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[page 161:]
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CHAPTER XX.
THE chief was
as good as
his
word, and we were soon plentifully supplied with fresh provision. We
found
the tortoises as fine as we had ever seen, and the ducks surpassed our
best species of wild fowl, being exceedingly tender, juicy, and
well-flavoured.
Besides these, the savages brought us, upon our making them comprehend
our wishes, a vast quantity of brown celery and scurvy grass, with a
canoe-load
of fresh fish and some dried. The celery was a treat indeed, and the
scurvy
grass proved of incalculable benefit in restoring those of our men who
had shown symptoms of disease. In a very short time we had not a single
person on the sick-list. We had also plenty of other kinds of fresh
provision,
among which may be mentioned a species of shellfish resembling the
mussel
in shape, but with the taste of an oyster. Shrimps, too, and prawns
were
abundant, and albatross and other birds' eggs with dark shells. We took
in, too, a plentiful [page 162:] stock of the
flesh
of the hog which I have mentioned before. Most of the men found it a
palatable
food, but I thought it fishy and otherwise disagreeable. In return for
these good things we presented the natives with blue beads, brass
trinkets,
nails, knives, and pieces of red cloth, they being fully delighted in
the
exchange. We established a regular market on shore, just under the guns
of the schooner, where our barterings were carried on with every
appearance
of good faith, and a degree of order which their conduct at the village
of Klock-klock had not led us to expect from the savages.
Matters went on thus very amicably
for several
days,
during which parties of the natives were frequently on board the
schooner,
and parties of our men frequently on shore, making long excursions into
the interior, and receiving no molestation whatever. Finding the ease
with
which the vessel might be loaded with biche de mer, owing to
the
friendly disposition of the islanders, and the readiness with which
they
would render us assistance in collecting it, Captain Guy resolved to
enter
into negotiation with Too-wit for the erection of suitable houses in
which
to cure the article, and for the services of himself and tribe in
gathering
as much as possible, while he himself took advantage of the fine
weather
to prosecute his voyage to the southward. Upon mentioning this project
to the chief he seemed very willing to enter into an agreement. A
bargain
was accordingly struck, perfectly satisfactory to both parties, by
which
it was arranged that, after making the necessary preparations, such as
laying off the proper grounds, erecting a portion of the buildings, and
doing some other work in which the whole of our crew would be required,
the schooner should proceed on her route, leaving three of her men on
the
island to superintend the fulfilment of the project, and instruct the
natives
in drying the biche de mer. In regard to terms, these were made
to depend upon the exertions of the savages in our absence. They were
to
receive a stipulated quantity of blue beads, knives, red cloth, and so
forth, for every certain number of piculs of the biche de mer
which
should be ready on our return. [page 163:]
A description of the nature of this
important
article
of commerce, and the method of preparing it, may prove of some interest
to my readers, and I can find no more suitable place than this for
introducing
an account of it. The following comprehensive notice of the substance
is
taken from a modern history of a voyage to the South Seas.
"It is that mollusca from the
Indian Seas
which is known in commerce by the French name bouche de mer (a
nice
morsel from the sea). If I am not much mistaken, the celebrated Cuvier
calls it gasteropeda pulmonifera. It is abundantly gathered in
the
coasts of the Pacific Islands, and gathered especially for the Chinese
market, where it commands a great price, perhaps as much as their
much-talked
of edible bird's nests, which are properly made up of the gelatinous
matter
picked up by a species of swallow from the body of these
molluscæ.
They have no shell, no legs, nor any prominent part, except an absorbing
and an excretory, opposite organs; but, by their elastic wings,
like caterpillars or worms, they creep in shallow waters, in which,
when
low, they can be seen by a kind of swallow, the sharp bill of which,
inserted
in the soft animal, draws a gummy and filamentous substance, which, by
drying, can be wrought into the solid walls of their nest. Hence the
name
of gasteropeda pulmonifera.
"This mollusca is oblong, and of
different sizes,
from three to eighteen inches in length; and I have seen a few that
were
not less than two feet long. They are nearly round, a little flattish
on
one side, which lies next [[to]] the bottom of the sea; and they are
from
one to eight inches thick. They crawl up into shallow water at
particular
seasons of the year, probably for the purpose of gendering, as we often
find them in pairs. It is when the sun has the most power on the water,
rendering it tepid, that they approach the shore; and they often go up
into places so shallow, that, on the tide's receding, they are left
dry,
exposed to the heat of the sun. But they do not bring forth their young
in shallow water, as we never see any of their progeny, and the
full-grown
ones [page 164:] are always observed coming in
from
deep water. They feed principally on that class of zoophytes which
produce
the coral.
"The biche de mer is
generally taken in
three
or four feet [[of]] water; after which they are brought on shore, and
split
at one end with a knife, the incision being one inch or more, according
to the size of the mollusca. Through this opening the entrails are
forced
out by pressure, and they are much like those of any other small tenant
of the deep. The article is then washed, and afterward boiled to
a certain degree, which must not be too much or too little. They are
then
buried in the ground for four hours, then boiled again for a short
time,
after which they are dried, either by the fire or the sun. Those cured
by the sun are worth the most; but where one picul (133 1/3 lbs.) can
be
cured that way, I can cure thirty piculs by the fire. When once
properly
cured, they can be kept in a dry place for two or three years without
any
risk; but they should be examined once in every few months, say four
times
a year, to see if any dampness is likely to affect them.
"The Chinese, as before stated,
consider biche
de mer a very great luxury, believing that it wonderfully
strengthens
and nourishes the system, and renews the exhausted system of the
immoderate
voluptuary. The first quality commands a high price in Canton, being
worth
ninety dollars a picul; the second quality [[,]] seventy-five dollars;
the third [[,]] fifty dollars; the fourth [[,]] thirty dollars; the
fifth
[[,]] twenty dollars; the sixth [[,]] twelve dollars; the seventh [[,]]
eight dollars; and the eighth [[,]] four dollars; small cargoes,
however,
will often bring more in Manilla [[,]] Singapore, and Batavia."
An agreement having been thus entered
into, we
proceeded
immediately to land everything necessary for preparing the buildings
and
clearing the ground. A large flat space near the eastern shore of the
bay
was selected, where there was plenty of both wood and water, and within
a convenient distance of the principal reefs on which the biche de
mer
was to be procured. We now all set to work in good earnest, and soon,
to
the great astonishment of the savages, had felled a sufficient number [page
165:] of trees for our purpose, getting them quickly in
order
for the framework of the houses, which in two or three days were so far
under way that we could safely trust the rest of the work to the three
men whom we intended to leave behind. These were John Carson, Alfred
Harris,
and —— Peterson (all natives of London, I believe), who volunteered
their
services in this respect.
By the last of the month we had
everything in
readiness
for departure. We had agreed, however, to pay a formal visit of
leavestaking
to the village, and Too-wit insisted so pertinaciously upon our keeping
the promise, that we did not think it advisable to run the risk of
offending
him by a final refusal. I believe that not one of us had at this time
the
slightest suspicion of the good faith of the savages. They had
uniformly
behaved with the greatest decorum, aiding us with alacrity in our work,
offering us their commodities [[,]] frequently without price, and
never,
in any instance, pilfering a single article, although the high value
they
set upon the goods we had with us was evident by the extravagant
demonstrations
of joy always manifested upon our making them a present. The women
especially
were most obliging in every respect, and, upon the whole, we should
have
been the most suspicious of human beings had we entertained a single
thought
of perfidy on the part of a people who treated us so well. A very short
while sufficed to prove that this apparent kindness of disposition was
only the result of a deeply-laid plan for our destruction, and that the
islanders for whom we entertained such inordinate feelings of esteem
were
among the most barbarous, subtle, and bloodthirsty wretches that ever
contaminated
the face of the globe.
It was on the first of February that
we went on
shore
for the purpose of visiting the village. Although, as said before, we
entertained
not the slightest suspicion, still no proper precaution was neglected.
Six men were left in the schooner with instructions to permit none of
the
savages to approach the vessel during our absence, under any pretence
whatever,
and to remain constantly on deck. The boarding-nettings were up, the
guns
double-shotted [page 166:] with grape and
canister,
and the swivels loaded with canisters of musket-balls. She lay, with
her
anchor apeak, about a mile from the shore, and no canoe could approach
her in any direction without being distinctly seen and exposed to the
full
fire of our swivels immediately.
The six men being left on board, our
shore-party
consisted of thirty-two persons in all. We were armed to the teeth,
having
with us muskets, pistols, and cutlasses, besides each a long kind of
seaman's
knife, somewhat resembling the Bowie knife now so much used throughout
our western and southern country. A hundred of the black skin warriors
met us at the landing for the purpose of accompanying us on our way. We
noticed, however, with some surprise, that they were now entirely
without
arms; and, upon questioning Too-wit in relation to this circumstance,
he
merely answered that Mattee non we pa pa si — meaning that
there
was no need of arms where all were brothers. We took this in good part,
and proceeded.
We had passed the spring and rivulet
of which I
before
spoke, and were now entering upon a narrow gorge leading through the
chain
of soapstone hills among which the village was situated. This gorge was
very rocky and uneven, so much so that it was with no little difficulty
we scrambled through it on our first visit to Klock-klock. The whole
length
of the ravine might have been a mile and a half, or probably two miles.
It wound in every possible direction through the hills (having
apparently
formed, at some remote period, the bed of a torrent), in no instance
proceeding
more than twenty yards without an abrupt turn. The sides of this dell
would
have averaged, I am sure, seventy or eighty feet in perpendicular
altitude
throughout the whole of their extent, and in some portions they arose
to
an astonishing height, overshadowing the pass so completely that but
little
of the light of day could penetrate. The general width was about forty
feet, and occasionally it diminished so as not to allow the passage of
more than five or six persons abreast. In short, there could be no
place
in the [page 161:] world better adapted for the
consummation
of an ambuscade, and it was no more than natural that we should look
carefully
to our arms as we entered upon it. When I now think of our egregious
folly,
the chief subject of astonishment seems to be, that we should have ever
ventured, under any circumstances, so completely into the power of
unknown
savages as to permit them to march both before and behind us in our
progress
through this ravine. Yet such was the order we blindly took up,
trusting
foolishly to the force of our party, the unarmed condition of Too-wit
and
his men, the certain efficacy of our firearms (whose effect was yet a
secret
to the natives), and, more than all, to the long-sustained pretension
of
friendship kept up by these infamous wretches. Five or six of them went
on before, as if to lead the way, ostentatiously busying themselves in
removing the larger stones and rubbish from the path. Next came our own
party. We walked closely together, taking care only to prevent
separation.
Behind followed the main body of the savages, observing unusual order
and
decorum.
Dirk Peters, a man named Wilson
Allen, and myself
were on the right of our companions, examining, as we went along, the
singular
stratification of the precipice which overhung us. A fissure in the
soft
rock attracted our attention. It was about wide enough for one person
to
enter without squeezing, and extended back into the hill some eighteen
or twenty feet in a straight course, sloping afterward to the left. The
height of the opening, as far as we could see into it from the main
gorge,
was perhaps sixty or seventy feet. There were one or two stunted shrubs
growing from the crevices, bearing a species of filbert, which I felt
some
curiosity to examine, and pushed in briskly for that purpose, gathering
five or six of the nuts at a grasp, and then hastily retreating. As I
turned,
I found that Peters and Allen had followed me. I desired them to go
back,
as there was not room for two persons to pass, saying they should have
some of my nuts. They accordingly turned, and were scrambling back,
Allen
being close to the mouth of the fissure, when I was suddenly aware of a
concussion resembling [page 168:] nothing I had
ever
before experienced, and which impressed me with a vague conception, if
indeed I then thought of anything, that the whole foundations of the
solid
globe were suddenly rent asunder, and that the day of universal
dissolution
was at hand. |
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