human
Tibuta
gpt
Maro,
human
What a pity the coral insects have not been at work there, and enlarged these poor peoples' island; then they could have all remained together, and brought up their families. As it is, some _must_ migrate. Charles, you are very ingenious; cannot you contrive a plan for overcoming these difficulties.
gpt
Much as I should glory in benefiting mankind, I could not by any effort or sacrifice ameliorate the condition of these poor people, although I would willingly do anything in my power to testify my sorrow for their wretched destitution.
human
I fear none of us can accord them more than our sympathy; so we must needs journey on to the Marquesas, which were discovered by the Spaniards in 1595. There are thirteen. The largest, Nukahiva, is about seventy miles in circumference, and is the only one generally frequented by shipping. The coast scenery is neither picturesque nor inviting; its principal features being black, naked cliffs, or barren hills; but in the interior are grassy plains and forests filled with birds of elegant plumage. The inhabitants, with regard to personal beauty, are superior to most of the Polynesian tribes, some of the women being almost as fair as a European; in civilization, however, they are far behind the Sandwich Islanders. They have steadily resisted all attempts to convert them to Christianity, and have practised cannibalism within a very recent period. The tattooing of the Marquesans is remarkable for its regularity and good taste.
gpt
You call them Marquesans, Dora? I thought they were Kannaks.
human
So they denominate themselves: but I have more to tell you yet. They are all excellent swimmers; men, women, and children. They throw themselves fearlessly into the water several times a day, and, although in a state of perspiration, they suffer no harm. They are also dexterous climbers of trees; making the ascent like monkeys, with the hands and feet only. But their treatment of their sick is, in the highest degree, cruel and unnatural. Instead of giving assistance, every one shuns the invalid; and if he is thought to be at all in the way, he is taken to some distant spot, whither it is thought sufficient to carry him food at intervals. It is also their custom to prepare the dying man's coffin before his eyes; and what is still more incredible, when they see him about to render up his last sigh, they place a bit of moistened 'tapa'[17] in his mouth, whilst the fingers of some _friend_ are employed in closing the lips and nostrils!
gpt
All this appears very unfeeling to us my dear; but cruelty is not the intention of the poor Kannaks. They believe that the soul escapes with the parting breath, and their desire is to secure the spirit within the body until the body wastes; when, according to their doctrine, it animates another body, which, during the process of decomposition in the old one, has been created in a far distant island, where all the good things of this life are found in abundance, and the soul flies thither as soon as its old habitation is destroyed.
human
Poor people! What a lamentable state of ignorance! How I pity them. Are there any more miserable people to be visited here?
gpt
Well, here are the Low Islands to the south of the Marquesans; but I have not the pleasure of an acquaintance with the people, therefore I cannot say if they be happy or miserable. Gambia, Crescent, and Clermont Isles are the principal. Gambia contains upwards of a thousand inhabitants. Crescent Isle is not very fertile, and occupied by a few natives, who have erected little huts their, and procure a scanty subsistence.
human
Those islands were discovered by the ship 'Duff,' when on a missionary voyage in the year 1797. We shall have to retrace our steps to come to the large islands in our chart; but Easter Island is so near, it may be as well to call; although we may gain nothing by the visit, for it is a sterile spot inhabited by demi-savages, who worship small wooden deities. They tattoo themselves so as to have the appearance of wearing breeches. Most of them go naked; some few wear a _maro_ which is made either of fine Indian cloth of a reddish color, of a wild kind of parsley, or of a species of sea-weed.
gpt
There are more small islands before we go to New Zealand or Australia, and I have an account of one,--viz., New Caledonia, lying south-west of the New Hebrides. It is rather a large island, rocky for the most part; and there not being much food for animals, very few are found there. One, however, must be mentioned. It is a spider called a 'nookee,' which spins a thread so strong, as to offer a sensible resistance before breaking. This animal (for I have discovered that a spider is not an insect) constitutes part of the people's food. The inhabitants are cannibals from _taste_. They eat with an air of luxurious pleasure the muscular parts of the human body, and a slice of a child is esteemed a great dainty. Horrible wretches! They wear no clothes; the women just have a girdle of fibrous bark, and the men sometimes encircle their heads with a fillet of sewed net-work or leaves, and the hair of the vampire bat. Their houses are in the form of beehives, and the door-posts are of carved planks.
human
New Zealand, almost the antipodes of England, lies in the South Pacific, and consists of two large islands, the extreme points of which are called North and South Cape. Near North Cape is Norfolk Island, where the English, at one time, had a flourishing colony, now removed to Van Diemen's Land. We must all help to work our ship round these larger islands, for no individual can be responsible for the entire management.
gpt
I will set the example. New Zealand was discovered by Tasman in 1642; but its extent and character were ascertained by Cook in his voyage of 1774. It is now a regularly established colony belonging to the British crown. There is a bishop, several clergymen of the Church of England, and many other missionaries resident there. It is a fertile group, but contains several active volcanoes. In the north island, or New Ulster, are various cavities, which appear to be extinct craters; and in their vicinity numerous hot springs are to be met with; some of them, as they rise to boiling point, the natives use for cooking.
human
The New Zealanders belong to the Malay family: they are a fine handsome race, and possess fewer of the vices of the savage than almost any other savage people. The Missionaries have been eminently successful in the conversion of the natives to Christianity. The first establishment formed there, was commenced in the Bay of Islands, at a village called Rangiona, in 1814. The persons were sent out by the Church Missionary Society, and have never relaxed in their endeavors to promote the laudable work of converting the heathen natives from the error of their superstitions, although they have had numerous difficulties to overcome. They went out, in the strength of the Lord, resolved to do nothing in strife or vain-glory, but all in lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than themselves: and they succeeded notwithstanding the numerous hindrances; for the work was of God, and He gave them power to do all things without murmuring, in order to attain the salvation of the souls of their fellow-creatures.
gpt
The Bay of Islands is quite in the north, and has been for the last thirty years the favorite resort of whale-ships. Upwards of thirty vessels have been anchored there at the same time; and at this bay the chief intercourse between European vessels and New Zealand has principally taken place. Numerous islands are sprinkled over the space, and several creeks or entrances of rivers penetrate the surrounding country. It is on the north and west sides of this bay that the principal territories of Shunghee, the New Zealand chief who visited this country, are situated; and in these spots the horrid rites of this superior race of savages have also been witnessed.
human
It is remarkable that when New Zealand was first discovered, there were no animals whatever on the islands except a few species of lizards, which quadrupeds the inhabitants held in great veneration and terror. Even the rat and dog were introduced by Europeans; and the rat is at present the principal species of _game_. A good many parrots, parroquets, wild ducks, pigeons of large size and fine flavor, inhabit the forests; and poultry are found to thrive very well, though not yet reared to any great extent. Indeed, if we except their prisoners of war, (for the New Zealanders _were_ cannibals,) almost the only animal food hitherto used by them has been fish, which abounds around their coasts.
gpt
They must be right glad that Europeans have visited them.
human
I understand that when pigs were first introduced into New Zealand, the natives, not knowing what animals they were, nor what were their uses, mounted two, and forthwith rode them to death! They had seen some horses on board Captain Cook's vessel, and supposed the pigs to be for the same purpose.
gpt
The New Zealanders are a fine race, but not exempt from vice. They do not regard lying or stealing as crimes, and are remarkable for their propensities to make use of these qualifications on every available occasion. Captain Cook relates an instance which will give you a tolerable idea of the native character:--He had been purchasing a great quantity of fish from the natives. He says, 'While we were on the traffic, they showed a great inclination to pick my pockets; and to take away the fish with one hand which they had just given me with the other. This evil, one of the chiefs undertook to remove, and with fury in his eyes made a show of keeping the people at a proper distance. I applauded his conduct, but at the same time kept so good a look-out as to detect _him_ picking my pocket of a handkerchief, which I suffered him to put in his bosom, before I seemed to know anything of the matter, and then told him what I had lost. He seemed quite ignorant and innocent, until I took it from him; then he put it off with a laugh, acting his part with so much address, that it was hardly possible to be angry with him; so we remained good friends, and he accompanied me on board to dinner.'
human
But they are better now, are they not?
gpt
Very slightly in these points, my dear; and still less so as regards their superstitions. Generations to come may be free from these vices; but at present they are too deeply rooted to be discarded altogether. They have some curious and simple notions peculiar to themselves, and some extraordinary legends concerning natural objects of earth, sea, and sky. They account for the appearance of the face in the moon thus:--They say, 'A native girl, named Rona, went with a calabash to fetch water. The moon hid her pale beams behind dark and sweeping clouds. The maid, vexed at this uncourteous behavior, pronounced a curse on the celestial orb; but as a punishment, for so doing, she stumbled and fell. The moon descended--raised the maid from the ground, and took her to reside on high, in her realms of silvery light.'
human
A curious idea: they have many such. I remember an anecdote of a chief who lost a son for whom he grieved greatly; but one day a European met him, and observed he was very merry: he accosted him, and inquired the cause of so sudden a discontinuance of his grief. The chief replied, he had passed a bush some few days previously, when his late son, who had inserted himself into the body of a little Tikan bird, whistled to him, and bade him dry up his tears, as he felt perfectly satisfied with the quarters he then occupied. 'Shall I grieve at his happiness?' added the old man.
gpt
There is a sweet simplicity about that little story which prepossesses me in favor of these New Zealanders, although they were once such horrible cannibals. Do they not tattoo very much?
human
The art of tattooing has been brought to such perfection here, that it actually excites admiration. It is looked upon as answering the same purposes as clothes. When a chief throws off his mats, he seems as proud of displaying the beautiful ornaments figured on his skin, as a civilized dandy does of his fashionable attire. Mr. Earle speaks of a man named Aranghie, a professor of the art of tattooing, thus:--'He was considered by his countrymen a perfect master in the art, and men of the highest rank and importance were in the habit of travelling long journeys, in order to put their skins under his skilful hands. Indeed, so highly were his works esteemed, that I have seen many of his drawings exhibited even after death. A neighbor of mine very lately killed a chief who had been tattooed by Aranghie, and appreciating the artist's work so highly, he skinned the chieftain's thighs, and covered his cartouch box with it!--I was astonished to see with what boldness and precision Aranghie drew his designs upon the skin, and what beautiful ornaments he produced: no rule and compasses could be more exact than the lines and circles he formed. So unrivalled is he in his profession, that a highly finished face of a chief from the hands of this artist, is as greatly prized in New Zealand as a head from the pencil of Sir Thomas Lawrence is amongst us. Such respect was paid to this man by the natives, that Mr. Earle expresses the gratification he felt, on seeing the fine arts held in such estimation by the savages.
gpt
I do not doubt but the New Zealanders are still cannibals in heart; for, so late as 1832, when Mr. Earle was there, he unfortunately had ocular proof of the fact. He had been residing with them some months, when a chief claimed one of his (Mr. Earle's) servants, stating she was a runaway slave. He tied her to a tree and shot her through the heart, and his men prepared an oven and cooked her. Mr. Earle heard of it, and hastened to the spot. He caught them in the act of preparing some of the poor girl's flesh, and endeavored, in vain, to prevent the horrible feast; but to no purpose; for they assembled at night and devoured every morsel except the head, which he saw a hungry dog run off with to the woods. The poor girl was only sixteen years of age, pretty and well-behaved, and her murderer was one of the aristocracy of New Zealand, and, as Mr. Earle observes, a remarkably polite savage.
human
We must bid adieu to these interesting savages, and pass on to the last, but certainly not the least, of the Pacific islands.--viz. Australia.
gpt
As all land is surrounded by water, and continents differ from islands merely in point of size, and as Australia or New Holland is in extent as large as Europe, and ten times larger than either Borneo or New Guinea, it is certainly more proportionate with continents than with islands; and it seems reasonable to class Australia with the former rather than with the latter.
human
With Australia we close our investigations. To use a nautical expression, it is, compared with Europe and Asia, almost an iron-bound coast. It possesses only two large indentations,--the Gulf of Carpentaria on the north, and Spencer's Gulf on the south. Shark's Bay, on the west, and Hervey's Bay, on the east, are the next in size.
gpt
New Holland was discovered by Paulmyer de Gonville. That navigator sailed from Honfleur for the East Indies about the middle of 1503, and experienced a violent storm off the Cape of Good Hope, during which he lost his reckoning, and was driven into an unknown sea. After sailing for some time, he observed birds flying from the south, and, directing his course towards that quarter, he soon fell in with land. This was thought to have been New Holland or Australia.
human
It is remarkable how extremely ignorant the Australians are: they are certainly the lowest in intellect of the human creation. The tribes on the western shores of Spencer's Bay are positively ignorant of any method of obtaining fire: they say that it originally came down from the north. Like the vestal virgins, the women keep it constantly lighted, and carry it about with them in firesticks when they travel: should it happen to go out, they procure a fresh supply from a neighboring encampment. Then their manners are so atrociously savage. Their mode of courtship is one which I fancy would not become popular among English ladies. If a chief, or any other individual, be in love, with a damsel of a different tribe, he endeavors to waylay her; and if she be surprised in any quiet place, the ambushed lover rushes upon her, beats her about the head with his 'waddie' till she becomes senseless, when he drags her in triumph to his hut, and thenceforth she is his lawful wife!