CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DU 819.A2C56 
 
 ," in theSouth PaSSilfii 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028691073 
 
BLACKBIRDING" IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC; 
 
 OR, 
 
 @;ij£ Jirst Wilpk pail an f^t §m^. 
 
■ii 
 
 BLACKBIRDING" 
 
 7 
 
 IN THE 
 
 SOUTH PACIFIC; 
 
 OR, 
 
 CIjc Jfirst M^xU Stan 011 tlj« §£a<rlj. 
 
 W. B. CHURCHWARD, 
 
 Atltlwr of '* My Consulate in Samoa.'" 
 
 yon&ou : 
 
 ■SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 
 
 1888. 
 
 K 
 
Butler & Tanner, 
 
 The Selwood Printing Works, 
 
 Frome, and London. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Old recollections. — Liverpool again. — Anticipated company. 
 — -The consul, baker, Jimmy, and the judge. — Lynch 
 law. — An ugly set of ghosts. — Victim to circumstances. 
 — The ancient visitor. — The black white man. — "Much 
 married." — Promising British subjects. — More than al- 
 lowance. — British the only white men. — Runaway con- 
 victs. — Improved savages. — Murder for fun. — Couch of 
 human heads. — The end of a brute.— White men in 
 Tahiti. — Square-headed Dutchmen. — A misunderstood 
 compliment. — Its result. 
 
 "Well, Mr. John King Bruce, I'm glad to see 
 you are out again. Thought I had seen the 
 last of you when I was sent for the other day." 
 
 " Yessar, I was main bad then, and thought 
 there was another Britisher agoing to be planted 
 up there 'mongst the land crabs in the ceme- 
 tery, and that his name was Bruce. 
 
 " O Lord, sir ! I could think of nothing but 
 of those I expected soon to be with ; and I 
 assure you, sir, old, very old times came before 
 me, just as if they were no further off" than 
 yesterday. 
 
2 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " I saw old Liverpool again, and many other 
 places where this poor old body has been, for 
 both good and evil. 
 
 "All the queer things what happened both 
 before and after I struck 'Samoa' came up 
 again before me. But what came stronger was 
 the remembrance of those whom I soon ex- 
 pected to join. 
 
 " Those poor marines who were killed in the 
 fight on Mutineer Point, all bleeding and gasp- 
 ing as they fell, and their funeral up there, — all 
 that came. 
 
 " Then ther.e was Mister L,, the consul ; the 
 baker, whose name I don't now recollect ; then 
 poor old ' Jimmy,' and the judge, both of whom 
 were so kind to me. 
 
 "Afraid? No, sir! They were all friends. 
 There was one visitor I didn't like though, but 
 I didn't fear him. He was that brute we 
 strung up to the big cocoanut tree outside the 
 saloon where he murdered his mate. I was one 
 on that rope, pulled with a will, and would do 
 so again. But then we had no court like now, 
 and what else could we do ? 
 
 "Anyway, Jimmy thought it healthy to go 
 to ' Frisco ' till the thing cooled down a little ; 
 
" vox POPULD-- 
 
 and lucky for him he did, as he was the first 
 man that the judge from Fiji asked for on 
 landing. 
 
 " We called it ' Vox Populi,' whatever that 
 means ; but the judge didn't seem to see it in 
 the same way. He didn't bother me, anyway. 
 I suppose I was the wrong colour to be taken 
 notice of. 
 
 "All the same, that chap came to my memory, 
 with his face all twisted, and his eyes starting 
 right out of his head, just as he looked as we 
 swungf him aloft. But he didn't disturb me 
 much. 
 
 " There were others, too, which neither you 
 nor any one else knows anything about. I 
 didn't like them ; but I wasn't afraid. They 
 all deserved what they got. 
 
 " Every dead man I knew came to see me in 
 my wanderings ; and I felt so tired and weary 
 that I wanted to join them, lor their trouble 
 looked to be all over ; and, sir, so would mine 
 have been if you hadn't come ; and I'm here 
 now to thank you for your kindness. But even 
 now, perhaps, it would have been better to have 
 let me go." 
 
 " Not a bit, Bruce. You are worth twenty 
 
4 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 dead men yet, and can't be allowed to cost the 
 Government ten dollars cemetery fees for a long 
 time to come. Why, you, ' the first white man 
 on the beach,' have to be introduced to many 
 more visitors yet before you go under. But 
 come in and sit down. We'll have a bottle of 
 beer, and you shall tell me, if you will, some- 
 thing of your history. You must have seen 
 some curious things in your time." 
 
 " Ay, that I have, sir. Thank you ! I will 
 take a seat, but don't ask me to tell too many 
 things about myself in old times, for I would 
 much rather forget most of them. 
 
 " You might regret your kindness to me if 
 I told you what I've been, and all I've done. 
 Yet I swear that I was never willingly wicked, 
 and that the circumstances which forced me 
 are to blame for most bad things this poor old 
 darkie has done." 
 
 I was in the verandah of my bungalow at 
 Apia, Samoa, one very hot day, stretched out 
 at full length on a cane chair, enjoying the little 
 breeze that was stirring from off the oily waves, 
 looking as though glazed with the oppressive 
 heat, and too languid to show the smallest sign 
 of breaking on the red-hot coral reef, steaming, 
 
A BLACK WHITE MAN. 
 
 blurred, and indistinct in the distant flickering 
 haze. 
 
 It was just the time of day when most 
 people, both native and white, were taking their 
 usual siesta under their mosquito nets, at all 
 events, were resting within doors ; and great 
 was my surprise to see, right in the blazing sun, 
 tottering along feebly, supporting himself with 
 a staff, held in trembling hands, John King 
 Bruce, " the first white man on the beach." 
 
 On came the old man, painfully making his 
 way through the orange and breadfruit trees, 
 and halting every now and then for breath, 
 until reaching the verandah where I sat, he 
 respectfully saluted, and the foregoing colloquy 
 took place. 
 
 I soon had my visitor comfortably seated, 
 with a glass of cool lager at his elbow, to which 
 the poor old fellow had been a stranger for 
 many a long day. 
 
 Bruce, in spite of his seven-worded sobriquet, 
 was a negro, and figured in the consular books 
 as having been born at Liverpool some time 
 very little short of a century from the date of 
 this incident. 
 
 In his younger days he must have been a 
 
6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 smart, middle-sized man, but old age and long 
 continued sickness had converted him into one 
 of the most miserable looking objects alive. 
 
 His face, with the skin hanging all loose and 
 baggy, was twisted and wrinkled beyond de- 
 scription ; yet his eyes, though deeply sunk in 
 their orbits, glittered brightly from beneath the 
 shelter of a shaggy pair of ancient, bristly eye- 
 brows. 
 
 He was not entirely bald, for there still re- 
 mained little tufts of snow-white wool, sparsely 
 scattered all over an enormous cranium. 
 
 These irregular locks, swaying about in the 
 wind, would ludicrously suggest a bevy of white 
 waterfowl struggling to rise and quit a jet-black, 
 shiny ocean, as represented by the dark scalp, 
 always glistening with cocoanut oil, or some 
 other such unguent. 
 
 Bruce had picked up, somehow, an education, 
 such as it was; could both read and write, spoke 
 English without any negro innovations, and was 
 possessed of more than the usual amount of in- 
 telligence common to his class; and this, in spite 
 of his great age, he had wonderfully preserved. 
 
 His history no one rightly knew, but at times 
 he had given inquisitive people most astound- 
 
" VERY MUCH MARRIED." 
 
 ing tales, which, from their very nature and 
 his hesitating delivery, could easily be seen 
 were only meant to " boom " them off, as he 
 termed it ; and having been longer in Samoa 
 than any live white in the place, he could spin 
 what yarns he pleased without fear of contra- 
 diction. 
 
 The old sinner had been very much married,, 
 but could not have had a very joyous time of it, 
 for tradition relates that he was always in a 
 state of being thrashed by his wives' relations, 
 and suffering from the desertions of his faithless 
 spouses, who would, as is generally the custom 
 in the Group, retire to the bosoms of their 
 families when J. K. B. became weary of con- 
 tinually sharing his hard earned dollars with 
 the ravenous crowds. 
 
 This practice, however, was only in vogue 
 during the time that his marital arrangements 
 were made "F'aa Samoa" (according to Samoan 
 custom). 
 
 Being dark, the natives looked upon him as 
 one of themselves, and treated him accordingly, 
 to which for some time he was nothing loth. 
 So he took his thrashings, robbings, and deser- 
 tions in the most philosophic manner, and began 
 
8 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 again in another direction, with, in due time, a 
 HIce result. 
 
 He never bothered about his British nation- 
 aHty personally — although, on one or two occa- 
 sions, he had had to perform national obligations 
 — until he took his last wife, whom he married 
 irrevocably and legally in the British Consulate. 
 
 From that time he asserted his position, 
 claimed his rights of British protection, and no 
 longer submitted to native coercion ; and the 
 two most lively youngsters on the beach at 
 Apia, as black and genuine British subjects as 
 can be found under the Union Jack, are the 
 two sons of this negro- Samoan alliance. They 
 show every promise of becoming splendid 
 specimens of Pacific manhood, if their ab- 
 normal, vigorous adolescence does not develop 
 a crisis for dissolution, provoked by unlucky 
 daring adventure, or from necessary vindica- 
 tion of some breach of social law. 
 
 " Well, Bruce, don't tell me any more than 
 you like. I don't want to persuade you to do 
 anything against your will, but rest assured 
 that what you do say I shall keep to myself, 
 and that through me no one shall hear anything 
 to your harm. However, before you start on 
 
ONLY THE UNION JACK. 
 
 with your history, just tell me your age, and 
 how you got the title of ' first white man on the 
 beach.' " 
 
 The old fellow thought for a little, and then 
 answered, — 
 
 " Sir, in a few more months I shall be 
 fourscore years and eleven. Yes, this old 
 weary bag of bones will then have lived 
 ninety-one years — eleven more years than 
 the Bible says we ought to live, don't it ? I 
 think I can remember that much, but it's many 
 a long year since I read it, and it's too late 
 now to begin again, my sight is so bad. 
 
 " As for the title, I gave that to myself when 
 I first landed in these parts, and I consider I 
 had a perfect right to do it. 
 
 " How could that be right when I'm a black 
 man, do you say ? 
 
 "Why, because I am British born and bred, 
 thank God ! and at that time no people in the 
 islands but British were called ' white.' 
 
 " Then it was a very rare thing to see any 
 other flag than the Union Jack flying in the 
 Pacific ; but it's awfully changed now. You 
 have only got to look out of the window there 
 to see that. 
 
10 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " All the same, there were two Britishers in 
 Samoa when I came, but I couldn't count them 
 in. 
 
 " They were the last of a gang of runaway 
 convicts from Norfolk Island, who had gradu- 
 ally killed one another off till only this pair of 
 beauties remained alive, and a precious couple 
 they were. 
 
 " These ruffians were more tattooed than the 
 Samoans themselves. Talk about savages ! no 
 savage was ever so fiercely brutal as these chaps. 
 
 " Murder was their fun— man, woman, or 
 child, it didn't matter a rap. A club stroke or 
 musket shot was always ready on the smallest 
 provocation. But, to do them justice, they 
 weren't cowards, and would meet any warrior, 
 white or native, in fair and open fight, with 
 gun, spear, or club, just as they pleased ; and 
 they had killed so many men that they were 
 greatly feared. 
 
 "These two were always trying to get rid 
 one of the other in the same way as the rest 
 of the gang had been disposed of, till the one 
 I knew on ' Manono ' managed to best the 
 ' Savaii ' chap — caught him drunk at a feast, 
 and finished him off with a bullet. 
 
MURDER OF A WHITE DEVIL. ii 
 
 " I have seen that brute, sir, after a battle, 
 carried about shoulder high on a litter, splashed 
 from head to foot with human blood, quite stiff 
 with it, and lying out at full length surrounded 
 with dripping human heads, just hacked off the 
 bodies, and actually making use of a heap of 
 these horrible things as a Christian would a 
 pillow. 
 
 "He was a real devil ; but his last white 
 killing brought about his own death. For, 
 having got rid of his only white rival, he left 
 off the sharp look-out for his own skin that he 
 had kept up for so manj' years, and went in 
 for careless enjoyment. 
 
 " The natives had by this time become very 
 tired of his bullying ; besides, his value had 
 gone down considerably since there was no 
 longer a white fighter with the rival tribe, so 
 they determined to get rid of him. 
 
 " They soon planned the operation, and one 
 day one of his wives called him to look at 
 something outside the house in which they 
 were. He turned round to see, when in a 
 moment half a do'zen clubs, which were waiting 
 for him, came down on his head, and crushed 
 it to atoms. 
 
12 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " Those were very lucky hits for this child, 
 as the brute had promised to pay me a visit, 
 and I knew what that meant. 
 
 " You can't call tattooed demons of that sort 
 British ; so you see, sir, my claim to the name 
 I am proud of. 
 
 " Oh, yes, there was a sort of Portuguee 
 chap when I came, but you can't possibly count 
 him either. 
 
 " I thought you knew all about white men in 
 the Pacific. Why, in Tahiti, even long after it 
 was taken and settled by those ' mounseers,' it 
 was just the same as in all the other islands. 
 
 "A skipper would go into 'Papeete,' wanting, 
 maybe, some ironwork repairs, and meeting with 
 another Britisher, would inquire for the best 
 smith. If the British workman were not in 
 town, he was certain sure to get the answer, 
 ' You can't get one for a day or two. Jones 
 and Robinson are away on the other side of the 
 island.' ' But,' would say the skipper, pointing 
 to a workshop in full blast, and kicking up an 
 awful hammering, ' what's that ? ' ' Oh,' would 
 say the other, ' I thought you wanted a white 
 man ! If that's all you want, there are plenty 
 of Frenchies and Dutchmen about here.' 
 
14 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " Anyway, from that time I was very careful 
 to look at my mob before I made any remarks 
 about white men, that is, if I was alone. With 
 a couple of chums I wouldn't care for a whole 
 shipload of Dutchies." 
 
 Another glass of beer, and the old man went 
 off at score, reeling off snatches of Samoan 
 life ; but as I specially wanted his earlier 
 history, I interrupted the lavish flow, and with 
 some difficulty got him back to Liverpool. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 As ^bad as the police. — Put yourself in the place. — A 
 savoury birthplace. — Never had a father. — Regular 
 friends. — Doubtful emotion. — Worse company. — 
 Hocussed and crimped. — Mate introduces himself. — 
 The irrevocable vow. — Kidnapped again. — Life on 
 Yankee man-of-war. — The friendly nigger. — Sort of 
 bosen's mate. — Despair. — The sky pilot. — A devilish 
 compact. — Laughter in the sick bay. — Sanguinary 
 anticipation. — Hunting a bully. — The sweat-box. — 
 Tortured and mad. — Devil's help. — In my coffin. — 
 The new steward. — Absent without leave. 
 
 Well, sir, I have never told my tale to any 
 one, as you must know. You yourself have 
 tried before now to get me to yarn and didn't 
 succeed ; but then I didn't know you so well as 
 I do now. We old hands on the beach looked 
 upon the likes of you as we did the police 
 at home — as always trying to run us in. 
 
 We all savee better now ; but, besides that, 
 I'm too old to fear any punishment, and I'm 
 sure that what I shall now tell you will go no 
 
i6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 further till I'm gone, and that won't be very 
 long now. 
 
 And, sir, if you will think a little over my 
 tale, I'm sure you will say that in the same 
 horrible positions, and with the same cruel 
 treatment, you yourself would have done the 
 same as me. 
 
 Brutal men drove me mad, till I became as 
 brutal as themselves. At all events, sir, I know 
 I should do just the same over again, if I went 
 through the same sort of life, and met with the 
 same sort of men. 
 
 I first remember a very dirty back lane 
 round about the docks at Liverpool. Quar- 
 tered at the North Fort, were you ? Then 
 you'll well know the sort of place I'm yarning 
 about. 
 
 Well, there I can recollect living with my 
 mother, a big black woman ; and at that time I 
 thought our house splendid, but then I'd seen 
 no other. 
 
 Father ? I never had one that I can re- 
 collect. I never even thought of one. All I 
 knew about fathers was what other boyS told 
 me — that they was the chaps what licked them. 
 
 I got quite enough lickings from the black 
 
A MOTHER'S TEARS. 17 
 
 sailors who generally boarded at our house when 
 they were in port, and went away almost as 
 quickly as they came, but not before they had 
 spent all their wages. 
 
 The only things these men were regular in , 
 was getting drunk as long as the money lasted, 
 and whopping the boy, which was me. There 
 was always a kick or a thump handy, and I 
 got it. 
 
 I had to stand by all day and night to bring 
 grog, and whether I was right or whether I 
 was wrong, I always got licked. 
 
 My mother, I think, was fond of me ; and 
 at times, when I got a bigger thrashing than 
 usual, she would cry over me ; but to this day 
 I'm not quite sure that the tears were not more 
 from grog than feeling. 
 
 By-and-by I grew too big to thrash easily, 
 and big enough to think about striking out for 
 myself. 
 
 I presently made some money doing odd jobs 
 at the docks and aboard the ships, and was 
 thinking quite seriously of starting a coster- 
 mongeVs barrow with another darkie, when, if 
 possible, I got into worse company than I had 
 been in before. 
 
 c 
 
THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 On board a ship where I was working I 
 met a fellow who was always telling us sea 
 yarns, and asking us to his house to have a 
 drain. 
 
 I went two or three times, and nothing came 
 of it; but one day, after the second glass, I 
 recollected nothing more till I woke up, with a 
 bursting head, in the hold of the Eneas B. Slow- 
 man, a Yankee barque from New York, then 
 on her return voyage, rolling about in the open 
 sea, well off the Lizard. 
 
 Oh! didn't I feel awfully bad! I thought 
 I was going to die every moment. When I 
 think of it now even, I can feel my bursting 
 head, from the h'ocussing I had gone through. 
 
 At last, down came the mate ; and from that 
 moment began the long list of injuries that I 
 avenged afterwards ; for what I suffered was 
 enough to make my wild Ashantee blood boil 
 within me. 
 
 He, the mate, came round to the place where 
 I was lying, more dead than alive, kicked me 
 
 when I couldn't move, called me a d ■ d 
 
 skulking nigger, and sent down a tackle and 
 slung me up like a dog to the deck. 
 
 There, while I couldn't stand, he poured 
 
CRIMPED AGAIN. 19 
 
 bucket after bucket of ice-cold water over me, 
 thrashing me between whiles with a rope's end, 
 as he said, " to take the devil out of me." 
 
 It didn't though, but it raised one ; for there, 
 as I lay under his cowardly thumps and 
 freezing water, I made the vows that in after 
 years I carried out like the madman I was. 
 
 Those vows, sir, I really believe kept me 
 alive. I got up and went to work in the middle 
 of his sneers of having brought me to my 
 bearings : but little did he know this child ! 
 
 I saw it was no use fighting just then, so I 
 determined to wait my time ; and so well did I 
 pretend to give in that I actually became the 
 ship's favourite. 
 
 I thought my time and turn would come in 
 the States, the freedom of which I had heard 
 so much talk about, but, although disappointed, 
 I never shifted my purpose. 
 
 At Sandy Hook, I think they call the place, 
 we anchored, when that scamp of a mate sold 
 us to a crimp who came off, and was allowed to 
 take us on shore for a spree — of course to come 
 back in the morning in time to take the ship to 
 her berth. 
 
 The end of it was that the next day three 
 
20 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 of US, all kidnapped from Liverpool, found our- 
 selves with signed articles on board of the 
 rottenest old junk I ever saw, for a three 
 months' cruise to Monte Video and back. 
 
 There was no getting out of it, for we didn't 
 know one bit what to do, and so had to give in 
 once more. 
 
 The same evening we weighed anchor, as 
 we thought for the sunny south, but soon, to 
 our great astonishment, our old hooker ran 
 alongside the U.S. corvette Rappanhanock, and 
 we were handed over, papers and all correctly 
 made out, just as if we were properly enlisted 
 man-of-war men. 
 
 On board of her, I can assure you, it was hell 
 indeed ; and the life they led me there is re- 
 sponsible for all the bad things I did afterwards. 
 
 I never had one moment's peace. It was for 
 
 ever, "You d d nigger, here!— you cussed 
 
 nigger, there ! " and a blow or two with every 
 word. 
 
 This, as you may think, didn't make me 
 feel any more friendly towards the man who 
 first stole me— the mate, I mean— and in my 
 hammock, when the ship was heavily rolling 
 from side ;o side in the trough of the big seas 
 
UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES. 21 
 
 off the Horn, I repeated my vows of vengeance 
 to the music of the creaking, grinding timbers, 
 whose harsh and painful grating suggested the 
 sort of satisfaction I would take if ever I got 
 the chance. 
 
 Life on board that ship was cruel hard, but 
 in the end I blessed it, for it landed me in the 
 Pacific, which I have never left since. 
 
 My word ! sir, warn't the time I put in under 
 Uncle Sam bad! It was ten times worse than 
 on board that hooker. 
 
 There was never one single day that I didn't 
 get kicked and punched. Even the cook in 
 the galley, a great big greasy nigger, as black 
 as a lump of coal, poured a can full of boiling 
 water over me, and scalded me dreadfully. 
 
 He called me a d d contraband — -why, I 
 
 don't know, for I was British born ; but I never 
 told them that but once, and gracious ! the 
 thrashing I got over those few words was awful, 
 and it put me in the sick bay, on the shelf with 
 broken bones, for three weeks or more. 
 
 Although the whole crew, officers and all, 
 were bad enough, there was one man on board 
 who was the very devil, and the chief cause of 
 all the wrong things I have done. 
 
22 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 He was a sort of bosen's mate — an awful 
 big brute, who never left me with a whole skin 
 for long ; and I carry the marks of his knuckle- 
 dusters on my body to this very day. 
 
 His eye was as sharp as an eagle's, and he 
 always kept it on me. I do believe that he 
 could spot me in the dark, like a cat. 
 
 If I kept out of his way, he would go for 
 me all the same, call me a skulker, and let me 
 have it anywhere with anything handy. Lord ! 
 how that cuss did like to thrash me ! 
 
 If I met him straight, it was the same 
 again. He would kick me out of his way for 
 a "cussed runaway nigger"; and wasn't his talk 
 solid, and no mistake ! 
 
 In my watch below, sir, lying down, sore 
 and bloody, from that man's cruelty, I would 
 ask myself if there really was a merciful God 
 at all. 
 
 At Liverpool a dock missionary (we called 
 him sky pilot) once told me that there was a 
 God who made no difference between black 
 and white men ; and that man took me away 
 to a school where I was taught all about God, 
 and I liked it. 
 
 I was at that place for about four months. 
 
IN THE SICK BAY. 23 
 
 and learnt to read and write ; but too soon my 
 mother's people found me out, took me away, 
 licked me until I couldn't stand, and there was 
 an end of peace and God, who I thought no 
 more about till that brute broke me up on board 
 the cruiser. 
 
 He was the chap that jumped on me when 
 I was knocked down for saying I was a 
 Britisher, and smashed in my ribs as I lay 
 thumped silly on the deck. 
 
 He swore then that he would kill me, and 
 would have done so if the other men hadn't 
 lugged him off. 
 
 In the sick bay, where they took me that 
 night, aching in every bone and on fire all over, 
 I was sure there was no God for the poor 
 nigger. The devil got fast hold of me ; and I 
 said that in the future I would belong to him if 
 he would help me ; and before my bursting 
 head gave way, I swore that I would have a 
 bloody revenge for all that had been done me, 
 and kill the man — the bosen's mate I mean — 
 if I had to wait all my life for the chance. 
 
 How long I was off my head I don't know, 
 but I do remember very well that whilst I was 
 silly I thought the devil came and said, " L. 
 
24 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 heard you, John King Bruce. It's all right. 
 You are mine now ! " I wasn't afraid at all, but 
 felt quite comforted that at last I had found a 
 friend. 
 
 When I woke up, there was the ship's saw- 
 bones standing by my cot, and he told me to 
 get well quick, for " by the Lord, he wasn't 
 going to have any shamming." I remember 
 well what I said to myself — it was : " By the 
 devil, doctor, when I do get only a litde well, 
 there will be no shamming in what I'll do on 
 deck." 
 
 After that dream of Satan I was quite 
 another man, but not a better one though, and 
 felt no longer afraid of any one, but only wanted 
 to get well, and, with the help the devil pro- 
 mised me, to kill the man — the brute who tried 
 to murder me. 
 
 I thought of nothing else night or day, and 
 forgot all about the other men. I only wanted 
 that bosen's mate ; and didn't I feel certain of 
 getting him ! 
 
 I felt so sure of having his life's blood that 
 I took it over and over again in a sort of dream, 
 but all the time wide awake ; and I would shout 
 so loud with laughter, as I saw myself drawing a 
 
26 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 was not the likes of them, for I wanted that 
 bosen's mate, and hadn't the devil promised me 
 him ? 
 
 I didn't say one word, but walked quietly 
 round the ship, looking for my friend, and found 
 him nowhere. 
 
 I then asked where he was ; when the man 
 laughed, and answered, " Snowball ! You must 
 get some other chap to jump on you now, as 
 dat bosen's mate ran away at Valparaiso," where 
 the ship had stopped during my sickness. 
 
 What I did then I don't know at all for some 
 time, but it appears I did my work without 
 knowing much about it. 
 
 When I began to think again, I noticed 
 that the men fought quite shy of me, and 
 stopped treating me so roughly as they used to. 
 
 I suppose I looked too dangerous for them 
 to deal safely with ; anyhow, I know I felt so, 
 and they were quite right. I was as dangerous 
 as I could be ; I was so mad at losing that 
 bosen's mate. 
 
 One evening, as I was sitting on the comb- 
 ing of the hatchway, just alongside the ladder, 
 up came one of the worst rowdies in the ship 
 half-drunk, and, putting his foot on my back, 
 
RUNNING AMUCK. 27 
 
 sent me sprawling all along the deck on my 
 nose. 
 
 In an instant I was up, knife in hand, and 
 went for him. 
 
 He drew his at once, but before I could get 
 at him, he took fright, turned round and scuttled 
 up the deck, with me after him like lightning, 
 yeUing like blazes, for I had gone mad again, 
 and wanted to kill him. 
 
 Golly ! how that coward did run ! He 
 could kick a man that he thought would not 
 turn on him, but was afraid to meet a poor sick 
 nigger, half his size, in fair fight. 
 
 I flew after him as he ran round the deck, 
 and some of the men tried to stop me, but with 
 my long knife I slashed at them right and left, 
 and burst my way through, until at last a crack 
 from a marline-spike on the head knocked me 
 bleeding and senseless to the deck. 
 
 When I came round, I found myself ironed 
 hand and foot, with the ship's pump firing water 
 all over me, and as soon as the officer of the 
 watch saw me wake up, he said, " Lug the 
 d d black scoundrel down to the 'sweat- 
 box.' " Perhaps you don't know what that is, 
 sir ? No ? Well, I'll tell you. 
 
28 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 You know the Yanks brag that they never 
 flog a man ; but they do much worse. They 
 have punishments that drive men mad, and 
 shoot them Hke dogs if they show fight. 
 
 Well, this sweat-box, as they call it, is a sort 
 of cell right down below in the bilge, in the 
 lowest part of the ship, and only big enough for 
 a man to stand upright in, pitch dark, and hot 
 as hell. 
 
 In this they lock a man up, just over the 
 stinking bilge water, scarcely able to breathe, 
 and with the perspiration rolling off him in 
 rivers, till they have taken the devil out of 
 him, as they always say. 
 
 It didn't take it out of me though, for I was 
 worse when I came out than when I went in, 
 but I didn't let on about it. 
 
 To this awful place they dragged me, wet 
 through and ironed as I was, and the carpenter 
 shackled me to the wall with my arms as high 
 up as they would go, till I was only just standing 
 on my toes with my face to the wall. 
 
 " There, you d d black nigger ! " said the 
 
 officer, " that will teach you to draw a knife on a 
 white man." He then fetched me a tearing kick 
 and left. 
 
IN THE SWEAT-BOX. 29 
 
 Soon I could scarcely breathe ; I felt myself 
 boiling ; my wet clothes hung on me scalding 
 hot, and the air was quite thick with the steam 
 from them. 
 
 I presently got wild, and how I did curse and 
 swear, and called upon my friend the devil to 
 take me ; to sink the ship ; to do anything ; but 
 all the time I never forgot that bosen's mate. 
 
 I screamed, and tore, and twisted at my 
 arms, tied above my head, until my wrists 
 cracked, and I felt the scalding blood pouring 
 down on my face, hotter than the boiling sweat 
 pouring off me in buckets. 
 
 I swung on my arms with roars of pain and 
 rage, right off the floor, and with my bare feet 
 kicked against the sides of the cursed place till 
 all my toes were smashed, and my strength was 
 gone. All the time the irons burnt through my 
 arms and legs as though they were red hot. 
 
 The tortures of the damned I've heard talk 
 about, but they couldn't be worse than what I 
 went through ; but at last I was quite done, the 
 pain stopped, and I hung by my wrists almost 
 in comfort, and wanted to go to sleep. 
 
 Now I said to myself, "Thank you, Mr. 
 Devil ! I'm going to die now. You heard what 
 
30 THE FIRST WHITE MAN Oh THE BEACH. 
 
 I said ; but it's very hard to go home without 
 squaring accounts with that bosen's mate," for I 
 thought of no one else but that man. 
 
 I suppose it was the hot blood that was 
 running out of me that eased me, and made me 
 feel so nice and sleepy, and at last I began to 
 sing like a child, and then I recollect nothing 
 until I found myself — where do you think, sir ? 
 
 Why, in my hammock ; but this journey it 
 was meant to be my coffin, and not my bed. 
 
 They thought I was dead, and the sailmaker 
 had got more than half-way through sewing me 
 up, before chucking me overboard, when a prick 
 of his needle woke me. 
 
 The man gave a big shout, ran off, and 
 thought the devil had surely come for him, and 
 he wasn't far wrone. 
 
 By-and-by they cut me loose, poured water 
 over me, and all those awful pains came back, 
 which soon put me off my head, so I was 
 taken to the sick bay again, where I stopped a 
 long time, till I was strong enough to crawl 
 about the deck once more. 
 
 All that time I spoke to no one, and no one 
 spoke to me, for I think they were ashamed of 
 walloping a poor weak nigger so, but all the 
 
LYING LOW. 
 
 same I was waiting my time ; the devil told me 
 it must come, and he didn't let me forget ; but 
 the first man I wanted was that bosen's mate. 
 
 I soon got stronger and able to do a little 
 work, so they put me to assist the gun-room 
 steward, wash the plates, and help the cook. 
 
 I kept main quiet, and worked so well that 
 the officers began to like me, and got me to do 
 little jobs for them in their berths. 
 
 Plenty of times we called in at South Ameri- 
 can ports, but they would not let me go ashore, 
 nor any others like me who had been kidnapped ; 
 they were afraid we might run away, and they 
 were right. 
 
 I got on better and better, till the officers 
 of the mess and the steward would trust me with 
 anything ; but they did not know how I hated 
 them all ; and just before we came to Callao, the 
 steward fell sick, and I took his place for the 
 time. 
 
 Of course, when a ship is in port, the messes 
 want vegetables and other things, and always 
 send their stewards on shore to market for 
 them ; so when we got to anchor, thinking I had 
 forgotten all, I was let go for supplies. 
 
 They didn't think of all they had done to 
 
32 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 me, and they forgot about that bosen's mate ; 
 but I remembered all, every little bit, and made 
 up my mind that once on shore the ship should 
 see me no more. 
 
 They gave me dollars to buy the things, but 
 that was not enough for me : I knew where 
 there was more money, and watches, and chains, 
 and rings, and pins ; so before I went ashore, I 
 went through the kind gentlemen's boxes, and 
 what I left was not worth much. 
 
 If they had only caught me, I should never 
 have got out of that sweat-box alive that time ; 
 but they didn't. So I got ashore with the 
 other stewards. 
 
 I soon managed to lose them, threw my 
 basket away, and bolted out of town as hard as 
 I could. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Callao chorus. — Gentle acquaintances. — Trust in the devil. 
 — The champion slaughterer. — Persuasion to pay. — 
 Working out the bill. — A well remembered voice. — 
 That bosen's mate. — Chance for revenge. — Tables 
 turned. — " Thank you, Satan ! " — Madder and madder. 
 — Score settled in blood. — A new friend. — A Black- 
 birder. — Not the "Jolly Roger." — A fifty-dollar mur- 
 der. — Another one for spite. — " Not my knife." — Sum- 
 mary execution. — A shark worry. — Take the murdered 
 man's place. 
 
 I didn't know then the Callao hymn, of 
 which the chorus is — " On no condition is ex- 
 tradition allowed in Callao," — and was afraid 
 that the police might nab me, and send me 
 back, so I got away as far as I could into the 
 country till the vessel left. 
 
 I went a long waj^ till I couldn't see the 
 coast, and stopped four months at a dirty little 
 village, in a Yankee nigger's house, who spoke' 
 English ; and didn't he rob me ! 
 
 There were half a dozen other ruffians there, 
 
 33 D 
 
34 THE FIRST WHITE MAN OS THE BEACH. 
 
 of all sorts and nationalities, each one with a 
 pistol and large knife stuck in his sash. 
 
 Bless you, sir, bad as I felt, I was as no- 
 thing to that crowd ! But I wasn't afraid. I'd 
 robbed the ship, and would have killed that 
 bosen's mate at sight on board, in defiance of 
 all consequences, and all that was then wanted 
 was to mix with these chaps for awhile to be 
 fit for any villainy. 
 
 All day and night these chaps did nothing 
 but play cards and fight over them ; they talked 
 nothing but brandy, murder, and robbery ; and 
 when they got drunk, they would cut and shoot 
 one another like fun. 
 
 The devil, I thought, still stuck to me. All 
 I wished for was to be as comfortably bad as 
 my companions, and in a short time I was. 
 
 I didn't care now about anything : bought 
 pistol and knife, drank, played cards, swore 
 and fought with the best of them. 
 
 Soon they got nearly all my money ; so one 
 morning, before they were sober, I made 
 tracks for the town, and was glad to see that 
 my ship was gone. 
 
 What an awful lot the chaps in Callao were 
 in those days ! They were of all nations under 
 
"SHOOTING AND KNIFING." 35 
 
 the sun, mixed up together, all armed and 
 always drinking. 
 
 There was shooting and knifing always 
 going on, which nobody took any notice of but 
 those in the row ; and if a man got stretched in 
 a grog shop, the " boss " would only throw him 
 out into the road, whether dead or alive. 
 
 If you once got into some of these saloons, 
 as they called them, you never came out with- 
 out a fight," if you had a cent left. 
 
 In the middle of all this I wasn't afraid, for 
 something inside told me that my friend the 
 devil would take care of me till I found my 
 man. 
 
 In a very few days my money was nearly all 
 gone, and one day I found myself stretched out 
 on the floor of one of the worst saloons in the 
 place, run by a great big black, who had killed 
 more men than any other chap in Callao. 
 
 I was dreadful bad all over, and sung out 
 for some more rum, which was brought to me 
 by the boss himself 
 
 " Now then, fork out your dollar, and look 
 slippy," he shouted. But I couldn't find one 
 anywhere, for some one had gone through my 
 pockets while I was asleep. " Got no money ! " 
 
36 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 he roared ; then out he pulled his pistol, and 
 pointed it at my head. 
 
 I thought it was all over with me then, as 
 I looked right down the barrel, poked close to 
 my nose. " D — mn you ! " said he ; " I've half 
 a mind to kill you ; and if you were not my 
 colour, by the devil ! I would." 
 
 I knew then, somehow, that I was safe, for 
 that gentleman was my friend. 
 
 " Hold up your hands quick ! " shouted the 
 big brute, " while I see what you have got about 
 you ; and if I find that you have gone back on 
 me, by the holy! I'll cut your throat. I'm not 
 going to be robbed." And then, with his pistol 
 stuck in my face, he searched me all over, but 
 found nothing but a pistol and knife. 
 
 " I don't allow no pistol weapons here! "he 
 screamed ; " mine's enough for all the fighting in 
 this house ; " and as he took it away, he seemed 
 to get in a worse rage than ever : his big red 
 eyes stood right out of his head, and he foamed 
 at the mouth like a mad doo- 
 
 o 
 
 "No, by Heaven! I'm not going to be 
 cheated out of my dollars by a thing like you ! " 
 he howled; " I earn my money hard enough, and 
 lias to fight for it. You shan't rob me, you 
 
"RAGE AND RUMP fi 
 
 black thief! You shall work out the bill, 
 d — mn you ! or I'll serve you the same as the 
 last chap here." 
 
 " Anything you like, boss," I said, " only 
 don't kill me ; " for I was mortal afraid that his 
 pistol would go off, he was shaking so much 
 with rage and rum. 
 
 He then, with awful curses, set me to work 
 washing up a pile of bottles in the backyard, 
 right in the blazing sun, and I didn't dare 
 refuse for fear, and set to. 
 
 That afternoon suddenly I heard a voice 
 inside the house, kicking up a thundering row. 
 I knew it in a moment — I knew it belonged to 
 that bosen's mate ; and I felt that my friend the 
 devil was at last about to perform his promise ; 
 he appeared to whisper so to me, and to tell 
 me not to forget mine. 
 
 Then my whole body began to smart with 
 the recollection of the kicks and licks that chap 
 used to give me on board ship. I knew it was 
 all fancy, but I assure you, sir, I felt them just 
 as I did when I got them ; but I seemed to like 
 it, for all these pains made me mad to settle 
 the long account between us. 
 
 I crept up to the window and peeped in. 
 
38 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Yes ! There was that bosen's mate, respectably 
 togged out as a skipper, drinking rum, half 
 drunk, but getting worse and worse every 
 minute. 
 
 " Thank you, my friend Satan ! Thank you 
 very much ! I know that I shall be square 
 with that cuss before night, and then you may 
 do what you like with me ; only you keep your 
 promise and I'll keep mine." 
 
 I then went back to my bottles, and drank 
 off a lot of dregs I'd drained out of them. 
 
 They made me so excited that I couldn't 
 wait till night, so I crept back to the window 
 again, and for a long time watched my man 
 pouring down glass after glass of the fiery stuff, 
 that the boss was plying him with as quick as 
 he asked for it. 
 
 Golly! wasn't that chap strong ! He tossed 
 off the raw rum like water, and it appeared 
 to take no grip of hirn at all. 
 
 At last he began to stagger, and after fetch- 
 ing a roll or two, down he went on the floor 
 dead drunk, when the boss left him and went 
 out. 
 
 Here was the chance I'd waited for so 
 long. I drew my big knife, and quietly crept, 
 
THE DEVIL'S HINT. 39 
 
 on and on, slowly, like a snake, for fear I should 
 disturb his innocent slumbers, till at last I stood 
 alongside the man I so wanted — the man the 
 devil gave me — the man who had made me 
 what I was and what I was going to be. 
 
 There he lay — I can see him now — looking 
 so strong and so able to crush me between his 
 finger and thumb, as he would have done had 
 he been awake and sober. 
 
 But who was strongest now ? — the poor, 
 weak little sick nigger, with a long, sharp 
 knife, and standing up, or the great, big white 
 bully asleep on the floor ? 
 
 Oh, I knew ! and how I thanked rum and 
 the devil for being so good to me and giving 
 their help to make me the master ! 
 
 I looked at the chap for a long time, and 
 thought, and thought, and thought of all the 
 brute had done me. 
 
 Each thing as it came to my mind made 
 me hotter and hotter, madder and madder, till 
 at last I dropped down on my knees by his 
 side, just as if I was going to pray for him. 
 
 My friend the devil was there, close at 
 my elbow, and he told me, " Look sharp, Bruce, 
 or you will lose him again." I said to myself. 
 
40 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " No fear, good devil " ; and I leant over him 
 and felt for the place where his black heart 
 ought to be. 
 
 It went thump, thump, thump, so nice and 
 strong ; but I was soon going to alter that ! 
 
 He felt me touch him, his eyes opened, his 
 lips said, " More rum, boss," and he began to get 
 up ; but just as his eyes met mine, and I could 
 see that he recognised me, I drove my knife 
 right through him, as I said, " You won't want 
 no more rum this side of hell, bosen's mate." 
 
 With a big screech, he tumbled back dead ; 
 and, oh, how I did laugh! — I laughed till I 
 thought I should burst. 
 
 Soon a tired and sleepy feeling came over 
 me, and I laid down beside him, to rest a 
 little. 
 
 I liked him then, for he was dead, quiet, and 
 owed me nothing ; and his blood was so pretty 
 and red^'ust the same colour as mine, although 
 I was a nigger, and he had seen that pretty 
 often. 
 
 At last I fell asleep, and when I woke up, 
 my head was cool again, and I began to think 
 what I should do next. 
 
 I felt quite easy in my mind now, but knew 
 
MY FIRST MURDER. 41 
 
 that I must shift camp, for I was afraid that 
 when the boss came back he would make short 
 work of me. 
 
 I had no money, but soon found some : the 
 dead man gave me his, as he had no further 
 use for it ; and I also took his pistol and knife, 
 but left mine, — he looked so comfortable with 
 it sticking in him. 
 
 After a big drink of rum, mad as I could be, 
 I rushed off down the street till I came to the 
 harbour, where lots of ships were riding at 
 anchor, and falling down behind a rock, I fell 
 asleep. 
 
 The devil again came to me that night, and 
 said, " You're mine altogether now, Bruce ; but 
 never mind that, I don't want you just yet ; 
 there's plenty for you to do before you come 
 home, and nothing shall harm you till you're 
 full up." 
 
 Just then came a big kick, and I told the 
 devil not to do that again, as I wanted more 
 sleep. 
 
 Bang came another at once, and turning 
 round, in a -big rage, I saw, not the devil, but 
 a tall man, with one eye, and a big black beard, 
 who inquired what I was doing there. 
 
42 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 I answered, " Can't you see I'm sleeping ? 
 And I want more; so hook it." 
 
 He looked like a skipper of one of the ships, 
 and was just going away, when I called out after 
 him, " Want any hands on board your ship ?" 
 
 " That I do, my lad. Are you for a cruise 
 amongst the islands, — all sunshine, fun, grog, 
 and dollars ? " 
 
 "All right," I answered; "I'm your man; 
 but I want to be off at once." 
 
 " Oho ! " said he. " Killed any one particu- 
 lar ? " I nodded as he continued, — " Never 
 mind that, my lad, it won't make you any the 
 worse sailor, I'll be bound, and killing is no 
 new thing here. There she lies," said he, 
 pointing to a wicked-looking barque in the 
 offing, " Isn't she a beauty ? " 
 
 He then turned off the beach to go up the 
 street, but I objected to go back. 
 
 " Corpse lives up that way, perhaps," he 
 remarked. " But it don't matter a cent ; we can 
 get what we want down here just as well." And 
 off we struck for a grog shop close at hand, 
 where he filled me up with as much rum as I 
 could drink, put me in a boat, and sent me off 
 to the ship. 
 
HOCUSSED AND KIDNAPPED. 43 
 
 I can just recollect getting there, and that's 
 all ; but the next morning I woke up in an al- 
 most dark fo'c's'le, very sick, and in the middle 
 of a lot of men, lying around, ironed hand and 
 foot, groaning and cursing in the most horrible 
 manner. 
 
 I knew what was the matter with them : 
 they had been hocussed in the grog shanties on 
 shore, kidnapped and sold to the ship, just as 
 I had been at Liverpool. 
 
 Presently the door opened, and in came the 
 skipper with, " Well, my lad, how goes it ? " 
 
 " Main bad " said I. And then some of the 
 chaps in irons began to curse him anyhow, in 
 all sorts of lingo. 
 
 His face got black as thunder at once, and 
 he set to kicking them without mercy. 
 
 " Wait, my boys, till I get you into blue 
 water ; I'll very quickly take the devil out of 
 you. But, Bruce," said he, " I want to talk to 
 you, so come aft." 
 
 Going along the deck, one look was enough 
 to tell me that I had again got into a very 
 tight place. 
 
 The crew was &n awful looking lot of pi- 
 rates : they were niggers as black as myself, 
 
44 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 whites and yellow men of all sorts ; some with 
 long beards, others with none; but every one 
 carried a long knife stuck in his sash, and the 
 lingo they jabbered I couldn't make anything 
 at all out of 
 
 The ship was very dirty, but well found, and 
 armed with four carronades on each side, and 
 a " long Tom " trained fore and aft in the bows. 
 
 I looked up to the peak, fully expecting to 
 see the " Jolly Roger " flying, but, instead of 
 that, there was the Peruvian ensign. 
 
 " Now, Bruce," said the skipper, " I suppose 
 you will join us all right?" 
 
 " Yes, cap.," said I ; " I would go with the 
 very devil himself. I belong to him now, 
 body and soul, so I don't care for anything." 
 
 " And, Bruce, who do you think it was you 
 stretched yesterday ?" 
 
 " I know," I returned, " I know very well ; 
 and I'd kill him again to-morrow, if he came 
 alive and gave me the chance." 
 
 " That's the spirit I like, my lad ; you'll do 
 for us. Won't he, boys ? But, you know, 
 Bruce, you hkve killed the best blackbirder 
 in the whole Pacific. He was a trimmer, he 
 was, and no mistake. He never spoke twice 
 
AWAY BLACKBIRDING. 45 
 
 to any man. I was his mate once, when he 
 gouged this eye out, because I wanted to go on 
 shore. Anyway, my boy, you've squared that 
 account for me. But it's lucky for you there's 
 a Httle strip of blue water between you and 
 shore ; all his crew are out to fix the chap 
 who killed their captain. There will be an 
 awful row to-night ; and if they don't find him, 
 I shouldn't wonder if they corpsed that black 
 bully who runs the saloon where you stuck 
 him." 
 
 " I don't care, cap. ; now I've begun, I'll kill 
 any other man that wants it. I belong to the 
 devil now for good, and he'll let me go till I'm 
 wanted." 
 
 " That's right, darkie ; clap your name to 
 this and you're one of us." 
 
 I wrote my name on a sort of paper ; then 
 the skipper gave me back my knife, and shout- 
 ing to a chap called Jose, he told him to give 
 me some grog and put me in his watch. 
 
 That's the way I got on board a Peruvian 
 kidnapper, whose trade was to steal poor devils 
 of natives from the islands, and sell them for 
 labour in the silver mines. This trade is called 
 blackbirding. 
 
46 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Well, sir, at last we left that hell-upon- 
 earth, Callao ; but I soon found that I had only 
 changed it for another sort of one, for if ever 
 there was a floating hell, it was my new craft. 
 
 I didn't mind it, though, for we got plenty of 
 grog ; and we drank and fought just as much as 
 ever we liked. 
 
 It was all round a word and a blow, and 
 there was scarcely ever a day that some one 
 didn't get cut. All the pistols the skipper and 
 mates took away from us, or there would have 
 been more murder than there was. 
 
 This trip I was the man that everybody 
 feared, and no one liked to annoy me after the 
 first week afloat, for all who had tackled me 
 had come to grief; and oh, how well I thought 
 the devil did fight for me ! 
 
 One day I quarrelled purposely with, and 
 killed, the biggest bully in the ship, in fair 
 fight, before the whole crew. In that row the 
 skipper backed me for fifty dollars with the 
 first mate, who didn't like losing the money. 
 He hated me like poison for this, and bullied 
 me like fun every time he could, and he could 
 pretty nearly any time. 
 
 He made my mad blood boil plenty of times, 
 
"NO TV'S YOUR TIME, BRUCE." 47 
 
 and itch to get at him only once ; but it was no 
 use fighting the officers, for they gave their 
 orders with a pistol ready, and the crew had 
 only their knives, so we were obliged to 
 knock under. However, I waited my time, 
 and watched that mate like a cat. 
 
 One very dark night, when, unsteadied by 
 the slightest breath of wind, the vessel heaved 
 and surged on the black, greasy swells, which 
 shook and twirled her round and round just as 
 they pleased, to the tune of the masts creaking 
 and the flapping of the useless sails, my oppor- 
 tunity arrived. 
 
 Every one was asleep, — the watch above and 
 below, the man at the wheel, the skipper, the 
 mates, — every one but me. 
 
 Again the devil came — I didn't see him, but 
 I felt he was near me. 
 
 He said, " Now's your time, Bruce." And up 
 I jumped, quietly crept aft, dodging from gun 
 to gun, keeping close to the bulwarks, — for I 
 knowed that sometimes the skipper prowled 
 about at night, —till I got to the hammock ot 
 the mate, slung under the break of the poop, as 
 his cabin was too hot. 
 
 He didn't think then that he was so near to 
 
40 
 
 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 going off to a much hotter place ; but I did, as 
 I cut his throat to the very bone. 
 
 He made no noise ; I was too quick and the 
 knife too sharp. He was dead in an instant. 
 
 I ran back, but left the knife there. You 
 think I was a fool to do so ? Oh, no ! It was 
 another man's I did the work with, and as the 
 owner slept in the fo'c's'le alongside of me, I 
 put some of the bright red blood on his hands. 
 No ! I was too sly to take my own knife. 
 
 I felt mad again,^ — the sight of the blood 
 made me so,- — and I laughed myself to sleep 
 over the shindy I knew there would be in the 
 morning, and to think how the wrong man 
 would get in for it. 
 
 Just as I thought, the row began the first 
 thing in the morning. At daybreak I was 
 roused up by the mates rushing in and seizing 
 the man the knife belonged to. I tumbled 
 out, and helped them put him in irons ; and 
 how all the time I did laugh to myself! 
 
 There was the blood on his hands, and there 
 was the knife found in the mate's throat, so he 
 must have done it! Besides which, I told the 
 skipper that I woke up in the night and saw 
 the chap's hammock empty. 
 
SUMMARY EXECUTIONS. 49 
 
 The skipper thought a little, then, turning 
 round to us, said, " What do you say, boys ? " 
 I sung out, "He must have done it"; and 
 with that he up pistol and shot the fellow- 
 through the neck. He fell screeching into the 
 water with a big splash, when, in a moment, 
 three sharks, which had been following us for 
 days, seized him, and began to tear him up. 
 We all stood watching them open their enor- 
 mous jaws, shining with teeth as sharp as 
 razors, and shut them upon the poor chap's 
 body and limbs, as, still alive, he tried to swim 
 back to the ship. Then they tugged and 
 worried away like bull dogs, till the man was 
 broken in sunder, and the smooth sea was red 
 all round with blood — the colour that always 
 drove me mad ; but the devil had me, and I 
 didn't care. 
 
 We then threw the mate over, just as he 
 was, hammock, knife, and all, as no one would 
 have anything to do with an unlucky weapon ; 
 and a few buckets of water put things all right 
 again. 
 
 After all was over, the skipper sent for me to 
 have a talk. I always knew that he liked me, 
 but I didn't think that he would have asked 
 
 E 
 
50 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 me to be his mate ; but he did though, and 
 of course I said I would, for then I should, 
 get back my pistol, and be stronger than 
 ever. 
 
 " D — mn the navigation 1 " said the skipper ; 
 " I can do that. You're just the man I want, 
 so come along." 
 
 I did, and fetched my traps from the fo'c's'le 
 to the captain's cabin, where I took up my quar- 
 ters in the spare berth. 
 
 I said to myself the first night, " This place 
 will be very hot before I sling my hammock 
 outside for cool; the accident to the mate 
 this morning will be a warning to me, for 
 there may be some more dangerous people 
 forrard." 
 
 Oh ! how I laughed again when I thought of 
 how the skipper took me to be his friend, when 
 I was nobody's friend ; but he had no devil to 
 tell him that. 
 
 The other two mates didn't like this at all ; 
 but that was no matter : they were both afraid 
 of me, and then, I was armed as well as they 
 were. 
 
 All the ship was afraid of me except the 
 skipper, and he thought I was his dear friend ! 
 
THE BLUE RIBBON. 51 
 
 I left off drinking now. I knew too much 
 what would be the consequence if any one 
 caught me napping — I should have followed 
 the first mate. No; I kept a sharp look-out, 
 and never slept outside the cabin. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A beautiful island. — Friendly preparations. — Neglected over- 
 tures. — Innocent morning call. — A most horrid sight. — 
 Man-eating pigs. — " Enough of blackbirding." — A 
 burnt town. — Quieting a baby. — The skipper's evil 
 taunt. — Personal reflection. — A smoking island. — Pre- 
 parations for visitors. — Stones, shot, and manacles. — 
 Quite a missionary. — The kindest man in the world. — 
 Pretty canoe fleet. — Bright flowers and light hearts.' — 
 Bait for " blackbirds." — Securing the " game." — Mad 
 again. — The rope of blood. — Sharks and oysters. — 
 Grog discipline. — A return visit. — Skipper's fiery eye. — 
 " Dead niggers no good." 
 
 Continuing our voyage, we at last came to 
 a beautiful little island, so very pretty and 
 looking so cool, even in the hot sun, with its 
 bright white beach, sparkling and laughing, 
 with the lovely blue waters, and the cocoanut 
 trees, in the light breeze, shaking their big 
 green arms over all. 
 
 It was the first island that I ever saw, and 
 it looked so quiet and peaceful that I wished 
 I was not so bad, and that I could stop there 
 and rest. 
 
HOSPITABLE PREPARATIONS. 53 
 
 I thought then, however, that it was no use, 
 as I belonged to the devil, and must go on till 
 he stopped me ; I know better now ; but I was 
 mortal bad then. 
 
 We went close to the reef, dropped anchor, 
 and waited for the natives to come off and 
 see us ; in the meantime, we got ready for the 
 visit. 
 
 We first got out all kinds of pretty calicoes, 
 beads, and knives, to show them and entice 
 them to come on board ; and then we got ready 
 short bits of line, to tie them up, when once we 
 got them over the side. 
 
 Afterwards we got heavy shot and stones 
 from the ballast, to heave into the canoes and 
 break them up, to prevent their getting away ; 
 and lastly we put our boats in the water, on the 
 far side of the ship, in readiness to come round 
 and pick the birds out of the sea before they 
 could swim on shore. 
 
 We waited a long time, but no natives came 
 off. There was no smoke on shore, and nothing 
 could be seen that showed there was any one 
 there, so the skipper began to growl and swear. 
 
 At last he got impatient. " D— mn them ! " 
 said he ; " if they won't come to us, we'll go to 
 
54 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 them." So we manned and armed two boats, 
 and off we rowed. 
 
 After travelling about two miles, we came 
 right in front of a long clearing, and sticking 
 out of it were a lot of what we took to be black 
 poles. 
 
 The skipper, as soon as he saw them, swore 
 worse than ever, and said, "We shall get no 
 men in this place ; somebody has been here 
 before us. All the people belonging here have 
 gone for a cruise in another ship. Wonder 
 who's been here ? It must be that cuss ' Mar- 
 tinez,' from ' Coquimbo.' I never thought he 
 could have got ready in time. Anyway, we'll 
 take a look round." 
 
 We then landed, and leaving two men in 
 each boat, the rest of the mob, with their guns 
 all ready, stepped off for the clearing. 
 
 As we got near, there was an awful stink, 
 which grew stronger and stronger till we came 
 to the edge of the small bushes growing all 
 round the clearing, and then we saw the cause 
 of it. 
 
 Here, there, and everywhere — in twos, and 
 threes, and bunches, with limbs all twisted and 
 stiffened, bloated and blistered, in the scorching- 
 
A GHASTLY MEAL. 55 
 
 sun — were the dead bodies of a lot of natives, 
 men, women, and children, all looking so horri- 
 ble and smelling awful. They were all black 
 people. Did you ever see a dead black man ? 
 Well, you know what he looks like ; and these 
 were worse than I ever saw. 
 
 In the middle of them was a drove of wild 
 pigs from the bush, scarcely able to move after 
 their horrible feast. 
 
 They were so gorged that they would 
 hardly stir, but sat and looked at us, as silly as 
 a lazy chap does when you wake him out of 
 a comfortable sleep. 
 
 All turned quite sick at this sight, and got 
 out of the way as quick as possible. I began to 
 think that I had had quite enough of black- 
 birding ; and glad I am to say that I never saw 
 such a sight as that again, but perhaps some 
 ship that followed ours did. 
 
 A little further on were the black sticks we 
 saw coming in; and, as the skipper knew, we 
 found them to be the posts of the houses burnt 
 by the men who did the killing. 
 
 Here again there were more dead men, but 
 they were burnt, and did not look so bad. All 
 the live ones left, no doubt, had been taken 
 
S6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 away to work in the Peruvian mines, never 
 more to return. 
 
 Just here I came across the body of a poor 
 little pickaninny, all broken to pieces, and on 
 a cocoanut tree close by was the splash where 
 his brains had been dashed out. The baby 
 was no good for work, but the mother was, 
 and that was the way the chaps separated 
 them. 
 
 I was bad man enough then, goodness 
 knows, but all this was too much even for me, 
 so I went back and sat down in the boat, feel- 
 ing quite sick. 
 
 Soon the other men returned, having scoured 
 the place all round, and reported that, except 
 pigs, there was nothing left alive. 
 
 The skipper came last, and looking me 
 right straight in the face, said, " What's the 
 matter with you, Bruce ? Want to go home 
 to your mammy ? Eh ? " And his one eye glit- 
 tered like mad as he touched his pistol. 
 
 I knew what that meant, and said nothing 
 but that I felt ill from the sun. 
 
 He answered, "All right"; but from that 
 time I saw that he suspected and watched me. 
 
 He thought me all bad, but, thank the 
 
AT LOGGERHEADS WITH THE SKIPPER. 57 
 
 Lord ! there was some little good left to save 
 me years after when I met with good men. 
 
 We took a few cocoanuts on board, and, 
 lifting anchor, left that fearful place. 
 
 On leaving we steered due west, and on the 
 third day were in the middle of a lot of islands, 
 all round us like a necklace, but with no one to 
 be seen on them. 
 
 Cruising slowly, we travelled amongst them, 
 anchoring at night if the water was not too 
 deep, and if it was, we shortened sail and kept 
 a good look-out for rocks. 
 
 All this time my dear friend the skipper 
 looked after me like a child, and never left me 
 alone for a moment. 
 
 If I went forrard and spoke to the crew, 
 he was very soon alongside of me ; and if I 
 cottoned with the mates, he cottoned too ; 
 altogether he gave me no chance to make 
 friends, and he knew well that all on board 
 hated me. 
 
 I thought of killing him some day, but 
 was afraid that the rest of the gang would be 
 sure to kill me, for I had fought them all too 
 hard to make friends easy, and the mates were 
 so awfully jealous. 
 
5 8 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 No. I came to the conclusion that as long 
 as he lived I should live, but with him dead 
 there would be no more John King Bruce ; so 
 I kept quiet, but knew that the end of all this 
 was not very far off, and could see that he was 
 of the same opinion. 
 
 About the fifth day we came to a big 
 island, — I don't know the name, but it was 
 somewhere in the North Pacific, — and found 
 plenty of people on it. 
 
 It was a great, tall place, with a lofty 
 mountain in the middle, smoking all day, and 
 at night looking like a lighthouse in the sky. . 
 
 The trees, white beach, and the blue water 
 were just the same as in the first island, but 
 there was more of everything. 
 
 Again we got ready the stones, shot, ropes, 
 and pretty calicoes, and then quietly dropped 
 down to an anchorage, with the British flag 
 flying at the peak. 
 
 I didn't like that at all, but I dursn't speak. 
 By-and-by three or four canoes put off from 
 shore, and the skipper, who had been looking 
 at them through his glasses, suddenly shouted 
 out, " Put away those stones and shot ; stow 
 everything, and hoist in the boats." 
 

 
NIBBLING THE BAIT. 59 
 
 He hadn't been blackbirding so long for 
 nothing, and had too much " savee " to kill 
 the goose who laid the golden eggs. 
 
 He saw that the canoes had women and 
 children in them, as well as men, and that told 
 him they wished to be friendly. 
 
 What was the good of a few people to 
 him to-day when by making friends he could ' 
 get a much bigger mob to-morrow ? So when 
 they came near he looked very pleasant, and 
 showed them all sorts of pretty cloth, knives, 
 axes, choppers, and made signs for them to 
 come on board. 
 
 At first they were afraid, and kept the 
 canoes a long way off, but at last three men 
 jumped overboard, swam to the ship, and ran 
 up the cable like monkeys. 
 
 We all went to see them, but the skipper 
 sung out, " Stand back there, you fools ! they 
 won't come if you crowd them." 
 
 When they got to the top of the rail, they 
 came no farther, and sat there for some time, 
 all ready for a jump back into the water. 
 
 The wily old skipper knew what to do, 
 and went up alone, holding out a big red 
 handkerchief, and smiling and grinning all over 
 
6o THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 his ugly mug, just as if he was the kindest man 
 in the world. 
 
 However, he couldn't get them to come any 
 nearer. They stopped up there on the rail, 
 took the things with a snatch, but stood by for 
 a jump, and the canoes still kept well away. 
 
 The cunning boss then went back, and 
 returned soon with some biscuits, holding them 
 out and eating one himself 
 
 They took and eat them, and after a little 
 talk, came down on deck, but always ready for 
 a bolt overboard. 
 
 When the grub was finished, the oldest of 
 them pointed his finger at the flag, and said, 
 " Mishionaree ? " And the foxy old skipper then 
 grinned again as he nodded his wicked head, 
 and said, " Yes, Mishionaree." 
 
 By-and-by they thought all was right, eat some 
 more biscuit, drank some water out of the 
 scuttlebutt, and, after shaking hands with the 
 skipper and the mates, went to the side, sung 
 out for the canoes to come up, and soon there 
 were about twenty of these people on board, 
 men, women, and children, eating biscuit and 
 thoroughly enjoying themselves. 
 
 We made signs that we wanted water. They 
 
GENERAL NATIVE WELCOME. 6i 
 
 sig^ned back there was plenty on shore. We 
 said we would come the next day. They nodded 
 " all right." And then they went on shore, each 
 with some little present, to tell their people what 
 a nice, kind lot of white men they were on 
 board the big ship. 
 
 There was very little grog that night, as the 
 skipper said we wanted cool heads for the next 
 day. 
 
 In the morning, the first thing, away went 
 the boats with the casks for water, and when 
 we got ashore, the natives showed us the river, 
 helped us to fill up, and brought us oranges, 
 bananas, and all sorts of good things. 
 
 We were invited to go to the town and 
 drink "kava," but the skipper had forbidden us 
 to go till the next day. 
 
 When we were full, we started off back to 
 the ship, with canoes all round us, loaded down 
 to the gunnel with yams, taro, oranges, bananas, 
 fish, and all sorts of good things, to barter for 
 cloth, knives, and axes. 
 
 The men, women, and children, dressed in 
 their best, all over beautiful flowers, sang their 
 liveliest songs as they paddled along with us. 
 
 When we got alongside, the casks were 
 
62 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 hoisted out, but the men did not leave the boat, 
 and I could see that while we were away all 
 the stones, shot, and lashings had been brought 
 on deck again, and covered over with sails. 
 
 The poor devils crowded on board at once, 
 to get the good things the white man had 
 brought them, and the skipper, he was so kind ! 
 
 They got so friendly that presently a lot of 
 them were persuaded to go down below, and 
 get some better stuff, and then the skipper sent 
 me to my boat, with orders to rush out as soon 
 as he fired his pistol. 
 
 We hadn't to wait long before bang it went, 
 and, my word ! wasn't there a row then ! 
 
 On deck the hatches were clapped on, and 
 at the same time crash, crash went the stones 
 and shot, smashing up the canoes like paper. 
 
 All round the ship the islanders were 
 jumping off like mad; but we were there to 
 drag them into the boat, and tie them up as 
 fast as we could; and if they tried to escape, 
 a crack on the head soon quieted them. 
 
 The excitement was too much for me. I 
 lost my head again, shouted and yelled like a 
 demon, and danced upon the poor beggars lying 
 tied on the bottom of the boat. 
 
ONE MORE MURDER. 63 
 
 Just then one big fellow broke loose on 
 board ship, jumped over, and away he started 
 for shore, swimming at an awful rate. 
 
 They began to shoot at him from the ship ; 
 then I remembered my pistol, and, as he 
 passed me, I shot him dead, all for nothing. 
 
 He threw up his arms, and as he went 
 down, down, down in the deep, clear water, I 
 saw the blood pouring out of the bullet-hole as 
 he sank, and making in the bright blue water a 
 big red rope, and I thought, mad as I was, that 
 I would get hold of the top end, and pull him 
 up again. 
 
 With a shout, I jumped for it, and swam 
 round and round, trying to catch the thing, but 
 was at last hauled into the boat, and thrown 
 down amongst the prisoners at the bottom. 
 
 In a short time, when the row was over, I 
 got all right, and we went back to the ship. 
 
 There I found, tied up everywhere, men, 
 women, and children, with their fine clothes 
 torn off, and their pretty flowers smashed all 
 over the deck in the fight. 
 
 Down below were lots more, crying and 
 wailing in the dark. 
 
 As soon as possible we lifted anchor, and 
 
64 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 put to sea, for the skipper didn't think it pru- 
 dent to stop the night so near shore, and he 
 said that he didn't think his " passengers," as he 
 called them, would care to jump overboard out 
 of sight of land, and that if they did the boats 
 could soon grab them again. 
 
 We did nothing all that night but stand 
 straight away from shore, and in the morning, 
 when it was not in sight, we took in all sail, and 
 set to work to make our visitors at home. 
 
 The poor devils looked very wild, all tied 
 up anyhow on deck, just as they were caught, 
 and their great big eyes were starting out of 
 their heads with fright: they thought, I'm sure, 
 that we were going to eat them. 
 
 We then set to work taking off their lash- 
 ings ; and time it was, too, for the lines had cut 
 right into their very flesh ; and we put on com- 
 fortable irons instead. 
 
 When we had made all fast on deck, we 
 went for the chaps down below, and found them 
 all of a heap in the dark, moaning and groaning 
 like stuck calves ; and as we came near them, 
 they put up their hands, like asking us not to 
 kill them. 
 
 No fear of our doing that while they were 
 
FOOD FOR SHARKS. 65 
 
 worth from forty to fifty dollars apiece alive, to 
 sell to the Peruvian miners ; but I think that if 
 they had known the sort of life they were going 
 to lead they would rather be dead. 
 
 These gave us no bother at all, and were so 
 done up with fright that we ironed them down 
 to the ringbolts, put there for that purpose, 
 without any trouble. 
 
 Whilst coming up the ladder, we heard an 
 awful rumpus going on amongst the women on 
 deck, and then splash ! splashJ in the water. 
 
 That was the skipper throwing the small 
 pickaninnies overboard, which he said were good 
 for nothing, and not worth a cent ; so the 
 sharks gobbled them up, one by one, as they 
 came over, just like swallowing oysters. 
 
 Golly ! how the women howled and cried ! 
 They went quite mad, and tore at their irons 
 till the blood ran all over their arms and breasts; 
 but it was no use, their chains wouldn't let them 
 jump over and save their children. 
 
 Soon everything was quiet, and when we 
 counted up how many passengers we had got, 
 we found that, after all the fuss, there were 
 only forty- two. 
 
 The skipper was furious at this, and called 
 
 F 
 
66 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 US all the d d fools in the world, and plenty 
 
 of other names, for not getting more. 
 
 He swore and cursed till he was scarcely 
 able to stand, and then went to his cabin for a 
 bit. 
 
 He thought he would have filled up the ship 
 at that place, and got so savage because he 
 hadn't. 
 
 By-and-by out he came again amongst us, 
 and was quite friendly. " Never mind, boys," 
 said he ; " better luck next time. We'll go back 
 to that place to-morrow night, and fetch them 
 out of their houses ; they shan't best us." 
 
 All that day we drifted about just how the 
 sea chose to take us, and the skipper gave the 
 men so much grog that they were soon all 
 drunk, and lying about the ship like pigs. 
 
 That was the way he always worked these 
 devils, for he knew that with little grog they 
 got quarrelsome, but with plenty they became 
 drunk and quiet, and slept. 
 
 The next day all grog was stopped, sail 
 was made, and with a sharp look-out from the 
 foremast head, we stood in again for the island. 
 
 When it hove in sight, we stopped, as we 
 didn't want the natives to see us coming back. 
 
THE HAPPY VALLEY. 67 
 
 By this time they must surely have thought 
 that we had gone off for good, and would keep 
 up no watch, but if they had seen us returning, 
 they would have all taken to the bush, and we 
 should have had our trouble for nothing. 
 
 What we wanted to do was to get up close 
 in the dark, surround the town, and catch the 
 whole boiling. 
 
 When it was dark enough, we stood in 
 nearer and nearer, till we heard the breakers 
 booming on the big reef ; then we lowered the 
 boats, armed the crews with muskets and cut- 
 lasses, and each chap carried small bits of line, 
 to tie up any one he might catch. 
 
 The oars were all muffled, and not a word 
 was spoken, as we followed in the wake of the 
 skipper's boat. 
 
 On shore we could see the lights of the 
 town brightly burning against the dark hillside, 
 and every now and then they would seem to 
 twinkle, as the natives, moving about, passed to 
 and fro in front of them ; so we thought it best 
 to wait a little until they had got tired of the 
 open air and had gone to their houses to sleep. 
 
 We waited a long time, until our men be- 
 gan to grumble in their hurry to begin. 
 
68 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 At last they swore they would wait no 
 longer, and in spite of my telling them to shut 
 up and be quiet, as the skipper knew best, they 
 rowed up to his boat and told him the same. 
 
 Didn't he look ugly neither! His hand 
 went straight to the pistol stuck in his sash, 
 but he saw in a moment that game wouldn't 
 do, for the men had guns, and looked as if they 
 meant to use them, too; so, shoving his weapon 
 back, with a big bath, he said, with a very 
 doubtful smile on his face, " Well, boys, we'll 
 go on in a minute, so don't kick up a row.'" 
 
 After that, he turned to me and said, " You, 
 Bruce, come along in my boat ; I want to speak 
 to you ; and Jose there can take charge of 
 yours." 
 
 I didn't like that arrangement at all ; it 
 looked very dangerous ; but I knew that if I 
 didn't go he would fetch me, and as the men 
 were not friendly to me, I said nothing, but 
 moved quietly on. 
 
 He didn't say another word, but made 
 signs for me to sit down in front of him, when 
 he brought his ugly nose close to mine, and 
 looked me through and through with that 
 devilish one eye of his. 
 
THE SKIPPER'S SNAKY EYE. 69 
 
 He came so close that it seemed to bore 
 me through like a gimlet, and I felt his hot 
 breath on my face as scalding as boiling water. 
 
 All the time he looked at me so close I 
 could do nothing ; it didn't last long, but quite 
 long enough ; and when he took his hellish face 
 away, I got all right again. 
 
 His snaky eye completely fascinated me ; 
 but as soon as he left off his horrible stare, I 
 felt I was just as good as him, so long as I 
 kept my pistol, and I determined to keep a 
 sharp look-out, and fire first if I saw him 
 coming for me. 
 
 All the way to shore he never said a single 
 word, but I could see that his mind was made 
 up to get rid of me at the first chance, for he 
 thought that I had tried to make those chaps 
 in the boat cantankerous, and meant to kill me 
 first if they mutinied. 
 
 The town fires were getting smaller and 
 smaller, as we moved slowly and quietly to- 
 wards shore, till they looked no bigger than 
 little shivering stars stuck in the great black 
 wall. 
 
 Right up above was the burning mountain, 
 with a big red-hot cloud in the sky on top of it, 
 
70 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 and it was groaning, growling, and spitting out 
 showers of sparks like mad. 
 
 Presently the skipper got the boats to- 
 gether, and said, quite low, " Mind, boys, I don't 
 want any shooting, unless we have to fight. 
 Dead niggers are no good. I want live ones, 
 and then there will be plenty of dollars for all 
 of us when we get back. And, by the Holy ! 
 I'll kill the first man who fires a shot until I 
 tell him. Just you all mind what I say." 
 
 We then landed about a quarter of a mile 
 above the town, and struck off on a bush track 
 leading to it. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Simile of darkness. — Spreading the toils. — No shooting. — 
 The first rush. — Rounded up. — " Chock full of game." 
 — Natives show fight. — Assault repulsed. — " Plenty of 
 dollars in there." — Infernal massacre. — The skipper's 
 discretion. — No first shot. — Shooting each other. — 
 House in flames. — Roasting natives alive. — Killing the 
 wounded. — Hatching mutiny. — Time to quit. — Boats 
 cut adrift. — Shots to leeward. — Bruce's address to the 
 ship. — Great red, bloody path. — Mad again.— Sharks 
 and flying fish. — Testing the devil. — Land at last. 
 
 It was as dark — as we say in Samoa — as the 
 inside of a Solomon islander, on whose skin a 
 lump of coal will make a white mark ; but, led 
 by the skipper, whose one eye could see, like a 
 cat's, just as well as in daylight, we worked our 
 way along in silence. 
 
 When we got quite close, we spread out all 
 along the road, behind the houses, right round 
 them, and then laid down until the word came 
 to rush in and do the work. 
 
 There was no movement at all in the place, 
 the poor devils were in their houses fast asleep ; 
 
72 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 but, by the sparkle of the fires, which crackled 
 every now and then, as a puff of the night 
 breeze blew the sticks into a little blaze, we 
 could see some of them asleep round them. 
 
 By-and-by the boss came along, crawling 
 on his belly, like a great ugly lizard, and gave 
 us word to catch the men round the fire first, 
 and when they sung out, and made a row, to 
 rush the houses, and stop the rest from getting 
 away, but to do no shooting. 
 
 Then we crept, crept, crept quietly and 
 slowly, like serpents, right between the houses, 
 and no one stirred, we were so sly. 
 
 As we passed the doors, we left one or two 
 men at each, to keep them fast when the row 
 began. 
 
 Nearer and nearer we crept, till we came 
 up to those chaps sleeping round the fire, when 
 we got up, rushed upon them, and before they 
 knew what was up they were lashed quite safe. 
 
 Of course they sung out like anything to 
 their friends in the houses, who tried to get out 
 and escape to the bush, but the men we left at 
 the doors kept them in till we came up to help. 
 
 " Keep them in ! Keep every mother's son 
 of the black devils in ! " shouted the skipper. 
 
''DOWN WITH YOUR GUNS." 73 
 
 running about quite wild, with a pistol in each 
 hand. 
 
 " Don't let them out ; we'll have the lot this 
 journey ! No d — mn canoes here ; but no 
 shooting ! I'll kill the man who fires a shot ; 
 by the Holy, I will ! " And, my word ! he meant 
 it, too, as he danced about, looking so savage 
 and devilish, with that big red eye of his rolling 
 round and round like to tumbling out, and 
 shining like a fiery furnace. 
 
 I was not afraid of him then, but I hadn't 
 forgotten how he looked at me in the boat, 
 and I watched him close, so as not to give him 
 the chance of first shot. 
 
 We next searched through house after 
 house, which were all in a line down the beach, 
 beginning with the end ones, tying up all the 
 blackbirds we found, until we came to two big- 
 places right in the middle of the village. 
 
 These, the chaps at the door told us, were 
 " chock full of game." 
 
 " Come along with me," sung out the skip- 
 per. " Ten of you put down your guns, and 
 come along with me ; but all bring lashings." 
 
 Then he and a few others rushed into the 
 house, but very soon came out again, the boss 
 
74 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 with the blood running all over his ugly face, 
 from a cut he had got in the dark ; over him 
 tumbled a man with a spear right through him, 
 the point sticking a long way out from his back ; 
 and two others never came back at all, for al- 
 though the natives hadn't much time to talk, 
 they somehow or other persuaded them to stop. 
 
 All the rest of the men at this got into a 
 awful rage, but the skipper kept very cool, and 
 looked more devilish than ever I saw him 
 before. 
 
 As he tied up his wounded head in a big 
 handkerchief, he sang out, " Never mind, boys ! 
 We'll have them all presently. No shooting. 
 Catch 'em alive. Plenty of dollars in there, 
 and a dead nigger isn't worth a curse." 
 
 All his talk was of no use, for the chaps 
 were so excited they began shooting into the 
 house all round. 
 
 The shrieks and yells of the poor devils in- 
 side were dreadful to hear, and sounded right 
 above the row of the firing and the yelling of 
 the men, while the skipper ran about every- 
 where, shouting out to stop the shooting, but 
 the men were so mad they would not leave off. 
 
 The boss at last threatened them, but. 
 
"I HAVE THE BEAD." 75 
 
 pointing their guns at him, they soon made him 
 leave them to themselves. 
 
 All this time I didn't join in any of the 
 row, because I had to keep an eye on the skip- 
 per, who, I knew, wanted to kill me in the 
 scrimmage, and I went to one side and sat 
 down on a log. 
 
 By-and-by he saw me, and ran over. I saw 
 him coming, and got ready. 
 
 At first he was in too big a rage to see that 
 I had got the " bead " on him, as rushing up he 
 said, — - 
 
 " D — mn you ! All this is your fault. You 
 talked those men over and made them muti- 
 nous. I'll have it out of you,, you cursed black 
 nigger ! " And then he began to draw his 
 weapon, but didn't pull it right out, as he found 
 that mine was pointed straight at himself. 
 
 He was always very discreet in his rows, 
 and didn't much like fighting if he couldn't 
 get first shot; so, seeing that his game was 
 up for the time, he quietly took a seat on the 
 log alongside of me. 
 
 The row going on all the time was awful, 
 bullets were flying round just anyhow, as 
 through and through the grass walls of the 
 
76 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 house they went, wounding- our own people, 
 who, thinking that the natives were doing it, 
 cursed, and swore, and fired all the harder. 
 
 Presently a fellow sung out, — " Let's have a 
 light, to see the brutes better ; " and then some 
 one put a match to the house. 
 
 In a minute the thick grass roof burst into 
 flames with a terrific roar, sendingf their longr 
 red and yellow tongues high aloft amongst the 
 cocoanut trees, shrivelling up their big branches 
 like tinder, and scorching with their fiery breath 
 the cool green breadfruit leaves into cinders. 
 
 Presently the big roof fell in with a loud 
 crash, throwing up millions and millions of 
 bright sparks and clouds of smoke ; it seemed 
 to me just like that picture of hell they have 
 there up at Vaeia in the Catholic college, and 
 our chaps dancing and yelling all round, like 
 the devils in it stirring up the fire. 
 
 Once I really thought I saw the "old 
 gentleman " in the middle of the flames, but it 
 was only some of the natives, roasting alive, 
 trying to get out ; but not one escaped. 
 
 The next house, with more people in it, 
 soon caught fire, when the poor beggars inside 
 tried to rush out, but as they came jumping 
 
KILLED FOR DEVILMENT. 77 
 
 through the roaring flames they were shot by 
 our chaps, or cut down with their cutlasses. 
 
 The men forgot all about dollars : they 
 were only mad to kill and murder everything 
 that came near them. 
 
 With fierce yells and laughs, they hove 
 back into the fire all the natives they caught 
 trying to get away through them, until at last 
 all were dead and quiet. 
 
 How the skipper did swear and curse 
 as he sat still alongside of me ! but he didn't 
 like to go amongst the men while they were 
 wild. 
 
 In the end, the whole place was burnt, 
 and nothing was left of the pretty little town 
 but smoking ashes and two heaps of roasted 
 human bodies, killed just for devilment, amongst 
 which were two of our own fellows. 
 
 The man with the spear through him was 
 sure to die, so, to save trouble, one of the 
 others blew his brains out, and he was left 
 along with the rest. 
 
 When all was over, we took the few birds 
 we had caught down to the boats, the men 
 returned one by one, and off we went to the 
 ship. 
 
78 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 When we got on board, it was still daylight, 
 so we weighed anchor, and, with all easy sail 
 set, went off before the wind. 
 
 The skipper never spoke a word to any one, 
 and didn't even look at me ; but all the same I 
 stood ready for him, and I made up my mind 
 that I wouldn't go to my bunk that night with 
 him near. 
 
 After sulkily walking round to see all right, 
 he went straight to his cabin with the two 
 mates, and stopped there drinking and talking 
 with the door shut. 
 
 I knew what they were talking about, — it 
 was about me and the men. 
 
 They thought I wanted to make the men 
 mutiny ; and they saw what I saw, — and that 
 was, the men didn't give up their guns on 
 coming on board, but carried them with them 
 to the fo'c's'le. 
 
 I didn't like the look of that myself, for I 
 saw they meant to take the ship, or to get up to 
 some other devilment ; and between the two 
 sides I was bound to come to grief. 
 
 As it got dark, the wind died off altogether, 
 and left the ship with sails flapping, rolling, 
 and twisting on the tops of the smooth black 
 
MISCHIEF BREWING. 79 
 
 swells, out of sight of land, drifting nobody 
 cared where. 
 
 There had been plenty of rum knocking 
 about all the day, and from all being so quiet, 
 I thought the men were asleep. 
 
 The mate gave them all the stuff they 
 asked for, to get them drunk, and then get the 
 guns ; but I don't think they drank so much as 
 the mate thought they did, for to me they 
 seemed working cunning, and at first talked 
 a lot more than usual ; and when I saw them 
 go into the fo'c's'le and shut the door, I was 
 certain sure there would be a fight that night, 
 and determined to leave the ship if I got the 
 chance. 
 
 The boats had not been hoisted in, but were 
 towing alongside. There was my chance ! Per- 
 haps I might strike off an island, or get picked 
 up by some ship, and so live ; but if I stopped I 
 was sure to be killed, as I was hated by all 
 alike. 
 
 I kept quiet all alone on deck until it was 
 quite dark, then I crawled forward to the fo'c's'le 
 door, and heard a great buzz of talking. 
 
 They weren't either drunk or asleep, but 
 were getting ready for taking the ship ! 
 
8o THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 I then went softly aft, and leaning right 
 over the side, I saw the bright light shining out 
 from the skipper's cabin, and heard loud talking 
 going on. 
 
 They spoke about getting the guns from 
 the chaps forrard, and about me. 
 
 I thought then it was quite time to be off, so 
 I slipped down the rope into the smallest boat. 
 
 The other two were tied up with her, but 
 no fear that I left them. 
 
 I cut them loose at the same time, and then 
 we all three drifted away together slowly, till, 
 bit by bit, like a great black ghost, with his 
 long arms stretched out groaning and bowing 
 to me, that cursed hooker melted right out of 
 my sight in the darkness, and I saw no more of 
 her ; but before we parted company for good, 
 I heard from her, and what I did hear made 
 me glad. 
 
 For about an hour I sat as still as a mouse, 
 afraid to make a noise, and then a little wind 
 sprang up, when I set sail, and let the boat go 
 on her easiest course anywhere, to get out of 
 sight from the ship before morning ; but before 
 I did so I knocked the bottoms out of the two 
 other boats. 
 
SAFE OUT OF THE FIGHT. 8i 
 
 I sailed along very nice and quiet in the 
 dark, thick night, with the breeze rising every 
 minute, till at last we were going quite lively 
 over the greasy, bumpy water, looking blacker 
 than the night itself. 
 
 By-and-by, a long way down to leeward, I 
 heard the sound of musket shots, and saw the 
 bright flashes, like shooting stars, about four or 
 five miles off. 
 
 I knew there would be a fight that night. 
 I knew it main well. I suppose my friend 
 Old Nick told me so ; but I didn't care ; ther^' 
 they were fighting, and I was safe out of it ! 
 
 Golly ! How I shouted and laughed all 
 alone in the boat as I saw the spitting flashes 
 and heard the bangs ! 
 
 " Fight ! fight away ! fight ! " I sung out to 
 them. " Fight ! D — mn you ! Fight till you 
 are all killed as dead as those natives on shore." 
 And I yelled to them just as if they could hear 
 me. 
 
 "You both want John King Bruce, don't 
 you ? You'll never get him, that's all ! ' Where 
 is the first mate ? ' you say. You want his 
 blood, but' you don't get it this journey ; curse 
 you all ! And where's your boats, eh ? ' Gone 
 
 G 
 
82 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 with that d d Bruce !' you say. Yes, you 
 
 scoundrels ! they have ; two are gone to the 
 bottom, he is very comfortable in the other,, 
 and you have got no more on board." 
 
 Then I laughed again so loud as I thought 
 of the rage they would all get into when they 
 found no Bruce and no boats ; and again I 
 shouted and abused them all I knew, till I got 
 so mad that I tumbled half out of the boat. 
 
 That made me think of where I was, and 
 as soon as I got cool, I sat down and rowed, 
 to get the boat as far away from the ship as 
 possible before sun up. 
 
 By-and-by the day began to break, the stars 
 went out, the sky kept on changing colour, 
 brighter, brighter, brighter, till at last up 
 jumped the big sun from the water, and threw 
 a great red path, red as blood, on its bosom, 
 from, as it looked, the edge of the world right 
 into the stern of the boat. 
 
 The sight of that colour made me feel very 
 queer again, so I turned away my gaze, and 
 looked the other way, searching for anything 
 in sight, but I saw nothing. 
 
 Something soon made me take another look 
 round, and there was that awful path on the 
 
THE BLOOD- RED PATH. 
 
 blue water, redder than ever ; it came right up 
 to the stern of the boat, and no farther. 
 
 I got so mad staring, that I thought I should 
 like to take a walk on it, and nearly did, but as 
 I lifted up my eyes, before starting, to look at 
 the other end, there, by the devil ! right in the 
 middle of the big red sun, I saw plainly the 
 three topmasts of a ship below the sky-line, 
 just on the beginning of that bloody road that 
 was driving me crazy. 
 
 I knew that it was the cursed ship I had 
 just run away from, and I heard the devil telling 
 me that there had been awful work during the 
 night, and to get still farther away I sat down, 
 put out the oars, and pulled my hardest. 
 
 As I rowed and rowed in my scare, the sun 
 got higher and higher, the blood-red path sunk 
 slowly through the bright blue waves, and I felt 
 easier, but could not stop pulling, so afraid was 
 I that they might see me, and drag me off to 
 their floating hell. 
 
 The sun got hotter and hotter ; I felt it 
 boiling in my brains, but still I kept up the 
 work, till at last I couldn't go on any longer, and 
 fell down quite silly to the bottom of the boat. 
 
 When I came to, the sun was going down 
 fast, and presently all was dark again. 
 
84 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 My head now felt all right, but I was dread- 
 fully hungry and thirsty, and had nothing to 
 satisfy me. 
 
 All that night I thought of what I should 
 do if I didn't reach land or meet a ship. I 
 supposed I should die mad. 
 
 Then again, I thought of what the devil 
 said, that he would tell me when he wanted me ; 
 and he had said nothing yet, so I thought I 
 might pull through. 
 
 The breeze still kept up nicely, sending the 
 boat along quite fast, but where I was going I 
 hadn't the smallest idea, except that it was to 
 the west. 
 
 When the light came, I looked all round for 
 ships, and badly I wanted to see one, yet, at the 
 same time, I didn't, for I was afraid of my old 
 ship getting me again. 
 
 There was nothing in sight, not even a 
 bird, — I was alone in the middle of a big ring 
 of sky and water. 
 
 After a good look round, I felt so hungry, 
 thirsty, and miserable that I sat down, shut my 
 eyes, and leaning my head on the side of the 
 boat, began thinking, — 
 
 "What is the use of living any more } When 
 
SHARKS ON SENTRY. 85 
 
 the sun gets up, I shall suffer all the tortures of 
 the damned, worse than yesterday. I think I'll 
 finish up and jump over. 
 
 " There is no ship, no land, nothing to eat, 
 nothing to drink, no wind, and I'm too weak to 
 row, even if I had the oars, which dropped 
 overboard the last time I fell asleep. No, it's 
 no use going on any longer. If the devil won't 
 come to me, I'll go to him." 
 
 I was just going to rise and jump over, 
 when something hit me on the head, and the 
 boat rattled all over, just as if a shower of 
 stones had been thrown into her. 
 
 I didn't like to look at first, because I thought 
 the devil had heard me, and really come. I 
 didn't move my head one bit, but at last my 
 eyes opened quite slowly, and the first things 
 I saw were two enormous sharks, close to my 
 face, looking at and watching me with their 
 cruel grey eyes. 
 
 I jumped back in a moment, and then I saw 
 what had made all the clatter, and had hit my 
 head — a lot of flying fish, that those sharks had 
 driven out of the water into the boat. 
 
 They saved my life ! I ate them until I 
 could swallow no more ; they were both meat 
 
86 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 and drink ; and in my silliness I thanked those 
 sharks, as they swam round, one on each side 
 of the boat, for their kindness over and over 
 again. 
 
 They kept so close that I could almost have 
 touched them, but I didn't try, for I knew they 
 would jump at my arm, and drag me out of the 
 boat. 
 
 As I spoke to them, they appeared to 
 answer with a cunning wink: " All right, darkie ! 
 You'll go clean mad soon, and then we shall 
 have you. We can wait a long time." 
 
 Then I said to them : " Not for the next 
 few days, at least, gentlemen. I've got plenty 
 of the fish you so kindly sent me left;" and I 
 hung one over, just to aggravate them. 
 
 One shark looked so wicked that I began to 
 think, " Perhaps you are the devil himself, and 
 that's why you sent me those flying fish. I'll 
 just see. If you are ' Old Nick,' my knife 
 won't cut you; but if you are only a shark, I 
 think I'll kill you, and then I shall have plenty 
 to eat." 
 
 To try the question, I lashed my knife on 
 to the shaft of the boathook, and then threw a 
 bit of an old bag over the bows. 
 
NOT THE DEVIL. 87 
 
 The shark saw it fall, and very, very slowly 
 went up the side of the boat, to see if it was 
 good to eat, and as he passed I drove the knife 
 right through him. 
 
 The stroke must have broken his back, for 
 he only gave one big splash with his tail, so 
 close to the boat that the water he drove on 
 board nearly knocked me over the other side, 
 and then he lay quite dead, his great big ugly 
 jaws wide open, with his teeth shining in three 
 horrid rows in the sunlight. 
 
 I put a line round him, got him quite along- 
 side, soon cut the liver out of him, and put it 
 away on board. 
 
 " No more thirst for two days, at least, with 
 all that juicy stuff," I said to myself And then I 
 thought of getting some meat off him, and was 
 just going to the side, when a big tug came, 
 almost capsized the boat, and nearly threw me 
 overboard. 
 
 I got up and saw what it was. 
 
 A lot of other sharks had come when 
 they smelt the blood, grabbed my one, and if 
 the rope I tied him with hadn't broken, cer- 
 tain sure they would have been tearing me up 
 as they were their relation. 
 
88 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 How those devils did fight, and lash the red 
 water into froth ! it made me think again of that 
 bad sailor on board the ship who was killed for 
 murdering the mate. 
 
 But the thoughts of him didn't bother me 
 much, for I felt quite safe and strong now, and 
 would have set to work rowing, only I had no 
 oars, so I sat down and whistled for a wind. 
 
 By-and-by the breeze came up strong, and 
 it began to rain ; but I didn't want it now, as I 
 had lots of shark's liver to chew when I was 
 thirsty ; besides that, I had nothing to catch the 
 water in. 
 
 It blew hard all that night, and the first 
 thing in the morning, about five miles off, I saw 
 a long line of white water, and behind that a lot 
 of little black dots, which I knew were trees, 
 standing out above the land. 
 
 " Thank God," I said — I forgot all about my 
 friend the devil, since I found he didn't send me 
 the flying fish— "thank God, there's land at 
 last !" And I sung and prayed, and did I don't 
 know what ; I was that joyful. 
 
 I soon got quite near to the reef, over which 
 the big seas were breaking with terrific noise, 
 and I saw it was one of those lagoon places, 
 
A HAVEN AT LAST. 
 
 where the islands are in the middle of a big 
 reef, which goes all round them like a ring. 
 
 About two miles off, inside, I saw two or 
 three little bits of dry land, with cocoanut trees 
 sticking straight out of them, like so many- 
 green mops, and in the middle of the smooth 
 lagoon, where the water was like a sheet of 
 blue glass, everything looked nice and cool in 
 the morning light. 
 
 I sailed along the outside of the reef, searching 
 for a smooth place to get through the surf, and 
 for a long time could find nothing but a white 
 line of breakers, pounding themselves to atoms 
 on the sharp coral rocks, and throwing the spray 
 in big fountains high up into the air, as the 
 swells smashed themselves against them with 
 a loud, crashing noise. 
 
 About the middle of the day, I found a 
 quiet spot, put the boat through, and was soon 
 floating in peace on the calm waters of the 
 lagoon. 
 
 There were three small islands in it, covered 
 with cocoanut trees, looking so lovely with the 
 sparkling white coral sand all round them. 
 
 On the biggest island I saw what I then 
 thought was the best sight in the whole world : 
 
90 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 a busy little stream of water, running out of the 
 cool green bushes, and trickling, like a silver 
 thread, through the coral rocks over the beach 
 to the sea. 
 
 There I landed ; and, my word ! didn't I 
 just drink a lot of that water ! Better than all 
 the rum in the world ; better than all the sharks' 
 liver in the Pacific ; better than everything I 
 knew of. Then I bathed in it, and afterwards 
 laid down, and fell asleep. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Exploration. — Signs of white men. — Turtle, fish, and cocoa- 
 nuts. — Surprised by natives. — A beche-de-mer fisher. 
 — Four months' work. — Uncanny joking. — A sinftrl 
 compact.— Saving the dollars. — Moonlight dance. — 
 One day more and go home. — That good white man. 
 — "What kind of song this evening?" — "Sold the 
 cargo?" "No; sold the niggers." — A cheating old 
 hand. — Piratical thoughts. — Arrive at Jaluit. — Signs 
 of Sunday. — Schooner sold. — " Good-bye, boss." — A 
 reappearance. — Good advice. — Bruce reformed. — Steal 
 the ship. — Off for Fiji. 
 
 The next morning I set to work to look 
 round and see what the new place was like, 
 and I soon found that I was not the first white 
 man who had been there, for on the other side 
 of the island I came across some large iron 
 kettles and small open huts, and in amongst 
 the trees, in the shade, close alongside a big 
 pool of fresh water, from which the pretty 
 little stream on the other side ran, was a 
 rough-built wooden house, with a big padlock 
 on the door. 
 
92 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " Wonder what's in there ? " I said to my- 
 self ; and before long I knew, for I broke the 
 lock and went in. 
 
 There I found all sorts of things belonging 
 to white men — knives, fish lines, hooks, clothes, 
 and what was better than all, a cask or two of 
 good biscuit, and a keg of salt horse. 
 
 Whoever the owners were, I could see that 
 they had not long left the place, as everything 
 looked so fresh. I determined to take up my 
 quarters here ; so I went to the place where I 
 first landed, to bring round the boat, and that 
 same night I slept like a Christian, in a house, 
 with a good bellyful, and quite comfortable. 
 
 I stopped on those three islands, I think, 
 for about four months, with plenty to eat and 
 drink, and nothing to do, and no great hope of 
 getting away. 
 
 The fish were no trouble to catch, and in 
 plenty; the turtle came up to the very door, 
 asking to be cooked and eaten ; and there were 
 heaps of cocoanuts, whenever I wanted them ; 
 but with all this I got very tired, and wished 
 to get away somewhere else. 
 
 I then began to get the boat ready for a 
 cruise anywhere, and was hard at work at her 
 
THE BEACHCOMBER. 93 
 
 one morning, when, all of a sudden, I was 
 grabbed by the throat from behind, my hands 
 and feet tied, and thrown down in the middle 
 of a crowd of naked savages, grinning and 
 dancing all round me. 
 
 Presently a white man came along, almost 
 as naked as the natives, carrying a gun on his 
 shoulder, and a big knife in his belt, and look- 
 ing at me, said : " Who the h — 1 are you ? 
 Where in thunder do you come from ? Don't 
 you know this is my island, and that I don't 
 allow no one here ? " 
 
 He looked so fierce I was quite frightened, 
 and told him that I was a white man like him- 
 self. 
 
 " The devil you are ! " said he ; "I never 
 saw a white man your colour before." 
 
 I then explained my case to him, and he 
 cut me loose ; then he told me that the island 
 was his property, and that he came there twice 
 a year with a party of natives, fishing and dry- 
 ing bkhe-de-mer, which he took back to the 
 nearest port, and sold ; and, anchored in the deep 
 water about half a mile from shore, he pointed 
 me out his schooner — a pretty little craft of 
 about thirty tons. 
 
94 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 ■ Well, I stopped with that man for the next 
 four months, and worked with him collecting, 
 cooking, drying, packing, and putting on board 
 ship this sort of stuff, for which the natives 
 dived all over the place. 
 
 One day, when the little craft was very 
 nearly full up, the chap came to me, and said 
 he : "I'm going away soon, Bruce, and I sup- 
 pose you don't want to be left behind ? " 
 
 "No, that I don't," I answered; "I've had 
 plenty of this place;" and I laughed, for I 
 thought he was joking, but his face looked so 
 serious and determined that I stopped that, 
 and asked him what he meant. 
 
 He continued : " I mean that if you don't do 
 what I want I shall leave you to take care of 
 the reef, and the trees, and the turtle and the 
 fish outside ; but you don't have no biscuit ; and 
 perhaps, too, I shall cut down all the cocoanuts 
 before I leave. They are all mine, you know, 
 and I can do what I like with them." 
 
 " Lord have mercy ! " I cried ; " don't leave 
 me here alone ! I'll do anything you like, only 
 take me with you. If I am left, it won't be 
 long before the land-crabs are picking my 
 bones." 
 
LEFT TO THE LAND-CRABS. 95 
 
 " You're right there, my boy ! They made 
 short work of the chap who was here before 
 you. I was obliged to shoot him, because he 
 refused to do what I wanted." 
 
 " By golly, boss ! I'll do everything you 
 want," said I. " Only just show me the man 
 you want killed, and I'll do it at once ; only 
 don't leave me here, I'm so precious full up 
 with the place." 
 
 " All right," he concluded, with a sort of 
 cunning look ; " I'm a very quiet man, but I 
 must not be worried on my own ground. This 
 place is worn out, all the fish are gone, and I 
 don't want to come back here any more. 
 
 " It's those confounded niggers that's so 
 very expensive ; and, don't you see, if I take 
 them back to their homes, I shall have to pay 
 the six months' wages that I told them I would 
 give when the fishing was over. 
 
 " The fishing is not worth a snap or the 
 bother of dividing this season, so we'll take the 
 schooner back ourselves, save the dollars, and 
 you shall have a share. 
 
 " I think to-morrow night will do for a start ; 
 but, first of all, just you knock a hole in your 
 boat, so that the boys can't follow." 
 
96 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " All right," said I ; " I'm with you ; " so off 
 I went, and burst a plank right out of the boat, 
 so big that no native could mend it, and then I 
 returned to tell him all was ready in that quarter. 
 
 He then said to me : " The boys have 
 worked very well lately, haven't they ? " " Yes, 
 boss," said I. " Then I think we'll give them a 
 treat ; so come along. We'll go and see them ; 
 they shall have some grog, and give us a dance 
 in the moonlight." 
 
 When we got to the camp, we found that 
 the boys had just finished their grub, and were 
 lying round the fires, on their mats, yarning 
 about all sorts of wonderful things, as they al- 
 ways do before turning in. 
 
 They were always very cheerful and happy 
 after their long day's work diving after the fish, 
 but just then they were all the more joyful be- 
 cause they thought that in a day or two they 
 would be going home to their people, on their 
 own island, with plenty of all the things they 
 liked best, such as calico, knives, beads, lines, 
 hooks, and such articles like those. 
 
 When they saw us coming, the women got 
 up, and brought along a nice clean mat, upon 
 which we squatted in the middle of them. 
 
MOONLIGHT DANCE. 97 
 
 My friend then told them that the ship was 
 nearly full up, and that in two more days we 
 should all go home, — only one more day's fish- 
 ing, and the next day off, — but in the meantime 
 he and I were to get the schooner ready for 
 sea. 
 
 He told them that because if they saw us 
 both together pulling the sails and ropes about 
 they would suspect something, for they all 
 knowed well what white men had done before, 
 and it was not the first time that some of the 
 crowd had been out. 
 
 The boss said all sorts of pleasant and 
 good things to them, produced the grog, and 
 the boys and women were soon dancing, with 
 shouts and songs, on the smooth white coral 
 sand, by the light of the broad bright moon, 
 till they all were exhausted, and had to lie 
 down. 
 
 In the morning, as soon as the sun began 
 to look over the tops of the cocoanuts, away 
 went the crowd to the far-off reef, singing as 
 they skylarked and splashed through the shal- 
 low water like children, to perform their last 
 day's work. 
 
 Before they went, to keep up the "blind," 
 
 H 
 
98 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 the boss talked a lot to them, and then we 
 went on board the schooner. 
 
 You know, natives make up their songs 
 about anything, just as they want them, and 
 the one they were singing, as they went off, 
 was all about the schooner, and the two good 
 white men who were going to get her ready to 
 take them home to their friends. 
 
 The boss smiled, as he quietly said to me, 
 " I wonder what kind of song they will sing 
 this evening, if we have any wind ? Would 
 you like to stop and listen, Bruce .'' " 
 
 I didn't like that sort of joking, and I told 
 him so. 
 
 As soon as we got on board, we set to 
 overhauling the ropes and sails, and by mid- 
 day everything was right but the wind. 
 
 By-and-by, when the boys, a long way oft 
 on the outside reef, looked like little black 
 spots against the clear blue sky, a smart breeze 
 sprung up, we pulled up the anchor, passed 
 through the passage, and once more I felt the 
 heave and the rush of the big sea swells be- 
 neath my feet, and I felt so glad. 
 
 Well, I don't know exactly how long we 
 were at sea, for I kept no account of the days, 
 
BAD DOLLARS. 99 
 
 but I do know that we had very easy work in 
 the fine weather that we carried with us all the 
 way to Jaluit. 
 
 About ten days out, early one morning, with 
 very little wind, only enough to keep the ship 
 going, we saw a smart-looking brig coming up. 
 
 When she got close, she hove to, and the 
 boss, taking the dingy, went on board her, to 
 see what she wanted, leaving me to take care 
 of the schooner. 
 
 In about an hour he came back, when the 
 brig filled her sails, and went off on her course. 
 
 He brought with him a bag full of money, 
 which he shook up and laughed when he saw 
 me stare. 
 
 "What, have you been trading?" I said; 
 "been selling the cargo ? " 
 
 " No fear, Bruce," said he, smiling all over 
 his face. "Not the cargo, old man ; but those 
 chaps we left behind on the island. That brig 
 is a labour ship, looking up recruits for Fiji, 
 and the skipper is not particular how he gets 
 them. 
 
 " I told him, as an old friend, that I knew 
 where there were some thirty good men, who 
 would very much like a passage to their own 
 
loo THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 island ; some white man having left them there 
 by mistake ! " 
 
 " ' What a big shame ! ' he said. ' I would 
 give a couple of hundred dollars to know where 
 those poor devils are, and take them home out 
 of charity. I don't like those doings at all. 
 That's the way we all get a bad name in the 
 Pacific' 
 
 " He then fetched this bag, and I told him 
 where to go ; but somehow or other I don't 
 think they will get home quick in that brig, as I 
 am afraid the skipper will have to call at Fiji 
 before he gets to their island." 
 
 He then began to open the bag, looked in, 
 and of all the awfulest cursing I ever experi- 
 enced that man's was the worst. 
 
 Perhaps it was because I had never heard 
 him swear much before, but after that lot I could 
 see how talented he was in that direction. 
 " What's the matter ? " said I. 
 '"What's the matter'! you d— mn fool!" 
 he roared; "just look here; this is the matter. 
 That cursed skipper has cheated me ; " and 
 with that he upset on the deck a whole heap 
 of round bits of iron, which he had taken for 
 dollars. 
 
HAWK EATS HAWK. 
 
 I suppose, when he took them, they felt 
 round in the bag, cHnked when he shook it, and 
 were about the right weight for two hundred 
 dollars, so he never looked at them on board 
 the brig, and had given his dear friend thirty 
 men for nothing ! 
 
 I laughed like mad to think that one " old 
 hand" had taken another " old hand " in so easy. 
 
 He looked very savage for a little, but soon 
 laughed just as much as I did, and kicked the 
 things overboard. 
 
 " The d d scoundrel ! I'll meet him 
 
 sure again some other time, and get square ; 
 but, after all, it's the better, as I shall never 
 see those fellows any more now, and it might 
 be awkward for me if I did." 
 
 We soon forgot all about the brig, and 
 sailed on quietly without any further trouble. 
 
 When the boss slept, I kept watch ; when I 
 was below, he kept awake ; and at times we 
 were both awake together, and amused our- 
 selves swapping yarns about all sorts of things. 
 
 Altogether I liked the man, for he was the 
 only one, bar that Liverpool sky pilot, who 
 hadn't treated me like a dog. 
 
 All the same, plenty of times when I saw 
 
I02 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 him fast asleep the devil would whisper in my 
 ear, " Suppose you knock him on the head, 
 and throw him over ; nobody will know, and 
 you will have all the cargo." 
 
 However, I wouldn't listen to that advice, 
 refused to be tempted, and from that blessed 
 time I think I began to get good. 
 
 It was quite two months before we got to 
 Jaluit, and anchored right abreast of the settle- 
 ment, in the middle of four or five trading 
 vessels. 
 
 On shore, scattered all up and down the 
 beach, were plenty of wooden houses, the stores 
 of the merchant traders, and the people were 
 about as big a mixture as there was at Callao. 
 
 There were white men, Dutchies, Frenchies, 
 Jackies, and all sorts of other niggers, and a 
 precious rowdy gang they were. 
 
 I don't think there was one of the whole 
 lot sober when I first saw them ; and what they 
 called the wine of the country — square gin — 
 was going all day and all night ; but I didn't 
 join, for the stuff drove me mad. 
 
 This is the place where they say that they 
 always know when Sunday comes round, from 
 the people being worse drunk than in the rest 
 
A BARRATRY CASE. 103 
 
 of the week, and I think it is true ; but I never 
 saw them sober any day. 
 
 The boss soon sold the cargo to one of the 
 ships, and together we put it on board. 
 
 This time, I imagine, he did not take his 
 money in a bag upon trust, but looked at it 
 first, for when the job was finished he said to 
 me : " Bruce, it is all over now ; I've sold the 
 cargo and the ship ; so good-bye, and good 
 luck to you, and here's thirty dollars for you. 
 If that skipper of the brig hadn't cheated me, 
 there would have been more, but I can't help it 
 now." 
 
 Then off he went to one of the ships just 
 leaving, and I thought I would see no more 
 of him. 
 
 In about a month, however, I heard some- 
 thing, when a man arrived, making very 
 anxious inquiries for him. 
 
 It appeared that this chap was the real 
 owner of the schooner the boss sold ; but he did 
 no good, for neither he nor the ship could be 
 found ; so he had to go back with nothing. 
 
 I stopped a long time in that place, loafing 
 round and doing odd jobs for my tucker ; but 
 all the time I kept myself respectable, and 
 
104 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 didn't go on like the other fellows for fear I 
 should go mad again. 
 
 When my thirty dollars were all gone, I 
 did work in the stores, collected oil from the 
 natives, loaded up ships, and got them water, 
 but no one would pay me in dollars. 
 
 They knew if they did I should get money 
 and go off in some ship, and that they didn't 
 want, but liked to keep me on the beach to 
 work for almost nothing. 
 
 All I got was plenty of grub and good 
 places to sleep in, but no cash ; and I grew 
 precious tired of that sort of thing. 
 
 One day I was sitting on the beach, think- 
 ing hard of how I should get away, and looking 
 at the little schooner that brought me there, 
 just come in from the other side of the island, 
 with a cargo of oil for the stores, when some 
 one punched me in the back. 
 
 I looked round sharp, and, bless me ! there 
 was my old boss, who I thought I should see 
 no more. 
 
 " Hallo, Bruce ! " he began ; " how goes it ? 
 Looking at my ship ? We had a very nice 
 little trip in her, didn't we, old man ? " 
 
 " Yes, boss," I said ; " and I am so precious 
 
INNOCENT EXPLANATIONS. lo^ 
 
 tired of this hole that I wish I could take 
 another in her. But where have you come 
 from ? " 
 
 " Never you mind where I've come from," 
 he answered ; " it's no matter of yours. What 
 I want to know from you is whether you will 
 come along with me for another cruise in my 
 schooner." 
 
 He looked, as he said this, so wicked and 
 knowing that I waited a little before I said : 
 " But that craft isn't yours, and a man who came 
 here just after you left said it never was." 
 
 " I know all about that mistake. It's all 
 right; that chap is an awful fool, and doesn't 
 savee what he is talking about. But, Bruce, 
 look here. You shouldn't ever raise un- 
 pleasant subjects in these parts, they are much 
 too free for that ; it's a very dangerous practice, 
 I can tell you ; and my mild temper has very 
 much changed since I found out the fellow who 
 bought the schooner had cheated me. I can't 
 stand argument so quietly as I used to. 
 That blackguard didn't give me half enough, 
 but I've not seen him yet on the matter." 
 
 "But," said I, "does that vessel belong to 
 you again ? " 
 
io6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " No, Bruce, no," he said very gently, with 
 1 cunning grin all over his face ; " but it's 
 going to belong to me to-night, and you 
 are going to help me sail her to Fiji before 
 norning. 
 
 " I know she's all right for the trip, as I saw 
 her fill up, on the other side of the island, 
 before she came round here. 
 
 " She's full of oil, too, and that will pay our 
 expenses. I don't like being cheated, and must 
 get square somehow ; there's no law courts 
 here, so we have to take our own parts. You 
 understand ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," said I ; " you mean to steal that 
 ship again." 
 
 My golly ! he looked so very ferocious at 
 me that I was sorry I had spoken, but it only 
 lasted a minute, when he said again : " I think 
 I told you, John King Bruce, that in these 
 islands it is not good for the health to make 
 personal and unfeeling remarks. 
 
 " I told you that practice was very risky, and 
 I tell you once more that it is likely to lead to 
 very serious difference of opinion. Now, don't 
 you do it again. That's my honest advice. 
 But now let us talk proper business. 
 
BORROWING A CARGO. 107 
 
 " I mean to have that ship to-night, and 
 you have got to help me get her. 
 
 " Now, hsten attentively. That craft be- 
 longs to me. The chap who bought her only 
 gave me half what she was worth, and he 
 has had the use of her for more than two 
 months. 
 
 " Now, I shall charge him the dollars he gave 
 me for that hire; so, don't you see, that if I take 
 her back I don't steal her." 
 
 I began to shake my head, when he quickly 
 continued, — 
 
 " Now, Bruce, don't you interrupt me. You 
 had better shut up. I saw you were going to 
 say something unpleasant. 
 
 " And about the cargo ? We've got no 
 time to discharge that, so it must stop for the 
 present, but we will make all arrangements for 
 it when we get to Fiji; then, if our expenses are 
 not too heavy, the money it fetches shall be sent 
 back. Do you see ? " 
 
 I, of course, thought I saw, and said : " All 
 right, boss, I'll go along with you; and I'm very 
 glad it is not stealing, for I have turned good 
 now." 
 
 " I'm very, very glad to hear it, Bruce, for I 
 
io8 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 don't want no rowdy chaps in my ship ; they 
 annoy me, and then I get bad and fighty. 
 
 " You can't savee the awful weight of respon- 
 sibility that rests on the shoulders of a ship's 
 captain, if he does his duty, whether he is the 
 owner or not ; of course you don't ; but it's 
 very heavy, all the same. Perhaps you'll feel it 
 some day, Bruce, when you get a ship of your 
 own; and who knows, this trip, that we shan't 
 pick up one for you ? then you'll know what it 
 is to be a skipper. 
 
 " You can't think how joyful I am that you 
 have turned good, because you were main bad 
 once — got drunk, killed men, and all that sort of 
 thing. You know, at times I didn't feel quite 
 safe last trip, after what you told me that night 
 you took too much gin. 
 
 " You were so wild, and said such awful 
 things, that once or twice I almost thought it 
 best to shoot you ; and, do you know, Bruce, I 
 am almost certain sure that, now and then, you 
 thought the same thing about me, because once 
 I woke up and saw you staring at me very 
 queer. 
 
 " I wasn't always asleep when you looked 
 me over like that, though you thought so. 
 
THOSE DANGEROUS REVOLVERS. 109 
 
 " Yes, my Christian friend, you made me 
 very anxious at those times, but more especially 
 about the safety of the ship and cargo,— nothing 
 else, I assure you, — but now it will be all right, 
 as you are good. 
 
 " You can't think what a relief it is to my 
 mind. 
 
 " I shall sleep well this trip, because I 
 shall know I have got good John King Bruce 
 looking out on deck. I don't like that sleeping 
 with one eye open all the time ; it makes me 
 tired, and then I get irritable. 
 
 " Oh, yes ; it is a great relief that you are 
 good now ; but I always sleep very lightly, the 
 least thing wakes me up ; and, you know, old 
 man, I've been so long used to wear a pistol, to 
 protect myself from bad men, that I can't turn 
 in without one. 
 
 " See ! here it is. You got one ? No ? Well, 
 maybe that is all the better for you : there's lots 
 of bad accidents with those things ; they are 
 always going off when you don't want them 
 to." 
 
 He then stopped his talk, and walked a little 
 way down the beach with his arms folded, 
 thinking hard. 
 
no THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Presently he turned round, came back, poking 
 his face close to mine, and looking very spite- 
 ful, said, — 
 
 " Now, Bruce, I'm going off to get my things. 
 You must meet me here just about dark ; and 
 mind you don't let on to any one that you 
 have seen me, and spoil this trip. 
 
 " I don't want any one to see me off; parting 
 with old friends is painful, and I don't like it. 
 
 "Now understand, when I come back I 
 don't want to see any one but you ; and, by the 
 Holy! if I do find any bad men about, it will 
 be the worse for you, my dear friend, for I'll 
 shoot you first." 
 
 He looked so wicked when he said this that 
 he awfully scared me, so I said: " Right you are; 
 I don't think I'll go up amongst those chaps in 
 town any more, but stop just here till you 
 come back;" and, giving me one more look, he 
 went off through the trees, without another 
 word. 
 
 As I sat there, in the very same place, I 
 thought carefully over all that the boss had 
 told me, and the more I thought the less I 
 liked it. 
 
 He said that he was glad I'd turned eood, 
 
SOLILOQUY ON THE SANDS. 
 
 and in the very same breath he talked about his 
 confounded pistol ! 
 
 Then, how the deuce did he savee what I 
 thought on board the schooner coming here ? 
 
 He must be the devil himself to know that, 
 for I didn't tell him anything that I can remem- 
 ber. 
 
 It was all lies about my having too much 
 drink ; he never gave me half enough ! 
 
 I really thought he must have slept with 
 one eye open, and caught me looking at him, 
 that time I thought about taking the ship. 
 
 I made up my mind on the spot to be very 
 careful this next trip, and determined he shouldn't 
 catch me looking ugly again. 
 
 Well, there I sat, talking to myself, and 
 thinking, till the sun began to get very low, all 
 the time watching the big and little sea-birds 
 belonging to the island coming home to their 
 resting-places, in ones, and twos, and threes, 
 after their day's work was done, and whispering 
 to themselves, or to one another, just the same 
 as I was doing. 
 
 At last all had come home except one big 
 fellow, and he kept sailing round and round 
 above me, squawking loudly all the time. 
 
112 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 I thought : " What's that you say up there ? 
 Do you tell me to go home and rest ? It's no 
 use to tell me that. John King Bruce has got 
 no home, my beautiful white friend, sitting on 
 the wind up there. He is just going to look 
 for a home, and would very much like to find 
 rest. 
 
 " Tell me, my beauty, where shall he go for 
 it? 
 
 "He don't know ; the only rest he thinks he 
 will get will be when he is dead, and the sharks 
 have got him ; or when the land-crabs are 
 fighting over his carcass in some place like this. 
 Then he may have rest, but not before." 
 
 All the time I thought like this the bird 
 never left, but sailed round and round in rings, 
 squawking, as though he was answering me ; 
 then, at last, he flew away, right over the trees, 
 and I saw him no more. 
 
 By-and-by the sea breeze stopped, and the 
 night wind from off the land began to talk to 
 me in whispers, as it rustled through the thick 
 hanging leaves of the cocoanut trees, high over- 
 head, and passing on, gently broke the smooth 
 blue water of the lagoon into tiny, tiny little 
 waves ; and I sat still, watching all this, scarcely 
 
STARRY CONVERSATION. iij 
 
 thinking of anything — it was so nice, cool, and 
 quiet. 
 
 Then the sun, all fiery red, blazing like any- 
 thing, touched the edge of the bright blue 
 water, and for a minute or two everything 
 turned to his own blood-red colour, — the sky, 
 the water, the reef, the trees, everything was 
 all the same, — until at last, with a sudden dive, 
 he was gone for the day. 
 
 As the light went the waters all turned black ; 
 the sky kept on changing colour, until it was 
 almost as dark as the sea, and the stars, coming 
 out one by one, looked, shining down upon me, 
 just as if they wanted to say : " Good-evening, 
 Bruce ! we begin our work together." 
 
 It got darker and darker, and soon so dark 
 that I lost sight of, first the reef, then the ship, 
 and at last the very rocks in front of me, and 
 still I sat waiting for the boss. 
 
 Presently I heard the sound of a boat, row- 
 ing from the direction I knew the schooner was, 
 and, going down to the edge of the water, saw 
 one coming towards shore. 
 
 " Who the devil is that ? " I thought ; " it's 
 all over with the game for this night, and just 
 won't the old man be in a rage ! 
 
 I 
 
114 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " I don't like this at all ; he will think I've let 
 on about the steal, and go for me. 
 
 " He said that if he found any bad men with 
 me when he came back he would shoot me 
 first, so I'm off." 
 
 I was just about to run away, when the man 
 in the boat sung out ; and, by Jove ! it was the 
 boss himself. 
 
 " Come along, Bruce ; look sharp ! And then 
 looking hard at me, he said: " What the devil is 
 the matter with you ? " 
 
 I answered in astonishment: " But how did 
 you get on board that schooner ? " 
 
 He looked angry, and answered sharp : 
 " Mind your own business ! You seem to have 
 forgotten what I told you about asking impudent 
 questions. Jump in at once, or I shall get 
 annoyed." 
 
 I got in, took the oars, and rowed off to the 
 schooner, when we tripped anchor, loosed sails, 
 and the fine, strong land breeze soon carried us 
 in safety through the reef to the open sea. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Working the schooner. — Skipper excited. — A playful knock. 
 — Whales all round. — Nearly swamped. — Old whaler's 
 agony. — Lesson in fishing. — Ten thousand pounds 
 wasted. — Illuminated sea. — Sprays and fountains of 
 fire.— "Why didn't I steal a bigger ship?" — Black 
 clouds ahead. — "That's land, Bruce." — The creeping 
 dawn. — Dancing natives. — A bad beach-comber. — 
 Getting up a fight. — Discreet retreat. — Confidential 
 moments. — Signs of a storm. — The boss and the 
 water. — Moaning of the coming tempest. 
 
 Well, sir ; it's no use to bother you with 
 how we sailed along, day after day, just in the 
 same old way. 
 
 The day went, and the night came ; the sun 
 would get up all pink and lovely, with every 
 sort of nice promise, and would go down in 
 frowns of fiery red and yellow ; the stars would 
 burst out to help us see, and sometimes the 
 moon would shine brightly, and keep us com- 
 pany in our long watch. 
 
 We took it turn and turn about to steer the 
 
ii6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 ship, but all the time I couldn't help seeing that 
 the boss kept a sharp eye on me. 
 
 Sometimes we would have a nice strong 
 breeze, and travel on it beautifully ; at other 
 times — once for two days and a night — we had 
 no wind at all, the sea was as smooth as glass, 
 and the ship did nothing but turn round and 
 round, like a lump of meat on a roasting-jack ; 
 and it was like roasting, too, for us, for the sun 
 right above was beating down so hot that we 
 could scarcely breathe. 
 
 Then we would grumble like fun, and the 
 boss would find fault with everything, and I 
 knew better than to answer back; but as soon as 
 the wind came up, everything would get right 
 again : he would then smile like an angel, and 
 perhaps bring out the grog. 
 
 One day, during my watch below, I was 
 roused up by an awful row on deck, and heard 
 my chum cursing and swearing like anything, 
 and stamping his feet on the deck, until I 
 thought he had gone mad. 
 
 Above all this, I heard such a snorting, 
 grunting row, as if all the pigs in the world were 
 talking together, and blowing their noses, and 
 now and then I could hear the tumble of water 
 
A FISHY APPARITION. 117 
 
 rattling down, for all the world like washing 
 down the decks on board that Yankee man-of- 
 war with the fire engine. 
 
 Such a shindy as there was I never heard 
 before : there was swearing, dancing, snorting, 
 grunting, and water splashing about, all jumbled 
 up together. 
 
 All this so puzzled me that I thought I 
 would stop where I was; but I got so curious at 
 last that I popped up my head through the 
 hatchway ; and the moment I did that, before I 
 could look round, a big thump on the side nearly 
 knocked the schooner out of the water, and 
 sent the boss, who was shouting and dancing 
 about like Old Nick, flat on his back, and at the 
 same time, with the noise of a hurricane, a big 
 fountain of water spouted right up into the air, 
 and fell back with a thundering smash on the 
 deck, nearly washing him overboard. 
 
 Then, quite suddenly, to my horror, there 
 came out of the sea, close alongside, an enor- 
 mous great fish tail, higher, much higher, than 
 our mast, with fins on it bigger than the main- 
 sail. 
 
 It stopped there aloft, almost over the ship, 
 shaking and quivering in the air, and then slap 
 
ii8 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH 
 
 it came down, with such a bang that, with a row 
 like the report of a cannon, the water flew over 
 the little craft like a wave, and nearly swamped 
 us. 
 
 I thought the last day was come, and dived 
 down below again, but the boss, all wet through 
 and swearing, sung out : " Come here, Bruce, you 
 nigger! I'll teach you something! Come up ! 
 d — mn you! and look!" And I dursn't refuse, 
 for I thought he was mad. 
 
 Crawling up, and holding on to the mast 
 alongside of him, I asked him what was the 
 row. 
 
 " Look there, you black scoundrel !" said he, 
 jumping about as mad as he well could be in so 
 small a craft ; " there's ten thousand pounds and 
 more swimming about, and I've only this cussed 
 little hooker, with no tackle and nothing ! Just 
 like my luck, Bruce ! Those are whales ; and if 
 I only had a proper ship, I'd make my fortune 
 and yours before dark. 
 
 "Oh! ain't I just unfortunate! I'm an old 
 whaler, and can't bear to see all this waste." 
 
 He then sat down, and, by the holy poker ! 
 began crying like a child. 
 
 I said nothing, for I was main frightened, 
 
MAMMOTHS AT PLAY. 119 
 
 both of him and the rumpus going on in the 
 water close alongside. 
 
 On both sides, over the bows, under the 
 stern, all round, was hundreds and hundreds of 
 those great black devils, sliding and slipping all 
 over the place, and tearing up the big, green, 
 smooth swells into froth. 
 
 They seemed to be enjoying themselves im- 
 mensely, rolling over one another in great 
 sport, and, as I thought, playing with the ship, 
 which they took to be one of themselves. 
 
 There they were all round, throwing up their 
 fountains high into the air with tremendous 
 blowing roars. 
 
 Then, just as if they had told one another, at 
 the same moment, up would go their tails, high 
 out of the water, and down they would slip 
 slowly out of sight, leaving the smooth sea as 
 if there had been no disturbance at all. 
 
 I thought first time that they had gone for 
 good ; but no ! in about a couple of minutes up 
 would come their great, black, shiny backs, and 
 then they would begin once more, surging, roll- 
 ing, frothing, and throwing up their spouts of 
 water just as they pleased. 
 
 They stopped with the ship, sporting like this. 
 
I20 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 all day long; and when it got dark, the water all 
 round was alight with their splashings. 
 
 Their spoutings looked like great sprays of 
 fire, and as they darted, in their games, through 
 the still water, the lines of dull light they made 
 in their course crossed and crossed again, over 
 and under each other, till it seemed that the 
 ship was entangled in a net of flames. 
 
 At last the blowing and snorting stopped, the 
 splashing was heard no more, the fiery net sank 
 out of sight in the black waste of waters, and 
 all became very dark and quiet. 
 
 Next morning, before the sun was up, we saw 
 the sky in the east crowded with lovely little 
 sparks of pink fire, floating light, on silvery 
 feathers of mist, and pointing right straight 
 towards us, against the ugly grey of the first 
 dawn. 
 
 These, we knew, were clouds, coming up from 
 far away, which had caught the sun's light before 
 he showed above the line of the dark waters. 
 
 We knew, by them, that we should have wind 
 soon ; and as the day grew, up it came, and sent 
 us along nicely. 
 
 The boss was all right as soon as those 
 blessed whales left, but all the same, he was very, 
 
SHARKS AND FLYING FISH. 
 
 very sorry that he did not steal a bigger ship to 
 hunt them in. 
 
 We had now been out so long that the water 
 began to run short, and every day we very 
 anxiously looked out for land, but none hove 
 in sight. 
 
 We sailed on and on like this, day after day, 
 seeing nothing but a shark or two, and shoals of 
 flying fish, skimming like swallows over and 
 round, and in the hollows of the big banks of 
 water, as they rolled and heaved smoothly on 
 their way to Lord knows where. 
 
 Many flying fish made big mistakes in the 
 daytime, and flew on board of us, and at times 
 whole shoals would jump right over us from 
 side to side. 
 
 At night we got lots of them by hanging a 
 light in front of the mainsail. This attracted them 
 to jump at it, hit the sail, and fall on deck. And 
 very good tucker they were, too, — much better 
 than the salt horse we had. 
 
 One morning, as I was steering, I saw a sort 
 of black cloud in the sky, far away on the port 
 bow, but I took no particular notice of it, and 
 went on without thinking, and soon after it 
 passed our beam we began leaving it behind. 
 
122 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 About this time the boss tumbled up to 
 take his watch, and before handHng the tiller 
 he took a good look all round. 
 
 When he saw the thing I thought was a 
 cloud, he stopped quite still, shaded his eyes 
 with his hands, and looked very hard at it. 
 
 Presently he turned to me, and, pointing at 
 it, said, " See that ? " " Yes," said I ; " I've seen 
 it all this blessed morning." " Well," he re- 
 turned, with a sneer, " you may be a very good 
 
 man, but, all the same, you're a d d fool ! 
 
 That's land, Bruce ! Put her about, you cursed 
 nigger ! We will go and have a look in there 
 for water, and if it is all right, we'll stop a 
 spell, for I don't know where we are." 
 
 We turned the ship round at once, and, al- 
 though we travelled fast, the land grew out of 
 the water very, very slowly, till darkness over- 
 took us, when we shortened sail, to wait till 
 morning, drifting about anyhow. 
 
 When the day began to break, we looked 
 out for land, and as we did we saw the sun first 
 catch the green tree-tops on the tall mountain 
 with his bright light, till they sparkled like 
 emeralds. 
 
 Then a glorious belt of his golden rays, 
 
MISSING THE LAND. 123 
 
 thrown against the hillside, crept slowly, very 
 slowly, as he rose, down, down, down, till it met 
 the water rippling on the beach, when he burst 
 suddenly up through the eastern ocean, and in 
 a second everything was laughing and joyful 
 that another day had began ; and as the wind 
 came up with him, we set sail, and stood in 
 quite close. 
 
 It was an island, with no reef at all, but 
 stood straight out of the water, with little coral 
 points and black rocks poking out every here 
 and there, making between them nice comfort- 
 able little bays, embracing pretty white shelly 
 beaches, deeply set in their arms. 
 
 Behind, inland, rose a great hill, looking as 
 if it was made of nothing but trees of all kinds 
 and colours. 
 
 We went straight for the biggest bay, right 
 ahead of us, and, as we came near, crowds of 
 natives came down to the beach, screeching and 
 dancing like fun. 
 
 The nearer we got the more they jumped 
 and yelled, moving round and round a small 
 mob of men carrying something stuck on poles, 
 and all the time swinging their clubs and spears 
 most furiously. 
 
124 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 In the middle of all the rumpus was a man 
 with a long beard, dressed all the same as the 
 natives, and almost as dark. 
 
 At first we didn't take any particular notice 
 of him, but when we saw that he carried a gun 
 we knew he was a white man. 
 
 Putting a stop to the row for a minute, he 
 came to the edge of the water, and made us 
 signs to go away. 
 
 We showed that we were thirsty, and 
 wanted water ; but it was no use, for he again 
 waved us away with his gun, and pointed to the 
 things on poles, which we now saw were white 
 men's heads. 
 
 Stopping the ' way of the boat, I looked 
 round, and there I saw what I did on the first 
 island I came to in the Pacific, for, standing 
 out against the silvery green leaves of the 
 bananas, were the same sort of black posts, 
 which showed that some labour ship had been 
 up to its devilish work ; and I was glad to see, 
 when I looked at those heads, that some qf 
 them had met with the punishment they de- 
 served. 
 
 They no doubt had tried to play the old 
 game, but these chaps had got a white man 
 
A FIERY WELCOME. 125 
 
 living with them, and then blackbirding had 
 gone wrong. 
 
 We tried for a long time to talk to the fel- 
 low, till at last he lost his temper, and let fly at 
 us ; at which the boss jumped below for his 
 gun, and, golly ! didn't he make the brown 
 devils jump about ! 
 
 The white man then shouted out some- 
 thing, and away they went to launch their 
 canoes. 
 
 " Too many of the cusses ! " said the boss 
 quietly, as he fired another shot right into the 
 thick of them. " Set sail at once, Bruce, and 
 look sharp, or, by golly ! they will have us for 
 breakfast, and we shall look as pretty as those 
 chaps on sticks. Here they come ! Put her 
 along, Bruce, or it's all over with us." 
 
 My word ! I wasn't long getting the schooner 
 before the wind ; and off we shot, but only just 
 in time — in another minute they would have 
 been on top of us. 
 
 All the time the boss was firing away like 
 blazes ; but the savages didn't care a bit about 
 that, for they had a white man of their own, 
 who was firing too, and they would follow him 
 to the devil. 
 
126 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 By-and-by we got well away, when the boss 
 turned round and said : " There, Bruce ! You 
 see the harm those cussed blackbirders do in 
 the islands. 
 
 " They come down from all round, just any- 
 how. Steal the men. If they won't go quietly, 
 they kill them ; and when two peaceful, honest 
 traders, like you and me, want a little water, we 
 not only don't get it, but have to fight for our 
 lives. 
 
 " That blackbirding ought to be put a stop to ; 
 it isn't Christian ! But, I say, Bruce, weren't 
 those fellows fools not to make friends till they 
 got us on shore ! " 
 
 This way the boss went on talking, just as 
 though he was the mildest man in the whole 
 world, which I knew he wasn't. 
 
 All that day he was very excited over his 
 shooting and killing, and he drank no end of 
 grog, " to save the water," he told me. 
 
 At the same time he didn't give me much. 
 " He was afraid," he said, " that it would do a 
 good man like me harm." And the more he 
 drank the more he yarned, and told me all 
 sorts of stories of what he had done in the is- 
 lands before he met me ; and if only a little part 
 
THE SUN OR THE RUM. 127 
 
 of it was true, he wasn't one bit better than the 
 skipper of that Callao- Peruvian. 
 
 At last he went to sleep down below, but, 
 full as he was, he took gun, pistol, and grog 
 with him, and locked himself in. 
 
 We had a fine, steady wind all night, so I let 
 the schooner go just in the way she could take 
 it easiest, until the boss could tell me the course 
 to make. 
 
 The first thing in the morning up he came, 
 and said at once : " What did I tell you last 
 night, before I turned in ? " 
 
 " Nothing at all," I answered, "but damning 
 that beach-comber [for kicking up that row on 
 the island." 
 
 " Quite sure ? " 
 
 " Yes, main sure ; but I think the sun was just 
 a little bit too strong last night." 
 
 " No, Bruce, not the sun, but the rum. I 
 know all about that this morning; but it's all the 
 fault of that mean white over there. What did 
 he want to shoot at me for ? Curse him ! I'll 
 be even with him before long. I always get 
 square with my friends before I have done with 
 them, and he is one of them now. Under- 
 stand ? 
 
128 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " But, I say, Bruce, didn't I talk about 
 getting- square with people last night ? I some- 
 times do when I take a drop too much." 
 
 Now, that's just what he did talk most about, 
 and pretty horribly too. 
 
 His "getting square" meant cutting throats; 
 and if he didn't lie, it would have taken a big 
 ship to carry all the people he'd " squared " up 
 to date. 
 
 Anyhow, I didn't want him to square me that 
 way, and just then he looked in the humour to 
 do it, so I said : " How can I remember all you 
 said last night ? You gave me such a lot of 
 grog that I was quite drunk long before you 
 went below." 
 
 He laughed like fun at that, but suddenly 
 stopped, and said quite seriously : " Perhaps it's 
 all the better for you that you were tight, and 
 don't remember all that I said, — if I said any- 
 thing, — as I don't allow anybody to meddle 
 with my private affairs without a fight; it 
 ain't business. But how did the ship go in 
 the night .? " 
 
 I saw, like lightning, that he was trying to 
 catch me, so I told another lie, and answered : 
 " I don't know anything ; I tumbled down and 
 
GOOD MEN DON'T DRINK. 129 
 
 went to sleep there, and only woke up a little 
 before you came on deck." 
 
 " Well, old darkle, that's all right ; but it's 
 lucky for us the wind took us to sea, instead of 
 back again to that island. If it had, our heads 
 would have been walking about without their 
 bodies by this time, in the middle of those other 
 pretty chaps. 
 
 " But, Bruce, don't you think it's very wrong 
 for a good man like you to drink too much, and 
 risk the safety of the ship ? 
 
 " I really think that, as skipper, I ought to 
 take serious notice of it, and stop your wages, 
 or something. But, there, you haven't got any 
 to stop just yet, and won't have, if the cargo 
 don't pay expenses ; but we'll talk about that 
 in Fiji. 
 
 " You see, old man, how great the responsi- 
 bilities of the skipper are ; and at present they 
 weigh so heavy on me that I scarcely know 
 what to do in your case. 
 
 " I like you very well, but, at the same time, 
 
 I must do justice to the owners, whoever they 
 
 are, as an honest skipper should ; but I'll think 
 
 the matter over in the course of the day." 
 
 I never quite knew whether that man was 
 
 K 
 
I30 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 joking or not, so I said nothing, and he left off 
 his sneering, set the course, and took the helm. 
 
 On we went for two more days, going south 
 the whole time, till our water got so very low 
 tliat we had to allowance ourselves to one little 
 panikin apiece a day. 
 
 At the end of the third day, the wind fell 
 altogether again, and there we were left swing- 
 ing about, twisting round and round, rolling and 
 groaning, with the sail flapping fit to tear the 
 mast out of her, on the tops and down in the 
 hollows of the big black swells, rolling south 
 like moving mountains, awful big, but quite 
 smooth. 
 
 Although it was night, it was frightfully hot ; 
 the moon was shining bright, but quite low 
 down, so that we only saw her when we 
 climbed up to the top of the waves. 
 
 There, just for a moment, we caught a full 
 sight of her, skipping and jumping to us in 
 yellow rays over the dark lumps of water, 
 heaving and throbbing as far as we could see. 
 
 Then down we would plunge into the depths 
 below, between the two immense moving walls, 
 almost in the dark ; but above us, against the 
 black sky, we could see the light shooting right 
 
BIG BLOW NORTH. 131 
 
 across the watery valley, from the top of one 
 swell to the other, throwing a silvery bar be- 
 tween them. 
 
 Presently, as the wave passed beneath us, up 
 we would shoot, twisting and twirling round as 
 we climbed the height, and bursting through 
 into the upper air, once more the deck was 
 flooded with light ; again and again we swung 
 up and down like this, until I fell asleep, and 
 remember no more till morning. 
 
 At daylight the boss woke me up, when I 
 found the sea had gone down considerably, 
 but still there was no wind. 
 
 The sun got up, but not in his usual peaceful 
 mood ; he was a bad, hazy, red, misty colour, 
 and altogether looked very angry. 
 
 "There must have been a big blow some- 
 where north," said the boss, " to kick up all 
 that rumpus of a swell last night, and I don't at 
 all like the look of that beastly sunrise. We 
 are going to have some bad weather, I'm afraid. 
 Wish I had a barometer, then I could tell. 
 What a careless chap that fellow was who hired 
 this boat from me not to carry one ! I wouldn't 
 let such a chap as that sail any craft of mine. 
 However, I don't like the look of things, so let 
 
132 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 US make all snug for a blow. It will come, I'm 
 sure ; and when it does, it's precious hot in these 
 parts, I can tell you." 
 
 We then set to work making everything fast, 
 saw the ropes all clear for letting go, and nailed 
 a large piece of tarpaulin over the hatch, until 
 there was no hole for the water to get down but 
 the small well in which we stood to steer, and 
 that we so arranged that we could close it when 
 necessary. 
 
 The last thing the boss did before battening 
 down was to empty all the water that was left 
 in the cask into a big bottle, which he took 
 down aft and fastened up in his locker. 
 
 I didn't like that arrangement, so I said, 
 " What are you doing that for ? " 
 
 He answered, " I think I told you to mind 
 your own business. I shan't tell you much 
 more." 
 
 I got desperate, and called out, " That is my 
 business ; the water is as much mine as yours." 
 
 " No, it ain't," said he. " The water is all 
 mine ; anyhow, I've got it, and mean to keep it. 
 There's not enough for two, and I think I can 
 do with it all." 
 
 " But what am. I to do ?" I cried. 
 
MY CHRISTIAN FRIEND. 133 
 
 " Go without, Bruce, like many better men 
 than you have done before. If you want a 
 drink, there's plenty all round you ; try that, 
 but you don't get any of mine. You'll get used 
 to the taste in time. I don't like it myself, and 
 that's why I want the other. And perhaps, 
 Bruce, we will both be full of it before this 
 time to-morrow — rather too full for our healths. 
 We perhaps will be full of it both inside and 
 out, but not on the top of it. No, Bruce, we 
 may be a few fathoms down, dining with the 
 sharks ; but we shan't enjoy ourselves much, for 
 we won't know anything about it ; but we will 
 be quiet enough ; and, my Christian friend, let 
 me tell you it is not right to get excited 
 over anything, and least of all over any danger. 
 You're good now, ain't you ? Of course you 
 are ! Then you can afford to go off the hooks 
 first. You're pretty safe, don't you see ; but I 
 require a little more time to repent. I don't feel 
 at all safe just now, and that's why I took the 
 water all to myself. And now, Bruce, no more 
 fooling! You see this pistol I've got in my 
 hand. Well, if you try to best me, I'll blow 
 your brains out ; but I promise you this, that if 
 we weather the storm coming up, you shall have 
 
134 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 your fair share of the water — that is, if we sight 
 land ; but if we don't, then I'm sorry for you ! 
 I tell you, like a plain-speaking man, that I 
 don't intend to die if by killing you I can live ; 
 and whether you get wiped out by shooting, 
 or die of thirst, I don't care. I mean to live, 
 if I have to eat you, boots and all. Under- 
 stand ? " 
 
 I thought I did, but said no more, and sat 
 down waiting for the wind to come up. 
 
 After all the talk the boss became more 
 pleasant, and spoke to me quite lively and nice, 
 just as if he had never thought of such a thing 
 as blowing my poor brains out. 
 
 Soon the sun went down in a great blaze of 
 dirty red and yellow, looking as angry as he 
 could, and as he dropped below the water he 
 seemed to throw his great arms about through 
 the clouds, and snatch hold of all the restless 
 waves, and shake them up to make them as 
 angry as himself, and then, in a sort of blood- 
 red mist, he sunk right out of sight, and left us 
 alone in the darkness. 
 
 The stars presently came out, and they, too, 
 were not at all promising, but looked weary and 
 worn out, as if they had suffered and were 
 
MOANING OF THE STORM. 135 
 
 sorry for something, and each one seemed 
 ragged with a sort of misty fringe. 
 
 As we lay on the deck watching them, I 
 thought I heard a dull moaning going on all 
 round, but far off, and I told the skipper, who 
 said that that sort of noise is nearly always 
 heard before a big storm in these parts. 
 
 Presently little, little clouds began to cross 
 the stars high up, getting lower and lower, till 
 at last the wind r/eached us on the water. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Beginning of the gale. — Tangible darkness. — Getting 
 ready. — Floating anchor. — Lightning and Thunder. — 
 Bad look-out to windward. — Terrible first wave. — 
 Pinioned in the wreckage. — Complete sweep. — Up- 
 side-down sea. — Graveyard light. — Driving out misery. 
 — Spiteful soliloquies. — A derelict barque. — Solid reef 
 opening. — A terrible rough landing. 
 
 The curious noise kept on rising and falling : 
 one moment it would sound quite loud and 
 close, the next it would be far away, almost 
 dying off altogether. 
 
 The ship seemed to know there was some- 
 thing nasty about to happen, for she creaked 
 and groaned as though alive, as she swung up 
 and down the steep sides of the big black 
 lumps of the troubled waters. 
 
 By-and-by stronger puffs of wind began to 
 flap the sail, but only to die away almost as soon 
 as they came up ; and we recognised in them 
 the messengers of the coming storm. 
 
 Then came, flying high against the stars, 
 
PUFFS AND BLOWS. 137 
 
 bigger and more angry clouds, while away to 
 the north-west, although it was not near day- 
 break, the sky looked a dirty yellow, even in 
 the middle of the black night so thick all round. 
 
 "We're in for it now, Bruce, and no error ! " 
 said the boss. " About midday to-morrow we 
 shall be fighting for our lives, and shall have all 
 we can do to get through, I'm sure." 
 
 The puffs then came up longer and stronger 
 than ever, increasing every moment, until they 
 settled down into a steady breeze, and we 
 loosed sail and ran before it, but all was closely 
 reefed down. 
 
 The stars next were completely put out of 
 sight by the black, heavy clouds rolling up, and 
 the wind began to get wilder every moment. 
 
 I don't think I ever saw it so dark before as 
 it was when the stars went out ; " the inside of a 
 Solomon islander " wasn't a circumstance to it. 
 
 I felt as though I could take handfuls of 
 darkness and throw them about ; the only break 
 was that yellow, rusty, wicked light away to 
 windward ; but even that appeared to be only 
 another sort of black. 
 
 When the day broke, we could see no sun as 
 he came up behind the big, dusty, thick clouds 
 
138 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 which covered the sky all over, and nothing 
 was to be seen from one end to the other of 
 our watery world but these dirty, threatening 
 messengers of wrath, as, from the north-west, 
 whence the wind was coming, they were roll- 
 ing up thicker and blacker than ever. 
 
 The sea was getting more uncomfortable all 
 the time, for the wind, blowing across the swell, 
 began to throw it up into lumps and break the 
 long, regular lines of moving waves, no longer 
 smooth and glassy. 
 
 Now and then, through a rent in the clouds, 
 the sun would throw a great slanting path of 
 light across the water, and appeared as if he 
 would like to come out and stop all the dismal 
 things going on below ; and then he seemed to 
 change his mind, as he suddenly would draw 
 back, just as if he was ashamed to be seen in 
 such a dirty-looking rumpus. 
 
 " It's no good going on like this," said the 
 boss. "We had better round up while we can, 
 and take it bows on, if it must come ; " so we 
 brought the schooner up, head to wind, and set 
 to making all things as snug as possible. 
 
 We then closely furled the sails, putting 
 preventer gaskets round them all, but left a little 
 
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. 139 
 
 bit of the mainsail showing, flattened and guyed 
 out quite stiff, to act the same as the tail of 
 a weathercock, and keep her pointing to the 
 wind. 
 
 Then we lashed together all the lumber we 
 could find — casks, spars, oars, anything that 
 would float — which we chucked overboard, bent 
 on to three of our strongest ropes, as a floating 
 anchor ; and after lashing the tiller amidships, 
 we sat down to wait for what was to come. 
 
 For a long time we drifted slowly before the 
 strong breeze, which did not increase so fast 
 as we thought it would, but the sea from it, 
 blowing across, became more troublesome every 
 minute. 
 
 The heavy clouds still kept coming up 
 blacker and blacker, till they closed in all 
 round, and made it pretty nearly dark ; and still 
 the storm didn't break, till at last we began to 
 think it wouldn't come at all; but there we 
 were mistaken. 
 
 Lightning then began to play about all 
 round, and loud thunder was heard growling 
 and grumbling away out of sight, while heavy 
 rain fell splashing on the deck with a loud 
 rattle. 
 
HO THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Suddenly the wind dropped entirely, and all 
 was as still as the grave for a little while. I 
 noticed the boss kept his eyes fixed to wind- 
 ward, where the lightning was flashing out 
 brightly and the thunder rolling terribly ; still, he 
 kept very calm, but I saw that he was desperate 
 also, as he made a line fast round his arm, to 
 hold on to when the row began. 
 
 Presently he sung out, " By the Holy ! here 
 she comes! Hold on, Bruce! Hold on for 
 your life ! We shall be all right if we get over 
 the first wave." 
 
 I was too confused and scared to take much 
 notice then, but looking to windward I saw, 
 right away on the sky line, the heavy black 
 clouds torn to bits, just as though they had been 
 burst with gunpowder, and from behind them 
 big spouts of froth, white as snow, jumped up 
 from the world below. 
 
 They then formed into a long line stretched 
 across the whole sea, and rushed at an awful 
 pace right towards us as hard as they could, 
 leaping over and driving before them the big 
 swells like feathers. 
 
 All the great clouds, jammed together, and 
 crammed with lighting and thunder, came so low 
 
ONSLAUGHT OF THE HURRICANE. 141 
 
 that they appeared to touch the mast as they 
 burst right into us. 
 
 The blinding flashes played all round and 
 through us ; the thunder crashed and roared, 
 till my head felt crushed with the row ; and the 
 rain and hail came down in thick sheets as cold 
 as ice, till the deck ran like a river, and the 
 waist of the ship was nearly filled up. 
 
 All this happened with little or no wind 
 near us, but it was fast coming up, and soon 
 the salt spray, driven from off the tops of the 
 waves, came flying over ; and then we saw, 
 roaring towards us, a great wave of water, 
 higher than our mast, with the hurricane 
 howling and raging behind it. 
 
 I had just time to throw myself flat on the 
 deck, and hold on to a ringbolt like grim death, 
 when it was on the top of us, and the little ship 
 seemed to stand up on end, and then, with a 
 great jerk, jump straight into the sky. 
 
 The last thing that I remember was seeing 
 an enormous curl of angry water bending over 
 us from high up in the air, and then an awful 
 crashing, smashing row as it came down on the 
 deck, shaking the little craft all over, just like 
 breaking up. 
 
142 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 I don't know at all how we afot through with 
 that contract, for the tumbling water knocked 
 all the life out of me. 
 
 When I came to, I was pinned down to the 
 deck with something across my back and legs, 
 which wouldn't let me get up. 
 
 I called out for the boss, but got no answer ; 
 then I tried to turn round, but I couldn't — my 
 bonds held me so fast to the deck. 
 
 "What the deuce is the meaning of this ?" I 
 said to myself. " I think that cursed fellow has 
 been and tied me up while I was silly," and I 
 sung out again louder than ever, but heard 
 ' nothing but the howling and shrieking of the 
 wind tearing through the ship, and the hissing 
 and spitting of the water as it was being driven 
 in spouts and fountains all over us. 
 
 Every now and then a big green sea would 
 break right on board, and go very near drown- 
 ing me, as I lay tied down on my face, and only 
 just able to move my head a little. 
 
 The jerks and heaves of the ship were awful, 
 as she jumped, with the wind, right out of the 
 water, from one wave to another ; and then in 
 the deep hollows, where the wind couldn't get 
 hold of her, she would pull up short, shiver all 
 
SAVED BY A MIRACLE. 143 
 
 through, then roll till she got near to going 
 right over. 
 
 How I did curse that mate of mine ! for I 
 thought it was he who had made me fast, and 
 was perhaps down in the cabin drinking, or 
 sitting quietly aft, looking at me and enjoying 
 the sight. 
 
 At last I thought that it was strange that he 
 hadn't fixed my hands at the same time, and 
 I began to feel for the ropes that held me, and 
 soon discovered what was the matter. 
 
 Nobody had tied me up at all, but the Lord 
 in His mercy had saved my life by a miracle, 
 and but for the broken rigging tangling me up 
 with the stump of the mainmast, I certainly 
 should have been washed over with the boss 
 when we went through the first wave. 
 
 It was more than the crashing of the water 
 that I heard then : it was the smashing of the 
 masts out of the ship, and the tearing of the 
 bulwarks from her decks. 
 
 With my knife I soon cut myself loose, and 
 on my hands and knees crawled aft towards the 
 stern, holding on to anything till I got to the 
 steering place, where, with a line, I made myself 
 fast, for the ship was jumping about like the 
 
144 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 very devil, and the seas were pouring over her 
 so fast that I was afraid of going overboard. 
 
 Once more in my life I thought it was all up 
 with me, and I prayed to the Lord to save me 
 this time, and I thought He would, for why 
 should He stop me from going to the sharks 
 along with the poor boss if He wanted me to 
 die after all ? 
 
 As I sat there, all wet through, smashed up 
 and very sorrowful, I prayed as I never prayed 
 before. And it gave me strength to live on ; 
 all the devil went out of me, and I promised to 
 be really good if ever I got to shore again. 
 
 There are no words which can describe that 
 storm properly ; the poor little schooner was 
 frightfully knocked about. 
 
 No masts, no bowsprit, the bulwarks all torn 
 away — in fact, everything was wrecked. But, 
 thank God ! the tarpaulin over the hatch 
 stood all right — the boss knew well what he 
 was doing when he made me nail that on. 
 
 The sky was terribly wild, and the gale howled 
 and screeched as it tore the huge waves to shreds 
 and threw them high aloft in white foamy 
 showers. 
 
 The dismal, dirty, angry clouds were flying 
 
THE HOWLING WIND. 145" 
 
 quick as lightning across the sky, quite low 
 down, and twisted and curled themselves like 
 horrid flat serpents, crawling about to swallow 
 everything they should meet, and some of them, 
 blown to bits by the raging hurricane, hung 
 down their ragged streamers, almost sweeping 
 the boiling waters. 
 
 Sometimes on the top of a big sea, right in 
 the middle of its seething crest, the little ship 
 would twist round, almost broaching to, and then 
 all would have been over, but the floating anchor, 
 which, thank God ! still held fast, would pull her 
 bows up to the storm again, and then, head first, 
 down we would go with such a rush to the other 
 side as took away my breath and made me 
 shut my eyes through fright. It was just the 
 same feeling as coming down in a very big 
 swing. 
 
 At the bottom, with eyes shut and stopped 
 ears, so as not to see those enormous walls of 
 water with their great white moving crests, and 
 not to hear the terrific howling of the wind, 
 for a little time you could think you were in a 
 calm ; down there there was no wind at all, and 
 the water was quite smooth ; but that would 
 last for only one little minute. 
 
 L 
 
146 THE FIRST WHITE MAN Oh THE BEACH. 
 
 Presently the next wave would come along, 
 shove itself under the craft, and then the 
 wretched thing, shivering and shaking in every 
 plank, would climb the great hill-side till she 
 burst through the surf on the top, right in 
 the teeth of the gale, almost driven under for 
 good by the weight of the angry water fall- 
 ing on her like a lot of hissing devils trying 
 to tear plank from plank. 
 
 The sight of those raging seas was tremen- 
 dous and fearful ; the whole world was at war — 
 at least, all the world I saw — and the sky was so 
 disturbed and blown about that it looked like 
 the sea turned upside down, while below, as far 
 as the eye could reach, was nothing but foam 
 and flying spray, jumping and hurling them- 
 selves aloft from the immense screen seas. 
 
 The clouds, with their ragged bellies, hung 
 down very low, and the tormented spouts of 
 white sea-drift, torn from the crested swells by 
 the raging wind, appeared to fall in snow-wreaths 
 against them. 
 
 When it got dark, it was worse than ever. 
 I thought it bad enough when I could see to 
 get drowned, and the horror was doubled by 
 the murky darkness. 
 
GHOSTS AT SEA. 147 
 
 However, it was not quite dark, but much 
 more nasty, for wherever the water broke there 
 was a pale, dim, graveyard Hght — the Hght people 
 say that dead men like. 
 
 When the waves struck the ship and threw 
 up showers of spray all shining into the black 
 air, I could see in it some dead sailor's ghost 
 coming for me, and would shut my eyes in fright; 
 and when the drops fell flashing on me, I could 
 feel the dead man's hand trying to pull me off 
 to the depths below, where he had left his bones ; 
 while the wind, howling above, shouted out — 
 and I could hear the water say so too — " Come 
 along, Bruce ! Your time's up ! Your time's 
 up!" 
 
 Then I would open my eyes again to see the 
 whole ship, from stem to stern, burning dully 
 with this dreadful, ghostly, wet fire. 
 
 By-and-by I got quite done up— so far gone 
 that I fell asleep ; but not quite that, because for 
 a long time I felt every wave that tumbled on 
 board. They ran all over me, but I was too tired 
 to care, and thought that I might just as well 
 die as carry on any more at that rate. 
 
 I fell properly to sleep at last, and when I 
 woke, cold, wet, and miserable, it was broad 
 
148 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 daylight, and the force of the hurricane was 
 broken, but still it was blowing very hard. 
 
 The big, tumbling sea was going down fast, 
 and becoming more regular; the clouds had gone 
 back to their proper places and colours, and the 
 sun shone out clear and warm, promising better 
 things to come. 
 
 The water still came on board, but not like 
 it did the day before ; and, feeling weak, hungry, 
 and thirsty, I cast myself loose to look for some- 
 thing to eat and drink. 
 
 I crept carefully to the companion hatch, hold- 
 ing on like grim death, and opening it, I got 
 quickly through, just in time to close it against 
 a big lump of green sea that swept over the 
 whole length of the craft. 
 
 Looking round, in the boss's locker I found 
 the jar of water he talked so cruelly to me 
 about, but first I drove the misery out of me 
 with a long pull at the grog bottle. 
 
 That warmed me up and gave me strength 
 and life. I mixed some more, and whilst drink- 
 ing it and eating some biscuit, I thought to 
 myself, "I think you've made a mistake, my 
 dear boss ; all this sweet water is for me — not 
 you. Thank you very much for taking all this 
 
TOASTING A DEAD MAN. 149 
 
 care of it for me, likewise the grog. I can 
 assure you that it comes in very nicely just 
 now. I shall drink all this nice water, my dear 
 old chap, because I know that if you come back 
 from outside, you won't want any, as you have, 
 no doubt, got used to the other sort by this 
 time ; but when you go to the devil, you'll get 
 none at all. Here's your very good health 
 in this nice, cool, sweet water you took so much 
 care of, all for me. D — mn you ! " 
 
 I talked to myself like that for some time, 
 and then laid down on the floor and went to 
 sleep. 
 
 Before the sun went down, I was up on deck 
 again, and found everything much calmer, but 
 still there was a strong gale blowing, and a 
 heavy sea running. 
 
 I could do no good there, so I determined to 
 take shelter below; but before I went down, I 
 took a good look round, and there, right away 
 to the west, I saw the three masts of a ship. 
 
 Each time the waves threw me aloft I saw 
 her, with all her topmasts gone, and bits of 
 canvas streaming out on the wind from her 
 lower stumps. 
 
 Sometimes she was broadside on, and other 
 
ISO THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 times her bow or stern would swing round and 
 look my way, and from that I knew it was not 
 all right on board of her. 
 
 I watched her until it got dark, and by that 
 time she was a long way down to leeward, for, 
 standing high out of the water, the wind caught 
 hold, and sent her along quicker than me. 
 
 When the night came, I went below ; but 
 before I turned in I drank the boss's health 
 again, and thanked him for the nice cool water 
 he so kindly left me. I knew he was only 
 joking when he said he wanted it all himself, 
 and that he would kill and eat me if he liked. 
 
 Perhaps he thought when he stepped out of 
 the ship and hid himself in that big wave, on 
 purpose to give me a chance at the water, that I 
 would go back for him ; but I was afraid I had 
 no time, being in a great hurry to get on shore ; 
 besides that, I had his own word that there was 
 not enough of the cool, nice water for two men, 
 so I was obliged to keep it all myself. In my 
 silliness I said, " Excuse me, Mr. Boss, I'm very 
 sorry, so good night. D — mn you ! " 
 
 I slept very well that night, and in the morn- 
 ing, at break of day, I was glad to see a lot of 
 birds sailing round and round the ship, which 
 
NEARING THE REEF. 151 
 
 told me that land was not very far off, and look- 
 ing over the stern, a long way off, I thought I 
 saw it. 
 
 Still, however, the sea and wind both kept 
 very high, but decreasing in force slowly, and 
 before the middle of the day I was sure what I 
 had seen in the morning was land, and, drifting 
 nearer and nearer, the current and wind set me 
 right on to it as it grew quite fast out of the 
 water. 
 
 By-and-by I spied a long white line of break- 
 ers between me and the high land far beyond 
 it, and, set in the middle, I saw a black spot, 
 which, at first, I took for an opening in the reef. 
 
 But what use was that to me, for I had no 
 masts, no sails, no anything to work the. boat ; 
 if the whole reef was openings, I could go no- 
 where but where the wind chose to take me. 
 
 I watched what I thought was the channel 
 entry for a long time, till at last I distinguished 
 against the sky two things like sticks, standing 
 on each side of it. 
 
 " Thank goodness ! " said I to myself ; " some 
 white men live hereabouts, and have put those 
 beacons up to mark the channel. Thank God ! 
 I'll soon be right now." 
 
152 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 On looking again, to my astonishment I saw 
 a big wave roll in and break right against it, and 
 said, " How the deuce can a wave break like that 
 against a hole ? It can't ; but there goes another, 
 and, by golly ! right over the sticks, too." 
 
 I found out then all about it, and my heart 
 sank when it was a wreck of a ship I had been 
 looking at, and thought it was, no doubt, the 
 remains of that one I had seen the day before, 
 twisting round and round helplessly. 
 
 Presently I got within a mile of the reef, and 
 saw the enormous seas rolling in one after the 
 other, pounding themselves to atoms on the 
 sharp coral rocks; and I could plainly hear the 
 growling and the thunder they made as they 
 tried again and again to smash their way to the 
 high land, lying bright and green in the sun- 
 light about five miles beyond. 
 
 When lifted up on a big wave, I could see 
 that all was smooth on the other side of the 
 foaming barrier of coral, and dotted all over the 
 calm lagoon were numerous sand-banks, and, 
 scattered here and there, small islands, with two 
 or three trees upon them. 
 
 Things began now to look very serious for 
 me, as every moment I got closer and closer to 
 
HURLED INTO SAFETY. 153 
 
 the seething, raging breakers, piling themselves 
 high, so horribly high ! as they met and 
 struggled with the waters of the last swell 
 bouncing back seawards. 
 
 As they came together, they would appear to 
 stop for a minute, and raising, in opposition, a 
 bigger white crest than ever, curl over like a 
 great claw, make a fast run in, and smash down 
 on the coral with a deafening roar, louder than 
 the loudest thunder. 
 
 Then up would jump the foaming water, 
 white as snow, high into the air, all hissing and 
 spitting; and while it hung quivering there, 
 floating like the lightest feathers, the shining sun 
 would give it a lovely fringing of all colours ; 
 then, in a moment, all would go down, to make 
 room for the next swell to do likewise. 
 
 All this was very nice to look at from the 
 inside, but it was quite another thing from my 
 point of view, with the certainty of having to 
 go through that boiling surf. 
 
 I quite lost my head looking at the billows 
 raging, and did nothing until I got quite close, 
 then I suddenly thought that the faster I went 
 the better chance I should have of being thrown 
 right clear of the rocks, so I ran to the bows to 
 
154 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 cut loose the floating anchor ; but before I could 
 finish the job an enormous roller took entire 
 charge of the craft. 
 
 Round and round we spun on the top of its 
 great curling crest, with big jerks and tugs ; the 
 ship appeared to be tearing to pieces, and every- 
 thing seemed to me to be falling down, jumping 
 up, and going all sorts of ways ; the sky and th^ 
 water, in my sight, were mixed up together, 
 with the sun dancing all around them. 
 
 The water poured all over me, shrieking and 
 snarling, as I held on for bare life to the stuinp 
 of the mast ; till at last we made a spring right 
 into the sky, and then down we came. 
 
 Everything crumbled away like dust beneath 
 me. I fancied I saw the whole world open and 
 let me through, and then I remember nothing 
 till I found myself stretched out on a little 
 sandy spot, thrown up by the storm, just inside 
 the reef, and lying half in the water ; and lucky 
 for me it was that I arrived head first. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Saved on a sand-bank. — Five miles from land. — Wreck to 
 the eastward. — Voyage of inspection. — Shepherded by 
 sharks. — The blackbirder again. — On deck in the 
 moonlight. — Awful sight. — Corpse of the one-eyed 
 skipper. — Sharks better company. — They wait for 
 me. — Devil about again. — Awkward visitors. — Taken 
 prisoner. — Back to .the wreck. — The skipper's head. — 
 A noisy crew. — Through the surf. — River scenery. — 
 Savages at home. — Unwittingly a cannibal. — Pile of 
 human heads. 
 
 I GOT up, feeling very bad from the shaking 
 I received on landing, and looked about for the 
 schooner, but not one little bit of her was to be 
 seen ; all was smashed up upon that cruel, sharp 
 reef, where the swells were still hammering as 
 hard as ever, and looking viciously at me ; but 
 it was no good then, for I was on the right side 
 of them this time. 
 
 About five or six miles to the south was the 
 mainland, looking like the end of some very 
 large island, with mountains, rising higher and 
 higher behind one another, as far as I could 
 see, covered all over with trees. 
 
IS6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Close down at the edge of the water I saw 
 lots of smoke going up in blue, curly columns, 
 standing out quite plain against the dark green 
 hills, and proclaiming the presence of some sort 
 of humankind. 
 
 Away down to the east was the wreck, which 
 I took for a hole in the reef on coming in ; it 
 was only about half a mile off, so I determined 
 to pay it a visit, if I could, for I was dying of 
 thirst, and perhaps I should find water there, 
 or some sort of means to get on shore. 
 
 When the tide went down, it left all the long 
 line of reef quite bare, so I swam off to the 
 rocks, from my little sandy island, and started 
 off, walking along the coral towards the ship 
 I wanted to see. 
 
 The big rollers still thundered on the outside 
 edge of the rocks, but they couldn't hurt me, 
 the water was too low ; but I could see how 
 lucky I was to have been cast ashore while it 
 was high tide : if I had come any other time, 
 there would have been no John King Bruce 
 left, for certain. 
 
 Going along, I kept close to the shore- 
 side of the reef, and saw a great many big 
 sharks in quite shallow water, watching me 
 
AN OLD FRIEND. 157 
 
 with their wicked little pig eyes, and slowly 
 cruising as fast as I travelled, evidently keep- 
 ing me company. 
 
 If I stopped, they stopped too, and when I 
 went on, the brutes followed me, as much as 
 to say : " We're waiting for you, old nigger ! 
 You'll perhaps make our closer acquaintance 
 before you get on shore. Anyway, we are in 
 no very particular hurry for you, as we have 
 just had a good feed from that wreck over there." 
 
 I got riled at all this attention, and threw 
 big stones at them. They didn't care a bit, but 
 followed me all the same. 
 
 As I neared the wreck, I felt there was 
 something about it that I appeared to know ; 
 and, by the holy poker ! when I got under the 
 stern I did know her. She was that Peruvian 
 blackbirder I ran away from a long time before ! 
 
 I almost danced with joy to think that she 
 had come to grief at last ; but, thinking a little, 
 I got frightened, and hid myself close alongside 
 the rudder, under the stern, for I thought that 
 awful one-eyed skipper might be on board with 
 a gun, and if he saw me, he was bound to put 
 a bullet through me. 
 
 I stopped there for some time, listening to 
 
158 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 hear if any one was moving about, but all was 
 quiet as the grave, and the only sound was the 
 water, which had filled her up at high tide, as 
 she came through the surf on the reef, pouring 
 slowly out of her, and splashing on the rocks 
 below. 
 
 At last I came out, and walked right round 
 her, but saw no big holes, which told me that 
 the water must have got into her from the deck, 
 through the seas washing on board ; but how 
 she got so high up on the reef, all comfortable, 
 when my little craft was smashed up altogether, 
 I never could make out. 
 
 Perhaps, when the storm came on, the crew 
 broke into the spirit-room, got drunk, and for- 
 got to put on the hatches, — a thing very likely, I 
 thought, with such a lot of rascals as there was 
 on board that ship. 
 
 I caught hold of a rope hanging over the 
 side, and climbed up on deck, when, just as I 
 thought, not one of the hatches were on, the 
 thick glass of the cuddy sky-lights was smashed 
 in, and the whole ship was full of water ; but, 
 Lord ! what a clean sweep of everything there 
 was. Everything was washed away ; there was 
 nothing at all left on deck. 
 
THE SKIPPER'S DEATH SCOWL. 159 
 
 The galley was gone, the wheel gone, — no 
 wonder I'd seen her twisting and turning round 
 the day before, — the bulwarks all smashed, not 
 a bit of the foremast and bowsprit to be seen, 
 and only the stumps of the main and mizen 
 masts standing. 
 
 I soon found the scuttle-butt, and, thank 
 goodness ! there was a lot of good water in it ; 
 and, after a long drink, feeling rather tired, I 
 picked out a soft plank aft, and went to sleep 
 under the shade of the only piece of the bul- 
 warks left. 
 
 When I woke up, it was night, but the moon 
 and stars were brightly shining ; the wind and 
 sea had both gone down, and all was nice and 
 quiet. 
 
 I got up and walked about, because I didn't 
 know what to do until daylight, and I went 
 right up into the bows, and, leaning over, lis- 
 tened to the drip of the water running out of 
 the vessel, and the sound of the waves — gentler 
 now — rubbing themselves, with a queer sort of 
 humming, dreary song, along the rough coral 
 rocks on the outside edge of the reef. 
 
 I stopped like this, listening, in the broad 
 moonlight, for a long time, and then I went 
 
i6o THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 aft, and, passing the main hatch, I saw that the 
 ship was still half full of water. 
 
 GoinPf on, I took a look down the broken 
 sky-light, and I thought I saw something shin- 
 ing floating about, so I went down on my 
 knees, to get a better look at it, and there I 
 saw, with a most devilish grin, mocking and 
 nodding at me, all green, and glistening with 
 dull, ghostly fire, looking straight in my eyes, 
 the dead face of that d— — d one-eyed skipper ! 
 
 The sight curled up my blood ; I felt my hair 
 rise up on end with horror, as I tried to get up 
 and run away ; but I couldn't while he glared at 
 me so hard, with his hellish stare, and kept my 
 face fixed close to his. 
 
 I tried to sing out, but it was no use — he 
 wouldn't let me ; and as he looked about 
 in the water — oh, so horribly ! — he seemed 
 to be telling me something that I couldn't 
 understand. 
 
 At last the swelling water turned his fearful 
 face a little way from me, his eye lost mine; 
 then up I sprung with a frightened shout, 
 jumped right off the ship on to the reef, and 
 though the water was up to my waist, I tore 
 along through it, sometimes running, sometimes 
 
FRIGHTENED TO DEATH. i6i 
 
 swimming, till I got to my little sand-bank, 
 where I tumbled down and fainted. 
 
 How I got through those sharks astonished 
 me, but I suppose I frightened the brutes with 
 my yells and splashings, for there was enough 
 water all along the way I came for them to 
 catch me, and the last part was swimming in 
 deep water to the island. 
 
 Anyhow, at the time I was so scared that I 
 much preferred to go along with the sharks to 
 stopping on board that cursed ship, for I was 
 afraid that more ghosts would come back and 
 look at me. 
 
 How long I stopped all of a heap on that 
 sand-bank I don't know, but when I came to 
 the sun was pouring down on me, blazing hot, 
 and I felt so bad and thirsty that it drove me 
 crazy again. 
 
 At last I could stand it no longer, and I 
 thought I would go back to the ship for 
 water. 
 
 I was not afraid then, for I knew that ghosts 
 didn't run about in daylight; but I wouldn't 
 have passed another night on board for all the 
 gold in the world. 
 
 Up I got, but one glance showed me that the 
 
 M 
 
i62 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 trip could not be done, for the tide was full up, 
 making it deep water all the way to the ship ; 
 and, further, it was impossible for me, in my 
 weakness, to swim it, even if the sharks would 
 have let me. 
 
 There they were — three of them — just on the 
 edge of my island, their ugly flat noses resting 
 on the sand, nearly out of the water, waiting for 
 me ; and a little way out in the deep, between 
 me and the wreck, their pointed grey fins were 
 cutting the smooth surface in all directions. 
 
 I began to talk to them, and said, just as 
 though they could hear me : " No, no, my 
 beauties ! Under the present circumstances, 
 the journey is not good enough for me. I 
 shall wait now until the reef is dry. It is no 
 use you inviting me to breakfast like this. 
 You've got too big a mouth for me, and too 
 many teeth ; and that's not fair. Oh, no ! 
 Presently I shall walk to that ship, and then 
 you can all come ashore, if you want to dine 
 with me." 
 
 The sun and the thirst, I think, now drove 
 me quite mad ; and as I sat close to the edge 
 of the bright, clear water, watching two of those 
 monstrous sharks, not more than three yards 
 
FISH DEMONS. 163 
 
 off, I thought that one was like that bosen's 
 mate I killed at Callao, and the other that chap 
 whose throat I cut on board the blackbirder 
 over there. 
 
 They both winked at me ; and, as they turned 
 over, they grinned, and showed their flashing, 
 cruel teeth, as sharp as razors. 
 
 As they did that, I thought I saw that one 
 had a great cut mark across the throat, and on 
 the other, right through the side, was a big, 
 bloody- red splash ; and then I was afraid the 
 devil was round about after me again. 
 
 While I sat watching these fish demons, they 
 kept winking at me, and I could think they 
 were saying : " Come along, Bruce ; you look 
 very hot, tired, and thirsty up there. Come 
 along : it's nice and cool here, and we never 
 get thirsty, but are always hungry." 
 
 Then they would wag their tails, and sort of 
 lick their chops, getting ready for me ; but I 
 wasn't quite so mad as to go to them just then ; 
 and, turning round, threw myself down on my 
 face, so as not to see them any more. 
 
 In a little time I took another look, but they 
 had gone, and I was glad, and thanked the 
 Lord that he had made me strong enough to 
 
1 64 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 fight the devil out, for I'm certain Old Nick 
 sent those sharks to tempt me. 
 
 Though the water had gone down consider- 
 ably, there was still too much for me to travel 
 safely to the ship with those fish friends of 
 mine cruising about somewhere near, so I laid 
 down, and went to sleep. 
 
 It appeared to me that I had but just closed 
 my eyes when I was certain I heard light foot- 
 steps rustling in the loose sand, and men's 
 voices talking very low. 
 
 I didn't raise my head, for I was afraid that 
 the devil had sent me some other horrid sight, 
 to drive all the sense left right out of me. 
 
 The talking went on like small humming, 
 quite close, and then stopped, when all was 
 quiet as the grave, and nothing was heard but 
 the gentle whispering of the water lapping 
 against the sand. 
 
 I didn't dare lift my head, all the same, and 
 was thinking of what I should do, when suddenly 
 there came a terrific yell, as if all the devils 
 from the regions below were loose for a holiday, 
 and at the same time a prick of a spear or some- 
 thing sharp brought me upstanding. 
 
 I found myself in the middle of a ring of 
 
UNDESIRABLE ACQUAINTANCES. 165 
 
 the most ferocious savages that I ever ex- 
 perienced before or after. 
 
 There was no mild, simple, child-like, trust- 
 ing look about those chaps, but very much the 
 other way ; and as they grinned at me, and 
 showed their teeth, almost as big as the sharks', 
 I thought I had got to the end of my last 
 journey. 
 
 They were a horrible looking crowd, and a 
 very hungry one, too, which I thought was all 
 the worse for me. 
 
 They were stark naked, all but a little waist 
 cloth, which seemed to be more useful for stick- 
 ing knives and tomahawks in than for covering ; 
 but I was glad to see those things, as I knew 
 they could have only got them from white men, 
 and perhaps there were some about. 
 
 Their hair was piled into a big mop, tied 
 up with string, and stood quite two feet above 
 them, and if they thought their faces pretty, it 
 was more than I did. 
 
 Their bodies and faces were painted all sorts 
 of colours, — blue, red, and yellow, — stuck all 
 over them in filthy patches. 
 
 All carried great clubs, or spears ; but the old 
 chap who did boss had a gun, that he was im- 
 
1 66 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 mensely proud of, no doubt, but from its look I 
 thought I should not like to have the job of 
 firing it off. 
 
 This chap came up to me from the mob and 
 began to talk, but of course I couldn't under- 
 stand a word he said, so I pointed to my mouth 
 and made signs for drink. 
 
 A few words, and one fellow went down to 
 the canoes, and brought me a cocoanut shell 
 full of water. 
 
 My word ! wasn't it delicious ! I never tasted 
 anything half so good, not even on that fishing 
 island. 
 
 When I'd finished drinking, the chief came 
 right up to me, and, looking in my face, he 
 touched it, and then talked a lot to his crowd. 
 
 He made signs for me to sit down, and one 
 of the chaps bringing up a bit of wet rag, he 
 scrubbed my face with it till I thought he would 
 have rubbed all the skin off; then they made 
 me take off my shirt and trousers, and seemed 
 surprised that I was the same colour all over. 
 
 I knew then that they thought I was a white 
 man painted black. 
 
 Before, in England, on board that Yankee 
 man-of-war, and on the blackbirder, I used to 
 
BLESS MY BLACK SKIN. 167 
 
 curse my colour day after day ; but this was the 
 third time it had saved my Hfe, and I now 
 blessed it. 
 
 After some more talk, they took me down 
 to the canoes, and off we paddled to the wreck, 
 and got on board. 
 
 They took no notice of me, as they were 
 all too busy getting all the iron and rope they 
 could find ; so I was left to myself. 
 
 I was not now afraid of that old skipper, so I 
 went straight aft and looked down the cuddy 
 sky-light, but saw nothing of him. 
 
 The water was by this time all out of the 
 ship, — I suppose some plank at the bottom 
 had burst and let it out, — so down the main 
 hatch I went, to see what was there. 
 
 As I went through the old quarters, where I'd 
 talked many a time with the one-eyed devil, I 
 almost expected to see the brute sitting, as he 
 always used to, on his locker at the end of the 
 cabin ; but I found no signs of him. 
 
 I thought I might find his ugly carcass, that 
 I saw floating about the other night, but nothing 
 was to be seen. 
 
 I then went forward into the hold, and, Lord 
 a mercy ! what a sight I saw ! 
 
1 68 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 There, all round the ship's sides, and chained 
 to the floor, were fifty or sixty poor devils of 
 islanders that rascally pirate had stolen from 
 their homes, lying just as the brute had fixed 
 them, all drowned and dead ! 
 
 I ran away from that terrible sight as quick 
 as I could, and went on deck. 
 
 Looking round and over the side at the fine, 
 big canoes floating a little way off in the deep 
 water, what did I see, in the biggest one, but 
 the ugly head of that one-eyed skipper, stuck 
 on a spear, and tied up in the bows like a flag ! 
 
 He still kept that devilish look on him, and 
 seemed to stare straight at me; but I didn't care 
 when I saw his head and carcass in two bits. 
 
 Talk about that, I saw his body, a little time 
 afterwards, all cut to pieces with axes and 
 knives, and thumped flat with clubs, and this 
 didn't make me think that these chaps were 
 fond of white men, and I thanked the Lord 
 again that I was black. 
 
 By-and-by, when the canoes were as full of 
 plunder as they could hold, they put me in the 
 biggest, with the old chief, and off we went, 
 singing and yelling, for the shore. 
 
 The only two things not joining in the shout- 
 
THE BLACKBIRDERS HEAD. 
 
 ing row were the blackbirder's head and me. 
 He couldn't, because he hadn't brought his body 
 with him, — which I thought he was very much 
 better without, — and I wouldn't, because I was 
 too much a stranger in those parts to cut in 
 without invitation. 
 
 Our canoe was a very big one, holding about 
 a hundred men, who paddled her on each side, 
 and threw up the spray all over the place as they 
 sent her flying through the water, so lively as to 
 make her nearly jump out of it at every stroke 
 they gave. 
 
 The old chief squatted down on a flat place 
 in the bow, where he made me keep close along- 
 side of him. 
 
 As we neared the shore, we got into the 
 mouth of a big river, coming down quite fast 
 between two tall mountains ; but before we en- 
 tered, there was a tumbling bar of breaking 
 water, just where the river, rushing down, meets 
 the tide coming up. 
 
 There it was, right in front of us, leaping and 
 frothing up fearfully high, looking very nasty 
 indeed. 
 
 The old chief then stood up, and dancing and 
 yelling, sung out something to his savages amid 
 loud screams. 
 
170 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Then, by golly ! didn't they all go mad ! and 
 the way they worked their paddles was a 
 caution : you could hardly see them move, they 
 went so quick. 
 
 They threw the water in clouds behind them, 
 tearing the boat along, almost lifting her right 
 out of the lagoon, till with a big shout they 
 actually flung her right through the raging 
 surf into the calm river beyond. 
 
 It was very funny, from that side, to see the 
 other canoes follow. 
 
 From the river you could see nothing at all 
 but the wall of water fighting the sea, trying to 
 get in, and the two together in the scrimmage, 
 beating and tearing themselves into clouds of 
 angry foam. 
 
 The boat on the other side was not to be 
 seen, but, listening attentively, their shouts could 
 be heard above the hissing of the struggling 
 waters, coming nearer and nearer, getting louder 
 and louder, till in the middle of the snow- 
 white spray would dart into sight something 
 long and dark, with arms and legs, as it were, 
 all working and flashing as quick as lightning. 
 
 Then the wild yell would burst out, the canoe 
 jump from out of the watery cloud, and stand- 
 
HOW THE RIVER RAN. 171 
 
 ing almost upright, slip down the back of the 
 wave, and there would be the canoe floating 
 quietly on the river's bosom, when a little baling 
 put her as right as ever she was. 
 
 The river was a grand one, and looking so 
 nice and cool. The hills rising straight up from 
 it on each bank kept the sun from making it 
 too hot, and the big bush trees, with a thick belt 
 of cocoanuts waving their long arms in the 
 gentle blowing wind, came right down to the 
 very edge of the water. 
 
 Every little bit we journeyed the stream 
 appeared to end against the side of the moun- 
 tains, rising higher and higher, rolling one 
 above the other, like monstrous green waves, 
 till they quite lost themselves in the sky far 
 inland. 
 
 These endings were, however, only bends in 
 the river, on rounding which, just the same 
 view was seen : there was the end in sight, 
 which never came. 
 
 By-and-by it got wider, and suddenly turning 
 a high corner, with a spit of sand running out 
 quite far, the land opened flat on both sides, and 
 right on the brim of a sloping white beach was 
 a town, looking lovely and snug in the shady 
 
172 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 groves of bananas and cocoanuts, and shining 
 brightly all over with beautiful flowers. 
 
 As soon as the people on shore saw us, they 
 ran down to the water with tremendous shouts, 
 answered loudly by our fellows. 
 
 The chiefs danced like mad men in front of 
 their boats, the men tore up the water with 
 their paddles into whirlpools, and yelled their 
 loudest, till the canoes touched the shore, when 
 they were at once seized, and just as they were, 
 men and all in them, were carried right up, 
 high and dry. 
 
 The chief made me signs to go along with 
 him, and I took good care to do so, and keep 
 quite close too, for I noticed some of the people 
 looking rather queer at me. 
 
 As it was, one young fellow shook his club 
 round my head, and, I think, would have hit me 
 if the chief hadn't fetched him such a crack on 
 his with his stick as knocked him silly. 
 
 I was taken to a house built all the same as 
 these here in Samoa, told to squat down, and 
 was given some meat and yam to eat. I was 
 so hungry that I didn't look twice at the grub, 
 but pitched in at once, and eat till I could man- 
 age no more. 
 
SCENTING A HORROR. 173 
 
 When the night came, they gave me a mat 
 to sleep on, the blinds round the house were 
 pulled down, the fires sparkling all over the 
 town went out one by one, and all were turned 
 in and quiet. 
 
 Next morning at sun-up I was wakened by 
 the natives going out to their work, but as they 
 didn't kick me off my mat, and I felt so com- 
 fortable where I was, I turned round and went 
 to sleep again. 
 
 When I at last turned out, the sun was quite 
 high, and after a dip in the river, I strolled 
 about the town. 
 
 At first I thought they didn't take any notice 
 of what I was doing, but I soon saw that where- 
 ever I went two of the mob were following me ; 
 so I stopped to try and make friends with them, 
 and we walked about together. 
 
 Presently, at the end of the town, I saw the 
 old one-eyed boss's head grinning on the top of 
 a stick, in the middle of what I took to be a 
 heap of stones, and I smelt a nasty, sickly smell 
 all round. 
 
 Getting- nearer, to have another look at my 
 dear old friend, who seemed so lonely, but so 
 safe, without the rest of him, I found that the 
 
174 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 heap was made of the heads of white men, and 
 on the top of the pile, looking as if they didn't 
 appreciate the kind attentions of my friends the 
 natives, was all that was left of the two gentle- 
 men who hated me so much, — the second and 
 third mates of that blackbirder on the reef, — and 
 the rest of the heap was the crew. 
 
 It was very wrong, I know, but I couldn't 
 help liking that sight, for I knew I was safe 
 with all those brutes out of the way. 
 
 As I turned them over with my foot, I recog- 
 nised lots of men's faces who had sworn they 
 would be square with me some time or other ; 
 and so they would have been if they had got 
 me on shore ; and I laughed to see how they 
 were mistaken ! 
 
 The poor nigger had beaten them, after 
 all — skipper, mates, and every one ! 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Cannibal remnants. — An unearthly hail. — Stopping a runa- 
 way. — Meat for the oven. — Recognition. — A few 
 friendly remarks. — Advantages of colour. — Man meat 
 for breakfast. — A shake from a dead hand. — "Who 
 was the man I eat?" — More heads. — Killing long 
 pork. — Butcher's shop. — A bonne bouche. — Cannibal 
 feast. — Securing a captive. — Bright and gay scenes. 
 — Arcadian bowers. — Beautiful girls. — A friendly fight. 
 — Receiving visitors. — Unceremonious adieux. 
 
 My two companions, seeing me joyful, made 
 signs that they had eaten the rest of those chaps, 
 pointing at the same time to a heap of bones 
 piled up round a big fireplace, and they showed 
 me how they sat down in a ring to enjoy their 
 horrid feast, and threw the well-picked bones 
 to one side. 
 
 The thoughts of this made me feel quite sick, 
 and I was just turning round to go back to the 
 house and get breakfast, when I was terribly 
 frightened to hear some one sing out quite loud : 
 " Bruce ! Bruce ! For the Lord's sake, come 
 here ! " 
 
176 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 It made me so afraid that I could scarcely 
 stand, for I thought that Old Nick was after me 
 again ; that he had got all those chaps fast 
 down below, and wanted me to make up the 
 crew, so he had made those ugly heads sing 
 out. 
 
 I was fearfully scared, and when I heard the 
 voice cry out again, "Bruce ! Bruce ! come here !" 
 I took to my heels, and ran off for the house. 
 
 The two natives thought I was running away 
 altogether, so one of them threw his club, which 
 hit me such a punch in the back that it sent me 
 flat to the ground. 
 
 That stopped my running at once. I didn't 
 want any more clubbing, so I lay still until they 
 picked me up. 
 
 They took me first into a house close by, and 
 by the Holy ! there were two of my old friends, 
 the blackbirders, tied up as tight as could be to 
 the posts of the house; and it was those chaps 
 who had sung out to me, and not the devil's 
 heads. 
 
 I was so glad of that, for it scared me awfully 
 to think that Satan was trying to get me again, 
 after I had turned good. 
 
 " For the Lord's sake, let us loose, Bruce !" 
 
A PEEP IN THE LARDER. 177 
 
 they said. " We have been tied up Hke this 
 for more than two days, without water or grub, 
 and those savages have eaten all the other 
 men right before us. For mercy's sake, cut 
 us loose, or kill us ! " 
 
 These were two of the beauties who had 
 threatened me most on board ship, and now 
 wanted me to help them ; but I knew they 
 would have killed me as soon as they would 
 a rat, so I said, — 
 
 " I can't, my dear friends, for I'm a prisoner 
 just like you are. This dark gentleman here 
 has but just now nearly knocked the back off 
 me, because I walked a little fast when he was 
 in no hurry ; and if I let you loose now, he will 
 hammer my head into little bits, and put it 
 on the heap, amongst those other chaps. 
 
 "No; I think you are very nice where you 
 are ; nice and safe, till these gentlemen get hun- 
 gry ; and, besides all that, I think you are a 
 pair of too d d rascals to let loose. 
 
 " If you were set free, perhaps you would 
 begin blackbirding in these poor chaps' town, 
 and carry them all away in that hooker of yours, 
 with a big hole in her, out there on the reef, and 
 put them, alongside of those poor devils you 
 
 N 
 
178 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 drowned in the hold, all chained down to the 
 deck. 
 
 " You don't like, I see, the other side of the 
 game. Not nice, is it ? Never mind, you'll be 
 useful for once in your lives when you go into 
 the oven ; and I don't think it will be long be- 
 fore that event comes off, as these black chaps 
 get very ravenous after work, and will soon 
 go through two such lean chaps as you. 
 
 "And just listen, you chaps! It's because 
 I'm about the same colour as these men that 
 they don't tie me up like you, and invite me 
 to dinner. 
 
 " How about ' d d black nigger' now, eh ? 
 
 ' D d black nigger ' now is much better than 
 
 white ' long pork,' all tied up ready for stick- 
 ing. 
 
 " No ; I don't think it good enough to let you 
 go. Besides, my late boss told me never to 
 meddle with other people's business in these 
 parts, because it is dangerous ; and I respect his 
 advice and memory ; so good-bye, my Christian 
 friends ! I don't think I shall miss you much 
 when you're gone, and hope I shall get over the 
 slight bereavement in time, and that you will 
 both enjoy your next dinner. It will be your 
 
UNGRATEFUL COMRADES. 179 
 
 faults if the others don't. So good-bye, my 
 friends, good-bye." 
 
 Golly ! how those two sinners did curse and 
 swear at me as I left them ; I heard them roar- 
 ing all the way down the town, as I went to the 
 house I was stopping in. 
 
 Closely followed by those two natives, who 
 were suspicious of my bolting again, I went in, 
 sat down, and made signs that I was hungry. 
 
 One of them then got down a basket, the same 
 one they gave me the grub out of the night 
 before, and threw me down some yams, and a 
 piece of meat, roasted brown and crackly, like 
 pork. 
 
 It looked like a long bone of something, just 
 the same sort of meat as they gave me before. 
 
 I was so hungry that I didn't inspect it closely, 
 but tackled it at once, and had just got my teeth 
 into it for a big mouthful, when I saw that the 
 other end of it was a man's hand ! 
 
 Everything then appeared to swim round me 
 in horror, and in my fright the baked hand 
 appeared to catch hold of mine like a vice, so 
 tightly that, for all the world, I couldn't let go, 
 though I tried hard; an', O Lord! how sick 
 I did feel 1 
 
i8o THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 At last, with a shout of madness, I flung the 
 awful thing away from me, and jumped up to 
 fly anywhere, but my two friends soon had me 
 down on the floor again, and this time they 
 made me fast to the house-post. 
 
 Presently I got cool again, quite shivering 
 with disgust at the awful meal I had made the 
 day before, which, for certain, was human flesh, 
 and part of one of my former shipmates ! 
 
 It was horrible to think that at the time 
 I liked it ; but if I had known what it was 
 I would rather have starved a hundred times 
 than have touched the dreadful stuff. 
 
 When the natives saw that I was quiet, they 
 cast me loose, and I finished my breakfast on 
 yam alone ; and from that time I never took 
 meat of any sort, but lived on fish and yams ; 
 but many a time I couldn't help wondering 
 who was the chap I eat a piece of. 
 
 About sunset, the chief and all the boats 
 came back with lots more things from the 
 wreck, and in one of the canoes was piled up 
 the heads of those poor fellows who were 
 drowned all chained up in the hold. 
 
 The savages wanted them for the skulls, 
 which they collect to put round their towns and 
 
BUTCHERS AT WORK. 
 
 houses ; and the more of them they have the 
 more they are pleased. 
 
 These heads they put in a heap alongside the 
 others, and then they lit up a fire in a deep hole 
 in the ground, lined with stones, and while it 
 was burning-, they all went and sat down in the 
 house where those two blackbirders were tied 
 up. 
 
 I knew what they were going to do, and 
 tried hard to keep away from the awful sight, 
 but I couldn't, for something seemed to push 
 me nearer and nearer, until I found myself in 
 the house where the cannibal savages were 
 sitting round those two fellows, quite silently, 
 lodking at them as a butcher would look at a 
 pig he was about to kill. 
 
 Presently, when the inspection was over, the 
 chief said something, two men got up, and 
 holding the poor devils by the hair with one 
 hand, as they stood tied to the posts, they 
 dragged their heads right back, till, their throats 
 were quite tight, and then, with two or three 
 slashes of their big knives, they cut them 
 right off the struggling bodies. 
 
 The red blood spouted high into the air, as 
 the butchers flung the heads, all winking and 
 
1 82 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 rolling their eyes, along the floor to the feet of 
 the chief, who, taking them by the hair, held 
 them up, and said a word or two to his people. 
 
 When I saw the blood, I didn't feel queer, 
 as I used, but was quite fascinated, and 
 couldn't get away, although I wanted to ; some- 
 thing stronger than me kept me there looking 
 on. 
 
 After the killing, in came the old women, un- 
 tied the bodies, took them outside, and hanging 
 them up by the heels to a tree, poured water over 
 them, and scraped them, just as they do pigs 
 at home. 
 
 When that was done, they were dressed, and 
 the liver and heart those disgusting savages cut 
 into small bits and eat, all bloody and raw as 
 they were. 
 
 The carcasses were then taken down, and the 
 two butchers cut them into quarters and pieces 
 to suit the oven. 
 
 By this time the fire had burnt down, the 
 ashes were swept out clean, and wet mats put 
 on the hot stones ; then the " long pork," as 
 the beach-combers call it, was put in, more wet 
 mats were placed on the top, and the whole lot 
 covered over with stones and earth. 
 
CANNIBAL Tir-BITS. 
 
 AH the mob then went to He down, to rest, 
 after their hard work, till dinner was ready ; and 
 soon all were as fast asleep as if they had done 
 nothing wrong at all. 
 
 About three hours after, away they all went to 
 the end of the town again, and sat down in a 
 big ring all round the oven, which was smoking 
 and steaming finely. 
 
 When all was ready, the chief squatted 
 down in the middle, with a lot of big banana 
 leaves, about three feet broad, spread out 
 before him. 
 
 This done, the earth and stones were taken 
 off the oven, then two or three cooks took 
 up the disgusting meat, all hot and steaming, 
 wrapped it up in leaves, and put it down in 
 front of the chief. 
 
 There are always parts of any animal, at a 
 feast, that particularly belong to the head man, 
 and when it is a man that the brutes are feast- 
 ing off, it is thought the palm of the hand is 
 the best part, and that goes to the chief, before 
 others get their share. 
 
 Well, after they had twisted off the hands 
 and a piece of a forearm for him, he took 
 a mouthful or two ; then said something. 
 
i84 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 when two men — the same chaps who cut up 
 the bodies — divided the rest, looking so deadly 
 white, into many lots. 
 
 At the same time the cannibal ring broke up 
 into little mobs, as, I suppose, families, and 
 each one sent a man to get their share, who 
 then went back with his loathsome burden, 
 all steaming hot. 
 
 Then the head of each family took the grub, 
 and, with his hands and knife, cut and tore it 
 into little lumps, and, as he dragged a handful 
 off the bones, he chucked it here and there to 
 his people, just like throwing bones to dogs, 
 and very soon all that was visible to the naked 
 eye of my late poor friends was a heap of 
 bones, picked as clean as they well could be. 
 
 Those two didn't last long with such a 
 hungry crew, and all was over in about ten 
 minutes. 
 
 The chief appeared to be rather delicate on 
 this occasion, and only picked one of the hands; 
 the other, with a piece of arm on, he packed up 
 in a leaf, and took it to the house, where it was 
 put away in the same basket I had my awful 
 feed from. 
 
 When we got back to the house, the two 
 
CARVED ALIVE. 185 
 
 natives who had kept watch over me began 
 talking to the old man, every now and then 
 pointing at me, in a great state of excitement. 
 
 I suppose they told him that I had tried to 
 run away, and a lot of lies about the trouble 
 they were put to getting me back. 
 
 Whatever they said, I don't know, but I soon 
 felt the effects of their talk, for a dozen of the 
 brutes came for me, and held me down on the 
 floor, whilst the old gentleman himself, with a 
 sharp shell, cut a lot of slits in the soles of my 
 feet, which the devils, the whole time I was 
 with them, never allowed to heal, so that I 
 could not walk away from their town, but was 
 kept lame, hopping about on two sticks. 
 
 One morning, at daybreak, as I was hob- 
 bling about the village as best I could, I 
 noticed that the natives were overhauling their 
 bundles of fine things for dressing — bright- 
 coloured feathers, shell necklaces, and all that 
 sort of thing. All the crowd appeared to be 
 joyful and happy, as if something nice was 
 going to happen ; and badly it was wanted, 
 to take away the taste of that horrible feast, 
 still hanging round. 
 
 Now and then mobs of men and women 
 
1 86 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 would go, singing their loudest merry songs, 
 skylarking, and playing with one another, as 
 they bounded down the path like goats, to the 
 bush, into which they disappeared altogether 
 ■out of sight, just as if some great green monster 
 had swallowed them up for good. 
 
 The old men were not in the least excited, 
 but sat all in a ring in front of the big house, I 
 suppose arranging how things were to come oft 
 that day; and they seemed just as serious about 
 it as if they were making up a fight. 
 
 I knew it wasn't that though, for not one 
 spear or club was to be seen through the whole 
 town, not a single one ; all were put on one 
 side, high up in the roofs of the houses. 
 
 At times singing was heard a long way off in 
 the bush, coming nearer and nearer, till it burst 
 right out into the open, and there were the 
 bush parties to be seen coming back, loaded up 
 with lovely greeny brown, and yellow leaves, 
 and beautiful creepers, flashing splendidly with 
 flowers of a hundred bright colours. 
 
 Bundles and bundles of these treasures of 
 the bush they brought, of every showy hue 
 in existence, and threw them down in a heap, 
 with big shouts, till the place looked as though 
 
A WRETCHED RAINBOW. 187 
 
 a rainbow had got wrecked there, in the middle 
 of a tumbhng sea of green. 
 
 Amongst these were heaps of berries of the 
 brightest scarlet, to be made into necklaces, 
 which looked all the more fiery, and like real 
 light, when they stood out in vivid contrast 
 with the dark skins of the people who wore 
 them. Then all hands set to work, weaving 
 the creepers into long ropes, spangling them 
 all over with bright flowers, peeping out from 
 under the hanging green leaves in all their 
 modest beauty. 
 
 These were twisted round the posts of the 
 house like great green serpents, with their 
 scales all glistening in the sun, blazing with 
 coloured spots. 
 
 From the top of the roof also were hung, in 
 gay festoons, these flowery ropes, so thickly that, 
 at last, the dull brown house was changed into 
 the most lovely leafy bower possible to be seen. 
 
 All this time mobs of young girls, chattering 
 and laughing gaily, as they worked in the 
 middle of a perfect sea of flowers, were dex- 
 terously making them into wreaths and crowns; 
 and the whole crowd looked, and were, so inno- 
 cent, light-hearted, and joyous that I could 
 
1 88 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 scarcely think that these were the same people 
 who made that horrible feast but a little time 
 back. 
 
 They were now so meek, mild, and simple 
 that I tried to think that the dreadful sight I 
 saw was only a dream, but one small look at 
 the far end of the village told a tale of bru- 
 tality, for there, in the midst of all this jollity 
 going on, was that ugly heap of heads, with 
 that one-eyed scoundrel's on a spear, sticking 
 right out above the lot of them. 
 
 When the houses were finished, every one, 
 men, women, and children, went to dress, but 
 soon came out again, fearfully and wonderfully 
 arrayed, and sat under the trees, in the shade, 
 just as proud of themselves as the very devil. 
 
 The girls, with their bodies shining with oil, 
 could scarcely move, from the amount of fine 
 dresses they had managed to put on ; all the 
 finery they possessed was in full view, and 
 round their necks, waists, and across the shoul- 
 ders, or anywhere one would hang, they wore 
 lovely garlands of leaves and flowers. 
 
 Their frizzy hair, stiff with grease, was 
 combed and brushed up as high as it would go, 
 ornamented with gaudy streamers, and crowned 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE TOILET. 
 
 with wreaths dazzHng in sparkHng colours, and, 
 although they were not so good looking as the 
 girls here in Samoa, being the first I had ever 
 seen dressed up, I thought them very handsome. 
 
 The men were rigged out pretty much alike, 
 covered with wreaths, crowns, and garlands, and 
 wore over their oily, naked bodies bright scarlet 
 necklaces of chillies and other bush berries. 
 
 A few of them were dressed in nothing but 
 leaves, slung round the waist, the head covered 
 with a cap made out of banana leaves, and 
 tufts of green stuff tied round wrists, elbows, 
 and ankles ; in fact there was such a lot of it 
 about them that they looked like so many 
 walking trees.* 
 
 The whole gang soon settled down in a big 
 ring ; the women and men separate, and the 
 chief and three of his oldest friends sitting in 
 the middle ; but those chaps in green leaves, 
 each one carrying a long stick like a spear, sat 
 down facing the bush where the path came 
 over the mountains. 
 
 A long way off, right up in the far-away 
 hills, there had been a pillar of grey smoke 
 going up all the morning, which would at times 
 change its colour to a dark black. 
 
1 90 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 As the day grew, other columns of smoke 
 showed up, each new one coming nearer and 
 nearer, till at last a big fellow appeared on the 
 edge of the hill where the path led down to 
 the flat the town stood on. 
 
 My friends sitting round the chief appeared 
 to take no notice of all this, but the green men 
 advanced a little, keeping their eyes fixed upon 
 the spot where the road opened out from the 
 bush. 
 
 Presently from thence, with horrid yells and 
 screeches, out jumped a black fellow from 
 amongst the trees, flourishing a war club in one 
 hand, and the green branch of a tree in the 
 other. 
 
 For some time he danced, leapt, howled, and 
 shouted, till he was quite done, and then our 
 green chaps, with loud roars of war, made be- 
 lieve to fight and catch him, when they lugged 
 him through the ring up to the chief 
 
 Here, in front of the old man, the prisoner 
 laid down the club and the branch, inviting 
 him with signs to choose one of the two. 
 
 For a little time the chief didn't move, but 
 looked straight at the things on the ground, 
 and then, after speaking a few words to his 
 
PEACE OR WAR. 191 
 
 companions, he stretched out his hand and 
 touched the branch. 
 
 This, I suppose, meant that peace was de- 
 sired ; but if he had chosen the other, war would 
 have been the consequence. 
 
 Then the stranger, over whose head the 
 green chaps had been holding their sticks, as if 
 ready to knock it off, burst through them, with 
 shouts and bounds, and disappeared into the 
 bush he had just come from. 
 
 In about ten minutes the sound of many 
 people singing was heard away deep in the 
 forest, so prettily as, rising and falling, it 
 came floating out from amongst the rustling 
 leaves, gently shivering in the light warm 
 breeze ; and soon, against the dark hillside, 
 was to be seen, through the trees, a long line 
 of colour, mixed, and sparkling in the sun's 
 rays, and flowing down the steep path towards 
 us like a wonderful river of rainbows. 
 
 The wild song was soon quite near, and then 
 out into the open came the visitors, all gay 
 in their best dresses, one living mass of all 
 the brightest and loveliest flowers and leaves 
 they could find in the bush. 
 
 On they came, slowly and proudly, the little 
 
192 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 girls leading, the big ones behind, and after 
 them the men, the whole lot keeping up the 
 singing at their very hardest. 
 
 When they had come quite close, they 
 stopped and sat down, and the chief made a 
 long speech, which ours answered, telling him, 
 I suppose, how glad he was to see him, 
 and then both the crowds mixed up together, 
 shaking hands and kissing one another just 
 like Christians. 
 
 As soon as the kissing was pretty well over, 
 half a dozen of the loveliest young girls were 
 told off to make kava for the chief, and were 
 soon chewing away their very hardest, while all 
 the rest of them scattered themselves in every 
 direction visiting amongst the houses. 
 
 There, for the rest of the day, they did 
 nothing but eat and drink ; but when the moon 
 rose bright and silvery from out the rippling 
 water, and threw her soft light along the black 
 mountain slope, glancing off the smooth green 
 leaves of the breadfruit and . bananas to explore 
 and liven the darker corners of the bush, they 
 all threw off their fine dresses, came out to the 
 green almost as naked as they were born, and 
 danced the whole night long. 
 
AWAY WITH THE DAWN. 193 
 
 When the day began to break, the fun 
 stopped, and after a short sleep, the visitors 
 disappeared, one by one, without even saying 
 good-bye, and we were left to ourselves alone. 
 
 o 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Another beach-comber. — "Wish they had eat you." — Charley 
 Mafu's ground.— Paunchy Billy. — Bought, and off 
 down the coast. — Charley Mafu's dinner-parties. — • 
 Punctuality. — Mafu's men. — Message from Thakam- 
 bau. — Kicked overboard. — Nearly done for. — Another 
 ruffian. — " I'm one of them judges." — A Fijian 
 drinking orgie. — Letting themselves down. — White 
 work in Levuka. — An oil swindle. — Gin, the trade 
 lever. — Way to get a receipt. 
 
 One day, when I had been about four months 
 with those cannibals, I noticed a great stir 
 amongst them, and away they went in their 
 canoes, chattering and jabbering in a great 
 state of excitement. 
 
 In the afternoon they came back, and with 
 them was a white man, whom they all appeared 
 to know well. 
 
 He was exactly like all the other beach- 
 combers that I had met— just as hairy, dirty, and 
 ragged ; half-native and half- white, but if any- 
 thing a good deal more of the first than the 
 last ; and do you know that a lot of these chaps 
 
WHITE MAN-EATERS. 195 
 
 were as big cannibals as the savages them- 
 selves, and would eat a man just for devilment, 
 and because they knew it was wrong. 
 
 This same fellow told me afterwards that he 
 did it for trade purposes, and not because he 
 was hungry or liked it ; but I didn't believe 
 him, as he looked brutal enough to eat any- 
 thing, and like it too. 
 
 It appeared that this awful-looking cove, 
 stuck all round with pistols and knives, and 
 carrying a double-barrelled gun on his shoulder, 
 came twice a year to trade with the natives, 
 exchanging with them their cocoanut oil for 
 knives, axes, calico, and all sorts of such things. 
 
 When he caught sight of me, he sung out, 
 " Hullo, darkie ! How the deuce did you get 
 here ? " And when he saw that I couldn't walk 
 without sticks, he said : " Oh ! I see they are fond 
 of you down here, but it must be for your cheer- 
 ful company, and not for your good looks, for 
 you are cursed ugly. What's come to the rest 
 
 of your gang 1 Eat up, eh ? I'm d d glad 
 
 they are, for I don't want any strangers knock- 
 ing about, and I don't want you either, so out 
 you must go somehow. 
 
 " I wish they had eaten you too, then there 
 
196 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 would have been no bother; but it is, I suppose, 
 that you black chaps taste nasty. 
 
 " Confound these niggers 1 they have already 
 let off two fellows like you ; and now the brutes 
 are settled, and playing the very devil with 
 my trade. 
 
 " I don't want any one in these parts who 
 speaks English, and I won't have them, if I 
 eat them out of the way myself 
 
 " All this land belongs to Charley Mafu and 
 your humble servant. We mean to do what we 
 like with it, and won't have anybody here 
 interfering with our rights. Savee ? " 
 
 " I don't want to stop here," I said ; " but 
 how the devil am I to get away } These 
 rascals have cut my feet all to pieces. I can't 
 walk, and I have got no boat." 
 
 " Well," he answered, " I feel good-natured 
 just now, so I don't mind taking you down the 
 coast in mine, which is lying outside the bar, 
 and I'll land you with the first white gang 
 we meet down the coast. I don't like whites, 
 and they don't like me. The white chaps here 
 are too inquisitive about private affairs, and not 
 long ago they gave me an invitation I couldn't 
 accept. They wanted me badly to take the 
 
A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR. 197 
 
 principal part in a procession, but I was too shy 
 and timid, so left the night before it came off ; 
 and, look here — if you ever reach the other end 
 of the island alive, just you tell them there 
 that ' Paunchy Billy ' is your particular friend, 
 and you'll meet with no end of attention. 
 Where are you, do you say ? Why, in Fiji. 
 Didn't you know that .'' You can't have had 
 much schoolin.' I finished my education in 
 a very big school, where there were about three 
 thousand of us, and plenty of masters ; but 
 you're bound to know all about that sort of 
 thing if you live long enough, no doubt." 
 
 Two days after that talk, he bought me 
 right out from the chief for some cloth and 
 a knife or two, and I left the place with him 
 in his boat — a half-decked whaler, carrying 
 about five tons, and a half-caste native to help 
 work her. 
 
 As we sailed down the coast in the beautiful 
 bright blue lagoon, dotted all over with little 
 islands, so green and fresh, the big hills on 
 shore, covered with tall trees and lovely flowers, 
 appeared to take a dive right into the water, 
 and there, below, we could see them standing 
 upside down, just as clearly as they were above. 
 
1 98 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Whilst travelling along so smoothly with 
 nothing to do, I asked Paunchy Billy who the 
 Charley Mafu Avas he talked about so much. 
 
 "Why! the best man in these islands," said 
 he. "He ought to be, anyhow, for he has 
 eaten more good men than any one else in 
 the Pacific. 
 
 "He's not like that old fool Thakambau 
 down the other end, who has got a lot of white 
 scum to make laws and try to hang people who 
 are free to do what they like. 
 
 " Thank goodness I'm the only white with 
 Charley Mafu, and if I can help it, he doesn't 
 have any more with him. One or two did try 
 to come here, but somehow or other they met 
 with serious accidents on the way up, and 
 didn't arrive. Very strange, wasn't it ? 
 
 " Charley don't properly belong here, but the 
 place belongs to him, because he has killed 
 nearly all the people out of it, and that's 
 quite good enough title. He eat most of 
 them. 
 
 " He came from Tonga, away over there to 
 the west, with a lot of his men ; soon put the 
 fear of the Lord into these chaps ; and if it 
 wasn't for those mean whites and their guns. 
 
CHARLIE MAFITS MENU. 199 
 
 he would quickly run old Thakambau out, eat 
 him, and have the whole group to himself. 
 
 " Mafu's a very fine chap ; never in a hurry 
 about anything, and always makes his friends 
 last as long as possible. 
 
 "When he goes out fighting and takes a 
 town, he doesn't kill and eat all the people he 
 finds. Oh, no ! At first he only feeds off the 
 ones killed in the fight, and there is always 
 plenty of them. 
 
 " Mafu will have his fun, and doesn't really 
 enjoy his meat without home-grown vege- 
 tables. 
 
 " To get them prime, he burns down the first 
 house in the town, and then persuades the 
 owners, perhaps with a club, to make a garden 
 of the ground it stood upon, and plant it up 
 with yams. 
 
 "When they are ripe, Mafu will call round 
 to eat them, and always invites the family to 
 dinner. And in all my experience they have 
 never been late for the feast as they come up, 
 wrapped in banana leaves all smoking hot, right 
 straight from the oven. 
 
 "He then burns down the next house, and 
 •amuses himself just the same way ; and, so as 
 
200 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 not to create jealousy, he takes them one after 
 the other, till he has gone through the whole 
 town. 
 
 " Lately he has made so many engage- 
 ments of that sort that he has been obliged to 
 invite two lots at the same time, so as to get 
 through his feasting fixtures during his life- 
 time. 
 
 " Charley Mafu is a very good friend to every 
 
 one, but a d d bad enemy. He only wants 
 
 to do what he likes, that's all ; and if the people 
 are unreasonable, he kills them and eats them ; 
 but if they are wise, and give him what he 
 wants, he lets them alone, just like those chaps 
 you have come from." 
 
 For two days we sailed down the coast like 
 this without anything particular happening, and 
 passed plenty of pretty little towns, snugly 
 cradled in the arms of the tall cocoanut trees, 
 stretching out their great feathery leaves, shad- 
 ing the houses, and making them cool in the 
 face of the hot, blazing sun. 
 
 Paunchy Billy went ashore at some of these 
 places, but he didn't let me land with him, and 
 made me stop on board ship. 
 
 On the middle of the third day we ran up a 
 
ROWDY WHITE JUDGES. 201 
 
 nice-sized river, and brought to opposite a big 
 native town, full of the most horrid-lookiqg 
 savages, all painted and yelling like demons ; 
 and didn't they look devilish ! 
 
 As soon as they saw us, they jumped, shouted, 
 danced, and tore up and down the beach like 
 madmen, and Billy then said, " Those are 
 Tongan chaps, and Mafu's somewhere about. 
 
 " I'm not going further than this, as my 
 medical adviser says it is not healthy for me 
 to get down that way any more ; the climate 
 very nearly killed me once before; besides which, 
 I object to the bad company that loafs round 
 that old fool Thakambau and his beastly court. 
 I was obliged to expostulate with the asses long 
 ago, and they didn't like it. 
 
 " That old idiot of a king has got the most 
 intolerably mean lot of drunken rowdy whites 
 for judges that ever was, and of all the thieves 
 in the world, they are the worst. 
 
 " If you happen to come across them, give 
 them Paunchy Billy's compliments, and they 
 may all go to h — 1 ; and if they want him for 
 any government work, or any more processions, 
 they have only to call on me and Mafu, right 
 here, and we'll give them a warm reception, — in 
 
202 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 the oven, — but we won't eat them — they are too 
 dirty beasts for that. 
 
 " And tell their donkey of a master that Mafu 
 has pretty nearly finished all the garden ground 
 this side of the river, and means soon to go 
 planting yams in Levuka, when he hopes to 
 have the pleasure of his company to dinner. 
 He'll know what that means, and perhaps brain 
 you for telling him. 
 
 " And now jump overboard that side and 
 swim ashore, and if you follow the exact line, 
 you are sure to find some white men fooling 
 about — that is, if the natives don't cook and eat 
 you before you fetch them. They are awfully 
 civil to strangers on both sides of this river, and 
 generally take them inside out of the rain, for 
 fear they might catch cold. Over you go now, 
 quick, and don't come back; I've had quite 
 enough of you." 
 
 He didn't wait for me to go myself, but kicked 
 me right slap into the water anyhow, without 
 even looking at me again ; and that was the last 
 I saw of the celebrated Paunchy Billy, who I 
 soon found out was very much wanted in 
 Levuka for hanging. 
 
 My feet were not at all well as I tramped 
 
TIED UP FOR SLAUGHTER. 203 
 
 along that beach for the whole day long, but 
 met no one, and when night came, I went a little 
 way into the bush and camped, very hungry and 
 tired, and what made me feel worse was that 
 there were plenty of cocoanuts all round, but I 
 couldn't climb for them. 
 
 I went to sleep at last, forgetting all about the 
 grub, and on waking up the next morning, the 
 first thing I saw was a big black savage, with a 
 face painted hideously red and blue, sitting 
 quietly at my feet, and on each side of him 
 there were two more, just as still as though 
 they were watching nothing at all, and didn't 
 know I was there. 
 
 It was no use my trying to run, so I kept 
 quite still, and pretended to go to sleep again ; 
 but it didn't answer, for they weren't going to 
 wait any longer, so one fetched me a whack 
 with a club, at the same time the other stuck 
 about half an inch of his spear into me, which 
 completely woke me up and brought me to my 
 feet. They then tied my hands behind my back, 
 and drove me along in front of them. 
 
 My poor feet were awfully sore, but when I 
 stopped to rest them, they at once thumped me 
 along, or stuck a spear into me to liven me up, 
 
204 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 and so on, until I couldn't go any farther, sat 
 down, and asked them to kill me. 
 
 I was so done that I didn't care what hap- 
 pened ; but, by the Holy ! the savages were just 
 going to do what I had asked them, and in a 
 minute I should have suffered my last and 
 shortest headache, when a sort of white man 
 hove in sight just in time to stop the club 
 which was swinging over my head. 
 
 He was about the same looking sort of chap 
 as Paunchy Billy — all hair and dirt, with gin 
 marks all over his fiery face, and wearing 
 scarcely any clothes. 
 
 His eyes were as red as his face, and so small 
 that they appeared to stop at the back of his 
 ugly head. 
 
 As he came up, after shouting something to 
 the savages in their own lingo, he said to me : 
 " And where in thunder do you come from .'' 
 Who are you, and what do you want here ? " 
 
 I told him that I was John King Bruce, a 
 British subject ; that I didn't want to come there 
 at all, and positively couldn't tell him where I 
 had come from, as I didn't know. 
 
 " That be blowed for a yarn," he said. 
 
 " It's true all the same," I answered, for I didn't 
 
A DISTRESSED BRITISH SUBJECT. 205 
 
 care what came now, I was that done ; " and if 
 you don't believe me, you can ask Paunchy Billy 
 when next you see him. He's the fellow who 
 sent me along here, with a kick overboard ; and 
 if you are one of those mean, drunken rowdies 
 of judges, I was to tell you that, with his com- 
 pliments, you can go to h — 1. That's all I know ; 
 so just do what you like, but look sharp about 
 It. 
 
 He looked at me for a moment, and then burst 
 out laughing as he sneered : " So you saw old 
 Paunchy, did you ? and he sent us that polite 
 message ? I -am one of those judges he speaks 
 about so handsomely, and, please the pigs ! I'll 
 have the pleasure of hanging him yet. I nearly 
 did so once, and the next chance I get, I swear 
 I'll do it altogether. But jump up, and come 
 along to the town ; it's not far off ; and if you stop 
 here, those two chaps will soon smash your 
 head. They are on the hunt for grub, and you'll 
 do just as well as anybody else for them." 
 
 He then cut me loose, helped me up, and 
 off we walked together, talking as we went 
 about all I had been doing lately, where I had 
 come from, and the last news of his friend 
 Billy. 
 
2o6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Presently we came to a native town, in the 
 middle of which were two or three wooden 
 houses belonging to white traders, and about a 
 mile from shore, in the blue lagoon, rode a 
 pretty little schooner at anchor, just arrived 
 from Levuka, with new goods for the store- 
 keeper of the place. 
 
 On shore, right in front of his shop, sitting 
 all round a cask of spirits, with the head knocked 
 out, and drinking it neat out of the pannikins, 
 were the crew and a few friends, enjoying them- 
 selves immensely, all about as roaring drunk as 
 they could be ; and there those awful fellows sat 
 for four days, hard at work at what they called 
 " letting themselves down." 
 
 The real drunk is the consequence of the 
 first day's work, when they take the stuff quite 
 straight and raw, perhaps getting through about 
 a quarter of it, when they are drunk, and no 
 mistake, and they finish the night all round the 
 cask. 
 
 On waking, the cask is filled up with water 
 before beginning again, making strong grog, 
 and to work they go once more. 
 
 It is still very strong, but they drink on until 
 they can hold no more, then tumble down for 
 
A BIG DRINK. 207 
 
 their second night's sleep ; and so the game 
 goes on. 
 
 Each time the grog is decreased, the cask is 
 refilled with water, until at last they swear the 
 stuff is no good at all, kick over the remainder, 
 and go to work; but it never takes less than four 
 days to do a Fiji " let down," and sometimes 
 very much longer. 
 
 I stopped in that place till the schooner left 
 for Levuka, when the skipper gave me a cast 
 down. 
 
 There I found lots of white men, traders and 
 loafers of every sort, all trying to cheat one 
 another and do the natives, and they did it 
 pretty well. 
 
 I soon got work on board a small boat that 
 traded up and down the coast, buying oil from 
 the natives and whites scattered about, and 
 a nice lot of swindling we did too, but at last 
 we got let in dreadfully. 
 
 We heard that a fellow about forty miles off 
 had got a lot of oil to sell, and determined to 
 try to get hold of it. 
 
 Times had been very bad — so bad that we had 
 no money nor goods to pay for the stuff if we 
 got it, and no one would lend us a halfpenny ; 
 
2oS THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 but, all the same, we meant to have that oil 
 somehow. 
 
 All we had on board was a case of square gin, 
 holding a dozen bottles, four of which we 
 emptied, filled them up with water, put them 
 back, and nailed the case up as if it had never 
 been opened ; then away we started for the 
 chap's place, and anchored right in front of it, 
 when he came quickly off to see us, and find 
 out what we wanted. 
 
 When he got on board, my mate, who re- 
 joiced in the name of " Liza," — because he had 
 no hair on his face and looked like a girl — sung 
 out, " Hullo, ' Frenchy ' ! got any oil ? " 
 
 " Yes, Liza, plenty of it. Do you want to 
 buy?" 
 
 "Of course," said he, "that's just what I 
 came for " ; and seeing that Frenchy was about 
 to ask some question, he followed up with, 
 "but you must take dollars, for I've got no 
 trade." 
 
 "All right," said Frenchy; "they'll do. I 
 like them better than goods." 
 
 Liza then brought out the gin case, opened it 
 right in front of us, took two bottles, and pulled 
 the corks out of both ; but one was water, 
 
DESIGNS UPON FRENCHY. 209 
 
 and that one we drank out of; our friend from 
 the other. 
 
 By-and-by he began to get a Httle bit lively, 
 and then Liza told him, " You go on shore now, 
 Frenchy. Bruce and I are going to put the 
 boat straight, and when we have finished, we 
 shall come to look at your stpff; but here! 
 you might just as well take a couple of these 
 bottles with you ; you can have the rest if you 
 like, and we can charge it in the account." 
 
 " All right," said he, and off he went with a 
 gin bottle under each arm. 
 
 Frenchy was an awful chap to drink when he 
 could get it, but it took a tremendous lot to slue 
 him, and that was what we were up to. 
 
 In about an hour, we went on shore, and 
 found, as we hoped, our friend rather on the 
 spree, and inclined to be more so. 
 
 Everything was going right for us, so after 
 looking at the casks, all ready for taking away, 
 agreeing upon the price to be paid, and makmg 
 out the bill, we managed to get that fellow off 
 his head enough to sign before getting the 
 money, "just to save time, you know." 
 
 We had, of course, brought the rest of the gin 
 on shore, and the way that fellow pitched into it 
 
 P 
 
2IO THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 was surprising, while all the time we were drink- 
 ing out of the watered bottles. 
 
 At last he tumbled down flat on the floor, 
 quite done up ; and then Liza wrote out another 
 paper, which we left pinned to the door, saying 
 how sorry we were that we couldn't wait till he 
 got better, and that we had left the dollars in 
 the far corner of the hut, which, of course, we 
 hadn't. 
 
 We were sure that when he came to he would 
 go and look for the coin, and, not finding it, 
 would think that some of the natives had stolen 
 \t when he was bad ; and if he came to Levuka, 
 and kicked up a row with us, all we should have 
 to do would be to produce the receipt we got 
 out of him. 
 
 Anyway, we got all the casks on board in 
 quick time, and were off" on the land breeze for 
 home, where, on arrival, we sold the oil to one 
 of the merchants, and sacked the dollars. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Shady trading. — Oil gone up. — Arranging another swindle. — 
 Same customer again. — Use of dark relations. — That 
 cheat Mike. — Take the lot at the old figure. — Casks 
 full to the bung. — " Let me know what you get for the 
 stuff."— The biter bit.— That fraudulent Frenchy.— 
 Another use for bamboo. — Commercially ruined. — Ship 
 on board a whaler. — Training a loafer crew. — A curio 
 manufactory. — Whale ground at Tonga. — " There she 
 blows!" — Fixed to,a fish. — Terrific travelling. — Perilous 
 work. — Death of the whale. 
 
 Six months soon slipped past. Times were 
 good then, and we made plenty of money one 
 way and another — sometimes quite honestly, at 
 others rather questionably ; but no one got riled, 
 for it was the custom of the place, and if you 
 didn't do, more than likely you got done. 
 
 In that time Liza and me had scraped to- 
 gether a nice little pile of dollars, for we didn't 
 carry on like the other chaps, and spend all in 
 gin as soon as we made money, and we were 
 on the look-out for a safe speculation. 
 
 One day we got the news that the price of oil 
 
212 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 had gone up considerably in the Colonies; and 
 thinking that perhaps the fellows down the 
 coast didn't know of it, off we started to buy up 
 all we could before the news got round. 
 
 Up to this time we had heard nothing about 
 our old friend Frenchy. He hadn't come to 
 Levuka to be nasty with us about our last deal, 
 nor had he sent word ; so we thought he had 
 forgotten all about it ; but in the end we found 
 he hadn't, and got shamefully let in by him. 
 
 We heard that he had a lot of oil to sell some 
 time before, so we went first to his place to begin 
 business. 
 
 This time he didn't appear to be in a hurry 
 either for news or trade, and stopped on shore ; 
 so we landed, and found him filling the last 
 cask of a beautiful lot all ranged round his 
 shed. 
 
 " By golly ! said Liza ; " what a nice lot you 
 have got! Why, it's twice as much as you gener- 
 ally get in the time ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Frenchy, very quietly, " it is a 
 prime lot, and no error. A whole gang of my 
 wife's relations have been down for the last 
 few months to give me a hand with the nuts. 
 D — mn them. They ought to do something 
 
THAT SCOUNDREL MIKE. 
 
 for me, when they stole all those dollars you 
 gave me for that last deal." 
 
 " Did they now ? " said my chum. " That's too 
 bad. Why don't you shoot a few of the thieves?" 
 
 " Can't, old man," was the answer. " There 
 are too many of them round about for that sort 
 of thing ; besides that, they buy my stores, and 
 are useful every now and then, as you see by 
 that oil. I've been very lucky this time, and no 
 mistake. I never had such a nice lot before." 
 
 " There's the last one " said he, punching in 
 the bung ; " and in a couple of days ' Mike ' 
 will be round with his schooner to take it." And 
 suddenly breaking off in his conversation, he 
 remarked, " But I forgot to ask you how oil was 
 when you left. I should like to know, as I don't 
 want that fellow Mike to cheat me." 
 
 Liza was quite ready for the question, and 
 said at once, " Gone down a good bit ; but I 
 think it will come up again in time." 
 
 " That's a pity ! I suppose I shan't get more 
 than the gone-down price ? " 
 
 " No," answered Liza. " That man is the 
 closest man I know of I'm certain he'll cut 
 you down as low as he can. Pity he knows 
 it's cheaper, isn't it ? " 
 
214 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 " Well," said Frenchy, looking so very inno- 
 cent, as if he wasn't selling us the whole time, 
 "then I think I'll keep the stuff till the price 
 goes up again, as you say it will." 
 
 " Now look here," said Liza, " you were very 
 unfortunate over that last deal, so I'll tell you 
 what I'll do: I'll take the lot, if you will part, 
 at the old figure, and chance the rise. You're a 
 good sort of fellow, and we don't want to drive 
 any hard bargains with friends." 
 
 " Done with you," said he. " Post the dollars, 
 and the oil is yours ; but first, you might as well 
 take a look round it to see all right. I'm very 
 glad you have taken it, as Mike is such an 
 awful scoundrel. Would you believe it, he did 
 me very badly once — made me drunk, stole the 
 stuff, and never even left a bit of paper 
 behind him, — like you did, — to say anything 
 about the deal. I think I got square with him 
 afterwards, when my natives burnt his store. I 
 always do manage somehow to run level with 
 chaps who cheat me." 
 
 I thought those remarks rather pointed, but 
 said nothing, and I must confess that I was 
 rather grieved that they fitted us quite as com- 
 fortably as they did that fraud Mike; but he 
 
TIT FOR TAT. 215 
 
 said these awkward things so calmly that I 
 didn't imagine he was playing with us — yet 
 just wasn't he having a game ! 
 
 We went round inspecting all the casks one 
 after the other, knocked the bungs out of each 
 of them, and found them all full to the brim with 
 good oil. 
 
 As soon as the deal was finished and the 
 dollars paid, the casks were put on board our 
 boat ; but before we left, Frenchy said : " Very 
 sorry I can't offer you anything to drink before 
 you leave. There is only one bottle left up 
 there on the shelf, and I must keep him for 
 medicine, in case I get sick. It was very kind 
 of you to leave the rest of that case you 
 brought. Soon I shall be in Levuka, and then 
 it will be my turn to shout for the crowd. 
 Good-bye, old fellow ! Come again. I shall 
 soon have another lot of things ready, for I 
 mean to make those relations of mine work for 
 the dollars they stole. You must come along 
 and buy the oil. I do like dealing with honest, 
 ready-money chaps like you ; and mind you let 
 me know what you get for the stuff up there. 
 You can send me word by some of the boats, if 
 you can't come yourself. I shall be very anxious 
 
2i6 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 until I know, and then I shall be able to pull the 
 leg of that chap Mike. He is always about 
 here trying to do me. Now, good-bye ; and as 
 much luck to you as you deserve!" 
 
 I didn't like his talk at all ; he appeared to be 
 sneering at us all the time, and I thought I saw 
 him laugh as he turned off up the beach. 
 
 I told Liza I was sure that something: was 
 up ; but he was so pleased over the deal, and 
 glad that the news of oil going up had not got 
 down before us, that he wouldn't listen to any- 
 thing. 
 
 In Levuka, before the oil is put into the 
 ship's casks to take away, it is poured out of the 
 small trade ones into a big iron tank, and this 
 we proceeded to do as soon as we got back. 
 
 When we knocked the bung out of the first 
 cask, the oil poured out beautifully, but stopped 
 running almost immediately. 
 
 " Blow the thing. What's the matter? " sung 
 out Liza, holding on to the barrel to keep it on 
 top of the tank. " Something is stopping up 
 the bung-hole. Poke a stick in it, Bruce." 
 
 I got one and shoved it in, and then said, 
 " Why, the thing's empty ! " 
 
 " Empty, you fool," said he. " How can it 
 
A CUNNING COOPER. 217 
 
 be empty when it's so heavy I can scarcely hold 
 it up. Lead is nothing to it for weight." 
 
 " I don't care," said I ; " there isn't any more 
 oil to come out of that bung-hole. The stick has 
 gone right through to the bottom, and come out 
 quite dry." 
 
 " Oh, that cursed Frenchy! I do believe he's 
 done us," cried my chum, thinking now of my 
 suspicions. "Help me down with the thing, and 
 bring a gimlet here, and we'll soon find out 
 what's the matter." 
 
 Then we bored a hole in the end of the cask, 
 and what do you think came out ? Not oil, but 
 salt water ! 
 
 That fraud Frenchy was a cooper, and 
 always made his own casks, and this lot he had 
 specially arranged for getting square with us by 
 fitting a length of bamboo tightly across the 
 cask from the bung-hole to the other side. 
 
 This, holding about a gallon, he filled up 
 with oil, and the rest of the very scandalous 
 thing with sea water ! 
 
 We were done properly, and no mistake. 
 Couldn't have been worse done, for all our dol- 
 lars were in that shameless deal. 
 
 That blackguard swindler got so square 
 
2i8 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 with US that time that we had to sell the boat, 
 and there I was loose on the beach again, with 
 no money and nothing to do ; so I shipped on 
 board a whaler that was in want of hands. 
 
 My new ship hailed from New Zealand, had 
 been out nigh two years, and this was her last 
 fishing before she went home to refit ; and from 
 the look of her, she wanted it badly. 
 
 Everything on board, ropes and all, seemed 
 to have been so often mended and smashed 
 about that it was a wonder the masts stood up 
 at all, and the sails were so rotten, holey, and 
 black, that they scarcely hung together. Even 
 the skipper looked very much the worse for 
 wear ; but whatever was worn out, his temper 
 wasn't. 
 
 If I hadn't badly wanted to get away to some 
 respectable white place I shouldn't have en- 
 gaged on board that floating coffin. 
 
 Whalers, you must know, when they want 
 men, take anybody they can get, whether they 
 know anything about ships or not ; and before 
 they go out to fish, they go to some quiet place 
 where the new men can't run away, to train 
 them to rowing the boats ; and a particular 
 rough time the poor devils have of it. 
 
A LOAFER GANG. , 219 
 
 With me joined the biggest lot of loafers 
 out — all chaps who had run away from Australia 
 for one thing or another, but never let on what 
 for. 
 
 These chaps had loafed about amongst the 
 natives, and sponged upon them so long that 
 at last they had worn out their welcome, and 
 been kicked out. 
 
 A lot of them said they were gentlemen ; but 
 to look at them as they then were no one 
 would have thought so. 
 
 Anyhow, we had about twenty or thirty of 
 these duffers, and as soon as we got them on 
 board, to stop them changing their minds, we 
 put to sea and anchored about six miles off, 
 close under the lee of the reef ; and then began 
 .the game. 
 
 The boats were put in the water, and manned 
 with a crew of these duffers — an old hand in the 
 bows, and a mate in the stern, to look after 
 them. 
 
 Before they got into the boats, the mates let 
 their men see plainly that they put a pistol into 
 their pockets, by way of a hint for the crews 
 not to try fighting, for some of them were first- 
 class rowdies. 
 
220 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 It was a cruel sight to see the mates work 
 those poor devils. They were out morning, 
 noon, and night, working as hard as they could 
 go ; and if they tried to shirk rowing, the chap in 
 the bows or stern would fetch them a crack 
 with the boat-stretcher, or heave the nearest 
 handy thing right at them. 
 
 For the first few days those poor beggars 
 were bad, with their backs broken in two, and 
 their hands covered all over with blood blisters ; 
 and not much rocking was wanted to put them 
 to sleep when the day's work was over. 
 
 In about a fortnight they were licked into 
 some sort of shape, when we passed through 
 the reef and set off on our voyage to the 
 Friendly Group, where we expected to meet 
 with the whales, who every year went down 
 there with their calves. 
 
 A whaler, you must know, doesn't want to 
 travel fast ; so long as she can go at all, that is 
 all that is wanted, and lucky for us it was so, as 
 we couldn't go more than four miles an hour in 
 a gale, and then it would have to be behind us. 
 
 Of course, with so many hands on board, 
 there was precious little to do but loaf round 
 the deck, sleep, and eat ; as for drinking, we 
 
A TEETOTAL SHIP. 
 
 got nothing but water. We sailed on teetotal 
 principles ; but that was more than the skipper 
 did ; and of him we saw very little, but when we 
 did, and he was to windward, the stink of rum 
 was powerful strong. 
 
 He only came out of his bunk about twice a 
 day, to curse us all round, and to show us that 
 he was alive and not at all drunk ; at least, he 
 thought he did so, but he tacked about in a very 
 strange way for a sober man. 
 
 His swearing was quite refreshing to me 
 after all the stale stuff I had been listening to 
 for the last year. It was something of a very 
 much higher class, and the style quite new to 
 me. The other chaps didn't like it so much, 
 though ; but they had been in the Colonies, and 
 were used to that kind of language. 
 
 All the old hands settled down to something 
 or other: some knitted stockings, some made 
 nets ; others did crochet, just like girls ; in fact, 
 all did some sort of work. 
 
 The boatswain and carpenter produced long, 
 thick sticks of wood, which they cut into clubs— 
 some so big that no one man could ever use 
 them. 
 
 These they painted red, blue, and all sorts 
 
222 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 of colours, hung them with feathers, and then 
 rammed them down the galley chimney, to make 
 them look old ; and when they got back to port, 
 they sold these things to museums and col- 
 ectors for native island weapons. 
 
 This was the sort of life we led until we 
 came to Tongatabu, and anchored about ten 
 miles off, amongst a lot of coral patches, when 
 the misery of the duffers began again, and all 
 the whaling tools were got out, ready for use at 
 any time the fish might come along. 
 
 One morning, the look-out at the mast-head 
 sung out, "There she blows! there she blows ! " 
 and at once three boats were cleared away for 
 the hunt. 
 
 Away, about two miles off, we saw a lot of 
 fountains spouting into the air, which showed 
 that a school of whales was passing by, and we 
 were soon off to try for them. 
 
 When we got near, everything was made 
 ready and looked over, the line was seen coiled 
 neatly in the tubs, so that it might run easy, 
 the leading hand stood up in the boat with har- 
 poon all prepared for fastening on, and the 
 mate saw the lance handy, for killing the fish 
 at the end of the hunt. 
 
INTRODUCED TO A WHALE. 223 
 
 Presently the mate sung out, " Easy all ! 
 There she lays, right ahead. Stand by there in 
 the bows, to fix on." 
 
 I looked round, and there she was really, 
 rolling about like an enormous great tub, so oily 
 and shining in the sun, and amusing herself 
 throwing up the water in fountains of snow- 
 white spray, with a loud, snorting row. 
 
 Slowly we crept up without noise, and just 
 as our bowman was about to heave the harpoon 
 and fix on, the brute up with her tail and 
 slipped down out of sight, so smoothly that she 
 didn't leave the smallest curl on the top of the 
 water. 
 
 " Never mind," shouted the mate ; " she'll 
 come up again farther on, so pull a sharp stroke 
 or two." 
 
 We went on smartly for about five minutes, 
 when up the fish came again, close alongside of 
 us, and before you could have said "Jack 
 Robinson " the harpoon was stuck deep into its 
 back, and the line flying out of the tub over 
 the bows in sheets of fire as it ran through the 
 reel, over which a man kept pouring water, to 
 put out the burning till it travelled comfortably. 
 
 Although the line was running out like mad. 
 
224 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 the boat didn't move at all, for the whale, when 
 struck, "sounded" — that is, dived straight down 
 below. 
 
 "D — mn the brute!" said the harpooner; 
 "there's one tub of line out, and here goes 
 another. I wonder when that cuss means to 
 come up again ? " 
 
 At last the line slackened, and we knew that 
 he was coming up ; and as the slack got handy, 
 it was carefully taken in and coiled up for 
 another run. 
 
 We were all the time quite ready for a start, 
 sitting down on the bottom of the boat, our 
 oars fastened, with their blades high in the air, 
 to prevent them catching the water when the 
 fun began. 
 
 By-and-by the line tautened, when the bow- 
 man made it fast, and at that very moment up 
 came the monster, about fifty yards ahead, 
 rolling like a ship in a storm, throwing up 
 great spouts of water with an awful row, and 
 bringing his enormous tail with a smack like a 
 cannon down on the waves, he drove them into 
 sheets of foam, and then started off as hard as 
 he could, with such a jerk as nearly dragged 
 the boat under the heavy swell. 
 
IN THE GREEN DEPTHS. 225 
 
 "Slack off handsomely," shouted the mate, 
 " till we get way on, or the line will break. 
 There, that will do ; make fast." And as we 
 rushed through the water swifter than ever I 
 thought a boat could go, the man forrard 
 stood by with a tomahawk, to cut the line if 
 anything went wrong, whilst the mate, with his 
 long steer oar out over the stern, put us which- 
 ever way the whale chose to go. 
 
 By golly! how he did pull us over the big 
 swells ; we went at such a rate that the water 
 flying off the bows was cut into great big green 
 walls, as smooth as glass, looking just as solid, 
 and so clear that we could see right through 
 them, to the light beyond, — and they stood 
 quite ten feet above us, — so that we could see 
 nothing of the top of the water. 
 
 There we were, right down in the bottom of 
 that watery cutting, sitting as still as if we were 
 made of stone, and the only one who moved at 
 all was the mate, who had to straighten her up 
 every now and then with a stroke or two of the 
 steer oar. 
 
 It was awfully grand to fly through the 
 water like that, and throw back the big swells 
 as though they were nothing. 
 
 Q 
 
2 26 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 It made me feel that I must go mad again 
 with excitement, and I wanted to shout and 
 dance, but the mate soon stopped that with a 
 look. 
 
 We rushed along like this in the deep, clear 
 cut, the water splitting before us as we touched 
 it with our sharp bows with great ease, as we 
 followed the harpoon line, standing straight out 
 before us as rigid as an iron bar, while the 
 whale, without jerking or twisting, dragged 
 us, with an honest, steady strain, right after 
 him. 
 
 It was wonderfully confusing to look over 
 the side : the boat appeared to be standing 
 still, as though fixed, while the walls of crystal 
 green water seemed to be rushing past at a 
 headlong pace ; and yet there was no hurry to 
 be noticed, — the sides of the cut were so smooth 
 and clear. 
 
 In about half an hour the pace began to 
 slack, getting slower and slower every moment, 
 and as it lessened, so the walls of water on 
 each side of us came lower and lower, filling up 
 the valley we had been travelling in, as we 
 were floated upwards, till at last we found 
 ourselves quite still, riding over the tops 
 
DOUBLING BACK. 227 
 
 of the rolling swells on the surface once 
 more. 
 
 There we waited, watching for some time, 
 when up came our friend, spouting in a very- 
 troubled manner, and lay rolling about on the 
 top of the water, looking as if he had had quite 
 enough of playing at towing boats. 
 
 " Now we have him," said the mate. " Out 
 with the oars, two of you, and pass me the 
 lance. 
 
 " You, Jim, there, forrard, take in the slack 
 of the line as we go up, and don't pull on it 
 for the life of you, or you'll start him again. 
 That's it, boys ! Handsomely now ! " 
 
 We pulled up very slowly, and were quite 
 close already for the mate to lance him, when 
 he shouted, "Look out! By the Lord he's 
 off straight back again. Sharp, now! Peak 
 your oars and sit down tight on the bot- 
 tom. Feel him, Jim, with your line, and then 
 slack off gently till you get way on the boat, 
 or, by the Holy ! he'll pull the nose out of u? 
 with the jerk." 
 
 He then set to work with the steer oar, and 
 pulled the boat right round, bows towards where 
 the fish had gone. 
 
228 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 In a moment we were off again, first of all 
 slowly, as Jim slacked off, then at last full pace, 
 as he made all fast, and once more the pro- 
 cession began. 
 
 It didn't last long this time, as the whale 
 was evidently getting the worse for wear, and 
 started in dodging about from side to side, 
 chucking and jerking us all over the place in a 
 most annoying manner. 
 
 Once or twice I thought he would have torn 
 the side of the boat out as he suddenly turned 
 off in a new direction, and two or three times 
 he threw us into the walls of water, high on 
 each side, rather too deep to be comfortable ; 
 but each time he dodged the mate put the 
 bows straight to him, and we came through all 
 right. 
 
 Presently he stopped his games, came to the 
 top, and lay there snorting and spouting in a 
 helpless manner, with not another kick in 
 him. 
 
 Then, pulling up close alongside, the mate 
 drove the long, sharp lance deep into his 
 side, right through the heart, and spouting 
 blood, with a last lash out of his tail, he lay 
 dead on the top of the water. 
 
"TIRED OUT." • 229 
 
 We then made fast, towed him to the ship, 
 and the next day all that was left of that fish 
 of any good was in casks in the hold. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Friendly sharks. — Yankee President, Holy Joe, and John 
 King Bruce. — Off after spouts. — Wilful baby whale. — 
 Fool of a harpooner. — Fish mother's rage. — Boat and 
 crew skied. — Settling accounts with her tail. — Long 
 swim on a plank. — A mad mother. — Promoted mate. — 
 Ashore for yams. — A swaggering lot. — In hot water 
 again. — White or native ? — A fighting beach-comber. 
 
 While we were cutting out the fish, the sharks 
 — some of them of enormous size — crowded 
 round, just like chickens in a farmyard coming 
 for their barley. They were as tame as cats, 
 as they lay, with their ugly noses resting on the 
 whale, so close that we could touch them with 
 our spades. 
 
 They were so friendly that when a man 
 slipped off into the water, right in the middle 
 of them, they didn't attempt to bite him at all, 
 but went out of his way, till he scrambled back 
 again. 
 
 At last we got to know them so well that the 
 boys gave them all sorts of queer names : all 
 
CHURCH AND STATE. 231 
 
 the twelve apostles were there, and well dis- 
 tinguished ; the Yankee President — he was 
 striped ; " Union Jack," " Holy Joe," and such- 
 like ; but one ugly black fellow was chris- 
 tened John King Bruce, and I didn't like that 
 joke. 
 
 Here we stopped for a long time without 
 changing ground ; sometimes catching two or 
 three fish a day, at other times going for a 
 "week or ten days without seeing one. 
 
 The skipper went on shore every now and 
 then, but when he did, he only took the old 
 hands with him, as he was afraid to trust us, 
 lest we should think the new place good enough 
 to loaf in and desert ; and I don't say he wasn't 
 right. 
 
 One day spouts were reported, the boats 
 were lowered and off after them, and soon got 
 spread out in different parts of the school. 
 
 My boat went in chase of a fish that ap- 
 peared to keep away from the crowd, as though 
 there was something the matter with it, while 
 all the rest were sporting as they moved along, 
 spouting and playing as if they were quite safe 
 from harm. 
 
 Our whale travelled ahead very slowly, but 
 
232 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 every now and then turned round, and cruised 
 about in the direction it came from. 
 
 This seemed rather curious, but when we 
 got close, we saw the cause, and found it 
 was a big lady whale, trying to make her ob- 
 streperous youngster of a calf go in the right 
 direction ; but each time she tried to lead the 
 cantankerous little beggar, he would turn and 
 go off in exactly the wrong road. 
 
 Then the old lady would return, swim round 
 him until she had put his head straight, give 
 him a few punches with her tail, and take the 
 lead again. 
 
 As soon as she saw us coming her anxiety 
 increased, and she swam round and round that 
 calf quicker and quicker, trying hard to lead 
 him away, but with no result, till at last he 
 turned right round and came straight into us. 
 
 " Leave him alone ! " shouted the mate. 
 "Leave him alone! There'll be the very 
 devil to pay, and no pitch hot, if you touch 
 him." 
 
 However, it was too late ; the harpooner in 
 the bows couldn't resist the temptation of 
 having a shy, and as the wilful child passed 
 close underneath, he drove the iron right into 
 
SOARING ALOFT. 233 
 
 him, with such force that he spouted blood at 
 once and turned up dead. 
 
 "You've done it now, you cuss!" roared the 
 mate. " Look out boys ! here she comes ! " 
 
 And, my word ! she did come too, at the rate 
 of about a thousand miles a minute, tearing 
 and sending the water flying up all round her, 
 and in the smallest possible space of time up 
 went boat, crew, and all, slap into the air, with 
 the awful heave she gave us from underneath. 
 
 Down we came again, splashing into the 
 water. But that wasn't enough for the mother, 
 for she was there to make our further acquaint- 
 ance ; and, standing on her head, with her big 
 tail lifted high out of the water, she let us have 
 two such tremendous smashes that the remains 
 of the boat were broken into small pieces. 
 
 I don't know whether in all this mess I 
 went up again or not-^for water, bits of boat, 
 and men, were flying round so thick that I 
 didn't know what I was doing or where I was, 
 and close by was that vicious old whale, cruis- 
 ing about slapping the water, and driving it in 
 thick sheets of foam right over us, with the 
 most awful thundering noise. 
 
 She was downright mad over that stupid 
 
234 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 calf; and to be in the water close to a crazy- 
 whale is no joke, I can assure you, and a thing 
 I don't want to experience again, for I never 
 was nearer dead than then, not even when I 
 was given up the other day. 
 
 It was very lucky for us that all her splash- 
 ings and the heave of the swells had sent us 
 away from where the dead calf was floating, as 
 she looked after him and let our bits alone. 
 
 When my confusion was over, I found myself 
 floating on a bit of the boat's stern, with no one 
 alive but that fool of a man who had made all 
 the mischief. 
 
 In the water, scattered all round, were the 
 other poor chaps, smashed and shivered in 
 every limb, and with heads horribly broken, 
 swimming dead, and there were only me and 
 that harpoon idiot alive to tell the tale. One 
 by one the poor devils sank down out of sight, 
 till we were left all alone, riding up and down 
 on the smooth, swelling, lumpy sea, with a 
 mad monster of a whale not very far off, quite 
 ready to do more mischief if she had not been 
 occupied with her calf. 
 
 The other boats were so long coming that I 
 began to think we should never get home 
 
THE DEAD MAN'S SHOES. 235 
 
 again, but in about three hours, just as we had 
 had quite enough of it, they arrived, each tow- 
 ing a fish behind them, which had made them 
 so long getting back. 
 
 As they passed, they picked us up ; the 
 whale had taken care that there was nothing 
 else worth moving ; and soon we got on board. 
 
 The skipper was in a great rage when he 
 heard of the loss of the boat and six men, but 
 I think he was more riled at losing the mate, 
 who always had done the navigation for him. 
 
 Nearly all that night he went raging and 
 cursing round the ship, till he couldn't carry all 
 the rum that he had kept on swallowing, and 
 then he went to his bunk. 
 
 The next day he promoted the two other 
 mates, and made me his third ; so there I was 
 a ship's officer again ! 
 
 I didn't want to be mate at all; I only wanted 
 to get to some white place ; but then, as I saw 
 that the skipper let the mates go on shore with 
 the boats now and then, I thought I might just 
 as well take the place, and see what the country 
 was like ; but I don't think the men liked it at 
 all, because I was not their colour. 
 
 In a day or two, just as I wanted, the skipper 
 
236 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 sent me on shore for yams and fresh vege- 
 tables ; so off I started, with a crew of old 
 hands, and, after about two hours' row, got to 
 the landing-place. 
 
 The country I found here was very unlike 
 the other islands I'd been in, for it was nearly 
 flat, with only one little hill, about thirty feet 
 high, to be seen near the beach. 
 
 However, I saw more white men there than 
 I did in Levuka, but exactly the same sort of 
 chaps, most of them more than half native, 
 and the whole lot with dark wives. 
 
 The back of the beach was crowded with 
 houses, the same sort as in Fiji ; but the men 
 were quite different, — they were lighter in col- 
 our, and swaggered about so frightfully proud 
 of themselves they would scarcely speak to a 
 fellow. 
 
 The first thing I did was to get the yams on 
 board the boat, and then, thinking I would take 
 a small look round, I told the men to wait a 
 little, as I had something else to get, and 
 off I went round the beach. 
 
 I met a great many of the savages, with their 
 faces painted all colours, stalking proudly about, 
 looking very busy over something, and flourish- 
 
HAUGHTY NIGGERS. 237 
 
 ing their clubs and spears, as they shouted and 
 talked quite lively. 
 
 A more insolent lot there couldn't have been : 
 they not only never made room for me on the 
 path, but went out of their way to have the 
 pleasure of shoving me off it ; and I daren't say 
 anything to them, for fear of a lick across the 
 head with something heavy and hard. 
 
 The whole lot were in a great state of excite- 
 ment, and getting ready for some sort of devil- 
 ment or other. 
 
 Presently the crowd became thicker, and I 
 was pushed about from one stinking big fellow 
 to another, till I was almost as greasy as any 
 of them, but all finished when a thundering 
 savage gave me such a rough heave that he 
 sent me spinning right off the road, with a 
 bang, against the wall of a wooden-built house. 
 
 While I stood there, confused and thinking 
 what I was to do to get out of the row, some 
 one inside called out, " You'd better come in, 
 ' snowball.' You'll get a clubbing if you stop 
 long out there." 
 
 Very thankfully I went in ; and there I found 
 the most complete beach-comber I ever saw. 
 
 He was naked to the waist, like the natives. 
 
238 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 and, like them, shining all over with cocoanut 
 oil ; his only dress was a piece of cloth round 
 his waist, and from there down to his knees 
 he was tattooed, which showed up remarkably 
 in bright blue against his light-coloured skin. 
 
 On his head he wore an enormous mop of 
 hair, tied up with wreaths of flowers and leaves. 
 
 A long smash across his quite flat nose didn't 
 make his face any prettier than did the beastly 
 paint that was stuck all over it ; and his red 
 eyes, without whites, one of them squinting in 
 the corner, stuck fast to his wreck of a nose, 
 altogether made up as nasty a picture of a white 
 man as could be seen. 
 
 As I entered, he said : " You must be a fool 
 to go wandering about amongst those chaps. 
 Why, they would just as soon kill and eat you 
 as look at you. I'm surprised you got as far 
 as this without having your head cracked." 
 
 I answered, " What's the matter ? I've done 
 no harm. Why should they kill me ? " 
 
 " For fun," said he. " We are all just back 
 from a fight on the other side ; and, by golly ! 
 there's no more enemy left in those parts. We 
 eat them all — men, women, children, crops, and 
 everything. 
 
KING TUBOU MALAHOI. 239 
 
 " All but the chief, whom we have brought 
 back to have a quiet talk to old Tubou 
 Malahoi, the king ; and he'll do something 
 nasty to him, I know, because he has said lots 
 of insulting things about him, and tried to boss 
 the country himself. 
 
 " Would you like to come along and see the 
 show ? I must be there, for I am a big chief 
 amongst these people, and no one will harm 
 you with me." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A beach-comber's state toilet. — Way for the big fighter. — 
 — A savage parhament. — Tubou Malahoi, King of 
 Tonga. — Prisoner makes a remark. — Awful result. — 
 Horrible cure for free speech. — Living man's tongue 
 swallowed. — Appalling murder. — Kava and blood. — 
 Hunted by cannibals. — More killing. — Tied up for a 
 deserter. — Devilish ill-treatment. — Sail for Samoa. — 
 Landed sick. — Message for whites. — Finis. 
 
 The invitation to see "something nasty" I 
 couldn't resist, thougli my short experience of 
 these devils was not nice or assuring, so I said 
 I'd go. 
 
 " All serene ; come along. That crowd you 
 met in the road were going to the meeting of 
 those two loving friends — the king and the 
 rebel." 
 
 He then called out for one of his wives, — 
 there were about a dozen knocking round about 
 the house, — and she came to rub him down with 
 a lot more oil, this time all sticky and yellow 
 with saffron, as I think it is called. 
 
 Another girl brought his gun, his fighting 
 
WORSE THAN A NIGGER. 24t 
 
 axe, and his long knife, until at last he was all 
 ready, and a real picture of battle, murder, and 
 sudden death he looked. 
 
 The savages all this time were streaming 
 away in the same direction, and as they came 
 near us, they cleared the road, and gave us all 
 the path to ourselves. 
 
 There was no hustling this journey ; oh, no ! 
 The haughty warriors appeared afraid to look 
 at us, as my new friend, with his head in the 
 air, his feathers and wreaths streaming out 
 behind him, gun on his shoulder, and a big axe 
 slung on his back, strode down the beach, just 
 as if the whole place belonged to him. 
 
 What with one thing and another, I quite 
 forgot all about the boat, yams, and everything 
 else, and followed on in great excitement, to see 
 what was going to happen. 
 
 Presently we turned off from the sea, and 
 passing through a narrow belt of bush, came to 
 a large open space, shaded all round the edges 
 with a lovely fringe of cocoanut and breadfruit 
 trees, and with a big house standing at one 
 end of it. 
 
 All round, sitting in the shade, were hundredj 
 and hundreds of painted and oiled devils of 
 
242 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 Tongans, with their spears and clubs laid on 
 the grass in front of them. They were actually- 
 blazing with the colours of beautiful flowers and 
 bright berries they wore in garlands round their 
 heads, necks, and bodies. 
 
 In front of the big house, standing leaning 
 on a spear, still as a stone statue, was the 
 finest man that ever I saw, before or after. 
 
 He was " Tubou Malahoi," King of Tonga, 
 the first fighter in the whole Pacific, and cousin 
 to that cannibal wretch Mafu, in Fiji. 
 
 He appeared to have come there strictly for 
 business, for he wore nothing at all but his 
 waistcloth, with not a sign of a flower, and his 
 face was grinning with such a devilish look of 
 scorn that it made me shiver with horror to 
 look at it. 
 
 His big black eyes were flashing out from 
 under his scowling brows with quiet rage, that 
 seemed as if about to break out into something 
 dreadful at any moment, as he kept them fixed 
 on a man, tied up hands and feet, in the middle 
 of the square, right in the full force of the 
 blazing sun. 
 
 He was the rebel chief the fighters had 
 brought back for the king to talk to. 
 
A ROYAL RAGE. 243 
 
 Just before we came to the meeting-place 
 my new friend gave me his axe to carry, 
 saying, " The people will then know that you 
 belong to me, but mind you stick close, and do 
 not move from right behind me when I sit 
 down, for there are a lot of young warriors 
 here who haven't been fighting, and. who would 
 knock the head off a stranger just for a lark." 
 
 When we got to the crowd, they quickly 
 opened out, and let us through right up to the 
 king, where, without a word, we squatted down 
 alongside of two very old men, who had come 
 with us. 
 
 For a long time there was deep silence, but 
 I could plainly see that the rage of the king 
 was tearing him to pieces, and as he looked so 
 revengefully and cruelly at the victim before 
 him, he fairly shook with wicked frenzy, and 
 ground his teeth together so hard as to be 
 heard a long way off. 
 
 No devil in hell could have looked more 
 spiteful than that chap; the perspiration was 
 pouring off him like water, till he could stand 
 the excitement no longer. 
 
 With a hideous screeching yell, he jumped 
 straight out some distance to the front, when, 
 
244 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 throwing away his spear and working his arms 
 about Hke a windmill, he began to talk to the 
 warriors, who then were almost as excited 
 as he. 
 
 The more he spoke the wilder he got; his 
 eyes flashed sparks of fire, and rolling fearfully, 
 all bloodshot with rage, they stood right out of 
 his head, which, with a face fit for the worst 
 demon, made him a thing too terrible to 
 look at. 
 
 As he jumped and threw himself about in his 
 fearful rage, his people all round started up and 
 took up the yelling and dancing, but, above all 
 the frightful riot, the fearful voice of the king 
 was to be heard, as foaming at the mouth he 
 convulsed himself more furiously than ever, 
 till presently he got so bad that he fell down 
 in a fit quite exhausted. 
 
 As soon as that happened all became quiet 
 again, so quiet that you might have heard a 
 pin drop, when the man tied up in the middle 
 took advantage of the silence and shouted out 
 loud something or other. 
 
 It must have been something very insolent, 
 for he had no sooner got the words out of his 
 mouth than up jumped the king, seized his 
 
SUPPRESSION OF SPEECH. 245 
 
 spear, and with a vengeful yell, rushed at 
 him. 
 
 As he stood over him, with the spear raised 
 all ready to run through the helpless victim, the 
 latter shouted aloud something more, when the 
 king, howling like twenty thousand demons, 
 threw away his spear once more, fairly jumped 
 upon the poor devil's breast, stooped down, and 
 dragging his mouth wide open, tore his quiver- 
 ing tongue right out by the roots from his 
 broken jaws, and swallowed it before his 
 eyes. 
 
 He then walked back, and sat down quietly 
 alongside of us, as if he had done nothing at 
 all out of the common. 
 
 As soon as the king had turned from his 
 tortured enemy, the whole crowd rushed in 
 upon him, and then we heard the sicken- 
 ing thuds of club strokes on human flesh, a 
 sound that made my whole body creep with 
 horror. 
 
 Every one of those hundreds of savages hit 
 him as he got the chance; and when they 
 cleared off back to their places round the 
 square, they left nothing in the shape of a man 
 to be seen,— nothing but a bleeding heap of 
 
246 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 flesh and bones, battered and broken to little 
 bits and torn to shreds. 
 
 After the murder was over, the whole meeting 
 became calm, and appeared to be talking prettily 
 to one another, as they laughed and made 
 speeches in the easiest possible manner, and 
 soon some girls were sent for to chew kava 
 for the chiefs. 
 
 They came into the square looking as bright, 
 beautiful, and merry as they well could, and 
 gay with fine dresses, and garlands of the most 
 glorious coloured flowers crowning their jet- 
 black hair, and their lovely young faces smiled 
 on every one present. 
 
 They didn't take the slightest notice of the 
 ghastly heap of flesh out on the grass, all 
 steaming and drying in the sun, but sat down 
 close to it, and began their work. 
 
 When sufficient had been chewed, the mess 
 was put into the big bowl, mixed with water, 
 strained in the same graceful way Samoan girls 
 do it here, and handed round in cocoanut-shell 
 cups. 
 
 Soon after this the meeting began to break 
 up, as one by one, or in small mobs, these 
 ruffians moved off to their houses to sleep, and 
 
GRISLY UNDERTAKERS. ii,n 
 
 perhaps think over all the good things they 
 had been doing lately ; till at last there was 
 only the king, those two old men, and my 
 beach-comber left to look at that horribly 
 mangled heap of what had been a living 
 creature but a short time before. 
 
 All this time the sights I was witnessing 
 had driven every recollection of the boat from 
 my mind. These, however, now returned ; so I 
 said good-bye to my friend, and started off at a 
 run to the water, but found nothing of the boat 
 or the ship, except the three masts of her a 
 long way off on the sky-line. 
 
 I suppose they had got tired of waiting for 
 me so long, and had gone off to tell the skipper 
 that I'd deserted. 
 
 This was a real pretty business ! I didn't 
 want to stop along with such fellows as I 
 had just left; they were too haughty and 
 quarrelsome for me. 
 
 I then sat down on a rock, to think for a bit 
 what I should be up to, and while doing so 
 three savage looking rascals came down with a 
 basket full of what was left of ^ that poor devil 
 they clubbed up on the square. 
 
 With mocking gestures and laughs, they 
 
248 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 threw the basket into the sea, and then, instead 
 of going away, stopped looking at me precious 
 hard and as wicked as they could be. 
 
 I got afraid, and moved away in the direction 
 of the beach-comber's house, the only place of 
 safety I knew. 
 
 The brutes immediately followed, and when 
 I saw that, I set off running as hard as I could, 
 they after me, shouting like mad. 
 
 I'm quite sure that I never ran faster in 
 my life, and no wonder, as it was for that I 
 ran ; but all this yelling brought out more 
 savages by the dozen from the houses, who 
 joined in the hunt, till there were quite fifty 
 of these tattooed devils all chasing me to get 
 first crack at my poor head. 
 
 Some of the natives came out in front, and 
 as I rushed past in my flight, they made hits at 
 me, but I jumped so smartly from one side to 
 the other, dodging the clubs as they tried to 
 brain me, that I was not touched, until a girl 
 threw a big stone, which caught me across the 
 stomach, knocked all the wind out of me, and 
 brought me down without a breath. 
 
 With hideous screeches of victory, those 
 demons then raced all the faster, to get up first 
 
CRACKING NUTS. 249 
 
 and settle me ; and once more in my life I gave 
 myself up for lost. 
 
 I thought then all would have been over in 
 a few moments ; but how long they seemed I 
 shall never, never forget, as I laid on my face, 
 expecting the crash that would have sent me 
 off to the kingdom to come. 
 
 It was so long coming that I sat up and 
 looked round, and saw that once more I was 
 saved, for there was my new friend the beach- 
 comber swinging a big club, standing between 
 me and the men who were thirsting for my 
 blood. 
 
 There he stood talking to them in their own 
 lingo, and they were hard at work shouting 
 back to him in a very angry and insolent 
 manner. 
 
 At last he said something that they couldn't 
 stand anyhow, and two of the mob rushed out 
 to fight him. 
 
 With a jump or two, he met them more than 
 half-way, and before you could say " knife," one 
 of them was dead, with his head burst open, 
 and the other was on the ground, doubled up 
 as if he had the cholera, from a heavy club 
 stroke in the stomach. 
 
2SO THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 The rest didn't like to come on ; and as by 
 this time one of his wives had brought him a 
 gun, the howHng gang thought it best to go 
 home, and not quarrel any more with the 
 "papalagi alii fita-fita," as they say; or, in 
 English, the " white chief warrior." 
 
 When they were gone, my beach-comber said, 
 " You've had a narrow squeak for it this time, 
 darkie. If I hadn't just got home, you would 
 have been amongst the coloured angels by this 
 time, and your handsome carcass in the oven. 
 But how the deuce did you get amongst that 
 lot ? They are the worse gang in the town — all 
 low men, who have to do the dirty work, I 
 thought you were off to your ship." 
 
 I then told him all about the boat, and how 
 those fellows came to hunt me ; when he con- 
 tinued : " Well ! I suppose you must come into 
 the house for to-night, but to-morrow you must 
 get somewhere out of this. After this fight, 
 they will have you as sure as fate if you 
 stop. 
 
 " I've just killed their best man, and given 
 another something to remind him of me for 
 some time to come ; but I can't keep on killing 
 and thumping my own men for you, so take my 
 
A TEN-DOLLAR SELL. 25' 
 
 advice and leave this to-morrow ; anyway, you 
 don't stop in my shanty." 
 
 I went to sleep very sorrowfully that night, 
 not having any idea of where to go, or what to 
 do, after I got kicked out in the morning : it 
 looked a dead certainty for a killing at last. 
 
 At daylight I was woke up by a solid kick 
 in the ribs, and the gruff voice of my protector 
 telling me to get up at once. 
 
 " What for ? " said I, half asleep. 
 
 " Because I tell you," he answered angrily. 
 " And what's more, you had better look sharp. 
 Do you know what you are ? I'll tell you ! 
 You're a cursed deserter from that whaler out 
 there. I've just caught you running away to 
 the bush, and your skipper has given me ten 
 dollars — look at them ! there they are, all right 
 and bright — to put you safely in the boat he 
 sent for you this morning. 
 
 " You may bet I'm going to do it for sure ; 
 so get up, you black skunk, while I tie you, 
 or perhaps you'll escape, and kill more of my 
 poor men, like you did yesterday." 
 
 Without any more talk, he made me fast, and 
 kicked me out in front of him to the beach, 
 where the boat was lying, in charge of the mate. 
 
252 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 It was no use my telling them that I wanted 
 to go on board very badly, and save my life out 
 of that murderous place ; they wouldn't believe 
 me ; but, just as though I was a dangerous crim- 
 inal, they threw me down on the bottom of the 
 boat, and tied me fast to the thwarts. 
 
 When we reached the ship, they dragged me 
 up the side, and as I went over the bulwarks, 
 tied as I was, the skipper, who had been taking 
 something stronger than tea for breakfast, rushed 
 up, and with his shut fist struck me down flat. 
 
 " Take the black nigger," said he, " and tie 
 him up forrard. I'll teach him to run away ! 
 This is what comes of taking loafers off the 
 beach out of charity, and, by the Holy ! I'll 
 have satisfaction out of their hides." 
 
 I was then dragged off to the bows, and 
 lashed up to the heel of the bowsprit, while that 
 respectable skipper went off for some more 
 breakfast. 
 
 That meal of his lasted more than half the 
 day ; and each time he tackled his provisions 
 he came forrard to curse and kick me, and then 
 would stagger back for more, feeling thirsty 
 through the exercise he gave me, I suppose. 
 
 This sort of thing went on for two days and 
 
ALMOST DONE FOR. 253 
 
 two nights, till I could stand it no longer, and 
 what with the sun, no grub, and the hidings, I 
 was going off my head, when the men took 
 things in their own hands, and cut me loose. 
 
 They had to fight the skipper though — who, it 
 appears, was mad to kill me — before they could 
 do it ; and he was so bad that they locked him 
 up aft, till his boiling rage had cooled off a 
 bit. 
 
 The ship was now upside down : there was 
 no work done, and although great schools of 
 whales were passing daily, no one went for 
 them ; nothing was done but eating, drinking, 
 and loafing round the decks. 
 
 The mates and the crew behaved very well, 
 for all they wanted was to get to New Zealand. 
 
 No one but the drunken old skipper wanted 
 to stop in Tonga, where the principal sport of 
 the natives was hunting and eating strangers, 
 and the noble savage only made friends and 
 liked them when he had them comfortably 
 inside. 
 
 No! every man Jack wanted to get away 
 from such a cursed country, where, if you talked 
 a little too much, some gentleman would swallow 
 your tongue for you. 
 
254 THE FIRST WHITE MAN ON THE BEACH. 
 
 In time the skipper got more reasonable, and 
 one day he hoisted his anchor, and away we 
 went in a northerly direction, to call at another 
 group of islands before turning south for New 
 Zealand. 
 
 In about a week we found ourselves anchored 
 in the bay of Apia, just out there, with canoes 
 full of these laughing, good-natured natives all 
 round. 
 
 I didn't see them though for more than an 
 hour or so, for I was so sick with cruel treat- 
 ment and bad grub that I tumbled into my 
 berth, thinking I must die. 
 
 All on board thought so too, and as I was a 
 great bother to them, they put me ashore before 
 they sailed, and here I've been ever since ; up 
 one day, and down the next ; but, on the whole, 
 quite happy and contented. 
 
 All along since I've been in the island I have 
 only had one trouble, and that was with my 
 wife's relations, who, when they knew I had a 
 little money, would make her mutiny till they 
 got it out of me. No dollars, all right ! Lots 
 of dollars, all wrong ! 
 
 And now, sir, that I've finished my story I 
 hope that you will not think worse of me. 
 
NOT SO BAD AS HE SEEMS. 255 
 
 I never was really bad, for it was only when 
 I was mad that those awful things happened ; 
 and the recallection of the terrible manner in 
 which the brutes I met treated me made me 
 that revengeful that I couldn't help paying 
 them out when I got the chance. 
 
 It was not the proper John King Bruce who 
 did the things, but a man with a devil inside 
 him ; a devil put there by the cruelties of the 
 murdering scoundrels, who properly paid for 
 their wickedness with their lives. 
 
 No, sir; the real John King Bruce is not 
 responsible for all that was done up to the time 
 he ran away from the blackbirder, for he was 
 mad. 
 
 And, sir, if you should put these things in 
 a book — and somehow I think you will — just 
 tell the kind, good people in England who read 
 it that John King Bruce will die proud of being 
 a Britisher, by which he got the acknowledged 
 right of calling himself the " First white man 
 on the beach." 
 
 Finis.