Kidnapping in the Pacific: or, The Adventures of Boas Ringdon

“When all was prepared, the decoy birds were let fly as far as the string, forty or fifty feet in length, would allow them, when they circled round and round, and to and fro, over the open ground. The wild birds, on seeing them, collected from all quarters to learn what they were about. The sportsmen then drew down their birds, when, as soon as the wild birds came near enough, they raised their nets, and seldom failed to capture one of the wild pigeons. In an instant the bird was brought down. Bird after bird was caught in the same manner. Before commencing the game, stakes were put in, and he who caught the greatest number of pigeons won them.

“We remained nearly a month engaged in this sport, spending the morning in bird-catching, and the evening in feasting. I tried my hand at it, but though, after a few days’ practice, I managed to catch several birds, I did not succeed as well as the young chiefs. This was more to my interest, for had I beat them, perhaps they might have become jealous of me.

“Altogether, this sort of life suited me much better than that which I led with the Christian natives. They were a hospitable sort of people, and I had as much liberty as I could wish for.

“Among other curious things I observed while I was among them, was the way they manufactured the cloth with which they make their dresses. They used the bark of the paper mulberry tree. The young tree is first cut down, and the bark stripped off; it is then steeped in water for a couple of days, when the inner bark is separated from the coarse outer bark. This is then beaten until it becomes as thin as silver-paper, and much increased in size. Even then it is scarcely a foot wide; but the edges are overlapped, and stuck together with arrow-root melted in water. It is then again beaten till all the parts are completely joined. Pieces are thus made of many yards in length, such as I saw during my first visit to these islands. They are afterwards dyed of various colours, red, brown, and yellow, and patterns are put on with a sort of stamp.

“Though the heathen natives wore very few clothes generally, they at times dressed up in robes formed of the cloth I have described, which has a very handsome appearance.

“I might tell you a good deal more about these people. I had made up my mind to remain among them; but people, as you know, don’t do always what they intend. Such was my case in the present instance, as you shall hear. But pass the grog-bottle. I must wet my whistle before I move along.”

I was almost sick with listening to the account of the atrocities witnessed if not perpetrated by the old ruffian, our host, and was inclined to stop him, but his tongue once set going that was more than I could do, and so on he went again.

Chapter Three

“One day a brig brought up in the harbour near which I happened to be staying, and the crew came on shore. She belonged to Sydney, New South Wales, and as they talked to me about that place I was seized with a fancy to go there. Fearing that the chief would not let me get away, I told him that I was just going on board to pay my countrymen a visit. I kept below during the remainder of the day, and next morning the brig got under weigh, and stood out of the harbour. She was the ‘Tickler,’ engaged in the sandal-wood trade, and had still several places to visit to complete her cargo, which she was obliged to pick up here and there, and often had a hard job to get it. The captain was in no way particular how he managed. I was on board for some months and saw some curious things done.

“The wood mostly grows on the Western Islands, north and south of the line. On one occasion we came off a place where the captain understood it was to be procured from the mountains, some way in the interior. We managed to entice the chief of the district on board by promising him some presents, if he would come and fetch them. As soon as we had got him, the captain told his people that unless they would bring twelve boats’ loads of sandal-wood off he would carry him away as a prisoner. The savages exclaimed that the white men were very cruel and unjust, but the captain did not mind that, as they were only savages, do you see; and as they did not wish to lose their chief, they were obliged to comply. The captain told him that it he didn’t behave himself and hold his tongue, he would double the quantity. The chief, seeing that the captain was in earnest, ordered his people to go and fetch the wood, when the whole neighbourhood had to turn out and cut it. In the course of two or three days it was brought on board.

“Having got the wood we sailed away to another place. These savages are content with curious articles in exchange for their wood. Instead of money the brig had on board a quantity of small white shells, the teeth of sharks and other animals, as also pigs, cats, and goats. So eager are they to possess these animals that they would sometimes give a ton of sandal-wood for a goat or cat. One day a native came on board with a small quantity of sandal-wood when our shells had run short. The mate offered him some tobacco, which he did not want. He got angry and said he must have a shell, when the mate without more ado pulled out his revolver: it went off, and the native was shot dead. The body was thrown overboard, and the sandal-wood remained with us, though the man’s friends wanted payment for it. The captain told the mate he should not have been so careless as to shoot the man, and then thought no more about the matter.

“Our object, however, being to get sandal-wood, the captain cared little as to the means. The lazy islanders in some places, where it grew abundantly, would not take the trouble of cutting it, so the captain devised a plan for obtaining what he wanted. We visited for this purpose an island where the natives were friendly with the white men, and enticed a number on board. When we had got them the captain told them that he would give them their liberty if they would go on shore at a place to which he would take them, and cut as much sandal-wood as he wanted. Back we sailed to the island where the sandal-wood grew. We then took them on shore, and landing with a strong party of armed men, guarded them while they cut the wood, which the inhabitants seemed to object to their doing. They worked well, for they were anxious to go back to their own island. We had to shoot a few of the inhabitants who came too close to us with their spears and clubs, but they were savage black fellows, and terrible cannibals, and so to my mind there was no great harm in shooting them.

“The wood was cut and carried down by our natives to the boats. We had now got pretty well as much as the brig would carry, but the captain told them to go back and cut more. They said they were afraid, lest the black fellows should kill them. The captain answered that that was their look out, and that if they wanted their liberty the wood must be cut. When we had got it into the boats we returned to the brig; the captain then ordered the anchor to be hove up, saying that he could not spare time to go back to the island from which the natives had come, and that he had fulfilled his contract by giving them their liberty and leaving them on shore.

“As we sailed out of the harbour, we saw some of them running down to the beach, and waving their hands to us, with the black fellows at their heels. They were soon overtaken, and one after the other were knocked over by the clubs of the savages, who, to my belief, ate the whole of them; for the inhabitants of that island were well known, as I have said, to be fearful cannibals.

“Now, perhaps some people may think that the captain of the ‘Tickler’ didn’t behave quite straightforward in the matter; but that’s no business of mine. What he had to do was to get a shipload of sandal-wood as cheaply as he could, and he did his best to save expense. To be sure, others who came after us might have suffered, because the savages were not very likely to trust them. We ourselves were nearly cut off on one occasion, when visiting a large island called New Caledonia. Though we had seen a number of natives gathering on the coast, we pulled in without fear, supposing that their clubs and spears could not reach us, and a volley of small arms would soon put them to flight. As we pulled on we heard them shouting to us, and shrieking loudly. They were a jet-black, fine race of fellows. We could see that some of them had long spears in their hands, but others seemed to be unarmed. Suddenly, however, down there came upon us a thick shower of stones, wounding two or three of our number, which was immediately followed by a whole flight of spears, when more of us were wounded, while several stuck in the boat. The order was given to pull round; and glad enough we were to get out of their reach.

“I afterwards heard that the natives of these islands use a sling, not only for throwing stones, which they can send to a great distance, but for casting their spears, which, as we found, far as they were off, came rattling down upon us in a very unpleasant manner.

“One of our men was killed. When at a safe distance we fired two or three volleys in return, and probably killed some of them; but they quickly got under cover. We then once more pulled in, thinking that they had taken to flight; but they were up again in an instant, and the whole shore appeared lined with warriors. We therefore came to the conclusion, that instead of carrying them off as labourers, they were more likely to kill and eat us, should we land on their island. We pulled away and steered for another place, where we expected to find the natives more peaceably disposed or more easily captured.

“I afterwards heard that several vessels went there, some of which had the crews of their boats murdered on going on shore, while in two or three cases the vessels themselves were attacked, and every one on board put to death. All I can say is, that whatever people may think of our doings, we were not worse than others. I heard of several things which will prove this. Among others, a sandal-wood trader had called at the island of Maré, when three young men swam off to her, wishing to trade on their own account. They were bargaining with the captain, who offered to give them less than they wanted for their sandal-wood, which they had piled up on shore, ready to embark. They grew angry, and declared that they would keep their sandal-wood. On this, without more ado, he drew out his revolver and shot two of them dead on the deck; the other leaped overboard, and the captain ordered the crew to fire at him. He had got some distance, when a shot struck him, and he sank. The captain then sent a boat on shore, and brought away the sandal-wood. Another captain was on a sandal-wood cruise, when he put in not far from Erromanga, where he found the people at war with another tribe some distance round the coast. As abundance of sandal-wood grew on the hills in the distance, he tried to persuade them to bring him a supply down to the beach. They replied that they could not do so then, as they were engaged in war, when he told them that if they would supply him with the wood, he would go and conquer their enemies for them. The people thought this a fine thing, and agreed to the proposal. So the vessel went round the coast, to where the opposing tribe resided. If he had began to fire away at once on them, they would have escaped into the woods, and he probably would not have caught a man. He therefore pretended to be very friendly, and managed to entice a number on board. When he had got them, his crew set upon them, and killed some on deck, and shot others who had leaped overboard and were trying to make their escape. One was taken alive, and another desperately wounded. Having thrown the dead bodies overboard, he sailed back with the living prisoner and the other man, who soon died, to his friends. By this time they had the sandal-wood ready, so he made over the living and dead prisoners into their hands, and received the sandal-wood in return. As the people were cannibals, it was easy to guess what they did with their prisoners.

“It cannot be said that we did anything worse than this; but, bless you, I might tell you a hundred other things which either we did or I heard of done by sandal-wood traders in those parts. I was not over particular, so didn’t mind, but I wanted the voyage to be over, that I might get to Sydney, and have a spree on shore.

“We got there at last, and our cargo realised a large profit, as the price was known to be up at the time in the China market, for which it was destined.

“I hadn’t been there long, before I found my pockets pretty well cleaned out of cash, and had to think of what I should do next.

“I was sitting one day in a grog shop near the harbour, where I was allowed to run up a score though my last shilling was spent, and I didn’t exactly know how I was to pay for it, when somehow or other I lost my senses. I might have been asleep, or I might have been drunk. When I came to myself, I was in the fore peak of a small vessel, and when I went on deck I found that we were out of sight of land. It was not the first time that such a thing had happened to me, and so I was not going to make a fuss about it. I looked round on my new shipmates, who were about as rough a lot as I ever set eyes on; may be I was not very different from them, but we hadn’t a looking-glass on board that craft, so, do you see, I was not able to judge. I asked the name of the craft, where we were bound for, and the object of the voyage.

“My shipmates laughed.

”‘Where were you raised: you don’t look as green as you would wish to make us fancy,’ said one without answering my question.

”‘I was raised in a country where they grow bull-dogs, which are more apt to bite than to bark,’ I growled out. ‘When I ask a question I expect a civil answer. I was at sea, and crossed the line a dozen times while most of you were still sucking pap, and so you will understand that though I don’t exactly know how I came to be aboard this craft, you had better not try to pass off your tricks on me.’

“I thought this would have made them bowse on the slack of their jaw-tackles, but they were banded together, and fancied they could say what they liked to me. One young fellow only, Bill Harding was his name, I found stood aloof from them, and cried out that it was a shame to attack an old fellow like me, though I might have got hocussed and shipped on board without knowing it. On that one of them, Jos Noakes they called him, goes up to Bill, and begins blackguarding him. He stood as cool as a cucumber, with a smile on his good-looking face. He was the only one among the lot who was not as ugly as sin.

“Says Bill to Jos, ‘You had better not. I have floored many a man who could beat you with his little finger, and so, Jos, to my mind, you will get the worst of it.’

“I pulled out my pipe and lighted it, for, d’ye see, there’s nothing like a bit of baccy for keeping a man cool, and cool I wanted to be just then. This showed them more than anything else what I was made of.

“There Bill stood waiting to see what Jos would do, while the rest gathered round edging Jos on. Jos doubled his fists, getting nearer and nearer to Bill, and at last made a hit at him. In a moment Bill’s arms were unfolded, and he struck out and caught Jos’s ugly face a blow which sent him reeling backwards, till he lay kicking like a turtle on his back.

”‘Sarve you right, Jos,’ cried out several voices, and now most of the crew seemed to side with Bill.

“Jos had had enough of it, and sneaked below to bathe his jaws in water.

“I shook Bill by the hand and thanked him, and we were friends ever afterwards.

“Bill told me that the craft I had so curiously found myself aboard was the ‘Catfish,’ and that she was on a voyage round the islands to pick up sandal-wood, cocoa-nut oil, or pearls, which he told me were to be found among some of the low-lying coral islands to the eastward.

”‘I shall like well enough to go after pearls,’ I observed; ‘for I know their value and the price people on shore will give for them.’

”‘That made me ship on board the “Catfish,”’ said Bill. ‘I remember my mother used to wear such things in her hair, and that a small string of them was worth some hundred pounds, and I thought that if I could get a few I should be a rich man, and be able to go back to Old England, for I am pretty well sick of this sort of life, though, mate, as you know, when a man is down in the world it’s a hard job to get up again.’

”‘Then I suppose, Bill, from what you say, you are a gentleman’s son, and you have come out to these parts to make your fortune,’ I remarked.

”‘Yes, I am well born, and might have been very different from what I am,’ he answered with a sigh. ‘But I came away to sea because I was a wild scamp, and no one could make anything of me at home. However, if I can get hold of a few of those pearls, so as to start fair, I intend to turn over a new leaf, and go back to my friends, provided I can do so with a good coat on my back, and not like the ragged beggar I have been of late. I have got a few articles to trade with, and I shipped on condition that I should do what I liked with them.’

”‘I’ll help you, my lad, as far as I can,’ said I, for I had taken a fancy to Bill, who might have been all he said of himself. To my notion he was as brave and warm-hearted a fellow as ever stepped.

“I have already described the various ways the sandal-wood traders manage to obtain their cargoes. Our captain was in no degree more particular than most of them, and played a few odd tricks among the natives to get what he wanted. On one occasion we got a chief on board, and the captain told him that he must make his people cut a dozen boat-loads of sandal-wood, or we would carry him away as a prisoner to Sydney. The chief refused, and declared that the wood was not to be got. On this the captain called two or three of his people on board, and then had him triced up and gave him a dozen, and told him that he should have it every morning if the wood was not forthcoming. Still the savage held out, and he was heard to tell his people not to bring any.

“Next morning some of his people came off, when, as they brought no wood, preparations were made to give him another dozen. On seeing this his courage gave way, and he told his people to go back and get the wood. He got his dozen though, for the captain was a man to keep his word on those sort of matters.

“Two or three boat-loads came off that very evening, and in a couple of days all the captain asked for was supplied. The chief was then set at liberty, and told to go about his business.

“The captain observed that he was doing his duty to his owners, and getting a cargo in the cheapest way he could; he seemed, indeed, to pride himself on his cleverness.

“As sandal-wood was becoming scarce in most of the islands, we took on board, whenever we had the opportunity, as many casks of cocoa-nut oil as we could collect; but pearls were our chief object, and we continued our voyage till we reached the island I mentioned.

“The natives were said to be friendly to white men, and therefore we had no fear of them. They had a few pearls already, which the captain took in exchange for some of the beads, cutlery, looking-glasses, and trinkets we had brought to trade with. He then told the natives that they must go off in their canoes to the reef where the pearl-oysters were to be found, and be quick in bringing him as many as he wanted, threatening them if they were not sharp about it he would carry off their chiefs, cut down their cocoa-nut trees, and leave their wives and children to starve. This made them all alive, though they grumbled a little, and every evening they returned bringing a fair supply of shells. They dared not refuse to work, seeing that they had no muskets; and as their island was perfectly flat, they had no place to fly to and hide themselves, so that by landing a few of our men we could, if we had wished, have burned their huts, cut down their trees, and have carried off as many of them as we wanted.

“One day when they had brought fewer shells than usual, the captain sent a party of us on shore, and having caught two of their chiefs, we brought them on board, and kept them in irons, telling them that we should carry them away unless their people would stir themselves.

“Next day a double quantity was brought on board. The captain seemed mightily pleased.

”‘Now, my boys, this shows what you can do,’ he said, in the lingo the savages spoke. ‘I am going to make a cruise to some other islands not far off, and I shall take your chiefs with me. If, when I come back, you have not got as many pearls as I want,’ and he told them the quantity he should require, ‘up go your chiefs to our yard-arms.’

“I don’t mean that he said this in as many words, but it was what he wished the people to understand.

“The other islands we visited could supply us only with cocoa-nut oil, and though we had a quarrel now and then about it, we generally managed to get what we wanted at the price we chose to give.

“On our return we found the supply of shells the captain had ordered.

“I thought that he would have allowed the chiefs to go on shore, but he was too deep a hand for that. He had found the plan answer so well that he determined to have some more pearls before sailing, so he pretended that the natives had not brought him enough, and told them that they must go off and collect more. They grumbled, declaring that they would do no such thing, and demanded their chiefs back.

”‘You shall have them,’ he answered, ‘but they shall swing at our yard-arms first,’ and he ordered the ropes to be rove to hang them by.

“The chiefs were then brought on deck. They did not look much like chiefs, half-starved and dirty as they were, for they had been kept below during the voyage for fear of their jumping overboard, and making their escape. The natives set up a loud yell when they saw them, and made as if they would attack us, and try to rescue them. On this the captain ordered us to present our muskets, and fire if they approached. Bill was the only person who refused to obey, declaring that it was a shame, and that he would sooner let the natives kill us than shoot one of them. The captain, hearing this, threatened to trice him up with the chiefs, and to my mind he meant what he said. The natives, however, thought better of it, and paddled off to try to get more pearls.

”‘It’s lucky for you, Bill, that the savages played us no tricks; but I’ll not forget you, my lad,’ exclaimed the captain, shaking his fist at him.

“In a couple of days the natives appeared paddling towards us. They kept, however, at a distance, and one canoe only with three men in her came alongside, bringing a few pearls. They said they had got more, but they had resolved to throw them into the sea unless their chiefs were first delivered up to them.

“The captain grinned at this, and replied that they should have one chief, and when the pearls were brought they should have the other. The natives after talking a long time were obliged to comply. The chiefs embraced; they might have suspected that the one who remained would run a great chance of swinging at the yardarm, notwithstanding the captain’s promise. At last he told the younger of the two that he might go, thinking, probably, that he was of less consequence than the other. The poor fellow was lowered into the canoe, and away his countrymen paddled to the shore.

“I thought that the elder man looked well pleased at the escape of his companion, as he squatted down on deck, resting his head on his hands, though he looked up every now and then at the rope hanging from the yardarm, as if he expected to be dangling from it before long.

“The same canoe returned in a couple of hours, bringing a further supply of pearls, while the rest of the natives were seen gathering in the distance.

“Perhaps the captain thought that if he did not deliver up the chief – driven to desperation, they might attack the vessel, and that though many might have been killed, we should not have got off scathless. The natives were indeed in great numbers advancing closer and closer. He therefore told the chief he might go. The old man rose, and with the help of his countrymen got into the canoe, which immediately paddled away towards the rest, advancing rapidly to meet him.

“The breeze was fair out of the harbour. Sails were loosed, the anchor tripped. There was no time to be lost, for some scores of canoes were close up to us.