brushwood. Not a house, nor anything of the kind, was to be seen. I t
looked like one of those long, low, marshy thickets, in which I hunted for
blackbirds’ eggs, in my boyhood. But on reaching it, after crossing a wide
clear field of grass, we passed into and through one of the sweetest little
villages I ever entered, completely embowered with thickly matted tops of the
tall and swaying bamboo, artistically laid off in squares, with level streets
of red sandy soil, overarched with the branches of the bamboo, that formed
hedges on either side, through which, at regular distances, were openings into
the gardens surrounding the dwellings of the inhabitants, highly cultivated
with a variety of vegetables. I had neither read of nor seen a town like
this.”
In the course of his ramble, the officer from whose journal this extract
is made, entered several of the dwellings, for the purpose of gratifying his
curiosity concerning the domestic arrangements. He found the floors invariably
covered with thick mats, of regular width and length, laid side hy
side, as a carpet. These he found constituted the sleeping place at night,
and to preserve them 'from dirt, the inhabitants always step on them with
the feet bare, or covered with stockings only; when. they enter from without,
they slip off their loose straw sandals at the door. In every instance
where he entered, our informant found that the men were the drones of the
hive, and the women the workers. From three to half a dozen of the
former were invariably to be seen, seated upon their crossed ankles, in a
circle, with a cup of live coals, a little box of fine cut tobacco, and a spittoon,
in the centre. Thus seated, in dreamy indolence, they would draw
forth their little pipes from their belts, unsheath them, take a mere pinch
of the tobacco from the box, and place it in the little metallic bowl of the
pipe, which was not more than half the size of a young girl’s thimble, light
it, and after two or three long whiffs, they would retain the smoke for a minute
or more, and then, with a strong impulse, send it through the nostrils as
the opium smoker does. This ended the enjoyment for that occasion. The
pipes were then returned to their sheaths, when a little tea-pot, holding less
than half a pint, with half a dozen cups, each of about the capacity of
three teaspoons, was brought by a servant, and a general sipping took the-
place of smoking. The tea disposed of, the pipes were again resorted to,
and thus did they alternate between tobacco and tea. Before rising to separate,
the saki was introduced and circulated, sometimes beyond the limits
of prudence and discretion. These were the occupations of the “ lords of
creation; ” the poor women, meanwhile, might be seen, half naked, delving
with the hoe or the spade, in the adjacent gardens, under a scorching sun.
Sometimes this idle gossipping over tea and the pipe is cartied on in the
open air, under the shade of some spreading tree.
When the poor females are not thus employed in the cultivation of the
earth, there is still found work enough for them of some other kind, for
their destiny is labor. In every house may be seen the loom for weaving
grass cloth, and it is quite a curiosity in its way. I t is small, not more than
two feet high, and generally is placed in the corner of the room. The shuttle
is two or three feet long, so that before it leaves one hand of the weaver
it may be grasped by the other. I t is but a rude implement, and yet the
fine, glossy fabric wrought by its agency is exceedingly beautiful.
What has here been said must be understood as applying to the men who
are not of the very lowest class. According to the best observations the
Commodore could make, he classified the inhabitants into four grades: these
were, first, the high officers of state ; secondly, the priesthood and literary
men; thirdly, the under officers and spies; and lastly the laboring class,
(including particularly the fishermen,) by the toil of which last all the rest
live; for it was never seen that any of the classes above named, except the
last, ever appeared to have any thing to do, save the spies, and they might
be met at every step. These infest every corner and every threshold. I f the
officers walked the streets, these fellows might be seen preceding or following
them, directing all doors to be closed, and. the women to keep out of
sight. The people, indeed, whenever they were sure of not being seen by
some of these vermin, manifested no indisposition to communication and
intercourse, and gladly received from the strangers little gratuities and presents,.
which were taken with a trembling hand and instantly concealed, while
their eyes glanced rapidly and furtively from side to side, to see that they
were unobserved. The Commodore was deeply moved, as indeed were all
the gentlemen of the expedition, by the tyranny exercised toward the mass
of the people. 1 “ God pity these poor creatures! ” says the former in his
journal: “ I have seen much of the world, have observed savage life in
many of its conditions; but never, unless I may except the miserable peons
in Mexico, have I looked upon such an amount of apparent wretchedness as
these squalid slaves would seem to suffer.” “ The poor naked creatures, who
toil from morning till night, know not the relaxation of a Sabbath, nor the
rest of an occasional holiday, generally granted by even the most cruel
taskmasters. The wages of a field laborer is from three to eight cents per
diem; the mechanic may receive ten. Out of this, he has to provide food,
clothing, and shelter for a family, with which most of the common people are
burdened, and it is surprising to see how soon the boys, for we see but little of
the girls, are made to labor. In looking into a blacksmith’s shop at Napha,
I observed a father and two sons making nails; the elder son, probably ten
years old, was using the hammer, while the younger, not more than five,
was blowing the bellows, or rather moving the piston of a sort of air pump,
which required’some amount of physical exertion. When we entered the
shop, neither of the three took the slightest notice of us, but went on with
their labor; even the little boy scarcely lifted his eyes; and this seeming
indifference, it may be remarked, was the case with laborers and all others