Kidnapping in the Pacific Part 6

At all events, it could not be anything like the middle pa.s.sage between Africa and America.

"Next morning we were at sea running to the eastward, after which we stood away northward, towards the islands which extend between the line and New Caledonia. The people are all blacks, a strong, hardy race, and, as Captain Squid remarked to me, more likely to be caught, and when caught better able to work than the brown-skinned natives to the eastward, such as we used to take away to labour in the mines in South America.

"The first place we came to was the Island of Tanna, one of the southernmost of the New Hebrides. We knew that missionaries were there trying to turn the people into Christians--an odd sort of work to my mind for white people to attempt. It would not do, however, to go near where they were. We stood in, therefore, to a part of the island where they were not. Having hove-to, we sent a boat on sh.o.r.e to invite the people to come off with palm oil, telling them that we would pay a high price for it. The second mate, who went in command of the boat with the interpreter, was ordered to be very cautious lest the natives should attempt to cut him off.

"Having delivered his message, he returned to the schooner. To our surprise, in a short time three canoes were seen coming off with a dozen natives in them. They came alongside without fear, and told the interpreter that they were Christians, and friends of the white men.

The captain invited them on board, and said that he would not only pay them well for their oil, but would, if they chose, take them to a country where they might soon become rich, and return home again in a short time. They replied that they had no desire to leave their native island, and wanted to receive payment for their oil. The captain said they should have it if they would come down below, where he had got a feast ready for them. An old man of the party advised them to remain on deck till they had received the goods they had bargained for. Some liquor on this was brought up, and they were asked to take a drop. The old man again advised them not to touch it, and took hold of his oil-jar as if he was about to lower it into his canoe. Notwithstanding what the old man said, two or three of them tasted the grog, and then, first one and then another, went down below. The old man cried out to them, and was about to lower his jar into the canoe, when, at a word from the captain, one of our people seized it, while another caught hold of him.

The interpreter at the moment appearing, declared that the oil had been bought, and that he had no business to carry it away. By this time half the natives were below. The old man struggled, he was knocked down, and when his companions came to his a.s.sistance they were knocked down also.

Before they could get up again their arms were pinioned, while those who were below were treated in the same way. The captain declared that the savages intended to take the vessel, that he did not believe they were Christians, and that in his own defence he was obliged to carry them off.

"`You will understand, my lads,' he said to us, `if any questions are asked when we get to Brisbane that's the answer we must give.'

"The canoes of the savages alongside were sunk, and letting draw the foresail, we stood away along the coast, while the natives were stowed snugly below. The captain seemed highly pleased with this successful commencement of our voyage.

"A short way further on, as we saw some natives on the sh.o.r.e, the boat was sent in to speak to them. I went in her. As we approached the beach, two young men were seen swimming off towing a quant.i.ty of cocoa-nuts, which they told the interpreter they wished to barter for any goods we had brought. They were invited to come into the boat, but were timid, and replied that we might have the cocoa-nuts, but must hand out in return what we had to give. A few articles were accordingly held up, and they were invited to come and receive them. Fearing they might escape us, the moment they came alongside they were seized by the hair of their heads, and hauled into the boat. They cried out, saying that they were sons of a chief, and that, if we would set them free, we might have the cocoa-nuts. The mate laughed at them, and told them if they would quietly come with us we would pay them handsomely. As they began to struggle and tried to leap overboard, we had to hold them down. This being seen from the sh.o.r.e, the people became alarmed, and put on so threatening a manner, that we were afraid of going nearer. Having no chance of getting more natives, we returned on board with the two young men, leaving their friends raging and threatening us in vain.

"The next place we touched at we were more successful, and got nearly a dozen on board, who seemed well pleased at the thought of seeing the world, and willingly agreed to sign the paper placed before them, though I suspect they knew very little about the meaning of it. They were deadly enemies of those we had first taken. The two tribes had been accustomed to fight and eat each other, but, notwithstanding this, we turned the last comers down below to make friends with the others.

"We were standing away from the sh.o.r.e when two or three of the last party happened to hear how the first had been taken, and, becoming alarmed, attempted to leap overboard. Our men who had handspikes in their hands. .h.i.t at them to stop them doing this. The blows, however, being somewhat heavy, two fell dead on the deck, while a third made his escape to the sh.o.r.e.

"It was a bad job, for we had hoped to obtain more labourers from the same place.

"We got several, however, both men and women, from the Island of Vate.

Here the captain had an agent, a clever fellow, who, for a musket and tobacco, was ready to do anything. He persuaded the natives that if they would go on board the schooner, they would be carried to a magnificent country, where, after working for a few moons, they would make their fortunes, and be brought back in safety to their own island.

"The natives are almost as black as ebony, but tall and well-formed, wearing a broad wrapper of matting round their waists, and their hair gathered up into a bunch at the top of the head, and ornamented with feathers; while the women wear a curious tail, which hangs down behind them to the calves of their legs. The men also wear bands of sh.e.l.ls round their necks and arms, and rings in their ears.

"They seemed pretty contented when they came on board. The captain, by the agent's desire, gave each of them a present to send to their friends on sh.o.r.e.

"`Mind you take good care of them, captain,' said old Sneezer, the name we gave the black agent. `Be very kind, and bring them back all right.'

"`Ay, ay, never fear,' answered Captain Squid, and he winked at the old fellow. `We know how to treat people properly aboard here if they behave themselves.'

"You would have supposed by their looks that they were going on a party of pleasure, but they soon changed their note, poor wretches! before long.

"We got a good many people from the Island of Erromanga, where old Sneezer was very useful. The natives, I had heard say, had murdered some missionary fellows--Williams, and Harris, and others--and of course it was but right, the captain observed, that we should punish them, so we need not be in any way particular as to how we got hold of the savages. Old Sneezer used to go on sh.o.r.e in the boat, and talk to them, and persuade them to come off to us, and in this way we got about thirty or so without much difficulty. He tried to persuade one fellow he found fishing in his canoe off the leeside of the island, and as he said he did not want to leave home, Sneezer lugged him into the boat, and then sunk his canoe. He shrieked out, thinking he was going to be killed; but we told him he need not be alarmed, as we were only going to steal him. Another black fellow we found on the sh.o.r.e alone, but he would not come either, because he had got a wife and family at home, so Sneezer, without more ado, clapped his arms round him, and we hauled him into the boat, telling him that we were only just going to another island near at hand, for a short time, and that he would then have his liberty.

"While pulling along the coast of another island in the boat, three men came off to us in a canoe. Sneezer told them, as usual, the good luck in store for them. Two of them believed him, and agreed to come with us; the third jumped overboard. The mate struck out at him with the boat-hook, hooking him in the cheek, and hauled him on board. `Now, my lad, come with us,' says he, `whether you like it or no.' We soon had them on board, and stowed away below.

"We had now a full cargo; indeed, we could not well take in any more.

The black with a hole in his cheek, and some others, didn't quite like the treatment they received, and the first, making his way on deck, insisted on being put on sh.o.r.e again. He was at once knocked back into the hold again; he tried to get up, followed by others, some of whom had their bows and arrows, which they had been allowed to keep, it being supposed that they could do no harm with them. They began to shoot away, and a general fight took place in the hold, when the captain, thinking the blacks would gain possession of the vessel, ordered us to fire down upon them. The supercargo, who was, I'll allow, a precious villain, afraid that some of them might be killed, and that he should lose part of his cargo, though otherwise not caring for their lives, told us to shoot them in their legs, but not to kill them. It was all dark below, so that we could not see in what direction to fire. Some cotton was therefore fastened to the end of a long stick, and lighted; and when this was held down into the hold, we could take aim. Three savages were shot, and, being hauled upon deck, were thrown overboard: two who were dead floated quietly away, but the third was alive, and we saw him striking out towards the distant sh.o.r.e; but he soon sank, for either a shark got hold of him or his wound prevented him swimming further.

"After this we hove up the anchor, and making sail shaped a course for Brisbane. We had to keep a sharp look out after our pa.s.sengers, and make them fast whenever they came on deck, for fear they should leap overboard and drown themselves. When in sight of land we had a hard job to keep them quiet, and generally found it more convenient to make them stay below.

"Had the pa.s.sage been long we should probably have lost a good many of them; but as it was, only three or four died, and we landed the rest in tolerable condition. The captain said that they had all come on board of their own free will; that if they had changed their minds since, that was no fault of his. They were soon engaged by the colonists, who wanted labour at any price. He had no difficulty, in consequence of the favourable report he made, of again getting a licence, and without loss of time we sailed on another cruise.

"We had kept more to the eastward than usual, when it came on to blow very hard, and we had to run before the gale out of our course a considerable distance, the captain being very much vexed at this loss of time. The gale had somewhat moderated, but it was still blowing hard when we caught sight of a sail which, as we neared her, proved to be a large double canoe, with twenty or more hands on board. The captain thought she would prove a good prize, as we might sink her and carry off the people, and no one be the wiser. She consisted of two large canoes, so to speak, some way apart, but united by a strong deck placed upon them. Through the deck were cut hatches, to enable the people to go below into the canoes, and above the deck was a square house with a platform on the top of it. As we drew near, intending to run her down old Sneezer advised us to let her pa.s.s, as she belonged to Fiji, and as he said the people would give us more trouble than they were worth, as they were savage fellows, and would neither work in their own islands nor in Australia, and would very likely murder their masters. We accordingly let them go, and away she flew close hauled on a wind, though the supercargo sighed, as he thought of letting so many fine-looking fellows escape us. The gale ceasing, we hauled up, and stood back for Erromanga.

"Old Sneezer was as useful to us as before. On his first visit to the sh.o.r.e he persuaded a dozen natives to come off, by telling them that he had plenty of pigs on board for a feast they were about to hold. Very fat pigs they were, according to his account, and plenty of tobacco, so that they might smoke from morning till night to their hearts' content.

We took them off in our own boat not to alarm the rest, by having to sink their canoe. When they got on deck they asked for the pigs and tobacco. The only answer they got was finding themselves shoved down below. They shrieked and cried out till the mate went among them with a thick stick and made them quiet.

"We were not quite so successful at the next haul. Sneezer got off six fellows as he had the former ones; but they heard the others cry out before we had them secured, and tried to escape. Three were knocked down in time, but the other three leaped overboard and swam to the sh.o.r.e. The captain sang out for a couple of muskets; one however was not loaded, and the other would not go off, and the men escaped.

Knowing that we should get no more labourers there, we had to make sail and run to another place. After this we got several quite quietly, and they were induced to put their marks to the paper shown to them, and to believe all that Sneezer said.

"One day we pulled in to the sh.o.r.e a few miles south of Dillon's Bay, where the surf ran too heavily to allow us to land, but Sneezer caught sight of four men on the sh.o.r.e, and hailing them, said he was their friend, and had plenty of tobacco to give them if they would come off for it. They all swam out to us, when in our eagerness we caught hold of two of them somewhat roughly, perhaps, and hauled them into the boat; the others, taking the alarm, swam back and escaped.

"You see in this trade, as in every other, we have our disappointments.

"We had heard of the skipper of a trading schooner, who somehow or other got on very well with the Erromangians by treating them kindly, I suppose, and paying them what he promised. So says Sneezer, `I will tell them Captain Tom has got a new vessel, and this is her, and that he wishes to see them.'

"On this Sneezer went on sh.o.r.e, and nearly two dozen natives came off to see their friend Captain Tom. They were then told that he was in his cabin, when they were easily persuaded to step quietly down below. As may be supposed, we didn't let them come on deck again. What they thought about the matter, or what their friends on sh.o.r.e thought about it, I don't know; perhaps the next time Captain Tom touched at that port they might not have been inclined to be so friendly with him as before; it's just possible, indeed, that they might have knocked him on the head without inquiring whether or not he had paid them a visit a short time back, and carried off some of their people.

"The natives we had last got began moaning and groaning, and cursing their folly, because their chief, who was a Christian, had warned them beforehand, and told them that he feared some trick might be played, not liking the looks of the vessel.

"In this way, we managed, as before, to complete our cargo, and to land them all, with the exception of a few who died, at Brisbane.

"We after this made several successful trips, and I should think the colonists must have felt very grateful to us for the free labourers with whom we supplied them.

"There were a dozen vessels or more engaged in the same trade, the supercargoes of which mostly managed matters in the same way we did; if they did not they must have had great difficulty in collecting labourers.

"The `Pickle' had, however, run her course. After we had got most of our cargo on board we were caught in a heavy gale, and had to batten down the hatches to escape going to the bottom. Our pa.s.sengers must have found it tremendously hot, for the gale lasted several days, and all that time we had to keep the hatches on. When it moderated a little, and we went below to inspect our cargo, we found some had broken their arms and others their legs, tumbling about in the hold, while a dozen more were dead or dying.

"Things were bad enough, but they were to become worse. The gale came on again, and while we thought we were clear of the land the vessel struck on a coral reef. The sea beat over it, and we held on to the rigging, but scarcely was she on the other side, where it was tolerably smooth, than we found the water rushing in through a hole which had been knocked in her bottom. We had just time to get out the boat and jump into her, when down the vessel went, with all those under hatches.

"It is said that a good many of the labourers who leave their native islands never get back again; this accident will account for a hundred or more, and of course the authorities in Queensland were not answerable for it.

"We managed to save our lives, and were picked up by a Sydney vessel.

"Having found the business profitable, I shipped on board another craft engaged to take natives to the Fiji Islands, where labourers were much wanted.

"Having touched at several places, we called at the Kingsmill Islands.

Here we got a good many natives in one way or another.

"We were about making sail, when in the evening a black fellow came alongside in his canoe to sell mats and fowls. We persuaded him, as it was late, to sleep on board. As the wind was pretty fresh, he willingly agreed. Next morning he was somewhat surprised to find that the schooner had got under way during the night, and he found himself one of a gang of seventy men and fifteen women, whom we had secured, bound for Fiji. The supercargo, to quiet him, told him that we were only going across to another island close by, and would land him there. The others we kept pretty peaceable by similar tricks, though they kept asking somewhat anxiously, when they were to be put on sh.o.r.e.

"At last we reached one of the many islands of the Fiji group. I had never been there before; but I had heard that the people were terrible cannibals. So they were till the missionaries persuaded the king and his chiefs, and most of his subjects, to give up the practice. A considerable number of white men have of late years settled on several of the islands, and have bought land to grow coffee and other things.

They find a difficulty in getting the natives of Fiji to work for them, so they have to obtain labourers from other islands, and this was the work our schooner was engaged in. Our cargo was quickly distributed among the planters, some taking ten, some twenty, or as many as they could get.

"The natives of Fiji are black and fine big fellows. They wear their hair frizzled out, and big turbans on the top of all; some of them, indeed, wear great wigs over their own hair, for the larger a man's head is, the more important he thinks himself. This makes them look very tall; indeed, many of the chiefs are very fine men. They also wear ornaments of all sorts, necklaces, and rings, and beads round their legs and arms, and they stick into their ears huge ornaments, while large brooches hang down over their b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The common people, however, wear very little clothing at all, and many of the chiefs who have turned Christians, dress something after the English fashion, as they fancy; or at all events, cover their bodies with robes of their native cloth.

"I found a number of English and Frenchmen, and people of all countries settled on the islands, and there are a good lot of grog shops, so that they may be said to have made some progress in imitating civilised people. In some of the wilder parts of the country, however, the natives are still cannibals, and do not scruple to kill and eat any strangers they can catch. Not long ago they were addicted to that unpleasant custom, so that any strangers wrecked on their coasts were sure to be eaten. When they could not get strangers they ate each other; sometimes a dozen, and sometimes even twenty slaves, were killed for one great feast. Altogether from what I heard of the people, I had no fancy to stop and live among them.

"I must say this much for the missionaries, that they have cured them of their worst habit. At some of the villages I visited, where the missionaries have been long established, the people were as quiet and decent, and well-behaved as any I have been amongst; too much, as I must own, to my taste.

"They are capital swimmers, and seem as much at home in the water as on land. The women swim as well as the men. At one village I stopped at, where, though they had given up eating human flesh, they did not pretend to be Christians, I saw a curious sort of game played by the girls. A stout post was stuck in the water some way from the sh.o.r.e. On the top of it was laid the trunk of a large cocoa-nut tree, the base resting near the sh.o.r.e, and the tip projecting beyond the post over deep water.

The fun was for the girls to run up the inclined tree at full speed, and then to leap off from the point and swim back to sh.o.r.e one after the other, as fast as they could go. Twenty or thirty girls could play at the game together, and such shouting, and shrieking, and laughing I never heard.

"However, as the vessel I had come in, the `Thisby,' was returning to Australia, I went in her.