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 BV 3680 .F5 C36 1863 
 
 The Cannibal Islands, or, 
 Shelf Fiji and its people 
 
 
 
 
V 
 
THE 
 
 CANNIBAL ISLANDS; 
 
 FIJI AND ITS PEOPLE. 
 
 "The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of 
 cruelty." — Ps. Ixxiv. 20. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, 
 
 1334 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
 NEW YORK: A. D. P. RANDOLPH, 083 BROADWAY. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by 
 
 \VM. L. HILDEBURN, Treasurer, 
 
 in Trust for the 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN PUBLICATION COMMITTEE, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
 for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
PREPACK 
 
 At the present day, when interest is 
 generally aroused in regard to the South 
 Sea Islands, an account of the Fijians 
 will be opportune. 
 
 In America but little is known of the 
 people, and less of the progress of Chris- 
 tianity among them. Although they 
 have frequently been visited by naviga- 
 tors, no popular American work on the 
 subject has been presented to the public. 
 
 The mission established in Fiji by the 
 English having no connection with any 
 of our missionary stations, the informa- 
 tion that has reached us has been vague 
 and unsatisfactory. 
 
 For much information in regard to the 
 character and habits of the people we 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 are indebted to the recent work of the 
 Eeverend Messrs. Thomas Williams and 
 James Calvert, "Fiji and the Fijians." 
 We wish also to acknowledge our obli- 
 gations to Captain Wilkes' Exploring Ex- 
 pedition, and Captain Erskine's "Islands 
 of the Western Pacific." 
 
 The facts here given cannot fail deeply 
 to interest and move the heart of the 
 reader. We have at one view the depths 
 of degradation to which man can sink, 
 and the power of God's grace to raise 
 him from these depths and transform him 
 into a follower of Christ. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAET I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAP. I. — The Islands. — History — Scenery- 
 Population — White Residents — Climate f 
 
 CHAP. II. — The Islanders. — Race — Appearance 
 
 — Hair-Dressing — Dress— Tattoo 18 
 
 CHAP. III. — Fijian Character. — Vices — Lying 
 — Pride — Anger — Hypocrisy — Self-Control — 
 Revenge — Theft 32 
 
 CHAP. IV.— Government.— Rank— Chiefs— Ma- 
 
 tas — Vasus — Punishments 51 
 
 CHAP. V. — Language and Literature. — Copi- 
 ousness — Books — Poetry — Singing 61 
 
 CHAP. VI.— Woman in Fiji.— Degraded— Poly- 
 gamy — Infanticide — Marriage — Children — 
 The Aged and Sick — Tangithi — Burying alive 68 
 
 CHAP. VII. — Funeral Ceremonies. — Tuitha- 
 
 kau's Burial — Graves — Victims 88 
 
 CHAP. VIII.— Cannibalism 102 
 
 CHAP. IX.— War in Fiji. — Declared —Armies 
 
 — Forts — Battles — Peace — Weapons 115 
 
 CHAP. X. — Social Habits. — Houses — Food — Ya- 
 qona — Feasts — Politeness — Sports — Music — 
 
 Dances — Stories —Tabu 126 
 
 1* 5 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 CHAP. XI. — Occupations. — Agriculture — Manu- 
 factures — House-Building — Canoes — Fishing 148 
 
 CHAP. XII. — Religion. — Temples — Priests — In- 
 spiration — Gods — Future State — Witchcraft 
 —Traditions— Flood 162 
 
 PART II. 
 
 CHAP. I. — The Mission Established. — Lakem- 
 ba — Preaching — Annoyances — Congregation 
 formed — Persecution — Trials — Mbau — Rein- 
 forcement — Printing-Press 187 
 
 CHAP. II. — Ono.— No Teacher — The Praying 
 Heathen — Wrecked Tongans — Teacher and 
 Books for Ono— Vatoa 203 
 
 CHAP. III. — Rewa. — Mbau refuses — Rewa occu- 
 pied — Illness — Viwa visited 210 
 
 CHAP. IV. — SoMO-SoMO. — Mission begun — Trou- 
 bles — Strangling — Cannibalism — Threats — 
 Admiral Wilkes— Tuikilakila 215 
 
 CHAP. V. — Viwa. — Mbau still refuses — Viwa oc- 
 cupied — Verani — War 223 
 
 CHAP. VI. — Lakemba. — Progress made — ^Another 
 
 Missionary — Oneata — New Chapel 232 
 
 CHAP. VII. — Ono. — Mr. Calvert visits Vatoa and 
 Ono — The Work prospers — Christians in War 
 — A Native Pastor — Baptisms by Mr. Williams 
 —A Revival 238 
 
 CHAP. VIII. — Rewa. — New Missionaries with the 
 Printing-Press — Enemies and Persecutions — 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Zoar — Steady Progress — Converts — Discou- 
 ragements 248 
 
 CHAP. IX. — Progress in Lakemba. — The New 
 House — Papists — Tongans — The King's 
 Daughter — Wetasau — Conversions — Tui Na- 
 yau confesses Christ 264 
 
 CHAP. X. — Ono Converted. — Book-Making — 
 
 Privations — A Storm — Mission Ship 276 
 
 CHAP. XI. — Rewa and Somo-Somo.— Dark Days 
 in Rewa — War — Missionaries leave Rewa — 
 Native Teacher sent — Somo-Somo abandoned 
 by the Missionaries 283 
 
 CHAP. XII. — Verani. — Veraniof Viwa converted 
 — His Prayer — His Labors — Death of Mr. 
 Hunt 294 
 
 CHAP. XIII. — Mbua and Nandi. — Christianity 
 enters — Persecution — A Hurricane — Spread 
 of the Truth on Vanua Levu 306 
 
 CHAP. XIV. — Progress of the Gospel. — La- 
 kemba — Rewa — Death of Ratu Nggara — War 
 and Peace — Converts 318 
 
 CHAP. XV. — Progress. — Viwa — Mbua — Church- 
 Building — Peace made— Converts and Schools 
 — The Nandi Mission broken up 331 
 
 CHAP. XVI. — Day-Dawn in Mbau. — Cannibalism 
 — War — Tanoa dies — Human Victims — Ve- 
 rani slain — Thakombau lotus — Success at 
 last 346 
 
 Conclusion 368 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAQB 
 
 Fijian Head-Dresses 21 
 
 Fijian Head-Dresses 23 
 
 Fijian Head-Dresses 31 
 
 Fijian War-Clubs 115 
 
 Musical. Instruments 142 
 
 CocoANUT Tabu 146 
 
 Fijian Pottery 153 
 
 Houses of Fiji 155 
 
 Fijian Canoe 159 
 
 Mbure, or Temple of Na Tavasara 1G2 
 
 Sacred Stones 168 
 
 Fijian War-Clubs 223 
 
 Fijian War-Clubs 283 
 
 Mbau 346 
 
THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ISLANDS. 
 
 Afar off in the Pacific lie the Fiji Islands, 
 so remote from us and so unknown to us 
 that they seem almost to belong to another 
 world. 
 
 Every child at school learns that these 
 islands form part of Oceanica, that they 
 belong to the division '' Polynesia," and are 
 inhabited by a race of dark, savage canni- 
 bals. But here all information ceases. We 
 have histories of other countries, and of the 
 events which have brought them to their 
 present condition ; but who will tell us aught 
 concerning the past history of the Fiji 
 Islands ? They have been settled for centu- 
 ries. We know the changes in Europe, in 
 
 9 
 
10 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 our own land, and in most of the world, dur- 
 ing that time. We know how republics have 
 succeeded kingdoms, and empires republics. 
 
 But what corresponding changes have 
 taken place among the Fijians? They are 
 silent when we ask them of the past. How 
 should they know ? The old men are dead, 
 and they left no records. The slight know- 
 ledge they have is so mixed with absurd 
 stories of eight-headed gods and under- 
 ground giants, that it is impossible to sepa- 
 rp.te truth from falsehood. We are obliged 
 to content ourselves with the present, judg- 
 ing that the antecedents of a people so de- 
 graded could present few facts either inte- 
 resting or valuable. 
 
 But here are the islands, preserving traces 
 of creation when all that God made was 
 " good," although their inhabitants have so 
 long served Satan that the image of God 
 seems wellnio-h blotted from their souls. 
 
 o 
 
 It is useless to attempt to paint in words 
 the scenery of these islands, resting peace- 
 fully within lagoons of still, dark waters, 
 encircled by white coral reefs, beyond which 
 
THE ISLANDS. H 
 
 the ocean surges and roars ; the mountains, 
 their rugged tops rising dark and massive 
 above the hills, which are glorious in tro- 
 pical wealth of tangled vines and shrubs; the 
 palm and banana, the plume-crowned cocoa- 
 nut, the pandanus, disdaining all aid from 
 roots, resting on prop-like branches; the 
 ferns making an endless variety of feathery 
 green; the gay flowers and brilliant birds. 
 Words can give but a vague idea of the pe- 
 culiar beauty of a South Sea island. 
 
 Vulanga presents a singular appearance 
 in the group. It consists of a single moun- 
 tain, the centre of which is apparently blown 
 out, leaving a rim of broken and picturesque 
 rocks surrounding a lake of dark-blue water, 
 on which repose miniature isles of mossy 
 green. A lake is also found in Somo-somo ; 
 but it is on the highest peak of the moun- 
 tain, and is lost among the clouds. It is 
 probable that tnis lake has formed in the 
 place of an extinct volcano. 
 
 Many of the other islands present dilBferent 
 and more beautiful scenery. It is evident 
 that most of them were originally volcanic. 
 
12 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 At present, however, the volcanoes are ex- 
 tinct ; but their influence is still felt in occa- 
 sional earthquakes and seen in the boiling 
 springs. 
 
 The two largest islands in the group are 
 Vanua Levu — '' Great Land," — and Na Viti 
 Levu, or. Great Fiji. The first is more than 
 one hundred miles long and twenty-five 
 broad. It is noted as being the only place 
 in these islands where sandal-wood can now 
 be obtained. Na Viti Levu is of a difi'erent 
 shape, being about ninety miles in length 
 and fifty in width. It presents some of the 
 finest landscape scenery to be found among 
 the islands. Close to NaViti Levu is the 
 small low island of Mbau. It is separated 
 from its neighbor by a low flat of coral, 
 which is fordable even at high water and at 
 low tide is nearly dry. Mbau is inferior to 
 many of the other islands in size and in natu- 
 ral advantages, but its chief, Thakombau, now 
 occupies a position of political power supe- 
 rior to that of any other in the group. It is 
 very thickly settled, and presents a singular 
 appearance, with its numerous thatched 
 
THE ISLANDS. 13 
 
 roofs, from among which the high tem- 
 ples stand prominently forth. Somo-somo, 
 Yuna, near to Mbau, Lakemba, a large, 
 round island to the east of the others, and 
 Ovalau, the principal residence of the white 
 settlers, with Mbau, are the ruling powers. 
 
 The islands number, in all, about two hun- 
 dred and twenty-five : of these but eighty are 
 inhabited. The others are frequently visited 
 for fishing-purposes, and to obtain biche-de- 
 mar, or sea-slug, a fish which is an im- 
 portant article in the trade with foreign 
 vessels. The islands lie between latitudes 
 15° 30' and 20° 30' S. and longitudes 177° 
 E. and 178° W., covering about forty thou- 
 sand square miles of the Pacific. The popu- 
 lation is given at 150,000, Na Viti Levu 
 alone having 50,000 inhabitants. But in the 
 Fiji, as in the Sandwich Islands, the popu- 
 lation is yearly diminishing, some of the 
 smaller islands in the last fifty years having 
 been entirely depopulated, while in the 
 larger the decrease is manifest. 
 
 The Fiji Islands were discovered in 1643^ 
 by Abel Jasman, a Dutch navigator. After 
 
 2 
 
14 TKt CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 that time they were unvisited until Captain 
 Cook, passing them^ touched at one of the 
 most remote, which he named Turtle Island, 
 but which is better known as Vatoa. They 
 were subsequently visited by 'various navi- 
 gators, but little was known of them, save 
 from the traders in sandal -wood and biche- 
 de-mar. 
 
 Now, however, our knowledge of them 
 is much extended, since we have accounts 
 from British and French navigators, from 
 the United States Exploring Expedition 
 under Captain (now Admiral) Wilkes, in 
 1840, and particularly from the recent work 
 of the Wesleyan missionaries. 
 
 In 1804, a company of twenty-seven 
 convicts escaped from New South Wales, 
 and fled to Fiji for liberty and license. This 
 desperate band settled at Mbau and Eewa, 
 where, free from all restraint, they went 
 into such excesses as to astonish even the 
 natives, vile as they were. The chiefs, how- 
 ever, were glad to secure the co-operation 
 of the whites on the easy terms of allowing 
 them unlimited power over the persons and 
 
THE ISLANDS.- 15 
 
 property of the common peojile. Their 
 superior knowledge, and the mysterious fire- 
 arms, which to the Fijians appeared super- 
 natural, might easily have secured to them 
 absolute dominion over the islands, had their 
 ambition led them to seek empire ; but they 
 were indifferent to every thing except the 
 indulgence of their indolence and evil pas- 
 sions. 
 
 The most influential among them were 
 Savage and Conner. Savage appears to 
 have been the least debased and most hu- 
 mane among them; yet by the natives, 
 whom he oppressed in common with his 
 comrades, he was completely detested, and 
 when, after nine years' residence among them, 
 he was accidentally drowned, they rescued his 
 remains, and, contrary to their usual custom 
 of not eating white men, they held a grand 
 cannibal feast over his body. 
 
 Conner lived at Eewa, where he exerted 
 an influence equal to that of Savage at 
 Mbau. In the days when his power was 
 unlimited, the exercise of it was fearful. 
 Mr. Williams says that to the influence of 
 
13 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 these two men is owing the present supe- 
 riority of Mbau and Eewa, — the former 
 having long been the most powerful state 
 in Fiji. 
 
 The present white residents form a 
 very influential class. Although generally 
 extremely ignorant themselves, they are 
 anxious to have their children educated. 
 For this object, the missionaries now have a 
 schoolmaster from England stationed with 
 them at Ovalau. 
 
 Besides the advantages of trade and an 
 easy, indolent life, there is much in the 
 climate and beauty of these isles to tempt 
 the sailor to tarry among them. To the 
 educated man the objects of interest differ 
 so much from those in his own land that the 
 novelty is in itself a charm. 
 
 Some of the most beautiful specimens of 
 coral formation are found here. Stretching 
 along the shore, the reefs encircle groups of 
 islands, making the scene peculiarly beau- 
 tiful, and forming safe harbors for vessels. 
 Yet they make navigation both difficult and 
 dangerous; and many a brave ship, sailing 
 
THE ISLANDS. 17 
 
 over the smootti water, ignorant of the 
 hidden reef, has suddenly struck and gone 
 down. 
 
 Although the islands lie within the tro- 
 pics, the heat is so tempered by breezes from 
 the ocean that at certain seasons the cli- 
 mate is delightful; but the native dreads 
 the season of the north winds, the takalau, 
 which rarefy the air to a most painful 
 degree during their continuaace. On the 
 leeward side of the islands the vegetation 
 appears burnt and dying from the excessive 
 heat and lack of moisture; but on the 
 windward side the clouds are arrested in 
 their progress, and give abundant and re- 
 freshing showers, making the rich tropical 
 foliage put on its most luxuriant hue. In 
 this latitude there are, of course, periodical 
 rains, succeeded by long seasons of clear 
 skies. The rainy season is from October to 
 April. In Mr. Williams's journal is a record 
 of a rain lasting forty-five days, which was 
 preceded by one of twenty-four, with the 
 brief interval of three or four clear ones. 
 
 2* 
 
18 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ISLANDERS. 
 
 Far from any mainland, the Fijians hold 
 intercourse only with the Tongans, who are 
 their nearest island-neighbors. We may 
 wonder from what country and how the 
 Fijians came to these islands, and of what 
 race they are; but our conjectures are met 
 by the Fijian himself with a careless laugh. 
 Why should he care where he came from? 
 He is there. Each one has his own story to 
 tell of the origin of mankind in general and 
 of the Fijian in particular. If we are curious 
 to learn something of their traditions, it may 
 be well to listen; but, if we wish to gain 
 knowledge, we had best turn to other 
 sources of information. 
 
 The islands of the South Pacific are 
 peopled by two distinct races, the Malayo- 
 Polynesian and the Papuan. The Polyne- 
 
THE ISLANDERS. 19 
 
 sian is of a light-yellow or copperish color, 
 the Papuan is black. The hair of the former 
 is long and straight, the latter short and 
 frizzled. There are many other points of 
 difference ; but these are sufficient to show- 
 how unlike they are. To which of these do 
 the Fijians belong ? To neither, exclusively. 
 The people of the various islands around them 
 plainly belong to one of the two races ; but 
 in the Fijian their traits meet and mingle, 
 showing that he is descended from both. 
 
 Their complexions vary considerably. 
 Some of them are very dark, while others 
 are light. Their hair is curled ; but whether 
 it would have been so had the dressing been 
 left to nature, it is impossible to decide. 
 They are tall and well formed. The chiefs, 
 particularly, present a fine, muscular ap- 
 pearance; and many of the women are re- 
 markable for beauty and grace. 
 
 The face is oval ; the mouth large, some- 
 times negro-like in form, but often thin- 
 lipped ; the teeth are white and regular, the 
 nose straight, with full nostrils ; the eye is 
 black, quick, and penetrating, and the ex- 
 
20 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 pression of countenance intelligent and saga- 
 cious. Occasionally albinos (white-skinned 
 persons) are seen, but not often. They 
 suffer much from the heat of the sun, and 
 keep their light eyes half closed through 
 the day, unable to bear the glare. 
 
 The Queen of Eewa is described as having 
 been a most beautiful woman, and as still 
 retaining traces of her beauty. The follow- 
 ing description of her half-brother, Tha- 
 kombau, of Mbau, is not without parallel 
 among them, for many of the chiefs are ex- 
 tremely handsome. Captain Erskine, who 
 met him, says, — 
 
 ''It was impossible not to admire the ap- 
 pearance of the chief : of large, almost gi- 
 gantic size, his limbs were beautifully formed 
 and proportioned ; his countenance, with far 
 less of the negro cast than among the lower 
 orders, agreeable and intelligent ; while his 
 immense head of hair, covered and con- 
 cealed with gauze, smoke-dried and slightly 
 tinged with brown, gave him altogether the 
 appearance of an Eastern sultan. No gar- 
 ments confined his magnificent chest and 
 
THE ISLANDERS. 21 
 
 neck, or concealed the natural color of the 
 skin, — a clear but decided black ; and, in 
 spite of this paucity of attire, — the evident 
 wealth which surrounded him showing that it 
 was a matter of choice and not of necessity, 
 — he looked 'every inch a king.'" 
 
 The most striking part of the Fijian's ap- 
 pearance is his enormous head of hair, 
 which to him is an object of untiring and 
 intense interest. 
 
 We wonder at the ladies of former times, 
 who on grand gala-days submitted with 
 patience to the tedious operation of having 
 their hair dressed in imitation of baskets of 
 fruit and flowers. We laugh at the Scottish 
 ladies who, when King George IV. visited 
 Holyrood, were so anxious to have their 
 heads fashionably dressed, that they yielded 
 them to the hands of the busy barber days 
 before the court reception. 
 
 But here we find the savage Fijian under- 
 going the same trouble and inconvenience, 
 not for a week or a few days, but throughout 
 his whole life. Every chief keeps a full 
 complement of barbers. These are persona 
 
22 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 of importance and dignity, their hands being 
 sacredly devoted to their master's head. 
 They never feed themselves. Captain Hud- 
 son saw a barber of the King of Eewa drink- 
 ing his ava, which was held to his lips by 
 an attendant. His cigar was lighted and 
 placed in his mouth by a servant's hand, 
 and all his wants cared for in the same 
 manner. 
 
 The operation of dressing the chiefs hair 
 is a laborious one. The barber first anoints 
 the hair with oil, generally mixed with black, 
 though sometimes with fancy colors. He 
 then takes a long tortoise-shell pin, and 
 twitches every hair till they all stand up- 
 right ; then he carefully singes the whole, so 
 that it assumes a wonderful regularity of 
 outline. ''Some heads are finished nearly 
 like an English counsellor's wig. In some 
 the head is a spherical mass of jet-black 
 hair, with a white roll in front, as broad as 
 the hand ; or, in lieu of this, a white oblong 
 occupies the length of the forehead, the 
 black passing down on each side. In either 
 case the black projects farther. Not a few 
 
THE ISLANDEES. 23 
 
 are so ingeniously grotesque as to appear as 
 if done purposely to excite laughter. One 
 has a large knot of fiery hair on his crown, 
 all the rest of the head being bald. Another 
 has the most of his hair cut away, leaving 
 three or four rows of small clusters, as if his 
 head were planted with small paint-brushes. 
 A third has his head bare, except where a 
 large patch projects over each temple. One, 
 two, or three cords of twisted hair often fall 
 from the right temple, a foot or eighteen 
 inches long. Some men wear a number of 
 these braids, so as to form a curtain at the 
 back of the neck, reaching from one ear to 
 the other. A mode that requires great care 
 has the hair wrought into distinct locks, 
 radiating from the head. Each lock is a 
 perfect cone, about seven inches long, having 
 the base outwards ; so that the surface of 
 the hair is marked out into a great number 
 of small circles, the ends beina; turned in, in 
 each lock, towards the centre of the cone. 
 The violent motions of the dance do not dis- 
 turb these elaborate preparations; but great 
 
24 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 care is taken to preserve them from the 
 effects of the dew or rain." 
 
 The circumference of this mass is often 
 three feet, and sometimes five. 
 
 As lying on this extensive arrangement 
 would destroy it, and oblige the chief to 
 have it renewed every day, he uses a small 
 wooden stool, which he places under his 
 neck, regardless of the large lumps raised 
 by it. 
 
 When he travels, he carries his stool with 
 him. These stools are in use in many of 
 the Pacific Islands, but are generally carved 
 to fit the neck. The Fijian makes his 
 simply of a round stick or log, supported by 
 curved legs. 
 
 The hair of the boy is kept short, to make 
 it grow more abundantly. Great pains are 
 taken by the mother to spread it out and 
 prepare it for the grand toilet of manhood. 
 
 The hair of the girl is allowed to grow, 
 and when dressed it falls around the head 
 and over the eyes like a mop. Married 
 women wear their hair in the same style as 
 the men, but less in size. They are not 
 
THE ISLANDERS. 25 
 
 allowed to use the black powder, but gene- 
 rally substitute red. 
 
 The barbers are very expert in making 
 wigs, which defy detection, when a chief is 
 obliged thus to supply his deficiency of hair. 
 
 The dress of the people consists of a 
 turban and masi or sash. The turbans 
 are from four to six feet in length, of a 
 thin, gauze-like material, generally smoke- 
 colored. They last but a short time; and 
 the chiefs, therefore, keep a large supply on 
 hand, neatly folded, in lengths of fifteen 
 inches and about an inch broad. The turban 
 is of great importance, and is worn by all 
 Fijians of respectability, excepting such as 
 are forbidden its use. It is wrapped around 
 the head, and fastened either in front, on the 
 top, or at the side, in a neat bow. King Tanoa, 
 the father of Thakombau, wore a very large 
 and full one, coming down over the forehead 
 to the eyes and hanging in heavy folds on 
 the right side. Some young chiefs of taste 
 wrap it lightly around the head and allow 
 the long ends to float down the back. 
 
 In their dress, scanty as it is, the Fijians 
 
 3 
 
26 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 display great care and pride. In judging 
 of this matter it is very difficult for a civil- 
 ized stranger to form a right opinion, in- 
 fluenced as he must be by the convention- 
 alities of costume to which he is accustomed. 
 It must be borne in mind that the cha- 
 racter of the climate and the quality of 
 their skin both render dress, as far as mere 
 utility is concerned, unnecessary : the people, 
 therefore, ought to receive full credit for 
 modesty in the partial covering which they 
 adopt, and about the use of which they are 
 scrupulously particular. 
 
 The dress of the men is a kind of sash 
 of white, brown, or figured masi, varying 
 in length from three to a hundred yards. 
 Six or ten yards, however, is the usual 
 measure. This sash is passed between the 
 legs, and wound two or three times round 
 the loins, securing one end in front, so as to 
 fall over to the knees like a curtain ; the end 
 behind is fastened in a bunch, or left to trail 
 on the ground. 
 
 The dress of the women consists of a liku, 
 or fringed band, worn around the waist. 
 
THE ISLANDERS. 27 
 
 It is beautifully braided from bark, fibre, or 
 grass, with a fringe from three to ten inches 
 deep. The liku is tied at the side, — the ends 
 on holidays being sufficiently long to form a 
 train. 
 
 The Fijian is very fond of ornaments. 
 Flowers, beautifully formed into wreaths and 
 chaplets, are much used for this purpose. 
 Cocks' feathers are very frequently worn in 
 their hair; and chiefs wear a band of hibis- 
 cus bark around their heads, in which the 
 gay feathers of the paroquet are stuck with 
 the gum of the bread-fruit tree. 
 
 Breast-ornaments of large pearl shells, of 
 circular or crescent shape, or made of boars' 
 tusks, are very common. The noblest chiefs 
 wear beautiful orange- colored sea-shells : 
 these are prized very highly, and often, on 
 great occasions, are loaned by one to the 
 other. 
 
 Both sexes wear ear-ornaments, — the 
 women piercing but one ear, the men both. 
 The lobe of the ear is sometimes distended 
 to an enormous size, admitting a ring of ten 
 inches in circumference. The ornaments 
 
28 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 are never pendent, but generally oblong, 
 passing through the orifice. In order to 
 make this large enough, they use pieces of 
 wood, shell, or rolls of tapa. White and 
 pink armlets, and others made of a black 
 wiry root, or white cowries, ivory and shell 
 finger-rings, knee and ankle bands with a 
 I'ose-shaped knot, are much worn ; ivory, 
 tortoise-shell, dogs' teeth, bats' jaws, snake- 
 vertebrse, native beads ground out of shells, 
 and foreign beads of glass, are formed into 
 necklaces, the latter being generally braided 
 into neat bands. 
 
 In addition to this assortment, the teeth 
 of the victims of war are worn, and highly 
 prized. Bank is indicated by the position 
 of the long hair pricker, or comb. The 
 king, or great chief, wears his in front; the 
 next in rank, a little to the side ; while the 
 common people wear theirs back behind the 
 ear. 
 
 The women have one original method of 
 ornamenting themselves. They dip their 
 heads in a thick liquid, prepared from the 
 ashes of the bread-fruit tree, till the hair is 
 
THE ISLANDERS. 29 
 
 well soaked, and then, raising tlieii heads, 
 they allow the preparation to run down over 
 their faces and bodies. The zigzag lines 
 thus formed, called ndraou, are considered 
 very ornamental. 
 
 The higher classes are careful to keep 
 themselves well oiled, and at all times to 
 present an imposing appearance ; but the 
 lower ranks are often very slovenly. 
 
 Tattooing is used principally by the fe- 
 males. The young women have barbed 
 lines on their hands and fingers, while those 
 more advanced in years ingeniously conceal 
 their coming wrinkles by deep-blue lines. 
 The operation is performed solely by them- 
 selves. They use a long tooth, fixed in a 
 handle, called a hati-ni-ngia, dipped in a 
 pigment consisting of charcoal and the oil 
 of the candle-nut. The patterns are first 
 drawn on the body; the blackened tooth is 
 then driven in by violent blows struck with 
 a piece of sugar-cane. The process occu- 
 pies several months; but, prolonged and 
 severe as the pain generally is, it is willingly 
 endured, from both pride and fear. The 
 
 . 3* 
 
30 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 latter feeling arises from the belief that, if 
 they die uiitattooed, their own sex, armed 
 with sharp shells, will eternally pursue 
 them in the next world through the most 
 frightful scenes. So strong is this super- 
 stition that, when girls die before the opera- 
 tion is performed, their friends frequently 
 paint the marks on their bodies, in order to 
 deceive the priests and gods. 
 
 The lower classes are tattooed at the age 
 of fourteen, but women of rank not until 
 after marriage. 
 
 In the Tonga Islands the men are tattooed 
 instead of the women. The Fijians humor- 
 ously say the reason of this reversing of 
 the custom was, that a Tongan who was 
 going to tell his people of the custom re- 
 peated, as he went along, so that he might 
 not forget, ''Tattoo the women, and not the 
 men. Tattoo the women, not the men;" but, 
 knocking his foot against a stone, he re- 
 versed the order in his pain, and carried to 
 his people the intelligence that they were to 
 ^'tattoo the men, and not the women." 
 
THE ISLANDERS. 31 
 
 Both sexes paint their faces with great 
 variety in device and color. 
 
 The Fijian, with his hair dressed in the 
 most elaborate style, his body well oiled and 
 face grotesquely painted, a floating train, 
 sometimes fifty yards in length, a new tur- 
 ban, and his finest ornaments, desires nothing 
 to complete his happiness but a looking-glass, 
 and a circls of admirers around him. 
 
32 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 FIJIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 Intellectually the Fijian holds a high 
 rank among the savage nations. Debased 
 and degraded as he is, there are yet many 
 fine points in his character which challenge 
 our admiration and excite our sympathies. 
 In him we find no dull, stupid savage, in- 
 sensible to every thing but the indulgence 
 of his own passions, nor, again, do we find 
 the high mental development to which some 
 heathen nations have attained. We see a 
 man of quick perceptions, discriminating 
 mind, acute feelings, of strong will, govern- 
 ing his passions, when he wills so to do, 
 loyal and faithful to his friend, but the most 
 deadly of foes to his enemy. 
 
 The Fijian's vices must be noted, to under- 
 stand him as he is. Prominent among them 
 is his pride, — a pride seen in every look and 
 
FIJIAN CHARACTER. 33 
 
 action. His jr^ersonal vanity is great; and 
 nis pride of country ranks only second to 
 that. He is not only unwilling to think 
 reasonably of his own truly beautiful land, 
 but will not hear of other countries which 
 he suspects to be in any respect superior. 
 After Captain Wilkes pointed out Fiji on a 
 globe to some natives, and they saw its di- 
 minutive size, they refused to look at the globe, 
 telling their friends it was *'a lying ball," 
 
 It will not, therefore, excite surprise that 
 a travelled Fijian commands little respect 
 from his countrymen. His superior know- 
 ledge makes him offensive to his chiefs and 
 irksome to his equals. A Eewa man who 
 had been to the United States was ordered 
 by his chiefs to say whether the country of 
 the white man was better than Fiji, and in 
 what respects. He begged them to excuse 
 him from speaking on that subject; but 
 without avail. He had not gone far in 
 telling the truth, when one cried out, " He is 
 a prating fellow;" another, ''He is impu- 
 dent." Some said, '^Kill him! It is natural 
 that a foreigner should thus speak, but 
 
34 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 unpardonable in a Fijian." The luckless tra- 
 veller, finding his opinions so little relished, 
 made a hasty retreat, leaving his enraged 
 betters to cool down at leisure. 
 
 Nothing will offend a Fijian more quickly 
 than a slight. If the suffering individual is 
 a woman, she will sit down, — the more public 
 the place the better, — and sigh, sob, and 
 whine, until she gets a good start, when she 
 will trust to the strength of her lungs to let 
 every one within hearing know that one of 
 their species is injured. A reflection on a 
 woman's character, her rank, her child, her 
 domestic qualifications, or any one of a hun- 
 dred other things, gives sufficient occasion 
 for a wearisome cry. Nor is this demon- 
 stration restricted to females : men adopt it 
 also. "I once," says a missionary, "saw 
 four villages roused, and many of the in- 
 habitants under arms, in consequence of a 
 man crying in this style : — ' War ! war ! Will 
 no one kill me, that I may join the shade of 
 my father? War! war!' This was the cry 
 which, one clear day, sounded with singular 
 distinctness through the air, and drew many 
 
FIJIAN CHAEACTER. 35 
 
 beside myself to the top of the hill, where 
 we found a little Mata goaded to despera- 
 tion, because his friend, without consulting 
 him, had cut several yards from some native 
 cloth which was their joint property. To 
 be treated so rudely made the little man 
 loathe life ; and hence the alarm. A native 
 of Mbau put together the frame of a house, 
 and then applied to his friends, in due form, 
 for help to thatch it. They readily assented ; 
 but, in the course of the conversation which 
 ensued, a remark was made that touched 
 the pride of the applicant, who angrily re- 
 solved to make the unfinished house a monu- 
 ment of his high stomach, by leaving it to 
 rot, as it actually did, in front of my own 
 dwelling." 
 
 Lying is much easier to them than speak- 
 ing the truth : an adroit liar is highly es- 
 teemed. A Fijian understands so well this 
 habit of his people, that, if he wishes a 
 foreigner to speak the truth, he charges him 
 not to speak "after the fashion of Fiji." 
 
 The universal existence of this habit is 
 so thoroughly taken for granted, that it is 
 
86 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 common to bear, after the most ordinary 
 statement, the rejoinder, ''That's a lie," or 
 something to the same effect, at which the 
 accused person does not think of taking 
 offence. Any thing marvellous, on the other 
 hand, meets with ready credence. "Walk- 
 ing, with a shrewd old native for my guide, 
 on Vanua Levu," says a missionary, ''he 
 directed my attention to some stones at the 
 side of the path. ' These,' said he, ' mark the 
 place where a giant was slain while I was a 
 little boy. This stone marks where his head 
 lay, that where his knees, and these where 
 bis feet reached.' Measuring the distance 
 with my walking-staff, I found it twenty-five 
 feet six inches ! ' Well done, Fiji !' I shouted. 
 The old man was startled by my incredulity, 
 for he evidently believed the tale." 
 
 They are very ready to confess if they 
 are detected; and the pride at having forged 
 a good lie prevents mortification at dis- 
 covery. The missionaries say the pleasure 
 the people take in the practice is so great 
 that they often tell an untruth when the 
 contrary would be more to their advantage. 
 
FIJIAN CHAEACTER. 37 
 
 As truth is the basis of Christian character, 
 it would seem that the "father of lies" has 
 skilfully planned the utter subjugation of 
 their souls by making this trait their ruling 
 vice. 
 
 Mr. Williams said, ''The expectation of 
 an order to set about some difficult job 
 often makes a man wear his arm in a sling. 
 Another, while seeming to work with fearful 
 exertion, is all the time careful not to strain 
 a single muscle; and the appearance of seek- 
 ing a neighbor's good while only intent on 
 their own is shown continually." 
 
 Hardly any thing is so humiliating to 
 them as to be betrayed into a display of 
 anger. But, as smouldering fires are most 
 dangerous when they break forth, so when 
 a Fijian is surprised into an outburst of 
 anger the sight is terrible. The rage of a 
 civilized man in comparison with what then 
 follows is like the tossings of a restless 
 babe. A savage, fully developed, physically 
 and morally, is exhibited. The forehead is 
 suddenly filled with wrinkles, the large nos- 
 trils distend and smoke, the staring eyeballs 
 
38 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 grow red and gleam with terrible flashings, 
 the mouth is stretched into a murderous and 
 disdainful grin, the whole body quivers with 
 excitement; every muscle is strained, and 
 the clenched fist seems eager to bathe itself 
 in the blood of him who has roused this 
 demon of fury. When anger is kept continu- 
 ally under the curb, it frequently results in 
 sullenness. Pride and anger combined often 
 lead to self-destruction. A chief on Thithia 
 was addressed disrespectfully by a younger 
 brother : rather than live to have the insult 
 made the topic of common talk, he loaded 
 his musket, placed the muzzle at his breast, 
 and, pushing the trigger with his toe, shot 
 himself through the heart. 
 
 They are most skilful hypocrites, and can 
 dissimulate to perfection: so that the most 
 savage cannibal will appear to be humane 
 and gentle before a foreigner whose esteem 
 he wishes to gain. Captain Erskine says 
 that while at tea at the house of Mr. Lyth, 
 the missionary then at Wiva, Ngavindi, the 
 chief of Mbau, came in. ''He was appa- 
 rently under thirty years of age, of very fine 
 
FIJIAN CHARACTER. 39 
 
 figure and proportions, and altogether of 
 prepossessing appearance. His face was 
 painted red; and the chief's white gauze 
 turban covered his large head of hair. He 
 wore no covering but the ordinary wrapper, 
 but had a boar's tusk, nearly circular, sus- 
 pended from his neck; and he carried a 
 large flat-headed club, well battered, as if 
 by service, about the blade, which was 
 daubed with red ochre. He took his place 
 with perfect ease at the table, being kindly 
 received by Mr. and Mrs. Lyth, who pre- 
 sented him to us. His manners were mo- 
 dest and gentle ; and he left us even more 
 pleased with him than we had been with 
 Tui Levuka." 
 
 Captain Erskine was half incredulous 
 when he was told that this man was noto- 
 rious for ferocity and savage cruelty, and 
 an active participator in the awful canniba, 
 scenes at Mbau when the Mbutoni visited 
 Mbau to pay their tribute. 
 
 In social diplomacy the Fijian is very 
 cautious and clever. That he ever paid a 
 visit merely en passant, is hard to be be- 
 
40 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 lieved. If no request leaves his lips, he has 
 brought the desire, and only waits for a 
 good chance to present it now, or prepare 
 the way for its favorable reception at some 
 other time. Rarely will he fail to read your 
 countenance ; and the case must be urgent 
 indeed which obliges him to ask a favor 
 when he sees a frown. The more important 
 he feels his business, the more earnestly he 
 protests that he has none at all ; and the 
 subject uppermost in his thoughts comes 
 last to his lips, or is not even named ; for he 
 will make a second or even a third visit 
 rather than risk a failure through precipi- 
 tancy. If it serves his purpose, he will study 
 difficult and peculiar characters, reserving 
 the results for future use ; if, afterwards, he 
 wishes to please them, he will know how, 
 and if to annoy them, it will be done most 
 exactly. 
 
 Great command of temper, and power to 
 conceal his emotions, are often displayed by 
 the Fijian. Let some one, for instance, 
 bring a valuable present to a chief from 
 whom he seeks a favor, it wUl be regarded 
 
FIJIAN CHAEACTER. 41 
 
 with chilling indiflPerence, although it is of 
 all things what the delighted superior most 
 wished to possess. 
 
 When Captain Wilkes was one day enter- 
 taining the Queen of Mathuataand her ladies, 
 on one of his ships, they were in the cabin 
 looking at engravings. The ladies seemed 
 to be somewhat bored with the exhibition, 
 when the queen suddenly noticed the fact, 
 and spoke to them in an authoritative tone. 
 They immediately brightened up, and chat- 
 tered so merrily and seemed so interested 
 that the captain asked the interpreter what 
 they had seen that pleased them so much. 
 " Nothing," was the reply. '* The queen said, 
 ' Why don't you seem pleased ? why don't 
 you laugh ?' " 
 
 The plastic ladies took the hint, and repaid 
 the captain for his civility with the most de- 
 lighted smiles of interest and gratitude. 
 
 The conduct of Absalom towards his bro- 
 ther Amnon is exactly descriptive of what 
 often happens in Fiji : — ''And Absalom spake 
 unto his brother Amnon neither good nor 
 bad ; for Absalom hated Amnon." 
 
42 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Mr. Williams was personally acquainted 
 with the chief parties in the following tra- 
 gedy, which serves to illustrate the charac- 
 teristic just noted. Tui Wainunu, the prin- 
 cipal actor, was himself his informant. In 
 the year 1851, his cousin Mbatinamu of 
 Mbau was slain. Shortly after Mbatinamu's 
 death, part of a tribe from the district where 
 he fell visited Tui Wainunu with a present 
 of pottery, and were entertained by him for 
 several days. One day when the party from 
 Na Mbuna were conversing with Tui Wai- 
 nunu, their chief, ignorant of their enter- 
 tainer's connection with Mbau, mentioned 
 Mbatinamu, saying that he was a fine young 
 chief. Tui Wainunu's suspicions were at 
 once excited, and he, pretending entire igno- 
 rance of the deceased chief, made several 
 inquiries about him. This had the desired 
 effect. The Mbuna chief gave Mbatinamu's 
 history, concluding thus : — " I struck him to 
 the earth, and was deaf to his entreaties for 
 life." After describing how the corpse lay, 
 he added, '' I turned it upon its back, cut 
 out the tongue by the roots, and ate it my- 
 
FIJIAN CHARACTER. 43 
 
 self ! And see this cord, by which my chest- 
 key is suspended from my neck; it was 
 braided of the ornamental tufts of hair cut 
 from his head." ''And did you eat his 
 tongue?" calmly asked the listener. "Yes," 
 was the reply, " I killed him, and ate his 
 tongue." The guest was already a dead man 
 in Tui "Wainunu's estimation, but the execu- 
 tion of his vengeance was deferred until the 
 eve of his visitor's departure. Then, after 
 midnight, Tui Wainunu called around him 
 a few trusty men and walked with them to 
 the house where the victims slept. A blow 
 on the wall, from the chief's heavy club, 
 woke the inmates, who, before they could 
 recover from their surprise, were ordered 
 out to die, while the wrathful avenger cried, 
 "And can you fly, that you will escape from 
 me ?" The first who came out was placed 
 in the custody of an attendant. The next 
 fell with his skull smashed, and the next, 
 and the next, until eleven dead or dying 
 men lay at the feet of the executioners. Two 
 women of the party were kept as slaves, 
 and the man who came out first managed 
 
44 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 to escape in the confusion. All the rest, 
 without the slightest warning, were suddenly 
 butchered, and their bodies shared and eaten 
 by the friends of Tui Wainunu, who '' spake" 
 to his ill-fated guest " neither good nor 
 bad." 
 
 Like most savages, the Fijians are covet- 
 ous. To gratify this propensity they are 
 most adroit thieves. It is not improper to 
 steal from a neighbor, and to steal from a 
 "papalangi," or foreigner, is highly com- 
 mendable. They consider themselves privi- 
 leged to appropriate any article they wish, 
 belonging to the missionaries. They visit 
 the mission-house, and many of them rarely 
 go away without carrying off a memento, in 
 the shape of some domestic utensil, stowed 
 snugly away under the voluminous folds of 
 their masi. Sometimes the families are left 
 without tea-kettle, iron pots, or chinaware. 
 If they find out where the articles are, the 
 thief will laugh, and let the owners take 
 them away. 
 
 Chiefs employ men to thieve professionally ; 
 but this is kept secret, for, if the theft be 
 
FIJIAN CHARACTER. 45 
 
 discovered, no one is more ready to punish 
 the culprit than his employer, as by so 
 doing he effects a threefold object, — he ap- 
 pears to discountenance the practice, satisfies 
 the injured party, and chastises the thief for 
 his unskilful ness. 
 
 Captain Wilkes speaks of a Eewa chief 
 who told Captain Hudson that he wished 
 very much to send his daughters to the 
 mission-school, but could not, because the 
 servants there were such outrageous thieves. 
 The fact was that the servants were supplied 
 by this same chief with special instructions 
 to steal whatever they could for him ! 
 
 ,It makes no difference to them whether 
 they know the use of the articles : if they 
 have them, that is sufficient. If they want 
 to steal any thing from aboard ship, and it is 
 too large to conceal, they slily drop it over- 
 board, and when the ship has gone a diver 
 will bring the article up for the thief. 
 
 "A brave man when not surrounded by 
 enemies," is a native proverb which, unhap- 
 pily, describes their bravery too well. But 
 
46 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 it is almost impossible for a nation so com- 
 pletely under the power of a chief's whims, 
 and holding that treachery is preferable to 
 open warfare, to be susceptible of any real 
 courasre. 
 
 One of their most striking traits is their 
 never-sleeping vengeance for real or fancied 
 insults. Not only their personal injuries, 
 but an insult to their family, friends, or their 
 tribe, calls forth the same untiring endur- 
 ance of difficulties, dangers, and privations 
 for the sake of revenge. Sometimes a row 
 of sticks or stones is placed in the ground 
 to remind the owner of his injuries, and they 
 are carefully preserved till he has obtained 
 complete satisfaction. 
 
 Sometimes a man is seen with the exact 
 half of his head closely cropped, to which 
 disfigurement another will add a long twist 
 of hair hanging down the back; and thus 
 they will appear until they have wreaked 
 vengeance on those who slew their wives 
 while fishing on the reef. From the ridge- 
 pole of some chief's house, or a temple, a 
 
FIJIAN CHARACTER. 47 
 
 roll of tobacco is suspended ; and there it 
 must hang until taken down to be smoked 
 over the dead body of some one of a hated 
 tribe. A powerful savage, of sober aspect, 
 is seen keeping profound silence in the vil- 
 lage council. To ordinary inquiries he re- 
 plies with a whistle. His son, the hero of 
 the village, fell by a treacherous hand, and 
 the father has vowed to abstain from the 
 pleasures of conversation until he opens his 
 lips to revile the corpse of his son's mur- 
 derer or to bless the man who deprived it 
 of life. Irritating songs are employed to 
 excite the hatred of those who are likely to 
 let their vengeance sleep. The youths of 
 the place assemble before the house, and 
 leletaka, or lament, that none revenge the 
 death of their friend. The effect of such a 
 song, framed so as to appeal to the most 
 sensitive points of the Fijian's nature, is to 
 awaken the malice and fury of those to 
 whom it is addressed with all their original 
 force, and vows of bloody retribution are 
 made afresh. 
 
 Fijians express their malice in strong 
 
48 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 terms. " My hatred of thee begins at the 
 heels of ray feet, and extends to the hairs of 
 my head." An angry chief sent the follow- 
 ing message to the object of his displeasure: 
 ''Let the shell of the vasua' (the giant 
 oyster) *' perish by reason of years, and to 
 these add a thousand more ; still my hatred 
 of thee shall be hot!" This relentless 
 animosity will pursue its object to the 
 grave, and gratify itself by abusing a putrid 
 carcass. 
 
 An illustration is given by Mr. Williams 
 in the case of Nalila and Ngvindi, the chief 
 whose ''modest and gentle manners" were 
 accepted by Captain Erskine as an index to 
 his character. Nalila was condemned to 
 death, but for several years escaped by living 
 in strict seclusion on an island where he 
 was safe from pursuit. Despairing at last 
 of capturing him, his foes made overtures of 
 peace, which were accepted, and he returned 
 to Mbau. On the second day of his return 
 he sat with them and some of his personal 
 friends around the yaqona-bowl, in a gay 
 humor, when suddenly a shot from outside 
 
FIJIAN CHARACTER. 49 
 
 laid him dead. Ngvindi sprang to his feet 
 with his heavy club uplifted to crush him as 
 he had fallen. Nalila's father interposed 
 and begged him to have mercy, but his only 
 answer was a blow which stretched him a 
 corpse by his son. The heart, liver, and 
 lungs of Nalila were eaten by his late com- 
 panions; then they "gave up the mutilated 
 body to the tears of his widow," who no 
 doubt was strangled in accordance with their 
 usual customs, and the revenge of Ngvindi's 
 party was satisfied. 
 
 Dark are these pictures of savage cruelty, 
 of brutality and cannibalism ; and a volume 
 of such pictures can be given by the mis- 
 sionaries who have dwelt in Fiji. How low 
 man can sink, and how low he will sink 
 without the Bible, we here learn. It is this 
 one thing that makes the Fijian to difier 
 from the Christian American. God has 
 given us his word and has brought to us the 
 knowledge of Jesus Christ. By this have we 
 risen from the degradation and the idolatry 
 of our ancestors, who, centuries ago, were 
 
50 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 I 
 
 savage heathen in Britain, Germany, or 
 France. By this same power even Fijians 
 have been transformed, and thousands of 
 these once cannibal savages are now the fol- 
 lowers of Christ. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 51 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 In Fiji each island has its own chief or 
 king. The weaker rulers, however, acknow- 
 ledge the supremacy of more powerful ones. 
 Mbau, Somosomo, Lakemba, and Rewa, are 
 the four great powers in Fiji. 
 
 Society is divided into six classes, each per- 
 fectly distinct from the others. They are — 
 
 1. Kings and queens. 
 
 2. Chiefs of large islands or districts. 
 
 3. Chiefs of towns, priests, and mata-ni- 
 vanuas. 
 
 4. Distinguished warriors of low birth, 
 chiefs of the carpenters, and chiefs of the 
 fishers for turtle. 
 
 5. Common people. 
 
 6. Slaves by war. 
 
 The power of the king is unlimited, and 
 his authority absolute. The character of 
 
62 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the government, therefore, varies with the 
 king's. When the succession is regular, it 
 descends to the late king's eldest brother, 
 then to the eldest son of the king, then to 
 the son of the eldest brother. There are 
 many circumstances, however, that influence 
 the succession. The rank of the mother is 
 one. If she is not of noble birth, her son is 
 deprived of all right. Then the king often 
 exercises his prerogative of putting his heir 
 to death, or an ambitious subject, believing 
 that might is right, will seize the crown. 
 
 The dignity of the office is fully realized, — 
 so much so that republicanism is held in 
 contempt by the Fijians, and even the United 
 States have a king when American citizens 
 speak of their President to a native of the 
 islands. 
 
 The pride of the kings is often amusing. 
 They do not scruple to call themselves gods, 
 demanding and receiving reverence as such. 
 Mr. Williams, in speaking of the sacredness 
 of the king's person and every thing he 
 touches, says, — 
 
 *' Hence arise some amusing scenes. A 
 
GOVEENMENT. 63 
 
 poor man was ordered to carry a chair on 
 which Tuithakau was accustomed to sit : he 
 first encased the palms of his hands with 
 green leaves, then, taking the chair by two 
 of its legs, lifted it above his head to avoid 
 further contact, and ran off at full speed, as 
 though in so doing lay his only chance of 
 completing the journey alive. One day, on 
 leaving the house of the same chief, I held 
 in my hand a ripe plantain, which I gave to 
 a child outside ; but an old man snatched it 
 away with a countenance expressive of as 
 much anxiety as if I had given the child a 
 viper. His fear was that the fruit had been 
 touched by the king, and would therefore 
 cause the child's death. This king took ad- 
 vantage of his hallowing prerogative in an 
 odd way. He used to dress an English sea- 
 man in his masi (dress), and send the man 
 to throw the train over any article of food, 
 whether dead or alive, which he might hap- 
 pen to come near. The result was that such 
 things were at once conveyed to the king 
 without a word of explanation being re- 
 quired." 
 
 5* 
 
54 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 The cares and duties of a king in Fiji are 
 not onerous. His principal occupations are 
 feasting and fighting. He is one day receiv- 
 ing the homage of his subjects in royal state, 
 the next will find him hard at work in his 
 garden or sitting in his house plaiting sinnet, 
 or, like old Sanoa, lying indolently before a 
 fire, sleeping away half his time. He has 
 several attendants always in readiness to 
 wait on him, feed him, or perform the most 
 menial services. These, with his priest and 
 wives, make up his retinue. 
 
 The chiefs who occupy the rank next below 
 the kings also claim descent from the gods, 
 and the power they exercise is arbitrary and 
 despotic. As an instance of their mode of 
 government, it is told that a Bewa chief 
 wished a man to give him a hoe : this he 
 was unwilling to do, so the chief took his 
 wife. Whether the man felt that he was 
 punished is doubtful, for wives are more 
 easily obtained than hoes among them. At 
 another time, a chief wishing to collect his 
 people together ordered that all who refused 
 to come should be baked ! 
 
GOVERNMENT. 55 
 
 The third class includes " chiefs of towns, 
 priests, and mata-ni-vanuas," These petty- 
 chiefs are only distinguished from those 
 already described by the possession of less 
 power. The priests will be described here- 
 after. We therefore pass immediately to 
 the matas, or courtiers. The title signifies 
 *' the eyes (or " the face") of the land," and 
 their office is to communicate between the 
 chiefs and their people. They are stationed 
 at the several towns under their chief's con- 
 trol, where they act as messengers, each 
 bearing in his title the name of the place to 
 which he is ambassador, as " Mata ki La- 
 kemba," *' Mata ki Vatoa." They are treated 
 with the greatest respect by the people, who 
 are well aware of the influence of their re- 
 presentations. 
 
 The matas frequently have a number of 
 messages to carry back and forth, and to 
 assist their memory they use mnemonic 
 sticks, corresponding in number to their 
 messages, and of lengths varied according 
 to the subject the message contains. When 
 the mata delivers his message he l?ys down 
 
56 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the appropriate stick, and so continues till 
 messages and sticks are alike exhausted. 
 " In some parts of Fiji the mata holds his 
 post for life, in others for only a few years. 
 In the latter case, when tired of public life, 
 he presents a large quantity of provisions to 
 his chief, asking for permission to retire." 
 
 On many of the islands the king has a 
 mata attached to his person, called '' na 
 Mata," whose duties are to address the peo- 
 ple in his master's stead when they bring 
 tribute or food. 
 
 Among the most curious of the Fijian 
 customs is the institution of the *' Vasu," a 
 word properly meaning a nephew or niece, 
 but which denotes an office having extra- 
 ordinary privileges. A Vasu tankei is a title 
 given to a nephew of the king, whose mother 
 was a lady of rank in her home. He has 
 the right of claiming any thing belonging to 
 a native of his mother's land, whether king 
 or commoner, excepting the wives, houses, 
 and lands of the chiefs. No matter what 
 the rank of the victim may be, he rarely 
 resists the claim. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 57 
 
 Captain Wilkes gave Tanoa, the father of 
 Thakombau, and the most powerful king in 
 the islands, a handsome rifle. As soon as 
 his vasu heard of it, he resolved to have it, 
 together with some watches which had been 
 presented to the royal family. Some of the 
 watches he obtained; but Tanoa, unwilling 
 to part with his new patent rifle, sent it 
 away for safety, although the vasu declared 
 he would yet have it. This same man was 
 at war with his uncle, and actually made 
 this extraordinary attempt to supply himself 
 with ammunition from his enemy's stores. 
 
 The vasu does not often appropriate the 
 property of the chiefs, but contents himself 
 with that of the people. He is of great ser- 
 vice to the king, who sends him occasionally 
 with a large fleet to difi'erent parts of his 
 dominion to seize on a large amount of pro- 
 perty and divide it with the king. 
 
 Public afi"airs are generally managed by 
 the chiefs ; but councils are often held. At 
 these meetings much discretion and intelli- 
 gence are exhibited. Only chiefs of age or 
 wisdom speak; and the one who would ven- 
 
58 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 ture to make a foolish or ill-digested speech, 
 or propose some impracticable or ridiculous 
 measure, would be disgraced. 
 
 Crime with the Fijians usually means an 
 offence committed by the weaker against the 
 stronger, who in his own way punishes the 
 oflPender. Theft is punished by a " fine, re- 
 payment in kind, loss of finger, or clubbing." 
 
 At Lakemba the missionaries were robbed. 
 Having complained formally to the king, 
 in a few days they were waited on by a 
 messenger from him. He brought many 
 apologies for the offence, and five sticks, on 
 each of which was a little finger that had 
 been cut from one of the five culprits. 
 
 A severer punishment was inflicted on a 
 native who stole a comb from one of the 
 chiefs. He was placed on a canoe-mast, one 
 end being elevated a few inches above the 
 ground ; his hands were tied above his head, 
 and a rope was lashed around him, fastening 
 him securely to the mast. In this condition 
 he was left all day, exposed to the burning 
 sun. At evening he was loosened, but he 
 could not walk ; and this most brutal punish- 
 
GOVERNMENT. 59 
 
 ment was said to have been slight^ because 
 the American ships were there. 
 
 The despotism exhibited in punishment is 
 as astonishing as the resignation of the vic- 
 tim. A man is often judged in his absence, 
 and executed before he is aware that sen- 
 tence has been passed on him. If condemned 
 to death, when the executioner comes the 
 victim rarely questions the justice of the 
 sentence, saying, '' Whatever the king wills 
 must be done." 
 
 Justice is known by name to the Fijian 
 powers, and its form sometimes adopted ; yet 
 in very many criminal cases the evidence is 
 partial and imperfect, the sentence precipi- 
 tate and regardless of proportion, and its 
 execution sudden and brutal. The injured 
 parties, headed by the nearest chief, form 
 the " bench" to decide the case. If the de- 
 fendant's rank is higher than their own, an 
 appeal is made to the king as chief magis- 
 trate, and this is final. 
 
 Since the establishment of Christianity in 
 the islands, however, justice has become 
 more than a name, and crime has begun to 
 
60 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 be properly recognized and proportionately 
 punished. The word of God has thrown 
 light, moral light, upon these dark places of 
 the earth ; wrong-doing is seen to be crime, 
 and the punishment of the wrong-doer and 
 the protection of the innocent is recognized 
 as right. Plain as this seems to us in hap- 
 pier lands, it is new to Fiji. 
 
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 61 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 
 
 In the languages of all the Oceanic islands 
 there is a marked resemblance, but not 
 enough to obviate the necessity of making 
 each a separate study. The Fijian is divided 
 into about fifteen dialects. That of Mbau 
 may be styled the court language, and the 
 missionaries wisely used it for the transla- 
 tion of the Bible. 
 
 Among the most striking features of the 
 Fijian language are its copiousness and its 
 precision. A native is exceedingly particu- 
 lar to express himself correctly, using terms 
 remarkable for their accuracy and propriety. 
 
 There is a separate Fijian word for the 
 cocoa-nut in every stage of its growth, as 
 well as in every variety; and every shrub, 
 flower, and tree on the islands has its own 
 appropriate name. 
 
62 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 According to testimony founded on a long 
 acquaintance with the language, the Fijian 
 can express by different words the motion 
 of a snake and that of a caterpillar, with the 
 clapping of the hands lengthwise, crosswise, 
 or in almost any other way; it has three 
 words for " a bunch," five for ^' a pair," six 
 for ''cocoa-nut oil," and seven for ''a han- 
 dle ;" for " the being close together" and for 
 " the end" it has five terms each, for " fa- 
 tigue" and " thin" seven each, with no fewer 
 than eleven for "dirty;" for the verb ''to 
 thank" it has two words, for " to pluck," 
 four; for "to carry, command, entice, lie, 
 raise," it has five each ; for " to creep, re- 
 turn, pierce, see, squeeze," six each; for "to 
 care, draw, roll," seven each ; for " to make, 
 place, push, turn," eight each ; for " to seize 
 and split," nine each; with fourteen for "to 
 cut," and sixteen for " to strike." 
 
 One other illustration of the copiousness 
 of the language is worth mention. The 
 Greek and other cultivated tongues have 
 different words for " to wash," according as 
 the operation has reference to the body, or 
 
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 63 
 
 to clotlies and the like ; and, where the body 
 is spoken of, their synonyms will sometimes 
 define the limb or part which is the subject 
 of the action. The Fijian leaves these lan- 
 guages far behind, for it can avail itself of 
 separate terms to express the washing pro- 
 cess, according as it may happen to affect 
 the head, face, hands, feet, and body of an 
 individual, or his apparel, his dishes, or his 
 floor. 
 
 In 1840 the Fijian dictionary contained 
 about five thousand eight hundred words; 
 and many have since been added. 
 
 The missionaries are generally acquainted 
 with seven of the dialects, and have trans- 
 lated books into four, — those of Mbau, Rewa, 
 Lakemba, and Somosomo. 
 
 Eev. David Hazlewood, in 1850, com- 
 pleted a grammar and dictionary, which 
 have proved of great service. A few useful 
 books have since been added to the list; and 
 they hope soon to be able to issue some 
 school-books for the use of the children. 
 
 The translation of the Bible was com- 
 menced by Rev. John Hunt, but was left un- 
 
64 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 finished by him at his death. It was re- 
 sumed by Mr. Hazlewood, who was peculiarly 
 adapted to the difl5cult work. He prepared 
 an excellent manuscript, which was carried 
 by Mr. Calvert to England and printed by 
 the Bible Society. 
 
 Eude and inharmonious as the poetry and 
 songs of the Fijian seem to us, to him they 
 are the perfection of melody. The love of 
 the natives for their poetry amounts to a 
 passion. Through the day all classes enliven 
 their tasks with their peculiar chant, and at 
 night the air resounds with the voices of 
 numbers who have met for recitation. The 
 glory of Fijian poetry, however, is heard in 
 the TTieke, a term which applies to both song 
 and dance. As the performer moves in the 
 dance, he accompanies himself in songs, the 
 movement of which is slow and monotonous, 
 varied principally by alternations of the 
 time. Beginning as slowly as a dirge, he 
 suddenly rattles off a few notes rapidly, then 
 relapses into his slow movement, and, after 
 shrieking in a high tone, he stops, and the 
 bass comes in, chanting his part on one note. 
 
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 65 
 
 Thus alternating, they weary the ear with 
 their dreary song. 
 
 A finished poem is unknown among them, 
 although poetic expressions are common. 
 Can any phrase be prettier than '^ lumalu- 
 ma," which expresses both modesty and the 
 softened retiring light of evening? Igno- 
 rance is appropriately called " the night of 
 the mind." 
 
 The two favorite muses reside on the 
 islands Nairai and Thekombia-i-ra. The 
 first is a man, the other a woman ; and to 
 them the poets ascribe the influence that 
 causes them to compose the meke. 
 
 They say that, while asleep, they visit the 
 world of spirits, where a poetic divinity 
 teaches them a poem, while, at the same 
 time, they learn a dance corresponding to 
 the song. The heaven-taught minstrels 
 then return to their mundane home, and 
 communicate the new acquisition to their 
 friends, by whom, on their trading or festive 
 visits, it is spread far and wide through 
 every town and island. No alteration is 
 ever made in the meke, however the lan- 
 
 6* 
 
66 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 guage may diifer from the dialect of the 
 people among whom it is introdiaced : hence 
 the natives are often ignorant of the mean- 
 ing of many of their most popular songs, 
 and express surprise if any one should ex- 
 pect them to understand them. 
 
 Some of the native Christians have com- 
 posed hymns that are quite creditable. The 
 following song is a fair specimen of ordi- 
 nary Fijian poetry : — 
 
 " In Rewa a fine southerly wind was blowing, 
 The wind was blowing from the point of Rewa, 
 And it shakes down the garlands of the sinu-tree, 
 So that the women may make garlands. 
 String the sinu, and cover it with the lemba flowers; 
 When put together, I will hang it on my neck. 
 But the Queen begs it, and I will take it off; 
 Queen! take our garland of lemba. 
 I throw it on the little couch. 
 Take ye the garland that I have been making. 
 That the ladies may make a great noise in coming. 
 Let us go to the Thungraiva [a house]. 
 The mother of Thangi-lemba was vexed. 
 Why did you give away our dance 
 The basket of dance-fees is empty. 
 This world is a world of trouble. 
 They will not succeed in learning to dance. 
 The sun goes down too soon in Muthuata." 
 
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 67 
 
 The people now sing the Te Deum and 
 other parts of public worship to their native 
 chants. The music is not unpleasing, and 
 is said to resemble the chanting in a Jewish 
 synagogue. 
 
68 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WOMAN IN FIJI. 
 
 We shall be sadly disappointed if we ex- 
 pect to find among these people the domestic 
 habits and the love of home common to more 
 civilized nations. The rigid enforcement of 
 unnatural customs — as tabuing parents and 
 children, brothers and sisters, from speaking 
 to each other, forbidding a father to speak 
 to a son over fifteen years of age, or a hus- 
 band to eat from the same dish with his 
 wife, and many similar rules — prevents this. 
 We could hardly expect a man to find 
 his chief pleasure in one room of a reed- 
 thatched house with a dozen or more wives 
 and children chattering and quarrelling 
 around him. 
 
 Their carelessness of manner is generally 
 the expression of real indifference. The 
 women are considered as a kind of pro- 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 69 
 
 perty, and are of importance only when 
 related to a chief. In many of the islands 
 they are beasts of burden ; and in all of them 
 the whole sex is fearfully degraded. They 
 are at the mercy of their husbands and 
 friends, who can dispose of or use them as 
 they choose ; but among natives themselves 
 women are not, as has been sometimes 
 asserted, an article of trade. If they are 
 ever treated in this way, it is brought about 
 by white men. An American captain once 
 asked two hogs as the price of a musket. 
 The chief, who desired to purchase it, had 
 but one hog : so he sent with it a woman, 
 hoping the papalangi would think her worth 
 as much as the missing animal. She was 
 received as an equivalent ; and the wife of 
 the captain, liking the woman, kept her for 
 a servant. 
 
 The system which permits a plurality of 
 wives necessarily produces the most terrible 
 results. Quarrelling and jealousy are among 
 the lesser evils. 
 
 Mr. Williams thus represents the harem 
 of a chief: — ''The testimony of a woman 
 
70 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 who lived two years in my family, after 
 having been one among several of a chief's 
 wives, is, that they know nothing of com- 
 fort. Contentions among them are endless, 
 the bitterest hatred common, and mutual 
 cursing and recrimination of daily occur- 
 rence. When a woman happens to be under 
 the displeasure of her master as well as that 
 of his lady wives, they irritate the chief by 
 detailing her misdemeanors, until permission 
 is gained to punish the delinquent, when 
 the women of the house — high and low — 
 fall upon her, cuffing, kicking, scratching, 
 and even trampling on the poor creature, so 
 unmercifully as to leave her half dead." 
 And the end of this life commonly is the 
 privilege of forming one of the number 
 strangled at the chief's funeral. Darkness 
 and degradation are the lot of woman where 
 God's precious gospel is unknown. In Fiji 
 heathenism casts its deepest gloom over the 
 lives and characters and fills with wretch- 
 edness the fortunes of those who in Chris- 
 tian lands are examples of piety and of all 
 that is refined and amiable. 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 71 
 
 It is hardly possible to expect from a 
 mother, under these circumstances, either 
 devoted or judicious affection; and yet a 
 good measure of maternal fondness is often 
 shown. Often the first act of the Fijian 
 mother is to murder her child. To such an 
 extent is infanticide carried, that murder- 
 esses by profession are to be found in nearly 
 every village. But the mother's hand is 
 often the nearest and readiest. Unlike the 
 infanticide of the Hindus, that of Fiji is 
 done from motives in which there is no ad- 
 mixture of any thing like religious feeling or 
 fear, but merely whim, expediency, anger, 
 or indolence. If the babe is a female, her 
 chances of life are considerably lessened. 
 
 In the exercise of his authority, the hus- 
 band is often cruel. The use of the stick 
 he finds frequently necessary to subdue an 
 unruly wife. Mr. Williams saw sticks the 
 size of a broom-handle, that the kings of 
 Lakemba and Mbau kept by their sides for 
 this purpose, 
 
 ''The aged king Tuithakau II.," says 
 Mr. Williams, " visited me one day in evi- 
 
72 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 dent trouble. After sitting silent a while, 
 he said, ' Have you a spy-glass ?' Finding 
 that I had one, he proceeded, ' Do look, and 
 see if my woman has gone to Weilangi only, 
 or right away to Wainikeli.' Weilangi was 
 a village about six miles off, and Wainikeli 
 about six miles farther, with high hills in- 
 terposed. It appeared that the old gentle- 
 man had found it necessary to use severe 
 discipline with one of his wives, who, after 
 being beaten, ran away; and he now felt 
 anxious about her, and came to solicit the 
 help of my glass to ascertain her where- 
 abouts. I assured him that in this case 
 the spy-glass was of no use, as the woman 
 had been gone several hours, and was now, 
 no doubt, in some house with her friends. 
 ' Look,' he rejoined, ' if you can see her 
 footsteps on the road from Weilangi to 
 Wainikeli.' It was with difficulty that I 
 persuaded him that it was impossible to see, 
 at such a distance, a path which was nar- 
 row and irregular, and, moreover, hidden 
 with forest and brushwood." 
 
 The girls are generally betrothed in in- 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 73 
 
 fancy, and if they are of high rank the en- 
 gagement is considered inviolable, as poli- 
 tical considerations are involved. In the 
 lower classes, however, if the man dislikes 
 the bargain, he may neglect to make the 
 customary advances ; if the reluctance is on 
 the woman's side, she may be released by 
 the giving of property in her stead. It is 
 rare to find a marriage founded on mutual 
 esteem : yet such a one is sometimes made. 
 The wives envy the English woman, who 
 can wed " the man to whom her spirit flies." 
 Yet some more ignorant natives, supposing 
 the missionaries had bought their wives, 
 asked them how much they gave for them. 
 
 The ceremonies connected with betroth- 
 ment and marriage are numerous, and care- 
 fully observed among the higher classes. 
 Priests are not in requisition for a mar- 
 riage, as it is a civil and not a religious 
 contract. 
 
 The girl's friends take her to the house 
 of her intended husband's parents, present- 
 ing, at the same time, property, — teetk, 
 cloth, or mats. A custom which is cer- 
 7 
 
74 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 tainly pretty is then observed. Not even 
 a heathen can leave the scenes of childhood 
 and careless joy without tears ; and the girl 
 often weeps freely. The friends of the 
 bridegroom endeavor to solace her by pre- 
 senting trinkets as expressions of their re- 
 gard. This is called the vakamamaca, or 
 "drying-up-of- the- tears." This, however, 
 is not the end of the ceremony. The bride 
 returns to her home after the observance of 
 certain forms. 
 
 The young man is expected to build a 
 house to which to take his wife, who under- 
 goes now the painful process of tattooing, 
 if it has not already been done. During 
 this period the bride is tahu siga, kept from 
 the sun, to improve her complexion. These 
 preliminaries over, the grand feast takes 
 place, when the friends of each party try to 
 outdo the others in the food and property 
 presented. As in other native feasts, so 
 here it is easier to specify the good cheer 
 by yards and hundred-weights than by 
 dishes. When the chief Tanoa gave his 
 daughter to the Lasakau chief, there was 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 75 
 
 provided for the entertainment of the friends 
 assembled a wall of fish five feet high and 
 twenty yards in length, besides turtles and 
 pigs, and vegetables in proportion. One 
 dish at the same feast was ten feet long, four 
 feet wide, and three deep, spread over with 
 green leaves, on which were placed roast 
 pigs and turtles. Whatever is prepared by 
 the friends of the woman is given to those 
 of the man, and vice versa. The conclusion 
 of this day is the vaqasea, when the mar- 
 riage is complete, the announcement of 
 which, in some tribes, is by tremendous 
 shoutings ; and arrangements are made for 
 the veitasi, or '' clipping," which, to wind- 
 ward, consists in cutting off a bunch of long 
 hair worn over the temples by the woman 
 while a spinster. To leeward, however, the 
 woman is deprived of all her hair, and thus 
 made sufficiently ugly to startle the most 
 ardent admirer. 
 
 The bride, among the higher classes, has 
 nothing to say on the subject, her will being 
 too unimportant to be consulted. Suit- 
 ability in age is of no consequence, as young 
 
76 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 girls of sixteen are often married to men of 
 sixty. 
 
 Says Mr. Williams, "I saw a young girl 
 of good family, who was given to the daugh- 
 ter of Tuikilakila, brought in form to that 
 chief. As she was presented in the way 
 usually observed in giving a bride, T will 
 describe the ceremony. She was brought 
 in at the principal entrance by the king's 
 aunt and a few matrons, and then, led only 
 by the old lady, approached the king. She 
 was an interesting girl of fifteen, glistening 
 with oil, wearing a new liku, and a neck- 
 lace of carved ivory points, radiating from 
 her neck, and turning upwards. The king 
 then received from his aunt the girl, with 
 two whales' teeth, which she carried in her 
 hand. When she was seated at his feet, his 
 majesty repeated a list of their gods, and 
 finished by praying that ' the girl might 
 live, and bring forth male children.' To 
 her friends — two men who had come in at 
 the back door — he gave a musket, begging 
 them not to think hardly of his having taken 
 their child, as the step was connected with 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 77 
 
 the good of the land, in which their in- 
 terests, as well as his own, were involved. 
 The musket, which was about equivalent to 
 the necklace, the men received with bent 
 heads, muttering a short prayer, the close 
 of which was exactly the same as they had 
 offered for years, 'Death to Natawa!' 
 Tuikilakila then took off the girl's necklace, 
 and kissed her. The gayest moment of her 
 life, as far as dress was concerned, was past; 
 and I felt that the untying of that polished 
 ornament from her neck was the first down- 
 ward step to a dreary future. Perhaps her 
 forebodings were like mine, for she wept ; 
 and the tears were seen by the king, who 
 said, ' Do not weep. Are you going to leave 
 your own land ? You are but going a voy- 
 age, soon to return. Do not think it is a 
 hardship to go to Mbau. Here you have to 
 work hard ; there you will rest. Here you 
 fare indifferently; there you will eat the 
 best of food. Only do not weep to spoil 
 yourself.' As he thus spoke, he played with 
 her curly locks, complimenting her on her 
 face and figure. Just then the king's 
 
78 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 women appeared with their nets, and lie 
 ordered the poor girl to go and ' try her 
 hand at fishing.'" 
 
 The birth of a boy is hailed with feasting 
 and rejoicing. The child is anointed with 
 oil and turmeric, and is named when two or 
 three days old. 
 
 The first lesson taught a child is to strike 
 its mother, — to make it courageous. For 
 the same object mothers take their little ones 
 to abuse the dead bodies of their fathers' 
 enemies. One of the missionaries, visiting 
 a family who were mourning the recent 
 slaughter of six of their household, saw a 
 child of about four years of age sitting on 
 the floor, hacking a malo — a man's dress — 
 with a butcher's knife. His little hand was 
 covered with blood, for his little finger had 
 been cut ofi" as a token of love for his de- 
 ceased father. This malo had been stripped 
 from one of the enemies, and given to him 
 to treat in this way, for the purpose of ex- 
 citing hatred and revenge. 
 
 The principal education of the children 
 consists in teaching them to throw a spear 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 79 
 
 or club, and manage a canoe. They also 
 become well versed in the qualities of the 
 natural objects around them. Captain Ers- 
 kine said he never met a boy or girl who 
 could not tell him the native name for any 
 leaf or grass shown them. 
 
 The Fijian in no way excites our horror 
 and pity more than in his treatment of the 
 sick and aged. Grenerally, '' if sick persons 
 have no friends, they are simply left to 
 perish. Should they be among friends, they 
 are cared for until they become trouble- 
 some, or, through weakness, offensive; 
 whereupon they are generally put out of 
 the way." If the patient is of high rank, 
 on the contrary, great efforts are frequently 
 made to preserve his life. 
 
 The case of Tangithi is a good illustra- 
 tion of their habits in this respect. She 
 was the favorite daughter of the king of 
 Lakemba, and was very ill. She wished to 
 be visited by the missionary, who found her 
 speechless and apparently insensible. The 
 medicine he gave soon produced a favorable 
 change; but next day she refused to con- 
 
80 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 tinue under Mr. Calvert's treatment, as a 
 priest had arrived during the night from a 
 distance, and, through him, the god had 
 declared that the illness of the princess was 
 in consequence of the ruinous state of the 
 temples. The king, being very fond of his 
 daughter, was anxious to appease the anger 
 of the gods, and ordered large offerings of 
 food to be prepared by all the towns on the 
 island. Toki, and the other enemies of the 
 lotu, tried very hard to get this order im- 
 posed on the Christians as well as the rest; 
 but the king refused, saying that what the 
 Christians did in the matter would be use- 
 less, as they worshipped another Grod. On 
 being pressed, he added, '^ They shall not 
 be asked to help. And if they were, do 
 you think they would do any thing in this 
 matter, seeing that such work is unlawful 
 to them?" On this occasion, as on all 
 others, care was taken by the missionaries 
 that, while the Christians stood firmly to 
 their principles, it should be done with as 
 little ofi'ence as possible; so that they 
 brought unbidden a supply of uncooked 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 81 
 
 food, as a present to the king, who seemed 
 pleased and satisfied. All the heathens on 
 the island joined in preparing the offering 
 for Tangithi's recovery. 
 
 All these preparations occupied much 
 time, and before every thing was ready 
 Tangithi grew worse, and again Mr. Calvert 
 was sent for. He found her removed to 
 the house of a late brother of the king, who 
 was now deified, and said to be speciall} 
 present in his old house. The missionary, 
 knowing that the priest was there about 
 his incantations, and that large offerings 
 had been prepared, deemed this a good op- 
 portunity for teaching. The king was much 
 excited, and said, " The illness of my daugh- 
 ter is very great!" ''Yes," said Mr. Cal- 
 vert, "I know it; and you are to be blamed 
 for following useless heathen worship, in- 
 stead of continuing the use of medicine 
 which proved beneficial." He further added 
 that he was unwilling to treat the patient 
 while the heathen observances were going 
 on, and the priest was rubbing her body, 
 lest, on his treatment succeeding, it should 
 
82 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 be said that the recovery was the result of 
 the incantations and offerings, and thus the 
 people should become confirmed in their 
 errors. After a long talk, and a lecture to 
 the priest on his absurd deceptions, Mr. 
 Calvert at last consented to undertake the 
 case. He administered a stimulant, which 
 revived the girl from her stupor, making 
 her throw about her arms restlessly. This 
 frightened the king, who thought she was 
 dying, and cried out, angrily, '^ You have 
 killed my daughter !" The missionary was 
 in no enviable position. The attendants 
 and people all round were very savage at 
 his interference with the priest, and only 
 wanted a word to lead them to revenge. 
 It was late at night, and the mission-house 
 was far off. The place was full of enraged 
 heathens, in the midst of whom stood the 
 stranger accused by the king of murdering 
 his favorite child. Nothing, however, was 
 to be gained by showing fear : so Mr. Cal- 
 vert snatched up his bottles, and showed 
 great indignation at such a charge after he 
 had come at their earnest request, — though 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 83 
 
 served so badly by them before, — and had 
 given S3me of the medicine that had been sent 
 all the way from England for his own family. 
 Then, assuming a look of being greatly 
 affronted, he hurried away, glad enough to 
 get safe home, where he bolted all the doors, 
 and kept an anxious look-out next morning, 
 until the news came that Tangithi was alive 
 and somewhat better. During the morning 
 a message came from the king, begging for 
 medicine for another of his children, who 
 was ill with dysentery. Mr. Calvert sent 
 word, ^' Give my respects to the king, and 
 tell him that I do not wish to send any more 
 medicine for his children, having killed his 
 daughter last night ; and it is not lawful for 
 a missionary to kill two children of a king 
 in so short a time." An apology soon came, 
 and an entreaty for forgiveness for words 
 hastily spoken; but the medicine was not 
 sent until another urgent request was 
 brought. 
 
 For four weeks the priests tried all the 
 effects of their incantations and sacrifices, 
 but the sick girl got no better : so that at 
 
84: THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 last tne father's "heart relented, and he gave 
 his consent that she should renounce hea- 
 thenism, and be removed, with her attendants, 
 to the mission-house. This was accordingly- 
 done; and the missionary's wife will not soon 
 forget the toil and inconvenience and annoy- 
 ance of having so many Fijian women in her 
 house. The care, however, was cheerfully 
 borne, and in a short time the patient im- 
 proved. Now that she had lost all trust in 
 the heathen remedies, she was perfectly sub- 
 missive to the directions of the missionary, 
 and soon recovered. And God greatly 
 blessed her soul as well as her body ; so 
 that she became an enlightened and earnest 
 worshipper of him, much to the dismay of 
 the priests and the rousing of the whole 
 island. Several became Christians in the 
 king's town, and all the people, from the 
 king downwards, knew that Tangithi's re- 
 covery was of God, after their own priests 
 had failed. 
 
 This young girl's high position alone 
 saved her from the horrible fate that befalls 
 those of a lower class. Elijah Verani, after 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 85 
 
 becoming a Christian, one day told Mr. 
 Williams of a young girl, who had been 
 sick, and remained in a delicate state of 
 health for so long a time that he feared she 
 would be troublesome, and had her grave 
 dug. She was in the house, but the noise 
 and loud exclamations attracted her atten- 
 tion, and she went to the door to see what 
 could be the reason of it. As soon as she 
 appeared, she was suddenly seized, carried 
 to her grave, and thrown in. In vain she 
 shrieked and pleaded for mercy : two pair 
 of strong arms held her down, resisting her 
 frantic struggles and her agonizing cry, 
 '' Do not bury me ! I am quite well now !" 
 The soil was hastily thrown in on her, till 
 every sound was stifled, and they left her. 
 Oh, the horrors of heathenism ! Well may 
 we thank God for the Bible ! 
 
 One reason, probably, why the sick and 
 aged desire to die before they become de- 
 crepit, is the belief that they will eternally 
 be of the same age that they are at the time 
 of death. The treatment they receive also 
 often reconciles them to death ; but, if they 
 
86 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 do not themselves make the proposal, their 
 children are very apt to remind them of 
 their duty to die. To honor and cherish 
 the aged is no part of Fijian morality. 
 
 Mr. Hunt, who was an eye-witness of 
 several of these acts, gives the following 
 account. On one occasion he was called 
 upon by a young man, who desired he 
 would pray to his Spirit for his mother, 
 who was dead. On inquiry, the young man 
 told him that his brothers and himself were 
 just going to bury her. Mr. Hunt accom- 
 panied the young man, telling him he would 
 follow in the procession and do as he desired 
 him, supposii.g, of course, the corpse would 
 be brought along. Soon they met the pro- 
 cession : the young man said this was the 
 funeral, and pointed out his mother, who 
 was walking along with them, as gay and 
 lively as any present, and apparently as much 
 pleased. Mr. Hunt expressed his surprise 
 to the young man, and asked him how he 
 could deceive him by saying his mother 
 was dead, when she was alive and well. 
 He said, in reply, that they had made her 
 
WOMAN IN FIJI. 87 
 
 deatn-feast ; that she was old ; that his 
 brother and himself had thought she had 
 lived long enough, and it was time to oury 
 her, to which she had willingly assented, 
 and they were about it now. He had come 
 to Mr. Hunt to ask his prayers, as they did 
 those of the priest. He added that it was 
 from love to his mother that they were now 
 going to bury her, and that none but them- 
 selves could or ought to perform so sacred 
 an office. Mr. Hunt did all in his power to 
 prevent the act ; but the only reply he re- 
 ceived was that she was their mother, and 
 they were her children, and they ought to 
 put her to death. On reaching the grave, 
 the mother sat down, — when children, grand- 
 children, relations, and friends took an 
 affectionate leave of her. A rope was then 
 passed twice around her neck by her sons, 
 who took hold of it and strangled her; 
 after which she was put into her grave 
 with the usual ceremonies. They returned 
 to feast and mourn, after which she was as 
 entirely forgotten as though she had not 
 existed. 
 
THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 FUNEEAL CEEEMONIES. 
 
 Deeply painful is it to the Christian 
 heart to describe or to read of the horrors 
 of heathenism in these beautiful islands. 
 Yet it is well to know what man is with- 
 out the knowledge of God, and what was 
 the state of many who now obey the gospel. 
 In the funeral ceremonies of Fiji we see 
 new evidences of the cruelty and woes of 
 pagan blindness. The story of the death 
 and funeral of an eminent chief, Tuithakau, 
 of Somo-somo, is thus described by Mr. 
 Williams : — 
 
 '' The venerable chieftain grew feeble to- 
 wards the middle of 1845, but not so as to 
 prevent his taking an occasional walk. 
 About August, however, he was obliged to 
 keep his mat, and I often called, and en- 
 
FUNEBAL CEREMONIES. 89 
 
 deavored to instruct without irritating liim. 
 I visited him on the 21st, and was surprised 
 to find him much better than he had been 
 two days before. We talked a little, and 
 he was perfectly collected. On being told, 
 therefore, on the morning of the 24th, that 
 the king was dead, and that preparations 
 were being made for his interment, I could 
 scarcely credit the report. The ominous 
 word preparing urged me to hasten without 
 delay to the scene of action ; but my utmost 
 speed failed to bring me to Nasima — the 
 king's house^in time. 
 
 *'The moment I entered it, it was evident 
 that, as far as concerned two of the women, 
 I was too late to save their lives. Scores 
 of deliberate murderers, in the very act, 
 surrounded me : yet there was no confusion, 
 and, except a word from him who presided, 
 no noise, but only an unearthly, horrid still- 
 ness. Nature seemed to lend her aid to 
 deepen the dread effect : there was not a 
 breath stirring in the air, and the half-sub- 
 dued light in that hall of death showed 
 every object with unusual distinctness. All 
 
 8* 
 
90 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 was motionless as sculpture, and a strange 
 feeling came upon me, as though 1 was be- 
 coming a statue. To speak was impossible ; 
 I was unconscious that I breathed ; and in- 
 voluntarily, or, rather, against my will, I 
 sank to the floor, assuming the cowering 
 posture of those who were not actually en- 
 gaged in murder. My arrival was during 
 a hush, just at the crisis of death ; and to 
 that strange silence must be attributed my 
 emotion ; for I was but too familiar with 
 murders of this kind, neither was there any 
 thing novel in the apparatus employed. 
 
 ^' Occupying the centre of that large room 
 were two groups, the business of which 
 could not be mistaken. All sat on the 
 floor, — the middle figure of each group being 
 held in a sitting posture by several females 
 and hidden by a large veil. On either side 
 of each veiled figure was a company of eight 
 or ten strong men, one company hauling 
 against the other on a white cord, which 
 was passed twice round the neck of the 
 doomed one, who thus in a few minutes 
 ceased to live. 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 91 
 
 ''As my self-command was returning, the 
 group farthest from me began to move ; the 
 men slackened their hold, and the attendant 
 women removed the large covering, making 
 it into a couch for the victim. As that 
 veil was lifted, some of the men beheld 
 the distorted features of a mother whom 
 they had helped to murder, and smiled with 
 satisfaction as the corpse was laid out for 
 decoration. Convulsive struggles on the 
 part of the poor creature near me showed 
 that she still lived. She was a stout woman, 
 and some of the executioners jocosely in- 
 vited those who sat near to have pity and 
 help them. At length the women said, ' She 
 is cold.' The fatal cord fell; and, as the 
 covering was raised, I saw dead the obedient 
 wife and unwearied attendant of the old 
 king. Leaving the women to adjust her 
 hair, oil her body, cover her face with ver- 
 milion, and adorn her with flowers, I passed 
 on to see the remains of the deceased Tui- 
 thakau. To my astonishment, I found him 
 alive ! He was weak, but quite conscious, 
 and, whenever he coughed, placed his hand 
 
02 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 on his side, as though in pain. Yet his 
 chief wife and a male attendant were cover- 
 ing him with a thick coat of black powder, 
 and tying round his arms and legs a num- 
 ber of white scarfs, fastened in rosettes, 
 with the long ends hanging down his sides. 
 His head was turbaned in a scarlet handker- 
 chief secured by a chaplet of small white 
 cowries ; and he wore armlets of the same 
 shells. On his neck was the ivory neck- 
 lace, formed in long curved points. To 
 complete his royal attire according to Fijian 
 idea, he had on a very large new masi, the 
 train being wrapped in a number of loose 
 folds at his feet. 
 
 '' The conflicting emotions which passed 
 through my mind at that moment cannot 
 be described. I had gone there to beg that 
 the old man might be buried alone ; but he 
 was not dead. I had hoped to have prevented 
 murder; but two victims lay dead at my 
 feet. I came to the young king to ask for 
 the life of women ; but it now seemed my 
 duty to demand that of his father. Yet, 
 should my plea be successful, it would cause 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 93 
 
 other murders on a future day. Perplexed 
 in thought, with a deep gloom on my mind, 
 feeling my blood curdle and ' the hair of 
 my flesh stand up,' I approached the young 
 king, whom I could only regard with ab- 
 horrence. He seemed greatly moved, put 
 his arm round and embraced me, saying, 
 before I could speak, ' See ! the father of us 
 two is dead.' ' Dead !' I exclaimed, in a 
 tone of surprise: 'dead! No.' 'Yes,' 
 he answered : ' his spirit is gone. You see 
 his body move; but that it does uncon- 
 sciously.' Knowing that it would be use- 
 less to dispute the point, I ceased to care 
 for the father, and went on to say that the 
 chief object of myself and my colleague was 
 to beg him to ' love us, and prevent any 
 more women from being strangled, as he 
 could not by multiplying the dead render 
 any benefit to his father.' He replied, 
 'There are only two ; but they shall suffice. 
 Were not you missionaries here, we would 
 make an end of all the women sitting around.' 
 " Preparations being made for removing 
 the bodies, we, having no further cause for 
 
94 THE CiNNIEAL ISLANDS. 
 
 staying, retired from ' the large house.' 
 In doing so, I noticed an interesting female, 
 oiled and dressed in a new liku, carrying a 
 long bamboo, the top of which contained 
 about a pint of water, which, as the bodies 
 were carried out at one door, she poured 
 on the threshold of another, and then re- 
 tired by the way she came. The words of 
 the widow of Tekoah were thus brought, 
 with peculiar force, to my mind : — ' For we 
 must needs die, and are as water spilt on 
 the ground, which cannot be gathered up 
 again.' My inquiry into the origin and 
 meaning of this act resulted in nothing 
 satisfactory. Neither could I learn why 
 the side of the house was broken down to 
 make a passage for the aged king to be car- 
 ried through, when there were sufficient 
 doorways close at hand. The bodies of the 
 strangled women, having been secured in 
 mats, were carried on biers to the sea-side. 
 They were placed one on either end of a 
 canoe, with the old king on the front deck, 
 attended by the queen and the mata, who 
 with a fan kept the insects off him. Thus 
 
FUKERAL CEREMONIES. 95 
 
 was Tuithakau carried to Weilangi, to the 
 sepulchre of the kings. 
 
 " Tongans were appointed to bury the king. 
 The grave had been dug by the people of 
 the place, and lined with mats, on which 
 the Tongans laid the bodies of the women, 
 and on them the once powerful chief. The 
 shell ornaments were taken off his person, 
 which was then covered with cloth and 
 mats, and the earth heaped upon him. He 
 was heard to cough after a considerable 
 quantity of soil had been thrown in the 
 grave. These latter particulars I received 
 from those who buried him, as I could not 
 by my presence seem to sanction the un- 
 natural deed." 
 
 These people sometimes live to an old 
 age, and when the hour of death is allowed 
 to approach naturally, and the dying one is 
 respectable, or the head of a family, the 
 scene is certainly affecting. The patriarch 
 calls his children around him, that he may 
 say farewell and give his parting advice. 
 This is generally commenced in the same 
 way : — " I am going. You will remain." 
 
96 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 At that hour of death, he never forgets ac 
 enemy, and at that time he never forgives 
 one. The dying man mentions his foe, that 
 his children may perpetuate his hatred — 
 it may be against his own son — and kill 
 him at the first opportunity. The name 
 of the hated one is uttered aloud, if not as 
 the object of immediate vengeance, yet of 
 gloomy and disastrous predictions, which 
 never fail to reach the ears where they are 
 least welcome. The impn^ssion made on 
 the minds of those to whom the carrying 
 out of their dark purport is intrusted is 
 indelible. Thus, with the deep marks of a 
 murderous, unforgiving spirit upon him, 
 does the heathen pass away to his account. 
 At some funerals priests attend, and super- 
 intend the ceremonies. A grave, rarely 
 more than three feet deep, is prepared. 
 When the rites are finished, mats are laid at 
 the bottom, and the body or bodies, wrapped 
 in other mats and native cloth, are placed 
 thereon, the edges of the under mats folding 
 over all. The earth is then thrown in. Many 
 yards of the man's onasi are often left out 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 97 
 
 of the grave, and carried in festoons over 
 the branches of a neighboring tree. 
 
 Over some of the graves a small roof is 
 built, three or six feet high, the gables of 
 which are filled in with sinnet. Common 
 graves are only edged with stones, or have 
 nothing more than one set at the head and 
 another at the foot. 
 
 One pretty custom is observed at La- 
 kemba. A procession of women go forth 
 each bearing a basket of pure white sand, 
 with which to cover the grave,— one part, in 
 a clear, musical tone, singing, '' U-ui-e," 
 while the rest respond, "U-yara." Yet this 
 was ascertained to be mere ceremony, with 
 no appropriate feeling, when loud laughter 
 from the women greeted the ear. 
 
 So strong is the desire for a friend to 
 have company in the spirit-land, that even 
 the Christians, who now disbelieve their 
 former traditions, could not conceal their 
 joy when they found that, one of their 
 chiefs having been killed, a ball at the same 
 time entered the body of a young man. It 
 
98 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 seemed to them a pleasant thought that he 
 would not be alone. 
 
 But the heathen not only desires his 
 friend to have companions, but he sends 
 them after him. These victims are ge- 
 nerally the wives of the deceased, — some- 
 times the mother ; and if a chief has an in- 
 timate friend, it is deemed proper that he 
 should die with him, in order to prevent 
 any interruption of their intimacy. These 
 victims are called *' grass," and are laid in 
 the grave first on mats, and their chief 
 then placed over them. 
 
 It is seldom that a woman makes any 
 objection to this sacrifice; for the fear of 
 public opinion is stronger than that of 
 death. Excited and urged on by her friends 
 and relations, who know that their neglect 
 to kill their mother or sister will be con- 
 strued into disrespect or indifference for the 
 deceased, — knowing that if she refuses death 
 her life will be insupportable from the pri- 
 vations and cruelties she will suffer, — she 
 consents to die. 
 
 Some die courageously, others sullenly 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 99 
 
 or silently. They even have carried their 
 mats in which they were to be wrapped, 
 und then helped to dig their graves. They 
 know but little of the future, and have but 
 slight pleasure in the present. 
 
 A white man once rescued a woman, 
 driving the murderers away. He took her 
 home, and, after some pains, resuscitated her; 
 but as soon as she became conscious, instead 
 of thanking him for deliverance from death, 
 she poured a torrent of abuse upon him, and 
 ever after manifested the deepest hatred to- 
 wards him. 
 
 When Mbati ISTamu was killed, the rela- 
 tives of Sa Ndrungu, his chief wife, brought 
 and offered her to his friends. A mission- 
 ary presented his soro for her life; but it 
 was neutralized by her friends presenting 
 one to "press it down." He made another 
 offering, gained his point, and sent the dis- 
 appointed murderers about their business, — 
 one holding a bottle of oil, another turmeric 
 powder, and a third the instrument of death, 
 — all sad at heart that these were not to be 
 used. A short time after, in consequence 
 
100 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 of the dissatisfaction of her friends, the 
 woman left the Christian village, crossed 
 the river, and entered the house of the man 
 who was most anxious to destroy her, taking 
 her stand in the midst, so as to intimate 
 that she gave herself up to his will. The 
 missionary followed, and got permission from 
 the dead chief's brother to take her back 
 with him, and by taking his proffered hand 
 she might have lived. She intimated her 
 sense of his kind intention, but declined to 
 accompany him. Next morning she was 
 strangled. 
 
 Two women who were to be strangled 
 together, and who knew something of the 
 gospel, said to a teacher who had been try- 
 ing to save their lives, '' Our case is one 
 to cause pity ; but we dare not live : our 
 friends dare not save usT 
 
 But the greatest evils fall on the children, 
 who are thus left, without father or mother, 
 to the care of those who love their own 
 children little and these orphans less. In 
 one class of seventeen in the mission-school, 
 Dine were orphans. At a baptism on the 
 
FUNEEAL CEREMONIES. 101 
 
 Vanua Levu, of nine boys three were 
 brothers, and of the entire number but four 
 of the parents were living, the rest having 
 met violent deaths. This is but a glimpse 
 of the appalling facts which an examination 
 would develop. Surely the heart must be 
 hard almost as that of the heathen that 
 can coldly view these scenes and yet feel no 
 desire to bless them with the good news the 
 gospel brings. 
 
102 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CANNIBALISM. 
 
 We come now to a subject almost too re- 
 volting to be dwelt upon ; but, as '' canni- 
 balism among this people is one of their 
 institutions, interwoven in the elements of 
 society," it must be treated somewhat in 
 detail. 
 
 Until recently, there were many who 
 refused to believe in the existence of this 
 horrible practice in modern times ; but the 
 evidence is too conclusive for any one now 
 to doubt. The motives that actuate the 
 cannibals are principally revenge and relish 
 for human flesh. When they are talked to 
 on the subject, the only answer both chiefs 
 and common people have made is, that it is 
 "good!" 
 
 Now, since they have discovered the ex- 
 treme abhorrence in which Europeans hold 
 
CANNIBALISM, 103 
 
 the practice, they are very averse to speak 
 of it. 
 
 There are few chiefs who are not foremost 
 among their people in the indulgence of 
 this horrible custom ; yet some rare excep- 
 tions hate cannibalism, and never can be 
 induced to taste human flesh. 
 
 They generally secure for this purpose 
 the bodies of all slain in battle. Persons 
 shipwrecked are considered to have been 
 sent by the gods, and are never spared. A 
 common, because easy, method of obtaining 
 victims, is to seize the women who are fish- 
 ing on the reefs. Women and some of the 
 priests are forbidden to eat of the bakolo;* 
 but their abstinence is only public, for it ia 
 a well-known fact that women secretly par- 
 take of the food. 
 
 The following facts illustrate the reason 
 of holding and the manner of supplying 
 their feasts, and also show the heroism of 
 two ladies belonging to the mission. 
 
 The Mbutoni tribe of Mbau are rovers, 
 
 * A human bo ly fov eating. 
 
104 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 spending mucli of their time on the sea. 
 In 1849, a large company of them returned 
 to Mbau, after an absence of seven years, 
 bringing an unusually large tribute to the 
 king. Extraordinary exertions were made 
 to entertain so large and profitable a com- 
 pany. As it was necessary to obtain human 
 food for them, two youths were taken and 
 killed. But this was not nearly enough. 
 Ngavindi, the chief of the fishermen, and 
 purveyor for the cannibal feasts, felt his 
 personal honor involved in the matter. He 
 was young, and was on intimate terms with 
 the missionaries and had been much under 
 their influence ; but they were at this time 
 absent from Mbau, and his fear of their dis- 
 approbation yielded to the dread of being 
 disgraced by not entertaining his guests 
 in a suitable manner. He called the people 
 and priests together, and said to them, 
 " We shall lose our renown. We shall not 
 be dreaded or fed. We have provided no 
 food for the visitors. We must go to it in 
 earnest. We will seek for enemies to Mbau. 
 If we cannot catch any enemies, we will kill 
 
CANNIBALISM. 105 
 
 some who are friendly; and, if we cannot 
 get either friends or enemies, some of our- 
 selves must be strangled. Otherwise, we 
 shall be disgraced for not doing what is our 
 special work. Others are procuring : we 
 must have some human beings." 
 
 The priests promised success, and, cover- 
 ing the ends of their canoes with green 
 leaves, they hid under some mangrove-bushes 
 at one end of the adjacent islands. 
 
 Unconscious of their hidden foes and of 
 the awful doom awaiting them, a company 
 of women came down to the shore to catch 
 shell-fish. As they were pursuing their 
 occupation, the concealed cannibals rushed 
 upon them : fourteen were taken, and one 
 man who was with them was killed. The 
 noise of the sacred drums announced to the 
 people of Mbau the approach of the canoes 
 with the victims, and eager crowds met them 
 at the landing with loud rejoicings and con- 
 gratulations. 
 
 The report of these deeds reached the 
 mission-house at Viwa, a few miles distant, 
 where Mrs. Lyth and Mrs. Calvert were 
 
106 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 alone with their children. The hoirible 
 tidings moved these Christian women most 
 deeply; but what could they do? Their 
 husbands were far away from them. To go 
 among these savages, now maddened and 
 excited by the prospect of the feast before 
 them, and ask them to forego it and sur- 
 render the victims they had just secured, 
 was surely a daring act for two English- 
 women to undertake. But this they deter- 
 mined to do ; and, though in themselves they 
 were weak, and the peril of death was before 
 them, they went, trusting in " the Lord of 
 hosts, their refuge and their strength." 
 They knew that their husbands, had they 
 been at home, would have dared all danger 
 to save the victims from the sacrifice and 
 the people from the sin. It was but right 
 for them to do what they could to supply 
 their place. 
 
 As they drew near Mbau, the fearful din 
 grew louder. Yet above the firing of mus- 
 kets, the roar of drums, and the shouts of 
 the people, arose the agonizing cries of the 
 victims. With horror the conviction pressed 
 
CANNIBALISM. 107 
 
 on them that they were too late ! The mur- 
 der had commenced ! 
 
 Fear gave way to impatience at that 
 wild warning, and the Englishwomen's 
 voices urged the laboring boatmen to make 
 better speed. They reached the beach, and 
 were met by a lotu (Christian) chief, who 
 dared to join them, saying, '' Make haste ! 
 Some are dead ; but some are alive !" Sur- 
 rounded by an unseen guard which none 
 might break through, the women of God 
 passed through the blood-maddened canni- 
 bals unhurt. They pressed forward to the 
 house of the old king Tanoa, the entrance to 
 which was strictly forbidden to all women. 
 
 It was no time for ceremony now. With 
 a whale's tooth in each hand, and still ac- 
 companied by the Christian chief, they 
 thrust themselves into the grim presence of 
 the king, and prayed their prayer of mercy. 
 The old man was startled at the audacity 
 of the intruders. His hearing was dull, and 
 they raised their voices higher to plead for 
 their dark sisters' lives. The king said, 
 *' Those who are, dead are dead ; but those 
 
108 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 who are still alive shall live only." At that 
 word, a man ran to Ngavindi, to stop his 
 butchery, and returned to say that five still 
 lived ; the rest of the fourteen were k illed. 
 But the messengers of pity could not leave 
 their work unfinished. They went to the 
 house of the murderer, and found him sit- 
 ting in state, in full dress, but evidently 
 very uncomfortable. He winced under the 
 sharp rebuke of the missionaries' wives, and 
 muttered something about his friendliness 
 to the lotu (Christianity). Even in canni- 
 bal Mbau, all did not consent to the deed 
 of darkness. Thakombau's chief wife and 
 Ngavindi's wife had already secured the 
 life and liberty of two of the victims ; and 
 when Mrs. Calvert and Mrs. Lyth left there 
 were others who blessed them for their work 
 of love. 
 
 Disgusting as is this subject, a book on 
 Fiji would be defective were it passed by in 
 silence. Yet we will but slightly lift the 
 veil to show the depths of degradation to 
 which depraved man can fall when left to 
 himself. 
 
CANNIBALISM. 109 
 
 "Cannibalism," says Mr. Williams, "does 
 not confine its selection to one sex or a par- 
 ticular age. I have seen the gray-headed 
 and children of both sexes devoted to the 
 oven. I have labored to make the mur- 
 derers of females ashamed of themselves, and 
 have heard their cowardly cruelty defended 
 by the assertion that such victims were 
 doubly good, — because they ate well, and 
 because of the distress it caused their hus- 
 bands and friends." 
 
 " Native warriors carry their revenge 
 beyond death : so that bodies slain in battle 
 are often mutilated in a frightful manner, — a 
 treatment which is considered neither mean 
 nor brutal. When the bodies of enemies 
 are procured for the oven, the event is 
 published by a peculiar beating of the 
 drum, which alarmed me even before I 
 was informed of its import. Soon after 
 hearing it, I saw two canoes steering for the 
 island, while some one on board struck the 
 water, at intervals, with a long pole, to de- 
 note that they had killed some one. When 
 sufficiently near, they began their fiendish 
 
 10 
 
110 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 war-dance, which was answered by the in- 
 decent dance of the women. On the boxed 
 end of one of the canoes was a human corpse, 
 which was cut adrift and tumbled into the 
 water soon after the canoe touched land, 
 when it was tossed to and fro by the rising 
 and falling waves until the men had reported 
 their exploit, when it was dragged ashore 
 by a vine tied to the left hand. A crowd, 
 chiefly females, surrounded the dead man, 
 who was above the ordinary size, and ex- 
 pressed most unfeelingly their surprise and 
 delight. 'A man, truly! a ship! a land!' 
 The warriors, having rested, put a vine 
 round the other wrist of the hakolo, — dead 
 body designed for eating, — and two of them 
 dragged it, face downwards, to the town, the 
 rest going before and performing the war- 
 dance, which consists in jumping, brandish- 
 ing of weapons, and two or three, in advance 
 of the main body, running towards the town, 
 throwing their clubs aloft, or firing muskets, 
 while they assure those within of their capa- 
 bility to defend them. A song was uttered 
 
CANNIBALISM. Ill 
 
 in i. wild monotone, finished with shrill 
 yells. 
 
 " On reaching the middle of the town, the 
 body was thrown down before the chief, who 
 directed the priest to offer it in due form to 
 the war-god. Fire had been placed in the 
 great oven, and the smoke rose above the 
 old temple, as the body was again drawn to 
 the shore to be cut up. The carver used a 
 piece of slit bamboo, with which, after hav- 
 ing washed the body in the sea, he cut off 
 the several members, joint by joint. The 
 several parts were then folded in leaves and 
 placed in the oven. 
 
 " Revenge is undoubtedly the main cause 
 of cannibalism in Fiji, but by no means in-* 
 variably so. I have known many cases in 
 which such a motive could not have been 
 present. Sometimes, however, this prin- 
 ciple is horribly manifested. 
 
 '' A woman taken from a town besieged 
 by Ea Undreunde,* and where one of his 
 
 * A most noted cannibal, who was said to have eaten 
 nine hundred persons. 
 
112 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 friends had been killed, was placed in a 
 large wooden dish and cut up alive, that 
 none of the blood might be lost. In 1850, 
 Tuikilakila inflicted a severe blow on his 
 old enemies the Natewans, when nearly one 
 hundred of them were slain, among whom 
 was found the body of Ratu Rakesa, the 
 king's own cousin. The chiefs of the vic- 
 torious side endeavored to obtain permission 
 to bury him, since he held the high rank of 
 Rakesa, and because there was such a great 
 abundance of hakolo. ' Bring him here/ 
 said Tuikilakila, ' that I may see him.' He 
 looked on the corpse with unfeigned delight. 
 ' This,' said he, ' is a most fitting offering to 
 Na Tavasara (the war-god). Present it to 
 him : let it then be cooked, and reserved for 
 my own consumption. None shall share 
 with me. Had I fallen into his hands, he 
 would have eaten me : now that he has 
 fallen into my hands, I will eat him.' And 
 it is said that he fulfilled his word in a few 
 days, the body being lightly baked at first, 
 and then preserved by repeated cooking." 
 *' When I first knew Loti, he was living 
 
CANNIBALISM. 113 
 
 at Na Euwai. A few years before, he killed 
 his only wife and ate her. She accompanied 
 him to plant taro, and, when the work was 
 done, he sent her to fetch wood, with which 
 he made a fire, while she, at his bidding, 
 collected leaves and grass to line the oven, 
 and procured a bamboo to cut up what was 
 to be cooked. When she had cheerfully 
 obeyed his commands, the monster seized 
 his wife, deliberately dismembered her, and 
 cooked and ate her, calling some to help 
 him in consuming the unnatural feast. The 
 woman was his equal, one with whom he 
 lived comfortably ; he had no quarrel with 
 her or cause of complaint. Twice he might 
 have defended his conduct to me, had he 
 been so disposed, but he only assented to 
 the truth of what I here record. The only 
 motives could have been a fondness for human 
 flesh, and a hope that he should be spoken 
 of and pointed out as a terrific fellow." 
 
 But let this suffice. The horrible facts 
 of the cannibalism of the Fijians must be 
 brought to light. We will not detail them 
 further. 
 
 10* 
 
114 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 This custom makes the position of the 
 missionaries among them peculiarly trying. 
 Well may Captain Wilkes, in speaking of 
 the gentleness and refinement of the mis- 
 sionary ladies, wonder how they can endure 
 such a life. They could not, were they not 
 sustained by a strength above their own. 
 '' God is their help and their shield, because 
 they trust in his holy name." For him, 
 and for the precious immortal souls of those 
 whom Satan has bound in chains of sin, they 
 leave home and kindred to dwell amid un- 
 speakable horrors. They follow Christ ; and 
 he will be their everlasting reward. 
 
WAE IN FIJI. • 115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WAR IN FIJI. 
 
 Fiji is rarely free from war and its at- 
 tendant evils. When on his feet, the Fijian 
 is always armed ; when working in his gar- 
 den, or lying on his mat, his arms are always 
 at hand. This, however, is not to be attri- 
 buted to his bold or choleric temper, but to 
 suspicion and dread. Fear arms the Fijian. 
 His own heart tells him that no one could 
 trust him and be safe, whence he infers that 
 his own security consists in universal mis- 
 trust of others. The club or spear is the 
 companion of all his walks ; but it is only 
 for defence. This is proved by every man 
 you meet : in the distance you see him with 
 his weapon shouldered; getting nearer, he 
 lowers it to his knee, gives you the path, 
 and passes on. This is invariable, except 
 when the people meet purposely to fight, or 
 
116 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS, 
 
 when two enemies come unexpectedly to- 
 gether. When war is decided upon between 
 two powers, a formal message to that effect 
 is interchanged, and informal messages in 
 abundance, warning each other to strengthen 
 their fences and carry them up to the sky. 
 Councils are held, in which future action is 
 planned. Before going to war with men, 
 they study to be right with the gods. 
 Ruined temples are rebuilt, some half buried 
 in weeds are brought to light, and new ones 
 erected. Costly offerings are brought to the 
 gods, and prayers presented for the utter 
 destruction of the enemy. Much confidence 
 is placed in the god's help thus purchased. 
 When it was said to a small party on their 
 way to war, " You are few," they promptly 
 replied, '' Our allies are the gods." 
 
 Yet their dependence on their gods is not 
 so entire as to make them indifferent to 
 human assistance. If the tribe be a power- 
 ful one, it probably has under its protection 
 smaller tribes, who are expected to assist 
 their ally in time of war. They know very 
 well that a refusal to give their aid would 
 
WAR IN FIJI. 117 
 
 be disastrous to them. Sometimes an ap- 
 peal is made to a friendly neighbor : a favor- 
 able answer is returned by sending a club 
 or spear, and the message, '' I have sent my 
 club : by-and-by I will follow." 
 
 Visitors are always expected to assist the 
 chief who entertains them. 
 
 The declaration of war having been made, 
 both parties earnestly prepare for battle. 
 As there is no regular army, the forces are 
 collected in various ways : the only qualifi- 
 cation required of a warrior is ability to 
 handle some sort of weapon. 
 
 It is not often that a force of more than a 
 thousand is raised. The army is collected 
 by the taqa, a kind of review held at each 
 town on the line of march. First comes the 
 leader, and then others, singly at the be- 
 ginning, but afterwards in companies of six, 
 or ten, or twenty. It is impossible to tell 
 all that is said when many are speaking at 
 once ; but there is no lack of bragging, if 
 single challengers may be taken as speci- 
 mens. One man runs up to the chief, 
 brandishes his club, and exclaims, " Sir, do 
 
118 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 you know me ? Your eneLiies soon will !" 
 Another, darting forward, says, " See this 
 hatchet, how clean ! To-morrow it will be 
 bathed in blood !" One cries out, " This is 
 my club, the club that never yet was false !" 
 The next, '' This army moves to-morrow ; 
 then you shall eat dead men till you are sur- 
 feited!" A man, striking the ground vio- 
 lently with his club, boasts, " I cause the 
 earth to tremble : it is I who meet the enemy 
 to-morrow !" " See," exclaims another, " I 
 hold a musket and a battle-axe ! If the 
 musket miss fire, the hatchet will not !" 
 On one occasion a young man stepped 
 towards a king, holding a pole used as an 
 anchor, and said, " See, sire, the anchor of 
 Natewa!* I will do thus with it!" And 
 he broke the pole across his knee. A man, 
 swinging a ponderous club, said, " This club 
 is a defence, a shade from the heat of the 
 sun, and the cold of the rain." Glancing 
 at the chief, he added, '' You may come 
 under it." A fiery youth ran up, as though 
 
 * The place against which they were going to fight. 
 
WAR IN FIJI. 119 
 
 breathless, crying out, '' I long to be gone ! 
 I am impatient!" One of the same kind 
 said, " Ah, ah ! these boasters are deceivers ! 
 I unly am a true man : in the battle you 
 shall find me so." These " great swelling 
 words" are listened to with mingled laughter 
 and applause. The fighting-men have their 
 bodies covered with black powder; some, 
 however, confine this to the upper part only. 
 An athletic warrior thus powdered, so as to 
 make his skin wear a velvet-like blackness, 
 has a truly formidable appearance, his eyes 
 and teeth gleaming with very efi'ective 
 whiteness. If the chief intends attacking 
 a fortress, the difficulties in his way are 
 often great, as the mountains afford many and 
 safe fastnesses, of which the weaker tribes 
 generally avail themselves, often fortifying 
 them with much skill. 
 
 The fortress of Nateva Matua is an im- 
 mense rock, not unlike an old feudal castle 
 in appearance. It is perpendicular on every 
 side but one, where a path only wide enough 
 for one person winds precipitously down- 
 ward. The top of the mountain is flat, and 
 
WAR IN FIJI. 121 
 
 victory with exaggerated boastings. Yet 
 so frequent are their conflicts that the an- 
 nual loss of life from this cause has been 
 estimated at fifteen hundred or two thousand, 
 without including the widows strangled in 
 consequence. 
 
 The introduction of fire-arms, increasing 
 the danger, has diminished the amount of 
 war. Formerly the chiefs were held in such 
 reverence that they were rarely harmed in 
 battle ; but now the bullet proves so often 
 fatal to them that their relish for war has 
 decreased. 
 
 The natives are said to be so expert that 
 they can see the flash of a gun and fall on 
 the ground in time to let the bullet pass 
 over them. 
 
 In treating for peace, the common method 
 
 is to send a messenger with a whale's tooth 
 
 as a token of submission. The conditions 
 
 made by the conquerors are often severe. 
 
 The conquered tribe is frequently required 
 
 to give up the *^ right of soil," which is done 
 
 by sending the victorious party a basket 
 
 containing soil from their land; after this 
 11 
 
122 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 they are expected to render annual tribute. 
 Sometimes they are obliged to crawl on 
 their hands and knees to their conquerors, 
 and, with their heads in the dust, to beg for 
 pardon and mercy. When peace is con- 
 cluded, both parties throw down their arms. 
 
 But submission often does not avail to 
 stem the tide of cruelty that overwhelms 
 the defeated party. The barbarities used 
 towards captives and the bodies of those 
 slain would be incredible, had they not been 
 witnessed. 
 
 Treachery in war, as in ordinary life, is 
 of frequent occurrence. 
 
 The horrors perpetrated in sacking a 
 town are truly awful. Instances have been 
 known of people, singly and in companies, 
 committing suicide rather than be subject 
 to the outrages of their conquerors. 
 
 It is customary throughout Fiji to give 
 honorary names to such as have clubbed a 
 human being of any age or either sex 
 during a war. The new epithet is given 
 with the complimentary prefix Koroi. I 
 once asked a man why he was called Koroi. 
 
WAR IN FIJI. 123 
 
 "Because," he replied, "I, with several 
 other men, found some women and children 
 in a cave, drew them out and clubbed them, 
 and then was consecrated." If the man 
 killed has been of distinguished rank, the 
 slayer is allowed to take his name ; or he is 
 honored by being styled the comb, the dog, 
 the canoe, or the fort of some great living 
 chief. Warriors of rank receive proud titles ; 
 such as ''the divider of" a district, ''the 
 waster of" a coast, "the depopulator of" an 
 island, — the name of the place in question 
 being affixed. 
 
 Defensive armor is rarely worn by the 
 Fijian warrior. His skin is oiled and cov- 
 ered with a bluish-black powder, his face 
 painted, and his hair dressed, and even to 
 foreign eyes he presents a fine appearance. 
 His tall figure exhibits strength and manli- 
 ness; his martial carriage, his proud step, 
 and his eyes gleaming with restlessness and 
 excitement, make it difficult to believe that 
 he can ever be a coward. Chiefs there are 
 whose brave appearance is a true index to 
 their character. The arms chiefly in use 
 
124 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 are clubs, spears, slings, battle-axes, bows 
 and arrows, and muskets. Of these the two 
 first are the favorite weapons. The spears 
 are often ten or fifteen feet long, and are 
 used with fatal effect. Some are barbed, 
 others armed with the thorns of the sting- 
 ray, while others still are made of a wood 
 which bursts when moist, so as to be very- 
 difficult to extract from a wound. 
 
 These weapons all have significant names, 
 such as '' damaging beyond hope," or, with 
 more subtle meaning, " the priest is too 
 late." 
 
 In a siege arrows are used with effect, 
 and the bow — in itself a poor weapon, as 
 made by them — is handled with much skill 
 by the women. 
 
 The instances are rare where there is aught 
 to excite admiration in the character of the 
 Fijian warrior. The jealous pride of the 
 chiefs, and the existence of so many inde- 
 pendent governments in such close proximity, 
 with suspicious distrust of each other com- 
 mon to all, sufficiently account for the con- 
 stant presence of war among them. The 
 
WAR IN FIJI. 
 
 125 
 
 love of glory or genuine patriotism seldom 
 leads them into battle. They are sometimes 
 heroic in words, but the dangers and priva- 
 tions of war generally find them timid and 
 eifeminate. Their estimate of life is so low 
 that they are often careless in throwing it 
 away; but it is seldom that a noble emotion 
 or principle influences them to self-sacrifice. 
 
 THE NOSE FLUTE. 
 
126 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SOCIAL HABITS. 
 
 Notwithstanding the many disadvan- 
 tages under which the Fijian lives, he is 
 not without the enjoyments of social life. 
 He eagerly seeks a companion, and delights 
 in a merry jest. The interest shown in a 
 tale, and the shouting in chorus of a native 
 song, prove how much pleasure he finds in 
 society. The form and the construction of 
 houses in Fiji vary much among differ- 
 ent tribes. The improvement in building- 
 tools has made a corresponding change for 
 the better in their style of building in late 
 years. The Fijians are said, by an intelli- 
 gent visitor among them, to have made con- 
 siderable progress in architecture; and he 
 adds that they are the only people he has 
 seen, called by Europeans " savages," who 
 manifest a taste for the fine arts. 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 127 
 
 Where part of the floor of a house is 
 raised, forming a dais, which by day is the 
 divan and by night the bed of a chief, it 
 is covered with mats, varying in number 
 from two to ten, and spread over a thick 
 layer of dried grass and elastic ferns, while 
 on them are placed two or three neat wooden 
 or bamboo pillows. Over this hangs the 
 mosquito-curtain, which is generally large 
 enough to hang across the house, thus giving 
 to one end of it an air of comfort. Checkered 
 baskets, gourds, and bottles for scented oil 
 are hung about the walls; and in a con- 
 spicuous place stands or hangs the yaqona 
 bowl, with a strainer and cup. In various 
 parts are suspended fans, a sunshade made 
 of the leaf of the cabbage-palm, an oil-dish 
 of dark wood, and several food-dishes of 
 wood or wicker-work. On a slight frame 
 behind the curtain stands a chest or two, 
 with a musket hanging above, and perhaps 
 an axe and spade beneath. Along the foot 
 of the wall rest oblong wooden bowls with 
 four feet, or round earthen pans with none. 
 If there is any arrow-root, it is preserved 
 
128 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 in coarse, wide-mouthed jars; and one or 
 more glazed water- vessels have a place near 
 the hearth or bed, set in a nest of dry grass. 
 The other domestic apparatus is found near 
 the hearth, and comprises nets, a bone knife 
 for cutting bread from the pit, and another 
 of foreign make for cutting up yams, &c. ; a 
 concave board, four or six feet long, on which 
 to work up the bread, and round stones for 
 mashing the same ; coarse baskets for vege- 
 tables, cocoa-nut and bamboo vessels for salt 
 and fresh water, and soup-dishes, and a 
 ladle made of the nut-shell. On the hearth, 
 each set on three stones, are several pots, 
 capable of holding from a quart to five gal- 
 lons. Near these are a cord for binding 
 fuel, a skewer for trying cooked food, and, 
 in the better houses, a wooden fork, — a 
 luxury which probably the Fijian enjoyed 
 \\hen our worthy ancestors were wont to 
 take hot food in their practised fingers. 
 
 The facilities for boiling food and making 
 hot drinks form one of the advantages almost 
 peculiar to the Fijian as contrasted with the 
 other islanders. The Fijians also have the 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 129 
 
 distinction of using mosquito-curtains, of 
 separate sleeping-rooms for the young men, 
 and a better style of houses. 
 
 The natives usually take two meals in the 
 day ; the principal one being in the after- 
 noon or evening. Their general food is light 
 and plain, fish being highly esteemed. Con- 
 trary to the taste of civilized gourmands, 
 these people will have all their meat quite 
 fresh, and some small kinds of fish are eaten 
 alive as a relish. They have also dishes 
 from shell-fish, soups, various kinds of bread, 
 and teas made from grasses and leaves. 
 
 The refreshing milk of the cocoa-nut is 
 much used by the Fijian; but his general 
 beverage is water. In drinking without a 
 cup, the head is thrown back with the mouth 
 opened, the water-vessel held several inches 
 above the lips, and a stream allowed to run 
 down the throat, — a process whereby a novice 
 is more likely to be choked than refreshed. 
 This method of drinking is adopted to avoid 
 touching the vessel with their lips, a prac- 
 tice to which they strongly object. To drink 
 from the long bamboos sometimes used ia 
 
130 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 no easy task. These vessels are from two 
 to ten feet long. One of the longest will 
 hold two gallons ; and to slake one's thirst 
 from its open end, while a native gradually 
 elevates the other, requires care, or a cold 
 bath will be the unsought result. 
 
 The meal of a chief only differs from that 
 of a common man in that the food is of better 
 quality, more frequently served, and received 
 with greater form. If the chief is not tahu 
 as to the hands, he may feed himself or not, 
 as he chooses ; but if liga tahu, he must be 
 fed by another, generally his chief wife. 
 While he is eating, everybody present re- 
 tains a sitting position, — the attitude of 
 respect; when he has done, he pushes the 
 dish a little way from him, and each person 
 claps his hands several times. Water is 
 next brought to the chief, who washes his 
 hands and rinses his mouth, after which, in 
 some parts, hands are again clapped by every 
 one in the house. 
 
 A favorite Fijian drink is the ava, or 
 yaqona, a narcotic and stupefying liquor, 
 extracted from a root. On the island of 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 131 
 
 Somo-somo, early in the morning tlie king's 
 herald stands in front of the royal abode, and 
 shouts, at the top of his voice, '^ Yaqona !" 
 Hereupon, all within hearing respond, in a 
 sort of scream, " Mama T' — ''Chew it!" 
 At this signal the chiefs, priests, and leading 
 men gather round the well-known bowl, and 
 talk over public affairs, or state the work 
 assigned for the day, while their favorite 
 draught is being prepared. When the young 
 men have finished the chewing, each deposits 
 his portion, in the form of a round dry ball, 
 in the bowl, the inside of which thus be- 
 comes studded over with a large number of 
 these separate little masses. The man who 
 has to make the grog takes the bowl by the 
 edge and tilts it towards the king, or, in his 
 absence, to the chief appointed to preside. 
 A herald calls the king's attention to the 
 slanting bowl, saying, "Sir, with respects, 
 the yaqona is collected." If the king thinks 
 it enough, he replies, in a low tone, ^' Loba/' 
 "Wring it;" an order which the herald 
 communicates to the man at the bowl in a 
 louder voice. The water is then called for. 
 
132 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 and gradually poured in, a little at first, 
 and then more, until the bowl is full, or the 
 master of the ceremonies says, *' Stop !" the 
 operator in the mean time gathering up and 
 compressing the chewed root. Then follows 
 the '^ science of the process," which consists 
 of the final rolling, twisting, and compres- 
 sion of the root, and straining of the liquid 
 until it is clear and ready for drinking. 
 This preparation of the yaqona is of great 
 interest to the people, hundreds of whom 
 sometimes closely watch the operator, who 
 develops much skill and graceful action. 
 
 The customs observed diff'er on the various 
 islands in some particulars, but are similar 
 in general character. 
 
 Very few Fijians drink to excess. The in- 
 temperate are easily distinguished by their 
 inflamed eyes and a scaly appearance of the 
 skin. By one or two ordinary draughts a 
 stupor is produced, from which the drinker 
 manifests an unwillingness to be aroused. 
 
 The Fijians hold feasts, for which, when 
 on a large scale, preparations commence 
 months beforehand. Yams and taro are 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 133 
 
 planted with special reference to it, a tahu 
 is put upon pigs and nuts, and the turtle- 
 fishers are sent to set their nets. As the 
 time approaches, messengers are sent far and 
 near to announce the day appointed. This 
 announcement, which is a respectful way of 
 inviting the guests, is made to the several 
 chiefs, and through them to their people. 
 The invitations are liberal, including all the 
 male population of the town or district to 
 which the Mata is sent. 
 
 On the part of the entertainers there is a 
 vigorous effort at display. A day or two 
 beforehand, every one is full of activity, — the 
 king issuing orders, the Matas communi- 
 cating them to the people, and the people 
 carrying them out. The ovens are prepared 
 during the previous night, when the chop- 
 ping of fuel and squealing of pigs is heard 
 in every direction, while the flames from the 
 ovens yield a light greatly helping the labors 
 of the cooks. The baking of all kinds of 
 food, and the making of all kinds of pud- 
 dings, are intrusted to the men. The ovens, 
 which are holes or pits sunk in the ground, 
 
 12 
 
134 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 are sometimes eight or ten feet deep and 
 fifty feet in circumference ; and in one of 
 these several pigs and turtles and a large 
 quantity of vegetables can be cooked. Eng- 
 lish roasters of an entire ox or sheep might 
 learn some useful philosophy from the Fijian 
 cook, whose method insures the thorough 
 and equal baking of the whole carcass. The 
 oven is filled with firewood, on which large 
 stones are placed, and the fire introduced. 
 As soon as the fuel is burnt out, the food is 
 placed on the hot stones, some of which are 
 put inside the animals to be cooked whole. 
 A thick coat of leaves is now rapidly spread 
 over all, and on these a layer of earth about 
 four inches thick. When the steam pene- 
 trates this covering, it is time to remove 
 the food; whereupon the lull that followed 
 the closing of the oven gives place to re- 
 newed activity, as the men, besides having 
 rested, have also regaled themselves on the 
 hearts, livers, kidneys, &c. of the pigs they 
 have killed, and which tit-bits they ate ex 
 officio. Thus refreshed, they proceed to 
 plait green baskets, beat up the taro paste 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 135 
 
 with ponderous pestles, prepare the large, 
 beautiful leaves to receive the paste and 
 sauce, tie them up, count, report, and carry 
 them away with as much alacrity as though 
 they had lost sight of the characteristic 
 counsel of their forefathers, to ^'go gently, 
 that they may live long." 
 
 On these occasions profusion is always 
 aimed at : waste is the consequence, and want 
 follows. At one public feast a missionary saw 
 two hundred men employed nearly six hours 
 in collecting and piling cooked food. There 
 were six mounds of yams, taro, vakalolo, 
 pigs, and turtles : these contained about fifty 
 tons of cooked yams and taro, fifteen tons 
 of sweet pudding, seventy turtles, five cart- 
 loads of yaqona, and about two hundred 
 tons of uncooked yams. One pudding at a 
 Lakemba feast measured twenty-one feet in 
 circumference. 
 
 The head-men of the visitors sit to receive 
 the food, as it is brought and piled before 
 them, expressing their approval by saying, 
 aloud, ''Vinaka! Vinakar ''Good! Good!" 
 The duty of distributing the food, on account 
 
.136 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 of the extreme punctiliousness of the people 
 about rank, is attended with considerable 
 difficulty. A chief is honored or slighted 
 according to the quantity or quality of the 
 food set before him; and nothing of this 
 kind can escape notice, as every eye eagerly 
 watches the proceedings. When there are 
 several chiefs in the party, an accurate 
 knowledge of the grade of each is necessary 
 to avoid error. The food having been di- 
 vided into as many portions as there are 
 tribes, the Tui-rara, beginning with the 
 first in rank, shouts out, " The share of La- 
 kemba !" or whichever may take preference. 
 If a foreigner should be observed among the 
 spectators, he is sure not to be passed by, 
 but a portion — very likely enough for twenty 
 men — will be given to him. When each 
 tribe has received its share, a redivision 
 takes place, answering to the number of its 
 towns ; these, again, subdivide it among the 
 head families, who, in their turn, share what 
 they get with their dependants, and these 
 with the individual members of their house- 
 hold, until 10 one is left without a portion, 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 137 
 
 the food disappearing forthwith, with a 
 rapidity which baffles calculation. The 
 males eat in the open air, sending the 
 women's share to their houses. Should 
 some wayfarer pass by, he is pressingly in- 
 vited to partake of the entertainment, and 
 allowed to dip in the same dish with those 
 who bid him. 
 
 Indeed, while witnessing such a scene, it 
 is only by an effort of the mind that one 
 can believe that a people so blithe and 
 benevolent are capable of the atrocities with 
 which they are charged. But beneath all 
 that apparent pleasantness and repose there 
 lurk strong elements of disquiet. A mis- 
 arrangement or impropriety would cause a 
 hundred bright eyes to flash with anger, 
 which, though suppressed then, would burst 
 forth with a deadlier effect on a future 
 day. 
 
 Among the Fijians the rules of politeness 
 are minute and receive scrupulous atten- 
 tion. They affect the language, and are 
 seen in forms of salutation, in attention to 
 strangers at meals, and in dress. In salut- 
 
 12» 
 
138 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 ing a chief, a shout of reverence, called the 
 tama, is used, except in a few cases. Equals, 
 on meeting each other early in the day, say, 
 ^'/Sayadra," ''Awake," or, '' You are awake;" 
 in the evening, " Samoce," or, "Ldki 771006," 
 ''Sleep," or, "Go to sleep." 
 
 On a visit of a person from a distance, as 
 soon as he is seated, the master of the house 
 gently claps his hands three or four times, 
 and says, very much in Eastern style, " Come 
 with peace !" The name of the place whence 
 the visitor has come is generally added, or 
 the name of the house, should he reside in 
 the same town. Thus, the wife of the king 
 of Somo-somo would be welcomed with, 
 "Come with peace, the lady from Nasima." 
 The parting kiss of the Fijians is peculiar, 
 one smelling the other with a strong sniff. 
 Equals do this on each other's faces. A 
 chief of lower grade will thus salute a su- 
 perior's hand, and inferiors will embrace 
 the knees and smell the feet of a chief. 
 Shaking hands has been introduced by the 
 missionaries, and is in high repute. ^^ Sa 
 loloma/' " My love to you," owes its origin 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 139 
 
 to the same source, and is used by all the 
 Christians. 
 
 The existence of expressions equivalent 
 to our ''Mr./' ''Sir," and "Madam" does 
 much towards poUshing the intercourse of 
 this people ; and it is remarkable that they 
 only of the island groups in the South Seas 
 have these terms in regular use. 
 
 Sleep and tobacco are among the leading 
 comforts of the Fijian. He follows activity 
 with slumber from which he hates to be 
 aroused. Tobacco, though known only for 
 about thirty years, is in such high favor 
 that its use is ail-but universal, children as 
 well as adults indulging in it freely. The 
 native method of smoking is decidedly social. 
 A small cigarette, formed by folding leaf- 
 tobacco in a strip of dead banana-leaf, is lit, 
 and passed to four or six persons in succes- 
 sion. Having to swim across a river does 
 not interrupt this transfer; for the same 
 cigar may be conveyed from one bank to 
 the other in several different mouths. 
 
 Sports of different kinds occupy many of 
 the leisure hours of the people. A favorite 
 
140 THE CANNIBA^ ISLANDS. 
 
 one among the girls consists in keeping 
 eight oranges in the air above the head at 
 one time. Games closely resembling ''hide- 
 and-seek," ''blind-man's buff," and "hop, 
 skip, and jump," as played by American 
 children, are common among these dark 
 Fijian youths. 
 
 Some of the games played by the boys 
 are of a cruel character. One of the chiefs 
 told an Englishwoman that one of his favor- 
 ite games, when a boy, was to fix a sharply- 
 pointed stick in the ground, and then jump 
 in such a way that the companion whom he 
 had dared to follow him would run it in his 
 foot. It is not strange that boys accustomed 
 to such pastimes should not shrink from 
 cruelty when they grow to manhood. 
 
 A swing, consisting of a single rope or 
 strong vine, with a loop at the end in which 
 to insert the foot, is fastened to a tree. The 
 swinger is then pushed off, and away he 
 goes as far as his rope of thirty or fifty feet 
 will send him. 
 
 Men and women wrestle on top of a hill : 
 if either is thrown, they roll down together, 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 141 
 
 much to the delight of the spectators, and oc- 
 casional mortification of one who maybe hurt. 
 
 Several amusements belong to the water, 
 such as chasing each other, wrestling, and 
 diving. Shoals of men or of women are 
 seen, on a calm day, striking away from the 
 shore with gleeful notes, or that hearty 
 abandonment of broad -mouthed mirth for 
 which they are so famous. In the game of 
 ririka, an upright post is fixed at the edge 
 of a reef, and the upper end of a long cocoa- 
 nut-tree rested on it, so as to form an easy 
 ascent, with the point projecting beyond the 
 post and raised about fifteen or twenty feet 
 above the surface of the water. The natives 
 ran up this incline in a continuous single 
 file, and their rapidly succeeding plunges 
 keep the water all round white with foam. 
 Youngsters use the surf-boards which are 
 so often found in Polynesia. 
 
 Canoe-racing is also a favorite Fijian 
 amusement. They are fond of their rude 
 and monotonous music, but seem to be insen- 
 sible to the harmony of flutes and melodious 
 instruments. 
 
142 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Their musical instruments are the conch- 
 shell, which is blown, pan dean pipes, in 
 which reeds of different lengths are ranged 
 together, jews'-harps, made of bamboo strips, 
 and the nose-flute, played by air from the 
 nostril. They have also drums, large and 
 small, made of a log hollowed like a trough, 
 with cross-pieces near the ends. The long 
 stick, in the illustration, is that used in the 
 dance. 
 
 But the chief amusement of the people is 
 the dance. The king of Levuka had a grand 
 *' club dance" for Captain Wilkes's entertain- 
 ment ; and the description of one serves for 
 most of this class of their performances. 
 For several days beforehand great prepara- 
 tions were made, and all the chiefs and 
 people subject to this king were called to 
 assist. On the appointed day the visitors 
 were escorted to the hure, or temple, and 
 placed on the platform, having a clear view 
 of the square in front. This was enclosed by 
 a stone wall, and filled with numerous spec- 
 tators. About a hundred boys and men — 
 the musicians — sat on one side, while an open 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 143 
 
 space was left in the centre for the dancers. 
 Suddenly shouts of laughter greeted the 
 waiting assembly, as a clown appeared 
 dressed in vines and leaves, with only his 
 hands and feet uncovered. He wore a large 
 mask like a bear's head, painted black on 
 one side and orange on the other. He car- 
 ried two clubs, a long and a short one ; and 
 his grotesque movements were greeted with 
 loud applause. The musicians struck up a 
 monotonous tune, singing and playing in 
 excellent time. The dancers, in gala dress, 
 and about a hundred in number, now issued, 
 two by two, from behind a large rock. 
 Around their white turbans the chiefs wore 
 tasteful wreaths of flowers and leaves. The 
 motions of the dancers were at first slow 
 and measured, the principal action consist- 
 ing in changing the position of their clubs. 
 At the end of each strain of music they 
 simultaneously advanced three steps, bowing 
 gracefully to their visitors. When they had 
 all entered the square, they became more 
 violent ;n their movements, and went rapidly 
 around, jumping and tramping heavily, 
 
144 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 while the clown comically mimicked the 
 chiefs and prominent dancers. 
 
 When the dance was over, the performers 
 piled their clubs before the visitors as a 
 present. Captain Wilkes was not a little 
 amused to see that many of them had sub- 
 stituted less valuable ones for those used in 
 the dance. Of course they expected presents 
 in return, which were given them. 
 
 The telling of stories, often of a very ex- 
 travagant nature, is a favorite amusement 
 with the Fijians. " Come, tell us a far-away 
 tale," said a king to one of his attendants 
 who had been to Australia. So he began 
 and told him of guns he saw in Sydney, 
 each of which took a keg of powder to 
 prime; of a thousand saw-mills working 
 in a river with no one near them, and mak- 
 ing such a quantity of saw-dust that when 
 he was four days' journey from them he 
 was obliged to veil his eyes to keep it from 
 blinding him. He wound up by saying 
 *'You talk about long houses in Fiji; but 
 you should see the barracks where the sol- 
 diers in Sydney dwell. I was foolish enough 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 145 
 
 to begin to fathom off with my arms, so as 
 to measure it as we measure tapa; but after 
 three months' fatigue I had to give it up as 
 useless, because I could not see that I was 
 any nearer the end than when I began." 
 
 This is a specimen of the tales with which 
 they divert themselves for hours. Ventrilo- 
 quists are common among them, and some 
 few of the people possess skill in sleight-of- 
 hand tricks. 
 
 The term tabu, tapu^ tamhu, or tahoOj 
 is familiar to the civilized world, and indi- 
 cates precisely the same principle in every 
 part of the South Seas. The force of the 
 word can be fully realized only by a Poly- 
 nesian. In Fiji it represents an institution 
 despotic and merciless in operation, and to 
 the enforcement of it the people yield with- 
 out the slightest symptom of rebellion. 
 
 To tabu any thing is to effectually prevent 
 its being touched or used until the tabu is 
 removed. Nothing is too great or too small 
 to be affected by it. Here it is seen tending 
 a brood of chickens, and there it directs the 
 energies of a kingdom. Its influence is 
 
 13 
 
146 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 wondrously diffused. Coasts, lands, rivers, 
 and seas, animals, fish, fruit, and vege- 
 tables, houses, beds, pots, cups, and dishes, 
 canoes, with all belonging to them and their 
 management, dress, ornaments, and arms, 
 things to eat and things to drink, the mem- 
 bers of the body, manners and customs, 
 language, names, temples, and even the gods 
 also, all come under the influence of the 
 tahu. It is put into operation by religious, 
 political, or selfish motives; and idleness 
 lounges for months beneath its sanction. 
 Many are thus forbidden to raise or extend 
 their hands in any useful employment for a 
 long time. In this district it is tahu to 
 build canoes; on that island it is tahu to 
 erect good houses. When cocoa-nuts are to 
 be tabued in any district, a mound of earth 
 is thrown up by the road-side, a fence of 
 reeds encircles it, and upon a post woven 
 with the cocoa-nut tree leaf are hung cocoa- 
 nuts covered with turmeric powder. This 
 is illustrated in our engraving. Until the 
 prohibition is removed, no nuts can be gath- 
 ered in that district. Thus are men fettered 
 
SOCIAL HABITS. 147 
 
 and oppressed by heathenism in a thousand 
 ways. The gospel brings not only hope for 
 eternity, but liberty for this life. 
 
 The system is greatly favored by the chiefs, 
 for by it they gain influence, supply their 
 wants, and command at will their subjects. 
 
 A young boy once obtained leave from his 
 father, the chief, to tahu all food then in 
 the gardens, so that, while the prohibition 
 lasted, no one could use even his own pro- 
 duce without first going to the young prince 
 to ask permission. If any one dared to omit 
 this ceremony, the prince, with his retinue 
 of boys, was soon seen running towards the 
 ofi'ender's house, carrying flags, blowing 
 trumpets, &c. Each of the boys would 
 snatch up any article he could lay his hands 
 on, and then they all ran off again as swiftly 
 and noisily as they came. 
 
 Persons who are afraid their property will 
 be stolen endeavor to place it under a tabu. 
 
 In times of scarcity it is common to tahu 
 certain articles to prevent famine by their 
 injudicious use. The missionaries once felt 
 the rigor of this act severely. Their supplies 
 
148 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 being delayed, and the pork and various 
 other kinds of food tabued, they were sub- 
 ject for months to great inconvenience. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 The Fijians have not the indolent habits 
 common to most tropical nations. The 
 Fijian is almost always busily employed : 
 when not at war, he is boating, fishing, build- 
 ing, weaving nets, rolling sinnet, moulding 
 earthen-ware, carving clubs and spears, 
 planting, gathering, or in some way fully 
 occupying his time. 
 
 The union of savage wildness with care- 
 ful attention to agriculture is remarkable in 
 the character of the Fijians; and it has been 
 observed by visitors that they cultivate many 
 kinds of produce unknown to the other 
 Pacific islands. 
 
 Of yams (a root resembling the potato) 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 149 
 
 there are in Fiji the usual varieties, and in 
 some parts of the group two crops are raised 
 in the year. Ordinary tubers of this valu- 
 able plant weigh from six to twelve pounds ; 
 extraordinary ones grow six or even nine 
 feet long, and weigh from thirty to one hun- 
 dred pounds. Sweet potatoes and sugar- 
 cane are also cultivated. But the chief staple 
 among the Fijians is the taro, which forms 
 the substitute for bread, and is much used 
 in their cookery. The leaves and roots of 
 the plant are eaten ; and even the petiole, or 
 foot-stalk, is used like our asparagus. 
 
 The taro root is oval in shape, and weighs 
 from one to twelve pounds. It requires 
 skilful cultivation; and the oblong taro beds 
 terracing the hill-sides form a peculiar and 
 beautiful feature in the scenery. 
 
 The well-known banana-tree is of great 
 importance to the natives. There are in 
 these islands thirty varieties of this tree, 
 all differing in form and size of fruit. The 
 bananas are used in a variety of modes of 
 cooking, and of the young leaf water-proof 
 covers for the head are made. 
 
 13* 
 
150 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 The yaqona, of which they make the cava 
 or ava, their favorite narcotic drink, is an 
 object of great attention in some parts of 
 these islands. 
 
 The bread-fruit tree and the paper-mul- 
 berry are also of much importance, the latter 
 supplying the natives with the principal 
 material of their dress. 
 
 The preparation of the bark of this tree, 
 and its manufacture into Tnasi for clothing, 
 forms the principal occupation of the women, 
 and consists in the following process. 
 
 The bark is carefully stripped off in 
 pieces as long as possible. Then it is 
 steeped in water till it is pliable and the 
 rough exterior can be removed by scraping 
 with a shell. Two thicknesses together are 
 then laid on a log, and so beaten with a 
 wooden mallet that a breadth of two inches 
 can be spread into a foot and a half. Several 
 pieces are lapped together with taro starch 
 or arrow-root till the cloth is sujfficiently 
 long, sometimes measuring a hundred or 
 more yards. The width can be increased 
 by joining in the same way. The artistic 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 151 
 
 part of the manufacture is in the process of 
 dyeing; and in this the women often exhibit 
 much taste. The borders of mosquito-cur- 
 tains are very elaborately ornamented, and 
 are the especial pride of the Fijian lady. 
 For these she uses a flat board, a black dye, 
 and a pattern cut out of a banana-leaf. She 
 places the pattern on the border, and with 
 a pad of cloth steeped in the black dye she 
 rubs the leaf over, and the dye remains in 
 the figure upon the border. 
 
 The turban of the men is made of a fine 
 preparation of the rnasi, beaten out till it is 
 gauze-like in texture. The liku, or women's 
 dress, is braided of the fibres of a wild 
 root, grasses, or the bark of the hibiscus, 
 beaten out and made into a broad variegated 
 band. From this hangs a red or black 
 fringe of from three to ten inches in depth. 
 
 E'ext in importance to the manufacture 
 of cloth is that of mats. The number de- 
 manded of these articles is very great, as 
 they are used for chairs, carpets, tables, 
 sails, beds, and curtains. Wrapped in mats 
 also the Fijians are buried. 
 
152 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 " The wicker-work baskets of Fiji are 
 strong, handsome, and useful beyond any I 
 have seen at home or abroad," says the Rev. 
 Mr. Lowry ; and when we consider the per- 
 fection to which the English have brought 
 the art of basket- making, this commendation 
 of the Fijian work is certainly as high praise 
 as he could well bestow. 
 
 The making of nets gives constant em- 
 ployment to many of these islanders. The 
 process is the same as that employed for the 
 same purpose in England. The nets used 
 by the men are sometimes made of hibiscus, 
 but generally of sinnet, which is the fibre 
 of the cocoa-nut husk, well dried, combed, 
 and braided. The natives roll it into balls, 
 which are often very large. Mr. Williams 
 mentions one that he measured, which was 
 nine feet high and thirteen feet in circum- 
 ference. The Fijians use sinnet for their 
 best ropes, which are of various size and 
 exceedingly strong. 
 
 The Fijian is also distinguished from all 
 the South Sea islanders eastward in his pot- 
 teries, where are produced various utensils 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 153 
 
 of red and brown ware. The drinking-ves- 
 sels are often prettily designed, some being 
 globular, some urn-shaped, others like three 
 or four oranges joined together, the handle 
 springing from each and meeting at the 
 top; others, again, are made in the forms 
 of canoes. Earthen arrow-root pans, dye- 
 bowls, and fish-pots are in great demand. 
 The greatest call, however, is for cooking- 
 pots. Several of these are found in every 
 house ; and, as they are not very durable, 
 the demand is brisk. The mode of manufac- 
 ture is simple, and the articles are of good 
 shape, well baked, and often glazed. 
 
 The dishes for the priests, oil-dishes, and 
 yaqona-bowls, as well as the cannibal forks, 
 are generally made of hard wood, often 
 curiously formed, and ornamented with 
 carving. 
 
 The weapons of Fijian war are many of 
 them simple in their construction, while 
 others evince much artistic skill in carving 
 and inlaid work. The simple throwing clubs 
 are furnished by the forest, and require but 
 little handiwork to perfect them. Others 
 
154 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 are shaped on the tree while growing, and 
 require constant superintendence till they are 
 formed. A knotty mace is made by pulling 
 up a young tree and cutting off the roots. 
 
 Their tools, until lately, were few and 
 simple. The one principally used, with 
 slight alterations to suit different purposes, 
 was a hard stone ground to an edge and 
 firmly tied to a wooden handle. Rats' teeth 
 Avere used for fine carving, corals for files, 
 and the pumice-stone for finishing off their 
 work. Their first iron implements were 
 procured from the Tongans, who had esta- 
 blished commerce with Europeans some time 
 before. The first knowledge they had of 
 steel was from half of a ship-carpenter's 
 draw-knife which had been broken off and 
 ground down. This was highly prized and in 
 great demand, and named Fulifuli, in honor 
 of the chief who introduced it. Now, how- 
 ever, they are supplied from England and 
 America with common tools; but the climate 
 is injurious to more delicate instruments. 
 
 To illustrate the speed with which a 
 Fijian builds his house, Mr. Williams says 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 155 
 
 that going out one morning he passed a 
 company of carpenters who were just put- 
 ting up the posts of a house. When he 
 returned, an hour and a half later, he found 
 the building nearly completed ! 
 
 Ordinarily, to finish entirely a thatched 
 house requires about ten days. A large 
 house for a chief's dwelling, or a temple, is 
 completed in two or three months. Some 
 of their buildings are very handsome. A 
 visitor, speaking of the dwelling of King 
 Tanoa, of Mbau, says, " It surpasses in 
 magnitude and grandeur any thing I have 
 seen in these seas. It is one hundred and 
 thirty feet long, forty-two feet wide, with 
 massive columns in the centre, and strong, 
 curious workmanship in every part." 
 
 The shape of the houses differs very much 
 on the various islands. In one district, a 
 village looks like an assemblage of square 
 wicker baskets ; in another, like so many 
 rustic arbors ; a third seems a collection of 
 oblong hay-ricks, with holes in the sides ; 
 while in a fourth these ricks are conical. 
 
 Timber made from several different trees 
 
156 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 is used for building-material, and grass, 
 sugar-cane, or palm-leaves for thatching. 
 The ridge-pole always projects beyond the 
 eaves, and is ornamented with shells. The 
 door-ways are so low that one is obliged to 
 stoop in entering. In front of the entrance 
 hangs a mat to serve as a door. The in- 
 terior walls are ornamented with sinnet or 
 grasses in different colors or patterns. A 
 good artist in this work finds constant em- 
 ployment, and succeeds in producing a beau- 
 tiful effect. The rooms are rarely parti- 
 tioned ; but at each end the floor is slightly 
 elevated above the centre, to serve for sleep- 
 ing-purposes, and is covered with soft mats 
 and dotted with the little three-legged pil- 
 lows. The fireplaces are in the centre of 
 the room, and are exceedingly primitive in 
 their construction, consisting of holes, sur- 
 rounded by a hard curb of wood, and contain- 
 ing a few large stones, on which they build 
 the fire and place the pots. A few fine houses 
 have a shelf on which the pots are placed. 
 
 When a man wishes a house built, his 
 application must be made to the proper 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 157 
 
 officers, and the chief of the carpenters is 
 then directed to build one according to his 
 wishes. He employs as many men as he 
 thinks proper. 
 
 A more animated scene than the thatch- 
 ing of a house in Fiji cannot be conceived. 
 When a sufficient quantity of material has 
 been collected round the house, the roof of 
 which has been previously covered with a 
 net-work of reeds, from forty to three hun- 
 dred men and boys assemble, each being 
 satisfied that he is expected to do some 
 work, and each determined to be very noisy 
 in doing it. The workers within pair with 
 those outside, each tying what another lays 
 on. When all have taken their places, and 
 are getting warm, the calls for grass, rods, 
 and lashings, and the answers, all coming 
 from two or three hundred excited voices 
 of all keys, intermixed with stamping down 
 the thatch, and shrill cries of exultation from 
 every quarter, make a miniature Babel, in 
 which the Fijian — a notorious proficient in 
 nearly every variety of halloo, whoop, and 
 yell — fairly outdoes himself. 
 
 14 
 
158 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 In putting down the posts of a house of 
 any importance, it is common to bury a man 
 with each one. He clasps it with his arms, 
 and is supposed, in consideration of his sacri- 
 fice, to have power given him by the gods 
 to hold it up. 
 
 The Fijian canoes were for a long time 
 much better built than those of many of 
 their neighbors. 
 
 A Tongan chief, visiting Fiji, was so con- 
 vinced of the superiority of their canoes 
 over those of his own people that he left 
 his clumsy craft behind him and returned 
 in one of Fijian build. When his people 
 saw his new vessel, they abandoned their 
 own style and built after the Fijian mould, 
 and for more than a hundred years they 
 have never deviated from the pattern then 
 adopted. 
 
 These boats are generally double, the two 
 parts united by a platform, which extends 
 two or three feet beyond the sides of the 
 canoes. The sail, made of pliable mats, 
 fifteen or twenty feet long, appears out of 
 all proportion to the rest of the vessel. The 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 159 
 
 management of this is generally given to 
 the chief; and it often requires care and 
 skill to prevent the top-heavy craft from 
 being upset. The ordinary vessels hold 
 forty or fifty men, and are built, like the 
 houses, by a contract with the chief of car- 
 penters. Sailors are found on all the islands, 
 but they especially abound in the Mbutoni 
 and the Levuka tribes. They occupy a low 
 rank in the community, but are skilful in 
 nautical affairs, even the women possessing 
 sufficient knowledge of them to perform the 
 ordinary duties of seamen. The heathen 
 sailor's life is a very merry one. The crew 
 seem less like hirelings, with certain dutiep 
 to perform, than like a gay party of pleasure- 
 seekers. Jesting, laughing, singing, beating 
 of drums, loud cries of thanks to favorable 
 winds, and prayers to adverse ones, are con- 
 tinually heard ; and thus they bound over 
 the ocean, often turning from their pre- 
 scribed route to fish or catch turtles, with 
 entire forgetfulness of their main object. 
 
 This leads us to one of the Fijian's prin- 
 cipal occupations, — viz., fishing. Turtle-fish- 
 
160 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 ing is an important and lucrative branch of 
 this pursuit. 
 
 There are in the islands several different 
 ways of catching turtles, all of them in- 
 volving more or less danger. One of these 
 is to attach floats to a large net of strong 
 sinnet, and carry it on a canoe into deep 
 water outside of the reef. The ends are 
 brought back to the reef, making a semi- 
 circular fence, which intercepts the turtle as 
 he comes back from feeding. If he should 
 turn and swim away from the net, he is 
 frightened back by the loud shouting and 
 stamping of the fishermen. After he is en- 
 tangled, his capture is comparatively easy. 
 In some methods of turtle-fishing the con- 
 test in the water with a strong and frantic 
 fish is desperate, and the divers need all the 
 agility and strength they possess to capture 
 him. 
 
 The payment of the fishermen is regulated 
 by their success. Turtle-fishers are gene- 
 rally attached to the household of a chief, 
 acting under his orders, and rewarded by 
 hira. 
 
OCCUPATIONS. 161 
 
 Sometimes three or four turtles may be 
 taken in a day ; but from fifty to a hundred 
 is thought good success for a season, which 
 lasts from December to May. Of so much 
 importance is this trade, that the white resi- 
 dents make strong efforts to monopolize it. 
 
 Biche-de-mar, or the sea-slug, a small fish 
 caught on the reefs, is a valuable article of 
 commerce, about thirty thousand dollars' 
 worth being annually obtained, chiefly from 
 Vanua Levu and Viti Levu. A chief and 
 his men are generally employed by traders 
 to obtain this fish. 
 
 Captain Wilkes speaks of a season's fish- 
 ing while he was there, which yielded the 
 trader twenty -five thousand pounds sterling, 
 and had required a very small outlay. The 
 fish have to be cured, for which purposes 
 houses are built and constant labor expended. 
 
 The commerce of the Fiji Islands is not 
 large. It began with Europeans about 1806, 
 in an exchange of sandal-wood for various 
 trifling articles. The supply of this wood 
 has now almost entirely failed, the trees 
 having nearly died out, and no pains being 
 
 14* 
 
162 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 taken to renew them. Tortoise-shell and 
 biche-de-mar are now the principal items 
 of export trade, mostly carried on by Ame- 
 ricans from Salem. The Fijian commerce 
 consists mainly in barter, requiring a large 
 supply of suitable goods in the hands of 
 traders with them. Their chiefs are dis- 
 pleased with the payment of money, greatly 
 -preferring articles which are of immediate 
 value to them, instead of useless foreign coin. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 A CONSPICUOUS building in every Fijian 
 village is the htcre, or temple. It is raised 
 upon a foundation of from three to twenty 
 feet above the ground. The ascent to it is 
 by a plank, with steps cut on the upper 
 side. The interior of the hure exhibits the 
 highest skill of the Fijian in decoration and 
 finish. Every timber is covered with the 
 
l^y fj^^^;; ,#^>34 
 
 % i- 
 
RELIGION. 163 
 
 most elaborate patterns in red and black 
 sinnet, while the rafters, posts, walls, win- 
 dow-sashes, and door-frames are ornamented 
 with the same material, which also hangs in 
 heavy cords from the eaves. A variety of 
 articles, such as hand-clubs, turbans, neck- 
 laces of flowers, &c., received as votive offer- 
 ings, or by the priests as doctor's fees, adorn 
 the room. A curtain of white masi hangs 
 from the roof to the floor, and is the sacred 
 path by which the god descends to inspire 
 the priest. 
 
 In some of the temples small images are 
 seen, used merely as ornaments, not as objects 
 of worship ; and at Mbau parts of the bodies 
 of enemies are hung around the temple. 
 
 Although so much trouble and expense are 
 given to building the bure, it is afterwards 
 much neglected. Being rarely used for pur- 
 poses of worship, it is principally occupied 
 as a council-chamber and sleeping-place for 
 distinguished persons in the village. When a 
 king wishes to propitiate a god, he frequently 
 repairs or erects a bure, but when the imme- 
 diate occasion is past it falls into ruin again. 
 
164 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 The priests possess great influence, al- 
 though their power has for some time rapidly 
 decreased. The only access the people have 
 to their gods is through them ; and, as the 
 chiefs and priests are generally in league 
 together, the decree of a god is pretty cer- 
 tain to be one that will suit the chiefs. 
 
 The rank of a priest is determined by that 
 of his god. The office is mainly hereditary ; 
 but any man who has sufficient ability to in- 
 spire the people with a conviction of his 
 power may become a successful priest. 
 
 "I knew a young man at Somo-somo,'* 
 says Mr. Williams, " who paid dearly for a 
 trick of this kind. He was hungry one day, 
 and sat down a few paces from my garden- 
 fence, and began to shake, priest-fashion, and 
 call for bananas. Of course it was the god 
 who wanted bananas, and bananas were im- 
 mediately given him. This, you see, was an 
 easier way of obtaining them than going to 
 plant them. 
 
 ''Well, he went on for some months, per- 
 haps twelve, and fully established his repu- 
 tation as a priest, and began to think him- 
 
RELIGION. 165 
 
 self somebody, and to wear a long train 
 behind him, as the priests do. 
 
 '' Tuikilakila, being annoyed at his assum- 
 ing so much, and being, I suppose, rather 
 doubtful as to the validity of his priesthood, 
 sent for him one day to go to his house. 
 He went, and Tuikilakila interrogated him 
 after this manner : — ' Who are you, that you 
 should set up priest and make yourself 
 somebody ? I will kill you and eat you to- 
 day ; and if your god be a true god, he will 
 eat me !' And he was as good as his word, 
 too ; for he lifted his ponderous club with 
 his giant arm and clubbed him on the spot, 
 put him in an oven, and baked and ate him. 
 He had to eat him alone, as the people dared 
 not eat a priest, as they feared the priest's 
 god would inflict vengeance on them for it." 
 
 The priests usually form part of the per- 
 sonal retinue of the chiefs, and are provided 
 for by them. When the supply of food does 
 not satisfy them, however, they call the people 
 together and declare to them a message from 
 a god, upbraiding them for neglect to make 
 offerings and threatening them with severe 
 
16G THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 punishment. This terrifies the people to such 
 a degree that they hasten to fill the priests' 
 larder to overflowing. The priest always 
 eats the substance of an ofi'ering, the god 
 only requiring the soul. 
 
 One who intends to consult the oracle 
 dresses and oils himself, and, accompanied 
 by a few others, goes to the priest, who, we 
 will suppose, has been previously informed 
 of the intended visit, and is lying near the 
 sacred corner, getting ready his response. 
 "When the party enters, he rises, and sits so 
 that his back is near to the white cloth by 
 which the god visits him, while the others 
 occupy the opposite side of the hure. The 
 principal person presents a whale's tooth, 
 states the purport of the visit, and expresses 
 a hope that the god will regard him with 
 favor. Sometimes there is placed before the 
 priest a dish of scented oil, with which he 
 anoints himself, and then receives the tooth, 
 regarding it with deep and serious attention. 
 Unbroken silence follows. The priest be- 
 comes absorbed in thought, and all eyes 
 watch him with unblinking steadiness. In 
 
RELIGION. 167 
 
 a few minutes he trembles ; slight distortions 
 are seen in his face, and twitching move- 
 ments in his limbs. These increase to a 
 violent muscular action, which spreads until 
 the whole frame is strongly convulsed and 
 the man shivers as with a strong ague fit. 
 In some instances this is accompanied with 
 murmurs and sobs, the veins are greatly en- 
 larged, and the circulation of the blood 
 quickened. The priest is now possessed by 
 his god, and all his words and actions are 
 considered as no longer his own, but those 
 of the deity who has entered into him. 
 Shrill cries of ''Koi au I Koi au /" " It is 
 I! It is I!" fill the air, and the god is sup- 
 posed thus to notify his approach. While 
 giving the answer, the priest's eyes stand 
 out and roll as in a frenzy; his voice is 
 unnatural, his face pale, his lips livid, his 
 breathing depressed, and his entire appear- 
 ance that of a furious madman. The 
 sweat runs from every pore, and tears start 
 from his strained eyes; after which the 
 symptoms gradually disappear. The priest 
 looks round with a vacant stare, and, as the 
 
168 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 god says, '' I depart," announces his actual 
 departure by violently flinging himself down 
 on the mat, or by suddenly striking the 
 ground with a club, when those at a dis- 
 tance are informed by blasts on the conch, 
 or the firing of a musket, that the deity has 
 returned into the world of spirits. 
 
 The Fijian gods are without number. 
 Every island and village has its own divi- 
 nities, and almost every individual has a 
 private system of theology. The lonely dell, 
 the gloomy cave, the desolate rock, and the 
 deep forest, as well as the depths of the sea, 
 are each peopled with invisible beings, many 
 of them wricked and malicious. The trem- 
 bling traveller is careful to cast a few leaves 
 on the piles accumulated by the superstition 
 of his predecessors, in the hope of inducing 
 the deity to let them pass safely. The same 
 motive of fear and desire to propitiate the 
 gods actuates all their worship. The Fijian 
 is not, strictly speaking, an idolater. The 
 nearest approach he makes to idolatry is in 
 reverencing certain consecrated stones and 
 clubs, as well as some plants and animals, 
 
RELIGION. 169 
 
 supposed to contain deities. The distinction 
 between the reverence thus paid, and wor- 
 ship, is perhaps a subtle one. 
 
 The Fijian gods are never represented by- 
 images ; nor have they always shrines. The 
 principal god is Ndengei. His origin is un- 
 known, although his mother is said to lie at 
 the bottom of a moat, in the shape of two 
 great stones. The upper part of his body- 
 is said to be that of a serpent, — betokening 
 his eternity; while the lower part is of stone, 
 — emblematic of duration. His only sensa- 
 tion is hunger ; his only movement, to turn 
 over, which always produces an earthquake. 
 Notwithstanding his supremacy over other 
 gods, he exerts no influence over the affairs of 
 men, and they pay him little homage. He 
 has few temples on the islands, but at every 
 feast his only attendant Uto is supposed to 
 come for his master's share, which is usually 
 a scanty one. 
 
 The other gods are numerous, and are 
 described by Mr. Williams as '' demonized 
 heathen," every evil passion of the people 
 being in them intensified. 
 
 16 
 
170 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Koko Mbati-Ndua, the " one-toothed lord," 
 is in the shape of a man, with wings instead 
 of arms, by means of which he flies through 
 the air, emitting sparks of fire. His one 
 tooth is fixed in his lower jaw ; and on his 
 wings are claws, which he uses to seize his 
 victims. 
 
 The inferior gods are much alike in 
 character, but each has some distinguishing 
 peculiarities of person. 
 
 Kokola, for instance, has eight eyes ; 
 Matawalu, eight arms; Waluvakatini, eighty 
 stomachs. Another has two bodies united, 
 like the Siamese twins ; and Thangawalu is 
 a giant sixty feet high. These are but a 
 few of an endless number. 
 
 The gods are divided into two classes, the 
 highest immortal and divine, the lower com- 
 posed of the spirits of chiefs and heroes, 
 subject to many of the ills of life, and even 
 to a second death. Admission into the latter 
 order is easy. Said Tuikilakila to Mr. Hunt, 
 " If you die first, I will make you my god." 
 
 The off'erings made to the deities are al- 
 most all in supplication : sometimes, after a 
 
RELIGION. 171 
 
 good season of turtle-fishing, or some re- 
 markable escape from danger, they make the 
 madrali, or thank-offering ; but these in- 
 stances are rare. 
 
 The offering is always in proportion to the 
 importance of the boon desired. A bure is 
 built only in cases of extraordinary conse- 
 quence. Tuikilakila, the noted king of 
 Somo-somo, earnestly desiring the assistance 
 of the war-god, not only built him a large 
 temple, but presented to him whales' teeth, 
 sixty turtles, and a quantity of cooked food. 
 Part of these gifts is set aside for the gods, in 
 reality falling to the priests : the rest form a 
 great feast, of which the whole tribe partake. 
 
 Cannibalism is part of the religious ser- 
 vices of the Fijian. The gods — especially 
 Ndengei — are supposed to be great canni- 
 bals ; and the sacrifices to them are many. 
 The inferior wives of chiefs used frequently 
 to be off'ered for this purpose ; but this prac- 
 tice is now checked. 
 
 The future state is believed by the Fijians 
 to contain several divisions, adapted to the 
 difibrent merits of mortals. 
 
172 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Mburotu is the Elysium of the Fijian, 
 where he expects to find all the delights 
 to which he is most susceptible on earth. 
 The inhabit; Hits of that favored abode are be- 
 lieved to rc^pose under the shade of sweet- 
 scented gi'oves, where the softest and most 
 fragrant breezes fan them, where the skies 
 are ever blue, and where no interruption to 
 perfect peace and rest can come. One of 
 their native songs shows their idea of simple 
 rest in death, thus : — 
 
 *' Death is easy 
 
 Of what use is life ? 
 To die is rest." 
 
 Mbulu is the general term for the world 
 of departed spirits, to which a long and weary- 
 road is supposed to lead. In some parts of 
 this abode the people are said to live much 
 as they do on earth, but to be of much 
 larger size than they were in this world. 
 
 The Fijians have no belief in future re- 
 wards or punishments, except that those who 
 have displeased the gods will at some time 
 surely feel their anger. Some offenders are 
 supposed to be laid in rows and converted 
 
RELIGION. 173 
 
 into taro-beds. Men who have not had 
 their ears bored are condemned to carry the 
 wooden log on which cloth is beaten, forever 
 on their shoulders, scoffed at by all who see 
 them. Women who have not slain an enemy 
 in battle are sentenced to use the club 
 neglected in life in beating a pile of filth, 
 which is the most degrading punishment 
 that can be inflicted upon a Fijian. 
 
 A spirit has many obstacles to encounter in 
 an attempt to reach Mbulu. The cannibal 
 gods watch eagerly for the souls of men, 
 and each god has his own class of animate 
 or inanimate objects appropriated to him. 
 So numerous are the difficulties in the way 
 that comparatively few are believed to have 
 the happiness of entering Mbulu. 
 
 The journey a spirit -has to take after 
 death, before he can reach Mbulu, is long and 
 dangerous. Mr. Williams gives in substance 
 the following as the traditionary account of 
 the path, modified in different localities : — 
 *' The spirit first reaches a hill called Taki- 
 veleyawa, which, however beautified with 
 trees and flowers visible to spirits, to mortals 
 
 15« 
 
174 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 is dreary and desolate." Here he throws the 
 whale's tooth, that was put in his hand after 
 death, at the ghost of a pandanus-tree : if 
 he succeeds in hitting this, he ascends the 
 hill, and waits for his wife and other com- 
 panions whom he expects to join him. 
 
 But if he should fail, he waits in vain for 
 company, and pitifully laments, '' How is 
 this ? For a long time I planted .food for 
 my wife, and it was also of great use to her 
 friends : why, then, is she not allowed to 
 follow me? Do my friends love me no better 
 than this, after so many years of toil ? Will 
 no one, in love to me, strangle my wife?" 
 
 On the road to Mbulu is the town of 
 Nambanggatai Samu, the killer of souls, and 
 his brothers hide themselves in some spirit- 
 ual mangrove bushes just beyond the town, 
 and alongside of the path, in which they 
 stick a reed as a prohibition to the spirit 
 to pass that way. Should the comer be 
 courageous, he raises his club in defiance 
 of the tahu and those who placed it there ; 
 whereupon Samu appears to give him bat- 
 tle. Should the ghost conquer in the com- 
 
RELIGION. 175 
 
 bat, he passes on to the judgment-seat ; but, 
 if wounded, he is doomed to wander among 
 the mountains. If he be killed in the en- 
 counter, he is cooked and eaten by Samu 
 and his brethren. 
 
 Those who escape the club of the soul- 
 destroyer walk on to one of the highest 
 peaks of the Kauvandra mountains. Here 
 the path to Mbulu ends abruptly at the 
 brink of a precipice, the base of which is 
 said to be washed by a deep lake. Beyond 
 this precipice projects a large oar, which 
 tradition puts in the keeping of an old man 
 and his son, who act under the direction of 
 the god. These accost the coming spirit 
 thus : — " Under what circumstances do you 
 come to us? How did you conduct yourself 
 in the other world ?" If the ghost should 
 be one of rank, he answers, " I am a great 
 chief. I lived as a chief, and my conduct 
 was that of a chief. I had great wealth, 
 many wives, and ruled over a powerful peo- 
 ple. I have destroyed many towns, and 
 slain many in war." To this the reply is, 
 *' Good, good. Take a seat on the broad 
 
176 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 part of this oar, and refresh yourself in the 
 coo] breeze." No sooner is he seated, than 
 they lift the handle of the oar, which lies 
 inland, and he is thus thrown down head- 
 long into the deep waters below, through 
 which he passes to Murimuria. Such as 
 have gained the special favor of Ndengei are 
 warned not to go out on the oar, but to sit 
 near those who hold it, and, after a short 
 repose, are sent back to the place whence 
 they came, to be deified. 
 
 The spirits of brutes, flowers, trees, and 
 artificial objects, such as canoes, houses, &c., 
 are believed by some to escape to the Mbulu 
 paradise. On Vanua Levu it is believed 
 that these fly by the same route taken by 
 the spirits of men, but that they meet on 
 the road a god who seizes them and appro- 
 priates them to his own use. 
 
 The Fijians believe that spirits return to 
 earth and annoy mankind. Some speak of 
 a man as having two spirits ; his shadow, or 
 '' dark spirit," is the one that travels off" to 
 the world of shadows, while the other is his 
 reflection in water or a looking-glass. The 
 
RELIGION. 177 
 
 latter haunts tlie spot where he dies ; and in 
 rainy weather the people fancy they hear it 
 moan as it sits with its head on its hands 
 trying to relieve its misery. 
 
 So fearful are the natives of these ghosts 
 that they often hide themselves after a death 
 till they think the spirit is at rest. Thus 
 are they made wretched by superstitions 
 most puerile and senseless. 
 
 Witchcraft exercises over the Fijian peo- 
 ple a more powerful influence than any other 
 superstition. The modes of practising it 
 are various, but the design is usually to 
 destroy life. Men who laugh at the pre- 
 tensions of the priest tremble at the power 
 of the wizard ; and those who become Chris- 
 tians lose this fear last of all the relics of 
 their heathenism. The priests sometimes 
 practise this art ; but it is not confined to 
 them. The natives purchase, at a high 
 rate, the influence of the wizard, and they 
 make ofi'erings to the gods or the chiefs in 
 order to avert the spell of witchcraft. So 
 great is the dread of some of these charms, 
 that persons have lain down and died from 
 
178 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 terror on learning that they were the ob- 
 jects of them. 
 
 One of the most fearful punishments that 
 can be inflicted on a native is the yalovaki. 
 When the evidence is strong against a person 
 suspected of some offence, and yet he re- 
 fuses to confess, the chief who is judge calls 
 for a scarf, with which " to catch away the 
 soul of the rogue." A threat of the rack 
 could not be more effectual. The culprit 
 generally confesses on the sight, and even 
 the mention, of the light instrument : if not, 
 it would be waved over his head until his 
 soul was secured, and then carefully folded 
 up and nailed to the small end of a chief's 
 canoe; and, for want of his soul the sus- 
 pected person would pine and die. 
 
 Those who have reason to suspect others 
 of plotting against them avoid eating in 
 their presence, or are careful to leave no 
 fragment of food behind : they also dispose 
 their garment so that no part can be re- 
 moved. Most natives, on cutting their hair, 
 hide what is cut off in the thatch of their 
 own homes. Some build themselves a small 
 
RELIGION. 179 
 
 house and surround it with a moat, believ- 
 ing that a little water will neutralize the 
 charms which are directed against them. 
 
 There are various methods of divination 
 used in Fiji. One is by a bunch of cocoa- 
 nuts, pretty well dried. Having given the 
 message of the god, the priest continues : — 
 " I shall shake these nuts : if all fall off, the 
 child will recover; but if any remain on, it 
 will die." He then shakes and jerks the nuts, 
 generally with all his might. Some pour a 
 few drops of water on the front of the right 
 arm, near the shoulder, and, the arm being 
 gently inclined, the course of the water is 
 watched ; and if it find its way down to the 
 wrist the answer is favorable, but otherwise 
 if it run off and fall on the floor. 
 
 The seer also is known in Fiji. He sits 
 listening to the applicant's wishes, and then, 
 closing his eyes on earthly things, describes 
 to the inquirer the scenes of the future 
 which pass before his vision. These gene- 
 rally consist of burning houses, fleeing war- 
 riors, bloody plains, or death-stricken sick 
 ones, as the case may require. A similar 
 
180 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 personage is the taro, " ask," who sits with 
 his knee up and his foot resting on the heel, 
 with a stick placed in a line with the mid- 
 dle of it. Without being told the object of 
 the visit, he states whether his presentiment 
 is good or evil, and then is informed of the 
 matter inquired after, and proceeds to apply 
 his impressions about it in detail. There is 
 also the dautadra, or professional dreamer, 
 who receives a present on communicating 
 his revelations to the parties concerned, 
 whether they tell of good or evil, and who 
 seldom happens to dream about any one 
 who cannot pay well. Some believe that a 
 good present often averts the evil of a bad 
 dream. 
 
 Their traditions are numerous and con- 
 tradictory. One of these in regard to the 
 origin of the races is similar to a tradition 
 among the blacks of Africa. They say that 
 the first person created was the Fijian ; he 
 was dark and badly behaved, so the gods 
 punished him by giving him very little 
 clothing; next they made the Tongan, 
 who was lighter and better-behaved, so they 
 
RELIGION. 181 
 
 gave him a better supply of apparel than 
 the Fijian; the last one they formed was 
 the white man, who was of such a fine color, 
 and so good, that they rewarded him by 
 giving him an ample suit. 
 
 Ndengei, according to one Fijian tradi- 
 tion, was the creator of man. He failed 
 clumsily in several of his first attempts ; and 
 the first woman he made was met by the 
 god Koko Matu, who was much displeased 
 with her formation, and persuaded Ndengei 
 to alter her to her present figure. 
 
 In the Fiji Islands we find the universal 
 tradition of the flood. The natives have 
 several different accounts of it, which agree 
 in the main points. One of these tells us 
 that Ndengei had two mischievous grand- 
 sons, who killed his favorite bird. Adding 
 insolence and defiance to the outrage, they 
 fortified the town in which they lived, and 
 defied their grandfather to do his worst. 
 He spent three months in gathering an 
 army, but was not able to conquer the 
 rebels. He then commanded the rain to 
 fall, and the whole earth was flooded, houses 
 
 16 
 
182 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 and mountains were submerged; but the 
 insurgents, from their rocky tower, looked 
 defiantly down on the rising waters. But 
 when they saw the waves reaching and in- 
 vading their stronghold, they called in ter- 
 ror to a god, who directed them to build a 
 boat, in which eight persons were saved. 
 
 When the waters subsided, they were left 
 on Mbengga. From this circumstance the 
 Mbenggans claim to be first in Fiji, their 
 title signifying '' subject only to heaven." 
 
 All of their histories of the flood agree 
 with the biblical account in the number of 
 persons saved, and in the belief that it was 
 by supernatural interposition. 
 
 The highest point of the island of Koro 
 is associated with the history of the flood. 
 Its name is Ngginggi-tangithi-Koro, which 
 conveys the idea of a little bird sitting there 
 and lamenting the drowned island. In this 
 bird the Christians recognize Noah's dove 
 on its second flight from the ark. " I have 
 heard a native," says Mr. Williams, '' after 
 listening to the incident as given by Moses, 
 chant, ^ Na qiqi sa tagiei Koro ni yali :' 
 
RELIGION. 183 
 
 ' The Qiqi laments over Koro, because it is 
 lost.'" 
 
 We find here also a trace of the tower of 
 Babel : — " Near Na Savu, Vanua Levu, the 
 natives point out the site where, in former 
 ages, men built a vast tower, being eager 
 for astronomic information, and especially 
 anxious to decide the difficult question as to 
 whether the moon was inhabited. To effect 
 their purpose, they cast up a high mound, 
 and erected thereon a great building of 
 timber. The tower had already risen far 
 skyward, and the ambitious hopes of its 
 industrious builders seemed near fulfilment, 
 when the lower fastenings suddenly broke 
 asunder and scattered the workmen over 
 every part of Fiji." These traditions are 
 of much interest to the Christian world, 
 however we may account for their striking 
 similarity to Bible history and events. It 
 cannot now be ascertained with certainty 
 how these fragments of truth came to be 
 interwoven with traditionary falsehoods ; but 
 the fact is a suggestive one. 
 
184 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 An attempt has now been made to give 
 an outline of the Fijian people, their habits 
 of life and character, their religious belief, 
 and the main influences that operate to 
 make them what the missionaries find them 
 on reaching their shores. 
 
 It will be interesting to turn from this 
 picture, and see what success those mission- 
 aries have had, by the blessing of God, in 
 changing their habits, substituting the 
 glorious light of the gospel for the gross 
 darkness of heathenism, and raising them 
 from moral degradation to virtue and de- 
 cency. We may thus be led to wonder and 
 adore, in view of the power of the Christian 
 religion to enter the darkest soul and trans- 
 form it into a soul washed white in the blood 
 of the Lamb. 
 
®k ©annibal ^^\mA$. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 FIJI RECEIVING THE GOSPEL. 
 
 '• Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations, and declare it in the 
 islos afar ofif." 
 
 185 
 
 16* 
 
PART SECOND, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 
 
 The mission to the Fiji Islands has beer, 
 as remarkable for its success as any ever 
 undertaken by the Christian world. The 
 account which has been given of the people 
 exhibits faintly the difficulties that the gos- 
 pel had to meet and conquer in order to 
 make progress in its work. The darkest 
 qualities of the Fijian nature — those which 
 oppose the greatest barrier to the influence 
 of Christianity — have been least noticed in 
 that account. These facts should be con- 
 sidered in judging of the missionaries' labor. 
 
 Missionaries were sent to the Friendly 
 Islands, another group in the Pacific, as 
 early as 1796; but for nearly twenty 
 years they wearily labored, cheered by no 
 
 187 
 
188 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 success. Still they toiled, and waited for 
 the blessing, in the confidence that these 
 islands were to be eventually converted to 
 God. Nor did they wait in vain. A history 
 of this successful mission has been published, 
 showing what was wrought by God among 
 these savage islanders. 
 
 The influence of the missionaries extended 
 gradually to the Fiji Islands, in consequence 
 of the frequent visits made by Tongans to 
 them. These visits were sometimes involun- 
 tary, owing to the drifting of their canoes 
 in that direction, and sometimes made to 
 obtain timber or to trade in various articles. 
 The Fijian timber was especially desired; 
 and a number of those visiting the islands 
 for this or other purposes finally obtained a 
 footing there and made permanent settle- 
 ments. Some few of these Tongan sailors 
 had been converted to Christ in their own 
 islands ; and when chey found themselves 
 among those yet ignorant of the Saviour, 
 they sought to shed the light given to them 
 upon the darkness around; and thus was 
 Christianity first brought to Fiji. 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 189 
 
 But in 1834, when the Tongan Church 
 was visited with a remarkable blessing from 
 God, the first-fruits of the new life begun in 
 them were manifested in an earnest desire 
 to attempt in a more direct manner the 
 spreading of the '' tidings of great joy" in 
 the Fijian Islands. Small as the number 
 of missionaries was in the Friendly Islands, 
 they determined, after earnest, prayerful 
 consultation together, to send two of the 
 little band to Fiji. 
 
 The Rev. William Cross and Rev. David 
 Cargill were appointed to undertake this 
 mission. It was not a small sacrifice which 
 these men made in leaving the scene of their 
 past labors for a new and perilous field. 
 Mr. Cross had been eight years, and Mr. 
 Cargill two, in the Friendly Islands, and 
 they had established homes, had become 
 attached to the people, and began to see the 
 fruit of all their toil and suffering. But 
 immortal souls cried out to them from the 
 neighboring darkness and wretchedness of 
 savage heathenism, asking for the light of 
 life; and the call could not be unheeded. 
 
190 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 The two missionaries, with their families, 
 sailed October 8, 1835, and reached La- 
 kemba October 12, having before their 
 departure begun to study the language, con- 
 structed an alphabet, and printed in Fijia.n 
 a little '' First book" and a catechism. 
 
 The Christian king George of Tonga sent 
 to accompany them an influential person, 
 with a present to the King of Lakemba, and 
 a message stating the benefits conferred 
 by the missionaries on himself and his 
 people and urging their kind treatment of 
 them. 
 
 Lakemba is one of the largest islands in 
 the eastern part of the group. It is thirty 
 miles in circumference, and has twelve towns 
 upon it, containing in all about four thousand 
 inhabitants. 
 
 Early in the morning, the two missionaries 
 went ashore in a boat, the schooner in the 
 mean time lying off without coming to 
 anchor. Deafening shouts along the shore 
 announced the approach of the vessel, and 
 drew together a great crowd of wild-looking 
 Tongans and Fijians, armed and blackened, 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 191 
 
 according to their custom, to receive the 
 strangers. 
 
 At the very outset, the missionaries had 
 a great advantage in being able at once to 
 converse with the people without an inter- 
 preter ; for many of the Fijians at Lakemba, 
 through very long intercourse with the Ton- 
 gans, could speak their language. Thus 
 the visitors passed through crowds of Ton- 
 gans, hailing them with the friendly greet- 
 ings of their ov/n land ; and leaving behind 
 them the Tongan houses, stretching for 
 nearly half a mile among the cocoanut- 
 trees on the shore, they came at once to 
 the king's town, which* lies about four hun- 
 dred yards inland. In one of his large 
 houses, they were introduced to the king 
 and some of his chiefs. Tui Nayau readily 
 promised them land for the mission premises, 
 and desired that their families and goods 
 should be landed forthwith, promising that 
 temporary houses should be erected as soon 
 as possible. In the mean time, one of his own 
 large houses was offered to the strangers, 
 who, however, feared to reside within the 
 
192 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 town, considering it unhealthy from its 
 crowded state and the embankment and 
 moat by which it is surrounded. 
 
 The interview was very favorable, and, a 
 suitable place having been chosen for the 
 new dwellings, between the town and the 
 Tongan settlement, the missionaries returned 
 to the schooner to give in their report to 
 their wives and the captain. The '' Black- 
 bird" then cast anchor, and the families, 
 who had suffered very severely from sea- 
 sickness, were only too eager to get ashore. 
 A large canoe-house on the beach, open at 
 the sides and end, was given them as their 
 dwelling until proper houses could be built. 
 Under this great shed the two families passed 
 the night, but not in sleep. The curtains 
 had been left on board with their other 
 goods ; and they speak of the mosquitos that 
 night as being " innumerable and unusually 
 large." Numbers of pigs, too, seemed greatly 
 disquieted, and kept up a loud grunting all 
 round until morning. Here, then, beneath 
 a canoe-shed, the missionary band spent their 
 first night in Fiji, the wives and children 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 193 
 
 worn out with their voyage, stung by num- 
 berless mosquitos, and the crying of the 
 little ones answered by the grunts of pigs 
 running about in all directions. Glad enough 
 were they, the next morning, to accept the 
 captain's invitation and go back to the ves- 
 sel until their houses were ready. 
 
 House-building is sharp work in Fiji. 
 The missionaries arrived at Lakemba on 
 the 12th, the houses were commenced on 
 the 14th, and on the 17th the two families 
 took possession of them. They were told 
 by the king that these houses were only 
 temporary houses, till he could erect sub- 
 stantial buildings for their use. 
 
 The next day was the Sabbath, and the 
 missionaries preached twice out-of-doors in 
 the Tongan language to about one hundred 
 and fifty Tongans ai^d Fijians. In the 
 morning King Tui Nayau attended, and 
 listened very attentively. The missionaries 
 soon found abundant occupation for hands, 
 head, and heart. Hands must be busy in 
 completing the houses and putting up doors 
 and windows ; the language must be studied, 
 
 17 
 
194 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the Scriptures translated, and a grammar 
 and dictionary commenced. 
 
 Their numerous occupations were con- 
 stantly interrupted by the visits of the 
 natives, who came to trade with or to stare 
 at the strangers, and usually to secrete and 
 carry away any small articles they could 
 find. This influx of visitors was annoying 
 to the missionaries; but, as it brought them 
 into familiar contact with the natives, it 
 could not be altogether discouraged. 
 
 It was frequently the case that large par- 
 ties visiting Lakemba from distant islands 
 would ask permission to inspect the premises, 
 which was generally granted. These visit- 
 ors, having nothing to do, were generally 
 disposed to stay longer than was necessary 
 for any good purpose, and would prowl about, 
 picking up any knife or other small article 
 that they could lay hands on, and secreting it, 
 with marvellous cleverness, in their scanty 
 clothing. Increased watchfulness was the 
 result; and such parties, after having spent 
 time enough in examining the place, and 
 having listened with attention to a state- 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 195 
 
 ment of the objects of the mission, were in- 
 formed that the missionary or his wife had 
 other business, and were kindly reminded 
 of the expediency of their attending to their 
 own affairs elsewhere. 
 
 Considerable losses and much annoyance, 
 but great good also, came of all this. 
 The natives took notice of every thing, and 
 could not help admiring the domestic com- 
 forts, regularity of meals, subjection of 
 children, love of husband and wife, and 
 general social enjoyment, which could only 
 be taught by a practical exhibition of them 
 in every day-life. 
 
 The only way in which the missionaries 
 could obtain necessary food or services, such 
 as gardening, fencing, &c., was by exchang- 
 ing for them knives, axes, calicoes, and other 
 articles desired by the natives. Whatever 
 the mission families needed was bargained 
 for in the same manner, thus stimulating 
 the industry of the people and introducing 
 civilized comforts among them. 
 
 The king's promise to build for the mis- 
 sion more substantial dwellings was still 
 
196 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 unfulfilled, when one day a hurricane blew 
 the two houses down, and Tui Nayau could 
 delay no longer the erection of new build- 
 ings for the Papalangis. In addition he 
 built them a chapel, using the posts and 
 timber of the ruined houses for the purpose. 
 While the comfort of the mission families 
 was thus more permanently secured, much 
 additional labor was brought upon them for 
 a time in arranging and furnishing their 
 dwellings and chapel. 
 
 When the new year came in, they had in 
 their chapel a regular congregation of about 
 two hundred persons. In the spring thirty- 
 one adults and twenty-three children were 
 baptized, classes for church-members formed, 
 and a school for all ages organized. Of the 
 thirty-one adults just mentioned, the ma- 
 jority were Tongans. These people, who 
 had been notoriously wicked even in Fiji, 
 were some of them so manifestly changed 
 from savage heathen into gentle, self- 
 denying Christians as to render invaluable 
 service to the mission work among the 
 Fijians. Their independent position among 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 197 
 
 the Fijians made their profession a bold one; 
 and they afterwards spread the knowledge of 
 the gospel to other islands with earnestness 
 and zeal. The Fijians around them did not 
 fail to see the change wrought in them and to 
 be in time influenced by it in their own lives. 
 Gradually the number of visitors to the 
 mission premises increased and attracted 
 the attention of the authorities by their dis- 
 content with their own gods and priests and 
 their refusal to comply with their demands. 
 Those in favor of the new religion were for 
 a time protected from violence by the fact 
 that a Tongan chief whose party were 
 powerful for the defence of Lakemba was a 
 convert to Christianity. But the king's 
 god, and the priests in the name of the 
 gods, were loud in their denunciations of 
 the missionaries, their doctrines, and their 
 converts; and an attack was finally made 
 upon the houses of the Christians and their 
 possessions. As is always the case, however, 
 the true religion gained instead of losing 
 ground by these measures. The calm and 
 steadfast endurance by the Christians of 
 17* 
 
198 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 persecution, and their willingness to shed 
 their blood in defence of their new faith, 
 at the same time that they manifested kind- 
 ness and good will towards the king, im- 
 pressed their enemies most forcibly and 
 favorably. Attention was more drawn to 
 the missionaries and their teachings, and 
 the claims of the native priests were more 
 closely examined, resulting in the discovery 
 of many failures on their part to prophesy 
 truly and to fulfil their promises of aid. 
 
 "While the priests were thus losing the 
 confidence of the people, the missionaries 
 were daily acquiring more influence over 
 them, by their ability to supply them with 
 desired articles and to give them help in 
 many ways. At the end of a year there 
 was a church of two hundred and eighty 
 persons ; there was regular preaching in four 
 towns, and day-schools, Scripture readers, 
 and written, as well as a few printed, books. 
 
 The domestic affairs of the missionary 
 families were at this time painfully embar- 
 rassed. Their articles for barter were aii 
 gone, and these were their only means of 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 199 
 
 obtaining fresh food. They were obliged, 
 therefore, for several months to use musty 
 flour; and when that too was gone, their 
 subsistence was on yams and salt, and cakes 
 made of arrow-root and yams. The health 
 of some of them suffered from their priva- 
 tions. Calicoes, sorely wanted for family use, 
 were parted with to obtain food. Trunks, 
 wearing-apparel, and every thing else avail- 
 able, were thus disposed of. Mere conve- 
 niences, such as cooking-utensils or crockery- 
 ware, had disappeared : so that Mr. Cargill 
 had only one teacup left, and that had lost 
 its handle. This state of things lasted un- 
 til the end of the year, when an opportunity 
 at last came of sending help from Tonga. 
 
 During this year of domestic trial, letters 
 and a vessel of supplies arrived, and gave 
 much joy and relief. As the sloop was 
 leaving Lakemba, it was wrecked; but the 
 crew were saved, and in a few days returned 
 to Lakomba. Before Christianity was known 
 in Fiji, shipwrecked men were killed and 
 eaten; but its humanizing influence now 
 caused them to be unmolested. 
 
200 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Tlie captain, mate, and supercargo were 
 received by the missionaries, and, in return 
 for the kindness shown by their entertainers, 
 the sailors made stools, bedsteads, and other 
 useful articles of furniture, from wreckage 
 picked up by the natives. Mr. Cargill at last 
 reached such a degree of luxury as to have 
 part of the floor of his bedroom boarded, 
 whereby much more comfort was secured 
 than by mats. 
 
 From time to time supplies of clothing 
 and stores reached the mission families ; but 
 they labored with prostrating sickness often 
 among them, and amidst difficulties and 
 trials of which Christians at home know 
 little. The news of results reached Eng- 
 land ; but little could be said, and nothing 
 realized, of the weariness, the disappoint- 
 ment, the sufferings and tears, which these 
 men, accustomed to comfort, had undergone 
 for themselves and their families before such 
 news could be told. 
 
 At the close of 1837 the missionaries de- 
 cided to carry the gospel to another part 
 of the Fijian group, and Mr. Cross, with 
 
THE MISSION ESTABLISHED. 201 
 
 his family, removed to Mbau. Here, in a 
 ^mall damp house, containing but one room, 
 the missionary was taken ill, and for many 
 weeks was apparently on the verge of the 
 grave. He recovered with shattered health, 
 and began his labors with a good prospect 
 of success. Persecution came, and, as at 
 Lakemba, first checked, then fostered, the 
 growth of the new religion. 
 
 At both the Fijian mission stations help 
 was now needed most sorely by the two 
 solitary laborers; and this need was realized 
 in the Friendly Islands. An earnest appeal 
 was successfully addressed to Christians in 
 England in behalf of Fiji, and three mis- 
 fcionaries were at once sent from that country, 
 lo be joined by two more from the Friendly 
 Islands. The Eev. John Hunt, T. J. Jagger, 
 and James Calvert sailed from England in 
 April, 1838, and Mr. Lyth and Mr. Spinney 
 jifterwards joined them at Fiji. Mr. Hunt 
 went immediately to Eewa, for the purpose 
 of relieving Mr. Cross from part of his 
 labors ; and, as he carried with him good 
 stores for barter, his arrival added much to 
 
202 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the comfort of the mission. There was 
 enough to encourage the missionaries in 
 what they saw around them as the results 
 of their labors. The attention of the people 
 was awakened, many forsook their priests 
 and temples for the mission church, and 
 some gave evidence of being truly renewed 
 in heart and life. Cannibalism and other 
 savage horrors were still practised, almost 
 within sight of the missionaries; but they 
 knew that the true religion had taken deep 
 root, and that it would grow and spread 
 until its blessed influence should cover the 
 land and transform its moral barrenness 
 into spiritual life and beauty. 
 
 A great event had in the mean time taken 
 place in Lakemba. The expected printing- 
 press had arrived in good order, had been 
 set up, and the Gospel of St. Mark and the 
 catechism had been printed in Fijian. Three 
 years before, no written language existed on 
 the islands, and the degraded inhabitants 
 knew not the darkness in which they lived. 
 Now the instrument of enlightenment, of 
 civilization, and of power was at work among 
 
ONO. 203 
 
 them, and their condition could never be 
 quite so low as it had been. The mission- 
 aries now felt that they had a sufficiently 
 effective force to extend their labors to other 
 islands in the group. They resolved to 
 remove the printing-press to Eewa, as being 
 the best fitted for a central station, and to 
 establish two new stations. Soon afterwards 
 Mr. Spinney arrived from the Friendly 
 Islands; but it was only to leave Fiji again 
 immediately for Sydney, to check, if possible, 
 the progress of far-advanced disease. He 
 died in the February following ; and his loss 
 was deeply felt by the little band of laborers 
 for the Lord in Fiji. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 ONO. 
 
 The island of Ono is the chief of a small 
 group in the south of Fiji. It is tributary 
 to Lakemba, and is about one hundred and 
 fifty miles distant from it. There is con- 
 
204 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 siderable traffic, and a friendly state of feel- 
 ing, between the two places. 
 
 During the year 1835 — the same year that 
 Mr. Cross and Mr. Cargill came to Fiji, but 
 previous to their arrival — Wai, a chief from 
 Ono, visited Lakemba to bring the annual 
 tribute. His people had been recently suf- 
 fering from destructive wars and a raging 
 epidemic, which had caused great and wide- 
 spread alarm. They redoubled their zeal in 
 worshipping and offering sacrifices to their 
 gods, but no help or relief came. In this 
 distress Wai left them to go to Lakemba. 
 There he met Takai, a chief who had visited 
 the Friendly Islands and Tahiti and become 
 a Christian. This man told Wai all he knew 
 of the true God, which was that there was 
 but one God, and Jehovah was his name, 
 and that it was wrong to worship any other. 
 Carrying this precious gleam of gospel light 
 with him, Wai returned to his dark and 
 sorrowing land. He and the companions 
 of his journey had now lost all faith in the 
 native gods; and they determined to forsake 
 them and pray to Jehovah for help in their 
 
ONO. 205 
 
 distress. Resolving to conduct every thing 
 as nearly as possible after the manner of 
 the Christians, they set aside the seventh 
 day for the worship of Grod. Their food was 
 prepared on the previous day, they dressed 
 with extraordinary care, anointed their 
 bodies profusely, and met to join in Christian 
 worship. But when they were assembled, 
 a difficulty presented itself. They knew 
 they should pray to Jehovah ; but no one of 
 them had ever tried to pray : the priests had 
 always done that for them. In their per- 
 plexity they now appealed to one of their 
 heathen priests for assistance. 
 
 The priest consented — from fear or kind- 
 ness — to officiate for them ; and this group of 
 h.eath.en& felt after " the Lord, if haply they 
 might find him," in these words uttered by 
 the priest : — '' Lord Jehovah ! here are thy 
 people : they worship thee. I turn my back 
 on thee for the present, and am on another 
 tack, worshipping another god. But do 
 thou bless these thy people : keep them from 
 harm, and do them good." 
 
 After this brief service the people returned 
 
 18 
 
206 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 to their usual occupations, and on every 
 seventh day they met to worship Jehovah, 
 with the priest for their minister. 
 
 Nor was the merciful God unmindful of 
 their prayer ; for in their hearts he strength- 
 ened the desire to know more of him, and 
 opened the way for its fulfilment. 
 
 The people, as they looked eagerly for an 
 opportunity to obtain the knowledge for 
 which they thirsted, hailed with unusual 
 delight the arrival of a whaler which stopped 
 at Ono for provision on its way to the 
 Friendly Islands. This vessel agreed to take 
 two messengers to Tonga, where the people 
 knew that missionaries were stationed, to 
 beg for a teacher. 
 
 The Lord did not sufier these earnest, 
 simple-hearted inquirers after truth to wait 
 the long time necessary for a voyage to 
 Tonga and back. 
 
 That spring a company of Christian Ton- 
 gans set sail from Lakemba for Tonga. The 
 winds were contrary, the canoe became un- 
 manageable, and they drifted off to Vatoa, 
 or Turtle Island, about fifty miles from Ono. 
 
ONo. 207 
 
 Here they found that the new religion at 
 Ono was the universal topic of conversation ; 
 and this subject was one of deep interest to 
 the shipwrecked Christians. One of them — 
 a young man, Josiah by name — hastened to 
 go to Ono and tell them all he could of the 
 God they were so earnestly seeking. 
 
 In the mean time the two messengers 
 arrived at Tonga, where they were told that 
 there were now two missionaries in Fiji, at 
 Lakemba, and that they must apply to them. 
 They went directly home with this intelli- 
 gence; but their astonishment was great 
 when they saw the changes that had taken 
 place during their absence. Instead of the 
 heathen priest who had prayed to Jehovah, 
 "worshipping another god," was the Chris- 
 tian Josiah conducting public services and 
 teaching all who came to him. Some of 
 the people were praying for themselves ; the 
 whole of the Sabbath was kept holy ; a chapel 
 was built, and the number of worshippers 
 had increased to forty. The news their 
 messengers brought of missionaries being so 
 )\ear them aroused an ardent desire in the 
 
208 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 minds of the people to have a teacher fully 
 qualified to administer all the rites of the 
 Christian religion ; but they kaew that the 
 voyage to Lakemba was long and perilous, 
 and the teachers were few. Yet the Lord 
 they sought was again watching over and 
 providing for them in a way they knew not. 
 A young man of Ono, wild and reckless, 
 who had gone to Tonga some years before, 
 had there become a Christian, and joined 
 the missionaries at Lakemba, where he 
 labored with energy in order to qualify 
 himself to teach among his own people. 
 The missionaries instructed and assisted 
 him until he was fitted to be a preacher, 
 when they sent him to Ono. He took the 
 name of Isaac Ravuata. His arrival at Ono 
 was in the beginning of 1838 ; and he found 
 that already one hundred and twenty adults 
 had forsaken idolatry for the worship of the 
 true God, and that they were living quiet, 
 well-ordered lives. They received him most 
 joyfully, supplied him with every thing for 
 his comfort, and eagerly opened their hearts 
 to his teaching of gospel truth. 
 
ONO. 209 
 
 Isaac soon found that he needed books, 
 and sent word by the returning canoe to 
 tell the missionaries of this want. When 
 the message reached them, Mr. Cargill s 
 time was fully occupied with preaching four 
 times on Sunday and several times through 
 the week, translating the Scriptures, visit- 
 ing the towns, and constantly interrupted 
 by visitors : yet, with the assistance of his 
 wife, he prepared a number of elementary 
 books and sent them to Ono. 
 
 From Ono the missionaries still received 
 good tidings. In 1839 they sent thither 
 three more teachers; and the sailors who 
 took them brought back an entreaty for a 
 missionary, and also the intelligence that 
 the number of converts had increased to 
 three hundred and twenty-eight. They had 
 built three chapels, all of which were well 
 filled ; and the people were so anxious to be 
 taught that they would scarcely allow the 
 teachers time to take the needful rest from 
 their labors. The same canoe returning to 
 Lakemba brought news that the little island 
 of Vatoa— Turtle Island— had also received 
 
 18* 
 
210 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the glad tidings of the gospel. A Vatoan 
 had been converted at Lakemba, and on his 
 return home persuaded his people to forsake 
 their gods : so that when the Lakemba Chris- 
 tians left Vatoa the whole number of in- 
 habitants — sixty-six — professed Christianity 
 and urgently requested a teacher. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 REWA. 
 
 While the people in Lakemba were yield- 
 ing to the influence of the new religion, the 
 king Tui Nayau was becoming more open 
 in his expressions of hostility to the con- 
 verts. He still, however, avowed his be- 
 lief in Christianity and his intention of em- 
 bracing it, saying that he was only hindered 
 from taking that step by his fear of more 
 powerful chiefs. He desired the mission- 
 aries to go to some more powerful chief and 
 persuade him to take the lead. 
 
EEWA. 211 
 
 The missionaries, anxious to extend their 
 efforts, determined to follow the king's ad- 
 vice, insincere as it was. Their stock for 
 barter was so reduced that they scarcely 
 knew how they could build houses and pro- 
 cure food in a new place; but Mr. Cross, 
 notwithstanding these difficulties and his ill 
 health, resolved to go to Mbau. 
 
 This island was fast becoming the centre 
 of political power, — which important position 
 it has since occupied. " A seven-years civil 
 war had just passed its crisis," and Tanoa, 
 the old Fijian king, had been driven out of 
 his kingdom. His young son Seru was per- 
 mitted to remain. 
 
 The character of the young prince was 
 not at all comprehended by the people ; but 
 there was one old chief of Viwa who said 
 that he would prove dangerous, and advised 
 that he should be put to death. At this 
 counsel the others merely laughed, saying 
 they could not imagine what evil a mere 
 boy like Seru could do. 
 
 Seru was in secret correspondence with 
 his father, who supplied him with property 
 
212 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 that he distributed among the people. He 
 succeeded in winning over many, among 
 whom was his most intimate friend Verani, 
 the nephew of the shrewd Viwa chief. 
 
 They laid their plans so well that the 
 rebels were conquered. Tanoa returned ; and 
 a grand cannibal feast in honor of the vic- 
 tory was in full operation when Mr. Cross 
 and his family arrived. 
 
 Seru, or Shakombau (Evil to Mbau), as 
 he was now called, met them, and told them 
 it would be much better for them to go to 
 Eewa for the present : Mbau was still in a 
 state of intense excitement : the king of 
 Rewa would protect them and give them 
 land, and was willing to allow his people to 
 lotu, or, embrace Christianity. 
 
 This advice was so good that Mr. Cross 
 took it. 
 
 Rewa is next in importance to Mbau, and 
 only twelve miles distant. Here Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cross landed on the 8th of January, 
 1838. They were kindly received, a small 
 house was given them, and they were now 
 fairly alone among the cannibals. 
 
REWA. 213 
 
 They had oeen here but a short time 
 when Mr. Cross was taken sick, first with 
 intermittent fever, then followed by cholera; 
 and finally the typhus fever attacked him, 
 and he seemed to be dying. His wife and 
 little children could help him but little. 
 David Whippy, an American settled at 
 Ovalau, heard of their deplorable condition, 
 and went to their aid. Mr. Cross gradually 
 recovered : the king built him a larger and 
 more comfortable house, and all began to 
 look brighter. 
 
 A chief and his wife now became Chris- 
 tians, and opened their house for worship, 
 which before had been held out-of-doors, — 
 making an agreeable change. A school was 
 next established. The king was their zeal- 
 ous protector ; but, in spite of his care, many 
 attempts were made on Mr. Cross's life : 
 stones were thrown in at him durina: church- 
 hours, and once they endeavored to burn 
 down the house. 
 
 If the king could not protect Mr. CrosS; 
 his Master could ; and he was preserved from 
 all their malicious designs. 
 
214 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Na-mosi-malua, chief of Viwa, and the 
 same who advised Seru's death, was now at 
 peace with Mbau, and was very desirous of 
 having a teacher. 
 
 Mr. Cross did not know what to do about it. 
 From the chief's character, and from his hav- 
 ing recently been severely punished, having 
 his town burned down and his crops spoiled 
 by the French for having captured a French 
 brig and murdered the captain and most of 
 the crew, Mr. Cross feared that it was but a 
 scheme of Na-mosi-malua's to revenge him- 
 self on the whites. 
 
 But Tanoa strongly advised it : the Viwa 
 chief had told him he was going to lotu, for 
 he was afraid of the Papalangis. So Mr. 
 Cross sent a native teacher, and Na-mosi- 
 malua built a large chapel, where he and 
 many of his people worshipped. Thus Chris- 
 tianity stepped from island to island, extend- 
 ing its influence in this savage group. 
 
SOMO-SOMO. 216 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SOMO-SOMO. 
 
 SoMO-soMO was one of the new stations 
 established in 1839. It is a town of great 
 importance, and its king, with two sons and 
 a number of his people, had visited Lakemba 
 soon after the missionaries went there, and 
 urged very strongly their claim for a mis- 
 sion station. The useful articles obtained 
 by the Lakembans from the mission house 
 gave these people an undue advantage, it 
 was declared, over their more powerful 
 neighbors ; and the king promised welcome 
 and attention to their teaching if the mis- 
 sionaries only would come to them. The 
 extensive influence of this king and his sons, 
 and the fear in which they were held, in- 
 duced the missionaries to promise to send 
 some one to them ; and in fulfilment of that 
 agreement Mr. Hunt and Mr. Lyth went to 
 Somo-somo in July, 1839. 
 
216 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 They soon found they were to become 
 conversant with the most horrible customs 
 of Fiji. Somo-somo was noted for its atro- 
 cities, and particularly for its cannibalism ; 
 and the missionaries found this reputation 
 a deserved one. Although the people had 
 been so anxious to have them come, they 
 paid them no attention after their arrival, 
 and seemed perfectly indiflPerent to their 
 teaching. The king's great house was given 
 them as a residence, and the people were 
 very willing to bring fruits and vegetables 
 for them to buy; but further than this little 
 heed was given to them. Greater troubles 
 soon came upon them. 
 
 When they arrived, they found the people 
 expecting the return of Ka Mbithi, the 
 king's youngest son, who had gone with a 
 fleet of canoes to the windward islands. 
 After the missionaries had got all their 
 goods landed, and before the vessel in which 
 they came had left, tidings reached Somo- 
 somo that Ra Mbithi had been lost at sea. 
 The ill news caused terrible excitement in 
 the town, and, according to custom, several 
 
SOMO-SOMO. 217 
 
 women were at once set apart to be stran- 
 gled. The missionaries began their work by- 
 pleading for the lives of these wretched vic- 
 tims. The utmost they could effect was to 
 get the execution delayed until the schooner 
 should have gone to search for the young 
 chief and bring back further information. 
 The vessel returned, but not with any more 
 favorable news. Now a greater number of 
 women were condemned ; and again the mis- 
 sionaries pleaded hard that they might be 
 spared. The old king was angry with the 
 strangers for presuming to interfere with 
 the affairs of his people, and indignant at 
 the thought of his favorite son dying with- 
 out the customary honors. Once more, how- 
 ever, the strangling was put off. Canoes 
 which had been sent out to search at last 
 returned, bringing the intelligence that all 
 was true. It was generally known, though 
 not talked about, that Ea Mbithi had drifted 
 on his wrecked canoe to the island of Ngau, 
 where he had been captured and eaten by 
 the natives. Kemonstrance and entreaty 
 were now in vain. Sixteen women were 
 
 19 
 
218 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 forthwith strangled in honor of the young 
 chief and his companions, and the bodies of 
 the principal women were buried within a 
 few yards of the missionaries' door. 
 
 Such were the scenes which met the mis- 
 sionaries on the threshold of their work at 
 Sorao-somo. Tuithakau, the old king, was a 
 horrible cannibal, but disposed to be friendly 
 to the missionaries. Tuikilakila, his son, was, 
 on the contrary, an open enemy to them. This 
 man was tall, broad, and perfectly black, — a 
 true specimen of the untamed savage. He 
 was in the habit of strolling through the 
 mission premises as he pleased; and the two 
 ladies, to their intense annoyance, often found 
 him in their rooms arranging his toilet. 
 
 The servants of the missionaries one day 
 brought them the news that two dead men 
 were being brought from Lauthala. They 
 hardly knew how to understand this; for 
 they had been too short a time in Fiji to 
 become familiar with cannibalism. But 
 very soon eleven bodies, instead of two, were 
 brought and laid close by the mission house 
 as materials for a feast. 
 
SOMO-SOMO. 219 
 
 The windows and doors were tighLy 
 closed, to exclude the disgusting sight and 
 smell ; but Mr. Hunt, standing in his yard, 
 witnessed the horrible ceremonies. 
 
 After the feast was over, Tuikilakila came 
 and knocked at the door, and demanded of 
 Mr. Hunt, who opened it, why the windows 
 were closed. 
 
 ''Because," answered Mr. Hunt, ''we wish 
 to shut out your horrible wickedness." 
 
 " If you do so again," replied the ferocious 
 cannibal, unmindful of the presence of Mrs. 
 Hunt and Mrs. Lyth, " I'll knock you in the 
 head and then eat you !" 
 
 From threats the natives proceeded to 
 attempt actual violence. Tuikilakila came 
 one day, club in hand, to kill Mr. Lyth, 
 who had refused to purchase part of a melon 
 from the king's favorite wife. Mr. Lyth 
 fled to his bedroom, while Mr. Hunt talked 
 to the enraged chief till his anger cooled 
 down. 
 
 At last it became evident that the people 
 were preparing to put into execution their 
 many threats ; and one night the end seemed 
 
220 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 at hand. The missionaries had reason to 
 believe that the people had gathered to 
 murder them and their helpless families. 
 In the great gloomy house where the mis- 
 sionaries lived, with thick mosquito-nets 
 hung up to prevent the natives from peeping 
 in through the reed walls, this little band 
 betook themselves to prayer. They looked 
 at the death before them. They saw beyond 
 it, laid up for them in heaven, crowns of 
 gold, purchased by the Saviour's blood. To 
 die to them was gain, and they were con- 
 tent with a martyr's death. Although hus- 
 bands and wives looked at each other and 
 at their little ones and realized the horrors 
 of their situation, yet in this hour of 
 danger they were ready on their knees in 
 prayer to complete in death the sacrifice 
 they had begun by leaving homes and 
 country. 
 
 At midnight, while they were praying, a 
 wild shout rang through the air, and each 
 head bent lower in anticipation of their 
 enemies' instant approach. But it proved 
 to be the cry of their deliverance. The 
 
SOMO-SOMO. 221 
 
 people had changed their purpose ; and the 
 cry they heard was a call to the women to 
 come to a dance. 
 
 Their lives were now compai'atively safe ; 
 but the daily trials they endured, and the 
 violent opposition they encountered, were 
 undiminished. 
 
 In 1840, Captain — now Admiral — Wilkes, 
 of the United States Navy, stopped at Somo- 
 somo. He expressed great sympathy for 
 the missionaries, and offered to take them 
 to any part of Fiji whither they might desire 
 to remove ; but they were unwilling as yet 
 to leave the work which they had begun 
 in Somo-somo. His admiration and respect 
 were greatly excited by the devotion and 
 faith of these Christians ; but he doubted 
 their success being at all '' adequate to their 
 exertions." The report of the missionaries 
 at this time alludes, in passing, to the trials 
 incident to their situation here ; it tells of 
 the many strangers who while visiting 
 Somo-somo had heard the gospel, and states 
 that Tuikilakila had permitted the preach- 
 ing, but prevented any open result from it 
 
 19* 
 
222 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 by threatening to kill the first one who 
 should profess the new religion. But the 
 first one was his uncle, a chief of great in- 
 fluence ; and he dared not kill him. The 
 chief's motive was that he might be cured 
 from a dangerous sickness. The medical 
 skill of the missionaries gained great credit 
 to their religion; for the people thought 
 there must be something in the religion 
 itself to cure disease. 
 
 Although their congregations were small 
 and their converts few, the two missionaries 
 were not without encouragement to believe 
 that they accomplished some good. At one 
 time Tuikilakila was very sick, and all the 
 native remedies, the doctors, and the gods, 
 failed to do him any good. Mr. Lyth, who 
 had been educated as a physician, offered to 
 attend him, and did so successfully. Tui- 
 kilakila was won by the kindness of Mr. 
 Lyth, and never forgot his obligations to 
 him. 
 
 The old king, too, took a great fancy to 
 him, and would often send food to the mis- 
 sion-house, — expecting, however, occasional 
 
SOMO-SOMO. 223 
 
 gifts of knives, iron pots, &c. Once, when 
 the old man was ill, Mr. Lyth, in anxious 
 concern about his salvation, spoke more 
 pointedly than before, declaring that the 
 gods of Somo-somo were no gods, and could 
 do him no good. On being urged to turn 
 to the true God, the mildness and friend- 
 ship of this ''virtuous heathen" forthwith 
 vanished, and, seizing the missionary's coat, 
 he called loudly for a club to kill him. The 
 old chief was ill, but his rage made him 
 dangerous, and he clung hard ; but luckily 
 the garment was of light material, and Mr. 
 Lyth, making a spring, left his coat-tail in 
 the hand of Tuithakau, and, without taking 
 his hat, set off home, where he quietly waited 
 until his patient's anger had cooled down. 
 And here for the present we leave Mr. 
 Hunt and Mr. Lyth, patiently working on 
 amidst discouragement and trial, yet seeing 
 some fruit of their labors in the changed 
 lives of a few of those around them. 
 
226 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 go to Viwa. Mr. Cross found that Na-mosi- 
 malua had made every preparation possible 
 to give him a comfortable home in Viwa, 
 and was, moreover, ready to give him every 
 assistance in his missionary work. Tha- 
 kombau, with angry jealousy, kept a strict 
 watch on all these things. He hated the 
 chief and the Christian religion, and it 
 did not please him to see the latter esta- 
 blishing itself upon an island so near and 
 so powerful. 
 
 Viwa and the neighboring islands were 
 visited by an epidemic a few weeks after 
 Mr. Cross's arrival. Tj^akombau sent a 
 messenger to the chief of Viwa to say that 
 ''the gods have sent this sickness on you 
 and your people because you were unfaith- 
 ful to them. Throw away the lotu, and I 
 will come and help you rebuild the great 
 hure for the Viwa god." But Na-mosi- 
 malua answered, ''Tell Thakombau that 
 Jehovah alone is God ; and Him alone I will 
 continue to worship." 
 
 Thakombau had a faithful and powerful 
 friend in Viwa, Verani, the nephew of Na- 
 
viwA. 227 
 
 mosi-malua, and this man was united with 
 him in opposition to Christianity. But now 
 Verani, seeing it firmly established in his 
 own island, began to consider this new re- 
 ligion more carefully; he conversed often 
 with Mr. Cross on the subject, and excited 
 hope in the minds of the converts that he 
 would himself embrace their faith. 
 
 Thakombau entreated Verani to be firm 
 in his enmity to Christianity, and promised 
 him his aid if he would rebuild the temples. 
 Verani was persuaded to remain a heathen, 
 and he rebuilt the principal hure. But, al- 
 though he was outwardly unconverted, his 
 heart was not satisfied with heathenism. 
 
 Mr. Cross was now living quite comfort- 
 ably. Tanoa, the Mbau king, was still 
 friendly, and begged him to let him know 
 whenever he wanted food, that he might 
 send him some from Mbau. Among the 
 many visitors to the mission-house, Tha- 
 kombau soon made his appearance, and at 
 nis first visit stayed four hours, disputing with 
 Mr. Cross about religious truth. As he 
 left, he declared that he would never lotu, — 
 
228 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 that is, embrace Christianity. '' If you do 
 not, your children will," said Mr. Cross. 
 " Nay," replied the other : " though other 
 places may, I will not ; and when I am about 
 to die I will tell my children not to lotu." 
 
 About this time Mbau engaged in war, 
 and Na-mosi-malua was asked to help, but 
 refused. Verani, with quite a large number 
 of his people, joined heartily in it. The 
 missionary work was now carried on amidst 
 the tumult a.nd noise of war. Schools were 
 by this time established, many of the con- 
 verts had learned to read, and the visitors 
 constantly coming spread the knowledge of 
 the true religion far and near. Constant 
 applications were made for teachers, who 
 were sent to as many places as possible. 
 The chief wife of Verani was among the 
 converts, and her husband gave her permis- 
 sion to lotu ; but she refused to make any 
 profession until he did. 
 
 During this year a small party of Viwan 
 Christians were sailing close to the shore of 
 the large island of Viti Levu, when the out- 
 rigger of their canoe broke. The people on 
 
viWA. 229 
 
 shore, as soon as tney saw the accident, ran 
 eagerly to seize on the canoe and cargo, and 
 to secure the crew for a cannibal feast, ac- 
 cording to their custom. When they were 
 near enough to see that the canoe was from 
 Viwa, revenge increased their eagerness; 
 for only a short time previous several of 
 their friends had been murdered by Viwans. 
 Hundreds of armed men assembled on the 
 reef near the canoe, which lay tossed about 
 in danger of being capsized at any moment, 
 while the people on board worked hard to 
 keep her right, and prayed earnestly to the 
 Almighty to save them from the hands of 
 their enemies, who, with brandished weapons, 
 cried out, — 
 
 '' You are in our power ! Now we will 
 kill you in return for the murder of our 
 friends !" 
 
 A young man of the company cried to 
 them, " Kill us if you wish ; but know 
 that we did not kill your friends. Before 
 they were killed, we were Christians ; and 
 since that we have left off doing such evil 
 deeds. It will be better for you not to kill 
 
 20 
 
230 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 US, but come and help us bale the water out 
 of our canoe." This answer restrained the 
 anger of the heathen, and some of them even 
 went out to the canoe, helped them to bale 
 it out and lash the outrigger, so that the 
 canoe could safely sail away ! Heathens 
 who heard of it said, ^' It is Jehovah ! for 
 nothing like this was ever known in Fiji 
 before," 
 
 Na-mosi-malua was certainly much 
 changed in his outward life by his new 
 religion. He was now a remarkably kind 
 and peaceful man, — though his former ex- 
 cessive craftiness caused his motives still to 
 be somewhat doubted. He had not been 
 admitted into the church ; for he yet had 
 several wives, and it was a rule, strictly en- 
 forced, that a man professing Christianity 
 should have but one wife, and be married 
 to her by a religious service. 
 
 Thakombau at last persuaded Na-mosi- 
 malua to assist him in a war with the town 
 of Mathuata, which had neglected to pay 
 the customary tribute to Mbau. During 
 this war Na-mosi-malua manifested the mer- 
 
viwA. 231 
 
 ciful principles of Christianity in such a 
 striking manner as to excite the astonish- 
 ment of the heathen, and the displeasure of 
 Thakombau, who exclaimed, — 
 
 " Christianity is powerful. Because of it 
 we cannot get any men to eat !" 
 
 And it was remarkable that for several 
 months not a single man had been eaten at 
 Mbau. 
 
 Verani had promised that when he re- 
 turned home from this expedition he and 
 his wife would lotu. Thakombau's influence 
 over him was so great, however, that he 
 could not resolve to take the step. When 
 he was reminded of his promise, and of the 
 dangers through which he had passed, he 
 said, — 
 
 " Yes ; a ball went through my dress, and 
 several came very near me. I prayed to 
 the true God in my heart, and kept the 
 Sabbath day when I was engaged in war." . 
 
 Mr. Cross was carefully watching for an 
 opportunity to obtain a footing in Mbau, 
 either for himself or for a teacher; but 
 Thakombau's vigilance prevented. At last 
 
232 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 an opening seemed to be made. Viekoso, a 
 brother of King Tanoa, had become a Chris- 
 tian at Viwa, where he had long resided ; 
 and, as he was now about to return to Mbau, 
 a teacher was sent with him to conduct 
 worship in his family and try to benefit the 
 people. Thakombau saw danger in this, 
 and, being in reality the king, he ordered his 
 uncle to renounce his religion, and sent the 
 teacher from the island. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 LAKEMBA. 
 
 After the arrival of Mr. Hunt and his 
 companions, and the subsequent distribution 
 of the mission forces, Mr. Calvert was left 
 alone at Lakemba. At this station they 
 now had two hundred and thirty-eight 
 members of the church, with many more 
 on trial and in the schools. They had a 
 chapel, which was capable of holding five 
 
LAKEMBA. 233 
 
 hundred persons. The circuit of Lakemha 
 consisted of thirteen towns on Lakemba, 
 and twenty-four surrounding islands, at dis- 
 tances varying from eighteen to a hundred 
 and forty miles. 
 
 Mr. Calvert had been in Fiji only six 
 months, and was not acquainted with the 
 people or the language ; so that no ordinary 
 amount of energy and zeal was needed for 
 him to carry on the mission work alone. 
 The thieving propensities of the natives 
 made it difficult to keep clothing, household 
 utensils, or articles of barter. Finally, one 
 night they cut a hole through the reed wall 
 of the house and stole fifty articles of wear- 
 ing-apparel. They fortunately disturbed 
 none of the sleeping inmates ; for had any 
 of them been awakened they would have 
 been silenced by stones from a pile of 
 stones the burglars had been accumulating 
 for use. 
 
 Mr. Cargill determined to show the na- 
 tives his love for them, by caring for their 
 bodies as well as their souls ; and for this 
 end he visited them frequently at their 
 
 20* 
 
234 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 houses, and mingled much with them. This 
 course of conduct soon brought about bene- 
 ficial results at Lakemba, as it afterwards 
 did everywhere through the islands, so that 
 soon Mr. Cargill reported, — 
 
 '' We are now free from robberies and in- 
 sult, and live in great peace : your mission- 
 aries and cause are respected by the chief 
 and natives : so that the mission appears to 
 have obtained a firm and permanent esta- 
 blishment here." 
 
 Tui Nayau was, in the mean time, se- 
 cretly opposing Christianity, while Toki, his 
 brother, was doing the same openly. Mr. 
 Calvert suspected the state of affairs, and 
 went one day to the king, telling him that 
 he wished to have an understanding with 
 him on the subject of the lotu ; that two 
 persons at the town of Nasangkalu had re- 
 nounced heathenism, and others desired to 
 do the same ; and he begged permission for 
 any so disposed to be allowed to become 
 Christians without molestation. He assured 
 the king that, so far from the Christians 
 failing in due respect, tribute, or labor, they 
 
LAKEMBA. 235 
 
 would be taught that it was their duty to 
 obey the laws in these matters. 
 
 Both of the chiefs said that Christianity 
 was " a very good thing," and promised that 
 the people should be free to worship God if 
 they pleased. Mr. Calvert was cheered by 
 this success, and the next day set out for 
 Nasangkalu. On the way he met two women, 
 who told him that they were just returning 
 from the town, where the chief had sent 
 them to forbid any of the people to become 
 Christians, and to order any who should dis- 
 obey him to leave the town. Mr. Calvert 
 went on his way, and found the message had 
 produced its effect, and none of the people 
 would even listen to him. One of the 
 natives, however, was so convinced of the 
 truth of the new religion that he left the 
 town and became a servant to a Tongan 
 near the mission- house. He profited so well 
 by the instruction given him that he was 
 afterward sent as a teacher to Vatoa, near 
 Ono, and there labored faithfully and suc- 
 cessfully, till he closed a useful life by a 
 happy death. 
 
236 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Williams and his wife ar- 
 rived at Lakemba in July, 1840. They 
 remained on this circuit, which was too large 
 for one missionary. 
 
 The islands near Lakemba were enlight- 
 ened by the gospel at the same time with 
 its spread at Ono. It was everywhere first 
 opposed, and then triumphant over heathen- 
 ism. At Oneata, about forty miles from 
 Lakemba, a Fijian teacher labored together 
 with two Tahitians, already mentioned, and 
 Mr. Cross and Mr. Calvert, while at La- 
 kemba, paid frequent visits to them. The 
 results of these efforts began to be manifest 
 in the increase of conversions, till the ma- 
 jority of the people were Christians. 
 
 Early in 1842 a new chapel was built, 
 with great labor, and, as the missionaries 
 thought, far too large. But just then the 
 King of Lakemba sent a message by a 
 heathen Oneata priest, requesting that all 
 would lotu, as it was not desirable for so 
 small an island to be divided. Many were 
 also waiting for this permission, and forth- 
 with the head chief, the priests, and remain- 
 
LAKEMBA. 237 
 
 ing heathen of Oneata professed Chris- 
 tianity, and helped to finish the chapel, 
 which was now just the right size for the 
 whole of the inhabitants to assemble in. 
 
 In April, 1849, the new chapel was opened 
 and filled with earnest worshippers. These 
 Oneata people are very industrious and en- 
 terprising. Besides planting abundance of 
 food, and manufacturing articles for tribute, 
 they have excelled their neighbors in com- 
 merce, thus enlarging their means of com- 
 munication with other parts of the group, 
 whence they obtained various commodities 
 which were not made among themselves. 
 On becoming Christians, they spread dili- 
 gently the knowledge of the gospel wherever 
 they voyaged : so that in many places they 
 were made useful. 
 
238 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ONO. 
 
 The earnest pleadings for a missionary's 
 visit to the native church at this island were 
 a source of great anxiety to Mr. Calvert, 
 who was laboring alone at Lakemba. Al- 
 ready he had twenty islands under his care. 
 The voyage occupied weeks, sometimes 
 months, even in a good canoe, — which was 
 hard to procure. More than all this, he 
 had a wife and child, who must be left alone 
 and unprotected among this ferocious and 
 savage people. 
 
 Appalled by these dangers and difficulties, 
 Mr. Calvert faltered. Then his wife spoke 
 with the courage of a Christian heroine. 
 She had come to Fiji to be a helpmeet, not 
 a hindrance, to her husband. She also had 
 come to work for God, and she knew he 
 would protect her and her child. There- 
 
ONO. 239 
 
 fore she said to him, ''Do you intend to 
 go?" "How can I?" he replied. "Why 
 not?" she calmly asked. " How can I leave 
 you alone ?" " It would be much better," 
 replied the noble woman, " to leave me alone 
 than to neglect so many people. If you can 
 arrange for the work to be carried on here, 
 you ought to go." It was enough. Mr. 
 Calvert resolved to go. Fresh news from 
 the islands made the case more urgent. At 
 Ono, as at Vatoa, the Christian religion w^as 
 progressing, but at Ono sad events had oc- 
 curred. Elated by his new position, the head 
 teacher grew careless in the performance of 
 his duties, and finally fell into open sin. 
 This state of things made a visit from a 
 missionary still more desirable; and, happily, 
 just at this time a large canoe from Tonga 
 arrived at Lakemba. It was commanded 
 by a brother-in-law of King George; and 
 arrangements were easily made with him to 
 take Mr. Calvert to Ono. 
 
 They first visited Vatoa, where they found 
 things in a prosperous condition. The 
 teacher had been there five weeks, laboring 
 
240 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 industriously, and witli such success that 
 Mr. Calvert found the chief could read better 
 than his instructor. 
 
 This chief had several wives ; but he se- 
 lected the oldest one, the mother of bis 
 children, and was married to her by Mr. 
 Calvert, who during his visit married 
 twelve couples and baptized two persons. 
 The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society 
 instructed their missionaries not to admit 
 as a member of a church, even on trial, any 
 one who had more than one wife. They ad- 
 hered strictly to this rule, and found that 
 the difficulties involved in it yielded to the 
 firm enforcement of right principle. House- 
 holds once turbulent and noisy became 
 peaceful and quiet. The discarded wives 
 were provided for, and the people generally 
 were very willing to conform to the Chris- 
 tian rule. 
 
 Mr. Calvert hastened on to Ono, where he 
 found that the accounts he had heard of the 
 wonderful work accomplished had not been 
 exaggerated. There was cheering evidence 
 
ONO. 241 
 
 that many had " received the Spirit" and 
 were leading consistent Christian lives. 
 
 Many came eagerly to Mr. Calvert to be 
 baptized and married. He baptized two 
 hundred and thirty- three persons and mar- 
 ried sixty-six couples. He found also several 
 young men anxious to be educated for teach- 
 ers, to go to other parts of Fiji. 
 
 With all this encouragement, Mr. Calvert 
 found much opposition on the part of the 
 many heathen on the island, who were angry 
 and alarmed at the progress of the new re- 
 ligion. Their ill will at last grew so strong 
 that it was feared there would be war before 
 Mr. Calvert left the island. Among the 
 causes of this opposition was the fact that 
 one of the Christians, among several wives 
 whom he discarded, put away one who was 
 related to a heathen of great self-importance. 
 This man regarded it as a personal insult,, 
 and took up the matter very warmly. Mr. 
 Calvert succeeded, however, in arranging 
 affairs so that no actual rupture occurred 
 between the parties. 
 
 But out of an event which took place at 
 
242 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 this time arose a war between Ono and La- 
 kemba, involving the Christian as well as 
 heathen inhabitants. A young girl was con- 
 verted and baptized who had been betrothed 
 to the old heathen king of Lakemba, who 
 already had thirty wives. After her con- 
 version she refused to become his wife : he 
 resented her refusal, and undertook to com- 
 pel her compliance with her engagement. 
 This was the ground of a war, which was 
 conducted with spirit and determination on 
 both sides. The Ono people stood very firm 
 in their adherence to the right, and their 
 firmness encouraged Christians in other 
 places. The cause of the true religion pros- 
 pered amidst all these apparent obstacles to 
 its progress. The king did not succeed in 
 his purpose, and peace was, after a time, 
 made. 
 
 During the war the Christians and the 
 heathen had been very harmonious in Ono, 
 but after its conclusion the old enmity of 
 the latter to the former began to show itself 
 in reviling and persecution. The patient 
 endurance of this on the part of the Chris- 
 
ONO. 243 
 
 tians had in time its usual effect of con- 
 ciliating and softening their enemies. Be- 
 fore long they ceased their opposition, and 
 ■ sought to know more of Christianity. 
 
 Not long after peace had been concluded, 
 Mr. Waterhouse, the general superintendent 
 of the missions, with several of the mission- 
 aries, visited Ono. The people were expect- 
 ing the arrival of the ship, and awaited it 
 at the chief town. 
 
 Mr. Waterhouse found all the chiefs seated 
 under wide-spreading trees, waiting for 
 them. He then addressed them in the open 
 air, as none of the chapels would have held 
 the people. After service he made inquiries 
 into the war, its causes, and the manner in 
 which it was conducted. He was led to the 
 conclusion that the Christian party had 
 shown remarkable forbearance and mildness 
 in their behavior. Many of the heathen 
 were induced to receive Christianity, to see 
 what was the secret of the extraordinary 
 power it had over their neighbors and 
 friends. 
 
 This visit had been a memorable one t) 
 
242 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 this time arose a war between Ono and La- 
 kemba, involving the Christian as well as 
 heathen inhabitants. A young girl was con- 
 verted and baptized who had been betrothed 
 to the old heathen king of Lakemba, who 
 already had thirty wives. After her con- 
 version she refused to become his wife : he 
 resented her refusal, and undertook to com- 
 pel her compliance with her engagement. 
 This was the ground of a war, which was 
 conducted with spirit and determination on 
 both sides. The Ono people stood very firm 
 in their adherence to the right, and their 
 firmness encouraged Christians in other 
 places. The cause of the true religion pros- 
 pered amidst all these apparent obstacles to 
 its progress. The king did not succeed in 
 his purpose, and peace was, after a time, 
 made. 
 
 During the war the Christians and the 
 heathen had been very harmonious in Ono, 
 but after its conclusion the old enmity of 
 the latter to the former began to show itself 
 in reviling and persecution. The patient 
 endurance of this on the part of the Chris- 
 
ONO. 243 
 
 tians had in time its usual effect of con- 
 ciliating and softening their enemies. Be- 
 fore long they ceased their opposition, and 
 sought to know more of Christianity. 
 
 Not long after peace had been concluded, 
 Mr. Waterhouse, the general superintendent 
 of the missions, with several of the mission- 
 aries, visited Ono. The people were expect- 
 ing the arrival of the ship, and awaited it 
 at the chief town. 
 
 Mr. Waterhouse found all the chiefs seated 
 under wide-spreading trees, waiting for 
 them. He then addressed them in the open 
 air, as none of the chapels would have held 
 the people. After service he made inquiries 
 into the war, its causes, and the manner in 
 which it was conducted. He was led to the 
 conclusion that the Christian party had 
 shown remarkable forbearance and mildness 
 in their behavior. Many of the heathen 
 were induced to receive Christianity, to see 
 what was the secret of the extraordinary 
 power it had over their neighbors and 
 friends. 
 
 This visit had been a memorable one t) 
 
244 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the islanders, and had increased their desire 
 to have a missionary living among them. 
 But the number of missionaries was too 
 small to enable them to spare one for this 
 distant island. They resolved, however, to 
 send them a teacher, Silas Faone, a Tongan 
 of zeal and piety, who had labored success- 
 fully elsewhere. 
 
 The following year — 1842 — Mr. Williams 
 visited Vatoa and Ono. At Vatoa he found 
 the little church prospering; and he thus 
 writes from Ono : — " The people here wept 
 for joy when they beheld me accompanied 
 by my noble friend Silas Faone, who is to 
 take the superintendency of our work here. 
 The women new-matted the chapel, and the 
 men were engaged in making us a feast. I 
 had not been long on the island before I was 
 informed that the people waited for m^e to 
 ask a blessing on the food which they had 
 brought and arranged neatly before my 
 door, comprising twenty-five baked pigs, 
 two turtles, with fish, native puddings, two 
 hundred bunches of ripe bananas, and hun- 
 dreds of yams and cocoanuts, — abundantly 
 
ONO. 245 
 
 testifying that the people did not love in 
 word only. Some time after they brought 
 me a fine mat, as a present; and a bundle of 
 native cloth, as an expression of their love, 
 was given to their new teacher. During 
 my stay I was fully employed amongsi 
 them." 
 
 Mr. Williams baptized nearly two hundred 
 persons, and found a church- membership of 
 three hundred, many of them of undoubted 
 Christian faith and life. The change in them 
 seemed almost miraculous, and could be ex- 
 plained by nothing but the power of God 
 manifested in them. 
 
 A heathen chief from Mbau, who had set 
 out with the purpose of going to Tonga, had 
 lately drifted to Ono, where he stayed some 
 weeks. Instead of being killed and eaten 
 with his crew, in Fiji fashion, he was sur- 
 prised at receiving the utmost kindness and 
 hospitality. After having had a full oppor- 
 tunity of watching the Christians, he said, 
 on his arrival at Lakemba, ''I now know 
 that Christianity is true and good. I wish 
 to become a Christian, — which I shall do 
 
 21* 
 
246 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 before long ; and, when I do, I shall abandon 
 all my old ways. Fijians will be in earnest 
 when they embrace religion." 
 
 There remained an important point, upon 
 which the effect of Christianity was yet to 
 be seen. This was the matter of tribute to 
 the chiefs. These latter were much afraid 
 that the lotu would render the people inde- 
 pendent of their claims. The time for pay- 
 ing tribute came. Ono was the only place 
 of importance where the new religion pre- 
 vailed universally ; and upon it the eyes of 
 all parties were anxiously fixed. The people 
 paid their tribute cheerfully, and thus ac- 
 knowledged subjection to the authority of 
 their government. This produced an im- 
 pression in favor of Christianity through all 
 the islands. 
 
 They now had their two Tongan teachers, 
 together with several natives. They read 
 eagerly and intelligently the books furnished 
 by the printing-press. 
 
 In October, 1845, Ono was again visited 
 by a missionary, who was gladdened by 
 tidings of a great work of good which had 
 
ONO. 247 
 
 been going on there. One Sunday, while 
 the service at the adjacent island of Ndoi 
 was being conducted by Nathan Thataki, the 
 people began to weep aloud. The preacher 
 was much affected, and sank down, unable 
 to proceed, A note was sent across to Ono 
 to the head teacher, Silas, who immediately 
 came, and again assembled the people for 
 service; but the emotion and excitement 
 were so great that he was not able to preach. 
 They then prayed together, and, as in the 
 olden time, the Holy Ghost fell upon them 
 in great power. Silas begged the people to 
 go with him to Ono, and they crossed over, 
 dividing themselves into parties for the dif- 
 ferent chapels where prayer-meetings were 
 held. The holy influence now spread on all 
 hands. Old and young became alarmed and 
 earnest about their souls. In a few weeks, 
 about two hundred persons showed good 
 signs of having been . truly saved. Great 
 was the joy of these new converts, and whole 
 nights, as well as days, were spent in praise 
 and prayer. Several said they should like 
 to die soon, lest they should sin again ; and 
 
248 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 many offered to go to the most dangerous 
 parts of Fiji, to tell about the salvation 
 which had made them so happy. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EEWA. 
 
 In the year 1840, that important agent, 
 the printing-press, was removed from La- 
 kemba to Rewa. Mr. Cargill and Mr. 
 Jagger arrived with it in July. The work 
 of teaching had been begun by Messrs. 
 Cross and Hunt; but the first had now 
 removed to Viwa, the latter to Somo- 
 somo. 
 
 The new-comers were met, on their arrival, 
 by Christians and heathens, — the former bent 
 on welcoming, the other on robbing them. 
 Some of the cases containing goods were 
 opened on board of the canoes in their pass- 
 age from the vessel to the snore, and their 
 contents stolen. One of these robberies was 
 
KEWA. 249 
 
 committed in the presence of the missionary. 
 Two chiefs who were on board left the canoe 
 a short distance from the proper landing- 
 place, and went into the low bush, where 
 they ordered a certain case to be brought 
 to them. The missionary was then standing 
 on it. They supposed, from its weight, that 
 it must contain hatchets. With much toil 
 they finally broke it open where it stood ; 
 but instead of hatchets they found only part 
 of the printing-press. Disappointed in this, 
 they ordered a larger and lighter box to be 
 brought to them. The canoe was then per- 
 mitted to go on its way. The king was im- 
 mediately informed of this bold robbery, 
 and was very angry. The same evening the 
 box was returned to the owners, — showing 
 that the king had been prompt in his action. 
 The missionaries found in him a friend and 
 protector of Christianity, though he was still 
 a heathen. His brother, Ratu I^ggara-ni- 
 nggio;— '' Cave of a sAar/^,"— joined heartily 
 with the chiefs and priests in their opposi- 
 tion to and persecution of the Christians. 
 The missionaries found a small house 
 
250 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 ready for them, but no chapel. They held 
 service with the little company of converts 
 in the open air, but were often interrupted 
 by the stones with which Eatu's party pelted 
 them. One of the native Christians opened 
 his dwelling for worship; but his goods were 
 taken from him, and he was threatened with 
 death if he persisted. Then application was 
 made to the king for permission to build a 
 chapel. He not only granted this, but gave 
 them ground near the mission premises. 
 
 When Ratu heard of this, he was exceed- 
 ingly angry, and vowed that he would kill 
 any man who dared to help in building the 
 chapel. He might have wrought much mis- 
 chief in his anger ; but the king and the 
 missionaries thought it would be the part of 
 wisdom to defer the building for the present. 
 
 Trouble soon came to them in another 
 form. In September a violent type of in- 
 fluenza made its first appearance in Rewa. 
 
 The people were much terrified, and very 
 generally attributed it to the mission families, 
 some declaring that they had brought it 
 from England with them, while others re- 
 
REWA. 251 
 
 garded it as a punishment from the God 
 they worshipped. 
 
 The missionaries were diligent and suc- 
 cessful in their care and attention to the 
 sick, thereby proving to them the sincerity 
 of their interest in them. 
 
 In October Eatu resolved that he would 
 put an end to the new religion at once. With 
 two companions he waited by the river for 
 the return of the missionaries to the mission- 
 house. Their intention was to shoot the two 
 hated teachers down as they crossed. After 
 waiting for some time, they concluded not to 
 shoot the missionaries, but to wait for the 
 .Tongans. Thus the two men of God passed 
 safely by. The Tongans did not come ; but, 
 late at night, as the chief and his two com- 
 panions passed by the place where the Chris- 
 tians were holding worship, they stopped and 
 fired their muskets into the window. Again 
 God protected his people, and no one was 
 hurt. 
 
 Ratu did not cease his efforts to incite the 
 people to the persecution of the Christians. 
 A fire l)roke out near the mission pre- 
 
252 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 mises, and, eager for plunder, the natives 
 came in crowds, Batu among them. His 
 brother, Thokonatu, or PhilHps, was more 
 friendly to the missionaries, and protected 
 their houses from the fire and from the 
 rapacious people. The next attempt was to 
 break up the congregation when at worship, 
 by pelting them with stones; but this too 
 failed, as no one was hurt, and no one moved 
 until the service was over. Their dangers, 
 which became more frequent, kept the mission 
 families in alarm ; nor were they reassured 
 when, on the 31st, they were awakened by 
 strange noises on the other side of the river. 
 On running out, they saw, for the first time, 
 the horrid sight of the dragging of human 
 bodies, seventeen of which were just being 
 handed out of a canoe, having been sent 
 from Mbau as the Rewa share of two 
 hundred and sixty persons killed in the 
 Backing of towns belonging to Verata. 
 
 The mission station had now become the 
 centre of a small settlement; for several 
 Tongans had built houses near, one of which 
 was used as a place of worship. Some few 
 
REWA. 253 
 
 Rewans also dared to come out from amonc' 
 
 o 
 
 the heathen and make their home near the 
 missionaries, to whose teaching they grate- 
 fully listened; while others who were sick 
 came to live across the river, that they might 
 get the benefit of medical care. Joel Bulu, 
 a Tongan teacher who had been brought 
 from Lakemba to help in printing, gave the 
 little settlement the name of Zoar. " For," 
 said he, "at the heathen places the people 
 are diseased, and they cannot cure them ; 
 their souls are sinful, and they cannot save 
 them ; but when they come here they get a 
 cure for body and soul; their bodies are 
 generally healed, and, receiving instruction, 
 they believe in God, and their souls live 
 thereby. Therefore this place is a true 
 Zoar." 
 
 Early in 1840, a terrible storm visited 
 the island, destroying much property and 
 deluging the houses of the common peo- 
 ple. The missionaries and their families 
 took refuge in a single apartment of one of 
 the mission houses, which was on a raised 
 foundation; but the king sent to offer them 
 
 22 
 
254 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 a safe residence in case the mission house 
 should fall. 
 
 Among other devastation caused by this 
 unusually heavy storm, a yam-bed belonging 
 to the king was much injured. He there- 
 fore ordered the yams to be dug up, and 
 taken as a token of his love to the mission- 
 aries. This caused great surprise among 
 his people, who remonstrated with him for 
 taking up the yams before the time and 
 before the offering of the first-fruits to the 
 gods. The king, however, was resolute, 
 saying, ''The gods of Fiji are false and 
 weak ; and, as they have not prevented the 
 earth from being washed away from my 
 yams, I will not present these yams to them, 
 but to the ambassadors of the true God." 
 Yet the king was not ready to give up en- 
 tirely the service of these impotent gods for 
 that of the one true God. 
 
 Slowly, but surely, however, the little band 
 of Christians increased in numbers and in 
 strength. A Rewa chief at last publicly 
 renounced his old religion to become a 
 Christian. 
 
KEWA. 255 
 
 About this time Captain Hudson, of the 
 United States Exploring Expedition, called 
 at Rewa. He was of much service to the 
 mission, by the decided influence which he 
 exerted on behalf of religion through his 
 words and conduct. 
 
 On the 2d of June, 1840, overcome by 
 her recent alarms and exhausted by her 
 arduous duties, Mrs. Cargill died. Her fel- 
 low-laborers felt most keenly the loss of her 
 zealous aid in their great work, and the 
 example of her gentle piety. The energies 
 of her life were given to this work for six 
 years ; and she died urging those around her 
 to more earnest ze?J in the missionary cause. 
 Among the people her very lovely character 
 had influenced their opinion of her religion 
 in the most favorable manner; and they yet 
 remember and speak of her with much love. 
 She requested that her children should be 
 taken to England to be educated, Mr. 
 Hunt went directly to Mr. Cargill as soon 
 as he heard of his bereavement, and urged 
 him to come to Somo-somo; but Mr. Cargill 
 knew that it was best to remove his mother- 
 
256 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 less children from Fiji, and as soon as pos- 
 sible he sailed for the colonies. 
 
 Mr. Jagger was now left alone at E-ewa. 
 His circuit was large, and the management 
 of the printing-press — from which the sta- 
 tion was supplied with books — depended 
 upon him. He had, however, efficient help 
 in the Tongan teachers. As a physician he 
 was renowned among the natives. Some- 
 times he had three or four sick priests under 
 his care, who came to him for aid after their 
 gods had failed them. Many of his patients 
 received spiritual as well as physical healing. 
 
 A young and influential Mbau chief, named 
 Matanambamba, had been living for some 
 time in Rewa. His father was killed when 
 Thakombau took Mbau and thus crushed 
 the revolt in which he had been a leader. 
 The young man at that time fled to Kewa, 
 and there waited to revenge his father's 
 death. He hated the religion which enjoins 
 forgiveness of enemies, and heartily assisted 
 Ratu Nggara in his persecution of the 
 Christians. After some months he became 
 ill, and neither Fijian treatment nor Fijian 
 
REWA. 257 
 
 gods did him any good. Terrible dreams 
 afflicted him, in which he thought that he 
 was being punished by the missionaries' God 
 for his persecution of them and his attempts 
 to kill them. At last, greatly humbled, he 
 came to the mission station. Mr. Jagger 
 attended him medically, his own friends sup- 
 plying him with food. 
 
 He was now under direct Christian in- 
 fluence, in daily attendance on family wor- 
 ship ; and, fearing greatly lest he was going 
 to die, his heart became softened in genuine 
 contrition for his sins. He was told to pray 
 for mercy. He asked to be taught suitable 
 words; ''for," said he, ''great is my desire 
 to pray to God, but I know not what word? 
 to take up." 
 
 He went to see a poor man, named Savea, 
 who had been cured of a loathsome disease 
 and had become a Christian. Savea said, 
 "I was friendless, forsaken, destitute, and 
 treated as a dog ; but I fled to the servants 
 of God, swallowed much medicine, and trusted 
 in the Lord. When it was night, I prayed, 
 
 22* 
 
258 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 when morning came, I prayed; and by doing 
 this I got well." 
 
 The young chief would once have scorned 
 to associate with one of such low rank as 
 Savea; now he said to him, ''From this 
 time we will be friends." 
 
 Matanambamba recovered, and was led 
 to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of his 
 sins. He learned to read and write, and 
 was earnest in his efforts to lead others to 
 Christ. 
 
 Katu Nggara was banished from Eewa 
 for a great offence of which he had been 
 guilty. After an absence of some time, he 
 returned. The king was not reconciled to 
 him; and, from Batu's character and in- 
 fluence, a civil war was feared. Mr. Water- 
 house was then visiting the islands ; and he 
 presented whales' teeth to the king, with 
 an entreaty that Ratu might be forgiven. 
 
 The offering was favorably received, but 
 the king would not consent to full forgive- 
 ness of his brother. Tanoa of Mbau made 
 a similar application to the king, which was 
 disregarded. The priest who bore Tanoa' s 
 
REWA. 259 
 
 message was indignant at this, and abused 
 ■the king for showing more favor to the 
 strangers from a foreign land. To this the 
 king replied, '' I know that they are come 
 out of love to me, and that their words are 
 tnie. They speak like friends, and desire 
 good. They do not come here to tempt. 
 They wish this land to be prospered. No 
 evil arises from their purposes. We are 
 enriched by the property they bring." The 
 god in the priest answered, " It is not good. 
 How is it that you do not accept the offering 
 that I bring?" ''Because," said the king, 
 *' the speech of the Fijians is contrary. You 
 say it is good not to war ; and then you will 
 go to my brother and tell him that it is good 
 to fight. If you say one thing to me, you 
 will say quite otherwise at Mbau." 
 
 The king yielded at last to the solicitations 
 of the Rewa chiefs and the missionaries, and 
 was reconciled to his brother, who was much 
 more kindly disposed towards the mission- 
 aries in consequence of their efforts in his 
 behalf. 
 
 Eighteen adults and six children were, m 
 
260 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 the autumn of this year, baptized, and the 
 spread of true spiritual religion was most 
 manifest and cheering. The schools also 
 prospered, and the diligence of the scholars 
 increased as the supply of books became 
 larger. 
 
 A Tongan, whose life had been spent in 
 Fiji, where he had grown up a heathen, in 
 the closest intimacy with the chiefs and 
 people of Rewa, became truly converted, and 
 received at baptism the name of Job. He 
 soon learned to read and write, and was 
 zealous in trying to do good. He had fre- 
 quent opportunities of talking with large 
 parties at the king's house. One day, in 
 order to bring about a conversation, the 
 king complained about Job's planting, say- 
 ing that there was no need for Christian 
 people to do that. Job, in contending for 
 the necessity of industry, referred to the 
 Bible. "Oh!" said the king, ''how should 
 you know any thing about books ? You have 
 never come from Tonga or England, but have 
 dwelt in Fiji all your life." '' That's true," 
 rejoined Job; "but I can read a little, and 
 
REWA. 261 
 
 thus I know something. Other chiefs said, 
 " It's a strange thing that when a man joins 
 the lotu he becomes wise quickly, and con- 
 tends that the lotu is quite true, and Jehovah 
 the only God. How is it ?" The king said, 
 '' They read, and thus know ; or else they 
 ask the missionaries." ^'But how is it that 
 they do not fear us?" asked one of the chiefs. 
 "Oh," replied the king, ''they do not fear 
 to die; they give themselves up to their 
 God; and life or death is good to them. 
 But this is not the case with us. When we 
 are sick, we ask where we shall go that we 
 may live. We then run to one place and 
 to another, that we may get strong. But 
 these lotu people act otherwise." 
 
 On another occasion the king said, with 
 great emphasis, "The lotu makes all our 
 land to move !" 
 
 The king was right. That gospel which 
 had "turned the world upside down had 
 come hither also," and already its power 
 was felt. It was no small victory gained 
 when that mission church numbered its few 
 first converts. They needed sincerity and 
 
262 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 firmness to enable them to come out from 
 ^,11 that they had ever deemed most sacred 
 and binding, and which their fellow-country- 
 men still regarded as such. Every form of 
 opposition, from derision to the harshest per- 
 secution, withstood these early confessors; 
 but they kept firm, and when others saw 
 that these, who had been men of blood and 
 lust and lawlessness, had become men of 
 peace and purity, and remained so, they 
 greatly wondered. 
 
 A mission station which had been esta- 
 blished at Kandavu — an island under the 
 power of Kewa — with an encouraging pros- 
 pect of success, had to be abandoned at this 
 time, Batu Nggara having warned the Chris- 
 tian teachers to leave the place if they cared 
 for their lives. 
 
 Other discouragements tried the soul of 
 the solitary missionary in Rewa. Bodies 
 were frequently brought opposite the mission 
 premises, and cooked and eaten with fiendish 
 rejoicings. A Christian woman was killed 
 while fishing, to feast the people employed 
 in building the king's house ; and only the 
 
EEWA. 263 
 
 courage and prompt action of Mr. Jagger 
 rescued the body from this sacrilege. 
 
 At Suva also things had lost their cheer- 
 ing aspect. The town was engaged in con- 
 tinual war with the Eewans. The teacher 
 feared to remain, as the town was in constant 
 danger of being burnt, — which catastrophe 
 came at last, in 1843, when about one hun- 
 dred persons were killed, and most of them 
 eaten. 
 
 At the mission house there was family- 
 sorrow in addition to the trouble caused 
 by these events. Two of the missionary's 
 children had died, and he himself had a very 
 severe attack of illness. On his recovery, 
 much time had to be given to the re-thatch- 
 ing of the house. The workmen employed 
 were idle, incompetent, and arrant thieves. 
 Thus, the work was badly done, and, in spite 
 of the utmost vigilance, many things were 
 stolen. Under the weight of hindrances 
 and trials such as these, and in the presence 
 of scenes, none the less horrible because 
 familiar, which cannot be described, the mis- 
 sionaries and teachers labored diligently on. 
 
264 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 A few held steadfastly to their faith, and in 
 the darkness signs of the dawn were seen 
 by the ''patient, toiling watchers." They 
 trusted in God, and were not cast down, be- 
 lieving that the gospel would yet prevail in 
 Fiji if they worked and waited long enough. 
 The printing-press was not idle in these 
 days of discouragement ; and, a fresh supply 
 of types and paper having been sent from 
 England, it was not long before books were 
 published in four of the Fijian dialects. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PEOGRESS IN LAKEMBA. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Williams arrived at La- 
 kemba, and very soon built himself a com- 
 fortable house. The missionaries heretofore 
 had trusted to the natives for dwellings, 
 and therefore generally had uncomfortable 
 houses, ill adapted to the convenience or 
 health of English families. They soon fol- 
 
PKOGRESS IN LAKEMBA. 265 
 
 lowed Mr. Williams's example, and, as they 
 were able to do so built houses for them- 
 selves. 
 
 When the mission house at Viwa was 
 built, it consisted of two stories and an 
 attic. None of the others had built so high ; 
 and the chiefs from Mbau came to see it. 
 They gazed with wonder and admiration at 
 the flat ceiling and the even walls, and broke 
 into exclamations of delight. 
 
 In 1843 Mr. Williams removed to Somo- 
 somo, and Mr. Calvert was again alone. He 
 began now to suffer much embarrassment 
 from two different parties of foreigners on 
 the island, — the Papists, who were trying to 
 establish a mission there, and the Tongans, 
 whose indolence made them poor, while their 
 pride and influence caused them to be hated 
 and feared. 
 
 The Protestants had a decided advantage 
 over the Papists, in the influence of their 
 domestic life and the presence and spirit of 
 their wives. The people were, as a general 
 thing, much attached to the Protestant 
 
 23 
 
2\ 6 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 fanilies, and almost as universally they dis- 
 liked the priests. 
 
 The principal difficulty the missionaries 
 had to encounter with the Tongans was their 
 extreme idleness, which led them into various 
 disorderly practices. They would not work, 
 they must live, and they were content to 
 depend on the Fijians. The missionaries 
 therefore directed their efforts specially to 
 this one point, — to teach them honest in- 
 dustry, by precept and by practice. These 
 efforts were not unsuccessful ; for soon a 
 somewhat better state of things began to 
 manifest itself. The Tongans are a bold, 
 intelligent, and powerful race, who exert 
 much influence; and they must always be 
 either an important assistance or a great 
 hindrance to the labors of the missionaries. 
 They are still a source of perplexity and 
 trouble to the church, although many of 
 them have commended true religion to all 
 around them by word and deed. 
 
 In 1844, Mr. Lyth was appointed to assist 
 Mr. Calvert at Lakemba. The church now 
 numbered nine hundred and sixty-three 
 
PEOGKESS IN LAKEMBA. 26*/ 
 
 members. The medical skill of Mr. Lyth 
 was in constant demand, and this alone kept 
 him very busy. Soon after his arrival, 
 Toki, the inveterate hater and opposer of 
 Christianity, died suddenly. By his death 
 a great obstacle to the progress of religion 
 in Lakemba was removed. Both here and 
 in the surrounding islands a new spirit 
 seemed to be awakened. The people were 
 apparently moved by a sincere conviction 
 of their sinfulness and trust in Jesus Christ. 
 Among a number who had been merely 
 nominal Christians, and who now became 
 really changed, was Jane, the daughter of 
 King Tui Nayau, and the wife of a chief of 
 high rank. When she became a true be- 
 liever in Jesus, her heart was touched with 
 deep anxiety for her friends. Immediately 
 she went to the king her father, and found 
 several persons with him. Sitting down by 
 his side, and leaning against him, she said, 
 " Sire, I have come to beg of you to aban- 
 don heathenism and embrace Christianity. 
 Heathenism is false and useless ; religion is 
 good, and a very great matter. I now know 
 
268 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 that religion is good. The Lord has worked 
 mightily in my soul. I now know the ex- 
 cellency of religion; and I have therefore 
 come to beseech you to turn from falsehood 
 to truth." She wept much. The king said, 
 " Have you only now found that religion is 
 good ?" She replied, " I have only known 
 well about religion a few days. The Lord 
 has changed my heart. Had I known be- 
 fore, I should have come to you. On finding 
 the power, I felt great love to you ; and I 
 have now come before you to beg you at 
 once to decide." He said, "You are right 
 and true. Most of our relatives are on your 
 side. I shall wait a little longer, and then 
 decide. I build no temples. I do not attend 
 to heathen worship. There are only a few 
 of us remaining heathens." 
 
 Lakemba was at this time threatened with 
 war from Mbau. In former days the ex- 
 cited people would have flocked to the tem- 
 ples with offerings to consult the priests. 
 Now the temples were deserted, and no 
 priests were to be seen. The town was 
 fortified, and many began to discuss the 
 
PROGRESS IN LAKEMBA. 269 
 
 question whether it would not be better for 
 all to become Christians at once. 
 
 The deepest anxiety was felt by the mis- 
 sionaries' families ; for to gain the mass of 
 the people, even as nominal Christians, was 
 to throw a heavy weight on the right side 
 of the scale. Tui Nayau at last announced, 
 on Friday, January 9, 1846, that the follow- 
 ing Sabbath he would, for the first time, 
 worship Jehovah. But the influence of 
 many who still opposed Christianity dis- 
 suaded him from keeping his resolution. 
 
 Under the pressure of growing excite- 
 ment, the Sunday following was fixed for 
 the king's profession of Christianity, and 
 every thing went well till the Saturday, 
 when the counsels of heathen chiefs were 
 strongly backed by Eomish priests, who pre- 
 ferred Tui Nayau's remaining a heathen to 
 his becoming a Protestant; and once more 
 the king drew back. 
 
 Wetasau, the chief next in rank, had for- 
 merly been very obstinate in his resistance 
 to the truth; but now his mind was changed, 
 and nothing could longer deter him from 
 
 23* 
 
272 IHE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 In this year the mission lost one of its 
 best native preachers, — a Tongan, named 
 Julius Naulivou. He was a man of high 
 rank and great influence. He had been 
 adopted, when quite young, by a former 
 king of Lakemba, but after he grew up he 
 returned to Tonga, where he was converted, 
 and then he went back to Lakemba that he 
 might preach the gospel to his companions 
 there. He died in perfect trust in Christ, 
 and with words of joyful praise upon his 
 lips. He had a friend named Wangki-i- 
 chalani, for whose conversion he had long 
 and earnestly prayed. Under the influence 
 of his peaceful death, Wangki and several 
 others forsook heathenism for the service of 
 God. 
 
 In 1848, a large chapel was built on 
 Nasangkalu, the third town in importance 
 on Lakemba. Wangki here used all his in- 
 fluence to persuade the people to lotu. The 
 teacher at this place had been a notorious 
 robber, but was now not only honest, but 
 willing to sufier loss and endure outrage. 
 
 Among the Levuka people — a sailor tribe 
 
PEOGRESS IN LAKEMBA. 273 
 
 ject to Mbau — was a chief who was a 
 notorious leader in every bold enterprise or 
 daring robbery. His hatred of the Tongans 
 and Christians was intense, and was mani- 
 fested in active efforts to put down the lotu 
 and harass the Tongans. 
 
 One evening Mr. Calvert improved a 
 favorable opportunity to explain fully to 
 him the doctrines of religion and urge upon 
 him its truth and its claims. The next 
 night the Levukan came again ; and, as he 
 listened and inquired, his conscience was 
 troubled and his heart subdued, until the 
 enemy of Christianity became its obedient 
 and earnest advocate. In proportion to his 
 former hate was his present love. He had 
 formerly gone through Fiji, carrying out- 
 rage and distress ; now he reconciled ene- 
 mies, and taught that man should love his 
 neighbor as himself. When the people won- 
 dered at the change in his conduct, he told 
 them of the change in his heart. He built, 
 at his own expense, a chapel for the people 
 in his own town, and made it the most 
 beautiful in the district. 
 
274 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 But the usual difficulty in such cases re- 
 mained with him. One thing he could not, 
 for some time, bring himself to do. He had 
 many wives, valuable to him for the wealth 
 and position which they gave him. The 
 struggle to give them up was long ; but in 
 the end the right conquered. The day when 
 his new chapel was opened for the worship 
 of God, he put away his many wives, and 
 was married to one. The effect of this step, 
 as a proof of his sincerity, and as an ex- 
 ample to other chiefs and people, can hardly 
 be appreciated. 
 
 In May, 1848, Mr. Calvert left Lakemba 
 for Viwa. Lakemba was his first station. 
 Others had at intervals labored there with 
 him, but he had spent ten years in steady 
 toil on this island, and whatever changes 
 had taken place in these ten years had been 
 mainly through his instrumentality. His 
 attachment to Lakemba was most fervent, 
 and his prayers for her temporal and spirit- 
 ual prosperity most earnest. Mr. Malvern 
 remained there, and was joined by Mr. 
 Watsford and his wife. These all labored 
 
PEOGEESS IN LAKEMBA. 275 
 
 faithfully, and the good work progressed in 
 their hinds. 
 
 In 1849, Mrs. Watsford, whose health had 
 long been failing, but who was most reluc- 
 tant to take her husband from his labors, 
 became so much worse that they were 
 obliged to leave Fiji immediately. 
 
 Tui Nayau was much attached to Mr. 
 Watsford ; and the morning he left he pre- 
 sented to him a necklace of whale's teeth, 
 and, kissing him, promised him he very soon 
 would lotu. New circumstances now oc- 
 curred to induce Tui Nayau to take this step. 
 Lakemba was threatened with war from 
 Mbau, and soon reports came of a large 
 army on its way to attack the island. The 
 week after Mr. Watsford left, Tui Nayau 
 made a public profession of his faith in 
 Christianity, in which he was joined by the 
 only remaining heathen priest and some of 
 his friends. 
 
 On hearing of this, the chief of the great 
 town of Nasangkalu ordered the drum to 
 be beaten for service, and together with 
 many of his people joined, for the first time, 
 
276 THE CANISIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 in the worship of Gcd. The following Sab- 
 bath was a day of great rejoicing on La- 
 kemba and the other islands whither the 
 news had travelled. Every opposition to 
 the whole people becoming Christian was 
 now removed. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ONO CONVERTED. 
 
 The church at Ono now demanded the 
 constant supervision of a missionary. Ac- 
 cordingly, it was decided, in 1846, that Mr. 
 Watsford should remain there at least a 
 year. He labored diligently with the church 
 and the schools, and also endeavored to in- 
 troduce improved methods of work among 
 the people. This he found very difficult, as 
 their prejudices were in favor of their old 
 ways. He succeeded, however, in showing 
 them how to manufacture their sinnet more 
 easily and more economically, and contrived 
 
ONO CONVERTED. 277 
 
 a macliine to assist them in rope-making. 
 He showed them how to boil down their 
 sugar-cane, and taught them the use of 
 arrow-root for the young and sick. He 
 thus improved their temporal condition, and 
 rendered himself acceptable and useful to 
 them as a physician. 
 
 Mr. Watsford and his family suffered many 
 privations from the delay in the arrival of 
 supplies. One of the trials incident to the 
 climate is thus described in a letter to some of 
 Mr. Watsford's co-laborers on the islands : — 
 " There cannot possibly be any place in the 
 world, I should think, as bad as Ono for 
 mosquitos. I thought Eewa was bad enough ; 
 but it is nothing to Ono. No rest day or 
 night. I cannot tell you how we have been 
 tormented. When your letters came, we 
 did not know what to do to get them read. 
 We could not sit down to it. We had to 
 walk, one with the candle and one reading, 
 and both thrashing at them with all our 
 might. We could not sit to get our food. 
 And, although we did every thing we could 
 to keep them out of the curtains, yet they 
 
 24 
 
278 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 get in in numbers, and night after night 
 we can get no sleep. Mrs. W. was wearied 
 out, and James was bitten most fearfully. 
 Very many of the people went to sleep at 
 Mana, an island free from mosquitos, on the 
 reef; and they advised us to go there, which 
 we did at last. We had a house taken there, 
 and lived there three weeks. We then came 
 back to Ono. Since then we have had hot 
 weather and fewer mosquitos ; but lately we 
 have had much rain, and they are now very 
 troublesome. I am scratching and kicking 
 with all my might while I write this. They 
 never tire nor stop to rest." 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Watsford was removed, and 
 no new appointment was made for Ono until 
 the following year, when Eev. David Hazle- 
 wood was appointed for this important sta- 
 tion. He was most favorably impressed by 
 the external appearance of the Christian 
 people, and by the great difference between 
 tliem and the heathen. He had brought 
 with him sixty copies of the New Testament 
 in the Fijian language, as the share belong- 
 ing to the place. They were to be bound ; 
 
ONO CONVERTED. 27^ 
 
 and book-binding was a new business to the 
 missionary. His brethren more experienced 
 in the business had given him some little 
 instruction; but he found folding and stitch- 
 ing rather awkward work. Soon some of 
 the native preachers offered their aid, and 
 after a little teaching they put the books 
 together in a style which he says librarians 
 might laugh at, but which was greatly ad- 
 mired and appreciated by the natives, who 
 eagerly bought them, paying for them chiefly 
 in sinnet. 
 
 In January, Mr. Hazlewood removed his 
 family to a small island on the barrier reef, 
 a mile or two from Ono, in order to escape 
 the intolerable torments inflicted by the 
 mosquitos. Here they remained several 
 months, comparatively comfortable, but at 
 great inconvenience to Mr. Hazlewood, who 
 was obliged to cross every day in a canoe, 
 thus exposing himself to danger and losing 
 much valuable time. 
 
 He was, on one occasion during these 
 months, subjected to great anxiety and dis- 
 tress on account of the residence of his 
 
280 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 family on the reef. He, with one of his 
 little girls, was at Ono, his wife and two 
 other children on the small reef-island. For 
 several days the wind had been strong, but 
 this day it increased to a violent hurricane. 
 Mr. Hazlewood was obliged to stay at Ono. 
 Through the night the roaring sea, the 
 howling wind, and the pouring rain com- 
 bined to make a most terrific tempest, so that 
 Mr. Hazlewood and one of the teachers sat 
 up to watch, lest the shaking house should 
 fall. So great was the tumult without, that 
 they did not hear the crash of a house which 
 fell but a few yards from them. Through 
 this long tempestuous night Mr. Hazlewood 
 listened to the howling hurricane, and 
 thought of his wife and children, separated 
 from him by the foaming sea, on the little 
 reef where any of the huge billows lashing 
 the shores might sweep them away into the 
 wild abyss. But he trusted in Him who 
 ruled the winds and the waves, and doubted 
 not that his treasures were safe in his hands. 
 When morning came, he went out and looked 
 towards the little island. The ruin and 
 
ONO CONVERTED. 281 
 
 desolation caused \)j the storm were to be 
 seen on every side of Ono ; but little could 
 be discerned on the reef. The trees were 
 still erect, although no house could be dis- 
 tinctly seen standing. At noon some of the 
 natives ventured over the still tossing sea, 
 and in the evening returned with the glad 
 news that all the family were safe. Their 
 house had fallen ; but they had first fled to 
 a small building which they had propped up 
 for the night, and when, in the morning, 
 the waves came dashing up into it, they 
 escaped farther from the shore, where they 
 built a temporary shed. The men who went 
 over had carried the small house in which 
 they first took refuge to a safer position, 
 and the family were sheltered therein. It 
 was not until the third day after the storm 
 that Mr. Hazlewood could cross to his 
 family; and even then the passage was 
 dangerous. 
 
 Mr. Hazelwood's stay in Ono was limited 
 to one year; and, accordingly, at the end of 
 that time he was removed to another station. 
 As the need of instruction on other islands 
 
 24* 
 
282 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 was now greater than yi this one, it was 
 thought inexpedient to station another mis- 
 sionary there. A Tongan teacher of deep 
 piety and earnest zeal — Joel Balu — was sent 
 to take the place of the missionary ; and he 
 proved his worth so well that he was after- 
 Wards ordained. After he had remained at 
 Ono for some time, other efficient teachers, 
 trained by Mr. Lyth, succeeded him ; and 
 Ono is now a thoroughly Christian island. 
 The missionary work has nowhere yet been 
 so speedily and permanently successful as in 
 this island. Fifty teachers have been raised 
 up from among the natives, some of whom 
 have gone to the distant heathen parts of 
 Fiji, while others are still laboring at home. 
 We may here note a needed and most 
 valuable addition to the mission force, in the 
 shape of a mission ship, '^ The Triton," 
 sent to the island in 1840. In it the mis- 
 sionaries and their native assistants made 
 voyages from island to island, carrying sup- 
 plies for living and laboring where other- 
 wise they would not be able to remain. 
 
^^i 
 
DARK DAYS IN EEWA. 283 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 EEWA AND SOMO-SOMO. 
 
 DARK DAYS IN EEWA. 
 
 In 1843 the aspect of affairs on Eewa 
 began to undergo important changes, which 
 not only affected Eewa itself, but also in- 
 fluenced in a painful degree the mission. 
 A quarrel had been for some time gathering 
 between Rewa and Mbau. Thakombau was 
 the actual head of the government at Mbau, 
 as his father, Tanoa, was old and infirm. 
 The smouldering fire now broke forth in the 
 flames of war, and the conflict was waged 
 with great fury on both sides. 
 
 The terrible sights and sounds of savage 
 warfare for seven months continually sur- 
 rounded the mission house where Mr. Jag- 
 ger toiled alone. During this time, to work 
 at the printing-press was almost all that he 
 could do ; but he rejoiced that whUe he was 
 
284 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 out off from active labor at his own station 
 he could supply the truth in printed form 
 to other islands which were at peace. 
 
 Some foreigners who lived near the mis- 
 sion station sought a safer position, and 
 strongly urged Mr. Jagger to do the same; 
 but, having the printing-press under his 
 charge, he determined to stay, unless the 
 risk of doing so became greater than it then 
 was. He speaks in writing of the astonish- 
 ment which his calmness excited in both 
 Christians and heathen, and adds, simply, 
 *' We trusted in our God." Only those who 
 have this trust can know the ''quietness 
 and assurance" which it bestows. 
 
 In 1844, during the month of August, the 
 whole mission family went to Viwa to attend 
 the district meeting. The question as to 
 the propriety of remaining at Eewa was 
 fully discussed. All were rejoiced in seeing 
 the family alive and well, but wondered at 
 their brother's firmness in resolving to con- 
 tinue in so dangerous a position. There 
 was no probability of an end to the war for 
 some time, and the destruction of Rewa and 
 
DARK DAYS IN REWA. 285 
 
 its people had been declared as the set pur- 
 pose of Mbau. The roof of the mission 
 house was also in a rotten state. In peace 
 it had been difficult to get the thatching 
 done; now it was impossible. Food was 
 scarce, and becoming much more so. The 
 Eewa chiefs still clung to their gods, and 
 still attended to the priests, though proved 
 to be false, several of them having been 
 killed after boastfully promising immediate 
 victory. The king had also sent a request 
 that there should be no more singing at the 
 Christian worship, lest his gods should be 
 offended. 
 
 Under all these circumstances, the district 
 meeting resolved that the Eewa mission 
 should for the present be abandoned, and 
 the " Triton" was sent to effect the removal 
 of the property to Viwa as quickly as pos- 
 sible. Presents were given to the king and 
 his brother to secure their permission, and 
 the goods were removed successfully and 
 without loss. Two teachers, who were will- 
 ing to remain, were left in charge of the 
 small band of Christians. 
 
286 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 After this the war continued between 
 Eewa and Mbau, until by treachery the 
 Mbau people under Thakombau gained 
 access to the town of E,ewa, destroyed the 
 place, killed three or four hundred people, — 
 among whom were ten Christians, — and made 
 the late king's brother Phillips, according 
 to his English name, an adherent of their 
 own king. Ratu Nggara was a fugitive in 
 the mountains. There he bent his energies 
 to the collection of a force which would make 
 him a match for Thakombau. As soon as 
 he was strong enough, he attempted to take 
 a town near where Eewa had stood, and 
 was successful. There he gathered his 
 people together, and, putting up a fence and 
 a few temporary huts, began to rebuild the 
 town. He sent the missionaries a message 
 while he was doing this, telling them that 
 the people attributed many of their misfor- 
 tunes to their rejection of the gospel. 
 
 In 1847 the Mbau people again attacked 
 Eewa, burned it, and again Eatu Nggara 
 escaped. Then Eewa was rebuilt by the 
 conquerors, and Phillips appointed king. 
 
DAEK DAYS IN REWA. 287 
 
 The people, though obedient to the king 
 thus placed over them, were in favor of 
 Eatu Nggara; and in 1851 he entered Rewa, 
 declared himself king, and was recognized 
 by the people. 
 
 The many attacks made by Phillips and 
 the Mbau chiefs on him were unsuccessful. 
 He seemed to be firmly established ; and, as 
 he had received large stores of ammunition 
 from foreign vessels, he was fully prepared 
 to defy his enemies. 
 
 In 1852 a native teacher was sent to 
 watch over the mission till the missionaries 
 could safely return. During the war, the 
 Komish priests had sent one of their number 
 to Eewa, who had tried diligently to get a 
 pledge from the new king that he would 
 forbid the return of the Protestant mission- 
 aries. This priest was much troubled by 
 the arrival of the teacher, and begged the 
 king to send him away. Eatu Nggara said 
 he was afraid to do so, as the teacher had 
 been brought by an Englishman in a British 
 ship-of-war. This, however, was not the 
 case, as he had been sent in the mission 
 
288 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 boat. The king was evidently glad to see 
 him, and had now learned to value the 
 presence and teaching of the missionary, 
 whom he wished to bring back once more. 
 He said he had been to the Komish service, 
 and had learned nothing, as they did not 
 worship in a language he understood ; but 
 from the teacher, though only a native of 
 Fiji, he had received instruction, as he un- 
 derstood the language in which the service 
 was conducted. It was evident that he 
 thought the priest might prove useful, as he 
 had already received presents of muskets 
 from him, and therefore, to avoid offence, 
 pleaded fear as an excuse for keeping the 
 teacher. 
 
 The priests then appealed to Sir Everard 
 Home, of her Majesty's ship " Calliope," in 
 two long letters, complaining of the mis- 
 sionaries, and desiring their removal. Sir 
 Everard, on a visit to Eewa during the war, 
 had been impressed by the indifference of 
 the priests to the bloodshed and cannibalism 
 around them, and he answered in a man- 
 ner most favorable to the missionaries — 
 
SOMO-SOMO ABANDONED. 289 
 
 speaking in the highest terms of their in- 
 dividual character and of the effects of their 
 teaching, and declining to interfere in any 
 way with their influence or instructions. 
 About this time the chief Phillips died, and, 
 in consequence, Ratu Nggara was joined by 
 many chiefs and towns. Thakombau was, 
 by a series of losses and misfortunes, much 
 weakened, while the power of Eatu Nggara 
 was confirmed and increased. This war con- 
 tinued unto the year 1852, and through 
 these years was a constant obstacle to the 
 spread of the gospel of peace. 
 
 SOMO-SOMO ABANDONED. 
 
 There was no station on the Fijian islands 
 where the toil and the danger were greater, 
 and where there was less evidence of suc- 
 cess, than at Somo-somo. The king was in 
 earnest in his threat to kill any who should 
 lotu. Every hindrance was opposed to the 
 missionaries. In the beginning of 1842 they 
 had removed from the middle of the town 
 to a more convenient and healthy position 
 on the sea-shore. They had built there two 
 
 25 
 
290 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 comfortable mission houses. They visited 
 many of the surrounding towns and villages, 
 and found the people willing to hear, but 
 slow to receive the truth. The habits of 
 many of the natives were, in some respects, 
 changed for the better, although very little 
 *' direct and decisive fruit" rewai^ded the 
 missionaries' toil. 
 
 At the district meeting held this year at 
 Lakemba, Mr. Cross was advised to leave 
 Fiji on account of his rapidly failing health. 
 When he had at length reluctantly decided 
 to go, he heard of the death of Mr. Water- 
 house; and, feeling that after such a loss to 
 the mission he could ill be spared, he re- 
 solved to stay if the arrangement could be 
 made for him to reside with Mr. Lyth and 
 be under his medical care. It was far easier 
 to die in the work than, under such circum- 
 stances, to leave it. Accordingly, in Sep- 
 tember Mr. Cross joined Mr. Lyth at Somo- 
 somo, and Mr. Hunt went to Viwa to supply 
 his place. 
 
 The fatigue of moving in his exhausted 
 condition overcame the invalid, and, notwith- 
 
SOMO-SOMO ABANDONED. 291 
 
 standing the attention and care Mr. Lyth 
 bestowed on him, he died October 15, 1842. 
 He had been a missionary in the South-Sea 
 Islands for fifteen years, seven of which 
 had been spent in Fiji; and now he joyfully 
 went to his rest, trusting in the Saviour 
 whom he had loved and served on earth. 
 
 For two years longer the missionaries 
 labored against difficulty and discourage- 
 ment. Wars were unceasing, the king still 
 resisted the claims of Christianity, and the 
 people became constantly more indifi^erent. 
 In 1847 the district meeting decided that 
 it was not best to continue toiling on this 
 barren ground while laborers were so much 
 needed in other and more productive parts 
 of Fiji. When this decision was finally 
 reached, the greatest care had to be taken 
 to hide the fact from the natives. For some 
 months the missionaries were quietly at 
 work preparing to go. They managed to 
 get away some boxes of clothes and articles 
 of barter, and almost all their books and 
 other goods were packed ready to put on 
 board the ''Triton" when she should arrive. 
 
292 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Most of the screws were taken out of the 
 hinges of doors and windows, so that every- 
 thing could be removed on the shortest 
 notice. 
 
 While all this was going on, the '^ Triton" 
 anchored off Somo-somo quite late on the 
 evening of the 28th of September. Two 
 of the brethren — Messrs. Lyth and Calvert 
 — who had come from Lakemba to help in 
 the removal, went ashore at once, giving 
 orders for the boats to be at the beach early 
 the next morning. At daybreak, the na- 
 tive servants, a few Tongans, and two or 
 three Viwa people assisted the sailors in 
 carrying the baggage to the boats, which 
 was done very quickly and quietly. The 
 fact that the premises were a little way out 
 of the town helped to keep the removal more 
 secret. 
 
 After the boats had safely deposited the 
 most valuable articles on board the ship, the 
 missionaries went to the king, and told him, 
 calmly, that as he was engaged in war, and 
 not disposed to attend to their teaching, and 
 as the mission families had suffered very 
 
SOMO-SOMO ABANDONED. 293 
 
 much from sickness, they had determined 
 to leave Somo-somo for a time, and dwell in 
 some other part of Fiji, where the people 
 were anxious to become Christians. Having 
 thus taken formal leave, they got all avail- 
 able help to forward the removal of their 
 goods, so that when the young men returned 
 in the evening from the fields, and crowded 
 about the premises, there was nothing of 
 value left on shore. Some of the natives 
 were very troublesome, and several things 
 were purloined. ''Where are you going 
 with that door?" asked a missionary of a 
 man who was hurrying off with a large door. 
 "Tm taking it down to the boat, sir." 
 "Well, but you are taking it the wrong 
 way for the boat: you must turn this way." 
 And so he did ; but a good many things 
 went the wrong way before all was done. 
 Yet far less was lost than had been expected. 
 Towards evening a tiresome old chief took 
 up a board, and Mr. Williams stopped him ; 
 whereat the old fellow was very angry, and 
 seized his great club, vowing that he would 
 kill the missionary. Mr. Calvert interposed, 
 
 25* 
 
294 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 and begged the old chief to be quiet, and 
 comfort himself by taking off the board; 
 but the ship's crew were much alarmed, and 
 seemed glad to get on board with their 
 charge. That night all the mission party- 
 slept on board, and the next morning the 
 "Triton" left Somo-somo. 
 
 Since the abandonment of this station, 
 the seed so tearfully sown by the mission- 
 aries has sprung up marvellously. Civil 
 war has desolated the island; the chiefs and 
 people have become humbled, have regret- 
 fully remembered the kind, faithful, earnest 
 servants of God who sought to lead them to 
 a better life, and have greatly desired to 
 have a teacher again sent to them. As yet, 
 from want of means, this desire has not 
 been gratified. The spreading of the mis- 
 sion work widely into other parts of Fiji 
 has absorbed all the available men and 
 means, — and Somo-somo waits for some one 
 to teach its people the way to heaven. 
 
VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 
 
 The mission band on Viwa were at this 
 time greatly encouraged by the conversion 
 of their former enemy, Verani. For some 
 time he had been satisfied that Christianity 
 was true, but was kept from avowing his 
 belief by a wish to help the Mbau chief in 
 war. The more, however, he became per- 
 suaded of the importance of the truths he 
 had heard, the more his uneasiness increased, 
 until he always went forth in dread, fearing 
 lest he should fall in battle and be lost for- 
 ever. He still professed to be heathen, but 
 often stole into the woods alone to pray to 
 the one true G-od ; and even on the battle- 
 field he would fall down and call upon the 
 Lord his maker. 
 
 His conviction of the claims of the Chris- 
 tian religion upon him steadily increased : 
 
296 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 he made constant inquiries of the mission- 
 aries on the subject, and manifested in manji 
 ways that the Spirit was striving with his 
 heart. He requested permission of the Mbau 
 chief, Thakombau, to profess Christianity, 
 but was persuaded by him to delay that step. 
 His anxiety about his soul, and his interest 
 in things pertaining to its salvation, never 
 ceased. At length, at a morning prayer-meet- 
 ing, with the humility of a little child, the 
 once terrible Verani bent his knee before 
 the one true God, and renounced heathen- 
 ism with all its practices. 
 
 Not long afterwards an aggravated insult 
 was offered to him, in the murder of a chief 
 whose head wife was Verani's sister ; but the 
 arm once so quick to strike in bloody re- 
 venge now was unmoved. The man so 
 jealous and so furious in his wrath was now 
 another man ; and when his own widowed 
 sister and the other wives of the slain 
 gathered around Verani and wildly urged 
 him to strangle them, he stood firm, and 
 said, calmly, " If you had come some time 
 since, I would readily have done it; but I 
 
VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 297 
 
 have now lotued, and the work of death is 
 over." 
 
 Hearing of Verani's intention to lotu^ 
 Thakombau, when too late, sent a messen- 
 ger, requesting further delay, that they 
 might all become Christian together. The 
 answer was, '' Tell Thakombau that I have 
 waited very long at his request; and now 
 that I have become Christian, I shall be 
 glad to go anywhere with my people to 
 attend to his lawful work; but I fear Al- 
 mighty God and dread falling into hell-fire, 
 and dare no longer delay." Message after 
 message was sent ; but in vain. Verani was 
 told that the hitherto ample supplies which 
 he had received from Mbau would be 
 stopped, and that he would come to be a 
 poor and despised man. But he had counted 
 the cost, and was not to be moved. 
 
 Verani, of his own accord, at once deter- 
 mined to marry one wife and put the others 
 away. Some men of rank, whose judgment 
 in former days he was wont to regard, 
 pressed him to keep some of his wives as 
 servants. But they spoke to a man whose 
 
298 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 whole heart was set against evil too fully to 
 allow him to keep temptation, under any 
 form, in his way. " You," said he to these 
 counsellors, ''are on the devil's side. If 
 my wife cannot manage in our house, I will 
 help her to get wood and cook our food; 
 but I will not continue to sin against God." 
 
 The missionaries speak of his repentance 
 as being proportionate to his great wicked- 
 ness. His outrages and crimes had been 
 enormous in kind and in number, and his 
 grief became agony when the thought of 
 the love of Christ and of his sins against 
 that love. When he found peace and for- 
 giveness, he longed to tell every one he 
 knew of the Saviour whom he loved and 
 worshipped with his whole soul. 
 
 He was baptized, choosing the name of 
 Elijah, was married to his chief wife, and 
 built a large new house, which he called 
 Cherith, in remembrance of the brook be- 
 yond Jordan, where the prophet whose name 
 he had taken was fed by the ravens. 
 
 His wife made him a happy home. He 
 loved her very much, and found great 
 
VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 299 
 
 pleasure in the progress his daughter was 
 making at the school. Nor was family 
 prayer neglected in this household. 
 
 Elijah Verani, as he was now called, was 
 a man of prayer and constant communion 
 with God. 
 
 When he was on a visit to Mbau, Mr. 
 Williams wrote down one of his simple, 
 heartfelt prayers as he uttered it. We 
 give this prayer; and -truly a miracle it is 
 that a heathen so vile should thus learn the 
 language of God's kingdom : — 
 
 '' Lord our Lord ! God our Father, 
 whose abode is heaven ! we worship before 
 thee. We offer not ourselves, or our own 
 righteousness, to gain thy notice : we present 
 Jesus ; we come with this our worship in his 
 name. Thou art God ; we know thee to be 
 God. We come to thee whom once we knew 
 not. in those days we served gods which 
 are not gods ; we were wearied in attending 
 on them. 
 
 '* Lord the true God, have mercy on 
 us ! We are now engaged in worshipping 
 thee; but this will not profit us if thou art 
 
300 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 away. Hear our cry, Lord, and be with 
 us, and help us. We are moving towards 
 thee ; do thou move towards us, and give us 
 a blessing in this worship. 
 
 " Jehovah, hear us for his sake, thy 
 Son, w^hom thou didst give that through 
 him we also might become thy children. Oh, 
 hear our prayer, that the wicked may con- 
 sider, and that the impenitent may become 
 penitent and come to Christ and be saved. 
 We would enter where Christ has entered, 
 and be with thee. Holy Ghost, descend 
 upon us, and prepare our hearts for that 
 place. 
 
 *' And be with every congregation, wher- 
 ever worshipping, to help them, that they 
 may worship thee aright. Lord, hear our 
 cry, and be nigh unto thy work : it is thy 
 work we have to do ; but we cannot do it if 
 thou art not near to help us. And love thy 
 people who are bowed before thee : bless the 
 chiefs, and the ladies, and the aged, and the 
 children ; bless them, and may they be saved. 
 
 ''And bless the Christians at Lakemba, 
 and Kandavu, and Nandi; and be with 
 
VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 301 
 
 La.zarus and those at Ndama ; and be with 
 those who live here. Bless Ra Hezekiah, 
 and give him thy Spirit, and teach him in 
 his goings, and help him to cast away the 
 old strength in which he used to trust, and 
 to trust in thy strength only, — the strength 
 which we never knew until we heard the 
 name of Jesus. 
 
 "And, Lord, bless thy people in Viwa; 
 and if one is sent to-day to preach thy gos- 
 pel in Mbau, go thou with him, that the 
 words of his mouth may be of use to the 
 chiefs of Mbau. 
 
 " And we pray thee for our ministers : 
 they see much evil by living with us in Fiji, 
 and they suffer and are weak in their bodies, 
 and there is nothing with us that we can 
 give them to strengthen them. This only 
 we can do, we can pray for them. Lord 
 Jesus Christ, hear our prayers for them. 
 Mr. Williams is weak : do thou strengthen 
 him, and let his life be long, and make our 
 land good for him ; and bless the lady and 
 the children, and let thy Spirit be always 
 with them to comfort their minds. 
 
302 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 *' These are our prayers. Oh, hear them ; 
 do thou hear them for Jesus' sake. Oh, hear 
 them for Fiji's sake ! Do have love for Fiji. 
 When our minds think of Fiji, they are 
 greatly pained ; for the men and women of 
 Fiji are thy people, and these thy people are 
 strangled and clubbed and destroyed. Oh, 
 have compassion on Fiji; and spare thy 
 servants for the sake of Fiji, that they may 
 preach thy true word to the people. And, 
 Holy Spirit, give light to the dark-hearted 
 and give them repentance. And set us in 
 motion, that we may not be so useless as we 
 have been, but that we may now, and for the 
 time to come, live to extend thy kingdom, 
 that it may reach all Fiji, for the sake of 
 Jesus Christ, the accepted offering for us. 
 Amen." 
 
 Verani travelled much in different direc- 
 tions to spread the knowledge of the gospel 
 wherever he could, and was a most valuable 
 and indefatigable assistant in the missionary 
 work. Love to God and love to man occu- 
 pied his whole soul and shone in every 
 action of his life. 
 
VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 303 
 
 Perhcips there was no man in Fiji wliose 
 conversion to Cliristianity was so remarkable 
 and influential. He was so well known as 
 a furious slayer of all who stood in his way, 
 that the people could hardly understand the 
 change in his character. 
 
 At the same time that there was a deep 
 religious feeling in the Church at Ono, God 
 greatly blessed his work in Viwa also. A 
 revival visited the island, and, while those 
 already Christians were awakened to greater 
 earnestness, many hitherto careless were 
 most powerfully and deeply moved. Their 
 penitence for sin was proportionate to the 
 enormity and number of what they now saw 
 to have been the transgressions of their 
 past lives ; and in many cases the sincerity 
 of their repentance was proved by their 
 subsequent devotion to the service of God. 
 The increase in church-membership result- 
 ing from this revival was two hundred, and 
 the effects produced by it were marked in 
 the community. 
 
 In 1848 the mission band suffered a great 
 affliction and" loss in the death of John 
 
304 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Hunt, who was one of the most valuable, 
 laborious, and beloved missionaries. When 
 he became evidently very ill, his fellow- 
 laborers, who clung to him with a love that 
 was mingled with reverent admiration, were 
 deeply distressed. The natives who were 
 his spiritual children were overwhelmed 
 with sorrow. 
 
 So great a calamity as the loss of their 
 beloved pastor filled the Viwan Christians 
 with dismay, and, with one heart of grief, 
 they gathered about that throne of grace to 
 which his faithful hand had led them, and 
 prayed without ceasing that his life might 
 be spared. With mighty pleading did Verani 
 lift up his voice among those sorrowing ones. 
 Deeply did he love the sick missionary; and 
 now he prayed, " Lord, we know we 
 are very bad ; but spare thy servant ! If one 
 must die, take me ! Take ten of us ! But 
 spare thy servant to preach Christ to the 
 people !" 
 
 The unremitting care of Mr. Lyth was a 
 source of great relief to the sufferer. While 
 some prayed at his bedside, he wept, and 
 
VERANI OF VIWA CONVERTED. 306 
 
 became more deeply moved after they had 
 risen from their knees, until his full heart 
 burst forth in the cry, " Lord, bless Fiji ! 
 save Fiji ! Thou knowest my soul has loved 
 Fiji ; my heart has travailed in pain for 
 Fiji !" Those who stood by, fearing for his 
 weak frame, tried to calm his emotion by 
 telling him that God was blessing Fiji, and 
 that now he must be silent. For a time he 
 yielded, and wept low ; but that great flame 
 of devoted love must leap up in all its glory 
 of earnestness ere it go out ; and, grasping 
 Mr. Calvert with one hand, he raised the 
 other, crying, '' Oh, let me pray once more 
 for Fiji ! Lord, for Christ's sake, bless Fiji! 
 Save Fiji ! Save thy servants 1 Save thy 
 people! Save the heathen in Fiji !" That 
 good heart was as true and mighty as ever ; 
 but the flesh was weak, and he once more 
 became calm at the request of his friends. 
 
 He died October the 4th, after an illness 
 of two months, in the true and certain hope 
 of a glorious resurrection, with words of 
 joy and praise on his lips, and undisturbed 
 peace in his heart. 
 
 20* 
 
306 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 MBUA AND NANDL 
 
 The town of Mbua is situated on the 
 large island of Vanua Levu, — the '' Great 
 Land," — at a considerable distance from 
 Mbau, which is on the coast of Na Viti 
 Levu, — "Great Fiji." It is an inland town, 
 of no considerable power, but has much 
 interest as a mission station. The chief of 
 Mbua sent, in 1843, for a teacher to instruct 
 a friend of his who had become a Christian. 
 This teacher, and others afterwards sent, 
 never received active aid from the chief; but 
 with his indirect sanction they labored so 
 successfully that in 1845 there were three 
 hundred Christians in the community. The 
 majority of these lived at Tiliva, a small 
 village on the island, divided from the town 
 of Mbua by a river. Here the mission 
 house was situated. Protracted wars had 
 
MBUA AND NANDI. 307 
 
 impoverished the inhabitants of the region 
 around Tiliva, had compelled them often to 
 save themselves from famine by eating wild 
 roots and fruits, and had engendered among 
 them habits of indolence and listlessness. 
 
 Although the sinnet grew luxuriantly 
 around them, they never gathered nor plaited 
 it. They had no comforts, and were slat- 
 ternly and careless in all their domestic ar- 
 rangements. Yet among these people Chris- 
 tianity began its work in Mbua ; nor was it 
 long before it caused improvement in their 
 mode of life. They were induced to build 
 substantial houses instead of mere sheds, 
 to plant gardens, make cloth, and acquire 
 habits of industry and order. Not only 
 was this change wrought in their temporal 
 condition by the coming of the gospel to 
 them, but in many cases their spiritual na- 
 ture was hopefully renewed. 
 
 Just about this time Verani was married 
 to one wife, and immediately returned his 
 other wives to their homes. Among them 
 was a daughter of the Mbua chief, who 
 resented the sending back of his daughter as 
 
308 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 a personal insult, notwithstanding Verani's 
 explanations, and began to revenge himself 
 on those of his own people who were con- 
 verts. He prohibited the profession of 
 Christianity, and persecuted those who dared 
 to adhere to their new faith. The people 
 had built a very neat chapel, which Tui 
 Mbua caused to be burned down. The 
 flames also consumed a house of one of the 
 teachers; but the rest of the village was 
 saved by the exertions of the poor people. 
 These trials and discouragements proved 
 too much for the faith of some among the 
 professed Christians, and they went back 
 to heathenism ; but the greater number con- 
 tinued firm. 
 
 When the Somo-somo station was aban- 
 doned, it was thought best that Mr. Wil- 
 liams should go to Tiliva. 
 
 Mr. Williams, in writing to England in 
 November, 1847, describes the locality of the 
 new station as very delightful, and the com- 
 mon people as docile, simple, and attentive. 
 
 After a longer residence in Mbua, Mr. 
 Williams found that the people were as 
 
MBUA AND NANDI. 309 
 
 depraved in most respects as in Somo-somo. 
 Infanticide was so commonly practised among 
 them that they could hardly be persuaded 
 that it was wrong. The missionary was not 
 exempt from the persecution of the Chris- 
 tians; and the chief— Mbati Namu— de- 
 clared his intention to kill Mr. Williams, 
 take his wife as his own property, destroy 
 the mission premises, and let his people 
 share the spoils. Mr. Williams suffered 
 much from distressing anxiety for the safety 
 of himself and his family for two months, 
 — when the persecutor fell by violence, and 
 was eaten by his enemies. 
 
 In speaking of the horrors, murders, and 
 cannibalism attending and following the 
 death of this chief, Mr. Williams says, 
 ''Enlarged views of the omnipotence of 
 redeeming love are necessary to keep the 
 missionary to such a people from the wither- 
 ing influence of despair. He appears to 
 live amongst fiends rather than men ; and, 
 when he sees them fulfilling the dictates of 
 their corrupt passions, he finds it difficult 
 to believe them within the reach of mercy. 
 
310 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 " It was a great relief to turn from such 
 scenes to the quiet and order of the Chris- 
 tian village, — which had just been saved from 
 the evil purpose of the chief, — where live 
 many proofs of God's power to save canni- 
 bal Fijians." 
 
 At the same time that the mission at 
 Mbua was commenced by the missionaries 
 at Viwa, one at Nandi, a town on Vanua 
 Levu, was established. Much good was 
 first accomplished by a native teacher, with 
 occasional visits from a missionary. Mr. 
 Hunt was so much encouraged by his suc- 
 cess that he persuaded the natives to build 
 a mission house, with a confident hope of 
 having a missionary stationed among them. 
 The house was built on a swampy flat, close 
 to the salt-water river, in a thick grove of 
 mangrove-bushes, where there was little cir- 
 culation of air to allay the suffocating heat. 
 But here the missionaries were obliged 
 to be; for here were the people to whom 
 they were to minister. The health of the 
 mission families suff'ered but little from the 
 disadvantages of their situation. The station 
 
A HURRICANE. 311 
 
 was occupied in November, 1847, by two 
 young missionaries, with their families, — Mr. 
 Watsford, who had been for some time 
 laboring at Viwa and Ono, and Kev. James 
 Ford, who had just arrived from England, 
 after a voyage of a year lacking ten days. 
 
 The newly-arrived missionaries had been 
 but two months in JSTandi when a most 
 severe hurricane visited the island. Mr. 
 Watsford, in his journal, gives a thrilling 
 account of it. After many of the natives' 
 houses had been blown down, the mission 
 house, being stronger, still stood ; but in 
 three days the tempest returned with in- 
 creased violence. Some of the teachers and 
 people assembled at the mission house, and 
 worked diligently to keep the rocking house 
 from falling. The children were collected 
 near the door, wrapped in blankets; while 
 the parents stood ready to rush out with 
 them as soon as the house actually began to 
 fall. In an hour's time one side of the house 
 fell in, the door was dashed open, and they 
 rushed out; but the violence of the wind and 
 rain beat them back. As soon as they could, 
 
312 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 they made their way to an out-kitchen; but 
 constant efforts were necessary to make it 
 safe. They had been here but a half-hour 
 when two young men from the town came 
 to tell them that the water was rising so 
 rapidly that they must fly instantly or they 
 could not escape. The peril seemed equally 
 great whether they went out into the storm 
 or remained where they were. They deter- 
 mined to leave their shelter. The children 
 were given to the care of natives, the two 
 ladies placed on the backs of other natives, 
 and, with a prayer to God, they went out. 
 
 Mr. Watsford writes, " It was a fearful 
 time as we hurried along to the town. The 
 cocoanut-trees bent over our heads and fell 
 around us ; the nuts were flying in every 
 direction; the rain beat like shot in our 
 faces ; and it was with the greatest difficulty 
 we could keep on our feet, the wind being 
 so strong. We had to wade through the 
 water, and in many places it was up to our 
 necks ; we had to cross a part of the river 
 where a long tree was thrown across for the 
 bridge; the flood was very rapid, and we 
 
A HUEEICANE. 313 
 
 were in imminent danger, but, thank God, 
 we got over. After some time, we all reached 
 the town, and ran into one of the teachers' 
 houses ; but we soon had to leave it again, 
 as we thought it would fall upon us. We 
 then got into a small house which appeared 
 stronger than the others ; and, being on a raised 
 foundation, we thought the flood could not 
 reach us. Here we remained about an hour, 
 shivering with cold, our clothes being soaked 
 by the rain. 
 
 '' While we were in this place, many houses 
 fell around us, and the water continued to 
 rise very rapidly; and now it reached the 
 step at the door. The night was coming on, 
 and we began to think of some plan of get- 
 ting to the mountains before dark. The 
 teachers tied a number of bamboos together 
 for a raft, and we sent Mrs. Ford and Mrs. 
 Watsford first : the natives swam and pushed 
 the raft along. They had great difficulty in 
 managing it, and we were afraid they would 
 be thrown off; but, through the goodness 
 of God, they were landed in safety at a house 
 at the foot of the mountain, which was only 
 
 27 
 
314 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 one inch or so above the water. The raft 
 returned, and Mr. Ford and I got on it. 
 We had to leave our dear children behind, 
 except my little girl, whom I carried in my 
 arms. I had wrapped the blanket closely 
 around her, and held her close to my breast to 
 screen her from the storm. She cried very 
 much for some time, and then she moaned a 
 little, and I thought my child was dying. I 
 felt her little face, and it was cold as marble. 
 When, however, we reached the house, she 
 revived again. Our other children were 
 then brought, and the natives carried them 
 up into the mountain and returned for us ; 
 but while they were away we found that 
 the water had gone down a little : we waited 
 a short time to be certain, and then sent for 
 the children, who were brought back nearly 
 dead. How truly thankful we were to be 
 allowed to remain in this little shed ! 
 
 " About six o'clock the storm began to 
 abate ; but we could not get near our house 
 to get dry clothes ; and if we could have 
 got to the house we could not have obtained 
 what we needed, as nearly all our things 
 
A HURRICANE. 315 
 
 were, or had been, under water. I happened 
 to have some Ono native cloth on a shelf in 
 a native house, which the flood had not 
 reached. This we cut up into dresses; and, 
 taking our own clothes off, we wrapped some 
 of it around us, and felt a little more com- 
 fortable. Our teacher cooked us some food, 
 of which we partook ; and then, having en- 
 gaged in prayer, we spread some cloth on 
 the ground and lay down to rest. What a 
 day this has been ! In all we have passed 
 through, how great has been the goodness 
 of Grod ! What a mercy that it was day ! 
 Had the storm come on at night, I do not 
 know what we could have done. Our ex- 
 tremity was God's opportunity." 
 
 When the storm ceased, and they suc- 
 ceeded in getting to their house, they found 
 nearly all of Mr. Ford's books destroyed, 
 and their groceries, clothes, and furniture 
 almost ruined by being under water for 
 hours. And more grievous than all these 
 losses was one which fell upon Mr. Watsford 
 a few days later, in the death of his little 
 girl, resulting from her exposure in the ter- 
 
316 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 rible storm. Mrs. Watsford also became so 
 ill that they sent to Viwa for Mr. Lyth to 
 visit her. On his way to answer the call, 
 he was wrecked at Ovalau, and lost some 
 valuable books, clothes, and manuscripts. 
 
 Mr. Watsford now secured a higher and 
 better location for the mission house. A 
 large wooden building, with a veranda 
 around it, was erected. A year's experience, 
 however, proved Mr. Ford's inability to stand 
 the climate, and he was obliged to return to 
 England. 
 
 Mr. Watsford remained in Nandi for 
 nearly a year, and then removed to La- 
 kemba, and Mr. Hazlewood took his place 
 in October of 1848. Mr. Hazlewood had 
 been at Ono for some time past. The dif- 
 ference between those he had left and his 
 new charge struck him forcibly. The people 
 there, having been some time under the 
 influence of Christianity, were clean, well 
 dressed, of good complexion, and' had made 
 advancement towards civilized life. Here 
 they appeared miserably poor, degraded, and 
 Bavage. 
 
MBUA AND NANDI. 317 
 
 In the towns and villages around Nandi, 
 Christianity gradually found its way. A 
 chief of one of these towns, with many of 
 his people, sought instruction from the mis- 
 sionaries ; and soon a large and good chapel 
 was built for their use. Teachers were sent 
 to these places, and among them to a town 
 fifty miles distant, where there were now 
 several Christians. Thus Mr. Hazlewood 
 was busily occupied in ministering to his 
 own immediate flock, visiting his teachers 
 at other points, and fulfilling all the nume- 
 rous and varied duties of a missionary. The 
 Christians were not without persecutions 
 from their heathen neighbors; but one by 
 one the little company slowly increased. 
 
 27* 
 
318 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PROGEESS OF THE GOflPEL ON THE ISLANDS. 
 
 The word of God had now (1850) gained 
 a firm footing on many of the Fiji Islands. 
 In others it was making an entrance. In yet 
 others the savage islanders had heard of the 
 progress of the " lotu,'' and were prepared 
 to consider the claims of the new religion 
 brought to them by the wonderful white men. 
 
 From Lakemba, whose missionary history 
 we have already followed, Messrs. Lyth and 
 Malvern made progress to other islands. 
 Here they were often cheered by finding 
 converts where no white man had labored. 
 Their institution for training native teachers 
 had enabled them to send forth Fijian mis- 
 sionaries, whose words were heeded by their 
 heathen countrymen. The last heathen 
 priest on Lakemba was baptized in 1850. In 
 the islands around there were many converts. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. 319 
 
 At Nango, Mr. Malvern in one day bap- 
 tized twenty-nine adults and nineteen chil- 
 dren, married twelve couple, preached, and 
 administered the Lord's supper. He left 
 Nango the next day, intending to return 
 home ; but the wind was contrary, and he 
 was obliged to change his course. After a 
 rough voyage he reached Nayau, an island 
 fifty miles ofi". He writes : — '' Soon after our 
 arrival, I saw that it was the hand of the 
 Lord that had brought us hither. I found 
 the lotu in a better state than at any place 
 to which I had been. Nearly the whole of 
 the adults on the island, I should judge, are 
 in possession of, or are earnestly seeking, 
 salvation. One of their leaders said that 
 twelve months ago they were like a canoe 
 with her point unsettled, — first shifting this 
 way, then that way, instead of sailing direct 
 for the land she was bound for; but now 
 they are mua donu, — sailing straight, — 
 their minds fixed for serving God and 
 getting to heaven. We here baptized more 
 than a hundred Fijians." 
 
 At the close of 1851 the people of La- 
 
320 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 kemba were reformed outwardly, being de- 
 cently clothed, and having relinquished theii 
 obscene midnight dances and songs for the 
 pure worship of God. Their domestic con- 
 dition was also greatly improved by the 
 lessening of polygamy. Christianity gave 
 the Fijians what they never had truly be- 
 fore, — a home. Those who had known La- 
 kemba and its dependencies twelve years 
 ago marvelled at the almost universal change 
 which was brought about. Scarcely a temple 
 was left standing, and the sacred foundations 
 on which they were once were now culti- 
 vated as garden-plots. Club-law was utterly 
 abolished. A fine chapel, to which the peo- 
 ple eagerly flocked, graced every town; and 
 not a heathen priest was left. About eight 
 hundred children were assembled daily in 
 the schools, and nearly two-thirds of the 
 adult population were church-members, 
 affording good evidence of their desire to 
 ''flee from the wrath to come," while a large 
 and growing number gave every reason to 
 believe that they were renewed by the Holy 
 Ghost. During this and the previous year 
 
PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. 321 
 
 one thousand three hundred baptisms were 
 registered, — eight hundred adults, none of 
 whom received this sacrament without hav- 
 ing brought forth fruits meet for repentance 
 and showing a sincere desire to trust on 
 Christ for salvation. Everywhere, too, was 
 found a great hunger for the word of God. 
 The mission press could supply but a small 
 number of Testaments, and the missionaries 
 were pained in being obliged to refuse the 
 people, who were willing to pay well of their 
 property, or make any sacrifice, to obtain the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 Mr. Collis's school prospered, a growing 
 interest manifesting itself, and eager ambition 
 to excel in Scripture knowledge. The chil- 
 dren were taught reading, spelling, writing, 
 arithmetic, geography, natural history, and 
 ^singing. Mrs. Collis assisted her husband 
 in the girls' school, instructing them on re- 
 ligious subjects, in addition to lessons in 
 sewing, knitting, and other feminine occu- 
 pations. A class of young men held weekly 
 was regularly attended by nearly a hundred 
 pupils, — many of them coming six or sev en 
 
322 THE CAJ^NIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 miles in the worst weather to enjoy its privi- 
 leges. 
 
 The Lakemba schools have been well sus- 
 tained, and efficient teachers have gone forth 
 from them to other parts of Fiji, — thus 
 affording valuable aid to the missionaries 
 throughout the islands. 
 
 REWA. 
 
 As this island was now comparatively- 
 tranquil after its wars and tumults, the mis- 
 sionaries sent word to the people that they 
 were ready to resume their labors among 
 them, as they had promised when they left. 
 Eatu Nggara, the former enemy of the 
 Christians, gladly welcomed them back, and 
 gave a fine large house, built for the accom- 
 modation of strangers, to the missionaries. 
 
 Here they established the station, and 
 Ratu Nggara showed every disposition to 
 protect and befriend them. 
 
 This quiet was, however, of short dura- 
 tion. War with Thakombau, chief of Mbau, 
 was soon renewed. Koroi Euvulo, one of 
 the Mbau chiefs, a man to whom Ratu 
 
PEOGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. 323 
 
 Nggara owed much assistance, urged him 
 strongly to become a Christian and then 
 carry on the war. This the king refused, 
 saying, ''If we all lofM, we must give up 
 fighting, — as it will not do to pray to the 
 same God and fight with each other." 
 
 In September a skirmish took place, in 
 which several Kewans were killed, and their 
 bodies taken to Mbau. Ratu Nggara was 
 determined to be revenged on Thakombau, 
 although he was told that the bodies were 
 not eaten, as he had believed He sent 
 word to the missionary at Mbau, Mr. Moore, 
 to leave the island, as he was about to 
 attack it with hordes of warriors. The 
 message was not regarded by the servant of 
 God. Ratu Nggara was resolute in his pur- 
 poses of wrath, in spite of the remonstrances 
 of the missionary and others. Thakombau 
 sent messages of peace and acknowledgment 
 of his own ofi'ences to the king; but he was 
 met by contempt and anger, and the God 
 of the Christians defied to save Mbau or its 
 chief from his revenge. 
 
 Impatient of delay, the Eewa chief up- 
 
324 THE CANNILAL ISLANDS. 
 
 braided His priests with the falseness of their 
 predictions of speedy victory. They alleged 
 as a reason the ruinous state of several 
 temples. The temples were accordingly re- 
 built, and plentiful sacrifices offered. The 
 beating of the Zo^i^-drum was forbidden, and 
 the Christian worship might no longer be 
 celebrated in the usual place, lest the gods 
 of Kewa should be made angry. The priests 
 expressed themselves satisfied, and promised 
 full success. Every efibrt in the way of re- 
 ligious observance and warlike preparation 
 was being made for the overthrow of Mbau, 
 when the principal mover in it fell sick. 
 But in his sickness Eatu Nggara continued 
 to harden his heart, and on the 26th of Janu- 
 ary, 1855, died of dysentery, and was buried 
 in one of the new temples, at the building 
 of which the priests had promised him dead 
 bodies in abundance. 
 
 Some Rewa towns were now willing at 
 once to turn to Mbau; but Thakombau de- 
 clined the ofi'er, being anxious to secure 
 peace at once. He therefore sent a messen- 
 ger to the Eewa chiefs, who consented to tlie 
 
PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. 325 
 
 termination of the war. But mucli bad and 
 angry feeling still existed. Many were 
 averse to peace, and Mr. Moore was sus- 
 pected of having given the late king poison 
 in his medicine. Still, the peace was for- 
 mally ratified, and on the 9 th of February 
 the peace-offering was received at Mbau 
 with beating of drums, flags flying, and 
 every demonstration of rejoicing. At mid- 
 night Mr. Moore was awakened by the crack- 
 ling of fire in the adjoining house. Mrs. 
 Moore and the children were hurried out in 
 their night-clothes to a small dwelling near. 
 The people gathered in great numbers, and 
 there was much excitement. Mr. Moore 
 called out to them to take what goods they 
 could get. This was well thought of; for 
 they set eagerly to work to carry off the 
 property, and, as was found out afterwards, 
 were thus diverted from their object of de- 
 stroying the missionary and his family. One 
 man, it was said, lifted his club to kill Mrs. 
 Moore, but was prevented by a Rewan. The 
 mission family, undressed as they were, has- 
 tened ofi" to Mbau for shelter. Having put 
 
 28 
 
326 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 his wife and children in safety, Mr. Moore 
 returned at once to Rewa, where, in the 
 midst of danger and loss, he continued to 
 persevere in his work. A great deal of his 
 property was consumed by the fire, and the 
 natives had stolen the rest. 
 
 Troublous times did not now end. A new 
 war, in which the Christian King George, 
 of the Tongan Islands, was involved, broke 
 out; but peace was finally established. 
 
 On their return from a victorious cam- 
 paign, the Fijian and Tongan warriors as 
 they passed up the river in forty large canoes, 
 with streamers flying from the mast-heads, 
 excited much notice. Occasionally they 
 were joined by chiefs some of whom had for 
 years been at war with each other, but now 
 met on friendly terms in the Tongan king's 
 canoe. 
 
 They spent the Sabbath at Rewa, and the 
 Rewans, Mbauans, and Tongans assembled 
 for public worship, conducted by the English 
 missionaries (Mr. Calvert and Mr. Moore), 
 on a spot formerly sacred to the rites of 
 heathenism. The sight was a strange and 
 
PEACE ESTABLISHED. 327 
 
 gratifying one,— these two tribes of Mbau 
 and Eewa, so long at war, together peaceably- 
 worshipping the living God. 
 
 The king provided liberally and kindly 
 for Mr. Calvert and Mr. Moore. 
 
 At a feast held at Eewa during this visit, 
 peace was solemnly established, with the 
 following proclamation of punishment for 
 transgressing it: — 
 
 " Any town offending by taking any steps 
 towards war will be considered the enemy 
 of all, and will be liable to chastisement by 
 the combined powers of Mbau and Kewa." 
 
 During these times of tumult in Rewa, 
 Mr. Moore had built a small house for his 
 family, and now, in 1855, to the joy of some 
 and the astonishment of others, he removed 
 his family there, trusting in God for protec- 
 tion from savage violence. 
 
 Mr. Moore had at times been greatly dis- 
 couraged when he saw the little success 
 attending the labor expended on this mission. 
 But the people were becoming familiar with 
 the claims of Christianity, and, after the war 
 was ended, seemed inclined to give attention 
 
328 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 to them. A man of rank and influence at 
 this time publicly abandoned heathenism 
 and professed Christianity. This made no 
 small stir; and the chief men assembled and 
 demanded his reasons for taking such a 
 daring step. He replied, ''I have been in- 
 duced to become a Christian because our 
 priests are false, and because the king's 
 priest, while striking the posts, promised 
 that he would bring the late king to life 
 after he was dead ; also because Mr. Moore's 
 house was burnt without my being told of 
 it, which has grieved me." The chief had 
 well considered the step, and now remained 
 firm, notwithstanding the efforts made to 
 turn him from his purpose, jinother con- 
 sultation of chiefs was therefore held, when 
 it was resolved that they too should lotu^ 
 that peace should be permanent, and that 
 all the towns and islands belonging toRewa 
 should be urged to serve the one true God. 
 The arrival of several Christians, among 
 them a chief from Lakemba, did much to 
 strengthen the good work. The hearts of 
 the laborers were rejoiced by the springing 
 
REWA TURNING TO GOD. 329 
 
 into life of the seed they had planted. Many 
 of the people were earnestly asking for in- 
 struction; and in not a few households there 
 was daily family prayer. 
 
 The Eoman Catholics abandoned Rewa 
 this year, discouraged by their small success. 
 
 Mr. Moore, in the following year, wrote 
 thus to England: — 
 
 ''Wide doors have been open before us all 
 the year, but we have not been able to enter 
 them, for the want of help. Many have been 
 the cries, 'Come over and help us;' and many 
 the schemes resorted to in order to get help. 
 Some have begged, some have sent presents, 
 some have threatened to return to heathen- 
 ism, some to Popery, and others who are 
 Papists (in profession) have promised to join 
 us if we could send them a teacher; but in 
 most cases we have only been able to give a 
 passing call, and endeavor to satisfy them 
 with a promise. 
 
 ''From our last report you would learn of 
 the vast numbers who in a few days made 
 a profession of Christianity. We had feared 
 that there would be a great relapsing to 
 
 28* 
 
330 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 heathenism this year ; but we are thankful to 
 be able to report that such cases have been 
 very few, and only where we have not been 
 able to supply teachers. The work has been 
 progressing all the year, our numbers having 
 doubled those of last year." There were at 
 this time sixteen thousand attendants on 
 Christian worship in the Eewa circuit. 
 
 Mr. Moore, in 1857, says, ''I have little 
 time to study: go, go, go, is the order of 
 the day. The work extends on every hand, 
 and we want a thousand bodies to be in a 
 thousand places at once, to do the great work 
 of this circuit." In later years the good 
 work continued to spread and deepen, filling 
 the hearts of the laborers with joy and with 
 great gratitude to God. 
 
PEOaRESS AT VI WA. 331 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PROGRESS AT VIWA, MBUA, AND NANDI. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Hunt (1849), Mr. 
 Calvert, who had been ten years at Lakemba, 
 was appointed to remain at Viwa with Mr. 
 Ly th. He had frequently visited Viwa, and 
 was well acquainted with Thakombau the 
 noted chief of the adjacent island of Mbau, 
 and, in common with all the missionaries, 
 took a deep interest in him and his people. 
 
 The custom of giving presents to the chiefs 
 and people had grown to be a burdensome 
 tax upon the missionaries, although at first 
 it was a matter of necessity. Mr. Calvert 
 determined to abolish the system as it now 
 existed, and reduce it within proper limits. 
 Mr. Hunt's kind heart had led him so to 
 conform to this custom that Thakombau once 
 said, '' He is ready to give when he can ill 
 spare the article we beg. He is a kind man. 
 
332 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 But the missionary at Lakemba gives you 
 such a preachment and lecture when you 
 beg of him." 
 
 When Mr. Calvert received his goods from 
 Lakemba, Thakombau went on the vessel 
 with him. According to usage, Mr. Calvert, 
 as a new-comer, made him an offering of pro- 
 perty from the district he had left. On their 
 way to the shore, however, Thakombau was 
 obliged to listen to a ''preachment and lec- 
 ture." Mr. Calvert told him that he had 
 come from his home in England to teach the 
 people of Fiji of the true God and of Jesus 
 their Saviour, who could save them from 
 their sins; that his one great object was to 
 lead them to obtain and practise the religion 
 of this Saviour. '' I have brought medicines 
 from England," he said, '' and have gained 
 some knowledge of diseases and their remedy, 
 and shall have pleasure in relieving you 
 of pain when I can, that your life may be 
 prolonged for repentance, prayer, and the 
 service of God. While thi» is the only object 
 I have in view, I am aware that you are des- 
 titute of many articles which we have in 
 
PROGRESS AT VIWA. 333 
 
 England, and which would increase your 
 comfort. Some of these I can obtain for you 
 by writing to my friends in England. I 
 shall be glad to do so, as I should like to 
 see you improved and raised in temporal 
 matters. Only, when I send for goods, I 
 have to pay for them, and you must pay for 
 whatever I obtain for you. We give our 
 time and energies for your salvation; but we 
 have not come to supply you with worldly 
 riches. Yet, if you will pay for what you 
 require, we will try to obtain useful articles 
 for you." Thakombau listened complacently, 
 soothed by the present just given, and said 
 he was glad to know the right plan, and 
 should like to be informed of what was ex- 
 pected in payment for any articles he might 
 hereafter desire. 
 
 This plan was henceforth steadily pursued 
 at Viwa, and was found to be of much advant- 
 age to the people as well as to the missionaries. 
 
 The progress of Christianity at Viwa after 
 this time was steady, though not without 
 hindrances and drawbacks. Most of the 
 people were nominal Christians. Na-mosi- 
 
334 :he cannibal islands. 
 
 malua continued a firm friend of the mission- 
 aries, and Verani was a devoted Christian 
 until his death. 
 
 The missionaries extended their labors 
 among the surrounding islands, Viwa being 
 the central station. From here teachers were 
 sent out, and missions supported at many 
 neighboring islands. The political position 
 and importance of the island have declined; 
 but in civilization and in religion it is in- 
 ferior to no other in the group. 
 
 MBUA. 
 
 Mr. Williams, in lis letters of 1849, from 
 Mbua, on the large island of Vanua Levu 
 (not the island of Mbau, it will be noted), 
 speaks of visits he made to several surround- 
 ing towns, in which he was accompanied by 
 Ra Hezekiah Vunindanga, the chief of Tiliva. 
 This man, a few years before, had been a most 
 bitter enemy of Christianity, but was now an 
 earnest and consistent believer. 
 
 Some of their interviews with chiefs and 
 others were of great interest ; and they almost 
 uniformly found respect for Christianity,if not 
 
PROGRESS AT MBUA. 335 
 
 conviction of its truth. At one village Mr. 
 Williams was taken by the chief to the tem- 
 ple to sleep, and a place given him near the 
 chief. '' I had," he says, " a block of wood 
 for my pillow, and the roof of the temple 
 for a coverlet. When Ha Mbombo [the 
 chief] took his place, I was fixed, with scarcely 
 elbow-room, between two veteran cannibals, 
 who were very curious, and plied me with 
 questions for several hours of the dark night. 
 On the morning of the 5th we conducted a 
 short service among our heathen bedfellows, 
 and then set off to the canoe." 
 
 Mr. Williams was much interested m im- 
 proving the architecture of the people. He 
 therefo'^e built a neat and substantial mission 
 house, and a chapel superior to any thing 
 known in Fiji. In the latter work the people 
 pjladly aided him. He says that Ra Heze- 
 kiah was of opinion that the best material 
 and workmanship should be expended on the 
 house of the Lord his God. Acting in ac- 
 cordance with this principle, he, and some 
 of his men who had fame for ^^ifting up the 
 axe," travelled over many miles of the sur- 
 
336 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 rounding country in search of timber for 
 the frame of the building. Whilst they were 
 thus employed, the old men enlivened the 
 village by the rap, tap, tap of the beaters 
 with which they separated the fibre from the 
 fleshy part of the cocoanut-husk, that it 
 might be plaited into sinnet for the orna- 
 mental lashings. At intervals of two or 
 three days, the joyous shout of the return- 
 ing wood -cutters broke the quiet of the even- 
 ing, — a signal at which those who were left 
 in the village — old men, women, and chil- 
 dren — ran off to assist their weary friends 
 in dragging some giant of the forest to the 
 spot where it was to become a pillar in the 
 Lord's house. Happier groups than these 
 formed, eye never saw. In about three 
 months, eighty beams of from twelve to fifty 
 feet long were collected, many of them from 
 a distance of ten or twelve miles, and by 
 manual labor only. The logs were vesi, or 
 green-heart, the most valuable timber in the 
 islands. These were carefully wrought into 
 a very substantial frame, completed by walls 
 and roof. The interior of the church was 
 
PROGRESS AT MBUA. 337 
 
 adorned by two colonnades of sixteen maho- 
 gany pillars each, three feet apart. It was 
 ornamented most elaborately with sinnet and 
 highly-stained reeds. 
 
 The people cheered each other in their 
 work by singing and chanting, different par- 
 ties responding one to the other, and then 
 joining in full chorus. 
 
 One of the heathen chiefs sent them word 
 that they were few and doing a great work: 
 if they wished, he would help. So a party 
 of his people came and built one wall and 
 one side of the roof, substantially and well. 
 
 In 1850 war commenced in the Ndama 
 district, and Mr. Williams went thither to 
 try to restore peace. Accompanied by the 
 chief and five leading men, he went to the 
 fortress where the principal movers of hos- 
 tilities were assembled, to entreat them to 
 finish the war by becxDming Christians. The 
 sun was setting as they reached the fortress. 
 They took their seats among groups of 
 grim-looking men covered with black pow- 
 der, and stacks of muskets, clubs, and spears ; 
 and the "noon of night" had passed before 
 
 29 
 
338 THE Ci^NNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 they arose from those seats. There was 
 hard pleading on both sides. The heathen 
 thirsted for revenge: four of their party 
 were dead, and others wounded, and they 
 had not drawn blood from their enemies. 
 However, at length Mbalata, their chief, 
 yielded. He put his hand into the hand of 
 the missionary, and said, ''I should like to 
 be a heathen a little longer ; but I will lotUy 
 as you so earnestly entreat me." A young 
 warrior bowed with him, and at the silent 
 hour of midnight, in the open air, they wor- 
 shipped the one true God together. In an- 
 other part of the village, twelve women, for 
 the first time in their lives, bowed the knee 
 to Jehovah and said ''Amen" to petitions 
 offered for their present, future, and eternal 
 happiness. 
 
 Mr. Williams writes, ''The second object 
 of my visit — a peace betwixt Ndama and Na 
 Sau — engaged my attention at an early hour 
 next morning." This object was attained 
 with less difficulty than he anticipated. In 
 the pres( nee of Mr. Williams and a party 
 of Christian chiefs, the leaders of both par- 
 
PROGRESS AT MBUA. 339 
 
 ties, with some of their followers, met in an 
 area enclosed by lofty trees. Upon the en- 
 trance of the Na Sau chief, Tui Mbua, the 
 Ndama chief, arose and cordially embraced 
 him, to the unutterable joy and relief of the 
 Christians who were present. At the request 
 of Mr. Williams, Tui Mbua stated, in an ani- 
 mated speech of some length, the object of 
 their meeting, his own earnest desire for peace, 
 and his intention to be a Christian from that 
 time forth. Afterwards Ra Hezekiah Vunin- 
 daDga, the Christian chief of Tiliva, addressed 
 the people. He began by saying, ''This is 
 a good day : we have long prayed that we 
 might see this day; now we see it, and are 
 glad. To-day we see the great power of 
 God. Man could not do what we see done 
 to-day. We Fijians are a perverse people; 
 we are Fijians, and we know that of all 
 crooked, obstinate things the mind of a 
 Fijian is most crooked and most obstinate. 
 If we have an enemy, we do not like to be 
 of one mind with him; we do not wish to 
 be reconciled to him. If some Fijian chief 
 of great power had this day come to unite 
 
340 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 US, he could not have done so; certainly 
 not, — certainly not, — certainly not. If some 
 great chief of Britain had come amongst us 
 to-day to dissuade us from war and make 
 us one, he could not have done so. The 
 Fijian mind defies the power of man. But 
 what do we see to-day? We see those who 
 the other day were full of bad feeling 
 towards each other, and shooting at each 
 other, sitting together in peace; hatred is 
 taken away ; and we who so lately had each 
 different views are now united, and our minds 
 are as the mind of one man. Ask no more, 
 ' What can the lotu do ?' after what your eyes 
 see this day. The lotu is of God ; and what 
 we now see is the work of God : he alone is 
 almighty. In this age we see also the love 
 of God. He has shown his love to us by 
 giving us his book to tell us of the Saviour 
 and to teach us the way to serve God. And, 
 to help us to understand what we read, he 
 has sent his ministers to our land. Great 
 is the love of God. We Fijians are born in 
 darkness and error, we are reared in error, 
 it if our nature to err, so that it is import- 
 
PEOGRESb AT MBUA. 341 
 
 ant that we have those amongst us who can 
 direct us. A father who loves his children 
 tells them what they ought not to do, and 
 he tells them what they ought to do. Mr. 
 Williams is as a father to us. If we take a 
 step without advice, it is a wrong step ; but 
 if it is approved by him we are no more 
 double-minded, but go fearlessly on, and we 
 find that we are doing what is right; but 
 our own plans lead us wrong, and the end 
 of them is pain and trouble. Great is our 
 joy at this meeting. You, our friends of 
 Ndama and Na Sau, have come into a good 
 way ; never go from it. Grasp firmly what 
 you have now taken hold of: the end thereof 
 is life, — life now, and life forever." 
 
 Thus did the gospel change the hearts and 
 lives of the heathen and bring peace. 
 
 Mr. Williams was joined in 1852 by Mr. 
 Moore, and together they toiled patiently 
 and earnestly with the islanders of Vanua 
 Levu. Dangers came from new wars, but 
 they were kept in safety. From the climate, 
 however, they sufi'ered so that, in 1853, Mr. 
 Williams was compelled to sail for Australia. 
 
 29* 
 
342 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Mr. Moore remained a year longer at Mbua, 
 on this island, when he was sent to Rewa, 
 Mr. Malvern taking the district he left. 
 
 The congregations had now increased to two 
 thousand regular attendants. Mr. Malvern 
 soon added to the mission buildings a school- 
 house. To the schools he gave great attention. 
 
 The chief Tui Mbua, after long indecision, 
 at last, in August, 1855, made an open and 
 sincere profession of Christianity, and his 
 example was followed by many of his chiefs 
 and people. 
 
 The two Christian chiefs Tui Mbua and 
 Ea Hezekiah now labored together to pro- 
 mote the true religion. 
 
 Mr. Wilson, who succeeded Mr. Malvern 
 in 1856, wrote most hopefully of the work 
 of God at this station. He says, ''The 
 preachers are zealous and pious, the members 
 appear sincere, and some of them are clear 
 in their experience. At Ndama, a place 
 which has suffered much for religion, we 
 have a flourishing cause: the chapel is too 
 small for the congregation. They have con- 
 tributed in mats, cocoanuts, and oil, what 
 
PROGRESS AT MBUA. 343 
 
 has paid their teacher. Since I began this 
 letter, a native preacher who volunteered to 
 go to a great distance to a heathen popula- 
 tion, and who left his wife and children be- 
 hind him, has returned with a chief. They 
 report that twenty-five have embraced Chris- 
 tianity, that many are waiting until the mis- 
 sionary ci a go, and then they will become 
 Christians. The chief waited on me this 
 morning, and brought a turtle-shell as his 
 love, and made a speech on behalf of him- 
 self and the head-chief, which was in effect 
 that they wished a missionary to go and live 
 with them, and then all in Mouta would be- 
 come Christians. God has given us favor 
 in the sight of the people; and in no place 
 in the world could money be spent more for 
 the benefit of the human race, nor mission- 
 aries labor in a field where they could bring 
 a larger revenue of glory to God, than in 
 Fiji at this day. The work is marvellous 
 and overwhelming. Surely Christians in 
 England who have loved Fiji so long and 
 have given so much will do yet more, and 
 make an effort to send a reinforcement of 
 
344 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 missionaries, seeing that their Lord has hon- 
 ored them so highly by giving such success 
 to their efforts. 
 
 "It fills our hearts with gratitude, and 
 tears of joy swim in our eyes, while we see 
 what Qod hath wrought. Every day schools 
 are conducted in temples once heathen, into 
 which if a woman or a little girl had entered 
 a short time ago they would have been laid 
 bleeding victims on the threshold; we walk 
 over ovens in which men were regularly 
 cooked, but they are filled up, and yams are 
 growing around them; we pass by houses 
 in which human beings were eaten, but now 
 we hear the voice of praise and prayer; we 
 visit the sick, and we hear them say that 
 they are passing away to be with Jesus." 
 
 On the 12th of August, 1857, a festival 
 for the children took place. "A school-an- 
 niversary and missionary meeting in Fiji !" 
 As many as five hundred children were pre- 
 sent. The exercises were in the open air, 
 and consisted of hymns sung, the chanting 
 of Scripture, and repeating of the cate- 
 chisms. 
 
PERSECUTION AT NANDI. 345 
 
 NANDI. 
 
 Whilst at other points the work was glo- 
 rious, from Nandi, on the south side of the 
 island of Vanua Levu, from year to year 
 sad tidings came. Good men labored until, 
 in broken health, they were laid aside or 
 died. In 1858 the station was left vacant. 
 
 And now came war in Nandi. The heath- 
 en, resolved to destroy the new religion, 
 made many unsuccessful efforts to accom- 
 plish their purpose. At last Tui Levuka, 
 from Mbau, with Tuara, Thakombau's bro- 
 ther, came to their assistance. The Chris- 
 tians had hitherto succeeded in defending 
 their towns against their foes, who finally 
 accomplished by stratagem what they had 
 failed to do by force. Tui Levuka and his 
 allies anchored off the mission premises. 
 Telling the people that they had come at 
 the request of the missionaries to protect 
 the town, the wily enemies were admitted; 
 whereupon they rushed in, set fire to the 
 town, and speedily laid it in ashes. Tui Le- 
 vuka, with unusual humanity for a heathen, 
 refused to allow the usual privilege of mas- 
 
346 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 sacring the inhabitants; but they were sub- 
 jected to insult and outrage and shared out 
 as captives among the towns on the coast. 
 The mission-house escaped the flames, to be 
 broken into and rifled. 
 
 CHAPTEE. XVI. 
 
 DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 
 
 Thakombau, the powerful chief of the 
 small but important island of Mbau, near 
 the large island of Viti Levu, had steadily- 
 refused to receive a missionary. The mis- 
 sionaries who were brought in contact with 
 him always took a deep interest in him, on 
 account of his high position and his personal 
 character. Mr. Calvert and Thakombau had 
 always been on very friendly terms; and 
 Mr. Calvert faithfully endeavored to awaken 
 his conscience. When he was stationed at 
 Viwa, Mr. Calvert anxiously desired to ex- 
 tend his influence to Mbau. On the visits 
 
lis-: ^i 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 lhM\:. 
 
 '^li»i!!liiVlf;|r'i!:f 
 
DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 347 
 
 whicli he frequently made to that island, he 
 always sought an interview with the chief. 
 Often these visits were returned, when Tha- 
 kombau would seek a private interview with 
 the missionary in his bedroom or little study 
 and converse for hours, generally starting 
 such objections as would bring out the 
 strongest arguments against the heathenism 
 of Fiji, — which arguments, on leaving, he 
 would use in opposing his own priests and 
 chiefs. Whatever other effect was produced 
 upon Thakombau, it was certain that his 
 opposition to the lotu was restrained; and 
 this was no small gain. 
 
 Permission was quietly given to a few per- 
 sons in Mbau to become Christians, and 
 among these were some women of rank. 
 The number increased until Thakombau was 
 alarmed and forbade all public Christian 
 worship. Tanoa, his old father, was more 
 favorable to the Christians, and gave them 
 leave to hold services at Sembi, a town near 
 Mbau, where some of his own women resided. 
 The missionaries went there regularly from 
 Viwa on the Sabbath, and always took Mbau 
 
348 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 on the way home ; so that, though they might 
 not have public worship, they could, by ap- 
 pearing in their Sunday costume, at least 
 remind the people of the religion which 
 kept every seventh day holy. 
 
 The strict observance of the Sabbath made 
 such an impression upon Thakombau that he 
 ordered a feast which had been appointed 
 for the Sabbath to be postponed till Monday. 
 
 The power of the gospel was manifestly 
 beginning to tell on this chief. His outward 
 respect for all Christian observances was 
 uniform; and he frequently expressed to 
 priests and chiefs his opinion that Christianity 
 was ''the one true thing in the world," and 
 that it would prevail. 
 
 About this time the Mbutoni people came 
 to Mbau, after a long absence, to pay tribute, 
 and it was deemed necessary to entertain 
 them with suitable honors. These honors 
 included a cannibal feast; and for this victims 
 must be obtained. 
 
 The missionaries were absent fr()m Viwa; 
 but Mrs. Calvert and Mrs. Lyth were at 
 home, and heard ominous sounds betokening 
 
DA f -DAWN IN MBAU. 349 
 
 the horrible preparations for the still more 
 horrible feast. Procuring a canoe, these 
 heroic women went alone to Mbau, if possi- 
 ble to save some of the victims from this 
 dreadful fate. With the protection of an '' un- 
 seen guard" round about them, they passed 
 unmolested through the half-maddened can- 
 nibals into the presence of the king, and 
 begged him to stop the work of death. They 
 then went to the chief of the fishermen, who 
 supplied material for these feasts, and ap- 
 pealed to him to sacrifice no more lives. 
 They succeeded in persuading these men to 
 let the victims suffice who had been already 
 killed ; and even in Mbau there were some 
 who blessed these noble women for the work 
 done this day. 
 
 The islands were in 1849 visited by Cap- 
 tain Erskine, of her Majesty's ship "Havan- 
 nah." This officer did all in his power to 
 strengthen the influence of the missionaries, 
 and particularly took occasion to express his 
 horror at the practice of cannibalism, in an 
 address to the chief,— Mr. Calvert interpret- 
 ing. Thakombau afterwards begged Mr, 
 
 OS 
 
350 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 Calvert to tell Captain Erskine that tlie 
 custom of eating men was one they had de- 
 rived from their fathers, but that they of the 
 present day knew better and would give it up. 
 
 Many visitors to the islands at this time 
 noticed that the people were unwilling even 
 to mention cannibalism, and that some of them 
 pretended perfect ignorance of it. Captain 
 Erskine particularly requested Thakombau to 
 prevent any human sacrifice on the occasion 
 of an anticipated visit from the Somo-somo 
 people, and further entreated that when his 
 father Tanoa should die — an event evidently 
 not distant — he would not allow any stran- 
 gling of women. The first request the chief 
 granted, but he said he could not make any 
 promise with regard to the second. 
 
 Thakombau was gradually yielding. When 
 some Christians came to visit Mbau, he gave 
 them one of his houses to worship in. They 
 continued to meet here, although much an- 
 noyed by the people. The favorite little son 
 of Thakombau was permitted to attend regu- 
 larly, dressed in the lotu dress and accom- 
 panied Dy his train of attendants. 
 
DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 351 
 
 The missionaries now thought it time to 
 apply to the king for ground to build a mission 
 house at Mbau. This request was granted ; 
 and the chief and his father, to the relief and 
 pleasure of the missionaries, announced that 
 they would erect the buildings. It seemed 
 at last that their long-desired object was to 
 be attained, and that the station would be 
 permanently established. But, before the 
 work was begun, a long-existing war with 
 an adjoining district was rekindled, and, in 
 the excitement attending it, Christianity was 
 little remembered. 
 
 Mr. Calvert, wishing to induce the king 
 to be merciful in the coming combat, if not 
 to avoid it altogether, spent three days with 
 Thakombau previous to the setting forth of 
 his army. His efforts were attended by a 
 measure of success. 
 
 After the heathen rites the god was said 
 to have manifested himself through the 
 priest, and promised victory. The expedi- 
 tion started, certain of success ; but, in spite 
 of preconcerted treachery, they had to re- 
 treat hastily, with a priest and several others 
 
352 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 wounded. The offerings had failed, and the 
 old system proved false, — whereby its hold on 
 the people was loosened and fresh vantage- 
 ground given to the teachers of the truth. 
 There were many signs of this lessening 
 power of the old religion. During the ab- 
 sence of the army on this expedition, food 
 was frequently eaten without the customary 
 offering to the gods; and, when he returned, 
 Thakombau declared his intention of taking 
 the priest to task for his false prediction. It 
 was strange that this man, who opposed the 
 establishment of Christianity, should reprove 
 openly those who spoke against it: yet such 
 was repeatedly the case. 
 
 Their recent reverses had but led the people 
 at Mbau to the more eager pursuit of war; 
 and to this every thing had to yield. While 
 heathen temples were being rebuilt with new 
 zeal in the hope of propitiating the gods who 
 had deceived them, they had but little time 
 or inclination to erect a mission house: so 
 the hope of an establishment here was again 
 deferred. 
 
 In 1852 the old king, Tanoa, died. It was 
 
DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 353 
 
 not often that any one was allowed to live so 
 long : but Thakombau would never listen to 
 any proposition to put his father to death. 
 
 The death of the king had been looked 
 forward to by the missionaries with great 
 interest. If Thakombau could be induced 
 to prevent the strangling of the women, and 
 the custom thus be once broken through, it 
 would be felt throughout Fiji; while the 
 failure of their earnest efforts to bring about 
 this result would confirm the custom. As 
 the king daily grew weaker, the missionaries 
 became more urgent, warning the chief of 
 the enormity of the crime contemplated. 
 Besides an offering of whales' teeth to re- 
 deem the victims, Mr. Calvert, in Fijian style, 
 offered to have a finger cut off if they could 
 be spared. 
 
 Thakombau was respectful, but resolute in 
 his determination to obey the custom of ages 
 and honor his father in the usual manner. 
 He told the missionaries which women would 
 be killed, and asked them to visit them. 
 They did so, and found them fully resolved 
 to die. 
 
 39* 
 
354 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 The horrible scene which occurred is thus 
 described : — 
 
 On the 6th of December Mr. Calvert was 
 called away to Ovalau. The next day Mr. 
 Watsford went to Mbau alone, and found all 
 the women at the king's house weeping. 
 The selected victims were pointed out, with 
 their friends weeping over them; and he 
 warned them faithfully of the punishment 
 that awaited the wicked in another world, — 
 to which one of them boldly answered, '' Who 
 fears hell-fire? We shall jump in there the 
 day the king dies." Passing into the prin- 
 cipal house, he was still more shocked to see 
 Thakombau's wife and some more women 
 preparing the dresses for the others to wear 
 on the day of their death. Mr. Watsford 
 went to the young king, and found him 
 among his assembled chiefs, where once 
 more the solemn warnings were faithfully 
 spoken; but in vain. The missionary then 
 returned to Viwa, but soon crossed over again 
 to Mbau, where he remained till midnight, 
 trying to save the women. Before leaving, 
 he backed his last appeal by ofi"ering the new 
 
FUNERAL MURDERS. 356 
 
 wliale-boat belonging to the mission, twenty 
 muskets, and all his own personal property; 
 but still in vain. Early the next morning 
 he went back to Mbau, and found that Tanoa 
 was dead. Hastening on to the house where 
 he lay, Mr. Watsford saw six biers standing 
 at the door, — from which he knew that five 
 victims, at least, were to accompany their 
 dead lord to the grave. 
 
 Within the house the work of death was 
 begun. One woman was already strangled, 
 and the second was kneeling with covered 
 head, while several men on either side were 
 just pulling the cord which wound round her 
 neck, when the missionary stood on the 
 threshold, heart-sick and faint at the ghastly 
 sight. Soon the woman fell dead. Mr. 
 Watsford knew her. She had professed 
 Christianity, and shrunk from death, asking 
 to go to prayer. But, when the fatal moment 
 came, she arose when called, and, passing the 
 old king's corpse, spat on it, saying, ''Ah, 
 you old wretch ! I shall be in hell with you 
 directly!" The third was now called for, 
 when Thakombau caught sight of the mis- 
 
356 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 sionary, and, trembling with fear, looked at 
 him in agony and cried out, "What about 
 it, Mr. Watsford?" 
 
 Mr. Watsford with great difficulty answered, 
 ''Refrain, sir! That is plenty. Two are 
 dead. Refrain! I love them!" 
 
 The chief replied, "We also love them. 
 They are not many, — only five. But for 
 you missionaries, many more would have 
 been strangled." 
 
 Just then a third victim approached, who 
 had offered to die instead of her sister, who 
 had a son living. She had sat impatiently, 
 and, on hearing her name, started up in- 
 stantly. She was a fine woman, of high 
 rank, and wore a new liku. Looking proudly 
 around on the people seated in the apart- 
 ment, she pranced up to the place of death, 
 off'ering her hand to Mr. Watsford, who 
 shrank back in disgust. When about to 
 kneel, she saw that they were going to use a 
 shabby cord, and haughtily refused to be 
 strangled except with a new cord. All this 
 time the assembly gazed at her with delight, 
 gently clapping their hands, and expressing, 
 
FUNERAL MURDERS. 357 
 
 in subdued exclamations, their admiration 
 of her beauty and pride. She then bade her 
 relatives farewell, and knelt down, with her 
 arms round one of her friends. The cord 
 was adjusted and the large covering thrown 
 over her; and while the men strained the 
 cord a woman of rank pressed down the head 
 of the poor wretch, who died without a sound 
 or struggle. Two more followed. 
 
 Throughout the terrible scene there was 
 no noise or excitement; but a cheerful com- 
 posure seemed to possess every one there, 
 except Thakombau, who was much excited, 
 and evidently making a great effort to act his 
 murderous part before the face of God's mes- 
 senger. He ordered that one of the victims 
 should live; but she refused; and her own 
 son helped the king and the rest to strangle 
 her. Mr. Watsford, by painful effort, stayed 
 to the last, protesting against the heartless 
 butchery which he and his brethren had so 
 long striven to prevent. 
 
 During a war which took place with Ova- 
 lau in 1853, Thakombau was seriously em- 
 barrassed by a tribe of mountaineers who 
 
358 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 revolted from their allegiance. Elijah Verani, 
 — once the brutal heathen chief, now a 
 preacher of the gospel, — ever faithful to his 
 friend, offered to go and, if possible, win them 
 back. Mr. Calvert remonstrated with him 
 on account of the danger of the undertaking; 
 but Verani was resolute. He had sent mes- 
 sengers, who were not allowed to land; and 
 the only course open to him was to go him- 
 self. On leaving, he said, "This may be the 
 time of my removal." 
 
 With a small party, he went on his perilous 
 mission. It seemed at first likely to be suc- 
 cessful. The chiefs received him and his 
 gifts graciously; but when the Lakemba 
 king heard of his arrival he offered his sister 
 and some property as a bribe to the moun- 
 taineers if they would kill Verani. The 
 bribe was accepted; and the next morning, 
 as Elijah and his party were walking past a 
 temple, they were fired upon. A man then 
 ran at Elijah with a club; but the Viwan 
 chief wrested it from him and threw it on 
 the ground. The man again seized it, and 
 his victim could offer no more resistance: a 
 
DEATH OF VERANI. 359 
 
 "ball had struck him, and he fell dead beneath 
 the blows of the club. All the party but 
 cne perished, and several were eaten, among 
 whom was a valuable preacher. The bodies 
 of Elijah, his two brothers, and another were 
 taken to Levuka, where the murderers re- 
 ceived liberal payment from the whites and 
 the natives. Mr. Waterhouse went boldly 
 and begged for the bodies, which were given 
 up to him and decently buried. 
 
 Such was the end of the renowned Verani, 
 the Christian chief Elijah. He who before 
 his conversion had put so many to a violent 
 death at last fell by the hands of murderers. 
 
 The death of his friend produced a power- 
 ful impression upon Thakomban, who had 
 suffered humiliations and reverses of late, 
 and whose influence was resisted by an 
 organized opposition in the islands. 
 
 He was led by these events to consent 
 that a missionary should reside in Mbau, 
 and gave up a small stone house for his 
 use. Mr. Waterhouse went immediately. 
 
 Soon afterwards Thakombau was attacked 
 by severe illness; and the thought of ap- 
 
360 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 proaching death was terrible to him. While 
 he was in this state, the news of the assassina- 
 tion of Tui Thakau, King of Somo-somo, was 
 brought him. Mr. Calvert told him that 
 this chief had been long and faithfully warned 
 by the servants of God, but had resisted the 
 truth, and was now suddenly cut off without 
 hope of salvation. ''And does the Lord 
 work so?" he anxiously asked. Mr. Calvert 
 answered him that he did, and that he too 
 had been warned, and should seek the mercy 
 of God before it should be too late. 
 
 Thakombau seemed much softened by these 
 events. After much deliberation and hesi- 
 tancy, he made up his mind to publicly pro- 
 fess his change of faith. 
 
 Mr. Calvert came from Ovalau to conduct 
 the services. At nine o'clock the death- 
 drum — Tongo-Tongoi valu (reporter of 
 war) — was beaten. Ten days before, its 
 sound had called the people together to a 
 cannibal feast; now it gave the signal for 
 assembling in the great Stranger's House for 
 the worshipping of the true God. About 
 three hundred people were in the building, 
 
THAKOMBAU A CHRISTIAN. 361 
 
 before whom stood the chief with his chil- 
 dren and many wives and other relatives. 
 In front of him was his priest, — an old man 
 with gray hair and a long beard. All had 
 assumed the more ample lotu dress, and 
 were well-behaved and serious. Mr. Calvert, 
 who had so long watched and toiled for this 
 event, was deeply moved by the scene, and 
 could scarcely find voice to go on with the 
 service. That was a day ever to be remem- 
 bered as one of the most important in the 
 annals of Fiji. After worship the people 
 crowded about the missionaries to ask for 
 alphabets, and gathered in groups to learn 
 to read. In the afternoon Mr. Waterhouse 
 preached to a congregation as large as that 
 of the morning. 
 
 Thakombau was evidently relieved, now 
 that he had thrown off the old yoke of hea- 
 thenism. He caused the Sabbath to be strictly 
 observed, and procured a large bell by which 
 to summon his numerous household to family 
 prayer. His own attendance at the preach- 
 ing and prayer-meetings was regular, and 
 his deportment serious. His little boy of 
 
 31 
 
362 THE CANNIBAL ISLAND;^. 
 
 about seven years of age had already been 
 permitted to bear the name of Christian, and 
 had learned to read. The little fellow now 
 became the teacher of his parents, who were 
 both so eager to acquire knowledge that 
 sometimes their young instructor would fall 
 asleep with fatigue in the midst of the les- 
 son, to resume it after a refreshing nap. 
 
 The king's example was followed by many, 
 — some from motives of expediency, and 
 others from sincere conviction. 
 
 The change in Thakombau was not as yet 
 a very vital one. His judgment was con- 
 vinced, but his heart did not yield, and the 
 principles of heathenism were not altogether 
 uprooted from his soul. 
 
 Eatu Nggara, the Rewan chief, elated by 
 his own recent successes and the reverses of 
 his rival, sent word to Mr. Waterhouse to re- 
 move from Mbau, because he was about to 
 destroy the town and its king. This the 
 missionary refused to do, regarding the 
 threatened danger as making his presence 
 more needful. Thakombau was surprised 
 and touched by this, and said, "When the 
 
DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 363 
 
 vessel is sinking, every one is anxious to 
 provide for his own safety,— as many of my 
 own relatives are doing; but you, when I 
 am reviled, remain to perish with me." 
 
 '' Only be faithful to God and follow the 
 guidance of his word, and I will remain 
 with you until your death, should it be per- 
 mitted to come to pass during the present 
 agitation," replied Mr. Waterhouse. 
 
 Every day the troubles and dangers of 
 Mbau became more threatening. The cause 
 of religion was aided rather than hindered 
 by this, however; for the people and their 
 king sought after God in their distress, and 
 Thakombau's proud heart melted under the 
 pressure of grief and anxiety, until he sat 
 at the feet of Jesus to learn of him endur- 
 ance and forgiveness of enemies. 
 
 He sent to the Eewan king, proposing 
 peace. The king, thinking that this was a 
 token of weakness, sent back a proud re- 
 fusal, — saying that he would soon kill and 
 eat Thakombau, and that he defied his God 
 Jehovah to save him from his vengeance. 
 The humble chief had now calm confidence 
 
364 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 in God, and could hear this message un- 
 moved. 
 
 A spy was detected in an effort to bribe a 
 town of Mbau to revolt. He was sent safely- 
 back to Eewa, wearing a new dress given 
 him by Thakombau. 
 
 During these difficulties the missionaries 
 endeavored to keep on peaceable terms with 
 both parties. They went constantly from 
 one to the other, and were often in circum- 
 stances of very great danger in making these 
 journeys. The God whom they served was 
 truly, however, "their shield and buckler" 
 in all these days of peril. 
 
 The dreaded war was prevented by the 
 death of the Rewan king, Ratu Nggara. 
 When Thakombau heard of this event, he 
 immediately sent to Eewa, asking for peace. 
 "Tell the Rewa people," said he, "to become 
 Christian, and let us establish a peace that 
 shall be lasting. If we fight and one party 
 conquers, thereby making peace, evil will 
 remain and spring up. Let us all become 
 Christian and establish peace: then all will 
 be likely to go on well. I am Christian, 
 
DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 365 
 
 not because I am weak or afraid, but because 
 I know it to be true. I trust in God alone." 
 
 The chiefs received this message favorably, 
 and sent an ambassador to Mbau with a 
 peace-offering. This war and peace have 
 already been referred to in our chapter on 
 Rewa. 
 
 The work of the missionaries, after much 
 toil and discouragement, was thus followed 
 by success at last. The great Stranger's 
 House at Mbau was set apart for the public 
 worship of God, and about a thousand people 
 would meet there, a large proportion of 
 whom were evidently sincere worshippers, 
 — many of them having bitterly repented of 
 their sins and brought forth fruits meet for 
 repentance. The great centre being gained, 
 the good work went on without hindrance 
 on all hands. Chapels were built and houses 
 opened for religious service in every direction. 
 
 Mr. Calvert left Fiji in 1855, after having 
 spent seventeen years in active labor there. 
 He returned to England to superintend the 
 printing of the Bible in Fijian. The Sun- 
 day before he left the islands, he preached to 
 
 31 
 
366 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 a crowded congregation in the Stranger s 
 House. The memory of what Mbau once was, 
 the sight of its present condition, gratitude 
 to God for the success with which he had at 
 last crowned their toil and suffering, moved 
 the missionary's heart most deeply; nor were 
 the congregation before him unaffected by 
 the occasion. 
 
 In 1857, Thakombau was married to his 
 queen. His numerous other wives were 
 sent away ; and with them he sacrificed more 
 wealth and influence than can be estimated 
 by strangers to Fijian life. This act, there- 
 fore, was a most convincing proof of the 
 change Christianity had wrought in him. 
 
 The hindrance to his baptism was now re- 
 moved, and the rite was performed January 
 11, 1857. In the afternoon the king was 
 publicly baptized. In the presence of Grod, 
 he promised to " renounce the devil and all 
 his works, the pomps and vanities of this 
 wicked world, and the sinful lusts of the 
 flesh." He then addressed the assembly. 
 It must have cost him many a struggle to 
 stand up before his court, his ambassadors, 
 
DAY-DAWN IN MBAU. 367 
 
 and the flower of his people, to confess his 
 former sins. In time past he had considered 
 himself a god, and had received honors 
 almost divine from his people; now he hum- 
 bles himself and adores his great Creator 
 and merciful Preserver. 
 
 And what a congregation he had! Hus- 
 bands whose wives he had dishonored! 
 widows whose husbands he had slain ! sisters 
 whose relatives had been strangled by his 
 orders ! relatives whose friends he had eaten ! 
 and children the descendants of those he 
 had murdered, and who had vowed to avenge 
 the wrongs inflicted on their fathers ! 
 
 A thousand stony hearts heaved with fear 
 and astonishment as Thakombau gave utter- 
 ance to the following sentiments: — "I ha.ve 
 been a bad man. I disturbed the country. 
 The missionaries came and invited me to 
 embrace Christianity; but I said to them, 
 *I will continue to fight.' God has singu- 
 larly preserved my life. At one time I 
 thought that I had myself been the instru- 
 ment of my own preservation ; but now I 
 know that it was the Lord's doing. I desire 
 
368 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. 
 
 to acknowledge him as the only and the 
 true God. I have scourged the world." 
 He was deeply affected, and spoke with great 
 diffidence. 
 
 The work now entered upon a new life. 
 Soon in the Mbau district alone the attend- 
 ants on Christian worship numbered ten 
 thousand. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In looking over this sketch of Fijian mis- 
 sion history, the magnitude of the work ac- 
 complished must strike the thoughtful mind, 
 and the devout heart cannot but humbly 
 say, ''Be thou exalted, Lord! we will sing 
 and praise thy power. ' ' The change wrought 
 in Fiji could never have been brought to 
 pass by human strength or wisdom. God 
 has been working in those savage natures. 
 In parts of these islands he has caused can- 
 nibalism, polygamy, infanticide, authorized 
 murders, and brutal despotism to fade away 
 almost to extinction. He has caused civili- 
 zation to advance with slow but steady steps 
 towards full development. There is still 
 
CONCLUSION. 369 
 
 darkness, superstition, misery, and crime 
 marring the beauty of these fair islands and 
 mingling a wail with the song of praise 
 which arises from those who have been re- 
 deemed to God. The urgent, pleading call 
 for more missionaries in Fiji comes from 
 thousands who would hear if one were there 
 to speak to them, and from the weary, 
 overburdened laborers who are milling to 
 work till they lie down exhausted to die, 
 but who might fulfil their measure of duties 
 for years to come if there were but men 
 enough to share their toil and their reward. 
 Let the prayers of Christians ascend before 
 the throne of the Great King until the 
 Islands of the Sea shall all bow at his feet. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Princeton Theoloaical , Seminaf^ Librjri^^^ 
 
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