The Coral Island - Robert Michael Ballantyne (little readers txt) 📗
- Author: Robert Michael Ballantyne
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CHAPTER XXXI.
A strange and bloody battle - The lion bearded in his den -
Frightful scenes of cruelty, and fears for the future.
WE had ascertained from the teacher the direction to the spot on
which the battle was to be fought, and after a walk of two hours
reached it. The summit of a bare hill was the place chosen; for,
unlike most of the other islanders, who are addicted to bush-fighting, those of Mango are in the habit of meeting on open
ground. We arrived before the two parties had commenced the deadly
struggle, and, creeping as close up as we dared among the rocks, we
lay and watched them.
The combatants were drawn up face to face, each side ranged in rank
four deep. Those in the first row were armed with long spears; the
second, with clubs to defend the spearmen; the third row was
composed of young men with slings; and the fourth consisted of
women, who carried baskets of stones for the slingers, and clubs
and spears with which to supply the warriors. Soon after we
arrived, the attack was made with great fury. There was no science
displayed. The two bodies of savages rushed headlong upon each
other and engaged in a general MELEE, and a more dreadful set of
men I have never seen. They wore grotesque war-caps made of
various substances and decorated with feathers. Their faces and
bodies were painted so as to make them look as frightful as
possible; and as they brandished their massive clubs, leaped,
shouted, yelled, and dashed each other to the ground, I thought I
had never seen men look so like demons before.
We were much surprised at the conduct of the women, who seemed to
be perfect furies, and hung about the heels of their husbands in
order to defend them. One stout young women we saw, whose husband
was hard pressed and about to be overcome: she lifted a large
stone, and throwing it at his opponent’s head, felled him to the
earth. But the battle did not last long. The band most distant
from us gave way and were routed, leaving eighteen of their
comrades dead upon the field. These the victors brained as they
lay; and putting some of their brains on leaves went off with them,
we were afterwards informed, to their temples, to present them to
their gods as an earnest of the human victims who were soon to be
brought there.
We hastened back to the Christian village with feelings of the
deepest sadness at the sanguinary conflict which we had just
witnessed.
Next day, after breakfasting with our friend the teacher, we made
preparations for carrying out our plan. At first the teacher
endeavoured to dissuade us.
“You do not know,” said he, turning to Jack, “the danger you run in
venturing amongst these ferocious savages. I feel much pity for
poor Avatea; but you are not likely to succeed in saving her, and
you may die in the attempt.”
“Well,” said Jack, quietly, “I am not afraid to die in a good
cause.”
The teacher smiled approvingly at him as he said this, and after a
little further conversation agreed to accompany us as interpreter;
saying that, although Tararo was unfriendly to him, he had hitherto
treated him with respect.
We now went on board the schooner, having resolved to sail round
the island and drop anchor opposite the heathen village. We manned
her with natives, and hoped to overawe the savages by displaying
our brass gun to advantage. The teacher soon after came on board,
and setting our sails we put to sea. In two hours more we made the
cliffs reverberate with the crash of the big gun, which we fired by
way of salute, while we ran the British ensign up to the peak and
cast anchor. The commotion on shore showed us that we had struck
terror into the hearts of the natives; but seeing that we did not
offer to molest them, a canoe at length put off and paddled
cautiously towards us. The teacher showed himself, and explaining
that we were friends and wished to palaver with the chief, desired
the native to go and tell him to come on board.
We waited long and with much impatience for an answer. During this
time the native teacher conversed with us again, and told us many
things concerning the success of the gospel among those islands;
and perceiving that we were by no means so much gratified as we
ought to have been at the hearing of such good news, he pressed us
more closely in regard to our personal interest in religion, and
exhorted us to consider that our souls were certainly in as great
danger as those of the wretched heathen whom we pitied so much, if
we had not already found salvation in Jesus Christ. “Nay,
further,” he added, “if such be your unhappy case, you are, in the
sight of God, much worse than these savages (forgive me, my young
friends, for saying so); for they have no knowledge, no light, and
do not profess to believe; while you, on the contrary, have been
brought up in the light of the blessed gospel and call yourselves
Christians. These poor savages are indeed the enemies of our Lord;
but you, if ye be not true believers, are traitors!”
I must confess that my heart condemned me while the teacher spoke
in this earnest manner, and I knew not what to reply. Peterkin,
too, did not seem to like it, and I thought would willingly have
escaped; but Jack seemed deeply impressed, and wore an anxious
expression on his naturally grave countenance, while he assented to
the teacher’s remarks and put to him many earnest questions.
Meanwhile the natives who composed our crew, having nothing
particular to do, had squatted down on the deck and taken out their
little books containing the translated portions of the New
Testament, along with hymns and spelling-books, and were now busily
engaged, some vociferating the alphabet, others learning prayers
off by heart, while a few sang hymns, - all of them being utterly
unmindful of our presence. The teacher soon joined them, and soon
afterwards they all engaged in a prayer which was afterwards
translated to us, and proved to be a petition for the success of
our undertaking and for the conversion of the heathen.
While we were thus engaged a canoe put off from shore and several
savages leaped on deck, one of whom advanced to the teacher and
informed him that Tararo could not come on board that day, being
busy with some religious ceremonies before the gods, which could on
no account be postponed. He was also engaged with a friendly chief
who was about to take his departure from the island, and therefore
begged that the teacher and his friends would land and pay a visit
to him. To this the teacher returned answer that we would land
immediately.
“Now, lads,” said Jack, as we were about to step into our little
boat, “I’m not going to take any weapons with me, and I recommend
you to take none either. We are altogether in the power of these
savages, and the utmost we could do, if they were to attack us,
would be to kill a few of them before we were ourselves
overpowered. I think that our only chance of success lies in mild
measures. Don’t you think so?”
To this I assented gladly, and Peterkin replied by laying down a
huge bell-mouthed blunderbuss, and divesting himself of a pair of
enormous horse-pistols with which he had purposed to overawe the
natives! We then jumped into our boat and rowed ashore.
On reaching the beach we were received by a crowd of naked savages,
who shouted a rude welcome, and conducted us to a house or shed
where a baked pig and a variety of vegetables were prepared for us.
Having partaken of these, the teacher begged to be conducted to the
chief; but there seemed some hesitation, and after some
consultation among themselves, one of the men stood forward and
spoke to the teacher.
“What says he?” inquired Jack when the savage had concluded.
“He says that the chief is just going to the temple of his god and
cannot see us yet; so we must be patient, my friend.”
“Well,” cried Jack, rising; “if he won’t come to see me, I’ll e’en
go and see him. Besides, I have a great desire to witness their
proceedings at this temple of theirs. Will you go with me,
friend?”
“I cannot,” said the teacher, shaking his head; “I must not go to
the heathen temples and witness their inhuman rites, except for the
purpose of condemning their wickedness and folly.”
“Very good,” returned Jack; “then I’ll go alone, for I cannot
condemn their doings till I have seen them.”
Jack arose, and we, having determined to go also, followed him
through the banana groves to a rising ground immediately behind the
village, on the top of which stood the Bure, or temple, under the
dark shade of a group of iron-wood trees. As we went through the
village, I was again led to contrast the rude huts and sheds, and
their almost naked savage-looking inhabitants, with the natives of
the Christian village, who, to use the teacher’s scriptural
expression, were now “clothed and in their right mind.”
As we turned into a broad path leading towards the hill, we were
arrested by the shouts of an approaching multitude in the rear.
Drawing aside into the bushes we awaited their coming up, and as
they drew near we observed that it was a procession of the natives,
many of whom were dancing and gesticulating in the most frantic
manner. They had an exceedingly hideous aspect, owing to the
black, red, and yellow paints with which their faces and naked
bodies were bedaubed. In the midst of these came a band of men
carrying three or four planks, on which were seated in rows upwards
of a dozen men. I shuddered involuntarily as I recollected the
sacrifice of human victims at the island of Emo, and turned with a
look of fear to Jack as I said, -
“Oh, Jack! I have a terrible dread that they are going to commit
some of their cruel practices on these wretched men. We had better
not go to the temple. We shall only be horrified without being
able to do any good, for I fear they are going to kill them.”
Jack’s face wore an expression of deep compassion as he said, in a
low voice, “No fear, Ralph; the sufferings of these poor fellows
are over long ago.”
I turned with a start as he spoke, and, glancing at the men, who
were now quite near to the spot where we stood, saw that they were
all dead. They were tied firmly with ropes in a sitting posture on
the planks, and seemed, as they bent their sightless eyeballs and
grinning mouths over the dancing crew below, as if they were
laughing in ghastly mockery at the utter inability of their enemies
to hurt them now. These, we discovered afterwards, were the men
who had been slain in the battle of the previous day, and were now
on their way to be first presented to the gods, and then eaten.
Behind these came two men leading between them a third, whose hands
were pinioned behind his back. He walked with a firm step, and
wore a look of utter indifference on his face, as they led him
along; so that we concluded he must be a criminal who was about to
receive some slight
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