whether war-canoes or not I cannot tell, but this I know, that all the natives of the South Sea Islands are fierce cannibals, and they have little respect for strangers.We must hide if they land here, which I earnestly hope they will not do."I was greatly alarmed at Jack's speech, but I confess I thought less of what he said than of the earnest, anxious manner in which he said it, and it was with very uncomfortable feelings that Peterkin and I followed him quickly into the woods.
"How unfortunate," said I, as we gained the shelter of the bushes, "that we have forgotten our arms.""It matters not," said Jack; "here are clubs enough and to spare."As he spoke, he laid his hand on a bundle of stout poles of various sizes, which Peterkin's ever-busy hands had formed, during our frequent visits to the cliff, for no other purpose, apparently, than that of having something to do.
We each selected a stout club according to our several tastes, and lay down behind a rock, whence we could see the canoes approach, without ourselves being seen.At first we made an occasional remark on their appearance, but after they entered the lagoon, and drew near the beach, we ceased to speak, and gazed with intense interest at the scene before us.
We now observed that the foremost canoe was being chased by the other, and that it contained a few women and children, as well as men, - perhaps forty souls altogether; while the canoe which pursued it contained only men.They seemed to be about the same in number, but were better armed, and had the appearance of being a war party.Both crews were paddling with all their might, and it seemed as if the pursuers exerted themselves to overtake the natives ere they could land.In this, however, they failed.The foremost canoe made for the beach close beneath the rocks behind which we were concealed.Their short paddles flashed like meteors in the water, and sent up a constant shower of spray.The foam curled from the prow, and the eyes of the rowers glistened in their black faces as they strained every muscle of their naked bodies;nor did they relax their efforts till the canoe struck the beach with a violent shock; then, with a shout of defiance, the whole party sprang, as if by magic, from the canoe to the shore.Three women, two of whom carried infants in their arms, rushed into the woods; and the men crowded to the water's edge, with stones in their hands, spears levelled, and clubs brandished, to resist the landing of their enemies.
The distance between the two canoes had been about half a mile, and, at the great speed they were going, this was soon passed.As the pursuers neared the shore, no sign of fear or hesitation was noticeable.On they came like a wild charger, - received but recked not of a shower of stones.The canoe struck, and, with a yell that seemed to issue from the throats of incarnate fiends, they leaped into the water, and drove their enemies up the beach.
The battle that immediately ensued was frightful to behold.Most of the men wielded clubs of enormous size and curious shapes, with which they dashed out each other's brains.As they were almost entirely naked, and had to bound, stoop, leap, and run, in their terrible hand-to-hand encounters, they looked more like demons than human beings.I felt my heart grow sick at the sight of this bloody battle, and would fain have turned away, but a species of fascination seemed to hold me down and glue my eyes upon the combatants.I observed that the attacking party was led by a most extraordinary being, who, from his size and peculiarity, Iconcluded was a chief.His hair was frizzed out to an enormous extent, so that it resembled a large turban.It was of a light-yellow hue, which surprised me much, for the man's body was as black as coal, and I felt convinced that the hair must have been dyed.He was tattooed from head to foot; and his face, besides being tattooed, was besmeared with red paint, and streaked with white.Altogether, with his yellow turban-like hair, his Herculean black frame, his glittering eyes and white teeth, he seemed the most terrible monster I ever beheld.He was very active in the fight, and had already killed four men.
Suddenly the yellow-haired chief was attacked by a man quite as strong and large as himself.He flourished a heavy club something like an eagle's beak at the point.For a second or two these giants eyed each other warily, moving round and round, as if to catch each other at a disadvantage, but seeing that nothing was to be gained by this caution, and that the loss of time might effectually turn the tide of battle either way, they apparently made up their minds to attack at the same instant, for, with a wild shout and simultaneous spring, they swung their heavy clubs, which met with a loud report.Suddenly the yellow-haired savage tripped, his enemy sprang forward, the ponderous club was swung, but it did not descend, for at that moment the savage was felled to the ground by a stone from the hand of one who had witnessed his chief's danger.This was the turning-point in the battle.The savages who landed first turned and fled towards the bush, on seeing the fall of their chief.But not one escaped.They were all overtaken and felled to the earth.I saw, however, that they were not all killed.Indeed, their enemies, now that they were conquered, seemed anxious to take them alive; and they succeeded in securing fifteen, whom they bound hand and foot with cords, and, carrying them up into the woods, laid them down among the bushes.Here they left them, for what purpose I knew not, and returned to the scene of the late battle, where the remnant of the party were bathing their wounds.
Out of the forty blacks that composed the attacking party, only twenty-eight remained alive, two of whom were sent into the bush to hunt for the women and children.Of the other party, as I have said, only ten survived, and these were lying bound and helpless on the grass.
