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560 CAUTIONS— TREACHERY. Nov.
but have established themselves in some authority among the
natives. A man known by the name of Charles, was more
respected than almost any of their own chieftains, on account
of his extraordinary valour: and so highly was he considered
by all of them, that he was allowed to have a hundred
wives.*
No small vessel ought to venture near any of the Feejee
islands without being armed, and prepared to act defensively.
Boarding nettings, if she has them, should be triced up ; and
no professions, or appearance of friendship, ought ever to put
strangers off their guard. In case of an unavoidable rupture,
a chief, the highest in rank that can be secured, should, if
possible, be made prisoner—by force if fair means fail; and he
should be made to understand that his life depended upon the
conduct of his countrymen. Of course no right-minded man
would act otherwise than to avoid or prevent any hostilities
with ignorant savages, so long as he could do so without risking
the lives of his own countrymen; but he must remember
that, iu hand to hand fighting, a band of fierce savages, armed
with a variety of weapons, are more than a match for seamen
unused, perhaps, to muskets, and equally awkward with pistols
or swords: however brave and determined they may be, if
dispersed, as usually happens, they are sure to be by far the
greatest sufferers. I here allude to those savages who are really
warriors. At some islands, and other places, they are comparatively
timid, though seldom less treacherous.
Bemarking on the criticisms of such as have animadverted
on officers who found themselves obliged to take
harsh measures in self-defence—La Perouse, whose humanity
and good sense not one individual among the nations who
regret his untimely loss, ever questioned, says, “ I am, however,
a thousand times more angry with the philosophers
who extol the savages, than with the savages themselves. The
unfortunate Lamanon, whom they massacred, told me the very
* Only chieftains of note are able to maintain many wives : very few
had so large a number as that man : scarcely any liad more.
1835.
evening before his death, that the Indians (meaning the natives
of the Navigator Islands) were worthier people than ourselves f
“ Observing rigidly the orders I have received, I have
always treated them with the greatest mildness ; but I confess
to you, that if I were to undertake another voyage of the same
kind, I would demand different orders.
“ A navigator, on quitting Europe,- ought to consider the
savages as enemies, very weak indeed, and whom it would be
ungenerous to attack and barbarous to destroy, but whose
assaults he has a right to prevent when authorised to do so by
well-grounded suspicions.”—Voyage of La Perouse, vol. iii.
p. 413.
When k vessel approaches the Féejeè Islands, numberless
canoes put off, and soon surround her so closely, that unless
the wind is pretty fresh, she is placed in no slight jeopardy.
At such a time the principal chief ought to be invited on board •
and presents should be given to him, while he i's made to understand
that it is necessary he should order the canoes to keep
off. His commands will be implicitly obeyed ; and while hé is
on board, and well treated,-there will he less risk ; but he must
not be relied on implicitly.
Some of the canoes are very long, from sixty to eighty feet in
length : and when two such are fastened together, with a light
structure erected upon them, the men who stand on their
raised dëck are above the level of a small vessel’s bulwark.*
• Heaps of stones form not only ballast but ammunition for tbese formidable
canoes. Indeed, among all savage nations, a stone beld in tbe
band, or thrown, perhaps from a sling, is a common, and by no means despicable
weapon. These easily collected missiles, and the mAnner of using
them, recai to mind the victory gained by the English fleet over that of
France, off Slbys, on the 22d of June 13-10 ; in which “ though the battle
was fought on the sea, it could scarcely be called maritime ; for little
depended on the accidents of winds and waves, or on the skill of a commander
in availing himself of them. Piles of stones on the deck formed a
part of the magazines. The archers of both nations used their crossbows
as if they had been on land. They employed grappling irons for
boarding, and came to such close quarters as to exhibit a succession of
single combats.”—Mackintosh, vol. i. p, 294.
VOL. II . 2 o
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