FOR nearly ten years my health had been declining; and for some while before I set forth1 upon my voyage, I believed I was come to the afterpiece of life, and had only the nurse and undertaker to expect. It was suggested that I should try the South Seas; and I was not unwilling2 to visit like a ghost, and be carried like a bale, among scenes that had attracted me in youth and health. I chartered accordingly Dr. Merrit’s schooner3 yacht, the CASCO, seventy-four tons register; sailed from San Francisco towards the end of June 1888, visited the eastern islands, and was left early the next year at Honolulu. Hence, lacking courage to return to my old life of the house and sick-room, I set forth to leeward4 in a trading schooner, the EQUATOR, of a little over seventy tons, spent four months among the atolls (low coral islands) of the Gilbert group, and reached Samoa towards the close of ‘89. By that time gratitude5 and habit were beginning to attach me to the islands; I had gained a competency of strength; I had made friends; I had learned new interests; the time of my voyages had passed like days in fairyland; and I decided6 to remain. I began to prepare these pages at sea, on a third cruise, in the trading steamer JANET NICOLL. If more days are granted me, they shall be passed where I have found life most pleasant and man most interesting; the axes of my black boys are already clearing the foundations of my future house; and I must learn to address readers from the uttermost parts of the sea.
That I should thus have reversed the verdict of Lord Tennyson’s hero is less eccentric than appears. Few men who come to the islands leave them; they grow grey where they alighted; the palm shades and the trade-wind fans them till they die, perhaps cherishing to the last the fancy of a visit home, which is rarely made, more rarely enjoyed, and yet more rarely repeated. No part of the world exerts the same attractive power upon the visitor, and the task before me is to communicate to fireside travellers some sense of its seduction, and to describe the life, at sea and ashore7, of many hundred thousand persons, some of our own blood and language, all our contemporaries, and yet as remote in thought and habit as Rob Roy or Barbarossa, the Apostles or the Caesars.
The first experience can never be repeated. The first love, the first sunrise, the first South Sea island, are memories apart and touched a virginity of sense. On the 28th of July 1888 the moon was an hour down by four in the morning. In the east a radiating centre of brightness told of the day; and beneath, on the skyline, the morning bank was already building, black as ink. We have all read of the swiftness of the day’s coming and departure in low latitudes8; it is a point on which the scientific and sentimental9 tourist are at one, and has inspired some tasteful poetry. The period certainly varies with the season; but here is one case exactly noted10. Although the dawn was thus preparing by four, the sun was not up till six; and it was half-past five before we could distinguish our expected islands from the clouds on the horizon. Eight degrees south, and the day two hours a-coming. The interval11 was passed on deck in the silence of expectation, the customary thrill of landfall heightened by the strangeness of the shores that we were then approaching. Slowly they took shape in the attenuating12 darkness. Ua-huna, piling up to a truncated13 summit, appeared the first upon the starboard bow; almost abeam14 arose our destination, Nuka-hiva, whelmed in cloud; and betwixt and to the southward, the first rays of the sun displayed the needles of Ua — pu. These pricked15 about the line of the horizon; like the pinnacles16 of some ornate and monstrous17 church, they stood there, in the sparkling brightness of the morning, the fit signboard of a world of wonders.
Not one soul aboard the CASCO had set foot upon the islands, or knew, except by accident, one word of any of the island tongues; and it was with something perhaps of the same anxious pleasure as thrilled the bosom18 of discoverers that we drew near these problematic shores. The land heaved up in peaks and rising vales; it fell in cliffs and buttresses20; its colour ran through fifty modulations in a scale of pearl and rose and olive; and it was crowned above by opalescent21 clouds. The suffusion23 of vague hues24 deceived the eye; the shadows of clouds were confounded with the articulations of the mountains; and the isle25 and its unsubstantial canopy26 rose and shimmered27 before us like a single mass. There was no beacon28, no smoke of towns to be expected, no plying29 pilot. Somewhere, in that pale phantasmagoria of cliff and cloud, our haven30 lay concealed31; and somewhere to the east of it — the only sea-mark given — a certain headland, known indifferently as Cape32 Adam and Eve, or Cape Jack33 and Jane, and distinguished34 by two colossal35 figures, the gross statuary of nature. These we were to find; for these we craned and stared, focused glasses, and wrangled36 over charts; and the sun was overhead and the land close ahead before we found them. To a ship approaching, like the CASCO, from the north, they proved indeed the least conspicuous37 features of a striking coast; the surf flying high above its base; strange, austere38, and feathered mountains rising behind; and Jack and Jane, or Adam and Eve, impending39 like a pair of warts40 above the breakers.
Thence we bore away along shore. On our port beam we might hear the explosions of the surf; a few birds flew fishing under the prow41; there was no other sound or mark of life, whether of man or beast, in all that quarter of the island. Winged by her own impetus42 and the dying breeze, the CASCO skimmed under cliffs, opened out a cove19, showed us a beach and some green trees, and flitted by again, bowing to the swell43. The trees, from our distance, might have been hazel; the beach might have been in Europe; the mountain forms behind modelled in little from the Alps, and the forest which clustered on their ramparts a growth no more considerable than our Scottish heath. Again the cliff yawned, but now with a deeper entry; and the CASCO, hauling her wind, began to slide into the bay of Anaho. The cocoa-palm, that giraffe of vegetables, so graceful44, so ungainly, to the European eye so foreign, was to be seen crowding on the beach, and climbing and fringing the steep sides of mountains. Rude and bare hills embraced the inlet upon either hand; it was enclosed to the landward by a bulk of shattered mountains. In every crevice45 of that barrier the forest harboured, roosting and nestling there like birds about a ruin; and far above, it greened and roughened the razor edges of the summit.
Under the eastern shore, our schooner, now bereft46 of any breeze, continued to creep in: the smart creature, when once under way, appearing motive47 in herself. From close aboard arose the bleating48 of young lambs; a bird sang in the hillside; the scent22 of the land and of a hundred fruits or flowers flowed forth to meet us; and, presently, a house or two appeared, standing49 high upon the ankles of the hills, and one of these surrounded with what seemed a garden. These conspicuous habitations, that patch of culture, had we but known it, were a mark of the passage of whites; and we might have approached a hundred islands and not found their parallel. It was longer ere we spied the native village, standing (in the universal fashion) close upon a curve of beach, close under a grove50 of palms; the sea in front growling51 and whitening on a concave arc of reef. For the cocoa-tree and the island man are both lovers and neighbours of the surf. ‘The coral waxes, the palm grows, but man departs,’ says the sad Tahitian proverb; but they are all three, so long as they endure, co-haunters of the beach. The mark of anchorage was a blow-hole in the rocks, near the south-easterly corner of the bay. Punctually to our use, the blow-hole spouted52; the schooner turned upon her heel; the anchor plunged53. It was a small sound, a great event; my soul went down with these moorings whence no windlass may extract nor any diver fish it up; and I, and some part of my ship’s company, were from that hour the bondslaves of the isles54 of Vivien.
Before yet the anchor plunged a canoe was already paddling from the hamlet. It contained two men: one white, one brown and tattooed55 across the face with bands of blue, both in immaculate white European clothes: the resident trader, Mr. Regler, and the native chief, Taipi-Kikino. ‘Captain, is it permitted to come on board?’ were the first words we heard among the islands. Canoe followed canoe till the ship swarmed56 with stalwart, six-foot men in every stage of undress; some in a shirt, some in a loin-cloth, one in a handkerchief imperfectly adjusted; some, and these the more considerable, tattooed from head to foot in awful patterns; some barbarous and knived; one, who sticks in my memory as something bestial57, squatting58 on his hams in a canoe, sucking an orange and spitting it out again to alternate sides with ape-like vivacity59 — all talking, and we could not understand one word; all trying to trade with us who had no thought of trading, or offering us island curios at prices palpably absurd. There was no word of welcome; no show of civility; no hand extended save that of the chief and Mr. Regler. As we still continued to refuse the proffered60 articles, complaint ran high and rude; and one, the jester of the party, railed upon our meanness amid jeering61 laughter. Amongst other angry pleasantries — ‘Here is a mighty62 fine ship,’ said he, ‘to have no money on board!’ I own I was inspired with sensible repugnance63; even with alarm. The ship was manifestly in their power; we had women on board; I knew nothing of my guests beyond the fact that they were cannibals; the Directory (my only guide) was full of timid cautions; and as for the trader, whose presence might else have reassured64 me, were not whites in the Pacific the usual instigators and accomplices65 of native outrage66? When he reads this confession67, our kind friend, Mr. Regler, can afford to smile.
Later in the day, as I sat writing up my journal, the cabin was filled from end to end with Marquesans: three brown-skinned generations, squatted68 cross-legged upon the floor, and regarding me in silence with embarrassing eyes. The eyes of all Polynesians are large, luminous69, and melting; they are like the eyes of animals and some Italians. A kind of despair came over me, to sit there helpless under all these staring orbs70, and be thus blocked in a corner of my cabin by this speechless crowd: and a kind of rage to think they were beyond the reach of articulate communication, like furred animals, or folk born deaf, or the dwellers71 of some alien planet.
To cross the Channel is, for a boy of twelve, to change heavens; to cross the Atlantic, for a man of twenty-four, is hardly to modify his diet. But I was now escaped out of the shadow of the Roman empire, under whose toppling monuments we were all cradled, whose laws and letters are on every hand of us, constraining72 and preventing. I was now to see what men might be whose fathers had never studied Virgil, had never been conquered by Caesar, and never been ruled by the wisdom of Gaius or Papinian. By the same step I had journeyed forth out of that comfortable zone of kindred languages, where the curse of Babel is so easy to be remedied; and my new fellow-creatures sat before me dumb like images. Methought, in my travels, all human relation was to be excluded; and when I returned home (for in those days I still projected my return) I should have but dipped into a picture-book without a text. Nay73, and I even questioned if my travels should be much prolonged; perhaps they were destined74 to a speedy end; perhaps my subsequent friend, Kauanui, whom I remarked there, sitting silent with the rest, for a man of some authority, might leap from his hams with an ear-splitting signal, the ship be carried at a rush, and the ship’s company butchered for the table.
There could be nothing more natural than these apprehensions75, nor anything more groundless. In my experience of the islands, I had never again so menacing a reception; were I to meet with such to — day, I should be more alarmed and tenfold more surprised. The majority of Polynesians are easy folk to get in touch with, frank, fond of notice, greedy of the least affection, like amiable76, fawning77 dogs; and even with the Marquesans, so recently and so imperfectly redeemed78 from a blood-boltered barbarism, all were to become our intimates, and one, at least, was to mourn sincerely our departure.
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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attenuating
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的现在分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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truncated
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| adj.切去顶端的，缩短了的，被删节的v.截面的( truncate的过去式和过去分词 )；截头的；缩短了的；截去顶端或末端 | |
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abeam
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| adj.正横着(的) | |
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pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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buttresses
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| n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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opalescent
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| adj.乳色的，乳白的 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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suffusion
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| n.充满 | |
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hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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isle
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canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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shimmered
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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plying
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的现在分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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wrangled
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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warts
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| n.疣( wart的名词复数 )；肉赘；树瘤；缺点 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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crevice
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| n.(岩石、墙等)裂缝；缺口 | |
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bereft
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| adj.被剥夺的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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bleating
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| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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spouted
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| adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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jeering
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| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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dwellers
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| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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constraining
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| 强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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fawning
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| adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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