Chapter VII
The Orofenans
To our shame we had a very pleasant supper that night off the
grilled fish, which was excellent, and some tinned meat. I say to
our shame, in a sense, for on our companions the sharks were
supping and by rights we should have been sunk in woe. I suppose
that the sense of our own escape intoxicated us. Also,
notwithstanding his joviality, none of us had cared much for the
captain, and his policy had been to keep us somewhat apart from
the crew, of whom therefore we knew but little. It is true that
Bastin held services on Sundays, for such as would attend, and
Bickley had doctored a few of them for minor ailments, but there,
except for a little casual conversation, our intercourse began
and ended.
Now the sad fact is that it is hard to be overwhelmed with
grief for those with whom we are not intimate. We were very sorry
and that is all that can be said, except that Bastin, being High
Church, announced in a matter-of-fact way that he meant to put up
some petitions for the welfare of their souls. To this Bickley
retorted that from what he had seen of their bodies he was sure
they needed them.
Yes, it was a pleasant supper, not made less so by a bottle of
champagne which Bickley and I shared. Bastin stuck to his tea,
not because he did not like champagne, but because, as he
explained, having now come in contact with the heathen it would
never do for him to set them an example in the use of spirituous
liquors.
"However much we may differ, Bastin, I respect you for that
sentiment," commented Bickley.
"I don't know why you should," answered Bastin; "but if so, you
might follow my example."
That night we slept like logs, trusting to our teak door which
we barricaded, and to Tommy, who was a most excellent watch-dog,
to guard us against surprise. At any rate we took the risk. As a
matter of fact, nothing happened, though before dawn Tommy did
growl a good deal, for I heard him, but as he sank into slumber
again on my bed, I did not get up. In the morning I found from
fresh footprints that two or three men had been prowling about
the ship, though at a little distance.
We rose early, and taking the necessary precautions, bathed in
the pool. Then we breakfasted, and having filled every available
receptacle with water, which took us a long time as these
included a large tank that supplied the bath, so that we might
have at least a week's supply in case of siege, we went on deck
and debated what we should do. In the end we determined to stop
where we were and await events, because, as I pointed out, it was
necessary that we should discover whether these natives were
hostile or friendly. In the former event we could hold our own on
the ship, whereas away from it we must be overwhelmed; in the
latter there was always time to move inland.
About ten o'clock when we were seated on stools smoking, with
our guns by our side--for here, owing to the overhanging cliff in
which it will be remembered the prow of the ship was buried, we
could not be reached by missiles thrown from above--we saw
numbers of the islanders advancing upon us along the beach on
either side. They were preceded as before by women who bore food
on platters and in baskets. These people, all talking excitedly
and laughing after their fashion, stopped at a distance, so we
took no notice of them. Presently Marama, clad in his feather
cloak, and again accompanied by priests or medicine-men, appeared
walking down the path on the cliff face, and, standing below,
made salutations and entered into a conversation with us of which
I give the substance--that is, so far as we could understand it.
He reproached us for not having come to him as he expected we
would do. We replied that we preferred to remain where we were
until we were sure of our greeting and asked him what was the
position. He explained that only once before, in the time of his
grandfather, had any people reached their shores, also during a
great storm as we had done. They were dark-skinned men like
themselves, three of them, but whence they came was never known,
since they were at once seized and sacrificed to the god Oro,
which was the right thing to do in such a case.
We asked whether he would consider it right to sacrifice us. He
replied:
Certainly, unless we were too strong, being gods ourselves, or
unless an arrangement could be concluded. We asked--what
arrangement? He replied that we must make them gifts; also that
we must do what we had promised and cure him--the chief--of the
disease which had tormented him for years. In that event
everything would be at our disposal and we, with all our
belongings, should become taboo, holy, not to be touched. None
would attempt to harm us, nothing should be stolen under penalty
of death.
We asked him to come up on the deck with only one companion
that his sickness might be ascertained, and after much hesitation
he consented to do so. Bickley made an examination of the growth
and announced that he believed it could be removed with perfect
safety as the attachment to the neck was very slight, but of
course there was always a risk. This was explained to him with
difficulty, and much talk followed between him and his followers
who gathered on the beach beneath the ship. They seemed adverse
to the experiment, till Mamma grew furious with them and at last
burst into tears saying that he could no longer drag this
terrible burden about with him, and he touched the growth. He
would rather die. Then they gave way.
I will tell the rest as shortly as I can.
A hideous wooden idol was brought on board, wrapped in leaves
and feathers, and upon it the chief and his head people swore
safety to us whether he lived or died, making us the guests of
their land. There were, however, two provisos made, or as such we
understood them. These seemed to be that we should offer no
insult or injury to their god, and secondly, that we should not
set foot on the island in the lake. It was not till afterwards
that it occurred to me that this must refer to the mountain top
which appeared in the inland sheet of water. To those
stipulations we made no answer. Indeed, the Orofenans did all the
talking. Finally, they ratified their oaths by a man who, I
suppose, was a head priest, cutting his arm and rubbing the blood
from it on the lips of the idol; also upon those of the chief. I
should add that Bastin had retired as soon as he saw that false
god appear, of which I was glad, since I felt sure that he would
make a scene.
The operation took place that afternoon and on the ship, for
when once Marama had made up his mind to trust us he did so very
thoroughly. It was performed on deck in the presence of an awed
multitude who watched from the shore, and when they saw Bickley
appear in a clean nightshirt and wash his hands, uttered a groan
of wonder. Evidently they considered it a magical and religious
ceremony; indeed ever afterwards they called Bickley the Great
Priest, or sometimes the Great Healer in later days. This was a
grievance to Bastin who considered that he had been robbed of his
proper title, especially when he learned that among themselves he
was only known as "the Bellower," because of the loud voice in
which he addressed them. Nor did Bickley particularly appreciate
the compliment.
With my help he administered the chloroform, which was done
under shelter of a sail for fear lest the people should think
that we were smothering their chief. Then the operation went on
to a satisfactory conclusion. I omit the details, but an electric
battery and a red-hot wire came into play.
"There," said Bickley triumphantly when he had finished tying
the vessels and made everything neat and tidy with bandages, "I
was afraid he might bleed to death, but I don't think there is
any fear of that now, for I have made a real job of it." Then
advancing with the horrid tumour in his hands he showed it in
triumph to the crowd beneath, who groaned again and threw
themselves on to their faces. Doubtless now it is the most sacred
relic of Orofena.
When Marama came out of the anesthetic, Bickley gave him
something which sent him to sleep for twelve hours, during all
which time his people waited beneath. This was our dangerous
period, for our difficulty was to persuade them that he was not
dead, although Bickley had assured them that he would sleep for a
time while the magic worked. Still, I was very glad when he woke
up on the following morning, and two or three of his leading men
could see that he was alive. The rest was lengthy but simple,
consisting merely in keeping him quiet and on a suitable diet
until there was no fear of the wound opening. We achieved it
somehow with the help of an intelligent native woman who, I
suppose, was one of his wives, and five days later were enabled
to present him healed, though rather tottery, to his affectionate
subjects.
It was a great scene, which may be imagined. They bore him away
in a litter with the native woman to watch him and another to
carry the relic preserved in a basket, and us they acclaimed as
gods. Thenceforward we had nothing to fear in Orofena--except
Bastin, though this we did not know at the time.
All this while we had been living on our ship and growing very
bored there, although we employed the empty hours in conversation
with selected natives, thereby improving our knowledge of the
language. Bickley had the best of it, since already patients
began to arrive which occupied him. One of the first was that man
whom Tommy had bitten. He was carried to us in an almost comatose
state, suffering apparently from the symptoms of snake poisoning.
Afterward it turned out that he conceived Tommy to be a divine
but most venomous lizard that could make a very horrible noise,
and began to suffer as one might do from the bite of such a
creature. Nothing that Bickley could do was enough to save him
and ultimately he died in convulsions, a circumstance that
enormously enhanced Tommy's reputation. To tell the truth, we
took advantage of it to explain that Tommy was in fact a
supernatural animal, a sort of tame demon which only harmed
people who had malevolent intentions towards those he served or
who tried to steal any of their possessions or to intrude upon
them at inconvenient hours, especially in the dark. So terrible
was he, indeed, that even the skill of the Great Priest, i.e.,
Bickley, could not avail to save any whom once he had bitten in
his rage. Even to be barked at by him was dangerous and conveyed
a curse that might last for generations.
All this we set out when Bastin was not there. He had wandered
off, as he said, to look for shells, but as we knew, to practise
religious orations in the Polynesian tongue with the waves for
audience, as Demosthenes is said to have done to perfect himself
as a political orator. Personally I admit that I relied more on
the terrors of Tommy to safeguard us from theft and other
troubles than I did upon those of the native taboo and the
priestly oaths.
The end of it all was that we left our ship, having padlocked
up the door (the padlock, we explained, was a magical instrument
that bit worse than Tommy), and moved inland in a kind of
triumphal procession, priests and singers going before (the
Orofenans sang extremely well) and minstrels following after
playing upon instruments like flutes, while behind came the
bearers carrying such goods as we needed. They took us to a
beautiful place in a grove of palms on a ridge where grew many
breadfruit trees, that commanded a view of the ocean upon one
side and of the lake with the strange brown mountain top on the
other. Here in the midst of the native gardens we found that a
fine house had been built for us of a kind of mud brick and
thatched with palm leaves, surrounded by a fenced courtyard of
beaten earth and having wide overhanging verandahs; a very
comfortable place indeed in that delicious climate. In it we took
up our abode, visiting the ship occasionally to see that all was
well there, and awaiting events.
For Bickley these soon began to happen in the shape of an
ever-increasing stream of patients. The population of the island
was considerable, anything between five and ten thousand, so far
as we could judge, and among these of course there were a number
of sick. Ophthalmia, for instance, was a prevalent disease, as
were the growths such as Marama had suffered from, to say nothing
of surgical cases and those resulting from accident or from
nervous ailments. With all of these Bickley was called upon to
deal, which he did with remarkable success by help of his books
on Tropical Diseases and his ample supplies of medical
necessaries.
At first he enjoyed it very much, but when we had been
established in the house for about three weeks he remarked, after
putting in a solid ten hours of work, that for all the holiday he
was getting he might as well be back at his old practice, with
the difference that there he was earning several thousands a
year. Just then a poor woman arrived with a baby in convulsions
to whose necessities he was obliged to sacrifice his supper,
after which came a man who had fallen from a palm tree and broken
his leg.
Nor did I escape, since having somehow or other established a
reputation for wisdom, as soon as I had mastered sufficient of
the language, every kind of knotty case was laid before me for
decision. In short, I became a sort of Chief Justice--not an easy
office as it involved the acquirement of the native law which was
intricate and peculiar, especially in matrimonial cases.
At these oppressive activities Bastin looked on with a gloomy
eye.
"You fellows seem very busy," he said one evening; "but I can
find nothing to do. They don't seem to want me, and merely to set
a good example by drinking water or tea while you swallow whisky
and their palm wine, or whatever it is, is very negative kind of
work, especially as I am getting tired of planting things in the
garden and playing policeman round the wreck which nobody goes
near. Even Tommy is better off, for at least he can bark and hunt
rats."
"You see," said Bickley, "we are following our trades.
Arbuthnot is a lawyer and acts as a judge. I am a surgeon and I
may add a general--a very general--practitioner and work at
medicine in an enormous and much-neglected practice. Therefore,
you, being a clergyman, should go and do likewise. There are some
ten thousand people here, but I do not observe that as yet you
have converted a, single one."
Thus spoke Bickley in a light and unguarded moment with his
usual object of what is known as "getting a rise" out of Bastin.
Little did he guess what he was doing.
Bastin thought a while ponderously, then said:
"It is very strange from what peculiar sources Providence
sometimes sends inspirations. If wisdom flows from babes and
sucklings, why should it not do so from the well of agnostics and
mockers?"
"There is no reason which I can see," scoffed Bickley, "except
that as a rule wells do not flow."
"Your jest is ill-timed and I may add foolish," continued
Bastin. "What I was about to add was that you have given me an
idea, as it was no doubt intended that you should do. I will,
metaphorically speaking, gird up my loins and try to bear the
light into all this heathen blackness."
"Then it is one of the first you ever had, old fellow. But
what's the need of girding up your loins in this hot climate?"
inquired Bickley with innocence. "Pyjamas and that white and
green umbrella of yours would do just as well."
Bastin vouchsafed no reply and sat for the rest of that evening
plunged in deep thought.
On the following morning he approached Marama and asked his
leave to teach the people about the gods. The chief readily
granted this, thinking, I believe, that he alluded to ourselves,
and orders were issued accordingly. They were to the effect that
Bastin was to be allowed to go everywhere unmolested and to talk
to whom he would about what he would, to which all must listen
with respect.
Thus he began his missionary career in Orofena, working at it,
good and earnest man that he was, in a way that excited even the
admiration of Bickley. He started a school for children,. which
was held under a fine, spreading tree. These listened well, and
being of exceedingly quick intellect soon began to pick up the
elements of knowledge. But when he tried to persuade them to
clothe their little naked bodies his failure was complete,
although after much supplication some of the bigger girls did
arrive with a chaplet of flowersÄround their necks!
Also he preached to the adults, and here again was very
successful in a way, especially after he became more familiar
with the language. They listened; to a certain extent they
understood; they argued and put to poor Bastin the most awful
questions such as the whole Bench of Bishops could not have
answered. Still he did answer them somehow, and they politely
accepted his interpretation of their theological riddles. I
observed that he got on best when he was telling them stories out
of the Old Testament, such as the account of the creation of the
world and of human beings, also of the Deluge, etc. Indeed one of
their elders said--Yes, this was quite true. They had heard it
all before from their fathers, and that once the Deluge had taken
place round Orofena, swallowing up great countries, but sparing
them because they were so good.
Bastin, surprised, asked them who had caused the deluge. They
replied, Oro which was the name of their god, Oro who dwelt
yonder on the mountain in the lake, and whose representation they
worshipped in idols. He said that God dwelt in Heaven, to which
they replied with calm certainty:
"No, no, he dwells on the mountain in the lake," which was why
they never dared to approach that mountain.
Indeed it was only by giving the name Oro to the Divinity and
admitting that He might dwell in the mountain as well as
everywhere else, that Bastin was able to make progress. Having
conceded this, not without scruples, however, he did make
considerable progress, so much, in fact, that I perceived that
the priests of Oro were beginning to grow very jealous of him and
of his increasing authority with the people. Bastin was naturally
triumphant, and even exclaimed exultingly that within a year he
would have half of the population baptised.
"Within a year, my dear fellow," said Bickley, "you will have
your throat cut as a sacrifice, and probably ours also. It is a
pity, too, as within that time I should have stamped out
ophthalmia and some other diseases in the island."
Here, leaving Bastin and his good work aside for a while, I
will say a little about the country. From information which I
gathered on some journeys that I made and by inquiries from the
chief Marama, who had become devoted to us, I found that Orofena
was quite a large place. In shape the island was circular, a
broad band of territory surrounding the great lake of which I
have spoken, that in its turn surrounded a smaller island from
which rose the mountain top. No other land was known to be near
the shores of Orofena, which had never been visited by anyone
except the strangers a hundred years ago or so, who were
sacrificed and eaten. Most of the island was covered with forest
which the inhabitants lacked the energy, and indeed had no tools,
to fell. They were an extremely lazy people and would only
cultivate enough bananas and other food to satisfy their
immediate needs. In truth they lived mostly upon breadfruit and
other products of the wild trees.
Thus it came about that in years of scarcity through drought or
climatic causes, which prevented the forest trees from bearing,
they suffered very much from hunger. In such years hundreds of
them would perish and the remainder resorted to the dreadful
expedient of cannibalism. Sometimes, too, the shoals of fish
avoided their shores, reducing them to great misery. Their only
domestic animal was the pig which roamed about half wild and in
no great numbers, for they had never taken the trouble to breed
it in captivity. Their resources, therefore, were limited, which
accounted for the comparative smallness of the population,
further reduced as it was by a wicked habit of infanticide
practised in order to lighten the burden of bringing up children.
They had no traditions as to how they reached this land, their
belief being that they had always been there but that their
forefathers were much greater than they. They were poetical, and
sang songs in a language which themselves they could not
understand; they said that it was the tongue their forefathers
had spoken. Also they had several strange customs of which they
did not know the origin. My own opinion, which Bickley shared,
was that they were in fact a shrunken and deteriorated remnant of
some high race now coming to its end through age and
inter-breeding. About them indeed, notwithstanding their
primitive savagery which in its qualities much resembled that of
other Polynesians, there was a very curious air of antiquity. One
felt that they had known the older world and its mysteries,
though now both were forgotten. Also their language, which in
time we came to speak perfectly, was copious, musical, and
expressive in its idioms.
One circumstance I must mention. In walking about the country I
observed all over it enormous holes, some of them measuring as
much as a hundred yards across, with a depth of fifty feet or
more, and this not on alluvial lands although there traces of
them existed also, but in solid rock. What this rock was I do not
know as none of us were geologists, but it seemed to me to
partake of the nature of granite. Certainly it was not coral like
that on and about the coast, but of a primeval formation.
When I asked Marama what caused these holes, he only shrugged
his shoulders and said he did not know, but their fathers had
declared that they were made by stones falling from heaven. This,
of course, suggested meteorites to my mind. I submitted the idea
to Bickley, who, in one of his rare intervals of leisure, came
with me to make an examination.
"If they were meteorites," he said, "of which a shower struck
the earth in some past geological age, all life must have been
destroyed by them and their remains ought to exist at the bottom
of the holes. To me they look more like the effect of high
explosives, but that, of course, is impossible, though I don't
know what else could have caused such craters."
Then he went back to his work, for nothing that had to do with
antiquity interested Bickley very much. The present and its
problems were enough for him, he would say, who neither had lived
in the past nor expected to have any share in the future.
As I remained curious I made an opportunity to scramble to the
bottom of one of these craters, taking with me some of the
natives with their wooden tools. Here I found a good deal of soil
either washed down from the surface or resulting from the
decomposition of the rock, though oddly enough in it nothing
grew. I directed them to dig. After a while to my astonishment
there appeared a corner of a great worked stone quite unlike that
of the crater, indeed it seemed to me to be a marble. Further
examination showed that this block was most beautifully carved in
bas-relief, apparently with a design of leaves and flowers. In
the disturbed soil also I picked up a life-sized marble hand of a
woman exquisitely finished and apparently broken from a statue
that might have been the work of one of the great Greek
sculptors. Moreover, on the third finger of this hand was a
representation of a ring whereof, unfortunately, the bezel had
been destroyed.
I put the hand in my pocket, but as darkness was coming on, I
could not pursue the research and disinter the block. When I
wished to return the next day, I was informed politely by Marama
that it would not be safe for me to do so as the priests of Oro
declared that if I sought to meddle with the "buried things the
god would grow angry and bring disaster on me."
When I persisted he said that at least I must go alone since no
native would accompany me, and added earnestly that he prayed me
not to go. So to my great regret and disappointment I was obliged
to give up the idea.
