in search of a particular kind of leaf ; used in 
 some of her recondite operations, and returning home, 
 
ii2 TYPEE 
 
 toiling and sweating, with a bundle of it under which most 
 women would have sunk. 
 
 To tell the truth, Kory-Kory s mother was the only 
 industrious person in all the valley of Typee; and she 
 could not have employed herself more actively had she 
 been left an exceedingly muscular and destitute widow 
 with an inordinate supply of young children, in the 
 bleakest part of the civilised world. There was not 
 the slightest necessity for the greater portion of the 
 labour performed by the old lady; but she seemed to 
 work from some irresistible impulse; her limbs contin 
 ually swaying to and fro, as if there were some inde 
 fatigable engine concealed within her body which kept 
 her in perpetual motion. 
 
 Never suppose that she was a termagant or a shrew 
 for all this; she had the kindliest heart in the world, 
 and acted towards me in particular in a truly maternal 
 manner, occasionally putting some little morsel of choice 
 food into my hand, some outlandish kind of savage sweet 
 meat or pastry, like a doting mother petting a sickly 
 urchin with tarts and sugar-plums. Warm indeed are 
 my remembrances of the dear, good, affectionate old 
 Tinor! 
 
 Besides the individuals I have mentioned, there be 
 longed to the household three young men, dissipated, 
 good-for-nothing, roystering blades of savages, who were 
 either employed in prosecuting love-affairs with the 
 maidens of the tribe, or grew boozy on "arva" and 
 tobacco in the company of congenial spirits, the scape 
 graces of the valley. 
 
 Among the permanent inmates of the house were like 
 wise several lovely damsels, who instead of thrumming 
 pianos and reading novels, like more enlightened 
 young ladies, substituted for these employments the 
 
MORNING VISITORS 113 
 
 manufacture of a fine species of tappa, but for the 
 greater portion of the time were skipping from house to 
 house, gadding and gossipping with their acquaintances. 
 
 From the rest of these, however, I must except the 
 beauteous nymph Fayaway, who was my peculiar fa 
 vourite. Her free pliant figure was the very perfection 
 of female grace and beauty. Her complexion was a rich 
 and mantling olive, and when watching the glow upon 
 her cheeks I could almost swear that beneath the trans 
 parent medium there lurked the blushes of a faint ver 
 milion. The face of this girl was a rounded oval, and 
 each feature perfectly formed. Her full lips, when 
 parted with a smile, disclosed teeth of a dazzling white 
 ness; and when her rosy mouth opened with a burst of 
 merriment, they looked like the milk-white seeds of the 
 "arta," a fruit of the valley, which, when cleft in twain, 
 shows them reposing in rows on either side, embedded 
 in the rich and juicy pulp. Her hair of the deepest 
 brown, parted irregularly in the middle, flowed in natu 
 ral ringlets over her shoulders. Gazing into the depths 
 of her strange blue eyes, when she was in a contemplative 
 mood, they seemed most placid yet unfathomable; but 
 when illuminated by some lively emotion, they beamed 
 upon the beholder like stars. The hands of Fayaway 
 were as soft and delicate as those of any countess; for 
 an entire exemption from rude labour marks the girl 
 hood and even prime of a Typee woman s life. Her 
 feet, though wholly exposed, were as diminutive and 
 fairly shaped as those which peep from beneath the 
 skirts of a Lima lady s dress. The skin of this young 
 creature, from continual ablutions and the use of molli 
 fying ointments, was inconceivably smooth and soft. 
 
 I may succeed, perhaps, in particularising some of 
 the individual features of Fayaway s beauty, but that 
 
ii4 TYPEE 
 
 general loveliness of appearance which they all contrib 
 uted to produce I will not attempt to describe. The 
 easy unstudied graces of a child of nature like this, 
 breathing from infancy an atmosphere of perpetual 
 summer, and nurtured by the simple fruits of the earth; 
 enjoying a perfect freedom from care and anxiety, and 
 removed effectually from all injurious tendencies, strike 
 the eye in a manner which cannot be portrayed. This 
 picture is no fancy sketch; it is drawn from the most 
 vivid recollections of the person delineated. 
 
 Were I asked if the beauteous form of Fayaway was 
 altogether free from the hideous blemish of tattooing, 
 I should be constrained to answer that it was not. But 
 the practitioners of the barbarous art, so remorseless in 
 their inflictions upon the brawny limbs of the warriors 
 of the tribe, seem to be conscious that it needs not the 
 resources of their profession to augment the charms of 
 the maidens of the vale. 
 
 The females are very little embellished in this way, 
 and Fayaway, with all the other young girls of her age, 
 were even less so than those of their sex more advanced 
 in years. The reason of this peculiarity will be alluded 
 to hereafter. All the tattooing that the nymph in ques 
 tion exhibited upon her person may be easily described. 
 Three minute dots, no bigger than pinheads, decorated 
 either lip, and at a little distance were not at all dis 
 cernible. Just upon the fall of the shoulder were drawn 
 two parallel lines half an inch apart, and perhaps three 
 inches in length, the interval being filled with delicately 
 executed figures. These narrow bands of tattooing, 
 thus placed, always reminded me of those stripes of gold 
 lace worn by officers in undress, and which were in lieu 
 of epaulettes to denote their rank. 
 
 But I have omitted to describe the dress worn by this 
 
MORNING VISITORS 115 
 
 nymph of the valley. Fayaway I must avow the fact 
 for the most part clung to the primitive and summer 
 garb of Eden. But how becoming the costume! It 
 showed her fine figure to the best possible advantage; 
 and nothing could have been better adapted to her pe 
 culiar style of beauty. On ordinary occasions she was 
 habited precisely as I have described the two youthful 
 savages whom we had met on first entering the valley. 
 At other times, when rambling among the groves, or vis 
 iting at the houses of her acquaintances, she wore a 
 tunic of white tappa, reaching from her waist to a little 
 below the knees; and when exposed for any length of 
 time to the sun, she invariably protected herself from its 
 rays by a floating mantle of the same material, loosely 
 gathered about the person. Her gala dress will be de 
 scribed hereafter. 
 
 As the beauties of our own land delight in bedecking 
 themselves with fanciful articles of jewellery, suspend 
 ing them from their ears, hanging them about their 
 necks, and clasping them around their waists, so Fay- 
 away and her companions were in the habit of ornament 
 ing themselves with similar appendages. 
 
 Flora was their jeweller. Sometimes they wore neck 
 laces of small carnation flowers, strung like rubies upon 
 a fibre of tappa, or displayed in their ears a single white 
 bud, the stem thrust backward through the aperture, 
 and showing in front the delicate petals folded together 
 in a beautiful sphere, and looking like a drop of the 
 purest pearl. Chaplets too, resembling in their arrange 
 ment the strawberry coronal worn by an English peeress, 
 and composed of intertwined leaves and blossoms, often 
 crowned their temples; and bracelets and anklets of the 
 same tasteful pattern were frequently to be seen. In 
 deed, the maidens of the islands were passionately fond 
 
n6 TYPEE 
 
 of flowers, and never wearied of decorating their persons 
 with them, a lovely trait in their character, and one that 
 ere long will be more fully alluded to. 
 
 Though in my eyes, at least, Fayaway was indisputably 
 the loveliest female I saw in Typee, yet the description 
 I have given of her will in some measure apply to nearly 
 all the youthful portion of her sex in the valley. Judge 
 ye then, reader, what beautiful creatures they must have 
 been. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 
 
 WHEN Mehevi had departed from the house, as re 
 lated in the preceding chapter, Kory-Kory commenced 
 the functions of the post assigned him. He brought us 
 various kinds of food, and, as if I were an infant, in 
 sisted upon feeding me with his own hands. To this 
 procedure I, of course, most earnestly objected, but in 
 vain; and having laid a calabash of kokoo before me, he 
 washed his fingers in a vessel of water, and then putting 
 his hand into the dish and rolling the food into little 
 balls, put them one after another into my mouth. All my 
 remonstrances against this measure only provoked so 
 great a clamour on his part that I was obliged to ac 
 quiesce; and the operation of feeding being thus fa 
 cilitated, the meal was quickly despatched. As for 
 Toby, he was allowed to help himself after his own 
 fashion. 
 
 The repast over, my attendant arranged the mats for 
 repose, and, bidding me lie down, covered me with a 
 large robe of tappa, at the same time looking approv 
 ingly upon me, and exclaiming, "Ki-ki, nuee nuee, ah! 
 moee moee motarkee" (eat plenty, ah! sleep very good). 
 The philosophy of this sentiment I did not pretend to 
 question; for deprived of sleep for several preceding 
 nights, and the pain in my limb having much abated, I 
 now felt inclined to avail myself of the opportunity 
 afforded me. 
 
 The next morning, on waking, I found Kory-Kory 
 117 
 
n8 TYPEE 
 
 stretched out on one side of me, while my companion 
 lay upon the other. I felt sensibly refreshed after a 
 night of sound repose, and immediately agreed to the 
 proposition of my valet that I should repair to the water 
 and wash, although dreading the suffering that the ex 
 ertion might produce. From this apprehension, however, 
 I was quickly relieved; for Kory-Kory, leaping from 
 the pi-pi, and then backing himself up against it, like a 
 porter in readiness to shoulder a trunk, with loud vocif 
 erations and a superabundance of gestures gave me to 
 understand that I was to mount upon his back and be 
 thus transported to the stream, which flowed perhaps two 
 hundred yards from the house. 
 
 Our appearance upon the verandah in front of the 
 habitation drew together quite a crowd, who stood 
 looking on and conversing with one another in the most 
 animated manner. They reminded one of a group of 
 idlers gathered about the door of a village tavern when 
 the equipage of some distinguished traveller is brought 
 round previous to his departure. As soon as I clasped 
 my arms about the neck of the devoted fellow, and he 
 jogged off with me, the crowd composed chiefly of 
 young girls and boys followed after, shouting and 
 capering with infinite glee, and accompanied us to the 
 banks of the stream. 
 
 On gaining it, Kory-Kory, wading up to his hips in 
 the water, carried me half way across, and deposited 
 me on a smooth black stone which rose a few inches 
 above the surface. The amphibious rabble at our heels 
 plunged in after us, and, climbing to the summit of the 
 grass-grown rocks with which the bed of the brook was 
 here and there broken, waited curiously to witness our 
 morning ablutions. 
 
 Somewhat embarrassed by the presence of the female 
 
TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 119 
 
 portion of the company, and feeling my cheeks burning 
 with bashful timidity, I formed a primitive basin by 
 joining my hands together, and cooled my blushes in 
 the water it contained; then removing my frock, bent 
 over and washed myself down to my waist in the stream. 
 As soon as Kory-Kory comprehended from my motions 
 that this was to be the extent of my performance, he ap 
 peared perfectly aghast with astonishment, and rush 
 ing towards me, poured out a torrent of words in eager 
 deprecation of so limited an operation, enjoining me by 
 unmistakable signs to immerse my whole body. To 
 this I was forced to consent; and the honest fellow 
 regarding me as a froward, inexperienced child, whom 
 it was his duty to serve at the risk of offending, lifted 
 me from the rock, and tenderly bathed my limbs. 
 
 This over, and resuming my seat, I could not avoid 
 bursting into admiration of the scene around me. From 
 the verdant surfaces of the large stones that lay scat 
 tered about, the natives were now sliding off into the 
 water, diving and ducking beneath the surface in all 
 directions the young girls springing buoyantly into 
 the air, and revealing their naked forms to the waist, 
 with their long tresses dancing about their shoulders, 
 their eyes sparkling like drops of dew in the sun, and 
 their gay laughter pealing forth at every frolicsome 
 incident. 
 
 On the afternoon of the day that I took my first bath 
 in the valley, we received another visit from Mehevi. 
 The noble savage seemed to be in the same pleasant 
 mood, and was quite as cordial in his manner as before. 
 After remaining about an hour, he rose from the mats, 
 and motioning to leave the house, invited Toby and 
 myself to accompany him. I pointed to my leg; but 
 Mehevi in his turn pointed to Kory-Kory, and removed 
 
120 TYPEE 
 
 that objection; so, mounting upon the faithful fellow s 
 shoulders again like the old man of the sea astride 
 of Sindbad I followed after the chief. 
 
 The nature of the route we now pursued struck me 
 more forcibly than anything I had yet seen, as illustrating 
 the indolent disposition of the islanders. The path was 
 obviously the most beaten one in the valley, several 
 others leading from either side into it, and perhaps for 
 successive generations it had formed the principal avenue 
 of the place. And yet, until I grew more familiar with 
 its impediments, it seemed as difficult to travel as the 
 recesses of a wilderness. Part of it swept round an 
 abrupt rise of ground, the surface of which was broken 
 by frequent inequalities, and thickly strewn with project 
 ing masses of rocks, whose summits were often hidden 
 from view by the drooping foliage of the luxuriant vege 
 tation. Sometimes directly over, sometimes evading 
 these obstacles with a wide circuit, the path wound along 
 one moment climbing over a sudden eminence smooth 
 with continued wear, then descending on the other side 
 into a steep glen, and crossing the flinty channel of a 
 brook. Here it pursued the depths of a glade, occasion 
 ally obliging you to stoop beneath vast horizontal 
 branches; and now you stepped over huge trunks and 
 boughs that lay rotting across the track. 
 
 Such was the grand thoroughfare of Typee. After 
 proceeding a little distance along it Kory-Kory pant 
 ing and blowing with the weight of his burden I dis 
 mounted from his back, and grasping the long spear of 
 Mehevi in my hand, assisted my steps over the numer 
 ous obstacles of the road, preferring this mode of ad 
 vance to one which, from the difficulties of the way, 
 was equally painful to myself and my wearied servitor. 
 
 Our journey was soon at an end: for, scaling a sud- 
 
TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 121 
 
 den height, we came abruptly upon the place of our 
 destination. I wish that it were possible to sketch in 
 words this spot as vividly as I recollect it. 
 
 Here were situated the Taboo groves of the valley 
 the scene of many a prolonged feast, of many a horrid 
 rite. Beneath the dark shadows of the consecrated 
 bread-fruit trees there reigned a solemn twilight a 
 cathedral-like gloom. The frightful genius of pagan 
 worship seemed to brood in silence over the place, 
 breathing its spell upon every object around. Here 
 and there, in the depths of these awful shades, half 
 screened from sight by masses of overhanging foliage, 
 rose the idolatrous altars of the savages, built of enor 
 mous blocks of black and polished stone, placed one 
 upon another, without cement, to the height of twelve 
 or fifteen feet, and surmounted by a rustic open temple, 
 enclosed with a low picket of canes, within which might 
 be seen, in various stages of decay, offerings of bread 
 fruit and cocoa-nuts and the putrefying relics of some 
 recent sacrifice. 
 
 In the midst of the wood was the hallowed "hoolah 
 hoolah" ground set apart for the celebration of the 
 fantastic religious ritual of these people comprising 
 an extensive oblong pi-pi, terminating at either end in a 
 lofty terraced altar, guarded by ranks of hideous wooden 
 idols, and with the two remaining sides flanked by ranges 
 of bamboo sheds, opening towards the interior of the 
 quadrangle thus formed. Vast trees, standing in the 
 middle of this space, and throwing over it an umbra 
 geous shade, had their massive trunks built round with 
 slight stages, elevated a few feet above the ground, and 
 railed in with canes, forming so many rustic pulpits, 
 from which the priests harangued their devotees. 
 
 This holiest of spots was defended from profanation 
 
122 TYPEE 
 
 by the strictest edicts of the all-pervading "taboo/ 
 which condemned to instant death the sacriligious fe 
 male who should enter or touch its sacred precincts, or 
 even so much as press with her feet the ground made 
 holy by the shadows that it cast. 
 
 Access was had to the enclosure through an embow 
 ered entrance on one side, facing a number of towering 
 cocoa-nut trees, planted at intervals along a level area 
 of a hundred yards. At the further extremity of this 
 space was to be seen a building of considerable size, 
 reserved for the habitation of the priests and religious 
 attendants of the groves. 
 
 In its vicinity was another remarkable edifice, built 
 as usual upon the summit of a pi-pi, and at least two 
 hundred feet in length, though not more than twenty 
 in breadth. The whole front of this latter structure 
 was completely open, and from one end to the other ran 
 a narrow verandah, fenced in on the edge of the pi-pi 
 with a picket of canes. Its interior presented the ap 
 pearance of an immense lounging-place, the entire floor 
 being strewn with successive layers of mats, lying be 
 tween parallel trunks of cocoa-nut trees, selected for 
 the purpose from the straightest and most symmetrical 
 the vale afforded. 
 
 To this building, denominated in the language of the 
 natives the "Ti," Mehevi now conducted us. Thus far 
 we had been accompanied by a troop of the natives of 
 both sexes; but as soon as we approached its vicinity, 
 the females gradually separated themselves from the 
 crowd, and standing aloof, permitted us to pass on. The 
 merciless prohibitions of the taboo extended likewise 
 to this edifice, and were enforced by the same dreadful 
 penalty that secured the Hoolah Hoolah ground from the 
 imaginary pollution of a woman s presence. 
 
TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 123 
 
 On entering the house, I was surprised to see six mus 
 kets ranged against the bamboo on one side, from the 
 barrels of which depended as many small canvas pouches, 
 partly filled with powder. Disposed about these mus 
 kets, like the cutlasses that decorate the bulkhead of a 
 man-of-war s cabin, were a great variety of rude spears 
 and paddles, javelins, and war-clubs. This then, said I 
 to Toby, must be the armory of the tribe. 
 
 As we advanced further along the building, we were 
 struck with the aspect of four or five hideous old 
 wretches, on whose decrepit forms time and tattooing 
 seemed to have obliterated every trace of humanity. 
 Owing to the continued operation of this latter process, 
 which only terminates among the warriors of the island 
 after all the figures sketched upon their limbs in youth 
 have been blended together an effect, however, pro 
 duced only in cases of extreme longevity the bodies 
 of these men were of a uniform dull green colour the 
 hue which the tattooing gradually assumes as the indi 
 vidual advances in age. Their skin had a frightful scaly 
 appearance, which, united with its singular colour, made 
 their limbs not a little resemble dusty specimens of verde- 
 antique. Their flesh, in parts, hung upon them in huge 
 folds, like the overlapping plaits on the flank of a rhi 
 noceros. Their heads were completely bald, whilst their 
 faces were puckered into a thousand wrinkles, and they 
 presented no vestige of a beard. But the most remark 
 able peculiarity about them was the appearance of their 
 feet; the toes, like the radiating lines of the mariner s 
 compass, pointed to every quarter of the horizon. This 
 was doubtless attributable to the fact that during nearly 
 a hundred years of existence the said toes never had 
 been subjected to an artificial confinement, and in their 
 old age, being averse to close neighbourhood, bid one 
 another keep open order. 
 
124 TYPEE 
 
 These repulsive-looking creatures appeared to have 
 lost the use of their lower limbs altogether, sitting upon 
 the floor cross-legged in a state of torpor. They never 
 heeded us in the least, scarcely looking conscious of our 
 presence, while Mehevi seated us upon the mats, and 
 Kory-Kory gave utterance to some unintelligible gib 
 berish. 
 
 In a few moments a boy entered with a wooden 
 trencher of poee-poee; and in regaling myself with its 
 contents I was obliged again to submit to the officious 
 intervention of my indefatigable servitor. Various other 
 dishes followed, the chief manifesting the most hospit 
 able importunity in pressing us to partake, and to remove 
 all bashfulness on our part, set us no despicable example 
 in his own person. 
 
 The repast concluded, a pipe was lighted, which passed 
 from mouth to mouth, and yielding to its soporific in 
 fluence, the quiet of the place, and the deepening shad 
 ows of approaching night, my companion and I sank into 
 a kind of drowsy repose, while the chief and Kory-Kory 
 seemed to be slumbering beside us. 
 
 I awoke from an uneasy nap, about midnight, as I sup 
 posed; and, raising myself partly from the mat, became 
 sensible that we were enveloped in utter darkness. Toby 
 lay still asleep, but our late companions had disappeared. 
 The only sound that interrupted the silence of the place 
 was the asthmatic breathing of the old men I have men 
 tioned, who reposed at a little distance from us. Besides 
 them, as well as I could judge, there was no one else in 
 the house. 
 
 Apprehensive of some evil, I roused my comrade, and 
 we were engaged in a whispered conference concerning 
 the unexpected withdrawal of the natives, when all at 
 once, from the depths of the grove, in full view of us 
 
TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 125 
 
 where we lay, shoots of flame were seen to rise, and in a 
 few moments illuminated the surrounding trees, cast 
 ing, by contrast, into still deeper gloom the darkness 
 around us. 
 
 While we continued gazing at this sight, dark figures 
 appeared moving to and fro before the flames; while 
 others, dancing and capering about, looked like so many 
 demons. 
 
 Regarding this new phenomenon with no small degree 
 of trepidition, I said to my companion, "What can all 
 this mean, Toby?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing," replied he; "getting the fire ready, I 
 suppose." 
 
 "Fire!" exclaimed I, while my heart took to beating 
 like a trip-hammer, "what fire?" 
 
 "Why, the fire to cook us, to be sure; what else would 
 the cannibals be kicking up such a row about if it were 
 not for that?" 
 
 "Oh, Toby! have done with your jokes; this is no time 
 for them; something is about to happen, I feel con 
 fident." 
 
 "Jokes, indeed!" exclaimed Toby, indignantly. "Did 
 you ever hear me joke? Why, for what do you suppose 
 the devils have been feeding us up in this kind of style 
 during the last three days, unless it were for something 
 that you are too much frightened at to talk about? 
 Look at that Kory-Kory there! has he not been 
 stuffing you with his confounded mushes, just in the 
 way they treat swine before they kill them? Depend 
 upon it, we will be eaten this blessed night, and there is 
 the fire we shall be roasted by." 
 
 This view of the matter was not at all calculated to 
 allay my apprehensions, and I shuddered when I reflected 
 that we were indeed at the mercy of a tribe of cannibals, 
 
126 TYPEE 
 
 and that the dreadful contingency to which Toby had 
 alluded was by no means removed beyond the bounds 
 of possibility. 
 
 "There! I told you so! they are coming for us!" ex 
 claimed my companion the next moment, as the forms 
 of four of the islanders were seen in bold relief against 
 the illuminated background, mounting the pi-pi and 
 approaching toward us. 
 
 They came on noiselessly, nay stealthily, and glided 
 along through the gloom that surrounded us as if about 
 to spring upon some object they were fearful of dis 
 turbing before they should make sure of it. Gracious 
 heaven! the horrible reflections which crowded upon me 
 that moment. A cold sweat stood upon my brow, and 
 spellbound with terror I awaited my fate! 
 
 Suddenly the silence was broken by the well-remem 
 bered tones of Mehevi, and at the kindly accents of his 
 voice my fears were immediately dissipated. "Tommo, 
 Toby, ki ki! " (eat) . He had waited to address us until 
 he had assured himself that we were both awake, at 
 which he seemed somewhat surprised. 
 
 "Ki ki! is it?" said Toby in his gruff tones; "well, 
 cook us first, will you? but what s this?" he added, 
 as another savage appeared, bearing before him a large 
 trencher of wood, containing some kind of steaming 
 meat, as appeared from the odors it diffused, and which 
 he deposited at the feet of Mehevi. "A baked baby, I 
 dare say! but I will have none of it, never mind what it 
 is. A pretty fool I should make of myself, indeed, 
 waked up here in the middle of the night, stuffing and 
 guzzling, and all to make a fat meal for a parcel of 
 bloody-minded cannibals one of these mornings! No, 
 I see what they are at very plainly, so I am resolved to 
 starve myself into a bunch of bones and gristle, and 
 
TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 127 
 
 then, if they serve me up, they are welcome! But I say, 
 Tommo, you are not going to eat of that mess there, 
 in the dark, are you? Why, how can you tell what 
 it is?" 
 
 "By tasting it, to be sure," said I, masticating a mor 
 sel that Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth; "and 
 excellently good it is too, very much like veal." 
 
 "A baked baby, by the soul of Captain Cook!" burst 
 forth Toby, with amazing vehemence. "Veal! why there 
 never was a calf on the island till you landed. I tell 
 you you are bolting down mouthfuls from a dead Hap- 
 par s carcass, as sure as you live, and no mistake!" 
 
 What a sensation in the abdominal regions! Sure 
 enough, where could the fiends incarnate have obtained 
 meat? But I resolved to satisfy myself at all hazards; 
 and turning to Mehevi, I soon made the ready chief 
 understand that I wished a light to be brought. When 
 the taper came, I gazed eagerly into the vessel, and 
 recognized the mutilated remains of a juvenile porker! 
 "Puarkee!" exclaimed Kory-Kory, looking complacently 
 at the dish; and from that day to this I have never for 
 gotten that such is the designation of a pig in the 
 Typee lingo. 
 
 The next morning, after being again abundantly 
 feasted by the hospitable Mehevi, Toby and myself arose 
 to depart. But the chief requested us to postpone our 
 intention. "Abo, abo," (Wait, wait,) he said, and ac 
 cordingly we resumed our seats, while, assisted by the 
 zealous Kory-Kory, he appeared to be engaged in giving 
 directions to a number of the natives outside, who were 
 busily employed in making arrangements, the nature of 
 which we could not comprehend. But we were not left 
 long in our ignorance, for a few moments only had 
 elapsed when the chief beckoned us to approach, and 
 
128 TYPEE 
 
 we perceived that he had been marshalling a kind of 
 guard of honour to escort us on our return to the house 
 of Marheyo. 
 
 The procession was led off by two venerable-looking 
 savages, each provided with a spear, from the end of 
 which streamed a pennon of milk-white tappa. After 
 them went several youths, bearing aloft calabashes of 
 poee-poee, and followed in their turn by four stalwart 
 fellows sustaining long bamboos, from the tops of which 
 hung suspended, at least twenty feet from the ground, 
 large baskets of green bread-fruit. Then came a troop 
 of boys, carrying bunches of ripe bananas, and baskets 
 made of the woven leaflets of cocoa-nut boughs, filled 
 with the young fruit of the tree, the naked shells stripped 
 of their husks peeping forth from the verdant wicker- 
 work that surrounded them. Last of all came a burly 
 islander, holding over his head a wooden trencher, in 
 which lay disposed the remnants of our midnight feast, 
 hidden from view, however, by a covering of bread 
 fruit leaves. 
 
 Astonished as I was at this exhibition, I could not 
 avoid smiling at its grotesque appearance and the as 
 sociations it naturally called up. Mehevi, it seemed, 
 was bent on replenishing old Marheyo s larder, fearful 
 perhaps that without this precaution his guests might 
 not fare as well as they could desire. 
 
 As soon as I descended from the pi-pi, the -procession 
 formed anew, enclosing us in its centre, where I re 
 mained, part of the time carried by Kory-Kory, and 
 occasionally relieving him from his burden by limping 
 along with a spear. When we moved off in this order, 
 the natives struck up a musical recitative, which, with 
 various alternations, they continued until we arrived at 
 the place of our destination. 
 
TERRORS IN THE TABOO GROVES 129 
 
 As we proceeded on our way, bands of young girls, 
 darting from the surrounding groves, hung upon our 
 skirts, and accompanied us with shouts of merriment 
 and delight which almost drowned the deep notes of 
 the recitative. On approaching old Marheyo s domi 
 cile, its inmates rushed out to receive us; and while the 
 gifts of the Mehevi were being disposed of, the super 
 annuated warrior did the honours of his mansion with 
 all the warmth of hospitality evinced by an English 
 squire when he regales his friends at some fine old 
 patrimonial mansion. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 
 
 AMIDST these novel scenes a week passed away almost 
 imperceptibly. The natives, actuated by some myste 
 rious impulse, day after day redoubled their attentions 
 to us. Their manner towards us was unaccountable. 
 Surely, thought I, they would not act thus if they 
 meant us any harm. But why this excess of deferential 
 kindness, or what equivalent can they imagine us capa 
 ble of rendering them for it? 
 
 We were fairly puzzled. But despite the apprehen 
 sions I could not dispel, the horrible character imputed 
 to these Typees appeared to me wholly undeserved. 
 
 "Why, they are cannibals!" said Toby on one occa 
 sion when I eulogised the tribe. 
 
 "Granted," I replied, "but a more humane, gentle 
 manly, and amiable set of epicures do not probably exist 
 in the Pacific." 
 
 But, notwithstanding the kind treatment we received, 
 I was too familiar with the fickle disposition of savages 
 not to feel anxious to withdraw from the valley and 
 put myself beyond the reach of that fearful death 
 which, under all these smiling appearances, might yet 
 menace us. But here there was an obstacle in the way 
 of doing so. It was idle for me to think of moving from 
 the place until I should have recovered from the severe 
 lameness that afflicted me; indeed my malady began 
 seriously to alarm me; for, despite the herbal remedies 
 of the natives, it continued to grow worse and worse. 
 
 130 
 
PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 131 
 
 Their mild applications, though they soothed the pain, 
 did not remove the disorder, and I felt convinced that 
 without better aid I might anticipate long and acute 
 suffering. 
 
 But how was this aid to be procured? From the 
 surgeons of the French fleet, which probably still lay in 
 the bay of Nukuheva, it might easily have been obtained, 
 could I have made my case known to them. But how 
 could that be effected? 
 
 At that, in the exigency to which I was reduced, I 
 proposed to Toby that he should endeavour to go round 
 to Nukuheva, and if he could not succeed in returning to 
 the valley by water, in one of the boats of the squadron, 
 and taking me off, he might at least procure me some 
 proper medicines and effect his return overland. 
 
 My companion listened to me in silence, and at first 
 did not appear to relish the idea. The truth was, he felt 
 impatient to escape from the place, and wished to avail 
 himself of our present high favour with the natives to 
 make good our retreat, before we should experience some 
 sudden alteration in their behaviour. As he could not 
 think of leaving me in my helpless condition, he implored 
 me to be of good cheer, assured me that I should soon 
 be better and enabled in a few days to return with him 
 to Nukuheva. 
 
 Added to this, he could not bear the idea of again re 
 turning to this dangerous place; and as for the expecta 
 tion of persuading the Frenchmen to detach a boat s crew 
 for the purpose of rescuing me from the Typees, he 
 looked upon it as idle, and with arguments that I could 
 not answer urged the improbability of their provoking 
 the hostilities of the clan by any such measure, espe 
 cially as, for the purpose of quieting its apprehensions, 
 they had as yet refrained from making any visit to the 
 
132 TYPEE 
 
 bay. "And even should they consent/ said Toby, "they 
 would only produce a commotion in the valley, in which 
 we might both be sacrificed by these ferocious islanders." 
 This was unanswerable; but still I clung to the belief 
 that he might succeed in accomplishing the other part 
 of my plan and at last I overcame his scruples, and he 
 agreed to make the attempt. 
 
 As soon as we succeeded in making the natives under 
 stand our intention, they broke out into the most vehe 
 ment opposition to the measure, and for a while I almost 
 despaired of obtaining their consent. At the bare thought 
 of one of us leaving them, they manifested the most 
 lively concern. The grief and consternation of Kory- 
 Kory, in particular, was unbounded; he threw himself 
 into a perfect paroxysm of gestures, which were intended 
 to convey to us not only his abhorrence of Nukuheva 
 and its uncivilised inhabitants, but also his astonishment 
 that, after becoming acquainted with the enlightened 
 Typees, we should evince the least desire to withdraw, 
 even for a time, from their agreeable society. 
 
 However, I overbore his objections by appealing to my 
 lameness, from which I assured the natives I should 
 speedily recover if Toby were permitted to obtain the 
 supplies I needed. 
 
 It was agreed that on the following morning my com 
 panion should depart, accompanied by some one or two 
 of the household, who should point out to him an easy 
 route by which the bay might be reached before sunset. 
 
 At early dawn of the next day, our habitation was 
 astir. One of the young men mounted into an adjoining 
 cocoa-nut tree and threw down a number of the young 
 fruit, which old Marheyo quickly stripped of the green 
 husks and strung together upon a short pole. These 
 were intended to refresh Toby on his route. 
 
PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 133 
 
 The preparations being completed, with no little 
 emotion I bade my companion adieu. He promised to 
 return in three days at farthest; and, bidding me keep 
 up my spirits in the interval, turned round the corner 
 of the pi-pi, and, under the guidance of the venerable 
 Marheyo, was soon out of sight. His departure op 
 pressed me with melancholy, and, re-entering the dwell 
 ing, I threw myself almost in despair upon the matting 
 of the floor. 
 
 In two hours time the old warrior returned, and 
 gave me to understand that, after accompanying my 
 companion a little distance and showing him the route, 
 he had left him journeying on his way. 
 
 It was about noon of this same day, a season which 
 these people are wont to pass in sleep, that I lay in the 
 house, surrounded by its slumbering inmates, and pain 
 fully affected by the strange silence which prevailed. 
 All at once I thought I heard a faint shout, as if pro 
 ceeding from some persons in the depth of the grove 
 which extended in front of our habitation. 
 
 The sounds grew louder and nearer, and gradually 
 the whole valley rang with wild outcries. The sleep 
 ers around me started to their feet in alarm, and hurried 
 outside to discover the cause of the commotion. Kory- 
 Kory, who had been the first to spring up, soon re 
 turned almost breathless, and nearly frantic with the 
 excitement under which he seemed to be labouring. 
 All that I could understand from him was that some 
 accident had happened to Toby. Apprehensive of some 
 dreadful calamity, I rushed out of the house, and caught 
 sight of a tumultuous crowd, who, with shrieks and 
 lamentations, were just emerging from the grove bear 
 ing in their arms some object, the sight of which pro 
 duced all this transport of sorrow. As they drew near, 
 
134 TYPEE 
 
 the men redoubled their cries, while the girls, tossing 
 their bare arms in the air, exclaimed plaintively, 
 "Awha! awha! Toby mukee moee!" Alas! alas! 
 Toby is killed! 
 
 In a moment the crowd opened, and disclosed the 
 apparently lifeless body of my companion borne between 
 two men, the head hanging heavily against the breast 
 of the foremost. The whole face, neck, and bosom 
 were covered with blood, which still trickled slowly 
 from a wound behind the temple. In the midst of the 
 greatest uproar and confusion the body was carried into 
 the house and laid on a mat. Waving the natives off 
 to give room and air, I bent eagerly over Toby, and, 
 laying my hand upon the breast, ascertained that the 
 heart still beat. Overjoyed at this, I seized a calabash 
 of water, and dashed its contents upon his face, then, 
 wiping away the blood, anxiously examined the wound. 
 
 It was about three inches long, and on removing the 
 clotted hair from about it, showed the skull laid com 
 pletely bare. Immediately with my knife I cut away 
 the heavy locks, and bathed the part repeatedly in 
 water. 
 
 In a few moments Toby revived, and opening his 
 eyes for a second, closed them again without speaking. 
 Kory-Kory, who had been kneeling beside me, now 
 chafed his limbs gently with the palms of his hands, 
 while a young girl at his head kept fanning him, and I 
 still continued to moisten his lips and brow. Soon my 
 poor comrade showed signs of animation, and I suc 
 ceeded in making him swallow from a cocoa-nut shell a 
 few mouthfuls of water. 
 
 Old Tinor now appeared, holding in her hand some 
 simples she had gathered, the juice of which she by 
 signs besought me to squeeze into the wgund. Having 
 
PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 135 
 
 done so, I thought it best to leave Toby undisturbed 
 until he should have had time to rally his faculties. 
 Several times he opened his lips, but fearful for his 
 safety I enjoined silence. In the course of two or three 
 hours, however, he sat up, and was sufficiently recovered 
 to tell me what had occurred. 
 
 "After leaving the house with Marheyo," said Toby, 
 "we struck across the valley and ascended the opposite 
 heights. Just beyond them, my guide informed me, 
 lay the valley of Happar, while along their summits, 
 and skirting the head of the vale, was my route to 
 Nukuheva. 
 
 "After mounting a little way up the elevation my 
 guide paused, and gave me to understand that he could 
 not accompany me any farther., and by various signs 
 intimated that he was afraid to approach any nearer 
 the territories of the enemies of his tribe. He, how 
 ever, pointed out my path, which now lay clearly before 
 me, and bidding me farewell, hastily descended the 
 mountain. 
 
 "Quite elated at being so near the Happars, I pushed 
 up the acclivity, and soon gained its summit. It 
 tapered up to a sharp ridge, from whence I beheld 
 both the hostile valleys. Here I sat down and rested 
 for a moment, refreshing myself with my cocoa-nuts. 
 I was soon again pursuing my way along the height, 
 when suddenly I saw three of the islanders, who must 
 have just come out of Happar valley, standing in the 
 path ahead of me. They were each armed with a heavy 
 spear, and one from his appearance I took to be a chief. 
 They sung out something, I could not understand what, 
 and beckoned me to come on. 
 
 "Without the least hesitation I advanced towards 
 them, and approached within about a yard of the 
 
136 TYPEE 
 
 foremost, when, pointing angrily into the Typee valley, 
 and uttering some savage exclamation, he wheeled 
 round his weapon like lightning, and struck me in a 
 moment to the ground. The blow inflicted this wound, 
 and took away my senses. As soon as I came to myself, 
 I perceived the three islanders standing a little distance 
 off, and apparently engaged in some violent altercation 
 respecting me. 
 
 "My first impulse was to run for it; but, in en 
 deavouring to rise, I fell back and rolled down a little 
 grassy precipice. The shock seemed to rally my facul 
 ties; so, starting to my feet, I fled down the path I had 
 just ascended. I had no need to look behind me, for, 
 from the yells I heard, I knew that my enemies were 
 in full pursuit. Urged on by their fearful outcries, 
 and heedless of the injury I had received though the 
 blood flowing from the wound trickled over into my 
 eyes and almost blinded me I rushed down the moun 
 tain side with the speed of the wind. In a short time 
 I had descended nearly a third of the distance, and the 
 savages had ceased their cries, when suddenly a terrific 
 howl burst upon my ear, and at the same moment a 
 heavy javelin darted past me as I fled, and stuck quiver 
 ing in a tree close to me. Another yell followed, a 
 second spear and a third shot through the air within a 
 few feet of my body, both of them piercing the ground 
 obliquely in advance of me. The fellows gave a roar 
 of rage and disappointment; but they were afraid, I 
 suppose, of coming down further into the Typee valley, 
 and so abandoned the chase. I saw them recover their 
 weapons and turn back, and I continued my descent as 
 fast as I could. 
 
 "What could have caused this ferocious attack on the 
 part of these Happars I could not imagine, unless it 
 
PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 137 
 
 were that they had seen me ascending the mountain 
 with Marheyo, and that the mere fact of coming from 
 the Typee valley was sufficient to provoke them. 
 
 "As long as I was in danger I scarcely felt the wound 
 I had received; but when the chase was over I began to 
 suffer from it. I had lost my hat in my flight, and the 
 sun scorched my bare head. I felt faint and giddy; but, 
 fearful of falling to the ground beyond the reach of as 
 sistance, I staggered on as well as I could, and at last 
 gained the level of the valley, and then down I sunk; 
 and I knew nothing more until I found myself lying 
 upon these mats, and you stooping over me with the 
 calabash of water." 
 
 Such was Toby s account of this sad affair. I after 
 wards learned that fortunately he had fallen close to a 
 spot where the natives go for fuel. A party of them 
 caught sight of him as he fell, and sounding the alarm, 
 had lifted him up, and after ineffectually endeavouring 
 to restore him at the brook, had hurried forward with 
 him. to the house. 
 
 This incident threw a dark cloud over our prospects. 
 It reminded us that we were hemmed in by hostile 
 tribes, whose territories we could not hope to pass, on 
 our route to Nukuheva, without encountering the effects 
 of their savage resentment. There appeared to be no 
 avenue opened to our escape but the sea, which washed 
 the lower extremity of the vale. 
 
 Our Typee friends availed themselves of the recent 
 disaster of Toby to exhort us to a due appreciation of 
 the blessings we enjoyed among them, contrasting their 
 own generous reception of us with the animosity of their 
 neighbours. They likewise dwelt upon the cannibal 
 propensities of the Happars, a subject which they were 
 perfectly aware could not fail to alarm us, while at the 
 
138 TYPEE 
 
 same time they earnestly disclaimed all participation in 
 so horrid a custom. Nor did they omit to call upon us 
 to admire the natural loveliness of their own abode, and 
 the lavish abundance with which it produced all manner 
 of luxuriant fruits, exalting it in this particular above 
 any of the surrounding valleys. 
 
 Kory-Kory seemed to experience so heartfelt a desire 
 to infuse into our minds proper views on these subjects 
 that, assisted in his endeavours by the little knowledge 
 of the language we had acquired, he actually succeeded 
 in making us comprehend a considerable part of what he 
 said. To facilitate our correct apprehension of his 
 meaning, he at first condensed his ideas into the small 
 est possible compass. 
 
 "Happar keekeeno nuee," he exclaimed: "nuee, nuee, 
 ki ki kanaka! ah! owle motarkee!" which signifies 
 "Terrible fellows those Happars! devour an amazing 
 quantity of men! ah, shocking bad!" Thus far he 
 explained himself by a variety of gestures, during the 
 performance of which he would dart out of the house, 
 and point abhorrently towards the Happar valley, run 
 ning in to us again with a rapidity that showed he was 
 fearful we would lose one part of his meaning before he 
 could complete the other, and continuing his illustra 
 tions by seizing the fleshy part of my arm in his teeth, 
 intimating by the operation that the people who lived 
 over in that direction would like nothing better than to 
 treat me in that manner. 
 
 Having assured himself that we were fully enlightened 
 on this point, he proceeded to another branch of his sub 
 ject. "Ah! Typee motarkee! nuee, nuee mioree 
 nuee, nuee wai nuee, nuee poee-poee nuee, nuee 
 kokoo ah ! nuee nuee kiki ah ! nuee, nuee, nuee ! " 
 Which, literally interpreted as before, would imply, 
 
PERILOUS ADVENTURE OF TOBY 139 
 
 "Ah, Typee! isn t it a fine place though! no danger 
 of starving here, I tell you! plenty of bread-fruit 
 plenty of water plenty of pudding ah! plenty of 
 everything! ah! heaps, heaps, heaps!" All this was 
 accompanied by a running commentary of signs and ges 
 tures which it was impossible not to comprehend. 
 
 As he continued his harangue, however, Kory-Kory, in 
 emulation of our more polished orators, began to laur ch 
 out rather diffusely into other branches of his subject, 
 enlarging, probably, upon the moral reflections it sug 
 gested, and proceeded in such a strain of unintelligible 
 and stunning gibberish that he actually gave me the 
 headache for the rest of the day. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 
 
 IN the course of a few days Toby had recovered from 
 the effects of his adventure with the Happar warriors, the 
 wound on his head rapidly healing under the vegetable 
 treatment of the good Tinor. Less fortunate than my 
 companion, however, I still continued to languish under 
 a complaint the origin and nature of which were still a 
 mystery. Cut off as I was from all intercourse with the 
 civilised world, and feeling the inefficiency of anything 
 the natives could do to relieve me; knowing too, that 
 so long as I remained in my present condition, it would 
 be impossible for me to leave the valley, whatever 
 opportunity might present itself, and apprehensive that 
 ere long we might be exposed to some caprice on the 
 part of the Islanders, I now gave up all hopes of recov 
 ery, and became a prey to the most gloomy thoughts. 
 A deep dejection fell upon me, which neither the 
 friendly remonstrances of my companion, the devoted 
 attentions of Kory-Kory, nor all the soothing influences 
 of Fayaway could remove. 
 
 One morning as I lay on the mats in the house, 
 plunged in melancholy reverie and regardless of every 
 thing around me, Toby, who had left me about an hour, 
 returned in haste, and with great glee told me to cheer 
 up and be of good heart; for he believed, from what 
 was going on among the natives, that there were boats 
 approaching the bay. 
 
 These tidings operated upon me like magic. The 
 140 
 
SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 141 
 
 hour of our deliverance was at hand, and starting up, I 
 was soon convinced that something unusual was about to 
 occur. The word, "botee! botee!" was vociferated in 
 all directions; and shouts were heard in the distance, at 
 first feebly and faintly, but growing louder and nearer 
 at each successive repetition, until they were caught up 
 by a fellow in a cocoa-nut tree a few yards off, who 
 sounding them in turn, they were reiterated from a 
 neighbouring grove, and so died away gradually from 
 point to point, as the intelligence penetrated into the 
 farthest recesses of the valley. This was the vocal tele 
 graph of the islanders, by means of which condensed 
 items of information could be carried in a very few 
 minutes from the sea to their remotest habitation, a dis 
 tance of at least eight or nine miles. On the present oc 
 casion it was in active operation, one piece of informa 
 tion following another with inconceivable rapidity. 
 
 The greatest commotion now appeared to prevail. At 
 every fresh item of intelligence the natives betrayed the 
 liveliest interest, and redoubled the energy with which 
 they employed themselves in collecting fruit to sell to 
 the expected visitors. Some were tearing off the husks 
 from cocoa-nuts; some perched in the trees were throw 
 ing down bread-fruit to their companions, who gathered 
 them into heaps as they fell; while others were plying 
 their fingers rapidly in weaving leafen baskets in which 
 to carry the fruit. 
 
 There were other matters too going on at the same 
 time. Here you would see a stout warrior polishing his 
 spear with a bit of old tappa, or adjusting the folds of 
 the girdle about his waist; and there you might descry 
 a young damsel decorating herself with flowers, as if 
 having in her eyes some maidenly conquest; while, as in 
 all cases of hurry and confusion in every part of the 
 
142 TYPEE 
 
 world, a number of individuals kept hurrying to and fro, 
 with amazing vigour and perseverance, doing nothing 
 themselves, and hindering others. 
 
 Never before had we seen the islanders in such a state 
 of bustle and excitement; and the scene furnished abun 
 dant evidence of the fact that it was only at long in 
 tervals any such events occur. 
 
 When I thought of the length of time that might inter 
 vene before a similar chance of escape would be pre 
 sented, I bitterly lamented that I had not the power of 
 availing myself effectually of the present opportunity. 
 
 From all that we could gather, it appeared that the 
 natives were fearful of arriving too late upon the beach, 
 unless they made extraordinary exertions. Sick and 
 lame as I was, I would have started with Toby at once, 
 had not Kory-Kory not only refused to carry me, but 
 manifested the most invincible repugnance to our leav 
 ing the neighbourhood of the house. The rest of the 
 savages were equally opposed to our wishes, and seemed 
 grieved and astonished at the earnestness of my solicita 
 tions. I clearly perceived that while my attendant 
 avoided all appearance of constraining my movements, 
 he was nevertheless determined to thwart my wish. He 
 seemed to me on this particular occasion, as well as often 
 afterwards, to be executing the orders of some other 
 persons with regard to me, though at the same time feel 
 ing towards me the most lively affection. 
 
 Toby, who had made up his mind to accompany the 
 islanders if possible as soon as they were in readiness 
 to depart, and who for that reason had refrained from 
 showing the same anxiety that I had done, now repre 
 sented to me that it was idle for me to entertain the 
 hope of reaching the beach in time to profit by any 
 opportunity that might then be presented. 
 
SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 143 
 
 "Do you not see," said he, "the savages themselves 
 are fearful of being too late, and I should hurry forward 
 myself at once did I not think that if I showed too 
 much eagerness I should destroy all our hopes of reap 
 ing any benefit from this fortunate event. If you will 
 only endeavour to appear tranquil or unconcerned, you 
 will quiet their suspicions, and I have no doubt they 
 will then let me go with them to the beach, supposing 
 that I merely go out of curiosity. Should I succeed in 
 getting down to the boats, I will make known the con 
 dition in which I have left you, and measures may then 
 be taken to secure our escape. 
 
 In the expediency of this I could not but acquiesce; 
 and as the natives had now completed their prepara 
 tions, I watched with liveliest interest the reception 
 that Toby s application might meet with. As soon as 
 they understood from my companion that I intended to 
 remain, they appeared to make no objection to his prop 
 osition, and even hailed it with pleasure. Their singu 
 lar conduct on this occasion not a little puzzled me at 
 the time, and imparted to subsequent events an addi 
 tional mystery. 
 
 The islanders were now to be seen hurrying along 
 the path which led to the sea. I shook Toby warmly by 
 the hand, and gave him my Payta hat to shield his 
 wounded head from the sun, as he had lost his own. 
 He cordially returned the pressure of my hand, and sol 
 emnly promising to return as soon as the boats should 
 leave the shore, sprang from my side, and the next min 
 ute disappeared in a turn of the grove. 
 
 In spite of the unpleasant reflections that crowded 
 upon my mind, I could not but be entertained by the 
 novel and animated sight which now met my view. 
 One after another the natives crowded along the narrow 
 
144 TYPEE 
 
 path, laden with every variety of fruit. Here, you 
 might have seen one who, after ineffectually endeavour 
 ing to persuade a surly porker to be conducted in lead 
 ing strings, was obliged at last to seize the perverse 
 animal in his arms, and carry him struggling against 
 his naked breast and squealing without intermission. 
 There went two who at a little distance might have 
 been taken for the Hebrew spies, on their return to 
 Moses with the goodly bunch of grapes. One trotted 
 before the other at a distance of a couple of yards, while 
 between them, from a pole resting on their shoulders, 
 was suspended a huge cluster of bananas, which swayed 
 to and fro with the rocking gait at which they pro 
 ceeded. Here ran another, perspiring with his exer 
 tions, and bearing before him a quantity of cocoa-nuts, 
 who, fearful of being too late, heeded not the fruit that 
 dropped from his basket, and appeared solely intent 
 upon reaching his destination, careless how many of his 
 cocoa-nuts kept company with him. 
 
 In a short time the last straggler was seen hurrying 
 on his way, and the faint shouts of those in advance 
 died insensibly upon the ear. Our part of the valley 
 now appeared nearly deserted by its inhabitants, Kory- 
 Kory, his aged father, and a few decrepit old people 
 being all that were left. 
 
 Towards sunset the islanders in small parties began 
 to return from the beach, and among them, as they drew 
 near to the house, I sought to descry the form of my 
 companion. But one after another they passed the 
 dwelling, and I caught no glimpse of him. Supposing, 
 however, that he would soon appear with some of the 
 members of the household, I quieted my apprehensions, 
 and waited patiently to see him advancing in company 
 with the beautiful Fayaway. At last I perceived Tinor 
 
SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 145 
 
 coming forward, followed by the girls and young men 
 who usually resided in the house of Marheyo; but with 
 them came not my comrade, and, filled with a thousand 
 alarms, I eagerly sought to discover the cause of his 
 delay. 
 
 My earnest questions appeared to embarrass the 
 natives greatly. All their accounts were contradictory, 
 one giving me to understand that Toby would be with 
 me in a very short time; another that he did not know 
 where he was; while a third, violently inveighing 
 against him, assured me that he had stolen away and 
 would never come back. It appeared to me, at the 
 time, that in making these various statements they en 
 deavored to conceal from me some terrible disaster, lest 
 the knowledge of it should overpower me. 
 
 Fearful lest some fatal calamity had overtaken him, 
 I sought out young Fayaway, and endeavored to learn 
 from her, if possible, the truth. 
 
 This gentle being had early attracted my regard, not 
 only from her extraordinary beauty, but from the 
 attractive cast of her countenance, singularly expressive 
 of intelligence and humanity. Of all the natives she 
 alone seemed to appreciate the effect which the pecul 
 iarity of the circumstances in which we were placed had 
 produced upon the minds of my companion and myself. 
 In addressing me especially when I lay reclining upon 
 the mats suffering from pain there was a tenderness 
 in her manner which it was impossible to misunderstand 
 or resist. Whenever she entered the house, the ex 
 pression of her face indicated the liveliest sympathy for 
 me; and moving towards the place where I lay, with 
 one arm slightly elevated in a gesture of pity and her 
 large glistening eyes gazing intently into mine, she 
 would murmur plaintively, "Awha! awha! Tommo," 
 and seat herself mournfully beside me. 
 
146 TYPEE 
 
 Her manner convinced me that she deeply compas 
 sionated my situation, as being removed from my coun 
 try and friends and placed beyond the reach of all 
 relief. Indeed, at times I was almost led to believe 
 that her mind was swayed by gentle impulses hardly to 
 be anticipated from one in her condition; that she 
 appeared to be conscious there were ties rudely severed, 
 which had once bound us to our homes; that there were 
 sisters and brothers anxiously looking forward to our 
 return, who were, perhaps, never more to behold us. 
 
 In this amiable light did Fayaway appear in my eyes; 
 and reposing full confidence in her candour and intelli 
 gence, I now had recourse to her, in the midst of my 
 alarm, with regard to my companion. 
 
 My questions evidently distressed her. She looked 
 round from one to another of the bystanders, as if 
 hardly knowing what answer to give me. At last, 
 yielding to my importunities, she overcame her scruples, 
 and gave me to understand that Toby had gone away 
 with the boats which had visited the bay, but had prom 
 ised to return at the expiration of three days. At first 
 I accused him of perfidiously deserting me; but as I 
 grew more composed, I upbraided myself for imputing 
 so cowardly an action to him, and tranquillized myself 
 with the belief that he had availed himself of the 
 opportunity to go round to Nukuheva, in order to make 
 some arrangement by which I could be removed from 
 the valley. At any rate, thought I, he will return with 
 the medicines I require, and then, as soon as I recover, 
 there will be no difficulty in the way of our departure. 
 
 Consoling myself with these reflections, I lay down 
 that night in a happier frame of mind than I had done 
 for some time. The next day passed without any allu 
 sion to Toby on the part of the natives, who seemed 
 
SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 147 
 
 desirous of avoiding all reference to the subject. This 
 raised some apprehensions in my breast; but when 
 night came, I congratulated myself that the second day 
 had now gone by, and that on the morrow Toby would 
 again be with me. But the morrow came and went, 
 and my companion did not appear. Ah! thought I, he 
 reckons three days from the morning of his departure 
 to-morrow he will arrive. But that weary day also 
 closed upon me, without his return. Even yet I would 
 not despair; I thought that something detained him - 
 that he was waiting for the sailing of a boat, at Nuku- 
 heva, and that in a day or two at farthest I should see 
 him again. But day after day of renewed disappoint 
 ment passed by; at last hope deserted me, and I fell a 
 victim of despair. 
 
 Yes, thought I, gloomily, he has secured his own 
 escape, and cares not what calamity may befall his un 
 fortunate comrade. Fool that I was, to suppose that 
 any one would willingly encounter the perils of this 
 valley, after having once got beyond its limits! He has 
 gone, and has left me to combat alone all the dangers by 
 which I am surrounded. Thus would I sometimes seek 
 to derive a desperate consolation from dwelling upon 
 the perfidy of Toby, whilst at other times I sunk under 
 the bitter remorse which I felt as having by my own 
 imprudence brought upon myself the fate which I was 
 sure awaited me. 
 
 At other times I thought that perhaps after all these 
 treacherous savages have made away with him, and 
 thence the confusion into which they were thrown by 
 my questions, and their contradictory answers, or he 
 might be a captive in some other part of the valley; or, 
 more dreadful still, might have met with that fate at 
 which my very soul shuddered. But all these specula- 
 
148 TYPEE 
 
 tions were vain; no tidings of Toby ever reached me; 
 he had gone never to return. 
 
 The conduct of the islanders appeared inexplicable. 
 All reference to my lost comrade was carefully evaded, 
 and if at any time they were forced to make some reply 
 to my frequent inquiries on the subject, they would 
 uniformly denounce him as an ungrateful runaway, who 
 had deserted his friend, and taken himself off to that 
 vile and detestable place, Nukuheva. 
 
 But whatever might have been his fate, now that he 
 was gone the natives multiplied their acts of kindness 
 and attention towards myself, treating me with a degree 
 of deference which could hardly have been surpassed 
 had I been some celestial visitant. Kory-Kory never 
 for one moment left my side, unless it were to execute 
 my wishes. The faithful fellow, twice every day, in 
 the cool of the morning and in the evening, insisted upon 
 carrying me to the stream and bathing me in its re 
 freshing water. 
 
 Frequently in the afternoon he would carry me to a 
 particular part of the stream, where the beauty of the 
 scene produced a soothing influence upon my mind. 
 At this place the waters flowed between grassy banks, 
 planted with enormous bread-fruit trees, whose vast 
 branches, interlacing overhead, formed a leafy panopy. 
 Near the stream were several smooth black rocks. One 
 of these, projecting several feet above the surface of the 
 water, had upon its summit a shallow cavity which, 
 filled with freshly-gathered leaves, formed a delightful 
 couch. 
 
 Here I often lay for hours, covered with a gauze-like 
 veil of tappa, while Fayaway, seated beside me and 
 holding in her hand a fan woven from the leaflets of a 
 young cocoa-nut bough, brushed aside the insects that 
 
SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 149 
 
 occasionally lighted on my face, and Kory-Kory, with a 
 view of chasing away my melancholy, performed a thou 
 sand antics in the water before us. 
 
 As my eye wandered along this romantic stream, it 
 would fall upon the half -immersed figure of a beautiful 
 girl, standing in the transparent water, and catching in 
 a little net a species of diminutive shell-fish, of which 
 these people were extravagantly fond. Sometimes a chat 
 tering group would be seated upon the edge of a low 
 rock in the midst of the brook, busily engaged in thin 
 ning and polishing the shells of cocoa-nuts by rubbing 
 them briskly with a small stone in the water, an opera 
 tion which soon converts them into a light and elegant 
 drinking vessel, somewhat resembling goblets made of 
 tortoise shell. 
 
 But the tranquillizing influences of beautiful scenery, 
 and the exhibition of human life under so novel and 
 charming an aspect, were not my only sources of conso 
 lation. 
 
 Every evening the girls of the house gathered about 
 me on the mats, and after chasing away Kory-Kory from 
 my side who, nevertheless, retired only to a little dis 
 tance and watched their proceedings with the most jeal 
 ous attention would anoint my whole body with a 
 fragrant oil, squeezed from a yellow root, previously 
 pounded between a couple of stones, and which in their 
 language is denominated "aka." And most refreshing 
 and agreeable are the juices of the "aka" when applied 
 to one s limbs by the soft palms of sweet nymphs, whose 
 bright eyes are beaming upon you with kindness; and I 
 used to hail with delight the daily recurrence of this 
 luxurious operation, in which I forgot all my troubles, 
 and buried for the time every feeling of sorrow. 
 
 Sometimes in the cool of the evening my devoted ser- 
 
150 TYPEE 
 
 vitor would lead me out upon the pi-pi in front of the 
 house, and seating me near its edge, protect my body 
 from the annoyances of the insects which occasionally 
 hovered in the air by wrapping me round with a large 
 roll of tappa. He then bustled about, and employed 
 himself at least twenty minutes in adjusting everything 
 to secure my personal comfort. 
 
 Having perfected his arrangements, he would get my 
 pipe, and, lighting it, would hand it to me. Often he 
 was obliged to strike a light for the occasion, and as the 
 mode he adopted was entirely different from what I had 
 ever seen or heard of before, I will describe it. 
 
 A straight, dry, and partly decayed stick of the Hi 
 biscus, about six feet in length, and half as many inches 
 in diameter, with a smaller bit of wood not more than a 
 foot long and scarcely an inch wide, is as invariably to 
 be met with in every house in Typee as a box of lucifer 
 matches in the corner of the kitchen cupboard at home. 
 
 The islander, placing the larger stick obliquely against 
 some object, with one end elevated at an angle of forty- 
 five degrees, mounts astride of it like an urchin about to 
 gallop off upon a cane, and then grasping the smaller 
 one firmly in both hands, he rubs its pointed end slowly 
 up and down the extent of a few inches on the principal 
 stick, until at last he makes a narrow groove in the 
 wood, with an abrupt termination at the point furthest 
 from him, where all the dusty particles which the fric 
 tion creates are accumulated in a little heap. 
 
 At first Kory-Kory goes to work quite leisurely, but 
 gradually quickens his pace, and waxing warm in the 
 employment, drives the stick furiously along the smok 
 ing channel, plying his hands to and fro with amazing 
 rapidity, the perspiration starting from every pore. As 
 he approaches the climax of his effort, he pants and 
 
SOMETHING BEFALLS TOBY 151 
 
 gasps for breath, and his eyes almost start from their 
 sockets with the violence of his exertions. This is the 
 critical stage of the operation; all his previous labours 
 are vain if he cannot sustain the rapidity of the move 
 ment until the reluctant spark is produced. Suddenly 
 he stops, becomes perfectly motionless. His hands still 
 retain their hold of the smaller stick, which is pressed 
 convulsively against the further end of the channel 
 among the fine powder there accumulated, as if he had 
 just pierced through and through some little viper that 
 was wriggling and struggling to escape from his clutches. 
 The next moment a delicate wreath of smoke curls 
 spirally into the air, the heap of dusty particles glow 
 with fire, and Kory-Kory, almost breathless, dismounts 
 from his steed. 
 
 This operation appeared to me to be the most laborious 
 species of work performed in Typee ; and had I possessed 
 a sufficient intimacy with the language to have conveyed 
 my ideas upon the subject, I should certainly have sug 
 gested to the most influential of the natives the expedi 
 ency of establishing a college of vestals to be centrally 
 located in the valley, for the purpose of keeping alive 
 the indispensable article of fire, so as to supersede the 
 necessity of such a vast outlay of strength and good 
 temper as were usually squandered on these occasions. 
 There might, however, be special difficulties in carry 
 ing this plan into execution.. 
 
 What a striking evidence does this operation furnish 
 of the wide difference between the extreme of savage 
 and civilised life. A gentleman of Typee can bring up 
 a numerous family of children and give them all a 
 highly respectable cannibal education with infinitely 
 less toil and anxiety than he expends in the simple pro 
 cess of striking a light; whilst a poor European artisan, 
 
152 TYPEE 
 
 who through the instrumentality of a lucifer performs 
 the same operation in one second, is put to his wit s 
 end to provide for his starving offspring that food 
 which the children of a Polynesian father, without 
 troubling their parent, pluck from the branches of every 
 tree round them. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 BREAD-FRUIT 
 
 ALL the inhabitants of the valley treated me with 
 great kindness; but as to the household of Marheyo, 
 with whom I was now permanently domiciled, nothing 
 could surpass their efforts to minister to my comfort. 
 To the gratification of my palate they paid the most 
 unwearied attention. They continually invited me to 
 partake of food, and when after eating heartily I de 
 clined the viands they continued to offer me, they seemed 
 to think that my appetite stood in need of some piquant 
 stimulant to excite its activity. 
 
 In pursuance of this idea, old Marheyo himself would 
 hie him away to the sea-shore by the break of day, for 
 the purpose of collecting various species of rare sea 
 weed, some of which among these people are considered 
 a great luxury. After a whole day spent in this em 
 ployment, he would return about nightfall with several 
 cocoa-nut shells filled with different descriptions of 
 kelp. In preparing these for use he manifested all the 
 ostentation of a professed cook, although the chief mys 
 tery of the affair appeared to consist in pouring water 
 in judicious quantities upon the slimy contents of his 
 cocoa-nut shells. 
 
 The first time he submitted one of these saline salads 
 to my critical attention I naturally thought that any 
 thing collected at such pains must possess peculiar 
 merits; but a mouthful was a complete dose, and great 
 
 153 
 
i$4 TYPEE 
 
 was the consternation of the old warrior at the rapidity 
 with which I ejected his Epicurean treat. 
 
 How true it is that the rarity of any particular article 
 enhances its value amazingly. In some part of the val 
 ley I know not where, but probably in the neighbour 
 hood of the sea the girls were sometimes in the habit 
 of procuring small quantities of salt, a thimbleful or so 
 being the result of the united labours of a party of five 
 or six employed for the greater part of the day. This 
 precious commodity they brought to the house, enveloped 
 in multitudinous folds of leaves, and as a special mark 
 of the esteem in which they held me, would spread an 
 immense leaf on the ground, and dropping one by one 
 a few minute particles of the salt upon it, invite me to 
 taste them. 
 
 From the extravagant value placed upon the article, I 
 verily believe that with a bushel of common salt all 
 the real estate in Typee might have been purchased. 
 With a small pinch of it in one hand and a quarter sec 
 tion of a bread-fruit in the other, the greatest chief in 
 the valley would have laughed at all the luxuries of a 
 Parisian table. 
 
 The celebrity of the bread-fruit tree and the conspic 
 uous place it occupies in a Typee bill of fare induce 
 me to give at some length a general description of the 
 tree and the various modes in which the fruit is prepared. 
 
 The bread-fruit tree, in its glorious prime, is a grand 
 and towering object, forming the same feature in a Mar- 
 quesan landscape that the patriarchial elm does in New 
 England scenery. The latter tree it not a little resem 
 bles in height, in the wide spread of its stalwart branches, 
 and in its venerable and imposing aspect. 
 
 The leaves of the bread-fruit tree are of a great size, 
 and their edges are cut and scalloped as fantastically as 
 
BREAD-FRUIT 155 
 
 those of a lady s lace collar. As they annually tend 
 towards decay, they almost rival in the brilliant variety 
 of their gradually changing hues the fleeting shades of 
 the expiring dolphin. The autumnal tints of our Ameri 
 can forests, glorious as they are, sink into nothing in 
 comparison with this tree. 
 
 The leaf, in one particular stage, when nearly all the 
 prismatic colours are blended on its surface, is often con 
 verted by the natives into a superb and striking head 
 dress. The principal fibre traversing its length being 
 split open a convenient distance, and the elastic sides of 
 the aperture pressed apart, the head is inserted between 
 them, the leaf drooping on one side, with its forward 
 half turned jauntily up on the brows and the remaining 
 part spreading laterally behind the ears. 
 
 The fruit somewhat resembles in magnitude and gen 
 eral appearance one of our citron melons of ordinary 
 size ; but, unlike the citron, it has no sectional lines drawn 
 along the outside. Its surface is dotted all over with 
 little conical prominences, looking not unlike the knobs 
 of an antiquated church door. The rind is perhaps an 
 eighth of an inch in thickness; and denuded of this, at 
 the time when it is in the greatest perfection, the fruit 
 presents a beautiful globe of white pulp, the whole of 
 which may be eaten, with the exception of a slender 
 core, which is easily removed. 
 
 The bread-fruit, however, is never used, and is indeed 
 altogether unfit to be eaten, until submitted in one form 
 or other to the action of fire. 
 
 The most simple manner in which this operation is 
 performed, and, I think, the best, consists in placing any 
 number of the freshly plucked fruit, when in a particular 
 stage of greenness, among the embers of a fire, in the 
 same way that you would roast a potato. After the lapse 
 
156 TYPEE 
 
 of ten or fifteen minutes the green rind embrowns and 
 cracks, showing through the fissures in its sides the milk- 
 white interior. As soon as it cools, the rind drops off, 
 and you then have the soft pulp in its purest and most 
 delicious state. Thus eaten, it has a mild and pleasing 
 flavour. 
 
 Sometimes, after having been roasted in the fire, the 
 natives snatch it briskly from the embers, and permitting 
 it to slip out of the yielding rind into a vessel of cold 
 water, stir up the mixture, which they call "bo-a-sho." 
 I never could endure this compound, and indeed the 
 preparation is not greatly in vogue among the more po 
 lite Typees. 
 
 There is one form, however, in which the fruit is oc 
 casionally served that renders it a dish fit for a king. 
 As soon as it is taken from the fire the exterior is re 
 moved, the core extracted, and the remaining part is 
 placed in a sort of shallow stone mortar and briskly 
 worked with a pestle of the same substance. While one 
 person is performing this operation, another takes a ripe 
 cocoa-nut, and breaking it in half, which they also do 
 very cleverly, proceeds to grate the juicy meat into fine 
 particles. This is done by means of a piece of mother- 
 of-pearl shell, lashed firmly to the extreme end of a heavy 
 stick, with its straight side accurately notched like a saw. 
 The stick is sometimes a grotesquely-formed limb of a 
 tree, with three or four branches twisting from its body 
 like so many shapeless legs and sustaining it two or 
 three feet from the ground. 
 
 The native, first placing a calabash beneath the nose, 
 as it were, of his curious-looking log-steed, for the pur 
 pose of receiving the grated fragments as they fall, 
 mounts astride of it as if it were a hobby-horse, and 
 twirling the inside of one of his hemispheres of cocoa-nut 
 
BREAD-FRUIT 157 
 
 around the sharp teeth of the mother-of-pearl shell, the 
 pure white meat falls in snowy showers into the recep 
 tacle provided. Having obtained a quantity sufficient 
 for his purpose, he places it in a bag made of the net-like 
 fibrous substance attached to all cocoa-nut trees, and 
 compressing it over the bread-fruit which, being now 
 sufficiently pounded, is put into a wooden bowl ex 
 tracts a thick creamy milk. The delicious liquid soon 
 bubbles round the fruit, and leaves it at last just peep 
 ing above its surface. 
 
 This preparation is called "kokoo," and a most lus 
 cious preparation it is. The hobby-horse and the pestle 
 and mortar were in great requisition during the time 
 I remained in the house of Marheyo, and Kory-Kory 
 had frequent occasion to show his skill in their use. 
 
 But the great staple articles of food into which the 
 bread-fruit is converted by these natives are known 
 respectively by the names of amar and poee-poee. 
 
 At certain seasons of the year, when the fruit of the 
 hundred groves of the valley has reached its maturity 
 and hangs in golden spheres from every branch, the 
 islanders assemble in harvest groups and garner in 
 the abundance which surrounds them. The trees are 
 stripped of their nodding burdens, which, easily freed 
 from the rind and core, are gathered together in capa 
 cious wooden vessels, where the pulpy fruit is soon 
 worked by a stone pestle, vigorously applied, into a 
 blended mass of a doughy consistency, called by the 
 natives "tutao." This is then divided into separate 
 parcels, which, after being made up into stout packages, 
 enveloped in successive folds of leaves, and bound round 
 with thongs of bark, are stored away in large receptacles 
 hollowed in the earth, from whence they are drawn as 
 occasion may require. 
 
 In this condition the tutao sometimes remains for 
 
158 TYPEE 
 
 years, and even is thought to improve by age. Before it 
 is fit to be eaten, however, it has to undergo an additional 
 process. A primitive oven is scooped in the ground, 
 and its bottom being loosely covered with stones, a large 
 fire is kindled within it. As soon as the requisite de 
 gree of heat is attained, the embers are removed, and 
 the surface of the stones being covered with thick layers 
 of leaves, one of the larger packages of tutao is deposited 
 upon them and overspread with another layer of leaves. 
 The whole is then quickly heaped up with earth, and 
 forms a sloping mound. 
 
 The tutao thus baked is called "amar," the action 
 of the oven having converted it into an amber-coloured 
 caky substance, a little tart, but not at all disagreeable 
 to the taste. 
 
 By another and final process the "amar" is changed 
 into "poee-poee." This transition is rapidly effected. 
 The amar is placed in a vessel and mixed with water 
 until it gains a proper pudding-like consistency, when, 
 without further preparation, it is in readiness for use. 
 This is the form in which the "tutao" is generally con 
 sumed. The singular mode of eating it I have already 
 described. 
 
 Were it not that the bread-fruit is thus capable of 
 being preserved for a length of time, the natives might 
 be reduced to a state of starvation; for owing to some 
 unknown cause the trees sometimes fail to bear fruit, 
 and on such occasions the islanders chiefly depend upon 
 the supplies they have been enabled to store away. 
 
 This stately tree, which is rarely met with upon the 
 Sandwich Islands, and at Tahiti does not abound to a 
 degree that renders its fruit the principal article of food, 
 attains its greatest excellence in the genial climate of 
 the Marquesan group, where it grows to an enormous 
 magnitude and flourishes in the utmost abundance. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 AT THE TI 
 
 IN looking back to this period and calling to re 
 membrance the numberless proofs of kindness and re 
 spect which I received from the natives of the valley, 
 I can scarcely understand how it was that, in the midst 
 of so many consolatory circumstances, my mind should 
 still have been consumed by the most dismal forebod 
 ings and have remained a prey to the profoundest mel 
 ancholy. It is true that the suspicious circumstances 
 which had attended the disappearance of Toby were 
 enough of themselves to excite distrust with regard to 
 the savages, in whose power I felt myself to be entirely 
 placed, especially when it was combined with the knowl 
 edge that these very men, kind and respectful as they 
 were to me, were after all nothing better than a set of 
 cannibals. 
 
 But my chief source of anxiety, and that which poi 
 soned every temporary enjoyment, was the mysterious 
 disease in my leg, which still remained unabated. All 
 the herbal applications of Tinor, united with the severer 
 discipline of the old leech and the affectionate nursing 
 of Kory-Kory, had failed to relieve me. I was almost 
 a cripple, and the pain I endured at intervals was ago 
 nising. The unaccountable malady showed no signs of 
 amendment; on the contrary, its violence increased day 
 by day, and threatened the most fatal results . unless 
 some powerful means were employed to counteract it. 
 
160 TYPEE 
 
 It seemed as if I were destined to sink under this grievous 
 affliction, or at least that it would hinder me from avail 
 ing myself of any opportunity of escaping from the 
 valley. 
 
 An incident which occurred as nearly as I can esti 
 mate about three weeks after the disappearance of Toby 
 convinced me that the natives, from some reason or 
 other, would interpose every possible obstacle to my 
 leaving them. 
 
 One morning there was no little excitement evinced 
 by the people near my abode, and which I soon dis 
 covered proceeded from a vague report that boats had 
 been seen at a great distance approaching the bay. 
 Immediately all was bustle and animation. It so hap 
 pened that day that the pain I suffered having some 
 what abated, and feeling in much better spirits than 
 usual, I had complied with Kory-Kory s invitation to 
 visit the chief Mehevi at the place called the "Ti," 
 which I have before described as being situated within 
 the precincts of the Taboo Groves. These sacred re 
 cesses were at no great distance from Marheyo s habita 
 tion and lay between it and the sea, the path that con 
 ducted to the beach passing directly in front of the 
 Ti and thence skirting along the border of the groves. 
 
 I was reposing upon the mats within the sacred build 
 ing, in company with Mehevi and several other chiefs, 
 when the announcement was first made. It sent a thrill 
 of joy through my whole frame perhaps Toby was 
 about to return. I rose at once to my feet, and my 
 instinctive impulse was to hurry down to the beach, 
 equally regardless of the distance that separated me 
 from it and of my disabled condition. As soon as Mehevi 
 noticed the effect the intelligence had produced upon 
 me and the impatience I betrayed to reach the sea, his 
 
AT THE TI 161 
 
 countenance assumed that inflexible rigidity of expres 
 sion which had so awed me on the afternoon of our 
 arrival at the house of Marheyo. As I was proceeding 
 to leave the Ti, he laid his hand upon my shoulder and 
 said gravely, "Abo, abo" (wait, wait). Solely intent 
 upon the one thought that occupied my mind, and heed 
 less of his request, I was brushing past him, when sud 
 denly he assumed a tone of authority and told me to 
 "moee" (sit down). Though struck by the alteration of 
 his demeanor, the excitement under which I laboured 
 was too strong to permit me to obey the unexpected 
 command, and I was still limping towards the edge of 
 the pi-pi with Kory-Kory clinging to one arm in his 
 efforts to restrain me, when the natives around, starting 
 to their feet, ranged themselves along the open front 
 of the building, while Mehevi looked at me scowlingly 
 and reiterated his commands still more sternly. 
 
 It was at this moment, when fifty savage counte 
 nances were glaring at me, that I first truly experi 
 enced I was indeed a captive in the valley. The con 
 viction rushed upon me with staggering force, and I 
 was overwhelmed by this confirmation of my worst 
 fears. I saw at once that, it was useless for me to resist, 
 and sick at heart, I reseated myself upon the mats and 
 for the moment abandoned myself to despair. 
 
 I now perceived the natives one after the other hurry 
 ing past the Ti and pursuing the route that conducted 
 to the sea. These savages, thought I, will soon be 
 holding communication with some of my own country 
 men perhaps, who with ease could restore me to liberty 
 did they know of the situation I am in. No language 
 can describe the wretchedness which I felt; and, in the 
 bitterness of my soul I imprecated a thousand curses on 
 the perfidious Toby, who had thus abandoned me to 
 
1 62 TYPEE 
 
 destruction. It was in vain that Kory-Kory tempted 
 me with food, or lighted my pipe, or sought to attract 
 my attention by performing the uncouth antics that 
 had sometimes diverted me. I was fairly knocked 
 down by this last misfortune, which, much as I had 
 feared it, I had never before had the courage calmly to 
 contemplate. 
 
 Regardless of everything but my own sorrow, I re 
 mained in the Ti for several hours, until shouts pro 
 ceeding at intervals from the groves beyond the house 
 proclaimed the return of the natives from the beach. 
 
 Whether any boats visited the bay that morning or 
 not, I never could ascertain. The savages assured me 
 that there had not but I was inclined to believe that 
 by deceiving me in this particular they sought to allay 
 the violence of my grief. However that might be, this 
 incident showed plainly that the Typees intended to 
 hold me a prisoner. As they still treated me with the 
 same sedulous attention as before, I was utterly at a loss 
 how to account for their singular conduct. Had I been 
 in a situation to instruct them in any of the rudiments 
 of the mechanic arts, or had I manifested a disposition 
 to render myself in any way useful among them, their 
 conduct might have been attributed to some adequate 
 motive, but as it was the matter seemed to me inexpli 
 cable. 
 
 During my whole stay on the island there occurred 
 but two or three instances where the natives applied to 
 me with the view of availing themselves of my superior 
 information. And these now appear so ludicrous that 
 I cannot forbear relating them. 
 
 The few things we had brought from Nukuheva had 
 been done up into a small bundle which we had carried 
 with us in our descent to the valley. This bundle, 
 
AT THE TI 163 
 
 the first night of our arrival, I had used as a pillow, 
 but on the succeeding morning, opening it for the 
 inspection of the natives, they gazed upon the miscel 
 laneous contents as though I had revealed to them a 
 a casket of diamonds, and they insisted that so precious 
 a treasure should be properly secured. A line was 
 accordingly attached to it, and the other end being 
 passed over the ridgepole of the house, it was hoisted 
 up to the apex of the roof, where it hung suspended 
 directly over the mats where I usually reclined. When 
 I desired anything from it I merely raised my finger to 
 a bamboo beside me, and taking hold of the string 
 which was there fastened, lowered the package. This 
 was exceedingly handy, and I took care to let the natives 
 understand how much I applauded the invention. Of 
 this package the chief contents were a razor with its 
 case, a supply of needles and thread, a pound or two 
 of tobacco, and a few yards of bright-colored calico. 
 
 I should have mentioned that shortly after Toby s 
 disappearance, perceiving the uncertainty of the time I 
 might be obliged to remain in the valley if, indeed, 
 I ever should escape from it and considering that my 
 whole wardrobe consisted of a shirt and a pair of 
 trousers, I resolved to doff these garments at once, in 
 order to preserve them in a suitable condition for wear 
 should I again appear among civilised beings. I was 
 consequently obliged to assume the Typee costume, a 
 little altered, however, to suit my own views of pro 
 priety, and in which I have no doubt I appeared to as 
 much advantage as a senator of Rome enveloped in the 
 folds of his toga. A few folds of yellow tappa, tucked 
 about my waist, descended to my feet in the style of a 
 lady s petticoat. This usually comprised my in-door 
 dress: whenever I walked out, I superadded to it an 
 
1 64 TYPEE 
 
 ample robe of the same material, which completely 
 enveloped my person and screened it from the rays of 
 the sun. 
 
 One morning I made a rent in this mantle; and to 
 show the islanders with what facility it could be re 
 paired, I lowered my bundle and, taking from it a 
 needle and thread, proceeded to stitch up the opening. 
 They regarded this wonderful application of science 
 with intense admiration; and whilst I was stitching 
 away, old Marheyo, who was one of the lookers-on, 
 suddenly clapped his hand to his forehead, and rushing 
 to a corner of the house, drew forth a soiled and tattered 
 strip of faded calico which he must have had pro 
 cured some time or other in traffic on the beach and 
 besought me eagerly to exercise a little of my art upon 
 it. I willingly complied, though certainly so stumpy 
 a needle as mine never took such gigantic strides over 
 calico before. The repairs completed, old Marheyo 
 gave me a paternal hug; and divesting himself of his 
 "maro" (girdle), swathed the calico about his loins, 
 and slipping the beloved ornaments into his ears, grasped 
 his spear and sallied out of the house, like a valiant 
 Templar arrayed in a new and costly suit of armour. 
 
 I never used my razor during my stay in the island, 
 but although a very subordinate affair, it had been 
 vastly admired by the Typees; and Narmonee, a great 
 hero among them, who was exceedingly precise in the 
 arrangements of his toilet and the general adjustment 
 of his person, being the most accurately tattooed and 
 laboriously horrified individual in all the valley, thought 
 it would be a great advantage to have it applied to the 
 already shaven crown of his head. 
 
 The implement they usually employ is a shark s tooth, 
 which is about as well adapted to the purpose as a one- 
 
AT THE TI 165 
 
 pronged fork for pitching hay. No wonder, then, that 
 the acute Narmonee perceived the advantage my razor 
 possessed over the usual implement. Accordingly one 
 day he requested as a personal favour that I would just 
 run over his head with the razor. In reply I gave him 
 to understand that it was too dull, and could not be 
 used to any purpose without being previously sharpened. 
 To assist my meaning, I went through an imaginary 
 honing process on the palm of my hand. Narmonee 
 took my meaning in an instant, and running out of the 
 house, returned the next moment with a hugh rough 
 mass of rock as big as a milestone, and indicated to me 
 that that was exactly the thing I wanted. Of course 
 there was nothing left for me but to proceed to business, 
 and I, began scraping away at a great rate. He writhed 
 and wriggled under the infliction, but, fully convinced of 
 my skill, endured the pain like a martyr. 
 
 Though I never saw Narmonee in battle, I will, from 
 what I then observed, stake my life upon his courage 
 and fortitude. Before commencing operations, his head 
 had presented a surface of short bristling hairs, and by 
 the time I had concluded my unskilful operation it re 
 sembled not a little a stubble field after being gone over 
 with a harrow. However, as the chief expressed the live 
 liest satisfaction at the result, I was too wise to dissent 
 from his opinion. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 SKIRMISH WITH THE HAPPARS 
 
 DAY after day wore on, and still there was no per 
 ceptible change in the conduct of the islanders towards 
 me. Gradually I lost all knowledge of the regular 
 occurrence of the days of the week, and sunk insensibly 
 into that kind of apathy which ensues after some vio 
 lent outbreak of despair. My limb suddenly healed, 
 the swelling went down, the pain subsided, and I had 
 every reason to suppose I should soon completely recover 
 from the affliction that had so long tormented me. 
 
 As soon as I was enabled to ramble about the valley 
 in company with the natives, troops of whom followed 
 me whenever I sallied out of the house, I began to ex 
 perience an elasticity of mind which placed me beyond 
 the reach of those dismal forebodings to which I had 
 so lately been a prey. Received wherever I went 
 with the most deferential kindness, regaled perpetually 
 with the most delightful fruits, ministered to by dark- 
 eyed nymphs, and enjoying besides all the services of 
 the devoted Kory-Kory, I thought that for a sojourn 
 among cannibals, no man could have well made a more 
 agreeable one. 
 
 To be sure there were limits set to my wanderings. 
 Toward the sea my progress was barred by an express 
 prohibition of the savages; and after having made two 
 or three ineffectual attempts to reach it, as much to 
 gratify my curiosity as anything else, I gave up the idea. 
 
 166 
 
SKIRMISH WITH THE HAPPARS 167 
 
 It was in vain to think of reaching it by stealth, since 
 the natives escorted me in numbers wherever I went, 
 and not for one single moment that I can recall to mind 
 was I ever permitted to be alone. 
 
 The green and precipitous elevations that stood ranged 
 around the head of the vale where Marheyo s habitation 
 was situated effectually precluded all hope of escape 
 in that quarter, even if I could have stolen away from 
 the thousand eyes of the savages. 
 
 But these reflections now seldom obtruded upon me; 
 I gave myself up to the passing hour, and if ever disa 
 greeable thoughts arose in my mind, I drove them away. 
 When I looked around the verdant recess in which I 
 was buried, and gazed up to the summits of the lofty 
 eminence that hemmed me in, I was well disposed to 
 think that I was in the "Happy Valley," and that be 
 yond those heights there was nought but a world of care 
 and anxiety. 
 
 As I extended my wanderings in the valley and grew 
 more familiar with the habits of its inmates, I was fain 
 to confess that, despite the disadvantages of his condi 
 tion, the Polynesian savage, surrounded by all the lux 
 urious provisions of nature, enjoyed an infinitely hap 
 pier, though certainly a less intellectual existence, than 
 the self-complacent European. 
 
 The naked wretch who shivers beneath the bleak 
 skies, and starves among the inhospitable wilds of Terra- 
 del-Fuego might indeed be made happier by civilization, 
 for it would alleviate his physical wants. But the 
 voluptuous Indian, with every desire supplied, whom 
 Providence has bountifully provided with all the sources 
 of pure and natural enjoyment, and from whom are re 
 moved so many of the ills and pains of life what has 
 he to desire at the hands of Civilisation? She may 
 
1 68 TYPEE 
 
 "cultivate his mind," may "elevate his thoughts" 
 these I believe are the established phrases but will 
 he be the happier? Let the once smiling and populous 
 Hawaiian islands, with their now diseased, starving, and 
 dying natives, answer the question. 
 
 In a primitive state of society, the enjoyments of life, 
 though few and simple, are spread over a great extent, 
 and are unalloyed; but Civilization for every advan 
 tage she imparts holds a hundred evils in reserve; the 
 heart-burnings, the jealousies, the social rivalries, the 
 family dissensions, and the thousand self-inflicted dis 
 comforts of refined life, which make up in units the 
 swelling aggregate of human misery, are unknown among 
 these unsophisticated people. 
 
 But it will be urged that these shocking, unprincipled 
 wretches are cannibals. Very true; and a rather bad 
 trait in their character it must be allowed. But they 
 are such only when they seek to gratify the passion of 
 revenge upon their enemies; and I ask whether the 
 mere eating of human flesh so very far exceeds in bar 
 barity that custom which only a few years since was 
 practised in enlightened England: A convicted traitor, 
 perhaps a man found guilty of honesty, patriotism, 
 and suchlike heinous crimes, had his head lopped off 
 with a huge axe, his bowels dragged out and thrown into 
 a fire, while his body, carved into four quarters, was 
 with his head exposed upon pikes and permitted to rot 
 and fester among the public haunts of men! 
 
 In the altered frame of mind to which I have referred, 
 every object that presented itself to my notice in the 
 valley struck me in a new light, and the opportunities 
 I now enjoyed of observing the manners of its inmates 
 tended to strengthen my favorable impressions. One 
 peculiarity that fixed my admiration was the perpetual 
 
SKIRMISH WITH THE HAPPARS 169 
 
 hilarity reigning through the whole extent of the vale. 
 There seemed to be no cares, griefs, troubles, or vexa 
 tions in all Typee. The hours tripped along as gayly 
 as the laughing couples down a country dance. 
 
 There were none of those thousand sources of irrita 
 tion that the ingenuity of civilised man has created to 
 mar his own felicity. There were no foreclosures of 
 mortgages, no protested notes, no bills payable, no 
 debts of honour in Typee; no unreasonable tailors and 
 shoemakers, perversely bent on being paid; no duns of 
 any description; no assault and battery attorneys, to 
 foment discord, backing their clients up to a quarrel, 
 and then knocking their heads together; no poor rela 
 tions, everlastingly occupying the spare bed-chamber 
 and diminishing the elbow-room at the family table; 
 no destitute widows with their children starving on the 
 cold charities of the world; no beggars; no debtors 
 prisons; no proud and hard-hearted nabobs in Typee; 
 or to sum up all in one word no Money! "That root 
 of all evil" was not to be found in the valley. 
 
 In this secluded abode of happiness there were no 
 cross old women, no cruel step-dames, no withered 
 spinsters, no love-sick maidens, no sour old bachelors, 
 no inattentive husbands, no melancholy young men, no 
 blubbering youngsters, and no squalling brats. All was 
 mirth, fun, and high good humour. Blue devils, hypo 
 chondria, and doleful dumps went and hid themselves 
 among the nooks and crannies of the rocks. 
 
 Here you would see a parcel of children frolicking 
 together the live-long day, and no quarrelling, no con 
 tention among them. The same number in our own 
 land could not have played together for the space of 
 an hour without biting or scratching one another. There 
 you might have seen a throng of young females, not 
 
lyo TYPEE 
 
 filled with envy ings of each other s charms, nor dis 
 playing the ridiculous affectations of gentility, nor yet 
 moving in whalebone corsets, like so many automatons, 
 but free, inartificially happy, and unconstrained. 
 
 There were some spots in that sunny vale where they 
 would frequently resort to decorate themselves with 
 garlands of flowers. To have seen them reclining be 
 neath the shadows of one of the beautiful groves, the 
 ground about them strewn with freshly gathered buds 
 and blossoms, employed in weaving chaplets and neck 
 laces, one would have thought that all the train of Flora 
 had gathered together to keep a festival in honour of 
 their mistress. 
 
 With the young men there seemed almost always some 
 matter of diversion or business on hand that afforded a 
 constant variety of enjoyment. But whether fishing, 
 or carving canoes, or polishing their ornaments, never 
 was there exhibited the least sign of strife or contention 
 among them. 
 
 As for the warriors, they maintained a tranquil dignity 
 of demeanour, journeying occasionally from house to 
 house, where they were always sure to be received with 
 the attention bestowed upon distinguished guests. The 
 old men, of whom there were many in the vale, seldom 
 stirred from their mats, where they would recline for 
 hours and hours, smoking and talking to one another 
 with all the garrulity of age. 
 
 But the continual happiness which so far as I was 
 able to judge appeared to prevail in the valley sprung 
 principally from that all-pervading sensation which 
 Rousseau has told us he at one time experienced, the 
 mere buoyant sense of a healthful physical existence. 
 And indeed in this particular the Typees had ample 
 reason to felicitate themselves, for sickness was almost 
 
SKIRMISH WITH THE HAPPARS - 171 
 
 unknown. During the whole period of my stay I saw 
 but one invalid among them, and on their smooth clear 
 skins you observed no blemish or mark of disease. 
 
 The general repose, however, upon which I have just 
 been descanting was broken in upon about this time by an 
 event which proved that the islanders were not entirely 
 exempt from those occurrences which disturb the quiet 
 of more civilised communities. Having now been a con 
 siderable time in the valley, I began to feel surprised 
 that the violent hostility subsisting between its inhabi 
 tants and those of the adjoining bay of Happar should 
 never have manifested itself in any warlike encounter. 
 Although the valiant Typees would often by gesticula 
 tions declare their undying hatred against their enemies 
 and the disgust they felt at their cannibal propensities, 
 although they dilated upon the manifold injuries they 
 had received at their hands, yet with a forbearance 
 truly commendable, they appeared patiently to sit down 
 under their grievances and to refrain from making any 
 reprisals. The Happars, entrenched behind their moun 
 tains, and never even showing themselves on their sum 
 mits, did not appear to me to furnish adequate cause 
 for that excess of animosity evinced toward them by the 
 heroic tenants of our vale, and I was inclined to believe 
 that the deeds of blood attributed to them had been 
 greatly exaggerated. 
 
 On the other hand, as the clamours of war had not 
 up to this period disturbed the serenity of the tribe, I 
 began to distrust the truth of those reports which 
 ascribed so fierce and belligerent a character to the 
 Typee nation. Surely, thought I, all these terrible 
 stories I have heard about the inveteracy with which 
 they carried on the feud, their deadly intensity of 
 hatred, and the diabolical malice with which they glutted 
 
1 72 TYPEE 
 
 their revenge upon the inanimate forms of the slain are 
 nothing more than fables, and I must confess that I 
 experienced something like a sense of regret at having 
 my hideous anticipations thus disappointed. I felt in 
 some sort like a prentice-boy who, going to the play in 
 the expectation of being delighted with a cut-and-thrust 
 tragedy, is almost moved to tears of disappointment at 
 the exhibition of a genteel comedy. 
 
 I could not avoid thinking that I had fallen in with 
 a greatly traduced people, and I moralised not a little 
 upon the disadvantage of having a bad name, which in 
 this instance had given a tribe of savages who were as 
 pacific as so many lambkins the reputation of a confed 
 eracy of giant-killers. 
 
 But subsequent events proved that I had been a little 
 too premature in coming to this conclusion. One day 
 about noon, happening to be at the Ti, I had lain down 
 on the mats with several of the chiefs, and had grad 
 ually sunk into a most luxurious siesta, when I was 
 awakened by a tremendous outcry, and starting up be 
 held the natives seizing their spears and hurrying out, 
 while the most puissant of the chiefs, grasping the six 
 muskets which were ranged against the bamboos, fol 
 lowed after and soon disappeared in the groves. These 
 movements were accompanied by wild shouts, in which 
 "Happar, Happar," greatly predominated. The islanders 
 were now to be seen running past the Ti and striking 
 across the valley to the Happar side. Presently I heard 
 the sharp report of a musket from the adjoining hills, 
 and then a burst of voices in the same direction. At 
 this the women, who had congregated in the groves, 
 set up the most violent clamours, as they invariably do 
 here as elsewhere on every occasion of excitement and 
 alarm, with a view of tranquillizing their own minds and 
 
SKIRMISH WITH THE HAPPARS 173 
 
 disturbing other people. On this particular occasion they 
 made such an outrageous noise, and continued it with 
 such perseverance, that for a while, had entire volleys of 
 musketry been fired off in the neighbouring mountains, 
 I should not have been able to have heard them. 
 
 When this female commotion had a little subsided I 
 listened eagerly for further information. At last bang 
 went another shot, and then a second volley of yells 
 from the hills. Again all was quiet, and continued so 
 for such a length of time that I began to think the con 
 tending armies had agreed upon a suspension of hostili 
 ties; when pop went a third gun, followed as before 
 with a yell. After this, for nearly two hours nothing 
 occurred worthy of comment save some straggling shouts 
 from the hill-side, sounding like the halloos of a parcel 
 of truant boys who had lost themselves in the woods. 
 
 During this interval I had remained standing on the 
 piazza of the Ti, which directly fronted the Happar 
 mountain, and with no one near me but Kory-Kory and 
 the superannuated savages I have before described. 
 These latter never stirred from their mats, and seemed 
 altogether unconscious that anything unusual was going 
 on. 
 
 As for Kory-Kory, he appeared to think that we were 
 in the midst of great events, and sought most zealously 
 to impress me with a due sense of their importance. 
 Every sound that reached us conveyed some momentous 
 item of intelligence to him. At such times, as if he 
 were gifted with second sight, he would go through a 
 variety of pantomimic illustrations, showing me the pre 
 cise manner in which the redoubtable Typees were at 
 that very moment chastising the insolence of the enemy. 
 "Mehevi hanna pippee nuee Happar," he exclaimed 
 every five minutes, giving me to understand that under 
 
174 TYPEE 
 
 that distinguished captain the warriors of his nation were 
 performing prodigies of valour. 
 
 Having heard only four reports from the muskets, I 
 was led to believe that they were worked by the islanders 
 in the same manner as the Sultan Solyman s ponderous 
 artillery at the siege of Byzantium, one of them taking 
 an hour or two to load and train. At last, no sound 
 whatever proceeding from the mountains, I concluded 
 that the contest had been determined one way or the 
 other. Such appeared, indeed, to be the case, for in 
 a little while a courier arrived at the Ti, almost breath 
 less with his exertions, and communicated the news of 
 a great victory having been achieved by his countrymen: 
 "Happar poo awa! Happar poo awa!" (the cowards 
 had fled). Kory-Kory was in ecstasies and commenced 
 a vehement harangue, which, so far as I understood it, 
 implied that the result exactly agreed with his expecta 
 tions, and which, moreover, was intended to convince 
 me that it would be a perfectly useless undertaking, 
 even for an army of fire-eaters, to offer battle to the 
 irresistible heroes of our valley. In all this I of course 
 acquiesced, and looked forward with no little interest to 
 the return of the conquerors, whose victory I feared 
 might not have been purchased without cost to them 
 selves. 
 
 But here I was again mistaken; for Mehevi, in con 
 ducting his warlike operations, rather inclined to the 
 Fabian than to the Bonapartean tactics, husbanding his 
 resources and exposing his troops to no unnecessary 
 hazards. The total loss of the victors in this obstinately 
 contested affair was, in killed, wounded, and missing 
 one forefinger and part of a thumb-nail (which the 
 late proprietor brought along with him in his hand), a 
 severely contused arm, and a considerable effusion of 
 
SKIRMISH WITH THE HAPPARS 175 
 
 blood flowing from the thigh of a chief, who had received 
 an ugly thrust from a Happar spear. What the enemy 
 had suffered I could not discover, but I presume they 
 had succeeded in taking off with them the bodies of 
 their slain. 
 
 Such was the issue of the battle, as far as its results 
 came under my observation; and as it appeared to be 
 considered an event of prodigious importance, I reason 
 ably concluded that the wars of the natives were marked 
 by no very sanguinary traits. I afterwards learned how 
 the skirmish had originated. A number of the Happars 
 had been discovered prowling for no good purpose on 
 the Typee side of the mountain; the alarm was sounded, 
 and the invaders, after a protracted resistance, had been 
 chased over the frontier. But why had not the intrepid 
 Mehevi carried the war into Happar? Why had he not 
 made a descent into the hostile vale and brought away 
 some trophy of his victory some materials for the 
 cannibal entertainment which I heard usually terminated 
 every engagement? After all, I was much inclined to 
 believe that such shocking festivals must occur very rarely 
 among the islanders, if, indeed, they ever take place. 
 
 For two or three days the late event was the theme 
 of general comment, after which the excitement gradu 
 ally wore away, and the valley resumed its accustomed 
 tranquillity. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 MARNOO APPEARS 
 
 RETURNING health and peace of mind gave a new 
 interest to everything around me. I sought to diversify 
 my time by as many enjoyments as lay within reach. 
 Bathing in company with troops of girls formed one of 
 my chief amusements. We sometimes enjoyed the recrea 
 tion in the waters of a miniature lake into which the 
 central stream of the valley expanded. This lovely 
 sheet of water was almost circular in figure, and about 
 three hundred yards across. Its beauty was indescrib 
 able. All around its banks waved luxuriant masses of 
 tropical foliage, soaring high above which was to be 
 seen, here and there the symmetrical shaft of the cocoa- 
 nut tree, surmounted by its tuft of graceful branches 
 drooping in the air like so many waving ostrich plumes. 
 
 The ease and grace with which the maidens of the 
 valley propelled themselves through the water, and their 
 familiarity with the element, were truly astonishing. 
 Sometimes they might be seen gliding along, just under 
 the surface, without apparently moving hand or foot 
 then throwing themselves on their sides, they darted 
 through the water, revealing glimpses of their forms 
 as, in the course of their rapid progress, they shot for 
 an instant partly into the air at one moment they 
 dived deep down into the water and the next they rose 
 bounding to the surface. 
 
 I remember upon one occasion plunging in among a 
 176 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 177 
 
 parcel of these river-nymphs, and counting vainly upon 
 my superior strength, sought to drag some of them 
 under the water, but I quickly repented my temerity. 
 The amphibious young creatures swarmed about me 
 like a shoal of dolphins, and seizing hold of my devoted 
 limbs, tumbled me about and ducked me under the sur 
 face, until from the strange noises which rang in my 
 ears, and the supernatural visions dancing before my 
 eyes, I thought I was in the land of spirits. I stood 
 indeed as little chance among them as a cumbersome 
 whale attacked on all sides by a legion of sword-<fish. 
 When at length they relinquished their hold of me, they 
 swam away in every direction, laughing at my clumsy 
 endeavours to reach them. 
 
 There was no boat on the lake; but at my solicitation 
 and for my special use, some of the young men attached 
 to Marheyo s household, under the direction of the in 
 defatigable Kory-Kory, brought up a light and taste 
 fully-carved canoe from the sea. It was launched upon 
 the sheet of water, and floated there as gracefully as a 
 swan. But, melancholy to relate, it produced an effect 
 I had not anticipated. The sweet nymphs, who had 
 sported with me before in the lake, now all fled its 
 vicinity. The prohibited craft, guarded by the edicts 
 of the "taboo," extended the prohibition to the waters 
 in which it lay. 
 
 For a few days, Kory-Kory, with one or two other 
 youths, accompanied me in my excursions to the lake, 
 and while I paddled about in my light canoe, would 
 swim after me shouting and gambolling in pursuit. 
 But I was ever partial to what is termed in the Young 
 Men s Own Book "the society of virtuous and intel 
 ligent young ladies," and in the absence of the mer 
 maids, the amusement became dull and insipid. One 
 
1 78 TYPEE 
 
 morning I expressed to my faithful servitor my desire 
 for the return of the nymphs. The honest fellow looked 
 at me bewildered for a moment, and then shook his 
 head solemnly, and murmured, "Taboo! taboo!" giving 
 me to understand that unless the canoe was removed, I 
 could not expect to have the young ladies back again. 
 But to this procedure I was averse; I not only wanted 
 the canoe to stay where it was, but I wanted the beau 
 teous Fayaway to get into it and paddle with me about 
 the lake. This latter proposition completely horrified 
 Kory-Kory s notions of propriety. He inveighed against 
 it, as something too monstrous to be thought of. It not 
 only shocked their established notions of propriety, but 
 was at variance with all their religious ordinances. 
 
 However, although the "taboo" was a ticklish thing 
 to meddle with, I determined to test its capabilities of 
 resisting an attack. I consulted the chief Mehevi, who 
 endeavoured to dissuade me from my object; but I was 
 not to be repulsed and accordingly increased the warmth 
 of my solicitations. At last he entered into a long and 
 I have no doubt a very learned and eloquent exposition 
 of the history and nature of the "taboo" as affecting this 
 particular case, employing a variety of most extraordi 
 nary words, which, from their amazing length and 
 sonorousness, I have every reason to believe were of 
 a theological nature. But all that he said failed to 
 convince me partly, perhaps, because I could not com 
 prehend a word that he uttered, but chiefly that for the 
 life of me I could not understand why a woman should 
 not have as much right to enter a canoe as a man. At 
 last he became a little more rational, and intimated that, 
 out of the abundant love he bore me, he would consult 
 with the priests and see what could be done. 
 
 .How it was that the priesthood of Typee satisfied .the 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 179 
 
 affair with their consciences, I know not; but so it was, 
 and Fayaway s dispensation from this portion of the 
 taboo was at length procured. Such an event I believe 
 never before had occurred in the valley; but it was high 
 time the islanders should be taught a little gallantry, 
 and I trust that the example I set them may produce 
 beneficial effects. Ridiculous, indeed, that the lovely 
 creatures should be obliged to paddle about in the water, 
 like so many ducks, while a parcel of great strapping 
 fellows skimmed over its surface in their canoes. 
 
 The first day after Fayaway s emancipation I had a 
 delightful little party on the lake the damsel, Kory- 
 Kory, and myself. My zealous body-servant brought 
 from the house a calabash of poee-poee, half a dozen 
 young cocoa-nuts stripped of their husks three 
 pipes, as many yams, and me on his back a part of the 
 way. Something of a load; but Kory-Kory was a very 
 strong man for his size, and by no means brittle in the 
 spine. We had a very pleasant day; my trusty valet 
 plied the paddle and swept us gently along the margin of 
 the water, beneath the shades of the overhanging 
 thickets. Fayaway and I reclined in the stern of the 
 canoe, on the very best terms with one another; the 
 gentle nymph occasionally placing her pipe to her lip, 
 and exhaling mild fumes of the tobacco, to which, her 
 rosy breath added a fresh perfume. 
 
 We floated about thus for several hours; when I 
 looked up to the warm, glowing, tropical sky, and then 
 down into the transparent depths below; and when my 
 eye, wandering from the bewitching scenery around, fell 
 upon the grotesquely-tattooed form of Kory-Kory, and 
 finally encountered the pensive gaze of Fayaway, I 
 thought I had been transported to some fairy region, so 
 unreal did everything appear. 
 
i8o TYPEE 
 
 This lovely piece of water was the coolest spot in all 
 the valley, and I now made it a place of continual resort 
 during the hottest period of the day. One side of it 
 lay near the termination of a long gradually expanding 
 gorge, which mounted to the heights that environed the 
 vale. The strong trade wind, met in its course by these 
 elevations, circled and eddied about their summits, and 
 was sometimes driven down the steep ravine and swept 
 across the valley, ruffling in its passage the otherwise 
 tranquil surface of the like. 
 
 One day, after we had been paddling about for some 
 time, I disembarked Kory-Kory and paddled the canoe 
 to the windward side of the lake. As I turned the 
 canoe, Fayaway, who was with me, seemed all at once 
 to be struck with some happy idea. With a wild ex 
 clamation of delight, she disengaged from her person 
 the ample robe of tappa which was knotted over her 
 shoulder for the purpose of shielding her frqm the sun, 
 and spreading it out like a sail, stood erect with upraised 
 arms in the head of the canoe. We American sailors 
 pride ourselves upon our straight clean spars, but a 
 prettier little mast than Fayaway made was never shipped 
 aboard of any craft. 
 
 In a moment the tappa was distended by the breeze 
 the long brown tresses of Fayaway streamed in the air 
 j and the canoe glided rapidly through the water and shot 
 towards the shore. Seated in the stern, I directed its 
 course with my paddle until it dashed up the soft sloping 
 bank, and Fayaway, with a light spring, alighted on 
 the ground, whilst Kory-Kory, who had watched our 
 manoeuvres with admiration, now clapped his hands in 
 transport and shouted like a madman. Many a time 
 afterwards was this feat repeated. 
 
 One afternoon I was lying in the house, when I heard 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 181 
 
 a great uproar outside; but being by this time pretty 
 well accustomed to the wild halloos which were almost 
 continually ringing through the valley, I paid little 
 attention to it, until old Marheyo, under the influence 
 of some strange excitement, rushed into my presence 
 and communicated the astounding tidings, "Marnoo 
 pemi!" which being interpreted, implied that an individ 
 ual by the name of Marnoo was approaching. My 
 worthy old friend evidently expected that this intelli 
 gence would produce a great effect upon me, and for a 
 time he stood earnestly regarding me, as if curious to 
 see how I should conduct myself, but as I remained 
 perfectly unmoved, the old gentleman darted out of the 
 house again, in as great a hurry as he had entered it. 
 
 Marnoo, Marnoo," cogitated I, "I have never heard 
 that name before. Some distinguished character, I pre 
 sume, from the prodigious riot the natives are making;" 
 the tumultuous noise drawing nearer and nearer every 
 moment, while "Marnoo! Marnoo!" was shouted by 
 every tongue. 
 
 I made up my mind that some savage warrior of con 
 sequence, who had not yet enjoyed the honour of an 
 audience, was desirous of paying his respects on the 
 present occasion. So vain had I become by the lavish 
 attention to which I had been accustomed that I felt 
 half inclined, as a punishment for such neglect, to give 
 this Marnoo a cold reception, when the excited throng 
 came within view, convoying one of the most striking 
 specimens of humanity that I ever beheld. 
 
 The stranger could not have been more than twenty- 
 five years of age, and was a little above the ordinary 
 height; had he been a single hair s breadth taller, the 
 matchless symmetry of his form would have been 
 destroyed. His unclad limbs were beautifully formed; 
 
1 82 TYPEE 
 
 whilst the elegant outline of his figure, together with 
 his beardless cheeks, might have entitled him to the 
 distinction of standing for the statue of the Polynesian 
 Apollo; and indeed the oval of his countenance and the 
 regularity of every feature reminded me of an antique 
 bust. But the marble repose of art was supplied by a 
 warmth and liveliness of expression only to be seen in 
 the South Sea Islander under the most favourable devel 
 opments of nature. The hair of Marnoo was a rich 
 curling brown, and twined about his temples and neck 
 in little close curling ringlets, which danced up and 
 down continually when he was animated in conversa 
 tion. His cheek was of a feminine softness, and his 
 face was free from the least blemish of tattooing, 
 although the rest of his body was drawn all over with 
 fanciful figures, which unlike the unconnected sketch 
 ing usual among the natives appeared to have been 
 executed in conformity with some general design. 
 
 The tattooing on his back in particular attracted my 
 attention. The artist employed must indeed have ex 
 celled in his profession. Traced along the course of 
 the spine was accurately delineated the slender, taper 
 ing, and diamond-checkered shaft of the beautiful "artu" 
 tree. Branching from the stem on either side, and dis 
 posed alternately, were the graceful branches drooping 
 with leaves all correctly drawn and elaborately finished. 
 Indeed, this piece of tattooing was the best specimen of 
 the fine arts I had yet seen in Typee. A rear view of 
 the stranger might have suggested the idea of a spread 
 ing vine tacked against a garden wall. Upon his breast, 
 arms, and legs were exhibited an infinite variety of 
 figures, every one of which, however, appeared to have 
 reference to the general effect sought to be produced. 
 The tattooing I have described was of the brightest 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 183 
 
 blue, and when contrasted with the light olive colour 
 of the skin produced an unique and even elegant effect. 
 A slight girdle of white tappa, scarcely two inches in 
 width, but hanging before and behind in spreading 
 tassels, composed the entire costume of the .stranger. 
 
 He advanced surrounded by the islanders, carrying 
 under one arm a small roll of the native cloth, and 
 grasping in his other hand a long and richly decorated 
 spear. His manner was that of a traveller conscious 
 that he is approaching a comfortable stage in his jour 
 ney. Every moment he turned good-humoredly to the 
 throng around him, and gave some dashing sort of reply 
 to their incessant queries, which appeared to convulse 
 them with uncontrollable mirth. 
 
 Struck by his demeanor and the peculiarity of his 
 appearance, so unlike that of the shaven-crowned and 
 face-tattooed natives in general, I involuntarily rose as 
 he entered the house and proffered him a seat on the 
 mats beside me. But without deigning to notice the 
 civility, or even the more incontrovertible fact of my 
 existence, the stranger passed on, utterly regardless of 
 me, and flung himself down upon the farther end of the 
 long couch that traversed the sole apartment of Mar- 
 heyo s habitation. 
 
 Had the belle of the season, in the pride of her beauty 
 and power, been cut in a place of public resort by some 
 supercilious exquisite, she could not have felt greater 
 indignation than I did at this unexpected slight. I was 
 thrown into utter astonishment. The conduct of the 
 savages had prepared me to anticipate from every new 
 comer the same extravagant expressions of curiosity and 
 regard. This singularity of his conduct, however, only 
 roused my desire to discover who this remarkable per 
 sonage might be who now engrossed the attention of 
 every one. 
 
1 84 TYPEE 
 
 Tinor placed before him a calabash of poee-poee, from 
 which the stranger regaled himself, alternating every 
 mouthful with some rapid exclamation which was eagerly 
 caught up and echoed by the crowd that completely 
 filled the house. When I observed the striking devotion 
 of the natives to him, and their temporary withdrawal 
 of all attention from myself, I felt not a little piqued. 
 The glory of Tommo is departed, thought I, and the 
 sooner he removes from the valley the better. These 
 were my feelings at the moment, and they were prompted 
 by that glorious principle inherent in all heroic natures 
 the strong-rooted determination to have the biggest 
 share of the pudding or go without any of it. 
 
 Marnoo, this all-attractive personage, having satisfied 
 his hunger and inhaled a few whiffs from a pipe which 
 was handed to him, launched out into an harangue 
 which completely enchained the attention of his auditors. 
 
 Little as I understood of the language, yet from his 
 animated gestures and the varying expressions of his 
 features, reflected as from so many mirrors in the coun 
 tenances around him, I could easily discover the nature 
 of those passions which he sought to arouse. From 
 the frequent occurrence of the words "Nukuheva" and 
 "Frannee" (French), and some others with the meaning 
 of which I was acquainted, he appeared to be rehearsing 
 to his auditors events which had recently occurred in 
 the neighbouring bays. But how he had gained the 
 knowledge of these matters I could not understand, 
 unless it were that he had just come from Nukuheva 
 a supposition which his travel-stained appearance not 
 a little supported. But, if a native of that region, I 
 could not account for his friendly reception at the hands 
 of the Typees. 
 
 Never, certainly, had I beheld so powerful an exhibi- 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 185 
 
 tion of natural eloquence as Marnoo displayed during 
 the course of his oration. The grace of the attitudes 
 into which he threw his flexible figure, the striking ges 
 tures of his naked arms, and above all the fire which 
 shot from his brilliant eyes, imparted an effect to the 
 continually changing accents of his voice of which the 
 most accomplished orator might have been proud. At 
 one moment reclining sideways upon the mat, and lean 
 ing calmly upon his bended arm, he related circumstan 
 tially the aggressions of the French their hostile visits 
 to the surrounding bays, enumerating each one in suc 
 cession Happar, Puerka, Nukuheva, Tior and then 
 starting to his feet and precipitating himself forward 
 with clenched hands and a countenance distorted with 
 passion, he poured out a tide of invectives. Falling 
 back into an attitude of lofty command, he exhorted the 
 Typees to resist these encroachments, reminding them, 
 with a fierce glance of exultation, that as yet the terror 
 of their name had preserved them from attack, and with 
 a scornful sneer he sketched in ironical terms the won 
 drous intrepidity of the French, who, with five war- 
 canoes and hundreds of men, had not dared to assail the 
 naked warriors of their valley. 
 
 The effect he produced upon his audience was elec 
 tric ; one and all they stood regarding him with spark 
 ling eyes and trembling limbs, as though they were 
 listening to the inspired voice of a prophet. 
 
 But it soon appeared that Marnoo s powers were as 
 versatile as they were extraordinary. As soon as he 
 had finished this vehement harangue, he threw himself 
 again upon the mats, and, singling out individuals in 
 the crowd, addressed them by name, in a sort of banter 
 ing style, the humour of which, though nearly hidden 
 from me, filled the whole assembly with uproarious 
 delight. 
 
i86 TYPEE 
 
 He had a word for everybody; and, turning rapidly 
 from one to another, gave utterance to some hasty wit 
 ticism, which was sure to be followed by peals of laugh 
 ter. To the females, as well as to the men, he addressed 
 his discourse. Heaven only knows what he said to 
 them, but he caused smiles and blushes to mantle their 
 ingenuous faces. I am, indeed, very much inclined to 
 believe that Marnoo, with his handsome person and 
 captivating manners, was a sad deceiver among the 
 simple maidens of the island. 
 
 During all this time he had never, for one moment, 
 deigned to regard me. He appeared, indeed, to be 
 altogether unconscious of my presence. I was utterly 
 at a loss how to account for this extraordinary conduct. 
 I easily perceived that he was a man of no little con 
 sequence among the islanders that he possessed un 
 common talents, and was gifted with a higher degree 
 of knowledge than the inmates of the valley. For 
 these reasons, I therefore greatly feared lest having, 
 from some cause or other, unfriendly feelings toward 
 me, he might exert his powerful influence to do me 
 mischief. 
 
 It seemed evident that he was not a permanent resi 
 dent of the vale, and yet, whence could he have come? 
 On all sides the Typees were girt in by hostile tribes, 
 and how could he possibly, if belonging to any of these, 
 be received with so much cordiality? 
 
 The personal appearance of the enigmatical stranger 
 suggested additional perplexities. The face, free from 
 tattooing, and the unshaven crown, were peculiarities I 
 had never before remarked in any part of the island, 
 and I had always heard that the contrary were con 
 sidered the indispensable distinctions of a Marquesan 
 warrior. Altogether the matter was perfectly incom- 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 187 
 
 prehensible to me, and I awaited its solution with no 
 small degree of anxiety. 
 
 At length, from certain indications, I suspected that 
 he was making me the subject of his remarks, although 
 he appeared cautiously to avoid either pronouncing 
 my name or looking in the direction where I lay. All 
 at once he rose from the mats where he had been reclin 
 ing, and, still conversing, moved towards me, his eye 
 purposely evading mine, and seated himself within less 
 than a yard of me. I had hardly recovered from my 
 surprise when he suddenly turned round and, with a 
 most benignant countenance, extended his right hand 
 gracefully towards me. Of course I accepted the cour 
 teous challenge, and, as soon as our palms met, he bent 
 towards me, and murmured in musical accents, "How 
 you do? How long you been in this bay? You like this 
 bay?" 
 
 Had I been pierced simultaneously by three Happar 
 spears, I could not have started more than I did at 
 hearing these simple questions! For a moment I was 
 overwhelmed with astonishment, and then answered 
 something, I know not what; but as soon as I regained 
 my self-possession, the thought darted through my mind 
 that from this individual I might obtain that informa- 
 tioij} regarding Toby which I suspected the natives had 
 purposely withheld from me. Accordingly I questioned 
 him concerning the disappearance of my companion, but 
 he denied all knowledge of the matter. I then enquired 
 from whence he had come? He replied, from Nuku- 
 heva. When I expressed my surprise, he looked at me 
 for a moment, as if enjoying my perplexity, and then, 
 with his strange vivacity, exclaimed, "Ah! me taboo 
 me go Nukuheva me go Tior me go Typee 
 me go everywhere nobody harm me me taboo." 
 
1 88 TYPEE 
 
 This explanation would have been altogether unintel 
 ligible to me had it not recalled to my mind something 
 I had previously heard concerning a singular custom 
 among these islanders. Though the country is possessed 
 by various tribes whose mutual hostilities almost wholly 
 preclude any intercourse between them, yet there are 
 instances where a person, having ratified friendly rela 
 tions with some individual belonging to the valley whose 
 inmates are at war with his own, may, under particular 
 restrictions, venture with impunity into the country of 
 his friend, where, under other circumstances, he would 
 have been treated as an enemy. In this light are personal 
 friendships regarded among them, and the individual so 
 protected is said to be "taboo," and his person, to a cer 
 tain extent, is held as sacred. Thus the stranger informed 
 me he had access to all the valleys in the island. 
 
 Curious to know how he had acquired his knowledge 
 of English, I questioned him on the subject. At first, 
 for some reason or other, he evaded the enquiry, but 
 afterwards told me that when a boy, he had been car 
 ried to sea by the captain of a trading vessel, with whom 
 he had staid three years, living part of the time with 
 him at Sydney, in Australia, and that, at a subsequent 
 visit to the island, the captain had, at his own request, 
 permitted him to remain among his countrymen. The 
 natural quickness of the savage had been wonderfully 
 improved by his intercourse with the white men, and 
 his partial knowledge of a foreign language gave him 
 a great ascendancy over his less accomplished country 
 men. 
 
 When I asked the now affable Marnoo why it was 
 that he had not previously spoken to me, he eagerly en 
 quired what I had been led to think of him from his 
 conduct in that respect. I replied that I had supposed 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 189 
 
 him to be some great chief or warrior, who had seen 
 plenty of white men before and did not think it worth 
 while to notice a poor sailor. At this declaration of the 
 exalted opinion I had formed of him, he appeared vastly 
 gratified, and gave me to understand that he had pur 
 posely behaved in that manner in order to increase my 
 astonishment as soon as he should see proper to ad 
 dress me. 
 
 Marnoo now sought to learn my version of the story 
 as to how I came to be an inmate of the Typee valley. 
 When I related to him the circumstances under which 
 Toby and I had entered it, he listened with evident 
 interest; but as soon as I alluded to the absence, yet 
 unaccounted for, of my comrade, he endeavoured to 
 change the subject, as if it were something he desired 
 not to agitate. It seemed, indeed, as if everything con 
 nected with Toby was destined to beget distrust and 
 anxiety in my bosom. Notwithstanding Marnoo s de 
 nial of any knowledge of his fate, I could not avoid 
 suspecting that he was deceiving me; and this suspicion 
 revived those frightful apprehensions with regard to my 
 own fate which, for a short time past, had subsided in 
 my breast. 
 
 Influenced by these feelings, I now felt a strong de 
 sire to avail myself of the stranger s protection, and 
 under his safeguard to return to Nukuheva. But as 
 soon as I hinted at this, he unhesitatingly pronounced 
 it to be entirely impracticable, assuring me that the 
 Typees would never consent to my leaving the valley. 
 Although what he said merely confirmed the impres 
 sion which I had before entertained, still it increased 
 my anxiety to escape from a captivity which, however 
 endurable, nay, delightful it might be in some respects, 
 involved in its issues a fate marked by the most fright 
 ful contingencies. 
 
1 90 TYPEE 
 
 I could not conceal from my mind that Toby had 
 been treated in the same friendly manner as I had been, 
 and yet all their kindness had terminated in his myste 
 rious disappearance. Might not the same fate await 
 me? a fate too dreadful to think of. Stimulated by 
 these considerations, I urged anew my request to Mar- 
 noo; but he only set forth in stronger colours the im 
 possibility of my escape, and repeated his previous dec 
 laration that the Typees would never be brought to 
 consent to my departure. 
 
 When I endeavoured to learn from him the motives 
 which prompted them to hold me a prisoner, Marnoo 
 again assumed that mysterious tone which had tormented 
 me with apprehensions when I had questioned him with 
 regard to the fate of my companion. 
 
 Thus repulsed, in a manner which only served, by 
 arousing the most dreadful forebodings, to excite me to 
 renewed attempts, I conjured him to intercede for me 
 with the natives and endeavour to procure their consent 
 to my leaving them. To this he appeared strongly 
 averse; but, yielding at last to my importunities, he 
 addressed several of the chiefs, who with the rest had 
 been eying us intently during the whole of our con 
 versation. His petition, however, was at once met with 
 the most violent disapprobation, manifesting itself in 
 angry glances and gestures, and a perfect torrent of 
 passionate words, directed to both him and myself. 
 Marnoo, evidently repenting the step he had taken, 
 earnestly deprecated the resentment of the crowd, and 
 in a few moments succeeded in pacifying to some ex 
 tent the clamours which had broken out as soon as his 
 proposition had been understood. 
 
 With the most intense interest had I watched the 
 reception his intercession might receive; and a bitter 
 
MARNOO APPEARS 191 
 
 pang shot through my heart at the additional evidence, 
 now furnished, of the unchangeable determination of 
 the islanders. Marnoo told me, with evident alarm in 
 his countenance, that although admitted into the bay 
 on a friendly footing with its inhabitants, he could not 
 presume to meddle with their concerns, as such a pro 
 cedure, if persisted in, would at once absolve the Typees 
 from the restraints of the "taboo," although so long 
 as he refrained from any such conduct, it screened 
 him effectually from the consequences of the enmity 
 they bore his tribe. 
 
 At this moment Mehevi, who was present, angrily 
 interrupted him; and the words which he uttered, in a 
 commanding tone, evidently meant that he must at once 
 cease talking to me and withdraw to the other part of 
 the house. Marnoo immediately started up, hurriedly 
 enjoining me not to address him again, and, as I valued 
 my safety, to refrain from all further allusion to the 
 subject of my departure; and then, in compliance with 
 the order of the determined chief, but not before it had 
 been angrily repeated, he withdrew to a distance. 
 
 I now perceived, with no small degree of apprehen 
 sion, the same savage expression in the countenance of 
 the natives which had startled me during the scene at 
 the Ti. They glanced their eyes suspiciously from 
 Marnoo to me, as if distrusting the nature of an inter 
 course carried on, as it was, in a language they could 
 not understand, and they seemed to harbour the belief 
 that already we had concerted measures calculated to 
 elude their vigilance. 
 
 The lively countenances of these people are wonder 
 fully indicative of the emotions of the soul, and the 
 imperfections of their oral language are more than com 
 pensated for by the nervous eloquence of their books and 
 
192 TYPEE 
 
 gestures. I could plainly trace, in every varying ex 
 pression of their faces, all those passions which had 
 been thus unexpectedly aroused in their bosoms. 
 
 It required no reflection to convince me, from what 
 was going on, that the injunction of Marnoo was not to 
 be rashly slighted; and accordingly, great as was the 
 effort to suppress my feelings, I accosted Mehevi in 
 a good-humoured tone, and with a view of dissipating any 
 ill impression he might have received. But the ireful, 
 angry chief was not so easily mollified. He rejected 
 my advances with that peculiarly stern expression I 
 have before described, and took care by the whole of his 
 behaviour towards me to show the displeasure and re 
 sentment which he felt. 
 
 Marnoo, at the other extremity of the house, appar 
 ently desirous of making a diversion in my favour, ex 
 erted himself to amuse with his pleasantries the crowd 
 about him; but his lively attempts were not so success 
 ful as they had previously been, and, foiled in his efforts, 
 he rose gravely to depart. No one expressed any regret 
 at this movement, so seizing his roll of tappa, and grasp 
 ing his spear, he advanced to the front of the pi-pi, and 
 waving his hand in adieu to the now silent throng, cast 
 upon me a glance of mingled pity and reproach and 
 flung himself into the path which led from the house. 
 I watched his receding figure until it was lost in the 
 obscurity of the grove, and then gave myself up to the 
 most desponding reflections. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 / 
 
 BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS 
 
 THE knowledge I had now obtained as to the inten 
 tion of the savages deeply affected me. 
 
 Marnoo, I perceived, was a man who, by reason of his 
 superior acquirements, and the knowledge he possessed 
 of the events which were taking place in the different 
 bays of the island, was held in no little estimation by 
 the inhabitants of the valley. He had been received 
 with the most cordial welcome and respect. The na 
 tives had hung upon the accents of his voice, and had 
 manifested the highest gratification at being individu 
 ally noticed by him. And yet, despite all this, a few 
 words urged in my behalf with the intent of obtaining 
 my release from captivity had sufficed not only to 
 banish all harmony and good-will, but if I could be 
 lieve what he told. me, had gone nigh to endanger his 
 own personal safety. 
 
 How strongly rooted, then, must be the determination 
 of the Typees with regard to me, and how suddenly 
 could they display the strangest passions! The mere 
 suggestion of my departure had estranged from me, for 
 the time at least, Mehevi, who was the most influential 
 of all the chiefs, and who had previously exhibited so 
 many instances of his friendly sentiments. The rest of 
 the natives had likewise evinced their strong repugnance 
 to my wishes, and even Kory-Kory himself seemed to 
 share in the general disapprobation bestowed upon me. 
 
 193 
 
194 TYPEE 
 
 In vain I racked my invention to find out some motive 
 for the strange desire these people manifested to retain 
 me among them; but I could discover none. 
 
 But, however this might be, the scene which had just 
 occurred admonished me of the danger of trifling with 
 the wayward and passionate spirits against whom it was 
 vain to struggle, and might even be fatal to do so. My 
 only hope was to induce the natives to believe that I 
 was reconciled to my detention in the valley, and by 
 assuming a tranquil and cheerful demeanour to allay 
 the suspicions which I had so unfortunately aroused. 
 Their confidence revived, they might in a short time 
 remit in some degree their watchfulness over my move 
 ments, and I should then be the better enabled to avail 
 myself of any opportunity which presented itself for 
 escape. I determined, therefore, to ma^ke the best of a 
 bad bargain, and to bear up manfully against whatever 
 might betide. In this endeavour I succeeded beyond 
 my own expectations. At the period of Marnoo s visit, 
 I had been in the valley, as nearly as I could conjecture, 
 some two months. Although not completely recovered 
 from my strange illness, which still .lingered about me, 
 I was free from pain and able to take exercise. In short, 
 I had every reason to anticipate a perfect recovery. 
 Freed from apprehensions on this point, and resolved 
 to regard the future without flinching, I flung myself 
 anew into all the social pleasures of the valley, and 
 sought to bury all regrets, and all remembrances of my 
 previous existence, in the wild enjoyments it afforded. 
 
 In my various wanderings through the vale, and as I 
 became better acquainted with the character of its in 
 habitants, I was more and more struck with the light- 
 hearted joyousness that everywhere prevailed. The 
 minds of these simple savages, unoccupied by matters 
 
BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS 195 
 
 of graver moment, were capable of deriving the utmost 
 delight from circumstances which would have passed 
 unnoticed in more intelligent communities. All their en 
 joyment, indeed, seemed to be made up of the little 
 trifling incidents of the passing hour; but these dimin 
 utive items swelled altogether to an amount of happi 
 ness seldom experienced by more enlightened individuals, 
 whose pleasures are drawn from more elevated but rarer 
 sources. 
 
 What community, for instance, of refined and intel 
 lectual mortals would derive the least satisfaction from 
 shooting pop-guns? The mere supposition of such a 
 thing being possible would excite their indignation; and 
 yet the whole population of Typee did little else for 
 ten days but occupy themselves with that childish 
 amusement, fairly screaming, too, with the delight it 
 afforded them. 
 
 One day I was frolicking with a little spirited urchin, 
 some six years old, who chased me with a piece of bam 
 boo about three feet long, with which he occasionally 
 belaboured me. Seizing the stick from him, the idea 
 happened to suggest itself that I might make for the 
 youngster, out of the slender tube, one of those nursery 
 muskets with which I had sometimes seen children play 
 ing. Accordingly, with my knife I made two parallel 
 slits in the cane several inches in length, and cutting 
 loose at one end the elastic strip between them, bent it 
 back and slipped the point into a little notch made for 
 the purpose. Any small substance placed against this 
 would be projected with considerable force through the 
 tube by merely springing the bent strip out of the 
 notch. 
 
 Had I possessed the remotest idea of the sensation 
 this piece of ordnance was destined to produce, I should 
 
196 TYPEE 
 
 certainly have taken out a patent for the invention. The 
 boy scampered away with it, half delirious with ecstasy, 
 and in twenty minutes afterwards I might have been 
 seen surounded by a noisy crowd venerable grey 
 beards responsible fathers of families valiant war 
 riors matrons young men girls and children, all 
 holding in their hand bits of bamboo, and each clamour 
 ing to be served first. 
 
 For three or four hours I was engaged in manufactur 
 ing pop-guns, but at last made over my good-will and 
 interest in the concern to a lad of remarkably quick 
 parts, whom I soon initiated into the art and mystery. 
 
 Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, now resounded all over the val 
 ley. Duels, skirmishes, pitched battles, and general en 
 gagements were to be seen on every side. Here, as 
 you walked along a path which led through a thicket, 
 you fell into a cunningly-laid ambush, and became a 
 target for a body of musketeers whose tattooed limbs 
 you could just see peeping into view through the foliage. 
 There, you were assailed by the intrepid garrison of a 
 house, who levelled their bamboo rifles at you from 
 between the upright canes which composed its sides. 
 Farther on you were fired upon by a detachment of 
 sharpshooters, mounted upon the top of a pi-pi. 
 
 Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop! green guavas, seeds, and berries 
 were flying about in every direction, and during this 
 dangerous state of affairs I was half afraid that, like the 
 man and his brazen bull, I should fall a victim to my 
 own ingenuity. Like everything else, however, the ex 
 citement gradually wore away, though ever after occa 
 sional pop-guns might be heard at all hours of the day. 
 
 It was towards the close of the pop-gun war that I 
 was infinitely diverted with a strange freak of Marheyo s. 
 
 I had worn, when I quitted the ship, a pair of thick 
 
BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS , 197 
 
 pumps, which, from the rough usage they had received 
 in scaling precipices and sliding down gorges, were so 
 dilapidated as to be altogether unfit for use so, at 
 least, would have thought the generality of people, and 
 so they most certainly were when considered in the 
 light of shoes. But things unserviceable in one way 
 may with advantage be applied in another, that is if 
 one have genius enough for the purpose. This genius 
 Marheyo possessed in a superlative degree, as he abun 
 dantly evinced by the use to which he put these sorely 
 bruised and battered old shoes. 
 
 Every article, however trivial, which belonged to me 
 the natives appeared to regard as sacred; and I observed 
 that for several days after becoming an inmate of the 
 house, my pumps were suffered to remain, untouched, 
 where I had first happened to throw them. I remem 
 bered, however, that after a while I had missed them 
 from their accustomed place; but the matter gave me 
 no concern, supposing that Tinor like any other tidy 
 housewife, having come across them in some of her 
 domestic occupations had pitched the useless things 
 out of the house. But I was soon undeceived. 
 
 One day I observed Marheyo bustling about me with 
 unusual activity, and to such a degree as almost to super 
 sede Kory-Kory in the functions of his office. One 
 moment he volunteered to trot off with me on his back 
 to the stream; and when I refused, noways daunted 
 by the repulse he continued to frisk about me like a 
 superannuated house-dog. I could not for the life of 
 me conjecture what possessed the old gentleman, until all 
 at once, availing himself of the temporary absence of the 
 household, he went through a variety of uncouth ges 
 tures, pointing eagerly down to my feet, and then up 
 to a little bundle which swung from the ridge-pole over- 
 
198 TYPEE 
 
 head. At last I caught a faint idea of his meaning, and 
 motioned him to lower the package. He executed the 
 order in the twinkling of an eye, and unrolling a piece 
 of tappa displayed to my astonished gaze the identi 
 cal pumps which I thought had been destroyed long 
 before. 
 
 I immediately comprehended his desires, and very 
 generously gave him the shoes, which had become quite 
 mouldy, wondering for what earthly purpose he could 
 want them. 
 
 The same afternoon I descried the venerable warrior 
 approaching the house with a slow, stately gait, ear 
 rings in ears and spear in hand, with this highly orna 
 mental pair of shoes suspended from his neck by a strip 
 of bark, and swinging backwards and forwards on his 
 capacious chest. In the gala costume of the tasteful 
 Marheyo, these calf-skin pendants ever after formed the 
 most striking feature. 
 
 But to turn to something a little more important. 
 Although the whole existence of the inhabitants of the 
 valley seemed to pass away exempt from toil, yet there 
 were some light employments which, although amusing 
 rather than laborious as occupations, contributed to 
 their comfort and luxury. Among these the most im 
 portant was the manufacture of the native cloth 
 "tappa," so well known, under various modifications, 
 throughout the whole Polynesian Archipelago. As is 
 generally understood, this useful and sometimes elegant 
 article is fabricated from the bark of different trees. 
 But, as I believe that no description of its manufacture 
 has ever been given, I shall state what I know regard 
 ing it. 
 
 In the manufacture of the beautiful white tappa gen 
 erally worn on the Marquesan Islands, the preliminary 
 
BATTLE OF THE POP-GUNS 199 
 
 operation consists in gathering a certain quantity of the 
 young branches of the cloth-tree. The exterior green 
 bark being pulled off as worthless, there remains a slen 
 der fibrous substance, which is carefully stripped from 
 the stick, to which it closely adheres. When a suffi 
 cient quantity of it has been collected, the various strips 
 are enveloped in a covering of large leaves, which the 
 natives use precisely as we do wrapping-paper, and 
 which are secured by a few turns of a line passed round 
 them. The package is then laid in the bed of some 
 running stream, with a heavy stone placed over it to 
 prevent its being swept away. After it has remained 
 for two or three days in this state, it is drawn out and 
 exposed, for a short time, to the action of the air, every 
 distinct piece being attentively inspected with a view 
 of ascertaining whether it has yet been sufficiently af 
 fected by the operation. This is repeated again and 
 again until the desired result is obtained. 
 
 When the substance is in a proper state for the next 
 process, it betrays evidences of incipient decomposition; 
 the fibres are relaxed and softened and rendered per 
 fectly malleable. The different strips are now extended 
 one by one, in successive layers, upon some smooth sur 
 face generally the prostrate trunk of a cocoa-nut tree 
 and the heap thus formed is subjected, at every new 
 increase, to a moderate beating, with a sort of wooden 
 mallet, leisurely applied. The mallet is made of a hard 
 heavy wood resembling ebony, is about twelve inches in 
 length and perhaps two in breadth, with a rounded 
 handle at one end, and in shape is the exact counterpart 
 of one of our four-sided razor-strops. The flat surfaces 
 of the implement are marked with shallow parallel in 
 dentations, varying in depth on the different sides so 
 as to be adapted to the several stages of the operation. 
 
200 TYPEE 
 
 These marks produce the corduroy sort of stripes dis 
 cernible in the tappa in its finished state. After being 
 beaten in the manner I have described, the material 
 soon becomes blended in one mass, which, moistened 
 occasionally with water, is at intervals hammered out, by 
 a kind of gold-beating process, to any degree of thin 
 ness required. In this way the cloth is easily made to 
 vary in strength and thickness, so as to suit the numer 
 ous purposes to which it is applied. 
 
 When the operation last described has been concluded, 
 the new-made tappa is spread out on the grass to bleach 
 and dry, and soon becomes of a dazzling whiteness. 
 Sometimes, in the first stages of the manufacture, the 
 substance is impregnated with a vegetable juice, which 
 gives it a permanent colour. A rich brown and a bright 
 yellow are occasionally seen, but the simple taste of the 
 Typee people inclines them to prefer the natural tint. 
 
 The notable wife of Kamehameha, the renowned con 
 queror and king of the Sandwich Islands, used to pride 
 herself in the skill she displayed in dyeing her tappa 
 with contrasting colours disposed in regular figures; and, 
 in the midst of the innovations of the times, was regarded 
 towards the decline of her life, as a lady of the old 
 school, clinging as she did to the national cloth in pref 
 erence to the frippery of the European calicoes. But 
 the art of printing the tappa is unknown upon the Mar- 
 quesan Islands. 
 
 In passing along the valley I was often attracted by 
 the noise of the mallet which, when employed in the 
 manufacture of the cloth, produces at every stroke of 
 its hard, heavy wood, a clear ringing and musical sound, 
 capable of being heard at a great distance. When sev 
 eral of these implements happen to be in operation at 
 the same time, and near one another, the effect upon the 
 ear of a person at a little distance is really charming. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 A DAY IN THE VALLEY 
 
 NOTHING can be more uniform and undiversified than 
 the life of the Typees; one tranquil day of ease and 
 happiness follows another in quiet succession; and with 
 these unsophisticated savages the history of a day is the 
 history of a life. I will, therefore, as briefly as I can, 
 describe one of our days in the valley. 
 
 *To begin with the morning We were not very early 
 risers the sun would be shooting his golden spikes 
 above the Happar mountain ere I threw aside my tappa 
 robe, and girding my long tunic about my waist, sallied 
 out with Fayaway and Kory-Kory and the rest of the 
 household and bent my steps towards the stream. Here 
 we found congregated all those who dwelt in our section 
 of the valley ; and here we bathed with them. The fresh 
 morning air and the cool flowing waters put both soul 
 and body in a glow, and after a half -hour employed in 
 this recreation we sauntered back to the house Tinor 
 and Marheyo gathering dry sticks by the way for fire 
 wood; some of the young men laying the cocoa-nut trees 
 under contribution as they passed beneath them; while 
 Kory-Kory played his outlandish pranks for my particu 
 lar diversion, and Fayaway and I, not arm in arm to be 
 sure, but sometimes hand in hand, strolled along, with 
 feelings of perfect charity for all the world and especial 
 good-will towards each other. 
 
 Our morning meal was soon prepared. The islanders 
 are somewhat abstemious at this repast, reserving the 
 
202 TYPEE 
 
 more powerful efforts of their appetite to a later period 
 of the day. For my own part, with the assistance of 
 my valet, who, as I have before stated, always officiated 
 as spoon on these occasions, I ate sparingly from one of 
 Tinor s trenchers of poee-poee which was devoted ex 
 clusively for my own use, being mixed with the milky 
 meat of ripe cocoa-nut. A section of a roasted bread 
 fruit, a small cake of "amar," or a mess of "kokoo," 
 two or three bananas, or a mammee-apple, an annuee, 
 or some other agreeable and nutritious fruit served 
 from day to day to diversify the meal, which was fin 
 ished by tossing off the liquid contents of a young 
 cocoa-nut or two. 
 
 While partaking of this simple repast, the inmates of 
 Marheyo s house, after the style of the indolent Ro 
 mans, reclined in sociable groups upon the divan of mats, 
 and digestion was promoted by cheerful conversation. 
 
 After the morning meal was concluded, pipes were 
 lighted, and among them my own especial pipe, a pres 
 ent from the noble Mehevi. The islanders, who only 
 smoke a whiff or two at a time, and at long intervals, 
 and who keep their pipes going from hand to hand con 
 tinually, regarded my systematic smoking of four or five 
 pipefuls of tobacco in succession as something quite won 
 derful. When two or three pipes had circulated freely, 
 the company gradually broke up. Marheyo went to 
 the little hut he was forever building. Tinor began to 
 inspect her rolls of tappa, or employed her busy fingers 
 in plaiting grass-mats. The girls anointed themselves 
 with their fragrant oils, dressed their hair, or looked over 
 their curious finery, and compared together their ivory 
 trinkets, fashioned out of boar s tusks or whale s teeth. 
 The young men and warriors produced their spears, 
 paddles, canoe-gear, battle-clubs, and war-conchs, and 
 
A DAY IN THE VALLEY 203 
 
 occupied themselves in carving all sorts of figures upon 
 them with pointed bits of shell or flint, and adorning 
 them, especially the war-conchs, with tassels of braided 
 bark and tufts of human hair. Some, immediately after 
 eating, threw themselves once more upon the inviting 
 mats, and resumed the employment of the previous night, 
 sleeping as soundly as if they had not closed their eyes 
 for a week. Others sallied out into the groves, for the 
 purpose of gathering fruit or fibres of bark and leaves, 
 the last two being in constant requisition, and applied to 
 a hundred uses. A few, perhaps, among the girls, would 
 slip into the woods after flowers, or repair to the stream 
 with small calabashes and cocoa-nut shells, in order to 
 polish them by friction with a smooth stone in the water. 
 In truth these innocent people seemed to be at no loss for 
 something to occupy their time; and it would be no 
 light task to enumerate all their employments, or rather 
 pleasures. 
 
 My own mornings I spent in a variety of ways. Some 
 times I rambled about from house to house, sure of re 
 ceiving a cordial welcome wherever I went; or from 
 grove to grove, and from one shady place to another, 
 in company with Kory-Kory and Fayaway and a rabble 
 rout of merry young idlers. Sometimes I was too indo 
 lent for exercise, and accepting one of the many invi 
 tations I was continually receiving, stretched myself 
 out on the mats of some hospitable dwelling, and 
 occupied myself pleasantly either in watching the pro 
 ceedings of those around me or taking part in them 
 myself. Whenever I chose to do the latter, the delight 
 of the islanders was boundless; and there was always 
 a throng of competitors for the honour of instructing me 
 in any particular craft. I soon became quite an accom 
 plished hand at making tappa, could braid a grass sling 
 
204 TYPEE 
 
 as well as the best of them, and once, with my knife, 
 carved the handle of a javelin so exquisitely that I have 
 no doubt, to this day, Karnoonoo, its owner, preserves 
 it as a surprising specimen of my skill. As noon ap 
 proached, all those who had wandered forth from our 
 habitation began to return; and when mid-day was 
 fairly come, scarcely a sound was to be heard in the 
 valley: a deep sleep fell upon all. The luxurious siesta 
 was hardly ever omitted, except by old Marheyo, who 
 was so eccentric a character that he seemed to be gov 
 erned by no fixed principles whatever; but acting just 
 according to the humour of the moment, slept, ate, or 
 tinkered away at his little hut without regard to the 
 proprieties of time or place. Frequently he might have 
 been seen taking a nap in the sun at noon-day, or a bath 
 in the stream at midnight. Once I beheld him perched 
 eighty feet from the ground, in the tuft of a cocoa-nut 
 tree, smoking; and often I saw him standing up to the 
 waist in water, engaged in plucking out the stray hairs 
 of his beard, using a piece of mussel-shell for tweezers. 
 
 The noon-tide slumber lasted generally an hour and 
 a half, very often longer; and after the cleepers had 
 arisen from their mats they again had recourse to their 
 pipes, and then made preparations for the most impor 
 tant meal of the day. 
 
 I, however, like those gentlemen of leisure who 
 breakfast at home and dine at their club, almost inva 
 riably, during my intervals of health, enjoyed the after 
 noon repast with the bachelor chiefs of the Ti, who were 
 always rejoiced to see me, and lavishly spread before 
 me all the good things which their larders afforded. 
 Mehevi generally produced among other dainties a 
 baked pig, an article which I have every reason to sup 
 pose was provided for my sole gratification. 
 
A DAY IN THE VALLEY 205 
 
 The Ti was a right jovial place. It did my heart, as 
 well as my body, good to visit it. Secure from female 
 intrusion, there was no restraint upon the hilarity of 
 the warriors, who, like the gentlemen of Europe after 
 the cloth is drawn and the ladies retire, freely indulged 
 their mirth. 
 
 After spending a considerable portion of the afternoon 
 at the Ti, I usually found myself, as the cool of the 
 evening came on, either sailing on the little lake with 
 Fayaway or bathing in the waters of the stream with a 
 number of savages who at this hour always repaired 
 thither. As the shadows of night approached, Marheyo s 
 household were once more assembled under his roof; 
 tapers were lit, long and curious chants were raised, 
 interminable stories were told (for which one present 
 was little the wiser), and all sorts of social festivities 
 served to while away the time. 
 
 The young girls very often danced by moonlight in 
 front of their dwellings. There are a great variety of 
 these dances, in which, however, I never saw the men 
 take part. They all consist of active, romping, mis 
 chievous evolutions, in which every limb is brought 
 into requisition. Indeed, the Marquesan girls dance all 
 over, as it were; not only do their feet dance, but their 
 arms, hands, fingers; aye, their very eyes seem to dance 
 in their heads. In good sooth, they so sway their float 
 ing forms, arch their necks, toss aloft their naked arms, 
 and glide, and swim, and whirl that it was almost too 
 much for a quiet, sober-minded, modest young man like 
 myself. 
 
 The damsels wear nothing but flowers and their com 
 pendious gala tunics, and when they plume themselves 
 for the dance they look like a band of olive-coloured 
 Sylphides on the point of taking wing. 
 
TYPEE 
 
 Unless some particular festivity was going forward, 
 the inmates of Marheyo s house retired to their mats 
 rather early in the evening; but not for the night, since, 
 after slumbering lightly for a while, they rose again, 
 relit their tapers, partook of the third and last meal of 
 the day, at which poee-poee alone was eaten, and then 
 after inhaling a narcotic whiff from a pipe of tobacco, 
 disposed themselves for the great business of night, sleep. 
 With the Marquesans it might almost be styled the great 
 business of life, for they pass a large portion of their 
 time in the arms of Somnus. The native strength of 
 their constitutions is no way shown more emphatically 
 than in the quantity of sleep they can endure. To many 
 of them, indeed, life is little else than an often interrupted 
 and luxurious nap. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 MONUMENTAL PI-PIS 
 
 ALMOST every country has its medicinal springs famed 
 for their healing virtues. The Cheltenham of Typee is 
 embossed in the deepest solitude, and but seldom re 
 ceives a visitor. It is situated remote from any dwell 
 ing, a little way up the mountain, near the head of the 
 valley; and you approach it by a pathway shaded by 
 the most beautiful foliage and adorned with a thousand 
 fragrant plants. 
 
 The mineral waters of Arva Wai ooze forth from the 
 crevices of a rock, and gliding down its mossy side, fall 
 at last, in many clustering drops, into a natural basin of 
 stone fringed round with grass and dewy-looking little 
 violet-colored flowers, as fresh and beautiful as the per 
 petual moisture they enjoy can make them. 
 
 The water is held in high estimation by the islanders, 
 some of whom consider it an agreeable as well as a 
 medicinal beverage; they bring it from the mountain 
 in their calabashes and store it away beneath heaps of 
 leaves in some shady nook near the house. Old Mar- 
 heyo had a great love for the waters of the spring. Every 
 now and then he lugged off to the mountain a great 
 round demijohn of a calabash, and panting with his 
 exertions, brought it back filled with his darling fluid. 
 
 The water tasted like a solution of a dozen disagree 
 able things, and was sufficiently nauseous to have made 
 the fortune of the proprietor, had the spa been situated 
 in the midst of any civilised community. 
 
 207 
 
208 TYPEE 
 
 As I am no chemist, I cannot give a scientific analy 
 sis of the water. All I know about the matter is that 
 one day Marheyo in my presence poured out the last 
 drop from his huge calabash, and I observed at the bot 
 tom of the vessel a small quantity of gravelly sediment 
 very much resembling our common sand. Whether this 
 is always found in the water, and gives it its peculiar 
 flavour and virtues, or whether its presence was merely 
 incidental, I was not able to ascertain. 
 
 One day in returning from this spring by a circuitous 
 path I came upon a scene which reminded me of Stone- 
 henge and the architectural labours of the Druids. 
 
 At the base of one of the mountains, and surrounded 
 on all sides by dense groves, a series of vast terraces of 
 stone rises, step by step, for a considerable distance up 
 the hill side. These terraces cannot be less than one 
 hundred yards in length and twenty in width. Their 
 magnitude, however, is less striking than the immense 
 size of the blocks composing them. Some of the stones, 
 of an oblong shape, are from ten to fifteen feet in length, 
 and five or six feet thick. Their sides are quite smooth, 
 but though square, and of pretty regular formation, they 
 bear no mark of the chisel. They are laid together 
 without cement, and here and there show gaps between. 
 The topmost terrace and the lower one are somewhat 
 peculiar in their construction. They have both a quad 
 rangular depression in the centre, leaving the rest of 
 the terrace elevated several feet above it. In the inter 
 vals of the stones immense trees have taken root, and 
 their broad boughs stretching far over and interlacing 
 together support a canopy almost impenetrable to the 
 sun. Overgrowing the greater part of them, and climb 
 ing from one to another, is a wilderness of vines, in 
 whose sinewy embrace many of the stones lie half hid- 
 
MONUMENTAL PI-PIS 209 
 
 den, while in some places a thick growth of bushes en 
 tirely covers them. There is a wild pathway which 
 obliquely crosses two of these terraces; and so profound 
 is the shade, so dense the vegetation, that a stranger to 
 the place might pass along it without being aware of their 
 existence. 
 
 These structures bear every indication of a very high 
 antiquity, and Kory-Kory, who was my authority in all 
 matters of scientific research, gave me to understand 
 that they were coeval with the creation of the world, 
 that the great gods themselves were the builders, and 
 that they would endure until time shall be no more. 
 Kory-Kory s prompt explanation, and his attributing 
 the work to a divine origin, at once convinced me that 
 neither he nor the rest of his countrymen knew anything 
 about them. 
 
 As I gazed upon this monument, doubtless the work 
 of an extinct and forgotten race, thus buried in the 
 green nook of an island at the ends of the earth, the ex 
 istence of which was yesterday unknown, a stronger 
 feeling of awe came over me than if I had stood musing 
 at the mighty base of the Pyramid of Cheops. There are 
 no inscriptions, no sculpture, no clew by which to con 
 jecture its history nothing but the dumb stones. How 
 many generations of those majestic trees which over 
 shadow them have grown and flourished and decayed 
 since first they were erected ! 
 
 I have already mentioned that the dwellings of the 
 islanders were almost invariably built upon massive stone 
 foundations, which they call pi-pis. The dimensions of 
 these, however, as well as of the stones composing them, 
 are comparatively small: but there are other and larger 
 erections of a similar description comprising the "mo- 
 rais," or burying-grounds, and festival-places, in nearly 
 
210 TYPEE 
 
 all the valleys of the island. Some of these piles are so 
 extensive, and so great a degree of labour and skill 
 must have been requisite in constructing them, that I 
 can scarcely believe they were built by the ancestors of 
 the present inhabitants. If indeed they were, the race 
 have sadly deteriorated in their knowledge of the me 
 chanic arts. To say nothing of their habitual indo 
 lence, by what contrivance within the reach of so simple 
 a people could such enormous masses have been moved 
 or fixed in their places? and how could they with their 
 rude implements have chiselled and hammered them into 
 shape. 
 
 All of these larger pi-pis like that of the Hoolah 
 Hoolah ground in the Typee valley bore incontestable 
 marks of great age, and I am disposed to believe that 
 their erection may be ascribed to the same race of men 
 who were the builders of the still more ancient remains 
 I have just described. 
 
 According to Kory-Kory s account, the pi-pis upon 
 which stands the Hoolah Hoolah ground was built a great 
 many moons ago, under the direction of Monoo, a great 
 chief and warrior, and, as it would appear, master-mason 
 among the Typees. It was erected for the express pur 
 pose to which it is at present devoted, in the incredibly 
 short period of one sun, and was dedicated to the im 
 mortal wooden idols by a grand festival, which lasted 
 ten days and nights. 
 
 Among the smaller pi-pis, upon which stand the dwell 
 ing-houses of the natives, I never observed any which 
 intimated a recent erection. There are in every part 
 of the valley a great many of these massive stone founda 
 tions which have no houses upon them. This is vastly 
 convenient, for whenever an enterprising islander chooses 
 to emigrate a few hundred yards from the place where 
 
MONUMENTAL PI-PIS 211 
 
 he was born, all he has to do in order to establish him 
 self in some new locality is to select one of the many 
 unappropriated pi-pis, and without further ceremony 
 pitch his bamboo tent upon it. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 PREPARATIONS FOR A FEAST 
 
 FROM the time that my lameness had decreased, I 
 had made a daily practice of visiting Mehevi at the Ti, 
 who invariably gave me a most cordial reception. I 
 was always accompanied in these excursions by Fayaway 
 and the ever-present Kory-Kory. The former, as soon 
 as we reached the vicinity of the Ti which was rigor 
 ously tabooed to the whole female sex withdrew to a 
 neighbouring hut, as if her feminine delicacy restrained 
 her from approaching a habitation which might be re 
 garded as a sort of Bachelor s Hall. 
 
 And in good truth it might well have been so con 
 sidered. Although it was the permanent residence of 
 several distinguished chiefs, and of the noble Mehevi 
 in particular, it was still at certain seasons the favourite 
 haunt of all the jolly, talkative, and elderly savages of 
 the vale, who resorted thither in the same way that 
 similar characters frequent a tavern in civilized coun 
 tries. There they would remain hour after hour, chat 
 ting, smoking, eating poee-poee, or busily engaged in 
 sleeping for the good of their constitutions. 
 
 This building appeared to be the headquarters of 
 the valley, where all flying rumours concentrated; and 
 to have seen it filled with a crowd of the natives, all 
 males, conversing in animated clusters, while multitudes 
 were continually coming and going, one would have 
 thought it a kind of savage Exchange, where the rise 
 and fall of Polynesian Stock was discussed. 
 
 212 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A FEAST 213 
 
 Mehevi acted as supreme lord over the place, spend 
 ing the greater portion of his time there: and often 
 when, at particular hours of the day, it was deserted by 
 nearly every one else except the verd-antique looking 
 centenarians, who were fixtures in the building, the 
 chief himself was sure to be found enjoying his otium 
 cum dignitate upon the luxurious mats which covered 
 the floor. Whenever I made my appearance he inva 
 riably rose, and, like a gentleman doing the honours of 
 his mansion, invited me to repose myself wherever I 
 pleased, and calling out "tamaree!" (boy), a little fellow 
 would appear, and then retiring for an instant, return 
 with some savoury mess, from which the chief would 
 press me to regale myself. To tell the truth, Mehevi 
 was indebted to the excellence of his viands for the 
 honour of my repeated visits a matter which cannot 
 appear singular when it is borne in mind that bachelors, 
 all the world over, are famous for serving up unexception 
 able repasts. 
 
 One day, on drawing near to the Ti, I observed that 
 extensive preparations were going forward, plainly be 
 tokening some approaching festival. Some of the symp 
 toms reminded me of the stir produced among the scul 
 lions of a large hotel where a grand jubilee dinner is 
 about to be given. The natives were hurrying about 
 hither and thither, engaged in various duties; some 
 lugging off to the stream enormous hollow bamboos, 
 for the purpose of filling them with water; others 
 chasing furious-looking hogs through the bushes, in 
 their endeavours to capture them; and numbers em 
 ployed in kneading great mountains of poee-poee heaped 
 up in huge wooden vessels. 
 
 After observing these lively indications for a while, I 
 was attracted to a neighbouring grove by a prodigious 
 
214 TYPEE 
 
 squeaking which I heard there. On reaching the spot 
 I found it proceeded from a large hog which a number 
 of natives were forcibly holding to the earth, while a 
 muscular fellow, armed with a bludgeon, was ineffectu 
 ally aiming murderous blows at the skull of the unfor 
 tunate porker. Again and again he missed his writhing 
 and struggling victim, but though puffing and panting 
 with his exertions, he still continued them; and after 
 striking a sufficient number of blows to have demolished 
 an entire drove of oxen, with one crashing stroke he 
 laid him dead at his feet. 
 
 Without letting any blood from the body, it was 
 immediately carried to a fire which had been kindled 
 near at hand, and four savages, taking hold of the car 
 cass by its legs, passed it rapidly to and fro in the 
 flames. In a moment the smell of burning bristles 
 betrayed the object of this procedure. Having got thus 
 far in the matter, the body was removed to a little dis 
 tance; and, being disembowelled, the entrails were laid 
 aside as choice parts, and the whole carcass thoroughly 
 washed with water. An ample thick green cloth, com 
 posed of the long thick leaves of a species of palm- 
 tree ingeniously tacked together with little pins of bam 
 boo, was now spread upon the ground, in which the 
 body being carefully rolled, it was borne to an oven 
 previously prepared to receive it. Here it was at once 
 laid upon the heated stones at the bottom, and covered 
 with thick layers of leaves, the whole being quickly 
 hidden from sight by a mound of earth raised over it. 
 
 Such is the summary style in which the Typees con 
 vert perverse-minded and rebellious hogs into the most 
 docile and amiable pork, a morsel of which placed on 
 the tongue melts like a soft smile from the lips of Beauty. 
 
 I commend their peculiar mode of proceeding to the 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A FEAST 215 
 
 consideration of all butchers, cooks, and housewives. 
 The hapless porker whose fate I have just rehearsed 
 was not the only one who suffered on that memorable 
 day. Many a dismal grunt, many an imploring squeak, 
 proclaimed what was going on throughout the whole 
 extent of the valley; and I verily believe the first-born 
 of every litter perished before the setting of that fatal 
 sun. 
 
 The scene around the Ti was now most animated. 
 Hogs and poee-poee were baking in numerous ovens, 
 which, heaped up with fresh earth into slight eleva 
 tions, looked like so many ant-hills. Scores of the 
 savages were vigorously plying their stone pestles in 
 preparing masses of poee-poee, and numbers were 
 gathering green bread-fruit and young cocoa-nuts in 
 the surrounding groves, while an exceeding great multi 
 tude, with a view of encouraging the rest in their 
 labours, stood still, and kept shouting most lustily 
 without intermission. 
 
 It is a peculiarity among these people that when 
 engaged in any employment they always make a pro 
 digious fuss about it. So seldom do they exert them 
 selves that when they do work they seem determined 
 that so meritorious an action shall not escape the ob 
 servation of those around. If, for example, they have 
 occasion to remove a stone by a little distance, which 
 perhaps might be carried by two able-bodied men, a 
 whole swarm gather about it, and, after a vast deal of 
 palavering, lift it up among them, every one struggling 
 to get hold of it, and bear it off yelling and panting as 
 if accomplishing some mighty achievement. Seeing them 
 on these occasions, one is reminded of an infinity of black 
 ants clustering about and dragging away to some hole 
 the leg of a deceased fly. 
 
216 TYPEE 
 
 Having for some time attentively observed these 
 demonstrations of good cheer, I entered the Ti, where 
 Mehevi sat complacently looking out upon the busy 
 scene, and occasionally issuing his orders. The chief 
 appeared to be in an extraordinary flow of spirits, and 
 gave me to understand that on the morrow there would 
 by grand doings in the Groves generally and at the Ti 
 in particular, and urged me by no means to absent 
 myself. In commemoration of what event, however, 
 or in honour of what distinguished personage the feast 
 was to be given altogether passed my comprehension. 
 Mehevi sought to enlighten my ignorance, but he failed 
 as signally as when he had endeavoured to initiate me 
 into the perplexing arcana of the taboo. 
 
 On leaving the Ti, Kory-Kory, who had as a matter 
 of course accompanied me, observing that my curiosity 
 remained unabated, resolved to make everything plain 
 and satisfactory. With this intent, he escorted me 
 through the Taboo Groves, pointing out to my notice a 
 variety of objects, and endeavoured to explain them in 
 such an indescribable jargon of words that it almost 
 put me in bodily pain to listen to him. In particular, 
 he led me to a remarkable pyramidical structure some 
 three yards square at the base, and perhaps ten feet in 
 height, which had lately been thrown up, and occupied 
 a very conspicuous position. It was composed princi 
 pally of large empty calabashes, with a few polished 
 cocoa-nut shells, and looked not unlike a cenotaph of 
 skulls. My cicerone perceived the astonishment with 
 which I gazed at this monument of savage crockery, 
 and immediately addressed himself to the task of 
 enlightening me: but all in vain; and to this hour the 
 nature of the monument remains a complete mystery 
 to me. As, however, it formed so prominent a feature 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A FEAST 217 
 
 in the approaching revels, I bestowed upon the latter, 
 in my own mind, the title of the "Feast of Calabashes." 
 
 The following morning, awaking rather late, I per 
 ceived the whole of Marheyo s family busily engaged 
 in preparing for the festival. The old warrior himself 
 was arranging in round balls the two grey locks of hair 
 that were suffered to grow from the crown of his head; 
 his earrings and spear, both well polished, lay beside 
 him, while the highly decorative pair of shoes hung 
 suspended from a projecting cane against the side of 
 the house. The young men were similarly employed; 
 and the fair damsels, including Fayaway, were anoint 
 ing themselves with "aka," arranging their long tresses, 
 and performing other matters connected with the duties 
 of the toilet. 
 
 Having completed their preparations, the girls now 
 exhibited themselves in gala costume, the most con 
 spicuous feature of which was a necklace of beautiful 
 white flowers, with the stems removed, and strung closely 
 together upon a single fibre of tappa. Corresponding 
 ornaments were inserted in their ears, and woven gar 
 lands upon their heads. About their waist they wore 
 a short tunic of spotless white tappa, and some of 
 them superadded to this a mantle of the same material, 
 tied in an elaborate bow upon the left shoulder and 
 falling about the figure in picturesque folds. 
 
 Thus arrayed, I would have matched the charming 
 Fayaway against any beauty in the world. 
 
 People may say what they will about the taste evinced 
 by our fashionable ladies in dress. Their jewels, their 
 feathers, their silks, and their furbelows would have 
 sunk into utter insignificance beside the exquisite sim 
 plicity of attire adopted by the nymphs of the vale on 
 this festive occasion. I should like to have seen a gal- 
 
2i8 TYPEE 
 
 Icry of coronation beauties, at Westminster Abbey, con 
 fronted for a moment by this band of Island girls, their 
 stiffness, formality, and affectation contrasted with the 
 artless vivacity and unconcealed natural graces of these 
 savage maidens. It would be the Venus de Medici 
 placed beside a milliner s doll. 
 
 It was not long before Kory-Kory and myself were 
 left alone in the house, the rest of its inmates having 
 departed for the Taboo Groves. My valet was all im 
 patience to follow them, and was as fidgety about rny 
 dilatory movements as a diner-out waiting hat in hand 
 at the bottom of the stairs for some lagging companion. 
 At last, yielding to his importunities, I set out for the 
 Ti. As we passed the houses peeping out from the 
 groves through which our route lay, I noticed that they 
 were entirely deserted by their inhabitants. 
 
 When we reached the rock that abruptly terminated 
 the path and concealed from us the festive scene, wild 
 shouts and a confused blending of voices assured me 
 that the occasion, whatever it might be, had drawn 
 together a great multitude. Kory-Kory, previous to 
 mounting the elevation, paused for a moment, like a 
 dandy at a ballroom door, to put a hasty finish to his 
 toilet. During this short interval, the thought struck 
 me that I ought myself perhaps to be taking some little 
 pains with my appearance. But as I had no holiday 
 raiment, I was not a little puzzled to devise some means 
 of decorating myself. However, as I felt desirous to 
 create a sensation, I determined to do all that lay in my 
 power; and knowing that I could not delight the sav 
 ages more than by conforming to their style of dress, I 
 removed from my person the large robe of tappa which 
 I was accustomed to wear over my shoulders whenever 
 I sallied into the open air, and remained merely girt 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR A FEAST 219 
 
 about with a short tunic descending from my waist to 
 my knees. 
 
 My quick-witted attendant fully appreciated the com 
 pliment I was paying to the costume of his race, and 
 began more sedulously to arrange the folds of the one 
 only garment which remained to me. Whilst he was 
 doing this, I caught sight of a knot of young lasses, 
 who were sitting near us on the grass surrounded by 
 heaps of flowers which they were forming into garlands. 
 I motioned to them to bring some of their handiwork 
 to me, and in an instant a dozen wreaths were at my 
 disposal. One of them I put round the apology for a 
 hat which I had been forced to construct for myself out 
 of palmetto-leaves, and some of the others I converte/i 
 into a splendid girdle. These operations finished, with 
 the slow and dignified step of a full-dressed beau I 
 ascended the rock. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 
 
 THE whole population of the valley seemed to be 
 gathered within the precincts of the grove. In the dis 
 tance could be seen the long front of the Ti, its im 
 mense piazza swarming with men, arrayed in every 
 variety of fantastic costume, and all vociferating with 
 animated gestures, while the whole interval between it 
 and the place where I stood was enlivened by groups of 
 females fancifully decorated, dancing, capering, and 
 uttering *wild exclamations. As soon as they descried 
 me they set up a shout of welcome, and a band of 
 them came dancing towards me chanting as they ap 
 proached some wild recitative. The change in my garb 
 seemed to transport them with delight, and clustering 
 about me on all sides, they accompanied me towards the 
 Ti. When, however, we drew near it these joyous 
 nymphs paused in their career, and parting on either 
 side, permitted me to pass on to the now densely thronged 
 building. 
 
 So soon as I mounted to the pi-pi I saw at a glance 
 that the revels were fairly under way. 
 
 What lavish plenty reigned around! Warwick feast 
 ing his retainers with beef and ale was a niggard to the 
 noble Mehevi! All along the piazza of the Ti were 
 arranged elaborately carved canoe-shaped vessels, some 
 twenty feet in length, filled with newly made poee-poee, 
 and sheltered from the sun by the broad leaves of the 
 
 220 
 
THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 221 
 
 banana. At intervals were heaps of green bread-fruit, 
 raised in pyramidical stacks, resembling the regular 
 piles of heavy shot to be seen in the yard of an arsenal. 
 Inserted into the interstices of the huge stones which 
 formed the pi-pi were large boughs of trees, hanging 
 from the branches of which, and screened from the sun 
 by their foliage, were innumerable little packages with 
 leafy coverings, containing the meat of the numerous 
 hogs which had been slain, done up in this manner to 
 make it more accessible to the crowd. Leaning against 
 the railing of the piazza were an immense number of 
 long, heavy bamboos, plugged at the lower end, and 
 with their projecting muzzles stuffed with a wad of 
 leaves. These were filled with water from the stream, 
 and each of them might hold from four to five gallons. 
 
 The banquet being thus spread, nought remained but 
 for every one to help himself at his pleasure. Accord 
 ingly not a moment passed but the transplanted boughs 
 I have mentioned were rifled by the throng of the fruit 
 they certainly had never borne before. Calabashes of 
 poee-poee were continually being replenished from the 
 extensive receptacle in which that article was stored, 
 and multitudes of little fires were kindled about the Ti 
 for the purpose of roasting the bread-fruit. 
 
 Within the building itself was presented a most ex 
 traordinary scene. The immense lounge of mats lying 
 between the parallel rows of the trunks of cocoa-nut 
 trees, and extending the entire length of the house, at 
 least two hundred feet, was covered by the reclining 
 forms of a host of chiefs and warriors, who were eating 
 at a great rate, or soothing the cares of Polynesian life 
 in the sedative fumes of tobacco. The smoke was in 
 haled from large pipes, the bowls of which, made out of 
 small cocoa-nut shells, were curiously carved in strange 
 
222 TYPEE 
 
 heathenish devices. These were passed from mouth to 
 mouth by the recumbent smokers, who, taking two or 
 three prodigious whiffs, handed the pipe to his neigh 
 bour, sometimes for that purpose stretching indolently 
 across the body of some dozing individual whose exer 
 tions at the dinner- table had already induced sleep. 
 
 The tobacco used among the Typees was of a very 
 mild and pleasing flavour, and as I always saw it in 
 leaves, and the natives appeared pretty well supplied 
 with it, I was led to believe that it must have been the 
 growth of the valley. Indeed Kory-Kory gave me to 
 understand that this was the case; but I never saw a 
 single plant growing on the island. At Nukuheva, and, 
 I believe, in all the other valleys, the weed is very 
 scarce, being only obtained in small quantities from 
 foreigners, and smoking is consequently with the inhabi 
 tants of these places a very great luxury. How it was 
 that the Typees were so well furnished with it I cannot 
 divine. I should think them too indolent to devote any 
 attention to its culture; and, indeed, as far as my obser 
 vation extended, not a single atom of the soil was under 
 any other cultivation than that of shower and sunshine. 
 The tobacco plant, however, like the sugar-cane, may 
 grow wild in some remote part of the vale. 
 
 There were many in the Ti for whom the tobacco 
 did not furnish a sufficient stimulus, and who accord 
 ingly had recourse to "arva," as a more powerful agent 
 in producing the desired effect. "Arva" is a root very 
 generally dispersed over the South Seas, and from it 
 is extracted a juice, the effects of which upon the system 
 are at first stimulating in a moderate degree; but it soon 
 relaxes the muscles, and exerting a narcotic influence pro 
 duces a luxurious sleep. In the valley this beverage 
 was universally prepared in the following way: 
 
THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 223 
 
 half-dozen young boys seated themselves in a circle 
 around an empty wooden vessel, each of them being 
 supplied with a certain quantity of the roots of the 
 "arva," broken into small bits and laid by his side. 
 A cocoa-nut goblet of water was passed around the juve 
 nile company, who, rinsing their mouths with its con 
 tents, proceeded to the business before them. This 
 merely consisted in thoroughly masticating the "arva," 
 and throwing it mouthful after mouthful into the re 
 ceptacle provided. When a sufficient quantity had been 
 thus obtained water was poured upon the mass, and being 
 stirred about with the forefinger of the right hand, the 
 preparation was soon in readiness for use. 
 
 Mehevi, who was greatly delighted with the change 
 in my costume, gave me a cordial welcome. He had 
 reserved for me a most delectable mess of "kokoo," well 
 knowing my partiality for that dish, and had likewise 
 selected three or four young cocoa-nuts, several roasted 
 bread-fruit, and a magnificent bunch of bananas for my 
 especial comfort and gratification. These various mat 
 ters were at once placed before me; but Kory-Kory 
 deemed the banquet entirely insufficient for my wants 
 until he had supplied me with one of the leafy packages 
 of pork, which, notwithstanding the somewhat hasty 
 manner in which it had been prepared, possessed a 
 most excellent flavour, and was surprisingly sweet and 
 tender. Pork is not a staple article of food among the 
 people of the Marquesas; consequently they pay little 
 attention to the breeding of the swine. The hogs are 
 permitted to roam at large in the groves, where they 
 obtain no small part of their nourishment from the 
 cocoa-nuts which continually fall from the trees. But 
 it is only after infinite labour and difficulty that the 
 hungry animal can pierce the husk and shell so as to 
 
224 TYPEE 
 
 get at the meat. I have frequently been amused at 
 seeing one of them, after crunching the obstinate nut 
 with his teeth for a long time unsuccessfully, get into 
 a violent passion with it. He would then root furi 
 ously under the cocoa-nut, and, with a fling of his 
 snout, toss it before him on the ground. Following it 
 up, he would crunch at it again savagely for a moment, 
 and the next knock it on one side, pausing immediately 
 after, as if wondering how it could so suddenly have 
 disappeared. In this way the persecuted cocoa-nuts 
 were often chased half across the valley. 
 
 The second day of the Feast of Calabashes was 
 ushered in by still more uproarious noises than the 
 first. The skins of innumerable sheep seemed to be 
 resounding to the blows of an army of drummers. 
 Startled from my slumbers by the din, I leaped up, and 
 found the whole household engaged in making prepara 
 tions for immediate departure. Curious to discover of 
 what strange events these novel sounds might be the 
 precursors, and not a little desirous to catch a sight of 
 the instruments which produced the terrific noise, I ac 
 companied the natives as soon as they were in readi 
 ness to depart for the Taboo Groves. 
 
 The comparatively open space that extended from 
 the Ti toward the rock, to which I have before alluded 
 as forming the ascent to the place, was, with the build 
 ing itself, now altogether deserted by the men, the 
 whole distance being filled by bands of females, shout 
 ing and dancing under the influence of some strange 
 excitement. 
 
 I was amused at the appearnce of four or five old 
 women who, in a state of utter nudity, with their arms 
 extended flatly down their sides, and holding them 
 selves perfectly erect, were leaping stiffly into the air, 
 
THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 225 
 
 like so many sticks bobbing to the surface after being 
 pressed perpendicularly into the water. They pre 
 served the utmost gravity of countenance, and con 
 tinued their extraordinary movements without a single 
 moment s cessation. They did not appear to attract 
 the observation of the crowd around them, but I must 
 candidly confess that, for my own part, I stared at them 
 most pertinaciously. 
 
 Desirous of being enlightened with regard to the 
 meaning of this peculiar diversion, I turned enquiringly 
 to Kory-Kory; that learned Typee immediately pro 
 ceeded to explain the whole matter thoroughly. But 
 all that I could comprehend from what he said was 
 that the leaping figures before me were bereaved wid 
 ows, whose partners had been slain in battle many 
 moons previously, and who, at every festival, gave 
 public evidence in this manner of their calamities. It 
 was evident that Kory-Kory considered this an all- 
 sufficient reason for so undecorous a custom; but I must 
 say that it did not satisfy me as to its propriety. 
 
 Leaving these afflicted females, we passed on to the 
 Hoolah-Hoolah ground. Within the spacious quad 
 rangle, the whole population of the valley seemed to be 
 assembled, and the sight presented was truly remarkable. 
 Beneath the sheds of bamboo which opened towards the 
 interior of the square reclined the principal chiefs and 
 warriors, while a miscellaneous throng lay at their ease 
 under the enormous trees which spread a majestic canopy 
 overhead. Upon the terraces of the gigantic altars, at 
 either end, were deposited green bread-fruit in baskets 
 of cocoa-nut leaves, large rolls of tappa, bunches of 
 ripe bananas, clusters of mammee-apples, the golden- 
 hued fruit of the artu-tree, and baked hogs, laid out 
 in large wooden trenchers, fancifully decorated with 
 
226 TYPEE 
 
 freshly plucked leaves, whilst a variety of rude imple 
 ments of war were piled in confused heaps before the 
 ranks of hideous idols. Fruits of various kinds were 
 likewise suspended in leafen baskets from the tops of 
 poles planted upright, and at regular intervals along 
 the lower terraces of both altars. At their base were 
 arranged two parallel rows of cumbersome drums, stand 
 ing at least fifteen feet in height, and formed from the 
 hollow trunks of large trees. Their heads were covered 
 with shark-skins, and their barrels were elaborately 
 carved with various quaint figures and devices. At 
 regular intervals they were bound round by a species of 
 sinnate of various colours, and strips of native cloth 
 flattened upon them here and there. Behind these in 
 struments were built slight platforms, upon which stood 
 a number of young men who, beating violently with 
 the palms of their hands upon the drum-heads, pro 
 duced those outrageous sounds which had awakened me 
 in the morning. Every few minutes these musical 
 performers hopped down from their elevation into the 
 crowd below, and their places were immediately sup 
 plied by fresh recruits. Thus an incessant din was kept 
 up that might have startled Pandemonium. 
 
 Precisely in the middle of the quadrangle were placed 
 perpendicularly in the ground a hundred or more slender, 
 fresh-cut poles, stripped of their bark and decorated at 
 the end with a floating pennon of white tappa, the whole 
 being fenced about with a little picket of canes. For 
 what purpose these singular ornaments were intended I 
 in vain endeavoured to discover. 
 
 Another most striking features of the performance 
 was exhibited by a score of old men, who sat cross- 
 legged in the little pulpits which encircled the trunks 
 of the immense trees growing in the middle of the en- 
 
THE FEAST OF CALABASHES 227 
 
 closure. These venerable gentlemen, who I presume 
 were the priests, kept up an uninterrupted monotonous 
 chant, which was nearly drowned in the roar of drums. 
 In the right hand they held a finely woven grass fan, 
 with a heavy black wooden handle curiously chased; 
 these fans they kept in continual motion. 
 
 But no attention whatever seemed to be paid to the 
 drummers or to the old priests, the individuals who 
 composed the vast crowd present being entirely taken 
 up in chatting and laughing with one another, smok 
 ing, drinking arva, and eating. For all the observa 
 tion it attracted, or the good it achieved, the whole 
 savage orchestra might, with great advantage to its 
 own members and the company in general, have ceased 
 the prodigious uproar they were making. 
 
 In vain I questioned Kory-Kory and others of the 
 natives as to the meaning of the strange things that 
 were going on; all their explanations were conveyed 
 in such a mass of outlandish gibberish and gesticula 
 tion that I gave up the attempt in despair. All that 
 day the drums resounded, the priests chanted, and the 
 multitude feasted and roared till sunset, when the 
 throng dispersed, and the Taboo Groves were again 
 abandoned to quiet and repose. The next day the 
 same scene was repeated until night, when this singu 
 lar festival terminated. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 
 
 ALTHOUGH I had been baffled in my attempts to learn 
 the origin of the Feast of Calabashes, yet it seemed very 
 plain to me that it was principally, if not wholly, of a 
 religious character. As a religious solemnity, however, 
 it had not at all corresponded with the horrible descrip 
 tions of Polynesian worship which we have received 
 in some published narratives. 
 
 In a certain work incidentally treating of the "Wash 
 ington, or Northern Marquesas Islands," I have seen the 
 frequent immolation of human victims upon the altars 
 of their gods positively and repeatedly charged upon 
 the inhabitants. The same work gives also a rather 
 minute account of their religion enumerates a great 
 many of their superstitions and makes known the 
 particular designations of numerous orders of the priest 
 hood. One would almost imagine from the long list that 
 is given of cannibal primates, bishops, archdeacons, 
 prebendaries, and other inferior ecclesiastics that the 
 sacerdotal order far outnumbered the rest of the popu 
 lation. These accounts are likewise calculated to leave 
 upon the reader s mind an impression that human vic 
 tims are daily cooked and served up upon the altars; 
 that heathenish cruelties of every description are con 
 tinually practised; and that these ignorant Pagans are 
 in a state of the extremest wretchedness in consequence 
 of the grossness of their superstitions. Be it observed, 
 
 228 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 229 
 
 however, that all this information is given by a man 
 who, according to his own statement, was only at one 
 of the islands and remained there but two weeks, sleep 
 ing every night on board his ship, and taking little kid- 
 glove excursions ashore in the day-time, attended by an 
 armed party. , 
 
 Now, all I can say is that in all my excursions through 
 the valley of Typee, I never saw any of these alleged 
 enormities. If any of them are practised upon the 
 Marquesas Islands they must certainly have come to my 
 knowledge, while living for months with a tribe of 
 savages wholly unchanged from their original primitive 
 condition and reputed the most ferocious in the South 
 Seas. 
 
 The fact is that there is a vast deal of unintentional 
 humbuggery in some of the accounts we have from 
 scientific men concerning the religious institutions of 
 Polynesia. These learned tourists generally obtain the 
 greater part of their information from the retired old 
 South Sea rovers who have domesticated themselves 
 among the barbarous tribes of the Pacific. Jack, who 
 has long been accustomed to the long-bow, and to spin 
 tough yarns on a ship s forecastle, invariably officiates 
 as showman of the island on which he has settled, and 
 having mastered a few dozen words of the language, is 
 supposed to know all about the people who speak it. 
 A natural desire to make himself of consequence in the 
 eyes of the strangers prompts him to lay claim to a 
 much greater knowledge of such matters than he actually 
 possesses. In reply to incessant queries, he communi 
 cates not only all he knows but a good deal more, and 
 if there be any information deficient still, he is at no loss 
 to supply it. The avidity with which his anecdotes are 
 noted down tickles his vanity, and his powers of inven- 
 
230 TYPEE 
 
 tion increase with the credulity of his auditors. He 
 knows just the sort of information wanted, and furnishes 
 it to any extent. 
 
 This is not a supposed case; I have met with several 
 individuals like the one described, and I have been 
 present at two or three of their interviews with strangers. 
 
 Now, when the scientific voyager arrives at home 
 with his collection of wonders, he attempts, perhaps, to 
 give a description of some of the strange people he has 
 been visiting. Instead of representing them as a com 
 munity of lusty savages, who are leading a merry, idle, 
 innocent life, he enters into a very circumstantial and 
 learned narrative of certain unaccountable superstitions 
 and practices, about which he knows as little as the 
 islanders do themselves. Having had little time and 
 scarcely any opportunity to become acquainted with the 
 customs he pretends to describe, he writes them down 
 one after another in an off-hand, haphazard style; and 
 were the book thus produced to be translated into the 
 tongue of the people of whom it purports to give the 
 history, it would appear quite as wonderful to them 
 as it does to the American public, and much more 
 improbable. 
 
 For my own part, I am free to confess my almost 
 entire inability to gratify any curiosity that may be felt 
 with regard to the theology of the valley. I doubt 
 whether the inhabitants themselves could do so. They 
 are either too lazy or too sensible to worry themselves 
 about abstract points of religious belief. While I was 
 among them they never held any synods or councils to 
 settle the principles of their faith by agitating them. 
 An unbounded liberty of conscience seemed to prevail. 
 Those who pleased to do so were allowed to repose 
 implicit faith in an ill-favoured god with a large bottle 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 231 
 
 nose and fat shapeless arms crossed upon his breast, 
 whilst others worshipped an image which, having no 
 likeness either in heaven or on earth, could hardly be 
 called an idol. As the islanders always maintained a 
 discreet reserve with regard to my own peculiar views 
 on religion, I thought it would be excessively ill-bred 
 in me to pry into theirs. 
 
 But, although my knowledge of the religious faith of 
 the Typees was unavoidably limited, one of their super 
 stitious observances with which I became acquainted 
 interested me greatly. 
 
 In one of the most secluded portions of the valley 
 within a stone s cast of Fayaway s lake for so I 
 christened the scene of our island yachting and hard 
 by a growth of palms, which stood ranged in order 
 along both banks of the stream, waving their green 
 arms as if to do honour to its passage, was the mauso 
 leum of a deceased warrior chief. Like all the other 
 edifices of any note, it was raised upon a small pi-pi of 
 stones, which, being of unusual height, was a conspicu 
 ous object from a distance. A light thatching of bleached 
 palmetto-leaves hung over it like a self -supported 
 canopy; for it was not until you came very near that 
 you saw it was supported by four slender columns of 
 bamboo rising at each corner to a little more than the 
 height of a man. A clear area of a few yards surrounded 
 the pi-pi, and was enclosed by four trunks of cocoa-nut 
 trees resting at the angles on massive blocks of stone. 
 The place was sacred. The sign of the inscrutable 
 taboo was seen in the shape of a mystic roll of white 
 tappa, suspended by a twisted cord of the same material 
 from the top of a slight pole planted within the en 
 closure. 1 The sanctity of the spot appeared never to 
 
 1 White appears to be the sacred colour among the Marquesans 
 [Melville s note]. 
 
232 TYPEE 
 
 have been violated. The stillness of the grave was 
 there, and the calm solitude around was beautiful and 
 touching. The soft shadows of those lofty palm-trees! 
 I can see them now hanging over the little temple, 
 as if to keep out the intrusive sun. 
 
 On all sides as you approached this silent spot you 
 caught sight of the dead chief s effigy, seated in the stern 
 of a canoe, which was raised on a light frame a few 
 inches above the level of the pi-pi. The canoe was about 
 seven feet in length, of a rich dark coloured wood, 
 handsomely carved and adorned in many places with 
 variegated bindings of stained sinnate, into which were 
 ingeniously wrought a number of sparkling seashells, and 
 a belt of the same shells ran all around it. The body of 
 the figure of whatever material it might have been 
 made was effectually concealed in a heavy robe of 
 brown tappa, revealing only the hands and head, the 
 latter skilfully carved in wood, and surmounted by a 
 superb arch of plumes. These plumes, in the subdued 
 and gentle gales which found access to this sequestered 
 spot, were never for one moment at rest, but kept nod 
 ding and waving over the chief s brow. The long leaves 
 of the palmetto dropped over the eaves, and through 
 them you saw the warrior holding his paddle with both 
 hands in the act of rowing, leaning forward and inclining 
 his head, as if eager to hurry on his voyage. Glaring at 
 him forever, and face to face, was a polished human 
 skull, which crowned the prow of the canoe. The spec 
 tral figure-head, reversed in its position, glancing back 
 wards, seemed to mock the impatient attitude of the 
 warrior. 
 
 When I first visited this singular place with Kory- 
 Kory, he told me or at least I so understood him 
 that the chief was paddling his way to the realms of bliss 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 233 
 
 and bread-fruit the Polynesian heaven where every 
 moment the bread-fruit trees dropped their ripened 
 spheres to the ground, and where there was no end to the 
 cocoa-nuts and bananas; there they reposed through the 
 livelong eternity upon mats much finer than those of 
 Typee, and every day bathed their glowing limbs in 
 rivers of cocoa-nut oil. In that happy land there were 
 plenty of plumes and feathers and boars -tusks and 
 sperm-whale teeth, far preferable to all shining trinkets 
 and gay tappa of the white men; and, best of all, women, 
 far lovelier than the daughters of earth, were there in 
 abundance. A very pleasant place, Kory-Kory said it 
 was; but after all not much pleasanter, he thought, than 
 Typee. Did he not then, I asked him, wish to accom 
 pany the warrior? Oh, no he was very happy where he 
 was, but supposed that some time or other he would go 
 in his own canoe. 
 
 Thus far, I think, I clearly comprehended Kory-Kory. 
 But there was a singular expression he made use of at 
 the time, enforced by as singular a gesture, the meaning 
 of which I would have given much to penetrate. I am 
 inclined to believe it must have been a proverb he ut 
 tered; for I afterwards heard him repeat the same words 
 several times, and in what appeared to me to be a some 
 what similar sense. Indeed, Kory-Kory had a great 
 variety of short, smart-sounding sentences with which he 
 frequently enlivened his discourse; and he introduced 
 them with an air which plainly intimated that in his 
 opinion they settled the matter in question, whatever it 
 might be. 
 
 Could it have been, then, that when I asked him 
 whether he desired to go to this heaven of bread-fruit, 
 cocoa-nuts, and young ladies which he had been describ 
 ing, he answered by saying something equivalent to our 
 
234 TYPEE 
 
 old adage "A bird in the hand is worth two in the 
 bush"? If he did, Kory-Kory was a discreet and sensi 
 ble fellow, and I cannot sufficiently admire his shrewd 
 ness. 
 
 Whenever in the course of my rambles through the 
 valley I happened to be near the chief s mausoleum, I 
 always turned aside to visit it. The place had a pecu 
 liar charm for me; I hardly know why, but so it was. 
 As I leaned over the railing and gazed upon the strange 
 effigy and watched the play of the feathery head-dress, 
 stirred by the same breeze which in low tones breathed 
 amidst the lofty palm-trees, I loved to yield myself up 
 to the fanciful superstition of the islanders, and could 
 almost believe that the grim warrior was bound heaven 
 ward. In this mood when I turned to depart, I bade 
 him "God speed, and a pleasant voyage." Aye, paddle 
 away, brave chieftain, to the land of spirits! To the 
 material eye thou makest but little progress; but with 
 the eye of faith, I see thy canoe cleaving the bright 
 waves which die away on those dimly looming shores of 
 Paradise. 
 
 This strange superstition affords another evidence of 
 the fact that however ignorant man may be, he still 
 feels within him his immortal spirit yearning after the 
 unknown future. 
 
 Although the religious theories of the islands were a 
 complete mystery to me, their practical every-day opera 
 tion could not be concealed. I frequently passed the 
 little temples reposing in the shadows of the taboo groves 
 and beheld the offerings mouldy fruits spread out 
 upon a rude altar, or hanging in half-decayed baskets 
 around some uncouth jolly-looking image; I was present 
 during the continuance of the festival ; I daily beheld the 
 grinning idols marshalled rank and file in the Hoolah 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 235 
 
 Hoolah ground, and was often in the habit of meeting 
 those whom I supposed to be priests. But the temples 
 seemed abandoned to solitude; the festival had been 
 nothing more than a jovial mingling of the tribe; the 
 idols were quite as harmless as any other logs of wood; 
 and the priests were the merriest dogs in the valley. 
 
 In fact religious affairs in Typee were at a very low 
 ebb; all such matters sat very lightly upon the thought 
 less inhabitants; and, in the celebration of many of their 
 strange rites, they appeared merely to seek a sort of child 
 ish amusement. 
 
 A curious evidence of this was given in a remarkable 
 ceremony in which I frequently saw Mehevi and several 
 other chiefs and warriors of note take part, but never a 
 single female. 
 
 Among those whom I looked upon as forming the 
 priesthood of the valley there was one in particular who 
 often attracted my notice, and whom I could not help 
 regarding as the head of the order. He was a noble look 
 ing man, in the prime of his life, and of a most benignant 
 aspect. The authority this man, whose name was 
 Kolory, seemed to exercise over the rest, the episcopal 
 part he took in the Feast of Calabashes, his sleek and 
 complacent appearance, the mystic characters which 
 were tattooed upon his breast, and above all the mitre 
 he frequently wore, in the shape of a towering head 
 dress, consisting of part of a cocoa-nut branch, the stalk 
 planted uprightly on his brow and the leaflets gathered 
 together and passed round the temples and behind the 
 ears, all these pointed him out as Lord Primate of Ty 
 pee. Kolory was a sort of a Knight Templar a soldier- 
 priest; for he often wore the dress of a Marquesan 
 warrior, and always carried a long spear, which, instead 
 of terminating in a paddle at the lower end after the gen- 
 
236 TYPEE 
 
 era! fashion of these weapons, was curved into a heathen 
 ish-looking little image. This instrument, however, 
 might perhaps have been emblematic of his double func 
 tions. With one end in carnal combat he transfixed the 
 enemies of his tribe, and with the other as a pastoral 
 crook he kept in order his spiritual flock. 
 
 But this is not all I have to say about Kolory. His 
 martial grace very often carried about with him what 
 seemed to me the half of a broken war-club. It was 
 swathed around with ragged bits of white tappa, and the 
 upper part, which was intended to represent a human 
 head, was embellished with a strip of scarlet cloth of Eu 
 ropean manufacture. It required little observation to dis 
 cover that this strange object was revered as a god. By the 
 side of the big and lusty images standing sentinel over 
 the altars of the Hoolah Hoolah ground, it seemed a 
 mere pigmy in tatters. But appearances all the world 
 over are deceptive. Little men are sometimes very 
 potent, and rags sometimes cover very extensive pre 
 tensions. In fact, this funny little image was the "crack" 
 god of the island, lording it over all the wooden lubbers 
 who looked so grim and dreadful; its name was Moa 
 Atua. And it was in honour of Moa Atua, and for 
 the entertainment of those who believed in him, that 
 the curious ceremony I am about to describe was ob 
 served. 
 
 Mehevi and the chieftains of the Ti have just risen 
 from their noontide slumbers. There are no affairs of 
 state to dispose of; and having eaten two or three break 
 fasts in the course of the morning, the magnates of the 
 valley feel no appetite as yet for dinner. How are their 
 leisure moments to be occupied? They smoke, they 
 chat, and at last one of their number makes a proposi 
 tion to the rest, who joyfully acquiescing, he darts out 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 237 
 
 of the house, leaps from the pi-pi, and disappears in the 
 grove. . Soon you see him returning with Kolory, who 
 bears the god Moa Atua in his arms, and carries in one 
 hand a small trough hollowed out in the likeness of a 
 canoe. The priest comes along dandling his charge as if 
 it were a lachrymose infant he was endeavouring to put 
 into a good humour. Presently, entering the Ti, he seats 
 himself on the mats as composedly as a juggler about 
 to perform his sleight-of-hand tricks ; and with the chiefs 
 disposed in a circle around him, commences his ceremony. 
 In the first place he gives Moa Atua an affectionate 
 hug, then caressingly lays him to his breast, and, finally, 
 whispers something in his ear, the rest of the company 
 listening eagerly for a reply. But the baby-god is deaf 
 or dumb perhaps both, for never a word does he utter. 
 At last Kolory speaks a little louder, and soon growing 
 angry, comes boldly out with what he has to say and 
 bawls to him. He put me in mind of a choleric fellow, 
 who, after trying in vain to communicate a secret to a 
 deaf man, all at once flies into a passion and screams it 
 out so that every one may hear. Still Moa Atua re 
 mains as quiet as ever; and Kolory, seemingly losing 
 his temper, fetches him a box over the head, strips him 
 of his tappa and red cloth, and laying him in a state of 
 nudity in the little trough, covers him from sight. At 
 this proceeding all present loudly applaud and signify 
 their approval by uttering the adjective "motarkee" 
 with violent emphasis. Kolory, however, is so desirous 
 his conduct should meet with unqualified approbation 
 that he inquires of each individual separately whether, 
 under existing circumstances, he has not done perfectly 
 right in shutting up Moa Atua. The invariable response 
 is "Aa, Aa," (yes, yes), repeated over again and again 
 in a manner which ought to quiet the scruples of the 
 
238 TYPEE 
 
 most conscientious. After a few moments Kolory brings 
 forth his doll again, and while arraying it very carefully 
 in the tappa and red cloth, alternately fondles and chides 
 it. The toilet being completed, he once more speaks to 
 it aloud. The whole company hereupon show the greatest 
 interest, while the priest holding Moa Atua to his ear 
 interprets to them what he pretends the god is con 
 fidentially communicating to him. Some items of in- 
 tellirence appear to tickle all present amazingly; for 
 one claps his hands in rapture, another shouts with 
 merriment, and a third leaps to his feet and capers about 
 like a madman. 
 
 What under the sun Moa Atya on these occasions had 
 to say to Kolory I never could find out; but I could not 
 help thinking that the former showed a sad want of 
 spirit in being disciplined into making those disclosures 
 which at first he seemed bent on withholding. Whether 
 the priest honestly interpreted what he believed the di 
 vinity said to him, or whether he was not all the while 
 guilty of a vile humbug, I shall not presume to decide. 
 At any rate, whatever as coming from the god was im 
 parted to those present seemed to be generally of a com 
 plimentary nature, a fact which illustrates the sagacity 
 of Kolory or else the time-serving disposition of this 
 hardly used deity. 
 
 Moa Atua having nothing more to say, his bearer goes 
 to nursing him again, in which occupation, however, he 
 is soon interrupted by a question put by one of the 
 warriors to the god. Kolory hereupon snatches it up to 
 his ear again, and after listening attentively, once more 
 officiates as the organ of communication. A multitude 
 of questions and answers having passed between the 
 parties, much to the satisfaction of those who propose 
 them, the god is put tenderly to bed in the trough, and 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 239 
 
 the whole company unite in a long chaunt, led off by 
 Kolory. This ended, the ceremony is over; the chiefs 
 rise to their feet in high good humor, and my Lord Arch 
 bishop, after chatting awhile and regaling himself with a 
 whiff or two from a pipe of tobacco, tucks the canoe 
 under his arm and marches off with it. 
 
 The whole of these proceedings were like those of a 
 parcel of children playing with dolls and baby houses. 
 
 For a youngster scarcely ten inches high, and with so 
 few early advantages as he doubtless had had, Moa 
 Atua was certainly a precocious little fellow if he really 
 said all that was imputed to him; but for what reason 
 this poor devil of a deity, thus cuffed about, cajoled, and 
 shut up in a box, was held in greater estimation than the 
 full-grown and dignified personages of the Taboo Groves, 
 I cannot divine. And yet Mehevi and other chiefs of un 
 questionable veracity to say nothing of the Primate 
 himself assured me over and over again that Moa Atua 
 was the tutelary deity of Typee, and was more to be 
 held in honour than a whole battalion of the clumsy idols 
 in the Hoolah Hoolah grounds. Kory-Kory who 
 seemed to have devoted considerable attention to the 
 study of theology, as he knew the names of all the 
 graven images in the valley and often repeated them over 
 to me likewise entertained some rather enlarged ideas 
 with regard to the character and pretensions of Moa 
 Atua. He once gave me to understand, with a gesture 
 there was no misconceiving, that if he (Moa Atua) were 
 so minded^ he could cause a cocoa-nut tree to sprout out 
 of his (Kory-Kory s) head; and that it would be the 
 easiest thing in life for him (Moa Atua) to take the 
 whole island of Nukuheva in his mouth and dive down to 
 the bottom of the sea with it. 
 
 But in sober seriousness, I hardly knew what to make 
 
240 TYPEE 
 
 of the religion of the valley. There was nothing that 
 so much perplexed the illustrious Cook, in his intercourse 
 with the South Sea islanders, as their sacred rites. Al 
 though this prince of navigators was in many instances 
 assisted by interpreters in the prosecution of his re 
 searches, he still frankly acknowledges that he was at a 
 loss to obtain anything like a clear insight into the puz 
 zling arcana of their faith. A similar admission has been 
 made by other eminent voyagers: by Carteret, Byron, 
 Kotzebue, and Vancouver. 
 
 For my own part, although hardly a day passed while 
 I remained upon the island that I did not witness some 
 religious ceremony or other, it was very much like see 
 ing a parcel of Freemasons making secret signs to each 
 other; I saw everything, but could comprehend nothing. 
 
 On the whole I am inclined to believe that the 
 islanders in the Pacific have no fixed and definite ideas 
 whatever on the subject of religion. I am persuaded 
 that Kolory himself would be effectually posed were he 
 called upon to draw up the articles of his faith and pro 
 nounce the creed by which he hoped to be saved. In 
 truth, the Typees, so far as their actions evince, sub 
 mitted to no laws human or divine always excepting 
 the thrice mysterious taboo. The "independent electors" 
 of the valley were not to be brow-beaten by chiefs, 
 priests, idols, or devils. As for the luckless idols, they 
 received more hard knocks than supplications. I do not 
 wonder that some of them looked so grim, and stood so 
 bolt upright as if fearful of looking to the right or the 
 left lest they should give any one offence. The fact is 
 they had to carry themselves pretty straight or suffer 
 the consequences. Their worshippers were such a pre 
 cious set of fickle-minded and irreverent heathens that 
 there was no telling when they might topple one of them 
 
SINGULAR SUPERSTITIONS 241 
 
 over, break it to pieces, and making a fire with it on the 
 very altar itself, fall to roasting the offerings of bread 
 fruit and eat them in spite of its teeth. 
 
 In how little reverence these unfortunate deities were 
 held by the natives was on one occasion most convin 
 cingly proved to me. Walking with Kory-Kory through 
 the deepest recesses of the groves, I perceived a curious 
 looking image, about six feet in height, which originally 
 had been placed upright against a low pi-pi, surmounted 
 by a ruinous bamboo temple, but, having become fatigued 
 and weak in the knees, was now carelessly leaning against 
 it. The idol was partly concealed by the foliage of a 
 tree which stood near, and whose leafy boughs drooped 
 over the pile of stones as if to protect the rude fane from 
 the decay to which it was rapidly hastening. The image 
 itself was nothing more than a grotesquely shaped log, 
 carved in the likeness of a portly naked man with the 
 arms clasped over the head, the jaws thrown wide apart, 
 and its thick shapeless legs bowed into an arch. It was 
 much decayed. The lower part was overgrown with a 
 bright silky moss. Thin spears of grass sprouted from 
 the distended mouth and fringed the outline of the head 
 and arms. His godship had literally attained a green old 
 age. All its prominent points were bruised and battered, 
 or entirely rotted away. The nose had taken its depar 
 ture, and from the general appearance of the head it might 
 have been supposed that the wooden divinity, in despair 
 at the neglect of its worshippers, had been trying to beat 
 its own brains out against the surrounding trees. 
 
 I drew near to inspect more closely this strange object 
 of idolatry, but halted reverently at the distance of two 
 or three paces, out of regard to the religious prejudices 
 of my valet. As soon, however, as Kory-Kory perceived 
 that I was in one of my inquiring, scientific moods, to 
 
242 TYPEE 
 
 my astonishment, he sprang to the side of the idol, and 
 pushing it away from the stones against which it rested, 
 endeavoured to make it stand upon its legs. But the 
 divinity had lost the use of them altogether; and while 
 Kory-Kory was trying to prop it up, by placing a stick 
 between it and the pi-pi, the monster fell clumsily to the 
 ground, and would infallibly have broken its neck had 
 not Kory-Kory providentially broken its fall by receiving 
 its whole weight on his own half-crushed back. I never 
 saw the honest fellow in such a rage before. He leaped 
 furiously to his feet, and seizing the stick, began beating 
 the poor image, even* moment or two pausing and talk 
 ing to it in the most vehement manner, as if upbraiding 
 it for the accident. When his indignation had subsided a 
 little he whirled the idol about most profanely, so as to 
 give me an opportunity of examining it on all sides. I 
 am quite sure I never should have presumed to have 
 taken such liberties with the god myself, and I was not 
 a little shocked at Kory-Kory s impiety. 
 
 This anecdote speaks for itself. When one of the 
 inferior order of natives could show such contempt for 
 a venerable and decrepit God of the Groves, what the 
 state of religion must be among the people in general 
 is easily to be imagined. In truth, I regard the Typees 
 as a back-slidden generation. They are sunk in reli 
 gious sloth, and require a spiritual revival. A long pros 
 perity of bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts has rendered them 
 remiss in the performance of their higher obligations. 
 The wood-rot malady is spreading among the idols the 
 fruit upon their altars is becoming offensive the temples 
 themselves need re-thatching the tattooed clergy are 
 altogether too light-hearted and lazy and their flocks 
 are going astray. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 KING MEHEVI 
 
 ALTHOUGH I had been unable during the late festi 
 val to obtain information on many interesting subjects 
 which had much excited my curiosity, still that impor 
 tant event had not passed by without adding materially 
 to my general knowledge of the islanders. 
 
 I was especially struck by the physical strength and 
 beauty w r hich they displayed, by their great superiority 
 in these respects over the inhabitants of the neighbour 
 ing bay of Xukuheva, and by the singular contrasts they 
 presented among themselves in their various shades. of 
 complexion. 
 
 In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had 
 ever seen. Xot a single instance of natural deformity 
 was observable in all the throng attending the revels 
 Occasionally I noticed among the men the scars of 
 wounds they had received in battle, and sometimes, 
 though very seldom, the loss of a finger, an eye. or an 
 arm, attributable to the same cause. With these ex 
 ceptions, every individual appeared free from those blem 
 ishes which sometimes mar the effect of an otherwise 
 perfect form. But their physical excellence did not 
 merely consist in an exemption from these evils; nearly 
 every individual of their number might have been taken 
 for a sculptor s model. 
 
 When I remembered that these islanders derived no 
 advantage from dress, but appeared in all the naked 
 simplicity of nature, I could not avoid comparing them 
 
 243 
 
244 TYPEE 
 
 with the fine gentlemen and dandies who promenade such 
 unexceptionable figures in our frequented thoroughfares. 
 Stripped of the cunning artifices of the tailor and stand 
 ing forth in the garb of Eden what a sorry set of 
 round-shouldered, spindle-shanked, crane-necked varlets 
 would civilised men appear! Stuffed calves, padded 
 breasts, and scientifically cut pantaloons would then 
 avail them nothing, and the effect would be truly de 
 plorable. 
 
 Nothing in the appearance of the islanders struck me 
 more forcibly than the whiteness of their teeth. The 
 novelist always compares the masticators of his heroine 
 to ivory; but I boldly pronounce the teeth of the Typees 
 to be far more beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws 
 of the oldest greybeards among them were much better 
 garnished than those of most of the youths of civilised 
 countries, while the teeth of the young and middle-aged, 
 in their purity and whiteness, were actually dazzling to 
 the eye. This marvellous whiteness of the teeth is to be 
 ascribed to the pure vegetable diet of these people and 
 the uninterrupted healthfulness of their natural mode of 
 life. 
 
 The men, in almost every instance, are of lofty stature, 
 scarcely ever less than six feet in height, while the other 
 sex are uncommonly diminutive. The early period of 
 life at which the human form arrives at maturity in this 
 generous tropical climate likewise deserves to be men 
 tioned. A little creature, not more than thirteen years 
 of age, and who in other particulars might be regarded 
 as a mere child, is often seen nursing her own baby, 
 whilst lads who, under less ripening skies, would be still 
 at school are here responsible fathers of families. 
 
 On first entering the Typee Valley, I had been struck 
 with the marked contrast presented by its inhabitants 
 
KING MEHEVI 245 
 
 with those of the bay I had previously left. In the latter 
 place, I had not been favourably impressed with the 
 personal appearance of the male portion of the popula 
 tion; although with the females, excepting in some truly 
 melancholy instances, I had been wonderfully pleased. 
 I had observed that even the little intercourse Europeans 
 had carried on with the Nukuheva natives had not failed 
 to leave its traces amongst them. One of the most dread 
 ful curses under which humanity labours had com 
 menced its havocs, and betrayed, as it ever does among 
 the South Sea islanders, the most aggravated symptoms. 
 From this, as from all other foreign inflictions, the yet 
 uncontaminated tenants of the Typee Valley were wholly 
 exempt; and long may they continue so. Better will it 
 be for them for ever to remain the happy and innocent 
 heathens and barbarians that they now are. Apart, how 
 ever, from these considerations, I am inclined to believe 
 that there exists a radical difference between the two 
 tribes, if indeed they are not distinct races of men. To 
 those who have merely touched at Nukuheva Bay, 
 without visiting other portions of the island, it would 
 hardly appear credible the diversities presented between 
 the various small clans inhabiting so diminutive a spot. 
 But the hereditary hostility which has existed between 
 them for ages fully accounts for this. 
 
 Not so easy, however, is it to assign an adequate cause 
 for the endless variety of complexions to be seen in the 
 Typee Valley. During the festival I had noticed several 
 young females, whose skins were almost as white as any 
 Saxon damsel s, a slight dash of the mantling brown 
 being all that marked the difference. The comparative 
 fairness of complexion, though in a great degree per 
 fectly natural, is partly the result of an artificial process, 
 and of an entire exclusion from the sun. The juice of 
 
246 TYPEE 
 
 the "papa" root, found in great abundance at the head 
 of the valley, is held in great esteem as a cosmetic, with 
 which many of the females daily anoint their whole per 
 son. The habitual use of it whitens and beautifies the 
 skin. Those of the young girls who resort to this method 
 of heightening their charms never expose themselves 
 to the rays of the sun, an observance, however, that 
 produces little or no inconvenience, since there are but 
 few of the inhabited portions of the vale which are not 
 shaded over with a spreading canopy of boughs, so that 
 one may journey from house to house, scarcely deviating 
 from the direct course, and yet never once see his 
 shadow cast upon the ground. 
 
 The "papa," when used, is suffered to remain upon 
 the skin for several hours; being of a light green colour, 
 it consequently imparts for the time a similar hue to the 
 complexion. Nothing, therefore, can be imagined more 
 singular than the appearance of these nearly naked dam 
 sels immediately after the application of the cosmetic. 
 To look at one of them you would almost suppose she 
 was some vegetable in an unripe state, and that, instead 
 of living in the shade forever she ought to be placed in 
 the sun to ripen. 
 
 All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anoint 
 ing themselves, the women preferring the "aka" or 
 "papa," and the men using the oil of the cocoa-nut. 
 Mehevi was remarkably fond of mollifying his entire 
 cuticle with this ointment. Sometimes he might be 
 seen, with his whole body fairly reeking with the per 
 fumed oil of the nut, looking as if he had just emerged 
 from a soap-boiler s vat, or had undergone the process 
 of dipping in a tallow-chandlery. To this cause per 
 haps, united to their frequent bathing and extreme 
 cleanliness, is ascribable, in a great measure, the mar- 
 
KING MEHEVI 247 
 
 vellous purity and smoothness of skin exhibited by the 
 natives in general. 
 
 The prevailing tint among the women of the valley 
 was a light olive, and of this style of complexion Fay- 
 away afforded the most beautiful example. Others were 
 still darker, while not a few were of a genuine golden 
 colour, and some of a swarthy hue. 
 
 As agreeing with much previously mentioned in this 
 narrative, I may here observe that Mendana, their dis 
 coverer, in his account of the Marquesas, described the 
 natives as wondrously beautiful to behold, and as nearly 
 resembling the people of southern Europe. The first of 
 these islands seen by Mendana was La Madelena, which 
 is not far distant from Nukuheva; and its inhabitants 
 in every respect resemble those dwelling on that and 
 the other islands of the group. Figueroa, the chronicler 
 of Mendana s voyage, says that on the morning the 
 land was descried, when the Spaniards drew near the 
 shore, there sallied forth in rude procession about sev 
 enty canoes, and at the same time many of the inhabi 
 tants (females, I presume) made towards the ships by 
 swimming. He adds that "in complexion they were 
 nearly white ; of good stature, and finely formed ; and on 
 their faces and bodies were delineated representations of 
 fishes and other devices." The old Don then goes on to 
 say, "There came, among others, two lads, paddling their 
 canoe, whose eyes were fixed on the ship; they had 
 beautiful faces and the most promising animation of 
 countenance, and were in all things so becoming that 
 the pilot-mayor Quiros affirmed nothing in his life ever 
 caused him so much regret as the leaving such fine 
 creatures to be lost in that country." 1 More than two 
 
 1 This passage, which is cited as an almost literal translation 
 from the original, I found in a small volume entitled "Circum- 
 
248 TYPEE 
 
 hundred years have gone by since the passage of which 
 the above is a translation was written; and it appears to 
 me now, as I read it, as fresh and true as if written but 
 yesterday. The islanders are still the same; and I have 
 seen boys in the Typee Valley of whose "beautiful faces" 
 and "promising animation of countenance" no one who 
 has not beheld them can form any adequate idea. Cook, 
 in the account of his voyages, pronounces the Marque- 
 sans by far the most splendid islanders in the South 
 Seas. Stewart, the chaplain of the U. S. ship Vincennes, 
 in his "Scenes in the South Seas," expresses, in more 
 than one place, his amazement at the surpassing loveli 
 ness of the women, and says that many of the Nukuheva 
 damsels reminded him forcibly of the most celebrated 
 beauties in his own land. Fanning, a Yankee mariner 
 of some reputation, likewise records his lively impres 
 sions of the physical appearance of these people; and 
 Commodore David Porter of the U. S. frigate Essex is 
 said to have been vastly smitten by the beauty of the 
 ladies. Their great superiority over all other Polyne 
 sians cannot fail to attract the notice of those who visit 
 the principal groups in the Pacific. The voluptuous 
 Tahitians are the only people who at all deserve to be 
 compared with them, while the dark-hued Hawaiians 
 and the woolly-headed Feejees are immeasurably in 
 ferior to them. The distinguishing characteristic of the 
 Marquesan islanders, and that which at once strikes you, 
 is the European cast of their features a peculiarity 
 
 navigation of the Globe," in which volume are several extracts 
 from "Dalrymple s Historical Collections." The last-mentioned 
 work I have never seen, but it is said to contain a very correct 
 English version of great part of the learned Doctor Christoval 
 Suaverde de Figueroa s History of Mendana s Voyage, published 
 at Madrid, A.D. 1613. [Melville s note]. 
 
KING MEHEVI 249 
 
 seldom observable among other uncivilised people. Many 
 of their faces present a profile classically beautiful, and 
 in the valley of Typee I saw several who, like the 
 stranger Marnoo, were in every respect models of beauty. 
 
 Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes 
 had displayed a few articles of European dress, disposed, 
 however, about their persons after their own peculiar 
 fashion. Among these I perceived the two pieces of 
 cotton-cloth which poor Toby and myself had bestowed 
 upon our youthful guides the afternoon we entered the 
 valley. They were evidently reserved for gala days, 
 and during those of the festival they rendered the young 
 islanders who wore them very distinguished characters. 
 The small number who were similarly adorned, and the 
 great value they appeared to place upon the most com 
 mon and most trivial articles, furnished ample evidence 
 of the very restricted intercourse they held with vessels 
 touching at the island. A few cotton handkerchiefs, 
 of a gay pattern, tied about the neck and suffered to fall 
 over the shoulders, strips of fanciful calico swathed 
 about the loins, were nearly all I saw. 
 
 Indeed, throughout the valley there were few things 
 of any kind to be seen of European origin. All I ever 
 saw, beside the articles just alluded to, were the six 
 muskets preserved in the Ti, and three or four similar 
 implements of warfare hung up in other houses, some 
 small canvas bags, partly filled with bullets and powder, 
 and half a dozen old hatchet-heads, with the edges 
 blunted and battered to such a degree as to render 
 them utterly useless. These last seemed to be regarded 
 as nearly worthless by the natives; and several times 
 they held up one of them before me, and throwing it 
 aside with a gesture of disgust, manifested their contempt 
 for anything that could so soon become unserviceable. 
 
250 TYPEE 
 
 But the muskets, the powder, and the bullets were 
 held in most extravagant esteem. The former, from 
 their great age and the peculiarities they exhibited, were 
 well worthy a place in any antiquarian s armory. I 
 remember in particular one that hung in the Ti, and 
 which Mehevi supposing as a matter of course that I 
 was able to repair it had put into my hands for that 
 purpose. It was one of those clumsy, old-fashioned, Eng 
 lish pieces known generally as Tower Hill rnuskets, and, 
 for aught I know, might have been left on the island 
 by Wallace, Carteret, Cook, or Vancouver. The stock 
 was half rotten and worm-eaten; the lock was as rusty 
 and about as well adapted to its ostensible purpose as 
 an old door-hinge; the threading of the screws about 
 the trigger was completely worn av/ay, while the barrel 
 shook in the wood. Such was the weapon the chief 
 desired me to restore to its original condition. As I 
 did not possess the accomplishments of a gunsmith, 
 and was likewise destitute of the necessary tools, I was 
 reluctantly obliged to signify my inability to perform 
 the task. At this unexpected communication Mehevi 
 regarded me, for a moment, as if he half suspected I 
 was some inferior sort of white man, who after all did 
 not know much more than a Typee. However, after a 
 most laboured explanation of the matter, I succeeded in 
 making him understand the extreme difficulty of the 
 task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies, however, 
 he marched off with the superannuated musket in some 
 thing of a huff, as if he would no longer expose it to 
 the indignity of being manipulated by such unskilful 
 fingers. 
 
 During the festival I had not failed to remark the 
 simplicity of manner, the freedom from all restraint, 
 and, to a certain degree, the equality of condition mani- 
 
KING MEHEVI 251 
 
 fested by the natives in general. No one appeared to 
 assume any arrogant pretensions. There was little 
 more than a slight difference in costume to distinguish 
 the chiefs from the other natives. All appeared to mix 
 together freely, and without any reserve; although I 
 noticed that the wishes of a chief, even when delivered 
 in the mildest tone, received the same immediate obedi 
 ence which elsewhere would have been only accorded to 
 a peremptory command. What may be the extent of 
 the authority of the chiefs over the rest of the tribe, I 
 will not venture to assert; but from all I saw during 
 my stay in the valley, I was induced to believe that in 
 matters concerning the general welfare it was very lim 
 ited. The required degree of deference towards them, 
 however, was willingly and cheerfully yielded; and as all 
 authority is transmitted from father to son, I have no 
 doubt that one of the effects here, as elsewhere, of high 
 birth is to induce respect and obedience. 
 
 The civil institutions of the Marquesas Islands appear 
 to be, in this as in other respects, directly the reverse of 
 those of the Tahitian and Hawaiian groups, where the 
 original power of the king and chiefs was far more des 
 potic than that of any tyrant in civilised countries. At 
 Tahiti it used to be death for one of the inferior orders 
 to approach, without permission, under the shadow of 
 the king s house, or fail in paying the customary rever 
 ence when food destined for the king was borne past 
 them by his messengers. At the Sandwich Islands, 
 Kaahumanu, the gigantic old dowager queen a woman 
 of nearly four hundred pounds weight, and who is said 
 to be still living at Mowee was accustomed, in some 
 of her terrific gusts of temper, to snatch up an ordinary 
 sized man who had offended her and snap his spine 
 across her knee. Incredible as this may seem, it is a 
 
252 TYPEE 
 
 fact. While at Lahainaluna the residence of this mon 
 strous Jezebel a humpbacked wretch was pointed out 
 to me who, some twenty-five years previously, had had 
 the vertebrae of his back-bone very seriously discomposed 
 by his gentle mistress. 
 
 The particular grades of rank existing among the 
 chiefs of Typee I could not in all cases determine. 
 Previous to the Feast of Calabashes I had been puzzled 
 what particular station to assign to Mehevi. But the 
 important part he took upon that occasion convinced 
 me that he had no superior among the inhabitants of the 
 valley. I had invariably noticed a certain degree of 
 deference paid to him by all with whom I had ever seen 
 him brought in contact; but when I remembered that 
 my wanderings had been confined to a limited portion 
 of the valley, and that towards the sea a number of dis 
 tinguished chiefs resided, some of whom had separately 
 visited me at Marheyo s house, and whom, until the 
 Festival, I had never seen in the company of Mehevi, I 
 felt disposed to believe that his rank after all might not 
 be particularly elevated. 
 
 The revels, however, had brought together all the 
 warriors whom I had seen individually and in groups at 
 different times and places. Among them Mehevi moved 
 with an easy air of superiority which was not to be mis 
 taken; and he whom I had only looked at as the hospit 
 able host of the Ti, and one of the military leaders of 
 the tribe, now assumed in my eyes the dignity of royal 
 station. His striking costume, no less than his naturally 
 commanding figure, seemed indeed to give him pre 
 eminence over the rest. The towering helmet of feathers 
 that he wore raised him in height above all who sur 
 rounded him; and though some others were similarly 
 adorned, the length and luxuriance of their plumes were 
 far inferior to his. 
 

 KING MEHEVI 253 
 
 Mehevi was in fact the greatest of the chiefs the 
 head of his clan the sovereign of the valley; and the 
 simplicity of the social institutions of the people could 
 not have been more completely proved than by the fact 
 that after having been several weeks in the valley, and 
 almost in daily intercourse with Mehevi, I should have 
 remained until the time of the festival ignorant of his 
 regal character. But a new light had now broken in 
 upon me. The Ti was the palace and Mehevi the 
 king. Both the one and the other of a most simple and 
 patriarchial nature, it must be allowed, and wholly un 
 attended by the ceremonious pomp which usually sur 
 rounds the purple. 
 
 After having made this discovery I could not avoid 
 congratulating myself that Mehevi had from the first 
 taken me as it were under his royal protection, and that 
 he still continued to entertain for me the warmest regard, 
 as far at least as I was enabled to judge from appear 
 ances. For the future I determined to pay most assidu 
 ous court to him, hoping that eventually through his 
 kindness I might obtain my liberty. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 NATIVE CUSTOMS 
 
 KING MEHEVI! A goodly sounding title! and 
 why should I not bestow it upon the foremost man in 
 the valley of Typee? The republican missionaries of 
 Oahu cause to be gazetted in the Court Journal, pub 
 lished at Honolulu, the most trivial movements of "his 
 gracious majesty" King Kamehameha III., and "their 
 highnesses the princes of the blood royal." And who 
 is his "gracious majesty," and what the quality of this 
 "blood royal"? His "gracious majesty" is a fat, lazy 
 negro-looking blockhead, with as little character as power. 
 He has lost the noble traits of the barbarian without 
 acquiring the redeeming graces of a civilised being, and, 
 although a member of the Hawaiian Temperance So 
 ciety, is a most inveterate dram-drinker. The "blood 
 royal" is an extremely thick, depraved fluid, formed 
 principally of raw fish, bad brandy, and European sweet 
 meats. 
 
 Now, if the farcical puppet of a chief magistrate in the 
 Sandwich Islands be allowed the title of king, why should 
 it be withheld from the noble savage Mehevi, who is a 
 thousand times more worthy of the appellation? All 
 hail, therefore, Mehevi, King of the Cannibal Valley, 
 and long life and prosperity to his Typeean majesty! 
 May Heaven for many a year preserve him, the uncom 
 promising foe of Nukuheva and the French, if a hostile 
 attitude will secure his lovely domain from the remorse 
 less inflictions of South Sea civilisation. 
 
 254 
 
NATIVE CUSTOMS 255 
 
 Previously to seeing the Dancing Widows I had little 
 idea that there were any matrimonial relations subsisting 
 in Typee, and I should as soon have thought of a Pla 
 tonic affection being cultivated between the sexes as of 
 the solemn connexion of man and wife. To be sure, 
 there were old Marheyo and Tinor, who seemed to have 
 a sort of nuptial understanding with one another; but 
 for all that I had sometimes observed a comical-looking 
 old gentleman dressed in a suit of shabby tattooing who 
 had the audacity to take various liberties with the lady, 
 and that too in the very presence of the old warrior her 
 husband, who looked on as good-naturedly as if nothing 
 was happening. This behaviour, until subsequent dis 
 coveries enlightened me, puzzled me more than anything 
 else I witnessed in Typee. 
 
 As for Mehevi, I had supposed him a confirmed bach 
 elor, as well as most of the principal chiefs. At any rate, 
 if they had wives and families, they ought to have been 
 ashamed of themselves ; for sure I am they never troubled 
 themselves about any domestic affairs. In truth, Mehevi 
 seemed to be the president of a club of hearty fellows 
 who kept "Bachelor s Hall" in fine style at the Ti. I 
 had no doubt that they regarded children as odious in- 
 cumbrances; and their ideas of domestic felicity were 
 sufficiently shown in the fact that they allowed no med 
 dlesome housekeepers to turn topsy-turvy those snug 
 little arrangements they had made in their comfortable 
 dwelling. I strongly suspected, however, that some of 
 these jolly bachelors were carrying on love intrigues with 
 the maidens of the tribe, although they did not appear 
 publicly to acknowledge them. I happened to pop upon 
 Mehevi three or four times when he was romping in 
 a most undignified manner for a warrior king with 
 one of the prettiest little witches in the valley. She 
 
256 TYPEE 
 
 lived with an old woman and a young man in a house near 
 Marheyo s; and although in appearance a mere child 
 herself, had a noble boy about a year old, who bore a 
 marvellous resemblance to Mehevi, whom I should cer 
 tainly have believed to be the father, were it not that the 
 little fellow had no triangle on his face but on second 
 thoughts, tattooing is not hereditary. Mehevi, however, 
 was not the only person upon whom the damsel Moon- 
 oony smiled the young fellow of fifteen, who perma 
 nently resided in the house with her, was decidedly in 
 her good graces. I sometimes beheld both him and the 
 chief making love at the same time. Is it possible, 
 thought I, that the valiant warrior can consent to give 
 up a corner in the thing he loves? This too was a mys 
 tery which, with others of the same kind, was afterwards 
 satisfactorily explained. 
 
 During the second day of the Feast of Calabashes, 
 Kory-Kory being determined that I should have some 
 understanding on these matters had, in the course of 
 his explanations, directed my attention to a peculiarity 
 I had frequently remarked among many of the females 
 principally those of a mature age and rather ma 
 tronly appearance. This consisted in having the right 
 hand and the left foot most elaborately tattooed, while 
 the rest of the body was wholly free from the operation of 
 the art, with the exception of the minutely dotted lips 
 and slight marks on the shoulders to which I have pre 
 viously referred as comprising the sole tattooing exhib 
 ited by Fayaway, in common with other young girls of 
 her age. The hand and foot thus embellished were, 
 according to Kory-Kory, the distinguishing badge of 
 wedlock, so far as that social and highly commendable 
 institution is known among these people. It answers, 
 indeed, the same purpose as the plain gold ring worn by 
 pur fairer spouses.. 
 
NATIVE CUSTOMS 257 
 
 After Kory-Kory s explanation of the subject, I was 
 for some time studiously respectful in the presence of 
 all females thus distinguished, and never ventured to 
 indulge in the slightest approach to flirtation with any 
 of their number. Married women, to be sure! I knew 
 better than to offend them. 
 
 A further insight, however, into the peculiar domestic 
 customs of the inmates of the valley did away in a 
 measure with the severity of my scruples, and convinced 
 me that I was deceived in some at least of my conclu 
 sions. A regular system of polygamy exists among the 
 islanders; but of a most extraordinary nature a plu 
 rality of husbands instead of wives; and this solitary 
 fact speaks volumes for the gentle disposition of the 
 male population. 
 
 I was not able to learn what particular ceremony was 
 observed in forming the marriage contract, but am in 
 clined to think that it must have been of a very simple 
 nature. Perhaps the mere "popping the question," as 
 it is termed with us, might have been followed by an 
 immediate nuptial alliance. At any rate, I have more 
 than one reason to believe that tedious courtships are 
 unknown in the valley of Typee. 
 
 The males considerably outnumber the females. This 
 holds true of many of the islands of Polynesia, although 
 the reverse of what is the case in most civilised coun 
 tries. The girls are first wooed and won, at a very 
 tender age, by some stripling in the household in which 
 they reside. This, however, is a mere frolic of the 
 affections, and no formal engagement is contracted. By 
 the time this first love has a little subsided, a second 
 suitor presents himself, of graver years, and carries both 
 boy and girl away to his own habitation. This disinter 
 ested and generous-hearted fellow now weds the young 
 
258 TYPEE 
 
 couple marrying damsel and lover at the same time 
 and all three thenceforth live together as harmoniously 
 as so many turtles. I have heard of some men who in 
 civilised countries rashly marry large families with their 
 wives, but had no idea that there was any place where 
 people married supplementary husbands with them. In 
 fidelity on either side is very rare. No man has more 
 than one wife, and no wife of mature years has less than 
 two husbands; sometimes she has three, but such in 
 stances are not frequent. The marriage tie, whatever 
 it may be, does not appear to be indissoluble, for sepa 
 rations occasionally happen. These, however, when 
 they do take place, produce no unhappiness, and are 
 preceded by no bickerings. As nothing stands in the 
 way of a separation, the matrimonial yoke sits easily and 
 lightly, and a Typee wife lives on very pleasant and 
 sociable terms with her husbands. On the whole, wed 
 lock, as known among these Typees, seems to JDC of a 
 more distinct and enduring nature than is usually the 
 case with barbarous people. A baneful promiscuous in 
 tercourse of the sexes is hereby avoided, and virtue, 
 without being clamorously invoked, is, as it were, un 
 consciously practised. 
 
 Notwithstanding the existence of wedlock among the 
 Typees, the Scriptural injunction to increase and multi 
 ply seems to be but indifferently attended to. I never 
 saw any of those large families in arithmetical or step- 
 ladder progression which one often meets with at home. 
 I never knew of more than two youngsters living together 
 in the same home, and but seldom even that number. 
 As for the women, it was very plain that the anxieties of 
 the nursery but seldom disturbed the serenity of their 
 souls, and they were never to be seen going about 
 the valley with half a score of little ones tagging at their 
 
NATIVE CUSTOMS 259 
 
 apron-strings, or rather at the bread-fruit-leaf they 
 usually wore in the rear. 
 
 The ratio of increase among all the Polynesian nation 
 is very small; and in some places as yet uncorrupted 
 by intercourse with Europeans, the births would appear 
 but very little to outnumber the deaths, the population 
 in such instances remaining nearly the same for several 
 successive generations, even upon those islands seldom or 
 never desolated by wars. This would seem expressly 
 ordained by Providence to prevent the overstocking of 
 the islands with a race too indolent to cultivate the 
 ground, and who, for that reason alone, would by any 
 considerable increase in their numbers be exposed to the 
 most deplorable misery. During the entire period of my 
 stay in the valley of Typee, I never saw more than ten 
 or twelve children under the age of six months, and 
 only became aware of two births. 
 
 I have before had occasion to remark that I never 
 saw any of the ordinary signs of a place of sepulture 
 in the valley, a circumstance which I attributed, at the 
 time, to my living in a particular part of it and being 
 forbidden to extend my rambles to any considerable 
 distance towards the sea. I have since thought it prob 
 able, however, that the Typees, either desirous of re 
 moving from their sight the evidences of mortality, or 
 prompted by a taste for rural beauty, may have some 
 charming cemetery situated in the shadowy recesses 
 along the base of the mountains. At Nukuheva, two or 
 three large quadrangular "pi-pis," heavily flagged, en 
 closed with regular stone walls and shaded over and 
 almost hidden from view by the interlacing branches of 
 enormous trees, were pointed out to me as burial-places. 
 The bodies, I understood, were deposited in rude vaults 
 beneath the flagging, and were suffered to remain there 
 
2 6o TYPEE 
 
 without being disinterred. Although nothing could be 
 more strange and gloomy than the aspect of these places, 
 where the lofty trees threw their dark shadows over 
 rude blocks of stone, a stranger in looking at them would 
 have discerned none of the ordinary evidences of a place 
 of sepulture. 
 
 During my stay in the valley, as none of its inmates 
 were so accommodating as to die and be buried in order 
 to gratify my curiosity with regard to their funeral rites, 
 I was reluctantly obliged to remain in ignorance of 
 them. As I have reason to believe, however, that the 
 observances of the Typees in these matters are the same 
 with those of all the other tribes on the island, I will 
 here relate a scene I chanced to witness at Nukuheva. 
 
 A young man had died, about daybreak, in a house 
 near the beach. I had been sent ashore that morning, 
 and saw a good deal of the preparations they were mak 
 ing for his obsequies. The body, neatly wrapped in 
 new white tappa, was laid out in an open shed of cocoa- 
 nut boughs, upon a bier constructed of elastic bamboos 
 ingeniously twisted together. This was supported, about 
 two feet from the ground, by large canes planted upright 
 in the earth. Two females, of a dejected appearance, 
 watched by its side, plaintively chanting and beating 
 the air with large grass fans whitened with pipe-clay. 
 In the dwelling-house adjoining a numerous company 
 were assembled, and various articles of food were being 
 prepared for consumption. Two or three individuals, 
 distinguished by head-dresses of beautiful tappa and 
 wearing a great number of ornaments, appeared to offi 
 ciate as masters of the ceremonies. By noon the enter 
 tainment had fairly begun, and we were told that it 
 would last during the whole of the two following days. 
 With the exception of those who mourned by the corpse, 
 
NATIVE CUSTOMS 261 
 
 every one seemed disposed to drown the sense of the late 
 bereavement in convivial indulgence. The girls, decked 
 out in their savage finery, danced; the old men chanted; 
 the warriors smoked and chatted; and the young and 
 lusty, of both sexes, feasted plentifully and seemed to 
 enjoy themselves as pleasantly as they could have done 
 had it been a wedding. 
 
 The islanders understand the art of embalming, and 
 practise it with such success that the bodies of their 
 great chiefs are frequently preserved for many years in 
 the very houses where they died. I saw three of these 
 in my visit to the Bay of Tior. One was enveloped in 
 immense folds of tappa, with only the face exposed, 
 and hung erect against the side of the dwelling. The 
 others were stretched out upon biers of bamboo, in open, 
 elevated temples, which seemed consecrated to their 
 memory. The heads of enemies killed in battle are in 
 variably preserved and hung up as trophies in the house 
 of the conqueror. I am not acquainted with the process 
 which is in use, but believe that fumigation is the prin 
 cipal agency employed. All the remains which I saw 
 presented the appearance of a ham after being suspended 
 for some time in a smoky chimney. v 
 
 But to return from the dead to the living. The late 
 festival had drawn together, as I had every reason to 
 believe, the whole population of the vale, and conse 
 quently I was enabled to make some estimate with 
 regard to its numbers. I should imagine that there were 
 about two thousand inhabitants in Typee; and no num 
 ber could have been better adapted to the extent of 
 the valley. The valley is some nine miles in length, 
 and may average one in breadth, the houses being dis 
 tributed at wide intervals throughout its whole extent, 
 principally, however, towards the head of the vale. There 
 
262 TYPEE 
 
 are no villages: the houses stand here and there in the 
 shadow of the groves, or are scattered along the banks 
 of the winding stream, their golden-hued bamboo sides 
 and gleaming white thatch forming a beautiful contrast 
 to the perpetual verdure in which they are embowered. 
 There are no roads of any kind in the valley nothing 
 but a labyrinth of foot-paths twisting and turning among 
 the thickets without end. 
 
 The penalty of the Fall presses very lightly upon the 
 valley of Typee; for, with the one solitary exception of 
 striking a light, I scarcely saw any piece of work per 
 formed there which caused the sweat to stand upon a 
 single brow. As for digging and delving for a livelihood, 
 the thing is altogether unknown. Nature had planted 
 the breadfruit and the banana, and in her own good 
 time she brings them to maturity, when the idle savage 
 stretches forth his hand and satisfies his appetite. 
 

 CHAPTER XXVII 
 KINDLINESS OF THE CANNIBALS 
 
 I HAVE already mentioned that the influence exerted 
 over the people of the valley by their chiefs was mild in 
 the extreme: and as to any general rule or standard of 
 conduct by which the commonalty were governed in their 
 intercourse with each other, so far as my observation ex 
 tended, I should be almost tempted to say that none 
 existed on the island, except, indeed, the mysterious 
 "taboo" be considered as such. During the time I 
 lived among the Typees, no one was ever put upon his 
 trial for any offence against the public. To all appear 
 ances there were no courts of law or equity. There 
 were no municipal police for the purpose of apprehend 
 ing vagrants and disorderly characters. In short, there 
 were no legal provisions whatever for the well-being 
 and conservation of society, the enlightened end of civi 
 lised legislation. And yet everything went on in the val 
 ley with a harmony and smoothness unparalleled, I 
 will venture to assert, in the most select, refined, and 
 pious associations of mortals in Christendom. How are 
 we to explain this enigma? These islanders were 
 heathens! savages! ay, cannibals! and how came they, 
 without the aid of established law, to exhibit, in so emi 
 nent a degree, that social order which is the greatest 
 blessing and highest pride of the social state? 
 
 In the darkest nights they slept securely, with all their 
 worldly wealth around them, in houses the doors of 
 
 263 
 
264 TYPEE 
 
 which were never fastened. The disquieting ideas of 
 theft or assassination never disturbed them. Each 
 islander reposed beneath his own palmetto thatching, or 
 sat under his own bread-fruit tree, with none to molest 
 or alarm him. There was not a padlock in the valley, 
 nor anything that answered the purpose of one; still 
 there was no community of goods. This long spear, so 
 elegantly carved and highly polished, belongs to Wor- 
 moonoo; it is far handsomer than the one which old 
 Marheyo so greatly prizes; it is the most valuable article 
 belonging to its owner. And yet I have seen it leaning 
 against a cocoa-nut tree in the grove, and there it was 
 found when sought for. Here is a sperm-whale tooth, 
 graven all over with cunning devices: it is the property 
 of Karluna; it is the most precious of the damsel s 
 ornaments. In her estimation its price is far above rubies 
 and yet there hangs the dental jewel by its cord of 
 braided bark, in the girl s house, which is far back in 
 the valley ; the door is left open, and all the inmates have 
 gone off to bathe in the stream. 1 
 
 So much for the respect in which "personal property" 
 is held in Typee; how secure an investment of "real 
 property" may be I cannot take upon me to say. 
 
 1 The strict honesty which the inhabitants of nearly all the 
 Polynesian Islands manifest towards each other is in striking con 
 trast with the thieving propensities some of them evince in their 
 intercourse with foreigners. It would almost seem that, accord 
 ing to their peculiar code of morals, the pilfering of a hatchet 
 or a wrought nail from a European is looked upon as a praise 
 worthy action. Or rather, it may be presumed that, bearing in 
 mind the wholesale forays made upon them by their nautical 
 visitors, they consider the property of the latter as a fair object 
 of reprisal. This consideration, while it serves to reconcile an ap 
 parent contradiction in the moral character of the islanders, 
 should in some measure alter that low opinion of it which the 
 reader of South Sea voyages is too apt to form [Melville s note]. 
 
KINDLINESS OF THE CANNIBALS 265 
 
 Whether the land of the valley was the joint property 
 of its inhabitants, or whether it was parcelled out among 
 a certain number of landed proprietors who allowed 
 everybody to "squat" and "poach" as much as he pleased, 
 I never could ascertain. At any rate, musty parchments 
 and title deeds there were none on the island; and I am 
 half inclined to believe that its inhabitants hold their 
 broad valleys in fee simple from Nature herself ; to have 
 and to hold, so long as grass grows and water runs, or 
 until their French visitors, by a summary mode of con 
 veyancing, shall appropriate them to their own benefit 
 and behoof. 
 
 Yesterday I saw Kory-Kory hie him away, armed 
 with a long pole, with which, standing on the ground, 
 he knocked down the fruit from the topmost boughs of 
 the trees, and brought them home in his basket of 
 cocoa-nut leaves. To-day I see an islander, whom I 
 know to reside in a distant part of the valley, doing the 
 self-same thing. On the sloping bank of the stream are 
 a number of banana-trees. I have often seen a score or 
 two of young people making a merry foray on the great 
 golden clusters, and bearing them off, one after another, 
 to different parts of the vale, shouting and tramping as 
 they went. No churlish old curmudgeon could have 
 been the owner of that grove of bread-fruit trees, or of 
 these gloriously yellow bunches of bananas. 
 
 From what I have said it will be perceived that there 
 is a vast difference between "personal property" and 
 "real estate" in the valley of Typee. Some individuals, 
 of course, are more wealthy than others. For example: 
 the ridge-pole of Marheyo s house bends under the 
 weight of many a huge package of tappa; his long couch 
 is laid with mats placed one upon the other seven deep. 
 Outside, Tinor has ranged along in her bamboo cupboard 
 
266 TYPEE 
 
 or whatever the place may be called a goodly array 
 of calabashes and wooden trenchers. Now, the house 
 just beyond the grove, and next to Marheyo s, occupied 
 by Ruaruga, is not quite so well furnished. There are 
 only three moderate-sized packages swinging overhead: 
 there are only two layers of mats beneath, and the cala 
 bashes and trenches are not so numerous, nor so taste 
 fully stained and carved. But then, Ruaruga has a house 
 
 not so pretty a one, to be sure but just as commo 
 dious as Marheyo s; and, I suppose, if he wished to vie 
 with his neighbour s establishment, he could do so with 
 very little trouble. These, in short, constituted the chief 
 differences perceivable in the relative wealth of the people 
 in Typee. 
 
 Civilisation does not engross all the virtues of hu 
 manity: she has not even her full share of them. They 
 flourish in greater abundance and attain greater strength 
 among many barbarous people. The hospitality of the 
 wild Arab, the courage of the North American Indian, 
 and the faithful friendships of some of the Polynesian 
 nations far surpass anything of a similar kind among 
 the polished communities of Europe. If truth and jus 
 tice, and the better principles of our nature, cannot 
 exist unless enforced by the statute-book, how are we 
 to account for the social condition of the Typees? So 
 pure and upright were they in all the relations of life 
 that entering their valley, as I did, under the most 
 erroneous impressions of their character, I was soon led 
 to exclaim in amazement: "Are these the ferocious sav 
 ages, the blood-thirsty cannibals of whom I have heard 
 such frightful tales! They deal more kindly with each 
 other, and are more humane, than many who study 
 essays on virtue and benevolence, and who repeat every 
 night that beautiful prayer breathed first by the lips of 
 
KINDLINESS OF THE CANNIBALS 267 
 
 the divine and gentle Jesus." I will frankly declare 
 that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Mar 
 quesas, I formed a higher estimate of human nature 
 than I had ever before entertained. But alas! since then 
 I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the 
 pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly 
 overturned all my previous theories. 
 
 There was one admirable trait in the general charac 
 ter of the Typees which, more than any thing else, se 
 cured my admiration: it was the unanimity of feeling 
 they displayed on every occasion. With them there 
 hardly appeared to be any difference of opinion upon 
 any subject whatever. They all thought and acted 
 alike. I do not conceive that they could support a 
 debating society for a single night; there would be noth 
 ing to dispute about; and were they to call a convention 
 to take into consideration the state of the tribe, its ses 
 sion would be a remarkably short one. They showed 
 this spirit of unanimity in every action of life: every 
 thing was done in concert and good fellowship. I will 
 give an instance of this fraternal feeling. 
 
 One day, in returning with Kory-Kory from my ac 
 customed visit to the Ti, we passed by a little opening 
 in the grove, on one side of which, my attendant in 
 formed me, was that afternoon to be built a dwelling of 
 bamboo. At least a hundred of the natives were bring 
 ing materials to the ground, some carrying in their 
 hands one or two of the canes which were to form the 
 sides, others slender rods of the hibiscus, strung with 
 palmetto leaves, for the roof. Every one contributed 
 something to the work; and by the united, but easy, 
 and even indolent, labors of all, the entire work was 
 completed before sunset. The islanders, while em 
 ployed in erecting this tenement, reminded me of a 
 
268 TYPEE 
 
 colony of beavers at work. To be sure, they were 
 hardly as silent and demure as those wonderful crea 
 tures, nor were they by any means as diligent. To tell 
 the truth, they were somewhat inclined to be lazy, but 
 a perfect tumult of hilarity prevailed; and they worked 
 together so unitedly, and seemed actuated by such an 
 instinct of friendliness, that it was truly beautiful to 
 behold. 
 
 Not a single female took part in this employment; 
 and if the degree of consideration in which the ever- 
 adorable sex is held by the men be as the philoso 
 phers affirm a just criterion of the degree of refine 
 ment among a people, then I may truly pronounce the 
 Typees to be as polished a community as ever the sun 
 shone upon. The religious restrictions of the taboo 
 alone excepted, the women of the valley were allowed 
 every possible indulgence. Nowhere are the ladies more 
 assiduously courted; nowhere are they better appreciated 
 as the contributors to our highest enjoyments; and no 
 where are they more sensible of their power. Far differ 
 ent from their condition among many rude nations, where 
 the women are made to perform all the work while their 
 ungallant lords and masters lie buried in sloth, the 
 gentle sex in the valley of Typee were exempt from toil, 
 if toil it might be called that, even in that tropical cli 
 mate, never distilled one drop of perspiration. Their 
 light household occupations, together with the manufac 
 ture of tappa, the platting of mats, and the polishing of 
 drinking-vessels, were the only employments pertaining 
 to the women. And even these resembled those pleasant 
 avocations which fill up the elegant morning leisure of 
 our fashionable ladies at home. But in these occupa 
 tions, slight and agreeable though they were, the giddy 
 young girls very seldom engaged. Indeed these wilful, 
 
KINDLINESS OF THE CANNIBALS 269 
 
 care-killing damsels were averse to all useful employment. 
 Like so many spoiled beauties, they ranged through the 
 g rove3 bathed in the stream danced flirted 
 played all manner of mischievous pranks, and passed 
 their days in one merry round of thoughtless happiness. 
 
 During my whole stay on the island I never witnessed 
 a single quarrel, nor anything that in the slightest de 
 gree approached even to a dispute. The natives appeared 
 to form one household, whose members were bound to 
 gether by the ties of strong affection. The love of kin 
 dred I did not so much perceive, for it seemed blended 
 in the general love ; and where all were treated as brothers 
 and sisters, it was hard to tell who were actually related 
 to each other by blood. 
 
 Let it not be supposed that I have overdrawn this 
 picture. I have not done so. Nor let it be urged that 
 the hostility of this tribe to foreigners, and the hereditary 
 feuds they carry on against their fellow-islanders beyond 
 the mountains, are facts which contradict me. Not so: 
 these apparent discrepancies are easily reconciled. By 
 many a legendary tale of violence and wrong, as well as 
 by events which have passed before their eyes, these 
 people have been taught to look upon white men with ab 
 horrence. The cruel invasion of their country by Porter 
 has alone furnished them with ample provocation; and I 
 can sympathise in the spirit which prompts the Typee 
 warrior to guard all the passes to his valley with the 
 point of his levelled spear, and, standing upon the beach, 
 with his back turned upon his green home, to hold at 
 bay the intruding European. 
 
 As to the origin of the enmity of this particular clan 
 towards the neighbouring tribes, I cannot so confidently 
 speak. I will not say that their foes are the aggressors, 
 nor will I endeavour to palliate their conduct. But 
 
2 7 6 TYPEE 
 
 surely, if our evil passions must find vent, it is far better 
 to expend them on strangers and aliens than in the 
 bosom of the community in which we dwell. In many 
 polished countries civil contentions, as well as domestic 
 enmities, are prevalent, at the same time that the most 
 atrocious foreign wars are waged. How much less guilty, 
 then, are our islanders, who of these three sins are only 
 chargeable with one, and that the least criminal! 
 
 The reader will ere long have reason to suspect that 
 the Typees are not free from the guilt of cannibalism, 
 and he will then, perhaps, charge me with admiring a 
 people against whom so odious a crime is chargeable. 
 But this only enormity in their character is not half so 
 horrible as it is usually described. According to the 
 popular fictions, the crews of vessels, shipwrecked on 
 some barbarous coast, are eaten alive like so many 
 dainty joints by the uncivil inhabitants; and unfortunate 
 voyagers are lured into smiling and treacherous bays, 
 knocked in the head with outlandish war-clubs, and 
 served up without any preliminary dressing. In truth, 
 so horrific and improbable are these accounts that many 
 sensible and well-informed people will not believe that 
 any cannibals exist, and place every book of voyages 
 which purports to give any account of them on the same 
 shelf with Blue Beard and Jack the Giant-Killer; while 
 others, implicitly crediting the most extravagant fictions, 
 firmly believe that there are people in the world with 
 tastes so depraved that they would infinitely prefer a 
 single mouthful of material humanity to a good dinner 
 of roast beef and plum pudding. But here Truth, who 
 loves to be centrally located, is again found between 
 the two extremes; for cannibalism to a certain moderate 
 extent is practised among several of the primitive tribes 
 
KINDLINESS OF THE CANNIBALS 271 
 
 in the Pacific, but it is upon the bodies of slain enemies 
 alone; and horrible and fearful as the custom is, im 
 measurably as it is to be abhorred and condemned, still 
 I assert that those who indulge in it are in other respects 
 humane and virtuous. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 FISHING 
 
 THERE was no instance in which the social and kindly 
 dispositions of the Typees were more forcibly evinced 
 than in the manner they conducted their great fishing 
 parties. Four times during my stay in the valley the 
 young men assembled near the full of the moon and 
 went together on these excursions. As they were gen 
 erally absent about forty-eight hours, I was led to believe 
 that they went out towards the open sea, some distance 
 from the bay. The Polynesians seldom use a hook and 
 line, almost always employing large well-made nets, most 
 ingeniously fabricated from the twisted fibres of a cer 
 tain bark. I examined several of them which had been 
 spread to dry upon the beach at Nukuheva. They re 
 semble very much our own seines, and I should think 
 were very nearly as durable. 
 
 All the South Sea Islanders are passionately fond of 
 fish; but none of them can be more so than the inhabi 
 tants of Typee. I could not comprehend, therefore, why 
 they so seldom sought it in their waters, for it was only 
 at stated times that the fishing parties were formed, and 
 these occasions were always looked forward to with no 
 small degree of interest. 
 
 During their absence the whole population of the 
 place were in a ferment, and nothing was talked of but 
 "pehee, peehee" (fish, fish). Towards the time when 
 they were expected to return the vocal telegraph was 
 
 272 
 
FISHING 273 
 
 put into operation the inhabitants, who were scat 
 tered throughout the length of the valley, leaped upon 
 rocks and into trees, shouting with delight at the thoughts 
 of the anticipated treat. As soon as the approach of 
 the party was announced, there was a general rush of 
 the men towards the beach, some of them remaining, 
 however, about the Ti, in order to get matters in readi 
 ness for the reception of the fish, which were brought 
 to the Taboo groves in immense packages of leaves, each 
 one of them being suspended from a pole carried on the 
 shoulders of two men. 
 
 I was present at the Ti on one of these occasions, and 
 the sight was most interesting. After all the packages 
 had arrived, they were laid in a row under the verandah 
 of the building and opened. The fish were all quite 
 small, generally about the size of a herring, and of every 
 variety of colour. About one-eighth of the whole being 
 reserved for the use of the Ti itself, the remainder was 
 divided into numerous smaller packages, which were 
 immediately dispatched in every direction to the remotest 
 parts of the valley. Arrived at their destination, these 
 were in turn portioned out, and equally distributed 
 among the various houses of each particular district. 
 The fish were under a strict Taboo until the distribution 
 was completed, which seemed to be effected in the most 
 impartial manner. By the operation of this system 
 every man, woman, and child in the vale were at one 
 and the same time partaking of this favourite article 
 of food. 
 
 Once I remember the party arrived at midnight; but 
 the unseasonableness of the hour did not repress the 
 impatience of the islanders. The carriers dispatched 
 from the Ti were to be seen hurrying in all directions 
 through the deep groves, each individual preceded by 
 
274 TYPEE 
 
 a boy bearing a flaming torch of dried cocoa-nut boughs, 
 which from time to time was replenished from the ma 
 terials scattered along the path. The wild glare of these 
 enormous flambeaux, lighting up with startling brilliancy 
 the innermost recesses of the vale and seen moving rap 
 idly along beneath the canopy of leaves, the savage shout 
 of the excited messengers sounding the news of their 
 approach, which was answered on all sides, and the 
 strange appearance of their naked bodies, seen against 
 the gloomy background, produced altogether an effect 
 upon my mind that I shall long remember. 
 
 It was on this occasion that Kory-Kory awakened 
 me at the dead hour of night, and in a sort of transport 
 communicated the intelligence contained in the words 
 "pehee pemi" (fish come). As I happened to have been 
 in a remarkably sound and refreshing slumber, I could 
 not imagine why the information had not been deferred 
 until morning; indeed, I felt very much inclined to fly 
 into a passion and box my valet s ears; but on second 
 thoughts I got quietly up, and on going outside the 
 house was not a little interested by the moving illumina 
 tion which I beheld. 
 
 When old Marheyo received his share of the spoils, 
 immediate preparations were made for a midnight ban- 
 .quet; calabashes of poee-poee were filled to the brim; 
 green bread-fruit was roasted; and a huge cake of 
 "amar" was cut up with a sliver of bamboo and laid 
 out on an immense banana-leaf. 
 
 At this supper we were, lighted by several of the 
 native tapers, held in the hands of young girls. These 
 tapers are most ingeniously made. There is a nut abound 
 ing in the valley, called by the Typees "armor," closely 
 resembling our common horse-chestnut. The shell is 
 broken, and the contents extracted whole. Any number 
 
FISHING 275 
 
 of these are strung at pleasure upon the long elastic fibre 
 that traverses the branches of the cocoa-nut tree. Some 
 of these tapers are eight and ten feet in length; but 
 being perfectly flexible, one end is held in a coil, while 
 the other is lighted. The nut burns with a fitful bluish 
 flame, and the oil that it contains is exhausted in about 
 ten minutes. As one burns down, the next becomes ig 
 nited, and the ashes of the former are knocked into a 
 cocoa-nut shell kept for the purpose. This primitive 
 candle requires continual attention, and must be con 
 stantly held in the hand. The person so employed marks 
 the lapse of time by the number of nuts consumed, which 
 is easily learned by counting the bits of tappa distributed 
 at regular intervals along the string. 
 
 I grieve to state so distressing a fact, but the inhabi 
 tants of Typee were in the habit of devouring fish much 
 in the same way that a civilized being would eat a radish, 
 and without any more previous preparation. They eat it 
 raw scales, bones, gills, and all the inside. The fish 
 is held by the tail, and the head being introduced into 
 the mouth, the animal disappears with a rapidity that 
 would at first nearly lead one to imagine it had been 
 launched bodily down the throat. 
 
 Raw fish! Shall I ever forget my sensations when I 
 first saw my island beauty devour one? Oh heavens! 
 Fayaway, how could you ever have contracted so vile a 
 habit? However, after the first shock had subsided, 
 the custom grew less odious in my eyes, and I soon 
 accustomed myself to the sight. Let no one imagine, 
 however, that the lovely Fayaway was in the habit of 
 swallowing great vulgar-looking fishes; oh, no; with her 
 beautiful small hand she would clasp a delicate, little, 
 golden-hued love of a fish, and eat it as elegantly and as 
 innocently as though it were Naples biscuit. But, alas! 
 
276 TYPEE 
 
 it was a raw fish; and all I can say is that Fayaway ate 
 it in a more ladylike manner than any other girl of the 
 valley. 
 
 When at Rome do as the Romans do I held to be so 
 good a proverb that being in Typee I made a point of 
 doing as the Typees did. Thus I ate poee-poee as they 
 did; I walked about in a garb striking for its simplicity; 
 and I reposed on a community of couches, besides doing 
 many other things in conformity with their peculiar 
 habits; but the farthest I ever went in the way of con 
 formity, was on several occasions to regale myself with 
 raw fish. These being remarkably tender, and quite 
 small, the undertaking was not so disagreeable in the 
 main, and after a few trials I positively began to relish 
 them: however, I subjected them to a slight operation 
 with my knife previously to making my repast. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY 
 
 I THINK I must enlighten the reader a little about the 
 natural history of the valley. 
 
 Whence, in the name of Count Buffon and Baron 
 Cuvier, came those dogs that I saw in Typee? Dogs! 
 Big hairless rats rather, all with smooth, shining 
 speckled hides, fat sides, and very disagreeable faces. 
 Whence could they have come? That they were not 
 the indigenous production of the region, I am firmly 
 convinced. Indeed, they seemed aware of their being 
 interlopers, looking fairly ashamed and always trying 
 to hide themselves in some dark corner. It was plain 
 enough they did not feel at home in the vale that 
 they wished themselves well out of it, and back to the 
 ugly country from which they must have come. 
 
 Scurvy curs! they were my abhorrence; I should have 
 liked nothing better than to have been the death of 
 every one of them. In fact, on one occasion I inti 
 mated the propriety of a canine crusade to Mehevi; but 
 the benevolent king would not consent to it. He heard 
 me very patiently, but when I had finished, shook his 
 head and told me, in confidence, that they were "taboo." 
 
 As for the animal that made the fortune of the ex- 
 lord-mayor Whittington: I shall never forget the day 
 that I was lying in the house about noon, everybody else 
 being fast asleep, and happening to raise my eyes, met 
 those of a big black spectral cat, which sat erect in the 
 
 277 
 
278 TYPEE 
 
 doorway, looking at me with its frightful goggling 
 green orbs, like one of those monstrous imps that tor 
 ment some of Teniers saints! I am one of those un 
 fortunate persons to whom the sight of these animals is 
 at any time an insufferable annoyance. 
 
 Thus constitutionally averse to cats in general, the 
 unexpected apparition of this one in particular utterly 
 confounded me. When I had a little recovered from 
 the fascination of its glance, I started up; the cat fled, 
 and emboldened by this, I rushed out of the house in 
 pursuit; but it had disappeared. It was the only time I 
 ever saw one in the valley, and how it got there I cannot 
 imagine. It is just possible that it might have escaped 
 from one of the ships at Nukuheva. It was in vain to 
 seek information on the subject from the natives, since 
 none of them had seen the animal, the appearance of 
 which remains a mystery to me to this day. 
 
 Among the few animals which are to be met with in 
 Typee, there were none which I looked upon with more 
 interest than a beautiful golden-hued species of lizard. 
 It measured perhaps five inches from head to tail, and 
 was most gracefully proportioned. Numbers of these 
 creatures were to be seen basking in the sunshine upon 
 the thatching of the houses, and multitudes at all hours 
 of the day showed their glittering sides as they ran 
 frolicking between the spears of grass or raced in troops 
 up and down the tall shafts of the cocoa-nut trees. But 
 the remarkable beauty of these little animals and their 
 lively ways were not their only claims upon my admira 
 tion. They were perfectly tame and insensible to fear. 
 Frequently, after seating myself upon the ground in 
 some shady place during the heat of the day, I would 
 be completely overrun with them. If I brushed one 
 off my arm ; it would leap perhaps into my hair; when I 
 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY 279 
 
 tried to frighten it away by gently pinching its leg, it 
 would turn for protection to the very hand that at 
 tacked it. 
 
 The birds are also remarkably tame. If you hap 
 pened to see one perched upon a branch within reach of 
 your arm and advanced towards it, it did not fly away 
 immediately, but waited quietly looking at you, until 
 you could almost touch it, and then took wing slowly, 
 less alarmed at your presence, it would seem, tiian desir 
 ous of removing itself from your path. Had salt been 
 less scarce in the valley than it was, this was the very 
 place to have gone birding with it. 
 
 I remember that once, on an uninhabited island of the 
 Gallipagos, a bird alighted on my outstretched arm, 
 while its mate chirped from an adjoining tree. Its 
 tameness, far from shocking me, as a similar occurrence 
 did Selkirk, imparted to me the most exquisite thrill of 
 delight I ever experienced; and with somewhat of the 
 same pleasure did I afterwards behold the birds and 
 lizards of the valley show their confidence in the kind 
 liness of man. 
 
 Among the numerous afflictions which the Europeans 
 have entailed upon some of the natives of the South 
 Seas is the accidental introduction among them of that 
 enemy of all repose and ruffler of even tempers the 
 mosquito. At the Sandwich Islands and at two or three 
 of the Society group there are now thriving colonies of 
 these insects, who promise ere long to supplant alto 
 gether the aboriginal sand-flies. They sting, buzz, and 
 torment from one end of the year to the other. 
 
 From this grievous visitation, however, the Typees 
 are as yet wholly exempt; but its place is unfortunately 
 in some degree supplied by the occasional presence of a 
 minute species of fly which, without stinging, is never- 
 
2 8o TYPEE 
 
 theless productive of no little annoyance. The tame- 
 ness of the birds and lizards is as nothing when com 
 pared to the fearless confidence of this insect. He will 
 perch upon one of your eye-lashes, or go to roost 
 there, if you do not disturb him, or force his way 
 through your hair, or along the cavity of the nostril, 
 till you almost fancy he is resolved to explore the very 
 brain itself. On one occasion I was so inconsiderate 
 as to yawn while a number of them were hovering around 
 me. I never repeated the act. Some half-dozen darted 
 into the open apartment, and began walking about its 
 ceiling; the sensation was dreadful. I involuntarily 
 closed my mouth, and the poor creatures being enveloped 
 in inner darkness, must in their consternation have 
 stumbled over my palate, and been precipitated into the 
 gulf beneath. At any rate, though I afterwards char 
 itably held my mouth open for at least five minutes, 
 with a view of affording egress to the stragglers, none 
 of them ever availed themselves of the opportunity. 
 
 There are no wild animals of any kind on the island, 
 unless it be decided that the natives themselves are 
 such. The mountains and the interior present to the 
 eye nothing but silent solitudes, unbroken by the roar 
 of beasts of prey, and enlivened by few tokens even of 
 minute animated existence. There are no venomous 
 reptiles and no snakes of any description to be found 
 in any of the valleys. 
 
 In a company of Marquesan natives the weather 
 affords no topic of conversation. It can hardly be said 
 to have any vicissitudes. The rainy season, it is true, 
 brings frequent showers, but they are intermitting and 
 refreshing. When an islander bound on some expedi 
 tion rises from his couch in the morning, he is never 
 solicitous to peep out and see how the sky looks or 
 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY 281 
 
 ascertain from what quarter the wind blows. He is 
 always sure of a "fine day," and the promise of a few 
 genial showers he hails with pleasure. There is never 
 any of that "remarkable weather" on the island which 
 from time immemorial has been experienced in America, 
 and still continues to call forth the wondering conver 
 sational exclamations of its elderly citizens. Nor do 
 there even occur any of those eccentric meteorological 
 changes which elsewhere surprise us. In the valley of 
 Typee ice-creams would never be rendered less accept 
 able by sudden frosts, nor would picnic parties be de 
 ferred on account of inauspicious snow-storms; for there 
 day follows day in one unvarying round of summer and 
 sunshine, and the whole year is one long tropical month 
 of June just melting into July. 
 
 It is this genial climate which causes the cocoa-nuts 
 to flourish as they do. This invaluable fruit, brought 
 to perfection by the rich soil of the Marquesas, and 
 borne aloft on a stately column more than a hundred 
 feet from the ground, would seem at first almost inac- 
 cesible to the simple natives. Indeed the slender, smooth, 
 and soaring shaft, without a single limb or protuberance 
 of any kind to assist one in mounting it, presents an 
 obstacle only to be overcome by the surprising agility 
 and ingenuity of the islanders. It might be supposed 
 that their indolence would lead them patiently to await 
 the period when the ripened nuts, slowly parting from 
 their stems, fall one by one to the ground. This certainly 
 would be the case, were it not that the young fruit, en 
 cased in a soft green husk, with the incipient meat ad 
 hering in a jelly-like pellicle to its sides, and containing 
 a bumper of the most delicious nectar, is what they 
 chiefly prize. They have at least twenty different terms 
 to express as many progressive stages in the growth of 
 
282 TYPEE 
 
 the nut. Many of them reject the fruit altogether except 
 at a particular period of its growth, which, incredible as 
 it may appear, they seemed to me to be able to ascertain 
 within an hour or two. Others are still more capricious in 
 their tastes; and after gathering together a heap of the 
 nuts of all ages, and ingeniously tapping them, will sip 
 first from one and then from another, as fastidiously as 
 some delicate wine-bibber experimenting glass in hand 
 among his dusty demijohns of different vintages. 
 
 Some of the young men, with more flexible frames 
 than their comrades, and perhaps with more courageous 
 souls, had a way of walking up the trunk of the cocoa- 
 nut trees which to me seemed little less than miraculous; 
 and when looking at them in the act, I experienced that 
 curious perplexity a child feels when he beholds a fly 
 moving feet uppermost along a ceiling. 
 
 I will endeavour to describe the way in which Narnee, 
 a noble young chief, sometimes performed this feat for 
 my peculiar gratification; but his preliminary perform 
 ances must also be recorded. Upon my signifying my 
 desire that he should pluck me the young fruit of some 
 particular tree, the handsome savage, throwing himself 
 into a sudden attitude- of surprise, feigns astonishment 
 at the apparent absurdity of the request. Maintaining 
 this position for a moment, the strange emotions depicted 
 on his countenance soften down into one of humourous 
 resignation to my will, and then looking wistfully up to 
 the tufted top of the tree, he stands tip-toe, straining 
 his neck and elevating his arm, as though endeavouring 
 to reach the fruit from the ground where he stands. As 
 if defeated in this childish attempt, he now sinks to the 
 earth despondingly, beating his breast in well-acted de 
 spair; and then, starting to his feet all at once, and 
 throwing back his head, raises both hands, like a school- 
 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY 283 
 
 boy about to catch a falling ball. After continuing this 
 for a moment or two, as if in expectation that the fruit 
 was going to be tossed down to him by some good spirit 
 in the tree-top, he turns wildly round in another fit of 
 despair, and scampers off to the distance of thirty or 
 forty yards. Here he remains awhile, eying the tree, 
 the very picture of misery; but the next moment, re 
 ceiving, as it were, a flash of inspiration, he rushes again 
 towards it, and clasping both arms about the trunk, with 
 one elevated a little above the other, he presses the soles 
 of his feet close together against the tree, extending his 
 legs from it until they are nearly horizontal, and his body 
 becomes doubled into an arch ; then, hand over hand and 
 foot after foot, he rises from the earth with steady rapid 
 ity, and almost before you are aware of it has gained the 
 cradled and embowered nest of nuts, and with boisterous 
 glee flings the fruit to the ground. 
 
 This mode of walking the tree is only practicable 
 where the trunk declines considerably from the perpen 
 dicular. This, however, is almost always the case, some 
 of the perfectly straight shafts of the trees leaning at an 
 angle of thirty degrees. 
 
 The less active among the men, and many of the chil 
 dren of the valley, have another method of climbing. 
 They take a broad and stout piece of bark and secure 
 either end of it to their ankles, so that when the feet 
 thus confined are extended apart, a space of little more 
 than twelve inches is left between them. This contri 
 vance greatly facilitates the act of climbing. The band 
 pressed against the tree, and closely embracing it, yields 
 a pretty firm support, while with the arms clasped about 
 the trunk, and at regular intervals sustaining the body, 
 the feet are drawn up nearly a yard at a time, and a cor 
 responding elevation of the hands immediately succeeds. 
 
284 TYPEE 
 
 In this way I have seen little children, scarcely five years 
 of age, fearlessly climbing the slender pole of a young 
 cocoa-nut tree, and while hanging perhaps fifty feet 
 from the ground, receive the plaudits of their parents 
 beneath, who clapped their hands and encouraged them 
 to mount still higher. 
 
 What, thought I, on first witnessing one of these ex 
 hibitions, would the nervous mothers of America and 
 England say to a similar display of hardihood in any of 
 their children? The Lacedaemonian nations might have 
 approved of it, but most modern dames would have gone 
 into hysterics at the sight. 
 
 At the top of the cocoa-nut tree the numerous branches 
 radiating on all sides from a common centre form a 
 sort of green and waving basket, between the leaflets 
 of which you just discern the nuts thickly clustering to 
 gether, and on the loftier trees looking no bigger from 
 the ground than bunches of grapes. I remember one 
 adventurous little fellow Too-Too was the rascal s 
 name who had built himself a sort of aerial baby-house 
 in the picturesque tuft of a tree adjoining Marheyo s 
 habitation. He used to spend hours there, rustling 
 among the branches, and shouting with delight every 
 time the strong gusts of wind rushing down from the 
 mountain s side swayed to and fro the tall and flexible 
 column on which he was perched. Whenever I heard 
 Too-Too s musical voice, sounding strangely to the ear 
 from so great a height, and beheld him peeping down 
 upon me from out his leafy covert, he always recalled to 
 my mind Dibdin s lines 
 
 "There s a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft, 
 To look out for the life of poor Jack." 
 
 Birds bright and beautiful birds fly over the 
 valley of Typee. You see them perched aloft among 
 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY 285 
 
 the immovable boughs of the majestic bread-fruit trees, 
 or gently swaying on the elastic branches of the omoo; 
 skimming over the palmetto thatching of the bamboo 
 huts; passing like spirits on the wing through the shad 
 ows of the grove, and sometimes descending into the 
 bosom of the valley in gleaming flights from the moun 
 tains. Their plumage is purple and azure, crimson and 
 white, black and gold, with bills of every tint bright 
 bloody-red, jet black, and ivory white; and their eyes 
 are bright and sparkling; they go sailing through the 
 air in starry throngs; but alas! the spell of dumbness is 
 upon them all there is not a single warbler in the 
 valley ! x 
 
 I know not why it was, but the sight of these birds, 
 generally the ministers of gladness, always oppressed me 
 with melancholy. As in their dumb beauty they hovered 
 by me whilst I was walking, or looked down upon me 
 with steady curious eyes from out the foliage, I was al 
 most inclined to fancy that they knew they were gazing 
 upon a stranger, and that they commiserated his fate. 
 
 1 Stevenson, however, mentions singing birds in other parts of 
 the island: The South Seas, Chapter XV (August 27) [Editor s 
 note]. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 TATTOOING AND TABOOING 
 
 IN one of my strolls with Kory-Kory, in passing 
 along the border of a thick growth of bushes, my atten 
 tion was arrested by a singular noise. On entering the 
 thicket I witnessed for the first time the operation of 
 tattooing as performed by these islanders. 
 
 I beheld a man extended flat upon his back on the 
 ground, and, despite the forced composure of his coun 
 tenance, it was evident that he was suffering agony. His 
 tormentor bent over him, working away for all the world 
 like a stone-cutter with mallet and chisel. In one hand 
 he held a short slender stick, pointed with a shark s 
 tooth, on the upright end of which he tapped with a 
 small hammer-like piece of wood, thus puncturing the 
 skin and charging it with the colouring matter in which 
 the instrument was dipped. A cocoa-nut shell contain 
 ing this fluid was placed upon the ground. It is pre 
 pared by mixing with a vegetable juice the ashes of the 
 "armor," or candle-nut, always preserved for the pur 
 pose. Beside the savage, and spread out upon a piece of 
 soiled tappa, were a great number of curious black- 
 looking little implements of bone and wood, used in the 
 various divisions of his art. A few terminated in a single 
 fine point, and, like very delicate pencils, were employed 
 in giving the finishing touches, or in operating upon the 
 more sensitive portions of the body, as was the case 
 in the present instance. Others presented several points 
 
 286 
 
TATTOOING AND TABOOING 287 
 
 distributed in a line, somewhat resembling the teeth of a 
 saw. These were employed in the coarser parts of the 
 work, and particularly in pricking in straight marks. 
 Some presented their points disposed in small figures, 
 and being placed upon the body, were, by a single blow 
 of the hammer, made to leave their indelible impression. 
 I observed a few the handles of which were mysteriously 
 curved, as if intended to be introduced into the orifice 
 of the ear, with a view perhaps of beating the tattoo 
 upon the tympanum. Altogether the sight of these 
 strange instruments recalled to mind that display of 
 cruel-looking mother-of-pearl-handled things which one 
 sees in their velvet-lined cases at the elbow of a dentist. 
 
 The artist was not at this time engaged on an original 
 sketch, his subject being a venerable savage whose tat 
 tooing had become somewhat faded with age and needed 
 a few repairs, and accordingly he was merely employed 
 in touching up the works of some of the old masters of 
 the Typee school, as delineated upon the human canvas 
 before him. The parts operated upon were the eyelids, 
 where a longitudinal streak, like the one which adorned 
 Kory-Kory, crossed the countenance of the victim. 
 
 In spite of all the efforts of the poor old man, sundry 
 twitchings and screwings of the muscles of the face de 
 noted the exquisite sensibility of these shutters to the 
 windows of his soul which he was now having repainted. 
 But the artist, with a heart as callous as that of an 
 army surgeon, continued his performance, enlivening his 
 labours with a wild chant, tapping away the while as 
 merrily as a woodpecker. 
 
 So deeply engaged was he in his work that he had 
 not observed our approach until, after having enjoyed 
 an unmolested view of the operation, I chose to attract 
 Jus attention. As soon as he perceived me, supposing 
 
288 TYPEE 
 
 that I sought him in his professional capacity, he seized 
 hold of me in a paroxysm of delight, and was all eager 
 ness to begin the work. When, however, I gave him 
 to understand that he had altogether mistaken my 
 views, nothing could exceed his grief and disappoint 
 ment. But recovering from this, he seemed determined 
 not to credit my assertion, and grasping his implements, 
 he flourished them about in fearful vicinity to my face, 
 going through an imaginary performance of his art, and 
 every moment bursting into some admiring exclamation 
 at the beauty of his designs. 
 
 Horrified at the bare thought of being rendered hid 
 eous for life if the wretch were to execute his purpose 
 upon me, I struggled to get away from him, while 
 Kory-Kory, turning traitor, stood by and besought me 
 to comply with the outrageous request. On my reit 
 erated refusals the excited artist got half beside him 
 self, and was overwhelmed with sorrow at losing so 
 noble an opportunity of distinguishing himself in his 
 profession. 
 
 The idea of engrafting his tattooing upon my white 
 skin filled him with all a painter s enthusiasm: again 
 and again he gazed into my countenance, and every 
 fresh glimpse seemed to add to the vehemence of his 
 ambition. Not knowing to what extremities he might 
 proceed, and shuddering at the ruin he might inflict 
 upon my figure-head, I now endeavoured to draw off his 
 attention from it, and holding out my arm in a fit of 
 desperation, signed to him to commence operations. But 
 he rejected the compromise indignantly, and still con 
 tinued his attack on my face, as though nothing short 
 of that would satisfy him. When his forefinger swept 
 across my features, in laying out the borders of those 
 parallel bands which were to encircle my countenance, 
 
TATTOOING AND TABOOING 289 
 
 the flesh fairly crawled upon my bones. At last, half 
 wild with terror and indignation, I succeeded in break 
 ing away from the three savages and fled towards old 
 Marheyo s house, pursued by the indomitable artist, 
 who ran after me, implements in hand. Kory-Kory, 
 however, at last interferred and drew him off from the 
 chase. 
 
 This incident opened my eyes to a new danger; and 
 I now felt convinced that in some luckless hour I should 
 be disfigured in such a manner as never more to have 
 the face to return to my countrymen, even should an 
 opportunity offer. 
 
 These apprehensions were greatly increased by the 
 desire which King Mehevi and several of the inferior 
 chiefs now manifested that I should be tattooed. The 
 pleasure of the king was first signified to me some three 
 days after my casual encounter with Karky the artist. 
 Heavens! What imprecations I showered upon that 
 Karky! Doubtless he had plotted a conspiracy against 
 me and my countenance, and would never rest until his 
 diabolical purpose was accomplished. Several times I 
 met him in various parts of the valley, and invariably, 
 whenever he descried me, he came running after me 
 with his mallet and chisel, flourishing them about my 
 face as if he longed to begin. What an object he would 
 have made of me! 
 
 When the king first expressed his wish to me, I made 
 known to him my utter abhorrence of the measure, and 
 worked myself into such a state of excitement that he 
 absolutely stared at me in amazement. It evidently 
 surpassed his majesty s comprehension how any sober- 
 minded and sensible individual could entertain the least 
 possible objection to so beautifying an operation. 
 
 Soon afterwards he repeated his suggestion, and 
 
2 90 TYPEE 
 
 meeting with a like repulse, showed some symptoms of 
 displeasure at my obduracy. On his a third time re 
 newing his request, I plainly perceived that something 
 must be done, or my visage was ruined forever; I there 
 fore screwed up my courage to the sticking point, and 
 declared my willingness to have both arms tattooed from 
 just above the wrist to the shoulder. His majesty was 
 greatly pleased at the proposition, and I was congratu 
 lating myself with having thus compromised the mat 
 ter, when he intimated that as a thing of course my 
 face was first to undergo the operation. I was fairly 
 driven to despair; nothing but the utter ruin of my 
 "face divine," as the poets call it, would, I perceived, 
 satisfy the inexorable Mehevi and his chiefs, or rather 
 that infernal Karky, for he was at the bottom of it all. 
 
 The only consolation afforded me was a choice of 
 patterns: I was at perfect liberty to have my face 
 spanned by three horizontal bars, after the fashion of 
 my serving-man s; or to have as many oblique stripes 
 slanting across it; or if, like a true courtier, I chose to 
 model my style on that of royalty, I might wear a sort 
 of freemason badge upon my countenance in the shape 
 of a mystic triangle. However, I would have none of 
 these, though the. king most earnestly impressed upon 
 my mind that my choice was wholly unrestricted. At 
 last, seeing my unconquerable repugnance, he ceased to 
 importune me. 
 
 But not so some other of the savages. Hardly a day 
 passed but I was subjected to their annoying requests, 
 until at last my existence became a burden to me; the 
 pleasures I had previously enjoyed no longer afforded 
 me delight, and all my former desire to escape from the 
 valley now revived with additional force. 
 
 A fact which I soon afterwards learned augmented 
 
TATTOOING AND TABOOING 291 
 
 my apprehension. The whole system of tattooing was, 
 I found, connected with their religion, and it was evi 
 dent, therefore, that they were resolved to make a convert 
 of me. 
 
 In the decoration of the chiefs it seems to be neces 
 sary to exercise the most elaborate pencilling, while 
 some of the inferior natives looked as if they had been 
 daubed over indiscriminately with a house-painter s 
 brush. I remember one fellow who prided himself 
 hugely upon a great oblong patch, placed high upon 
 his back, and who always reminded me of a man with 
 a blister of Spanish flies stuck between his shoulders. 
 Another whom I frequently met had the hollow of his 
 eyes tattooed in two regular squares, and his visual 
 organs being remarkably brilliant, they gleamed forth 
 from out this setting like a couple of diamonds inserted 
 in ebony. 
 
 Although convinced that tattooing was a religious ob 
 servance, still the nature of the connection between 
 it and the superstitious idolatry of the people was a 
 point upon which I could never obtain any information. 
 Like the still more important system of the "taboo," 
 it always appeared inexplicable to me. 
 
 There is a marked similarity, almost an identity, be 
 tween the religious institutions of most of the Polynesian 
 islands, and in all exists the mysterious "taboo," re 
 stricted in its uses to a greater or less extent. So strange 
 and complex in its arrangements is this remarkable 
 system that I have in several cases met with individuals 
 who, after residing for years among the islands in the 
 Pacific and acquiring a considerable knowledge of the 
 language, have nevertheless been altogether unable to 
 give any satisfactory account of its operations. Situ 
 ated as I was in the Typee valley, I perceived every 
 
292 TYPEE 
 
 hour the effects of this all-controlling power, without in 
 the least comprehending it. Those effects were, indeed, 
 wide-spread and universal, pervading the most impor 
 tant as well as the minutest transactions of life. The 
 savage, in short, lives in the continual observance of its 
 dictates, which guide and control every action of his 
 being. 
 
 For several days after entering the valley I had been 
 saluted at least fifty times in the twenty- four hours 
 with the talismanic word "taboo" shrieked in my ears, 
 at some gross violation of its provisions of which I had 
 unconsciously been guilty. The day after our arrival 
 I happened to hand some tobacco to Toby over the 
 head of a native who sat between us. He started up, 
 as if stung by an adder, while the whole company, 
 manifesting an equal degree of horror, simultaneously 
 screamed out "Taboo!" I never again perpetrated a 
 similar piece of ill-manners, which, indeed, was forbidden 
 by the canons of good breeding as well as by the man 
 dates of the taboo. But it was not always so easy to per 
 ceive wherein you had contravened the spirit of this in 
 stitution. I was many times called to order, if I may use 
 the phrase, when I could not for the life of me conjecture 
 what particular offence I had committed. 
 
 One day I was strolling through a secluded portion 
 of the valley, and hearing the musical sound of the 
 cloth-mallet at a little distance, I turned down a path 
 that conducted me in a few moments to a house where 
 there were some half-dozen girls employed in making 
 tappa. This was an operation I had frequently wit 
 nessed, and had handled the bark in all the various 
 stages of its preparation. On the present occasion the 
 females were intent upon their occupation, and after 
 looking up and talking gayly to me for a few moments, 
 
TATTOOING AND TABOOING 293 
 
 they resumed their employment. I regarded them for 
 a while in silence, and then carelessly picking up a 
 handful of the material that lay around, proceeded un 
 consciously to pick it apart. While thus engaged I was 
 suddenly startled by a scream like that of a whole 
 boarding-school of young ladies just on the point of 
 going into hysterics. Leaping up with the idea of seeing 
 a score of Happar warriors about to perform anew the Sa- 
 bine atrocity, I found myself confronted by the company 
 of girls, who, having dropped their work, stood before me 
 with starting eyes, swelling bosoms, and fingers pointed 
 in horror towards me. 
 
 Thinking that some venomous reptile must be con 
 cealed in the bark which I held in my hand, I began 
 cautiously to separate and examine it. Whilst I did 
 so the horrified girls redoubled their shrieks. Their 
 wild cries and frightened motions actually alarmed me, 
 and throwing down the tappa, I was about to rush from 
 the house, when in the same instant their clamours 
 ceased, and one of them, seizing me by the arm, pointed 
 to the broken fibres that had just fallen from my grasp, 
 and screamed in my ears the fatal word taboo! 
 
 I subsequently found out that the fabric they were 
 engaged in making was of a peculiar kind, destined to 
 be worn on the heads of females, and through every 
 stage of its manufacture was guarded by a rigorous taboo 
 which interdicted the whole masculine gender from even 
 so much as touching it. 
 
 Frequently in walking through the groves I observed 
 bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees with a wreath of leaves 
 twined in a peculiar fashion about their trunks. This 
 was the mark of the taboo. The trees themselves, their 
 fruit, and even the shadows they cast upon the ground, 
 were consecrated by its presence. In the same way a 
 
294 TYPEE 
 
 pipe which the king had bestowed upon me was ren 
 dered sacred in the eyes of the natives, none of whom 
 could I ever prevail upon to smoke from it. The bowl 
 was encircled by a woven band of grass, somewhat re 
 sembling those Turks heads occasionally worked in 
 the handles of our whip-stalks. 
 
 A similar badge was once braided about my wrist by 
 the royal hand of Mehevi himself, who, as soon as he 
 had concluded the operation, pronounced me "taboo." 
 This occurred shortly after Toby s disappearance; and 
 were it not that from the first moment I had entered the 
 valley the natives had treated me with uniform kind 
 ness, I should have supposed that their conduct after 
 wards was to be ascribed to the fact that I had received 
 this sacred investiture. 
 
 The capricious operation of the taboo is not its least 
 remarkable feature; to enumerate them all would be 
 impossible. Black hogs infants to a certain age 
 young men while the operation of tattooing their faces 
 )ing on and certain parts of the valley during the 
 
 itinuance of a shower are alike fenced about by the 
 operation of the taboo. 
 
 I witnessed a striking instance of its effects in the 
 bay of Tior, my visit to which place has been alluded 
 to in a former part of this narrative. On that occasion 
 our worthy captain formed one of the party. He was 
 a most insatiable sportsman. Outward bound, and off 
 the pitch of Cape Horn, he used to sit on the taffrail and 
 keep the steward loading three or four old fowling- 
 pieces, with which he would bring down albatrosses, Cape 
 pigeons, jays, petrels, and divers other marine fowl who 
 followed chattering in our wake. The sailors were 
 struck aghast at his impiety, and one and all attributed 
 
TATTOOING AND TABOOING 295 
 
 our forty days beating about that horrid headland to 
 his sacrilegious slaughter of these inoffensive birds. 1 
 
 At Tior he evinced the same disregard for the reli 
 gious prejudices of the islanders as he had previously 
 shown for the superstitions of the sailors. Having heard 
 that there were a considerable number of fowls in the 
 valley the progeny of some cocks and hens acci- 
 dently left there by an English vessel, and which, being 
 strictly tabooed, flew about almost in a wild state 
 he determined to break through all restraints and be the 
 death of them. Accordingly he provided himself with 
 a most formidable looking gun and announced his land 
 ing on the beach by shooting down a noble cock that 
 was crowing what proved to be his own funeral dirge, 
 on the limb of an adjoining tree. "Taboo," shrieked 
 the affrighted savages. "Oh, hang your taboo," says 
 the nautical sportsman; "talk taboo to the marines;" 
 and bang went the piece again, and down came another 
 victim. At this the natives ran scampering through 
 the groves, horror-struck at the enormity of the act. 
 
 All that afternoon the rocky sides of the valley rang 
 with successive reports, and the superb .plumage of many 
 a beautiful fowl was ruffled by the fatal bullet. Had it 
 not been that the French admiral, with a large party, 
 was then in the glen, I have no doubt that the natives, 
 although their tribe was small and dispirited, would 
 have inflicted summary vengeance upon the man who 
 thus outraged their most sacred institutions; as it was, 
 they contrived to annoy him not a little. 
 
 Thirsting with his exertions, the skipper directed his 
 steps to a stream; but the savages, who had followed at 
 a little distance, perceiving his object, rushed towards 
 
 1 This superstition of sailors is used effectively in Coleridge s 
 The Ancient Mariner [Editors note]. 
 
296 TYPEE 
 
 him and forced him away from its bank his lips would 
 have polluted it. Wearied at last, he sought to enter a 
 house, that he might rest for a while on the mats; its 
 inmates gathered tumultuously about the door and de 
 nied him admittance. He coaxed and blustered by turns, 
 but in vain; the natives were neither to be intimidated 
 nor appeased, and as a final resort he was obliged to call 
 together his boat s crew and pull away from what he 
 termed the most infernal place he ever stepped upon. 
 
 Lucky was it for him and for us that we were not 
 honoured on our departure by a salute of stones from the 
 hands of the exasperated Tiors. In this way, on the 
 neighbouring island of Ropo, were killed, but a few 
 weeks previously, and for a nearly similar offence, the 
 master and three of the crew of the W . 
 
 I cannot determine with anything approaching to cer 
 tainty, what power it is that imposes the taboo. When 
 I consider the slight disparity of condition among the 
 islanders the very limited and inconsiderable preroga 
 tives of the king and chiefs and the loose and indefinite 
 functions of the priesthood, most of whom were hardly 
 to be distinguished from the rest of their countrymen, 
 I am wholly at a loss where to look for the authority 
 which regulates this potent institution. It is imposed 
 upon something to-day, and withdrawn to-morrow, while 
 its operations in other cases are perpetual. Sometimes 
 its restrictions only affect a single individual some 
 times a particular family sometimes a whole tribe; 
 and in a few instances they extend not merely over the 
 various clans on a single island, but over all the inhabi 
 tants of an entire group. In illustration of this latter 
 peculiarity, I may cite the law which forbids a female to 
 enter a canoe a prohibition which prevails upon all .the 
 northern Marquesas Islands. 
 
TATTOOING AND TABOOING 297 
 
 The word itself (taboo) is used in more than one sig 
 nification. It is sometimes used by a parent to his child, 
 when in the exercise of parental authority he forbids it 
 to perform a particular action. Anything opposed to 
 the ordinary customs of the islanders, although not ex 
 pressly prohibited, is said to be "taboo." 
 
 The Typee language is one very difficult to be ac 
 quired; it bears a close resemblance to the other Polyne 
 sian dialects, all of which show a common origin. The 
 duplication of words, as "lumee lumee, "poee poee," 
 "muee muee," is one of their peculiar features. But 
 another, and a more annoying one, is the different senses 
 in which one and the same word is employed; its various 
 meanings all have a certain connection, which only makes 
 the matter more puzzling. So one brisk, lively little 
 word is obliged, like a servant in a poor family, to per 
 form all sorts of duties; for instance, one particular 
 combination of syllables expresses the ideas of sleep, 
 rest, reclining, sitting, leaning, and all other things any 
 wise analogous thereto, the particular meaning being 
 shown chiefly by a variety of gestures and the eloquent 
 expression of the countenance. 
 
 The intricacy of these dialects is another peculiarity. 
 In the Missionary College at Lahainaluna, on Maui, one 
 of the Sandwich Islands, I saw a tabular exhibition of a 
 Hawaiian verb, conjugated through all its moods and 
 tenses. It covered the side of a considerable apartment, 
 and I doubt whether Sir William Jones himself would 
 not have despaired of mastering it. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 CURIOUS ODDS AND ENDS 
 
 SADLY discursive as I have already been, I must still 
 further entreat the reader s patience, as I am about to 
 string together, without any attempt at order, a few 
 odds and ends of things not hitherto mentioned, but 
 which are either curious in themselves or peculiar to 
 the Typees. 
 
 There was one singular custom, observed in old Mar- 
 heyo s domestic establishment, which often excited my 
 surprise. Every night, before retiring, the inmates of 
 the house gathered together on the mats, and squatting 
 upon their haunches, after the universal practice of these 
 islanders, would commence a low, dismal, and monoto 
 nous chant, .accompanying the voice with the instrumental 
 melody produced by two small half-rotten sticks tapped 
 slowly together, a pair of which were held in the hands 
 of each person present. Thus would they employ them 
 selves for an hour or two, sometimes longer. Lying in 
 the gloom which wrapped the further end of the house, 
 I could not avoid looking at them, although the spectacle 
 suggested nothing but unpleasant reflections. The flick 
 ering rays of the "armor" nut just served to reveal their 
 savage lineaments, without dispelling the darkness that 
 hovered about them. 
 
 Sometimes when, after falling into a kind of doze, 
 and awakening suddenly in the midst of these doleful 
 chantings, my eye would fall upon the wild-looking 
 
 298 
 
CURIOUS ODDS AND ENDS 299 
 
 group engaged in their strange occupation, with their 
 naked tattooed limbs and shaven heads disposed in a 
 circle, I was almost tempted to believe that I gazed 
 upon a set of evil beings in the act of working a fright 
 ful incantation. 
 
 What was the meaning or purpose of this custom, 
 whether it was practised merely as a diversion, or whether 
 it was a religious exercise, a sort of family prayers, I 
 never could discover. 
 
 The sounds produced by the natives on these occa 
 sions were of a most singular description; and had I 
 not actually been present, I never would have believed 
 that such curious noises could have been produced by 
 human beings. 
 
 To savages generally is imputed a guttural articula 
 tion. This, however, is not always the case, especially 
 among the inhabitants of the Polynesian Archipelago. 
 The labial melody with which the Typee girls carry on 
 an ordinary conversation, giving a musical prolongation 
 to the final syllable of every sentence, and chirping out 
 some of the words with a liquid, bird-like accent, was 
 singularly pleasing. 
 
 The men, however, are not quite so harmonious in 
 their utterance, and when excited upon any subject would 
 work themselves up into a sort of wordy paroxysm 
 during which all descriptions of rough-sided sounds were 
 projected from their mouths, with a force and rapidity 
 which were absolutely astonishing. 
 
 Although these savages are remarkably fond of chant 
 ing, still they appear to have no idea whatever of sing 
 ing, at least as that art is practised among other nations. 
 
 I never shall forget the first time I happened to roar 
 out a stave in the presence of the noble Mehevi. It 
 was a stanza from the "Bavarian Broom-seller. His 
 
300 TYPEE 
 
 Typean majesty, with all his court, gazed upon me in 
 amazement, as if I had displayed some preternatural 
 faculty which Heaven had denied to them. The king 
 was delighted with the verse; but the chorus fairly 
 transported him. At his solicitation I sang it again and 
 again, and nothing could be more ludicrous than his 
 vain attempts to catch the air and the words. The royal 
 savage seemed to think that by screwing all the features 
 of his face into the end of his nose he might possibly 
 succeed in the undertaking, but it failed to answer the 
 purpose; and in the end he gave it up, and consoled 
 himself by listening to my repetition of the sounds fifty 
 times over. 
 
 Previous to Mehevi s making the discovery, I had 
 never been aware that there was anything of the night 
 ingale about me; but I was now promoted to the place 
 of court-minstrel, in which capacity I was afterwards 
 perpetually called upon to officiate. 
 
 Besides the sticks and the drums, there are no other 
 musical instruments among the Typees, except one which 
 might appropriately be denominated a nasal flute. It is 
 somewhat longer than an ordinary fife, is made of a beau 
 tiful scarlet-coloured reed, and has four or five stops, 
 with a large hole near one end, which latter is held just 
 beneath the left nostril. The other nostril being closed 
 by a peculiar movement of the muscles about the nose, 
 the breath is forced into the tube, and produces a soft 
 dulcet sound, which is varied by the fingers running at 
 random over trie stops. This is a favourite recreation 
 with the females, and one in which Fayaway greatly 
 excelled. Awkward as such an instrument may appear, 
 it was, in Fayaway s delicate little hands, one of the most 
 graceful I have ever seen. A young lady in. the act of 
 
CURIOUS ODDS AND ENDS 301 
 
 tormenting a guitar strung about her neck by a couple 
 of yards of blue ribbon is not half so engaging. 
 
 Singing was not the only means I possessed of divert 
 ing the royal Mehevi and his easy-going subjects. Noth 
 ing afforded them more pleasure than to see me go 
 through the attitude of pugilistic encounter. As not 
 one of the natives had soul enough in him to stand up 
 like a man and allow me to hammer away at him, for 
 my own personal gratification and that of the king, I 
 was necessitated to fight with an imaginary enemy, 
 whom I invariably made to knock under to my superior 
 prowess. Sometimes when this sorely battered shadow 
 retreated precipitately towards a group of the savages, 
 and, following him up, I rushed among them, dealing 
 my blows right and left, they would disperse in all direc 
 tions, much to the enjoyment of Mehevi, the chiefs, and 
 themselves. 
 
 The noble art of self-defence appeared to be regarded 
 by them as the peculiar gift of the white man; and I 
 make little doubt but that they supposed armies of 
 Europeans were drawn up provided with nothing else 
 but bony fists and stout hearts, with which they set to 
 in column and pummelled one another at the word of 
 command. 
 
 One day, in company with Kory-Kory, I had repaired 
 to the stream for the purpose of bathing, when I observed 
 a woman sitting upon a rock in the midst of the current, 
 and watching with the liveliest interest the gambols of 
 something which at first I took to be an uncommonly 
 large species of frog that was sporting in the water near 
 her. Attracted by the novelty of the sight, I waded 
 towards the spot where she sat, and could hardly credit 
 the evidence of my senses when I beheld a little infant, 
 
302 TYPEE 
 
 the period of whose birth could not have extended back 
 many days, paddling about as if it had just risen to the 
 surface after being hatched into existence at the bot 
 tom. Occasionally the delighted parent reached out 
 her hands towards it, when the little thing, uttering a 
 faint cry, and striking out its tiny limbs, would sidle 
 for the rock, and the next moment be clasped to its 
 mother s bosom. This was repeated again and again, 
 the baby remaining in the stream about a minute at a 
 time. Once or twice it made wry faces at swallowing 
 a mouthful of water, and choked and spluttered as if on 
 the point of strangling. At such times, however, the 
 mother snatched it up, and by a process scarcely to be 
 mentioned obliged it to eject the fluid. For several 
 weeks afterwards I observed this woman bringing her 
 child down to the stream regularly every day, in the 
 cool of the morning and evening, and treating it to a 
 bath. No wonder that the South Sea Islanders are so 
 amphibious a race, when they are thus launched into 
 the water as soon as they can see the light. I am con 
 vinced that it is as natural for a human being to swim 
 as it is for a duck. And yet in civilized communities how 
 many able-bodied individuals die, like so many drowning 
 kittens, from the occurrence of the most trivial accidents! 
 
 The long, luxuriant, and glossy tresses of the Typee 
 damsels often attracted my admiration. A fine head of 
 hair is the pride and joy of every woman s heart! 
 Whether, against the express will of Providence, it 
 is twisted up on the crown of the head and there coiled 
 away like a rope on a ship s deck; whether it be stuck 
 behind the ears and hangs down like the swag of a 
 small window-curtain; or whether it be permitted to 
 flow over the shoulders in natural ringlets, it is always 
 the pride of the owner and the glory of the toilet. 
 
CURIOUS ODDS AND ENDS 303 
 
 The Typee girls devote much of their time to the 
 dressing of their fair and redundant locks. After bath 
 ing, as they sometimes do five or six times every day, 
 the hair is carefully dried, and if they have been in the 
 sea, invariably washed in fresh water and anointed 
 with a highly scented oil extracted from the meat of the 
 cocoa-nut. This oil is obtained in great abundance by 
 the following very simple process: 
 
 A large vessel of wood, with holes perforated in the 
 bottom, is filled with the pounded meat and exposed to 
 the rays of the sun. As the oleaginous matter exudes, 
 it falls in drops through the apertures into a wide- 
 mouthed calabash placed underneath. After a sufficient 
 quantity has been thus collected, the oil undergoes a 
 purifying process, and is then poured into the small 
 spherical shells of the nuts of the moo-tree, which are 
 hollowed out to receive it. These nuts are then her 
 metically sealed with a resinous gum, and the vegetable 
 fragrance of their green rind soon imparts to the oil a 
 delightful odour. After the lapse of a few weeks the 
 exterior shell of the nuts becomes quite dry and hard, 
 and assumes a beautiful carnation tint ; and when opened 
 they are found to be about two-thirds full of an ointment 
 of a light yellow colour, and diffusing the sweetest per 
 fume. This elegant little odorous globe would not be 
 out of place even upon the toilet of a queen. Its 
 merits as a preparation for the hair are undeniable 
 it imparts to it a superb gloss and a silky fineness. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 
 
 FROM the time of my casual encounter with Karky 
 the artist, my life was one of absolute wretchedness. 
 Not a day passed but I was persecuted by the solicita 
 tions of some of the natives to subject myself to the 
 odious operation of tattooing. Their importunities drove 
 me half wild, for I felt how easily they might work their 
 will upon me regarding this or anything else which they 
 took into their heads. Still, however, the behaviour 
 of the islanders towards me was as kind as ever. Fay- 
 away was quite as engaging, Kory-Kory as devoted, and 
 Mehevi the king just as gracious and condescending as 
 before. But I had now been three months in their valley, 
 as nearly as I could estimate; I had grown familiar with 
 the narrow limits to which my wanderings had been con 
 fined; and I began bitterly to feel the state of cap 
 tivity in which I was held. There was no one with whom 
 I could freely converse; no one to whom I could com 
 municate my thoughts, no one who could sympathize 
 with my sufferings. A thousand times I thought how 
 much more endurable would have been my lot had Toby 
 still been with me. But I was left alone, and the thought 
 was terrible to me. Still, despite my griefs, I did all in 
 my power to appear composed and cheerful, well know 
 ing that by manifesting any uneasiness, or any desire 
 to escape, I should only frustrate my object. 
 
 It was during the period I was in this unhappy frame 
 of mind that the painful malady under which I had 
 
 304 
 
A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 305 
 
 been labouring after having almost completely sub 
 sided began again to show itself, and with symptoms 
 as violent as ever. This added calamity nearly un 
 manned me; the recurrence of the complaint proved 
 that without powerful remedial applications all hope of 
 cure was futile; and when I reflected that just beyond 
 the elevations which bound me in was the medical 
 relief I needed, and that, although so near, it was im 
 possible for me to avail myself of it, the thought was 
 misery. 
 
 In this wretched situation, every circumstance which 
 evinced the savage nature of the beings at whose mercy 
 I was augmented the fearful apprehensions that con 
 sumed me. An occurrence which happened about this 
 time affected me most powerfully. 
 
 I have already mentioned that from the ridge-pole of 
 Marheyo s house were suspended a number of packages 
 enveloped in tappa. Many of these I had often seen in 
 the hands of the natives, and their contents had been 
 examined in my presence. But there were three pack 
 ages hanging very nearly over the place where I lay 
 which from their remarkable appearance had often ex 
 cited my curiosity. Several times I had asked Kory- 
 Kory to show me their contents; but my servitor, who 
 in almost every other particular had acceeded to my 
 wishes, always refused to gratify me in this. 
 
 One day, returning unexpectedly from the Ti, my 
 arrival seemed to throw the inmates of the house into 
 the greatest confusion. They were seated together on 
 the mats, and by the lines which extended from the 
 roof to the floor I immediately perceived that the mys 
 terious packages were for some purpose or other under 
 inspection. The evident alarm the savages betrayed 
 filled me with forebodings of evil and with an uncon- 
 
306 TYPEE 
 
 trollable desire to penetrate the secret so jealously 
 guarded. Despite the efforts of Marheyo and Kory- 
 Kory to restrain me, I forced my way into the midst of 
 the circle, and just caught a glimpse of three human 
 heads, which others of the party were hurriedly envel 
 oping in the coverings from which they had been taken. 
 
 One of the three I distinctly saw. It was in a state 
 of perfect preservation, and, from the slight glimpse 
 I had of it, seemed to have been subjected to some 
 smoking operation which had reduced it to the dry, 
 hard, and mummy-like appearance it presented. The 
 two long scalp-locks were twisted up into balls upon the 
 crown of the head in the same way that the individual 
 had worn them during life. The sunken cheeks were 
 rendered yet more ghastly by the rows of glistening 
 teeth which protruded from between the lips, while the 
 sockets of the eyes filled with oval bits of mother-of- 
 pearl shell, with a black spot in the centre heightened 
 the hideousness of its aspect. 
 
 Two of the three were heads of the islanders; but 
 the third, to my horror, was that of a white man. Al 
 though it had been quickly removed from my sight, 
 still the glimpse I had of it was enough to convince me 
 that I could not be mistaken. 
 
 Gracious God! what dreadful thoughts entered my 
 mind! In solving this mystery perhaps I had solved 
 another, and the fate of my lost companion might be 
 revealed in the shocking spectacle I had just witnessed. 
 I longed to have torn off the folds of cloth and satis 
 fied the awful doubts under which I laboured. But 
 before I had recovered from the consternation into which 
 I had been thrown, the fatal packages were hoisted aloft 
 and once more swung over my head. The natives now 
 gathered round me tumultuously, and laboured to con- 
 
A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 307 
 
 vince me that. what I had just seen were the heads of 
 three Happar warriors who had been slain in battle. This 
 glaring falsehood added to my alarm, and it was not until 
 I reflected that I had observed the packages swinging 
 from their elevation before Toby s disappearance that I 
 could at all recover my composure. 
 
 But although this horrible apprehension had been dis 
 pelled, I had discovered enough to fill me, in my present 
 state of mind, with the most bitter reflections. It 
 was plain that I had seen the last relic of some unfor 
 tunate wretch who must have been massacred on the 
 beach by the savages in one of those perilous trading 
 adventures which I have before described. 
 
 It was not, however, alone the murder of the stranger 
 that overcame me with gloom. I shuddered at the idea 
 of the subsequent fate his inanimate body might have 
 met with. Was the same doom reserved for me? Was 
 I destined to perish like him like him, perhaps, to be 
 devoured, and my head to be preserved as a fearful 
 memento of the event? My imagination ran riot in 
 these horrid speculations, and I felt certain that the 
 worst possible evils would befall me. But whatever 
 were my misgivings, I studiously concealed them from 
 the islanders, as well as the full extent of the discovery 
 I had made. 
 
 Although the assurances which the Typees had often 
 given me, that they never eat human flesh, had not con 
 vinced me that such was the case, yet, having been so 
 long a time in the valley without witnessing anything 
 which indicated the existence of the practice, I began 
 to hope that it was an event of very rare occurrence, 
 and that I should be spared the horror of witnessing it 
 during my stay among them; but, alas! these hopes 
 were soon destroyed. 
 
308 TYPEE 
 
 It is a singular fact that in all our accounts of can 
 nibal tribes we have seldom received the testimony of 
 an eye-witness to the revolting practice. The horrible 
 conclusion has almost always been derived either from 
 the second-hand evidence of Europeans, or else from the 
 admissions of the savages themselves, after they have in 
 some degree become civilized. The Polynesians are 
 aware of the detestation in which Europeans hold this 
 custom, and therefore invariably deny its existence and, 
 with the craft peculiar to savages, endeavour to conceal 
 every trace of it. 
 
 The excessive unwillingness betrayed by the Sand 
 wich Islanders, even at the present day, to allude to the 
 unhappy fate of Cook has been often remarked. And 
 so well have they succeeded in covering that event with 
 mystery that to this very hour, despite all that has been 
 said and written on the subject, it still remains doubtful 
 whether they wreaked upon his murdered body the ven 
 geance they sometimes inflicted upon their enemies. 
 
 At Kealakekau, the scene of that tragedy, a strip of 
 ship s copper nailed against an upright post in the 
 ground used to inform the traveller that beneath re 
 posed the "remains" of the great circumnavigator. But 
 I am strongly inclined to believe not only that the 
 corpse was refused Christian burial, but that the heart 
 which was brought to Vancouver some time after the 
 event, and which the Hawaiians stoutly maintained was 
 that of Captain Cook, was no such thing, and that the 
 whole affair was a piece of imposture which was sought 
 to be palmed off upon the credulous Englishman. 
 
 A few years since there was living on the island of 
 Maui (one of the Sandwich group) an old chief, who, 
 actuated by a morbid desire for notoriety, gave himself 
 out among the foreign residents of the place as the liv- 
 
A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 309 
 
 ing tomb of Captain Cook s big toe! affirming that at 
 the cannibal entertainment which ensued after the la 
 mented Briton s death, that particular portion of his body 
 had fallen to his share. His indignant countrymen actually 
 caused him to be prosecuted in the native courts, on a 
 charge nearly equivalent to what we term defamation 
 of character; but the old fellow persisting in his asser 
 tion, and no invalidating proof being adduced, the plain 
 tiffs were cast in the suit and the cannibal reputation of 
 the defendant fully established. This result was the 
 making of his fortune; ever afterwards he was in the 
 habit of giving very profitable audiences to all curious 
 travellers who were desirous of beholding the man who 
 had eaten the great navigator s great toe. 
 
 About a week after my discovery of the contents of 
 the mysterious packages I happened to be at the Ti 
 when another war-alarm was sounded, and the natives, 
 rushing to their arms, sallied out to resist a second in 
 cursion of the Happar invaders. The same scene was 
 again repeated, only that on this occasion I heard at 
 least fifteen reports of muskets from the mountains dur 
 ing the time that the skirmish lasted. An hour or two 
 after its termination, loud paeans chanted through the 
 valley announced the approach of visitors. I stood 
 with Kory-Kory leaning against the railing of the pi-pi 
 awaiting their advance, when a tumultuous crowd of 
 islanders emerged with wild clamours from the neigh 
 bouring groves. In the midst of them marched four 
 men, one preceding the other at regular intervals of 
 eight or ten feet, with poles of a corresponding length 
 extended from shoulder to shoulder, to which were 
 lashed with thongs of bark three long narrow bundles, 
 carefully wrapped in ample coverings of freshly plucked 
 palm-leaves tacked together with slivers of bamboo, 
 
310 TYPEE 
 
 Here and there upon these green winding-sheets might 
 be seen the stains of blood, while the warriors who car 
 ried the frightful burdens displayed upon their naked 
 limbs similar sanguinary marks. The shaven head of 
 the foremost had a deep gash upon it, and the clotted 
 gore which had flowed from the wound remained in dry 
 patches around it. This savage seemed to be sinking 
 under the weight he bore. The bright tattooing upon 
 his body was covered with blood and dust; his inflamed 
 eyes rolled in their sockets, and his whole appearance 
 denoted extraordinary suffering and exertion; yet, sus 
 tained by some powerful impulse, he continued to ad 
 vance, while the throng around him with wild cheers 
 sought to encourage him. The other three men were 
 marked about the arms and breasts with several slight 
 wounds, which they somewhat ostentatiously displayed. 
 
 These four individuals, having been the most active in 
 the late encounter, claimed the honour of bearing the 
 bodies of their slain enemies to the Ti. Such was the 
 conclusion I drew from my own observations, and, as far 
 as I could understand, from the explanation which 
 Kory-Kory gave me. 
 
 The royal Mehevi walked by the side of these heroes. 
 He carried in one hand a musket, from the barrel of 
 which was suspended a small canvas pouch of powder, 
 and in the other he grasped a short javelin, which he 
 held before him and regarded with fierce exultation. 
 This javelin he had wrested from a celebrated champion 
 of the Happars, who had ignominiously fled and was 
 pursued by his foe beyond the summit of the mountain. 
 
 When within a short distance of the Ti, the warrior 
 with the wounded head, who proved to be Narmonee, 
 tottered forward two or three steps and fell helplessly 
 to the ground, but not before another had caught the 
 
A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 311 
 
 end of the pole from his shoulder and placed it upon 
 his own. 
 
 The excited throng of islanders who surrounded the 
 person of the king and the dead bodies of the enemy 
 approached the spot where I stood, brandishing their 
 rude implements of warfare, many of which were bruised 
 and broken, and uttering continual shouts of triumph. 
 When the crowd drew up opposite the Ti, I set myself 
 to watch their proceedings most attentively ; but scarcely 
 had they halted when my servitor, who had left my side 
 for an instant, touched my arm and proposed our re 
 turning to Marheyo s house. To this I objected; but, 
 to my surprise, Kory-Kory reiterated his request, and 
 with an unusual vehemence of manner. Still, however, 
 I refused to comply, and was retreating before him, as in 
 his importunity he pressed upon me, when I felt a heavy 
 hand laid upon my shoulder, and turning round, en 
 countered the bulky form of Mow-Mow, a one-eyed 
 chief, who had just detached himself from the crowd be 
 low and had mounted the rear of the pi-pi upon which 
 we stood. His cheek had been pierced by the point of a 
 spear, and the wound imparted a still more frightful ex 
 pression to his hideously tattooed face, already deformed 
 by the loss of an eye. The warrior, without uttering a 
 syllable, pointed fiercely in the direction of Marheyo s 
 house, while Kory-Kory, at the same time presenting 
 his back, desired me to mount. 
 
 I declined this offer, but intimated my willingness to 
 withdraw, and moved slowly along the piazza, wonder 
 ing what could be the cause of this unusual treatment. 
 A few minutes consideration convinced me that the 
 savages were about to celebrate some hideous rite in 
 connection with their peculiar customs, at which they 
 were determined I should not be present. I descended 
 
312 TYPEE 
 
 from the pi-pi, and attended by Kory-Kory, who on this 
 occasion did not show his usual commiseration for my 
 lameness, but seemed only anxious to hurry me on, 
 walked away from the place. As I passed through the 
 noisy throng, which by this time completely environed 
 the Ti, I looked with fearful curiosity at the three pack 
 ages, which were now deposited upon the ground; but 
 although I had no doubt as to their contents, still their 
 thick coverings prevented my actually detecting the 
 form of a human body. 
 
 The next morning, shortly after sunrise, the same 
 thundering sounds which had awakened me from sleep 
 on the second day of the Feast of Calabashes assured 
 me that the savages were on the eve of celebrating an 
 other, and, as I fully believed, a horrible solemnity. 
 
 All the inmates of the house, with the exception of 
 Marheyo, his son, and Tinor, after assuming their gala 
 dresses, departed in the direction of the Taboo Groves. 
 
 Although I did not anticipate a compliance with my 
 request, still, with a view of testing the truth of my 
 suspicions, I proposed to Kory-Kory that, according to 
 our usual custom in the morning, we should take a stroll 
 to the Ti. He positively refused; and when I renewed 
 the request, he evinced his determination to prevent my 
 going there; and, to divert my mind from the subject, 
 he offered to accompany me to the stream. We accord 
 ingly went and bathed. On our coming back to the 
 house, I was surprised to find that all its inmates had 
 returned, and were lounging upon the mats as usual, 
 although the drums still sounded from the groves. 
 
 The rest of the day I spent with Kory-Kory and 
 Fayaway, wandering -about a part of the valley situated 
 in an opposite direction from the Ti; and whenever I 
 so much as looked towards that building, although it 
 
A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 313 
 
 was hidden from view by intervening trees, and at the 
 distance of more than a mile, my attendant would ex 
 claim, "Taboo, taboo!" 
 
 At the various houses where we stopped, I found 
 many of the inhabitants reclining at their ease, or pur 
 suing some light occupation, as if nothing unusual were 
 going forward; but amongst them all I did not perceive 
 a single chief or warrior. When I asked several of the 
 people why they were not at the "hoolah hoolah" (the 
 feast), they uniformly answered the question in a man 
 ner which implied that it was not intended for them, 
 but for Mehevi, Narmonee, Mow-Mow, Kolor, Womo- 
 noo, Kalow running over, in their desire to make me 
 comprehend their meaning, the names of all the princi 
 pal chiefs. 
 
 Everything, in short, strengthened my suspicions with 
 regard to the nature of the festival they were now cele 
 brating, and which amounted almost to a certainty. 
 While in Nukuheva I had frequently been informed that 
 the whole tribe were never present at these cannibal 
 banquets, but the chiefs and priests only, and everything 
 I now observed agreed with the account. 
 
 The sound of the drums continued, without inter 
 mission, the whole day, and falling continually upon 
 my ear, caused me a sensation of horror which I am 
 unable to describe. On the following day, hearing none 
 of those noisy indications of revelry, I concluded that 
 the inhuman feast was terminated; and feeling a kind 
 of morbid curiosity to discover whether the Ti might 
 furnish any evidence of what had taken place there, I 
 proposed to Kory-Kory to walk there. To this proposi 
 tion he replied by pointing with his finger to the newly 
 risen sun, and then up to the zenith, intimating that 
 our visit must be deferred until noon. Shortly after 
 
3 i 4 TYPEE 
 
 that hour we accordingly proceeded to the Taboo Groves, 
 and as soon as we entered their precincts, I looked fear 
 fully round in quest of some memorial of the scenes which 
 had so lately been acted there; but everything appeared 
 as usual. On reaching the Ti we found Mehevi and a 
 few chiefs reclining on the mats, who gave me as friendly 
 a reception as ever. No allusions of any kind were 
 made by them to the recent events; and I refrained> for 
 obvious reasons, from referring to them myself. 
 
 After staying a short time I took my leave. In pass 
 ing along the piazza, previously to descending from the 
 pi-pi, I observed a curiously carved vessel of wood, of 
 considerable size, with a cover placed over it, of the 
 same material, and which resembled in shape a small 
 canoe. It was surrounded by a low railing of bamboos, 
 the top of which was scarcely a foot from the ground. 
 As the vessel had been placed in its present position 
 since my last visit, I at once concluded that it must 
 have some connection with the recent festival; and, 
 prompted by a curiosity I could not repress, in passing 
 it I raised one end of the cover; at the same moment 
 the chiefs, perceiving my design, loudly ejaculated, 
 "Taboo! taboo!" But the slight glimpse sufficed; my 
 eyes fell upon the disordered members of a human skele 
 ton, the bones still fresh with moisture, and with parti 
 cles of flesh clinging to them here and there! 
 
 Kory-Kory, who had been a little in advance of me, 
 attracted by the exclamations of the chiefs, turned round 
 in time to witness the expression of horror on my coun 
 tenance. He now hurried towards me, pointing at the 
 same time to the canoe, and exclaiming rapidly, 
 "Puarkee! puarkee!" (Pig, pig). I pretended to yield 
 to the deception, and repeated the words after him sev 
 eral times, as though acquiescing in what he said. The 
 
A FRIGHTFUL DISCOVERY 315 
 
 other savages, either deceived by my conduct or unwill 
 ing to manifest their displeasure at what could not now 
 be remedied, took no further notice of the occurence, 
 and I immediately left the Ti. 
 
 All that night I lay awake, revolving in my mind the 
 fearful situation in which I was placed. The last hor 
 rid revelation had now been made, and the full sense 
 of my condition rushed upon my mind with a force I 
 had never before experienced. 
 
 Where, thought I, desponding, is there the slightest 
 prospect of escape? The only person who seemed to 
 possess the ability to assist me was the stranger Marnoo ; 
 but would he ever return to the valley? and if he did, 
 should I be permitted to hold any communication with 
 him? It seemed as if I were cut off from every source 
 of hope, and that nothing remained but passively to 
 await whatever fate was in store for me. A thousand 
 times I endeavoured to account for the mysterious con 
 duct of the natives. For what conceivable purpose did 
 they thus retain me a captive? What could be their 
 object in treating me with such apparent kindness, and 
 did it not cover some treacherous scheme? Or, if they 
 had no other design than to hold me a prisoner, how 
 should I be able to pass away my days in this narrow 
 valley, deprived of all intercourse with civilised beings, 
 and forever separated from friends and home? 
 
 Only one hope remained to me. The French could not 
 long defer a visit to the bay; and if they should per 
 manently locate any of their troops in the valley, the 
 savages could not for any length of time conceal my 
 existence from them. But what reason had I to suppose 
 that I should be spared until such an event occurred 
 an event which might be postponed by a hundred differ 
 ent contingencies? 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 MARNOO RETURNS 
 
 "MARNOO, Marnoo pemi!" Such were the welcome 
 sounds which fell upon my ear some ten days after the 
 events related in the preceding chapter. Once more 
 the approach of the stranger was heralded, and the in 
 telligence operated upon me like magic. Again I should 
 be able to converse with him in my own language; and 
 I resolved at all hazards to concert with him some scheme, 
 however desperate, to rescue me from a condition that 
 had now become insupportable. 
 
 As he drew near, I remembered with many misgivings 
 the inauspicious termination of our former interview; 
 and when he entered the house, I watched with intense 
 anxiety the reception he met with from its inmates. 
 To my joy, his appearance was hailed with the liveliest 
 pleasure; and accosting me kindly, he seated himself 
 by my side and entered into conversation with the na 
 tives around him. It soon appeared, however, that on 
 this occasion he had not any intelligence of impor 
 tance to communicate. I inquired of him from whence 
 he had last come? He replied from Pueearka, his 
 native valley, and that he intended to return to it the 
 same day. 
 
 At once it struck me that, could I but reach that 
 valley under his protection, I might easily from thence 
 reach Nukuheva by water; and animated by the pros 
 pect which this plan held out, I disclosed it in a few 
 
 316 
 
MARNOO RETURNS 317 
 
 brief words to the stranger, and asked him how it could 
 be best accomplished. My heart sank within me when 
 in his broken English he answered me that it could never 
 be effected. "Kanaka no let you go no where," he 
 said; "you taboo. Why you no like to stay? Plenty 
 moee-moee (sleep) plenty ki-ki (eat) Oh, very 
 good place Typee! Suppose you no like this bay, why 
 you come? You no hear about Typee? All white men 
 afraid Typee, so no white men come." 
 
 These words distressed me beyond belief; and when 
 I again related to him the circumstances under which 
 I had descended into the valley, and sought to enlist his 
 sympathies in my behalf by appealing to the bodily 
 misery I endured, he listened to me with impatience, 
 and cut me short by exclaiming passionately, "Me no 
 hear you talk any more; by by Kanaka get mad, kill 
 you and me too. No you see he no want you to speak 
 to me at all? you see ah! by by you no mind 
 you get well, he kill you, eat you, hang you head up 
 there, like Happar Kanaka. Now you listen but no 
 talk any more. By by I go ; you see way I go. 
 Ah! then some night Kanaka all moee-moee (sleep) 
 you run away, you come Pueearka. I speak Pueearka 
 Kanaka he no harm you ah! then I take you my 
 canoe Nukuheva and you no run away ship no more." 
 With these words, enforced by a vehemence of gesture 
 I cannot describe, Marnoo started from my side, and 
 immediately engaged in conversation with some of the 
 chiefs who had entered the house. 
 
 It would have been idle for me to have attempted 
 resuming the interview so peremptorily terminated by 
 Marnoo, who was evidently little disposed to compro 
 mise his own safety by any rash endeavours to ensure 
 mine. But the plan he had suggested struck me as 
 
3i8 TYPEE 
 
 one which might possibly be accomplished, and I re 
 solved to act upon it as speedily as possible. 
 
 Accordingly, when he rose to depart, I accompanied 
 him with the natives outside of the house, with a view 
 of carefully noting the path he would take in leaving 
 the valley. Just before leaping from the pi-pi he clasped 
 my hand, and looking significantly at me, exclaimed, 
 "Now you see you do what I tell you ah! then 
 you do good; you no do so ah! then you die." 
 The next moment he waved his spear in adieu to the 
 islanders, and following the route that conducted to a 
 defile in the mountains lying opposite the Happar side, 
 was soon out of sight. 
 
 A mode of escape was now presented to me, but 
 how was I to avail myself of it? I was continually 
 surrounded by the savages; I could not stir from one 
 house to another without being attended by some of 
 them; and even during the hours devoted to slumber 
 the slightest movement which I made seemed to attract 
 the notice of those who shared the mats with me. In 
 spite of these obstacles, however, I determined forth 
 with to make the attempt. To do so with any pros 
 pect of success, it was necessary that I should have at 
 least two hours start before the islanders should dis 
 cover my absence; for with such facility was any alarm 
 spread through the valley, and so familiar, of course, 
 were the inhabitants with the intricacies of the groves 
 that I could not hope, lame and feeble as I was, and 
 ignorant of the route, to secure my escape unless I had 
 this advantage. It was also by night alone that I could 
 hope to accomplish my object, and then only by adopt 
 ing the utmost precaution. 
 
 The entrance to Marheyo s habitation was through a 
 low narrow opening in its wicker-work front. This 
 
MARNOO RETURNS 319 
 
 passage, for no conceivable reason that I could devise, 
 was always closed after the household had retired to 
 rest, by drawing a heavy slide across it, composed of a 
 dozen or more bits of wood ingeniously fastened to 
 gether by seizings of sinnate. When any of the in 
 mates chose to go outside, the noise occasioned by the 
 removing of this rude door awakened everybody else; 
 and on more than one occasion I had remarked that the 
 islanders were nearly as irritable as more civilised beings 
 under similar circumstances. 
 
 The difficulty thus placed in my way I determined to 
 obviate in the following manner. I would get up boldly 
 in the course of the night, and drawing the slide, issue 
 from the house, and pretend that my object was merely 
 to procure a drink from the calabash which always 
 stood without the dwelling on the corner of the pi-pi. On 
 re-entering I would purposely omit closing the passage 
 after me, and, trusting that the indolence of the savages 
 would prevent them from repairing my neglect, would 
 return to my mat, and waiting patiently until all were 
 again asleep, I would then steal forth, and at once take 
 the route to Pueearka. 
 
 The very night which followed Marnoo s departure, I 
 proceeded to put this project into execution. About 
 midnight, as I imagined, I rose and drew the slide. The 
 natives, just as I had expected, started up, while some 
 of them asked, "Arware poo awa, Tommo?" (where are 
 you going, Tommo?) "Wai" (water) I laconically an 
 swered, grasping the calabash. On hearing my reply 
 they sank back again, and in a minute or two I returned 
 to my mat, anxiously awaiting the result of the experi 
 ment. 
 
 One after another the savages, turning restlessly, ap 
 peared to resume their slumbers, and rejoicing at the 
 
TYPEE 
 
 stillness which prevailed, I was about to rise again from 
 my couch, when I heard a slight rustling a dark form 
 was intercepted between me and the doorway the 
 slide was drawn across it, and the individual, whoever 
 he was, returned to his mat. This was a sad blow to 
 me; but as it might have roused the suspicions of the 
 islanders to have made another attempt that night, I 
 was reluctantly obliged to defer it until the next. Sev 
 eral times after I repeated the same manoeuvre, but with 
 as little success as before. As my pretence for with 
 drawing from the house was to allay my thirst, Kory- 
 Kory, either suspecting some design on my part, or else 
 prompted by a desire to please me, regularly every even 
 ing placed a calabash of water by my side. 
 
 Even under these inauspicious circumstances I again 
 and again renewed the attempt; but when I did so my 
 valet always rose with me, as if determined I should 
 not remove myself from his observation. For the pres 
 ent, therefore, I was obliged to abandon the attempt; 
 but I endeavoured to console myself with the idea that 
 by this mode I might yet effect my escape. 
 
 Shortly after Marnoo s visit I was reduced to such a 
 state that it was with extreme difficulty I could walk, 
 even with the assistance of a spear, and Kory-Kory, as 
 formerly, was obliged to carry me daily to the stream. 
 For hours and hours during the warmest part of the 
 day I lay upon my mat, and while those around me were 
 nearly all dozing away in careless ease, I remained 
 awake, gloomily pondering over the fate which it ap 
 peared now idle for me to resist. When I thought of the 
 loved friends who were thousands and thousands of 
 miles from the savage island in which I was held a cap 
 tive, when I reflected that my dreadful fate would for 
 ever be concealed from them, and that with hope de- 
 
MARNOO RETURNS 321 
 
 ferred they might continue to await my return long 
 after my inanimate form had blended with the dust of 
 the valley I could not repress a shudder of anguish. 
 
 How vividly is impressed upon my mind every minute 
 feature of the scene which met my view during those 
 long days of suffering and sorrow! At my request my 
 mats were always spread directly facing the door, oppo 
 site which, and at a little distance, was the hut of boughs 
 that Marheyo was building. 
 
 Whenever Kory-Kory, laying himself down beside me, 
 would leave me a while to uninterrupted repose, I took 
 a strange interest in the slightest movements of the eccen 
 tric old warrior. All alone during the stillness of the 
 tropical mid-day he would pursue his quiet work, sitting 
 in the shade and weaving together the leaflets of his 
 cocoa-nut branches, or rolling upon his knee the twisted 
 fibres of bark to form the cords with which he tied to 
 gether the thatching of his tiny house. Frequently sus 
 pending his employment, and noticing my melancholy eye 
 fixed upon him, he would raise his hand with a gesture ex 
 pressive of deep commiseration, and then moving towards 
 me slowly would enter on tip-toes, fearful of disturbing 
 the slumbering natives, and, taking the fan from my 
 hand, would sit before me, swaying it gently to and fro, 
 and gazing earnestly into my face. 
 
 Just beyond the pi-pi, and disposed in a triangle be 
 fore the entrance of the house, were three magnificent 
 bread-fruit trees. At this moment I can recall to my 
 mind their slender shafts, and the graceful inequalities 
 of their bark, on which my eye was accustomed to dwell 
 day after day in the midst of my solitary musings. It 
 is strange how inanimate objects will twine themselves 
 into our affections, especially in the hour of affliction. 
 Even now, amidst all the bustle and stir of the proud 
 
322 TYPEE 
 
 and busy city in which I am dwelling, the image of those 
 three trees seems to come as vividly before my eyes as if 
 they were actually present, and I still feel the soothing 
 quiet pleasure which I then had in watching hour after 
 hour their topmost boughs waving gracefully in the 
 breeze. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 THE ESCAPE 
 
 NEARLY three weeks had elapsed since the second visit 
 of Marnoo, and it must have been more than four months 
 since I entered the valley, when one day about noon, 
 and whilst everything was in profound silence, Mow- 
 Mow, the one-eyed chief, suddenly appeared at the 
 door, and leaning forward towards me as I lay directly 
 facing him, said in a low tone, "Toby pemi ena" (Toby 
 has arrived here). Gracious heaven! What a tumult 
 of emotions rushed upon me at this startling intelli 
 gence! Insensible to the pain that had before distracted 
 me, I leaped to my feet and called wildly to Kory-Kory, 
 who was reposing by my side. The startled islanders 
 sprang from their mats; the news was quickly communi 
 cated to them; and the next moment I was making my 
 way to the Ti on the back of Kory-Kory, and surrounded 
 by the excited savages. 
 
 All that I could comprehend of the particulars which 
 Mow-Mow rehearsed to his auditors as we proceeded 
 was that my long-lost companion had arrived in a boat 
 which had just entered the bay. These tidings made 
 me most anxious to be carried at once to the sea, lest 
 some untoward circumstance should prevent our meet 
 ing; but to this they would not consent, and continued 
 their course towards the royal abode. As we approached 
 it, Mehevi and several chiefs showed themselves from 
 the piazza and called upon us loudly to come to them. 
 
 323 
 
3 2 4 TYPEE 
 
 As soon as we had approached, I endeavoured to make 
 them understand that I was going down to the sea to 
 meet Toby. To this the king objected, and motioned 
 Kory-Kory to bring me into the house. It was in vain 
 to resist, and in a few moments I found myself within 
 the Ti, surrounded by a noisy group engaged in discussing 
 the recent intelligence. Toby s name was frequently re 
 peated, coupled with violent exclamations of astonish 
 ment. It seemed as if they yet remained in doubt with 
 regard to the fact of his arrival, and at every fresh report 
 that was brought from the shore they betrayed the live 
 liest emotions. 
 
 Almost frenzied at being held in this state of sus 
 pense, I passionately besought Mehevi to permit me to 
 proceed. Whether my companion had arrived or not, 
 I felt a presentiment that my fate was about to be 
 decided. Again and again I renewed my petition to 
 Mehevi. He regarded me with a fixed and serious eye, 
 but at length yielding to my importunity, reluctantly 
 granted my request. 
 
 Accompanied by some fifty of the natives, I now 
 rapidly continued my journey, every few moments being 
 transferred from the back of one to another, and urging 
 my bearer forward all the while with earnest entreaties. 
 As I thus hurried forward, no doubt as to the truth of 
 the information I had received ever crossed my mind. 
 I was alive only to the one overwhelming idea that a 
 chance of deliverance was now afforded me if the jealous 
 opposition of the savages could be overcome. 
 
 Having been prohibited from approaching the sea 
 during the whole of my stay in the valley, I had always 
 associated with it the idea of escape. Toby too if 
 indeed he had ever voluntarily deserted me must have 
 effected his flight by the sea; and now that I was draw- 
 
THE ESCAPE 325 
 
 ing near to it myself, I indulged in hopes which I had 
 never felt before. It was evident that a boat had en 
 tered the bay, and I saw little reason to doubt the 
 truth of the report that it had brought my companion. 
 Every time therefore that we gained an elevation, I 
 looked eagerly around, hoping to behold him. 
 
 In the midst of an excited throng, who by their violent 
 gestures and wild cries appeared to be under the influ 
 ence of some excitement as strong as my own, I was now 
 borne along at a rapid trot, frequently stooping my head 
 to avoid the branches which crossed the path, and never 
 ceasing to implore those who carried me to accelerate 
 their already swift pace. 
 
 In this manner we had proceeded about four or five 
 miles, when we were met by a party of some twenty 
 islanders, between whom and those who accompanied 
 me ensued an animated conference. Impatient of the 
 delay occasioned by this interruption, I was beseeching 
 the man who carried me to proceed without his loiter 
 ing companions, when Kory-Kory, running to my side, 
 informed me, in three fatal words, that the news had all 
 proved false that Toby had not arrived "Toby 
 owle pemi." Heaven only knows how, in the state of 
 mind and body I then was, I ever sustained the agony 
 which this intelligence caused me; not that the news 
 was altogether unexpected, but I had trusted that the 
 fact might not have been made known until we should 
 have arrived upon the beach. As it was, I at once fore 
 saw the course the savages would pursue. They had 
 only yielded thus far to my entreaties that I might 
 give a joyful welcome to my long-absent comrade; but 
 now that it was known he had not arrived, they would 
 at once oblige me to turn back. 
 
 My anticipations were but too correct. In spite of 
 
326 TYPEE 
 
 the resistance I made, they carried me into a house 
 which was near the spot, and left me upon the mats. 
 Shortly afterwards several of those who had accompanied 
 me from the Ti, detaching themselves from the others, 
 proceeded in the direction of the sea. Those who re 
 mained among whom were Marheyo, Mow-Mow, 
 Kory-Kory, and Tinor gathered about the dwelling 
 and appeared to be awaiting their return. 
 
 This convinced me that strangers perhaps some of 
 my own countrymen had for some cause or other en 
 tered the bay. Distracted at the idea of their vicinity, 
 and reckless of the pain which I suffered, I heeded not 
 the assurances of the islanders that there were no boats 
 at the beach, but starting to my feet endeavoured to gain 
 the door. Instantly the passage was blocked up by 
 several men, who commanded me to resume my seat. 
 The fierce looks of the irritated savages admonished me 
 that I could gain nothing by force, and that it was by 
 entreaty alone that I could hope to compass my object. 
 
 Guided by this consideration, I turned to Mow-Mow, 
 the only chief present whom I had been much in the 
 habit of seeing, and carefully concealing my real de 
 sign, tried to make him comprehend that I still believed 
 Toby to have arrived on the shore, and besought him to 
 allow me to go forward to welcome him. To all his re 
 peated assertions that my companion had not been 
 seen, I pretended to turn a deaf ear, while I urged my 
 solicitations with an eloquence of gesture which the one- 
 eyed chief appeared unable to resist. He seemed indeed 
 to regard me as a froward child, to whose wishes he had 
 not the heart to oppose force, and whom he must conse 
 quently humour. He spoke a few words to the natives, 
 who at once retreated from the door and immediately 
 passed out of the house. 
 
THE ESCAPE 
 
 327 
 
 Here I looked earnestly round for Kory-Kory; but 
 that hitherto faithful servitor was nowhere to be seen. 
 Unwilling to linger even for a single instant when every 
 moment might be so important, I motioned to a muscular 
 fellow near me to take me upon his back; to my sur 
 prise he angrily refused. I turned to another, but with 
 a like result. A third attempt was as unsuccessful, and 
 I immediately perceived what had induced Mow-Mow 
 to grant my request and why the other natives conducted 
 themselves in so strange a manner. It was evident that 
 the chief had only given me liberty to continue my 
 progress towards the sea because he supposed that I was 
 deprived of the means of reaching it. 
 
 Convinced by this of their determination to retain me 
 a captive, I became desperate; and almost insensible to 
 the pain which I suffered, I seized a spear which was 
 leaning against the projecting eaves of the house, and 
 supporting myself with it, resumed the path that swept 
 by the dwelling. To my surprise I was suffered to pro 
 ceed alone, all the natives remaining in front of the house, 
 and engaging in earnest conversation, which every mo 
 ment became more loud and vehement; and to my un 
 speakable delight I perceived that some difference of 
 opinion had arisen between them; that two parties, in 
 short, were formed, and consequently that in their di 
 vided counsels there was some chance of my deliverance. 
 
 Before I had proceeded a hundred yards I was again 
 surrounded by the savages, who were still in all the 
 heat of argument, and appeared every moment as if 
 they would come to blows. In the midst of this tu 
 mult old Marheyo came to my side, and I shall never 
 forget the benevolent expression of his countenance. He 
 placed his arm upon my shoulder, and emphatically 
 pronounced the only two English words I had taught 
 
328 TYPEE 
 
 him "Home" and "Mother." I at once understood 
 what he meant, and eagerly expressed my thanks to 
 him. Fayaway and Kory-Kory were by his side, both 
 weeping violently; and it was not until the old man 
 had twice repeated the command that his son could 
 bring himself to obey him and take me again upon his 
 back. The one-eyed chief opposed his doing so, but he 
 was over-ruled, and, as it seemed to me, by some of his 
 own party. 
 
 We proceeded onwards, and never shall I forget the 
 ecstasy I felt when I first heard the roar of the surf 
 breaking upon the beach. Before long I saw the flash 
 ing billows themselves through the opening between the 
 trees. Oh glorious sight and sound of ocean! with what 
 rapture did I hail you as familiar friends! By this time 
 the shouts of the crowd upon the beach were distinctly 
 audible, and in the blended confusion of sounds I almost 
 fancied I could distinguish the voices of my own coun 
 trymen. 
 
 When we reached the open space which lay between 
 the groves and the sea, the first object that met my view 
 was an English whale-boat, lying with her bow pointed 
 from the shore, and only a few fathoms distant from it. 
 It was manned by five islanders, dressed in short tunics 
 of calico. My first impression was that they were in 
 the very act of pulling out from the bay, and that, after 
 all my exertions, I had come too late. My soul sunk 
 within me; but a second glance convinced me that the 
 boat was only hanging off to keep out of the surf; and 
 the next moment I heard my own name shouted out by 
 a voice from the midst of the crowd. 
 
 Looking in the direction of the sound, I perceived, 
 to my indescribable joy, the tall figure of Karakoee, an 
 Oahu Kanaka, who had often been aboard the Dolly 
 
THE ESCAPE 329 
 
 while she lay in Nukuheva. He wore the green shooting- 
 jacket with gilt buttons which had been given to him 
 by an officer of the Reine Blanche the French flag 
 ship and in which I had always seen him dressed. 
 I now remembered the Kanaka had frequently told me 
 that his person was tabooed in all the valleys of the 
 island, and the sight of him at such a moment as this 
 filled my heart with a tumult of delight. 
 
 Karakoee stood near the edge of the water with a 
 large roll of cotton cloth thrown over one arm, and hold 
 ing two or three canvas bags of powder, while with the 
 other hand he grasped a musket, which he appeared to 
 be proffering to several of the chiefs around him. But 
 they turned with disgust from his offers and seemed to 
 be impatient at his presence, with vehement gestures 
 waving him off to his boat and commanding him to 
 depart. 
 
 The Kanaka, however, still maintained his ground, 
 and I at once perceived that he was seeking to purchase 
 my freedom. Animated by the idea, I called upon him 
 loudly to come to me; but he replied, in broken Eng 
 lish, that the islanders had threatened to pierce him 
 with their spears if he stirred a foot towards me. At 
 this time I was still advancing, surrounded by a dense 
 throng of the natives, several of whom had their hands 
 upon me, and more than one javelin was threateningly 
 pointed at me. Still I perceived clearly that many of 
 those least friendly towards me looked irresolute and 
 anxious. 
 
 I was still some thirty yards from Karakoee when my 
 further progress was prevented by the natives, who com 
 pelled me to sit down upon the ground, while they 
 still retained their hold upon my arms. The din and 
 tumult now became tenfold, and I perceived that sev- 
 
330 TYPEE 
 
 eral of the priests were on the spot, all of whom were 
 evidently urging Mow-Mow and the other chiefs to 
 prevent my departure; and the detestable word "Roo-ne! 
 Roo-ne!" which I had heard repeated a thousand times 
 during the day, was now shouted out on every side of 
 me. Still I saw that the Kanaka continued his exertions 
 in my favor that he was boldly debating the matter 
 with the savages, and was striving to entice them by dis 
 playing his cloth and powder and snapping the lock of 
 his musket. But all he said or did appeared only to aug 
 ment the clamours of those around him, who seemed 
 bent upon driving him into the sea. 
 
 When I remembered the extravagant value placed by 
 these people upon the articles which were offered to 
 them in exchange for me, and which were so indignantly 
 rejected, I saw a new proof of the same fixed determina 
 tion of purpose they had all along manifested with re 
 gard to me, and in despair, and reckless of consequences, 
 I exerted all my strength, and shaking myself free from 
 the grasp of those who held me, I sprung upon my feet 
 and rushed toward Karakoee. 
 
 The rash attempt nearly decided my fate; for, fear 
 ful that I might slip from them, several of the islanders 
 now raised a simultaneous shout, and pressing upon 
 Karakoee, they menaced him with furious gestures, and 
 actually forced him into the sea. Appalled at their 
 violence, the poor fellow, standing nearly to the waist 
 in the surf, endeavoured to pacify them; but at length, 
 fearful that they would do him some fatal violence, he 
 beckoned to his comrades to pull in at once and take 
 him into the boat. 
 
 It was at this agonizing moment, when I thought all 
 hope was ended, that a new contest arose between the 
 two parties who had accompanied me to the shore ; blows 
 
THE ESCAPE 331 
 
 were struck, wounds were given, and blood flowed. In 
 the interest excited by the fray, every one had left me 
 except Marheyo, Kory-Kory, and poor dear Fayaway, 
 who clung to me, sobbing indignantly. I saw that now or 
 never was the moment. Clasping my hands together, 
 I looked imploringly at Marheyo, and moved towards 
 the now almost deserted beach. The tears were in the 
 old man s eyes, but neither he nor Kory-Kory attempted 
 to hold me, and I soon reached the Kanaka, who had 
 been anxiously watching my movements; the rowers 
 pulled in as near as they dared to the edge of the surf; 
 I gave one parting embrace to Fayaway, who seemed 
 speechless with sorrow, and the next instant I found 
 myself safe in the boat, and Karakoee by my side, who 
 told the rowers at once to give way. Marheyo and 
 Kory-Kory, and a great many of the women, followed 
 me into the water, and I was determined, as the only 
 mark of gratitude I could show, to give them the articles 
 which had been brought as my ransom. I handed the 
 musket to Kory-Kory, with a rapid gesture which was 
 equivalent to a "Deed of Gift;" threw the roll of cotton 
 to old Marheyo, pointing as I did so to poor Fayaway, 
 who had retired from the edge of the water and was 
 sitting down disconsolate on the shingles; and tum 
 bled the powder bags out to the nearest young ladies, 
 all of whom were vastly willing to take them. This 
 distribution did not occupy ten seconds, and before it 
 was over the boat was under full way, the Kanaka all 
 the while exclaiming loudly against what he considered 
 a useless throwing away of valuable property. 
 
 Although it was clear that my movements had been no 
 ticed by several of the natives, still they had not sus 
 pended the conflict in which they were engaged, and it 
 was not until the boat was above fifty yards from the 
 
33 2 TYPEE 
 
 shore that Mow-Mow and some six or seven other war 
 riors rushed into the sea and hurled their javelins at us. 
 Some of the weapons passed quite as close to us as was 
 desirable, but no one was wounded, and the men pulled 
 away gallantly. But although soon out of the reach of 
 the spears, our progress was extremely slow; it blew 
 strong upon the shore, and the tide was against us; and 
 I saw Karakoee, who was steering the boat, give many a 
 look towards a jutting point of the bay round which we 
 had to pass. 
 
 For a minute or two after our departure the savages, 
 who had formed into different groups, remained perfectly 
 motionless and silent. All at once the enraged chief 
 showed by his gestures that he had resolved what course 
 he would take. Shouting loudly to his companions and 
 pointing with his tomahawk towards the headland, he set 
 off at full speed in that direction, and was followed by 
 about thirty of the natives, among whom were several 
 of the priests, all yelling out "Roo-ne! Roo-ne!" at the 
 very top of their voices. Their intention was evidently 
 to swim off from the headland and interrupt us in our 
 course. The wind was freshening every minute, and 
 was right in our teeth, and it was one of those chopping 
 angry seas in which it is so difficult to row. Still the 
 chances seemed in our favour; but when we came within 
 a hundred yards of the point, the active savages were 
 already dashing into the water, and we all feared that 
 within five minutes time we should have a score of the 
 infuriated wretches around us. If so, our doom was 
 sealed, for these savages, unlike the feeble swimmers of 
 civilised countries, are, if anything, more formidable an 
 tagonists in the water than when on the land. It was 
 all a trial of strength; our natives pulled till their oars 
 bent again, and the crowd of swimmers shot through the 
 water, despite its roughness, with fearful rapidity. 
 
THE ESCAPE 333 
 
 By the time we had reached the headland, the savages 
 were spread right across our course. Our rowers got 
 out their knives and held them ready between their 
 teeth, and I seized the boat-hook. We were well aware 
 that if they succeeded in intercepting us they would 
 practise upon us the manoeuvre which has proved so 
 fatal to many a boat s crew in these seas. They would 
 grapple the oars, and seizing hold of the gunwale, cap 
 size the boat, and then we should be entirely at their 
 mercy. 
 
 After a few breathless moments I discerned Mow- 
 Mow. The athletic islander, with his tomahawk between 
 his teeth, was dashing the water before him till it foamed 
 again. He was the nearest to us, and in another instant 
 he would have seized one of the oars. Even at the mo 
 ment I felt horror at the act I was about to commit; 
 but it was no time for pity or compunction, and with a 
 true aim, and exerting all my strength, I dashed the boat- 
 hook at him. It struck him just below the throat, and 
 forced him downwards. I had no time to repeat my 
 blow, but I saw him rise to the surface in the wake of 
 the boat, and never shall I forget the ferocious expres 
 sion of his countenance. 
 
 Only one other of the savages reached the boat. He 
 seized the gunwale, but the knives of our rowers so 
 mauled his wrists that he was forced to quit his hold, 
 and the next minute we were past them all, and in safety. 
 The strong excitement which had thus far kept me up 
 now left me, and I fell back fainting into the arms of 
 Karakoee. 
 
 The circumstances connected with my most unexpected 
 escape may be very briefly stated. The captain of an 
 Australian vessel, being in distress for men in these re- 
 
334 TYPEE 
 
 mote seas, had put into Nukuheva in order to recruit 
 his ship s company; but not a single man was to be ob 
 tained, and the barque was about to get under weigh, 
 when she was boarded by Karakoee, who informed the 
 disappointed Englishman that an American sailor was 
 detained by the savages in the neighbouring bay of Ty- 
 pee; and he offered, if supplied with suitable articles of 
 traffic, to undertake his release. The Kanaka had gained 
 his intelligence from Marnoo, to whom, after all, I was 
 indebted for my escape. The proposition was acceded 
 to; and Karakoee, taking with him five tabooed natives 
 of Nukuheva, again repaired aboard the barque, which 
 in a few hours sailed to that part of the island and threw 
 her main-top-sail aback right off the entrance to the 
 Typee bay. The whale-boat, manned by the tabooed 
 crew, pulled towards the head of the inlet, while the ship 
 lay "off and on" awaiting its return. 
 
 The events which ensued have already been detailed, 
 and little more remains to be related. On reaching the 
 Julia I was lifted over the side, and my strange ap 
 pearance and remarkable adventure occasioned the live 
 liest interest. Every attention was bestowed upon me 
 that humanity could suggest. But to such a state was 
 I reduced that three months elapsed before I recovered 
 my health. 
 
 The mystery which hung over the fate of my friend 
 and companion Toby has never been cleared up. I still 
 remain ignorant whether he succeeded in leaving the 
 valley or perished at the hands of the islanders. 
 
NOTE 
 
 The author was more than two years in the South Seas, after 
 escaping from the valley as recounted in the last chapter. Some 
 time after returning home the foregoing narrative was published, 
 though it was little thought at the time that this would be the 
 means of revealing the existence of Toby, who had long been given 
 up for lost. But so it proved. 
 
 The story of his escape supplies a natural sequel to the adven 
 ture, and as such it is now added to the volume. It was related 
 to the author by Toby himself, not ten days since. [Melville s 
 note]. 
 
 NEW YORK, July, 1846. 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 
 
 THE morning my comrade left me, as related in the 
 narrative, he was accompanied by a large party of the 
 natives, some of them carrying fruit and hogs for the 
 purposes of traffic, as the report had spread that boats 
 had touched at the bay. 
 
 As they proceeded through the settled parts of the 
 valley, numbers joined them from every side, running 
 with animated cries from every pathway. So excited 
 were the whole party that, eager as Toby was to gain 
 the beach, it was almost as much as he could do to 
 keep up with them. Making the valley ring with their 
 shouts, they hurried along on a swift trot, those in ad 
 vance pausing now and then and flourishing their weap 
 ons to urge the rest forward. 
 
 Presently they came to a place where the path crossed 
 a band of the main stream of the valley. Here a strange 
 sound came through the grove beyond, and the islanders 
 halted. It was Mow -Mow, the one-eyed chief, who had 
 gone on before; he was striking his heavy lance against 
 the hollow bough of a tree. 
 
 This was a signal of alarm; for nothing was now 
 heard but shouts of "Happar! Happar!" the war 
 riors tilting with their spears and brandishing them in 
 the air, and the women and boys shouting to each other, 
 and picking up the stones in the bed of the stream. 
 In a moment or two Mow-Mow and two or three other 
 chiefs ran out from the grove, and the din increased 
 ten-fold. 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 337 
 
 Now, thought Toby, for a fray; and being unarmed, 
 he besought one of the young men domiciled with Mar- 
 heyo for the loan of his spear. But he refused, 
 the youth roguishly telling him that the weapon was very 
 good for him (the Typee), but that a white man could 
 fight much better with his fists. 
 
 The merry humour of this young wag seemed to be 
 shared by the rest, for in spite of their warlike cries and 
 gestures, everybody was capering about and laughing, 
 as if it was one of the funniest things in the world 
 to be awaiting the flight of a score or two of Happar 
 javelins from an ambush in the thickets. 
 
 While my comrade was in vain trying to make out 
 the meaning of all this, a good number of the natives 
 separated themselves from the rest and ran off into the 
 grove on one side, the others now keeping perfectly still, 
 as if awaiting the result. After a little while, however, 
 Mow-Mow, who stood in advance, motioned them to 
 come on stealthily, which they did, scarcely rustling a 
 leaf. Thus they crept along for ten or fifteen minutes, 
 every now and then pausing to listen. 
 
 Toby by no means relished this sort of skulking; if 
 there was going to be a fight he wanted it to begin at 
 once. But all in good time, for just then, as they 
 went prowling into the thickest of the wood, terrific 
 howls burst upon them on all sides, and volleys of darts 
 and stones flew across the path. Not an enemy was to 
 be seen, and, what was still more surprising, not a single 
 man dropped, though the pebbles fell among the leaves 
 like hail. 
 
 There was a moment s pause, when the Typees, with 
 wild shrieks, flung themselves into the covert, spear in 
 hand; nor was Toby behindhand. Coming so near get 
 ting his skull broken by the stones, and animated by an 
 
338 TYPEE 
 
 old grudge he bore the Happars, he was among the first 
 to dash at them. As he broke his way through the 
 underbrush, trying, as he did so, to wrest a spear from a 
 young chief, the shouts of battle all of a sudden ceased, 
 and the wood was as still as death. The next moment, 
 the party who had left them so mysteriously rushed out 
 from behind every bush and tree and united with the 
 rest in long and merry peals of laughter. 
 
 It was all a sham, and Toby, who was quite out of 
 breath with excitement, was much incensed at being 
 made a fool of. 
 
 It afterwards turned out that the whole affair had 
 been concerted for his particular benefit, though with 
 what precise view it would be hard to tell. My com 
 rade was the more enraged at this boy s play since it 
 had consumed so much time, every moment of which 
 might be precious. Perhaps, however, it was partly 
 intended for this very purpose; and he was led to think 
 so, because, when the natives started again, he observed 
 that they did not seem to be in so great a hurry as 
 before. At last, after they had gone some distance, 
 Toby thinking all the while that they never would get 
 to the sea, two men came running towards them, and a 
 regular halt ensued, followed by a noisy discussion, 
 during which Toby s name was often repeated. All 
 this made him more and more anxious to learn what 
 was going on at the beach; but it was in vain that he 
 now tried to push forward; the natives held him back. 
 
 In a few moments the conference ended, and many of 
 them ran down the path in the direction of the water, 
 the rest surrounding Toby and entreating him to "Moee," 
 or sit down and rest himself. As an additional induce 
 ment, several calabashes of food, which had been brought 
 along, were now placed on the ground and opened, and 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 339 
 
 pipes also were lighted. Toby bridled his impatience a 
 while, but at last sprang to his feet and dashed forward 
 again. He was soon overtaken nevertheless, and again 
 surrounded, but without further detention was then per 
 mitted to go down to the sea. 
 
 They came out upon a bright green space between 
 the groves and the water and close under the shadow of 
 the Happar mountain, where a path was seen winding 
 out of sight through a gorge. 
 
 No sign of a boat, however, was beheld; nothing but 
 a tumultuous crowd of men and women, and some one 
 in their midst earnestly talking to them. As my com 
 rade advanced, this person came forward and proved to 
 be no stranger. He was an old grizzled sailor whom 
 Toby and myself had frequently seen in Nukuheva, 
 where he lived an easy devil-may-care life in the house 
 hold of Mowanna the king, going by the name of 
 "Jimmy." In fact, he was the royal favourite and had 
 a good deal to say in his master s councils. He wore a 
 Manilla hat and a sort of tappa morning gown, suffi 
 ciently loose and negligent to show the verse of a song 
 tattooed upon his chest and a variety of spirited cuts 
 by native artists in other parts of his body. He sported 
 a fishing-rod in his hand, and carried a sooty old pipe 
 slung about his neck. 
 
 This old rover, having retired from active life, had 
 resided in Nukuheva for some time, could speak the 
 language, and for that reason was frequently employed 
 by the French as an interpreter. He was an arrant old 
 gossip too, forever coming off in his canoe to the ships 
 in the bay and regaling their crews with choice little 
 morsels of court scandal. I remember in particular his 
 telling the Dolly s crew what proved to be literally a 
 cock-and-bull story about two natural prodigies which 
 
340 TYPEE 
 
 he said were then on the island. One was an old monster 
 of a hermit, having a marvellous reputation for sanctity, 
 and reputed a famous sorcerer, who lived away off in a 
 den among the mountains, where he hid from the world 
 a great pair of horns that grew out of his temples. Not 
 withstanding his reputation for piety, this horrid old fel 
 low was the terror of all the island round, being reported 
 to come out from his retreat and go a man-hunting every 
 dark night. Some anonymous Paul Pry, too, coming 
 down the mountain, once got a peep at his den and found 
 it full of bones. In short, he was a most unheard-of 
 monster. 
 
 The other prodigy Jimmy told us about was the 
 younger son of a chief, who, although but just turned 
 of ten, had entered upon holy orders, because his super 
 stitious countrymen thought him especially intended for 
 the priesthood from the fact of his having a comb on 
 his head like a rooster. But this was not all; for still 
 more wonderful to relate, the boy prided himself upon 
 this strange crest, being actually endowed with a cock s 
 voice and frequently crowing over his peculiarity. 
 
 But to return to Toby. The moment he saw the old 
 rover on the beach he ran up to him, the natives fol 
 lowing after and forming a circle round them. 
 
 After welcoming him to the shore, Jimmy went on to 
 tell him how that he knew all about our having run 
 away from the ship and being among the Typees. In 
 deed, he had been urged by Mowanna to come over to 
 the valley, and after visiting his friends there, to bring 
 us back with him, his royal master being exceedingly 
 anxious to share with him the reward which had been 
 held out for our capture. He, however, assured Toby 
 that he had indignantly spurned the offer. 
 
 All this astonished my comrade not a little, as neither 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 341 
 
 of us had entertained the least idea that any white man 
 ever visited the Typees sociably. But Jimmy told him 
 that such was the case nevertheless, although he seldom 
 came into the bay and scarcely ever went back from 
 the beach. One of the priests of the valley, in some 
 way or other connected with an old tattooed divine in 
 Nukuheva, was a friend of his, and through him he was 
 "taboo." 
 
 He said, moreover, that he was sometimes employed 
 to come round to the bay and engage fruit for ships 
 lying in Nukuheva. In fact, he was now on that very 
 errand, according to his own account, having just come 
 across the mountains by the way of Happar. By noon 
 of the next day the fruit would be heaped up in stacks 
 on the beach, in readiness for the boats which he then 
 intended to bring into the bay. 
 
 Jimmy now asked Toby whether he wished to leave 
 the island; if he did, there was a ship in want of men 
 lying in the other harbour, and he would be glad to 
 take him over and see him on board that very day. 
 
 "No," said Toby, "I cannot leave the island unless 
 my comrade goes with me. I left him up the valley 
 because they would not let him come down. Let us go 
 now and fetch him." 
 
 "But how is he to cross the mountain with us," re 
 plied Jimmy, "even if we get him down to the beach? 
 Better let him stay till to-morrow, and I will bring him 
 round to Nukuheva in the boats." 
 
 "That will never do," said Toby; "but come along 
 with me now, and let us get him down here at any 
 rate;" and yielding to the impulse of the moment, he 
 started to hurry back into the valley. But hardly was 
 his back turned when a dozen hands were laid on him, 
 and he learned that he could not go a step farther. 
 
342 TYPEE 
 
 It was in vain that he fought with them; they would 
 not hear of his stirring from the beach. Cut to the 
 heart at this unexpected repulse, Toby now conjured 
 the sailor to go after me alone. But Jimmy replied 
 that in the mood the Typees then were they would not 
 permit him so to do, though at the same time he was 
 not afraid of their offering him any harm. 
 
 Little did Toby then think, as he afterwards had good 
 reason to suspect, that this very Jimmy was a heartless 
 villain, who by his arts had just incited the natives to 
 restrain him as he was in the act of going after me. 
 Well must the old sailor have known, too, that the 
 natives would never consent to our leaving together, 
 and he therefore wanted to get Toby off alone, for a 
 purpose which he afterwards made plain. Of all this, 
 however, my comrade now knew nothing. 
 
 He was still struggling with the islanders when Jimmy 
 again came up to him and warned him against irritating 
 them, saying that he was only making matters worse for 
 both of us, and if they became enraged, there was no 
 telling what might happen. At last he made Toby sit 
 down on a broken canoe by a pile of stones, upon which 
 was a ruinous little shrine supported by four upright 
 paddles and in front partly screened by a net. The 
 fishing parties met there when they came in from the 
 sea, for their offerings were laid before an image, upon 
 a smooth black stone within. This spot Jimmy said 
 was strictly "taboo," and no one would molest or come 
 near him while he stayed by its shadow. The old sailor 
 then went off and began speaking very earnestly to 
 Mow-Mow and some other chiefs, while all the rest 
 formed a circle round the taboo place, looking intently 
 at Toby and talking to each other without ceasing. 
 
 Now, notwithstanding what Jimmy had just told him, 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 343 
 
 there presently came up to my comrade an old woman, 
 who seated herself beside him on the canoe. 
 
 "Typee motarkee?" said she. 
 
 "Motarkee nuee," said Toby. 
 
 She then asked him whether he was going to Nuku- 
 heva; he nodded yes; and with a plaintive wail and 
 her eyes filling with tears she rose and left him. 
 
 This old woman, the sailor afterwards said, was the 
 wife of an aged king of a small inland valley, communi 
 cating by a deep pass with the country of the Typees. 
 The inmates of the two valleys were related to each 
 other by blood, and were known by the same name. 
 The old woman had gone down into the Typee valley 
 the day before, and was now with three chiefs, her sons, 
 on a visit to her kinsmen. 
 
 As the old king s wife left him, Jimmy again came 
 up to Toby and told him that he had just talked the 
 whole matter over with the natives, and there was only 
 one course for him to follow. They would not allow 
 him to go back into the valley, and harm would cer 
 tainly come to both him and me if he remained much 
 longer on the beach. "So," said he, "you and I had 
 better go to Nukuheva now overland, and to-morrow I 
 will bring Tommo, as they call him, by water; they 
 have promised to carry him down to the sea for me 
 early in the morning, so that there will be no delay." 
 
 "No, no," said Toby desperately, "I will not leave 
 him that way; we must escape together." 
 
 "Then there is no hope for you," exclaimed the 
 sailor; "for if I leave you here on the beach, as soon 
 as I am gone you will be carried back into the valley, 
 and then neither of you will ever look upon the sea 
 again." And with many oaths he swore that if he 
 would only go to Nukuheva with him that day, he 
 would be sure to have me there the very next morning. 
 
344 TYPEE 
 
 "But how do you know they will bring him down to 
 the beach to-morrow, when they will not do so to-day?" 
 said Toby. But the sailor had many reasons, all of 
 which were so mixed up with the mysterious customs 
 of the islanders that he was none the wiser. Indeed, 
 their conduct, especially in preventing him from return 
 ing into the valley, was absolutely unaccountable to 
 him; and added to everything else was the bitter re 
 flection that the old sailor, after all, might possibly be 
 deceiving him. And then again he had to think of me, 
 left alone with the natives and by no means well. If 
 he went with Jimmy, he might at least hope to procure 
 some relief for me. But might not the savages who 
 had acted so strangely hurry me off somewhere before his 
 return? Then, even if he remained, perhaps they would 
 not let him go back into the valley where I was. 
 
 Thus perplexed was my poor comrade; he knew not 
 what to do, and his courageous spirit was of no use to 
 him now. There he was, all by himself, seated upon 
 the broken canoe the natives grouped around him at 
 a distance and eyeing him more and more fixedly. 
 
 "It is getting late," said Jimmy, who was standing 
 behind the rest. "Nukuheva is far off, and I cannot 
 cross the Happar country by night. You see how it is: 
 if you come along with me, all will be well; if you 
 do not, depend upon it, neither of you will ever escape." 
 
 "There is no help for it," said Toby at last, with a 
 heavy heart; "I will have to trust you;" and he came 
 out from the shadow of the little shrine and cast a long 
 look up the valley. 
 
 "Now keep close to my side," said the sailor, "and 
 let us be moving quickly," Tinor and Fayaway here 
 appeared, the kind-hearted old woman embracing Toby s 
 knees and giving way to a flood of tears, while Fay- 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 345 
 
 away, hardly less moved, spoke some few words of Eng 
 lish she had learned and held up three fingers before him 
 in so many days he would return. 
 
 At last Jimmy pulled Toby out of the crowd, and 
 after calling to a young Typee who was standing by 
 with a young pig in his arms, all three started for the 
 mountains. 
 
 "I have told them that you are coming back again," 
 said the old fellow, laughing, as they began the ascent, 
 "but they ll have to wait a long time." Toby turned, 
 and saw the natives all in motion the girls waving 
 their tappas in adieu, and the men their spears. As the 
 last figure entered the grove with one arm raised and 
 the three fingers spread, his heart smote him. 
 
 As the natives had at last consented to his going, it 
 might have been that some of them, at least, really 
 counted upon his speedy return, probably supposing, as 
 indeed he had told them when they were coming down 
 the valley, that his only object in leaving them was to 
 procure the medicines I needed. This Jimmy also 
 must have told them. And as they had done before, 
 when my comrade, to oblige me, started on his perilous 
 journey to Nukuheva, they looked upon me, in his 
 absence, as one of two inseparable friends who was a 
 sure guaranty for the other s return. This is only my 
 own supposition, however, for as to all their strange 
 conduct, it is still a mystery. 
 
 "You see what sort of a taboo man I am," said the 
 sailor, after for some time silently following the path 
 which led up the mountain. "Mow-Mow made me a 
 present of this pig here, and the man who carries it will 
 go right through Happar and down into Nukuheva with 
 us. So long as he stays by me he is safe, and just so it 
 will be with you, and to-morrow with Tommo. Cheer 
 
346 TYPEE 
 
 up, then, and rely upon me; you will see him in the 
 morning." 
 
 The ascent of the mountain was not very difficult, 
 owing to its being near to the sea where the island 
 ridges are comparatively low; the path, too, was a fine 
 one, so that in a short time all three were standing on 
 the summit with the two valleys at their feet. The 
 white cascades marking the green head of the Typee 
 valley first caught Toby s eye; Marheyo s house could 
 easily be traced by them. 
 
 As Jimmy led the way along the ridge, Toby ob 
 served that the valley of the Happars did not extend 
 near so far inland as that of the Typees. This accounted 
 for our mistake in entering the latter valley as we had. 
 
 The path leading down from the mountain was soon 
 seen, and, following it, the party were in a short time 
 fairly in the happy valley. 
 
 "Now," said Jimmy, as they hurried on, "we taboo 
 men have wives in all the bays, and I am going to show 
 you the two I have here." 
 
 So, when they came to the house where he said they 
 lived which was close by the base of the mountain 
 in a shady nook among the grooves he went in, and 
 was quite furious at finding it empty the ladies had 
 gone out. However, they soon made their appearance 
 and, to tell the truth, welcomed Jimmy quite cordially, 
 as well as Toby, about whom they were very inquisitive. 
 Nevertheless, as the report of their arrival spread and 
 the Happars began to assemble, it became evident that 
 the appearance of a white stranger among them was not 
 by any means deemed so wonderful an event as in the 
 neighbouring valley. 
 
 The old sailor now bade his wives prepare something 
 to eat, as he must be in Nukuheva before dark. A meal 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 347 
 
 of fish, bread-fruit, and bananas was accordingly served 
 up, the party regaling themselves on the mats, in the 
 midst of a numerous company. 
 
 The Happars put many questions to Jimmy about 
 Toby; and Toby himself looked sharply at them, anxious 
 to recognise the fellow who gave him the wound from 
 which he was still suffering. But this fiery gentleman, 
 so handy with his spear, had the delicacy, it seemed, to 
 keep out of view. Certainly the sight of him would not 
 have been any added inducement to making a stay in 
 the valley, some of the afternoon loungers in Happar 
 having politely urged Toby to spend a few days with them 
 there was a feast coming on. He, however, declined. 
 
 All this while the young Typee stuck to Jimmy like 
 his shadow, and though as lively a dog as any of his 
 tribe, he was now as meek as a lamb, never opening his 
 mouth except to eat. Although some of the Happars 
 looked queerly at him, others were more civil, and seemed 
 desirous of taking him abroad and showing him the 
 valley. But the Typee was not to be cajoled in that 
 way. How many yards he would have to remove from 
 Jimmy before the taboo would be powerless, it would be 
 hard to tell, but probably he himself knew to a fraction. 
 
 On the promise of a red cotton handkerchief, and 
 something else which he kept secret, this poor fellow 
 had undertaken a rather ticklish journey; as far as Toby 
 could ascertain, it was something that had never hap 
 pened before. 
 
 The island-punch arva was brought in at the con 
 clusion of the repast and passed round in a shallow 
 calabash. 
 
 Now my comrade, while seated in the Happar house, 
 began to feel more troubled than ever at leaving me: 
 indeed, so sad did he feel that he talked about going 
 
348 TYPEE 
 
 back to the valley, and wanted Jimmy to escort him as 
 far as the mountains. But the sailor would not listen 
 to him, and, by way of diverting his thoughts, pressed 
 him to drink of the arva. Knowing its narcotic nature, 
 he refused; but Jimmy said he would have something 
 mixed with it which would convert it into an innocent 
 beverage that would inspirit them for the rest of their 
 journey. So at last he was induced to drink of it, and 
 its effects were just as the sailor had predicted; his 
 spirits rose at once, and all his gloomy thoughts left 
 him. 
 
 The old rover now began to reveal his true character, 
 though he was hardly suspected at the time. "If I get 
 you off to a ship," said he "you will surely give a poor 
 fellow something for saving you." In short, before they 
 left the house, he made Toby promise that he would 
 give him five Spanish dollars if he succeeded in getting 
 any part of his wages advanced from the vessel aboard 
 of which they were going, Toby, moreover, engaging to 
 reward him still further as soon as my deliverance was 
 accomplished. 
 
 A little while after this they started again, accom 
 panied by many of the natives, and going up the valley, 
 took a steep path near its head, which led to Nukuheva. 
 Here the Happars paused, and watched them as they 
 ascended the mountain, one group of bandit-looking 
 fellows shaking their spears and casting threatening 
 glances at the poor Typee, whose heart as well as heels 
 seemed much the lighter when he came to look down 
 upon them. 
 
 On gaining the heights once more, their way led for 
 a time along several ridges covered with enormous ferns. 
 At last they entered upon a wooded tract, and here 
 they overtook a party of Nukuheva natives, well armed, 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 349 
 
 and carrying bundles of long poles. Jimmy seemed to 
 know them all very well, and stopped for a while and 
 had a talk about the "Wee-Wees," as the people of 
 Nukuheva call the Monsieurs. 
 
 The party with the poles were King Mowanna s men, 
 and by his orders they had been gathering them in the 
 ravines for his allies the French. 
 
 Leaving these fellows to trudge on with their loads, 
 Toby and his companions now pushed forward again, 
 as the sun was already low in the west. They came 
 upon the valleys of Nukuheva on one side of the bay, 
 where the highlands slope off into the sea. The men- 
 of-war were still lying in the harbour, and as Toby 
 looked down upon them, the strange events which had 
 happened so recently seemed all a dream. 
 
 They soon descended towards the beach, and found 
 themselves in Jimmy s house before it was well dark. 
 Here he received another welcome from his Nukuheva 
 wives, and after some refreshments in the shape of 
 cocoa-nut milk and poee-poee, they entered a canoe (the 
 Typee, of course, going along) and paddled off to a 
 whale ship which was anchored near the shore. This 
 was the vessel in want of men. Our own had sailed 
 some time before. The captain professed great pleasure 
 at seeing Toby, but thought, from his exhausted ap 
 pearance, that he must be unfit for duty. However, he 
 agreed to ship him, as well as his comrade, as soon as 
 he should arrive. 
 
 Toby begged hard for an armed boat in which to go 
 round to Typee and rescue me, notwithstanding the 
 promises of Jimmy. But this the captain would not 
 hear of, and told him to have patience, for the sailor 
 would be faithful to his word. When, too, he demanded 
 the five silver dollars for Jimmy, the captain was un- 
 
350 TYPEE 
 
 willing to give them. But Toby insisted upon it, as 
 he now began to think that Jimmy might be a mere 
 mercenary who would be sure to prove faithless if not 
 well paid. Accordingly he not only gave him the money, 
 but took care to assure him, over and over again, that 
 as soon as he brought me aboard he would receive a still 
 larger sum. 
 
 Before sun-rise the next day Jimmy and the Typee 
 started in two of the ship s boats, which were manned 
 by tabooed natives. Toby, of course, was all eagerness 
 to go along, but the sailor told him that if he did, it 
 would spoil all; so, hard as it was, he was obliged to 
 remain. 
 
 Towards evening he was on the watch, and descried 
 the boats turning the headland and entering the bay. 
 He strained his eyes, and thought he saw me; but I 
 was not there. Descending from the mast almost dis 
 tracted, he grappled Jimmy as he struck the deck, 
 shouting in a voice that startled him, "Where is Tommo?" 
 The old fellow faltered, but soon recovering, did all he 
 could to soothe him, assuring him that it had proved 
 to be impossible to get me down to the shore that morn 
 ing, assigning many plausible reasons, and adding that 
 early on the morrow he was going to visit the bay again 
 in a French boat, when, if he did not find me on the 
 beach as this time he certainly expected to he would 
 march right back into the valley and carry me away at 
 all hazards. He, however, again refused to allow Toby 
 to accompany him. 
 
 Now, situated as Toby was, his sole dependence for 
 the present was upon this Jimmy, and therefore he was 
 fain to comfort himself as well as he could with what 
 the old sailor had told him. 
 
 The next morning, however, he had the satisfaction 
 
THE STORY OF TOBY 351 
 
 of seeing the French boat start with Jimmy in it. To 
 night, then, I will see him, thought Toby; but many 
 a long day passed before he ever saw Tommo again. 
 Hardly was the boat out of sight when the captain 
 came forward and ordered the anchor to be weighed; 
 he was going to sea. 
 
 Vain were all Toby s ravings they were disregarded; 
 and when he came to himself the sails were set, and the 
 ship fast leaving the land. 
 
 . . . "Oh!" said he to me at our meeting, "what 
 sleepless nights were mine. Often I started from my 
 hammock, dreaming you were before me and upbraiding 
 me for leaving you on the island." 
 
 There is little more to be related. Toby left this vessel 
 at New Zealand, and after some further adventures 
 arrived home in less than two years after leaving the 
 Marquesas. He always thought of me as dead and 
 I had every reason to suppose that he too was no more; 
 but a strange meeting was in store for us, one which 
 made Toby s heart all the lighter. 
 
 THE END. 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 [Marquesan commpn and proper nouns are indicated by bold-face type.] 
 
 aa, yes. 
 
 abo, wait. 
 
 aka, a root from which ointment is pressed (p. 149). 
 
 albicore, a large fish, the long-finned tunny or Spanish mackerel. 
 
 amar, baked breadfruit (see p. 158). This is spelled ama by 
 Church. Melville is quite lavish with final r s, as in Happar, 
 which Stevenson calls a "grotesque misspelling." Melville 
 had a New England ear. 
 
 Animated Nature, "A History of the Earth and Animated 
 Nature," (published in 1774), by Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
 apples of Sodom, described by the credulous traveler Herodotus; 
 they were supposed to grow near the Dead Sea in Palestine 
 (p. 68). 
 
 armor, an oily nut burned as a taper (pp. 274 and 286). 
 
 arva, "the name bestowed upon a root the properties of which 
 are both inebriating and medicinal" [Melville s note] 
 (pp. 222-3). 
 
 Arva Wai ("strong water"), a mineral spring in the Typee 
 valley (pp. 207 ff.). 
 
 arware, where? 
 
 attia, "The word atua, although having some other meanings, 
 is in nearly all the Polynesian dialects used as the general 
 designation of the gods" [Melville s note]. See Moa Atua. 
 
 awha, alas! 
 
 bedlamite, an inmate of the insane hospital called Bethlehem, 
 later Bedlam, which was first a priory of St. Mary of Beth 
 lehem, founded in London in the Thirteenth century. 
 
 bo-a-sho, cooked breadfruit stirred into cold water (p. 156). 
 
 botee, a boat. 
 
 brazen bull, a torture instrument made for roasting the victims 
 of Phalaris, king of Agrigentum, by the artisan Perillus. 
 The builder of the beast was its first victim, and later the 
 people rebelled and put the king himself into it. 
 
 chapeau bras ("arm hat"), a plumed and pointed naval hat, 
 made to be folded and carried under the arm. 
 353 
 
354 GLOSSARY 
 
 cloth tree, usually the paper mulberry; here probably the bread 
 fruit tree, from which tappa was made. 
 
 ena, here. 
 
 Fabian tactics, Fabius (died about 203 B.C.) was a Roman general 
 who finally defeated the Carthaginian invader Hannibal 
 by skirmishes and delays and avoidance of decisive battles; 
 he was called "the delayer." 
 
 Fayaway, the daughter of Melville s host, Marheyo (see pp. 
 
 113 ff.)- 
 
 Franee, Frenchmen. 
 
 Gra-pes, the story of the excellent fruits of the Land of Canaan 
 and of the courageous report which two spies brought back 
 to the Hebrews, in contradiction of the cowardly advice of 
 the other ten, is told in the Bible (Numbers, Chapter XIII). 
 
 hanna pippee, is killing. 
 
 Happar, a neighboring tribe, hostile to the Typees (pp. 26, 
 135; 172 ff. etc.); usually spelled Hapaa (cf. amar, above). 
 
 hibiscus, a large group of plants, some of which produce a strong 
 
 fiber the Indian hemp, etc. 
 
 Hippocrates, a famous physician who lived before 400 B.C.; 
 among writings said to be his are the "Oath of Aesculapius" 
 and the "Law of the Guild" of physicians. 
 
 hoolah hoolah (or hula-hula), a feast or dance; this and the 
 pi-ula dance are described in Charles Warren Stoddard s 
 "South Sea Idylls" (pp. 1245., 1892 edition). 
 
 hoolah -hoolah ground, a pi-pi containing the temples, sacred 
 to religious rites; such a "high place" in one of the valleys 
 is described by Stevenson in "The South Seas," Chapter 
 XII. 
 
 Happy Valley, the residence of the Prince of Abyssinia in Dr. 
 Johnson s "Rasselas" (1759). 
 
 Jimmy, a tabooed white man who rescued Toby (see pp. 338 ff.). 
 
 kanaka, a man; later, following the European s use of the word, 
 a native. Tabooed kanaka, "an islander whose person has 
 been made to a certain degree sacred by the operation of 
 a singular custom hereafter to be described" [Melville s 
 note]; cf. references under taboo (pp. 187 and 345). 
 
 Karakoee, a tabooed native who rescued Melville (see pp. 328 ff.). 
 
 Karky, a "tattoo artist" and Tahuku, expert in religious crafts 
 (pp. 286 ff.).; a similar "priest, wizard, tattooer, practicer 
 of any art" appears in Chapter XIV of The South Seas" 
 
 kekeeno, bad, evil. 
 
GLOSSARY 355 
 
 ki-ki, eat; food. 
 
 koar (or koa) wood, a kind of acacia which takes a high polish. 
 
 kokoo, a preparation of cooked and pounded breadfruit and 
 
 grated cocoanut (called koehi by Church) (see pp. 156 ff.). 
 Kolory, the chief priest of the island, especially attached to 
 
 Moa Atua (see pp. 235 ff.). 
 Kory-Kory, son of Marheyo, Melville s chief attendant by 
 
 order of King Mehevi (see pp. 109, etc.). 
 La Madalena, a small island near Nukuheva. 
 lumee lumee, called lomi-Lomi by Stoddard, and described with 
 
 its invigorating after-effects in "South Sea Idylls," pp. 119- 
 
 20; a violent sort of massage in which the Marquesans 
 
 were adept (see pp. 104 fL). 
 
 mammee-apples, luscious tropical apricots as large as pineapples. 
 Marheyo, the old native at whose house Melville and Toby 
 
 lodged (see pp. uo-n; 327 ff.) 
 Marnoo, a tabooed native who visits the Typee valley (see pp. 
 
 181 and 316 ff.). 
 maro, a girdle of tappa. 
 Massachusetts Bay, the name given by Admiral Porter, in 1813, 
 
 to the bay here called Nukuheva and by the French 
 
 Tai-o-hae. 
 Mehevi, King of the Typee Valley (see pp. 92-3, 101 ff., 243 ff.). 
 
 Stevenson describes another kingly, house of Nukuheva in 
 
 Chapter IX of The South Seas. 
 mioree, breadfruit (see pp. 94 ff. 153 ff-) 
 Moa Atua, the principal god of the Typees (see pp. 236 ff.). This 
 
 scene and Kory-Kory s treatment of the weak-kneed idol 
 
 (pp. 241 ff.) suggest Kanana s worship of the cigar-store 
 
 Indian in San Francisco, in "South Sea Idylls" (p. 41). 
 moee, sit down, sleep (cf. mukee moee, dead). 
 morai, burial ground. 
 
 motarkee, good (cf. owle motarkee, shocking bad). 
 Mowanna, king of Nukuheva Bay (see p. 339). 
 Mow-Mow, a one-eyed chief of truculent temper (see pp. 326 
 
 and 336 ff.). 
 mukee moee, dead. 
 
 Narmonee, a courageous chief of the Typees (undergoing tor 
 ture, p. 164; after battle, p. 310). 
 Narnee, a young chief (see pp. 282 ff.). 
 nuee, big, much, many, heaps; nuee puarkee ("big hog")> the 
 
 natives name for the first horse they saw. 
 
356 GLOSSARY 
 
 Nukuheva Island, the largest of the Marquesas; Stoddard 
 merely describes it in passing by ("South Sea Idylls," pp. 
 300 ff.); Stevenson tells much of interest about it. 
 
 Nukuheva, the chief harbor on the same island, and its inhabi 
 tants. 
 
 otium cum dignitate, ease with dignity. 
 
 owle, not (See owle motarkee). 
 
 papa, a root from which a greenish cosmetic is made by the 
 Marquesan women (pp. 245-6). 
 
 pence, fish (p. 275); a similar scene is cleverly described in 
 "South Sea Idylls," pp. 241-2. 
 
 pemi, come. 
 
 pigtail, sailor s tobacco twisted into a rope or cord. 
 
 pi -pi (usually spelled pae-pae, and so pronounced), the stone 
 platform on which Marquesan houses are built; this ledge 
 of black volcanic rock and the house are also well described 
 by Stevenson in "The South Seas," Chapter I and (Davos 
 edition) p. in. 
 
 poee-poee (or poi-poi), a pudding made of breadfruit (see p. 94; 
 and for its manufacture, 1581!.). 
 
 poo awa, run away; go. 
 
 puarkee, pig (see p. 223); further interesting details of the 
 Nukuheva pigs are given in "The South Seas," Chapter 
 XI. "Long Pig" appears to have been the native name 
 for enemies eaten after battle (p. 314). See also nuee 
 puarkee. 
 
 Puerka or Pueearka, another valley on Nukuheva Island, the 
 home of Marnoo. 
 
 roo-ne, prevent, stop. 
 
 Ropo, a neighboring Marquesan island. 
 
 Selkirk, a sailor who lived alone on Juan Fernandez Island, off 
 the coast of Chili, from 1704 to 1709; his account of his 
 experience probably suggested to Defoe the story "Robin 
 son Crusoe." 
 
 Sinbad: the story of Sinbad s contest with the Old Man of the 
 Sea is told in the "Arabian Nights," the Fifth Voyage of 
 Sinbad. 
 
 sinnate, a cord of braided grass or fiber. 
 
 Solyman, a famous conqueror who lived at Constantinople nearly 
 a century after its capture and almost took Vienna; Byzan 
 tium, which Mohammed III captured in 1453, had been 
 called Constantinople since 330 A.D. 
 
GLOSSARY 357 
 
 taboo or tapu, forbidden; the practice of taboo by the last of 
 the man-eating chiefs of Nukuheva is described by Steven 
 son in "The South Seas," Chapter VI. (See "Typee," 
 pp. 17, 177 ff., and 191 ff.). 
 
 tabooed kanaka, see kanaka. Taboo Groves, the sacred groves 
 about the Ti and temples (see Chapter XII, pp. 121 ff.). 
 
 Tai-o-hae, the French name for Nukuheva Bay. 
 
 tamaree, boy. 
 
 tappa or tapa, a native cloth made from the bark of the bread 
 fruit tree (see pp. 198 and 293 ff.). 
 
 tattoo, markings made by pricking the skin with a sharp bone 
 point dipped in pigment (see p. 286 ff. and note on Karky, 
 above). "Beating the tattoo upon the tympanum" (p. 
 287) is of course a play on another word (from " tap-to," a 
 drum signal for closing public-houses), the drum beat or 
 bugle call ordering soldiers to their quarters. 
 
 Ti, a sort of combination royal palace, bachelors hall, and old 
 men s home, in which several scenes of this story take place. 
 
 Tinor, wife of Marheyo, a notable housewife (see pp. in ff.). 
 
 Tior, one of the bays and valleys on Nukuheva Island. 
 
 Tommo, Melville s name among the Typees (see p. 93). 
 
 tutao, breadfruit pounded with a pestle and ready to be preserved 
 or cooked for food (see p. 157). 
 
 Typee, a bay and valley to the east of Nukuheva Bay, and its 
 inhabitants. 
 
 vestals, the six priestesses of the Roman goddess of the hearth 
 who, on pain of death, kept the sacred fire burning on the 
 temple altars. Church mentions fire kept alight in a tree 
 trunk on these islands, apparently an improvement over 
 the method seen by Melville. 
 
 wai, water. 
 
 Wee Wees, a Nukuheva name for the French; see France. 
 
 whinhenies, young girls. 
 
 Jezebel, a Phoenician princess, wife of King Ahab of Israel, who 
 tried to introduce her native gods into the kingdom; the 
 dramatic story of her contest with the prophet Elijah and 
 of her death is told in the Bible, I Kings Chapters 19 and 
 21, II Kings Chapter 9. 
 
REFERENCES 
 
 John W. Church: "A Vanishing People of the South Seas." 
 "National Geographic Magazine," October, 1919. 
 
 Frederick O Brien: "White Shadows in the South Seas," Cen 
 tury, 1919; illustrated from photographs. 
 
 Paul Gaguin: "Noa Noa" (tr. by O. F. Theis; Nicolas L. Brown, 
 publisher), a narrative of two years in Tahiti by a French painter 
 who afterward lived and died on Nukuheva. 
 
 Somerset Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence, a story of Gaguin 
 in the South Seas. 
 
 Robert Louis Stevenson: "The South Seas" (1900). 
 
 Charles Warren Stoddard: "South Sea Idylls" (1893). 
 
 C. A. Vincendon-Dumoulin and C. Desgraz: "lies Marquises ou 
 Nouka-Niva; histoire, geographic, moeurs," Paris, 1843. An 
 account and justification of the French occupation which 
 occurred while Melville was upon the island; it contains a 
 map and a translation of Admiral Porter s "emphatic and 
 pompous" proclamation taking possession of these islands in 
 1812. 
 
 Le P. Mathias G(racia): "Lettres sur les lies Marquises, ou 
 Memoires pour servir a 1 etude religieuse, morale, politique 
 et statistique des lies Marquises et de 1 Oceanie orientale, 
 avec une carte geographique des lies et un dessin de 1 arbre 
 a pain," Paris, 1843. Written by a French Catholic mis 
 sionary in Oceania. 
 
 Articles concerning Herman Melville 
 
 F. J. Mather, Jr.: An Appreciation, Review, i, 276 and 298. 
 
 R. M. Weaver: The Centennial of Herman Melville, Nation, 109, 
 
 145-6. 
 Arthur Johnson: A Comparison of Manners, New Republic, 20, 
 
 113-15- 
 
 Arthur Stedman: Melville of Marquesas, Review of Reviews, 4, 
 428. 
 
 358 
 
REFERENCES 359 
 
 M. Philarete Chasles: " Voyages Reels et Fantastiques d Her- 
 man(n) Melville " in Etudes sur la Litterature et les Moeurs 
 des Anglo-Americains au XIX Siecle, Paris, 1850. 
 
 E. E. Slosson: "A Number of Things," Independent, 91 : 79 and 
 89 : 84. Notes on Moby Dick and other Melville stories. 
 
 E. M. Bacon: "Among the Berkshire Hills," in Literary Pilgrimages, 
 pp. 451-6 (Portrait). 
 
 Another Significant American Centenary, Current Opinion, 67:184. 
 
 -. Herman Melville, Spectator 70, 859. 
 
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