menu_book Chapter 11

Section 11 of A Woman's Journey Round the World. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Piotr Nater. A Woman's Journey Round the World by Ida Laura Pfeiffer.

Chapter 7. The Voyage from Valparaiso to Canton via Tahiti. Part 2. Before reaching Paya, we passed several interesting places, among which may be mentioned four, a small French fort situated upon a hill. Near Taipari it is necessary to pass between two rows of dangerous breakers, called the Devil's Entrance.

The foaming waves rose in such volume and to so great a height that they might almost be mistaken for walls. In the plain near Poonavia is a large fort supported by several towers, built upon the neighbouring hills. At this point the scenery is beautiful.

The mountain range breaks here, so that the eye can follow for a long distance the windings of a picturesque valley, with black and lofty mountain Olofena in the background. Delighted as I was, however, with the beauty of the objects around me, I was no less pleased with those beneath. Our boat glided along over countless shallows, where the water was as clear as crystal,

so that the smallest pebble at the bottom was distinctly visible. I could observe groups and clusters of coloured coral and mudrepoor stones, whose magnificence challenges all description. It might be said that there was a quantity of fairy flower and kitchen gardens in the sea, full of gigantic flowers, blossoms and leaves,

varied by fungi and peels of every description. Like open arabesque work, the whole interspersed with pretty groups of rocks of every hue. The most lovely shellfish were clinging to these rocks, or lying scattered on the ground, while endless shoals of variegated fish darted in and out between them, like so many butterflies and hummingbirds.

These delicate creatures were scarcely four inches long, and surpassed, in richness of colour, anything I had seen. Many of them were of the purest sky blue, others a light yellow, while some, again, that were almost transparent, were brown, green, etc. On our arrival at Paya, about six in the evening,

the young Tati had a pig, weighing around eighteen or twenty pounds, killed and cooked, after the fashion of Tahiti, in honour of his father. A large fire was kindled in a shallow pit, in which were a number of stones. A quantity of breadfruit, maggiore, that had been first peeled and split into two portions, with a very sharp wooden axe, was then brought.

When the fire had gone out, and the stones heated to the requisite degree, the pig and the fruit were laid upon them, a few other heated stones placed on the top, and the whole covered up with green branches, dry leaves and earth. During the time that the victuals were cooking, the table was laid.

A straw mat was placed upon the ground, and covered with large leaves. For each guest there was a coconut shell, half filled with meaty, a sourish beverage extracted from the cocoa palm. In an hour and a half the victuals were dug up. The pig was neither very artistically cooked, nor very enticing,

but cut up as quick as lightning, being divided by the hand and knife into as many portions as there were guests, and each person had his share, together with half a breadfruit, handed to him upon a large leaf. There was no one at our rustic table, besides the officer, his mistress, the old Tahiti, his wife and myself, as it is contrary to the custom of the country for the host to eat with

his guests, or the children with their parents. With the exception of this ceremony, I did not observe any other proof of love or affection between the father and son. The old man, for instance, although ninety years of age, and suffering besides from a violent cough, was obliged to pass the night under nothing but a light roof, open to the weather,

while his son slept in his well-closed huts. On the 5th of May we left Taipari with empty stomachs, as old Tahiti was desirous of entertaining us at one of his estates, about two hours journey distant. On our arrival, and as soon as the stones were heated for our meal, several of the natives out of the neighbouring huts hastened to profit by the opportunity to cook their provisions as well,

bringing with them fish, pieces of pork, breadfruit, plantains, and so on. The fish and meat were enveloped in large leaves. For our use, besides breadfruit and fish, there was a turtle, weighing perhaps more than twenty pounds. The repast was held in a hut, to which the whole neighbourhood also came, and forming

themselves into groups, a little on one side of us principal guests, eat the provisions they had brought with them. Each person had a coconut shell full of meaty before them. Into this he first threw every morsel and took it out again with his hand, and then what remained of the meaty was drunk at the end of the meal.

We had, each of us, a fresh coconut with a hole bored into it, containing at least a pint of clear, sweet-tasting water. This is erroneously termed by us milk, but it only becomes thick and milky when the coconut is very stale, in which condition it is never eaten in these islands. Tati, with his family, remained here, while we proceeded to Papara, an hour's walk.

The road was delightful, leading mostly through thick groves of fruit trees, but it would not suit a person with a tendency to hydrophobia, for we were obliged to wade through more than half a dozen streams and brooks. At Papara, Messio Blanc possessed some landed property, with a little wooden four-roomed house, in which he was kind enough to give me a lodging.

We here heard of the death of one of the Tati's sons, of which he numbered twenty-one. He had been dead three days, and his friends were awaiting Tati to pay the last honours to the deceased. I had intended to make an excursion to the late Vahiria, but deferred doing so in order to be present at the Burial.

On the following morning, the sixth of May, I paid a visit to the hut of the deceased. Messio Blanc gave me a new handkerchief to take with me as a present, a relic of the old superstition which the people of this island have introduced into Christianity. These presents are supposed to calm the soul of the deceased. The corpse was lying in a narrow coffin upon a low beer, both of which were covered with

a white pole. Before the beer were hung two straw mats, on which were spread the deceased's clothes, drinking vessels, knives and so forth, while on the other lay the presents, making quite a heap of shirts, parios, pieces of cloth, etc. All so new and good that they might have served to furnish a small shop.

Old Tati soon entered the hut, but quickly returned into the open air, stopping only a few instants, as the corpse was already most offensive. He sat down under a tree and began talking very quietly and unconcernedly with the neighbours, as if nothing had happened. The female relatives and neighbours remained in the hut.

They too chatted and gossiped very contently, and moreover ate and smoked. I was obliged to have the wife, children and relations of the deceased pointed out to me, for I was unable to recognise them by their demeanour. In a little time the stepmother and wife rose, and throwing themselves on the coffin howled for half an hour, but it was easy to see that their grief did not come from the heart.

Their moaning was always pitched in the same monotonous key. Both then returned with smiling faces and dry eyes to their seats, and appeared to resume the conversation at the point at which they had broken it off. The deceased's canoe was burnt upon the shore. I had seen enough and returned to my quarters to make some preparations for my trip to the

lake the next day. The distance is reckoned to be 18 miles, so that the journey there and back may be performed in two days with ease, and yet a guide had the conscience to ask ten dollars, two pounds, for his services. With the assistance of old Tati, however, I procured one for three dollars, twelve shillings.

Pedestrian trips are very fatiguing on Tahiti, since it is so richly watered that the excursionist is constantly obliged to wade through plains of sand and rivers. I was very suitably clothed for the purpose, having got strong men's clothes, without any stockings, trousers and a blouse, which I had fastened up as high as my hips. Thus equipped I began, on the 7th of May, my short journey, in company with my guide.

In the first third of my road, which lay along the coast, I counted about thirty-two brooks, which we were obliged to walk through. We then struck off through ravines into the interior of the islands, first calling, however, at a hut to obtain some refreshment. The inmates were very friendly and gave us some bread, fruit and fish, but very willingly accepted

a small present in exchange. In the interior, the fine fruit trees disappear, and their places supplied by plaintons, taros, and the kind of bush growing to the height of twelve feet and called oputu, maranta. The last, in fact, grew so luxuriantly that we frequently experienced the greatest difficulty in making our way through.

The taro, which is planted, is from two to three feet high and has fine large leaves and tubercles, similar to the potato, but which do not taste very good when roasted. The plantain, or banana, is a pretty little tree, from fifteen to twenty feet high, with leaves like those of the palm and a stem which is often eight inches in diameter, but is not of wood, but cane, and very easily broken.

It belongs properly to the herbivorous species and grows with uncommon rapidity. It reaches its full growth the first year. In the second, it bears fruit and then dies. It is produced from shoots, which generally spring up near the parent tree. Through one mountain stream, which chafed along the ravine over a stony bed,

and in some places was exceedingly rapid, and in consequence of the rain that had lately fallen, was frequently more than three feet deep, we had to wade sixty-two times. My guide caught hold of me by the hand whenever we passed a dangerous spot, and dragged me, often half-swimming, after him. The water constantly reached above my hips, and all idea of getting dry again was totally out of question.

The path also became at every step more fatiguing and dangerous. I had to clamber over rocks and stones covered to such an extent with the foliage of the oputu, that I never knew with any degree of certainty where I was placing my foot. I received several severe wounds on my hands and feet, and frequently fell down on the ground, when I trusted for support to the treacherous stem of a banana, which would break beneath my grasp.

It was really a breakneck sort of excursion, which is very rarely made even by the officers, and certainly never by ladies. In two places the ravine became so narrow that the bed of the stream occupied its whole extent. It was here that the islanders, during the war with the French, built stone walls, five feet in height, to protect them against the enemy,

in case they should have attacked them from this side. In eight hours' time we had completed the eighteen miles, and attended an elevation of eighteen hundred feet. The lake itself was not visible until we stood upon its shores, as it lies in a slight hollow. It is about eight hundred feet across. The surrounding scenery is the most remarkable.

The lake is so closely hemmed in by a ring of lofty and precipitous green mountains, that there is no room even for a footing between the water and the rocks, and its bed might be taken for an extinguished volcano filled with water, a supposition which gained additional force from the masses of basalt which occupied the foreground. It is plentifully supplied with fish, one kind of which is said to be peculiar to the locality.

It is supposed that the lake has a subterranean outlet, which as yet remains undiscovered. To cross the lake it is either necessary to swim over, or trust oneself to a dangerous kind of boat, which is prepared by the natives in a few minutes. Being desirous of making the attempt, I intimated this by signs to my guide. In an instant he tore off some plankton branches,

fastened them together with long, tough grass, laid a few leaves upon them, launched them in the water, and then told me to take possession of this apology for a boat. I must own that I felt rather frightened, although I did not like to say so. I stepped on board, and my guide swam behind and pushed me forward. I made the passage to the opposite side and back without any accident,

but I was in truth rather alarmed the whole time. The boat was small and floated under rather than upon the water. There was nothing I could support myself with, and every minute I expected to fall into the lake. I would not advise anyone who cannot swim ever to follow my example. After I had sufficiently admired the lake and the surrounding scenery,

we retracted our way for some hundred yards, until we reached a little spot roofed over with leaves. Here my guide quickly made a good fire, after the Indian fashion. He took a small piece of wood, which he cut to a fine point, and then selecting a second piece, he made it into a narrow furrow, not very deep. In this he rubbed the pointed stick until the little particles,

which were detached during the operation, began to smoke. These he threw into a quantity of dry leaves and grass, which he had got together for the purpose, and swung the whole several times round in the air, until it burst out into flames. The entire process did not take more than two minutes. For our supper he gathered a few plantains and lit them on the fire.

I profited by the opportunity to dry my clothes, by sitting down near the fire, and turning first one side towards it, and then the other. Half wet through and tolerably fatigued, I retired to my couch of dry leaves immediately after partaking of our scanty meal. It is a fortunate circumstance that in these wild and remote districts

neither men nor beasts afford the slightest grounds for apprehension. The former are very quiet and peaceably inclined, and with the exception of a few wild boars, the latter are not dangerous. The island is especially favoured. It contains no poisonous hurtful insects or reptiles.

It is true there are a few scorpions, but so small and harmless that they may be handled with impunity. The mosquitoes alone were the source of very considerable annoyance, as they are in all southern countries. The 8th of May. It began to rain very violently during the night,

and in the morning I was sorry to see that there was not much hope of its clearing up. On the contrary, the clouds became blacker and blacker, and collecting from all sides, like so many evil spirits, poured down in torrents upon the innocent earth. Nevertheless, in spite of this, there was no other course open to us

but to bid defiance to the angry water deity and proceed upon our journey. In half an hour I was literally drenched. This being the case, I went on uncomplainingly, as it was impossible for me to become wetter than I was. On my return to Papara, I found that Tati's son was not buried,

but the ceremony took place the next day. The clergyman pronounced a short discourse at the side of the grave, and as the coffin was being clovered, the mats, straw hat, and clothes of the deceased, as well as a few of the presents were thrown in with it. The relations were present, but as unconcerned as I was myself.

The graveyard was in the immediate vicinity of several murays. The latter are small, four-cornered plots of ground, surrounded by stone walls, three or four feet high, where the natives used to deposit their dead, which were left exposed upon wooden frames until the flesh fell from the bones. These were then collected and buried in some lonely spot.

The same evening I witnessed a remarkable mode of catching fish. Two boys waded out into the sea, one with a stick and the other with a quantity of burning chips. The one with the stick drove the fish between the rocks and then hid them, the other lightening him in the meanwhile. They were not very fortunate, however.

The more common and successful manner of fishing is with nets. Almost every day Monsieur Blanc had visits from officers who were passing, accompanied by their mistresses. The reader may easily imagine that the laws of propriety were not, however, always strictly observed. And as I had no desire to disturb the gentlemen in their intellectual conversation and amusement,

I retired with my book into the servant's room. They too would laugh and joke, but at least in such a manner that there was no occasion to blush for them. It was highly amusing to hear Monsieur Blanc lounge out in praise of the attachment and gratitude of his Indian beauty. He would have altered his tone had he seen her behaviour in his absence. On one occasion I could not help telling one of the gentlemen my opinion of the matter

and expressing my astonishment that they could treat these grasping and avaricious creatures with such attention and kindness, to load them with presents, anticipate their every wish, and forgive and put up with their most glaring faults. The answer I received was that these ladies, if not so treated and loaded with presents, would quickly run off, and that in fact, even by the kindest attention,

they never allowed themselves to be influenced very long. From all I saw, I must repeat my former assertion that the Tahitian people are in doubt with none of the more noble sentiments of humanity, but that their only pleasures are merely animal. Nature herself encourages them to this in an extraordinary manner. They have no need to gain their bread by the sweat of their brow.

The island is most plantfully supplied with beautiful fruit, tubercles of all descriptions, and tame pigs, so that the people have really only to gather the fruit and kill the pigs. To this circumstance is to be attributed the difficulty that exists of obtaining anyone as a servant, or in any other capacity. The most wretched journeyman will not work for less than a dollar a day.

The price for washing a dozen handkerchiefs or any other articles is also a dollar, four shillings, not including soap. A native whom I desired to engage as guide demanded a dollar and a half a day. I returned from Papara to Papeiti in the company of an officer and his native beauty. We walked the thirty-six miles in one day.

On our way we passed the hut of the girl's mother, where we partook of the most splendid dish. It was composed of bread-fruit, mangoes and bananas, kneaded together into a paste, and cooked upon hot stones. It was eaten while warm, with a sauce of orange juice. On taking leave, the officer gave the girl a present of a dollar to give her mother.

The girl took it as indifferently as if it were not of the slightest value, and her mother did exactly the same, neither of them pronouncing one word of thanks, or manifesting the least sign of satisfaction. We now and then came upon some portions of the road, the word of public offenders, that were most excellently constructed.

Whenever an Indian is convicted of a crime, he is not chained in a gang, like convicts in Europe, but condemned to make or mend a certain extent of road, and the natives fulfil the tasks thus imposed with such punctuality that no overseer is ever necessary. This kind of punishment was introduced under King Pamaré,

and originated with the natives themselves. The Europeans have merely continued the practice. At Poonavia we entered the fort, where we refreshed ourselves in military fashion, with bread, wine and bacon, and reached our journey's end at seven o'clock in the morning. Besides Papara, I visited also Venus Point, a small tongue of land,

where Cook observed the transit of Venus. The stone on which he placed his instruments still remains. On my way I passed the grave, or murai, of King Pamaré I. It consisted of a small piece of ground, surrounded by a stone wall, and covered with a roof of palm leaves.

Some half-decade pieces of cloth and portions of wearing apparel were still lying in it. One of my most interesting excursions, however, was that to Fantawa and the diadem. The former is a spot which the Indians considered impregnable, but where nevertheless they were well beaten by the French during the last war. Messier Beauvoir, the governor, was kind enough to lend me his horses,

and to allow me the escort of a non-commissioned officer, who could point out to me each position of the Indians and French, as he had himself been in the engagement. For more than two hours we proceeded through horrible ravines, thick woods and rapid mountain torrents.

The ravines often became so narrow as to form so many defiles, with such precipitous and inaccessible sides, that here, as at Thermopile, a handful of valiant warriors might defy whole armies. As a natural consequence, the entrance of Fantawa is regarded as the real key to the whole island. There was no other means of taking it than by scaling one of its most precipitous sides

and pressing forward upon the narrow ledge of rock above, so as to take the enemy in the rear. The governor, Messier Beauvoir, announced that he would confide this dangerous enterprise to volunteers, and he soon had more than he could employ. From those chosen, a second selection of only sixty-two men was made. These divested themselves of every article of clothing,

saved their shoes and drawers, and took no other arms, saved their muskets. After clambering up for twelve hours, and in caring great danger, they succeeded, by the aid of ropes, and by sticking pointed iron rods and bayonets into the rock, enriching the crest of the mountain, where their appearance so astonished the Indians, that they lost all courage, threw down their arms, and surrendered.

They said that those who were capable of deeds like this could not be men but spirits, against whom all hopes of resistance were out of the question altogether. At present, there is a small fort built at Fantawa, and on one of its highest points stands a guardhouse. The path leading to it is over a small ledge of rock, skirted on each side by a yawning abyss. Persons affected with giddiness can only

reach it with great difficulty, if indeed they can do so at all. In this last case they are great losers, for the prospect is magnificent in the extreme, extending over valleys, ravines, and mountains without number. Among the latter may be mentioned the colossal rock called the diadem, thick forests of palms and other trees, and beyond all these the mighty ocean,

broken into a thousand waves against the rocks and reefs, and in the distance mingling with the azure sky. Near the fort, a waterfall precipitates itself perpendicularly down a narrow ravine. Unfortunately, the bottom of it is concealed by jutting rocks and promontories, and the volume of water is rather small. Otherwise, this fall would, on account of its height,

which is certainly more than 400 feet, deserve to be classed among the most celebrated ones with which I am acquainted. The road from the fort to the diadem is extremely fatiguing, and fully three hours are required to accomplish the journey. The prospect here is even more magnificent than that from the fort, as the eye beholds the sea over two sides of the island at the same time. This excursion was my last in this beautiful

isle, as I was obliged to embark on the next day, the 17th of May. The cargo was cleared, and the ballast taken on board. All articles to which the French troops are accustomed, such as flour, salted meat, potatoes, pulse, wine, and a variety of others, have to be imported. Note. Up to the present period Tahiti has produced nothing for exportation, and therefore all vessels have to clear out in ballast. The island is important to the French

as a port where their ships in the Pacific may stop and refit. End of note. I felt extremely reluctant to leave, and the only thing that tended at all to cheer my spirits was the thought of my speedy arrival in China, that most wonderful of all known countries. We left the port of Papeiti on the morning on the 17th of May, with a most favourable wind, soon passed in safety all the dangerous coral reefs which surround the islands, and in seven hours' time had lost sight of it

altogether. Towards evening we beheld the mountain ranges of the island of Hua Heme, which we passed during the night. The commencement of our voyage was remarkably pleasant. Besides the favourable breeze, which still continued, we enjoyed the company of a fine Belgian brick, the Rubens, which had put to sea at the same time as ourselves. It was seldom that we approached near enough for the persons on board to converse with each other, but whoever is at all

acquainted with the endless uniformity of long voyages will easily understand our satisfaction at knowing we were even in the neighbourhood of human beings. We pursued the same track as far as the Philippine islands, but on the morning of the third day our companion had disappeared, leaving us in ignorance whether she had out sailed us or we her. We were once more alone on the endless waste of water. On the 23rd of May we approached very near to the low island of Penchin,

a dozen or two of the natives were desirous of honouring us with a visit and pulled stoutly in six canoes towards our ship, but we sailed so fast that they were soon left a long way behind. Several of the sailors affirmed that these were specimens of real savages and that we might reckon ourselves fortunate in having escaped their visit. The captain too appeared to share this opinion, and I was the only person who regretted not having formed a more intimate acquaintance with them.

28th of May. For some days we had been fortunate enough to be visited, from time to time, with violent showers, a most remarkable thing for this time of year in this climate, where the rainy season commences in January and lasts for three months, the sky for the remaining nine being generally cloudless. This present exception was the more welcome from our being just on the line, where we should otherwise have suffered much from the heat. The thermometers stood at only 81 degrees

in the shade and 97 degrees in the sun. Today at noon we crossed the line and were once more in the northern hemisphere. A Tahitian sucking pig was killed and consumed in honour of our successful passage, and our native hemisphere toasted in real hock. On the 4th of June, under 8 degrees north latitude, we beheld again for the first time the lovely polar star. On the 17th of June, we passed so near to Saipan, one of the largest of the Ladron Islands, that we could make out

the mountains very distinctly. The Ladron and Marian Islands are situated between the 13 degrees and 21 degrees north latitude, and 145 degrees and 146 degrees east longitude. On the 1st of July, we again saw land. This time it was the coast of Lucovia, or Luzon, the largest of the Philippines, and lying between the 18 degrees and 19 degrees north latitude, and the 125 degrees and 119 degrees east longitude. The port of Manila is situated on the southern coast of the island.

In the course of the day, we passed the island of Babuan and several detached rocks, rising colossus-like from the sea. Four of them were pretty close together and formed a picturesque group. Some time afterwards we saw two more. In the night of the 1st to the 2nd of July, we reached the western point of Luzon and entered on the dangerous Chinese sea. I was heartily glad at last to bid adieu to the Pacific Ocean, for a voyage on it is one of the

most monotonous things that could be imagined. The appearance of another ship is a rare occurrence, and the water is so calm that it resembles a stream. Very frequently I used to start up from my desk, thinking that I was in some diminutive room ashore, and my mistake was the more natural, as we had three horses, a dog, several pigs, hens, geese, and a canary bird on board, all respectively, naeing, barking, grunting, cackling, and singing, as if they were in a

farmyard. The 6th July. For the first few days after entering the Chinese sea, we sailed pretty well in the same fashion we had to done in the Pacific, proceeding slowly and quietly on our way. Today we beheld the coast of China for the first time, and towards evening we were not more than 33 miles from Macau. I was rather impatient for the following morning. I longed to find my darling hope realized of putting my foot upon Chinese ground. I pictured the mandarins with

their high caps and the ladies with their tiny feet, when in the middle of the night the wind shifted, and on the 7th July we had been carried back 115 miles. In addition to this, the glass fell so low that we dreaded a typhoon, which is a very dangerous kind of storm, or rather hurricane, that is very frequent in the Chinese sea, during the month of July, August, and September. It is generally first announced by a black cloud on the horizon, with one edge dark red and the

other half white, and this is accompanied by the most awful torrents of rain, by thunder, lightning, and the violent winds, which arise simultaneously on all sides and lush the waters up mountains high. We took every precaution in anticipation of our dangerous enemy, but for once they were not needed. Either the hurricane did not break out at all, or else it broke out at a greater distance from us, for we were only visited by a trifling storm of no long duration. On the 8th of July we again

reached the vicinity of Macao and entered the Straits of Lemma. Our course now lay between bays and reefs, diversified by groups of the most beautiful islands, offering the series of most magnificent and varied views. On the 9th of July we anchored in Macao roads. The town, which belongs to the Portuguese and has a population of 20,000 inhabitants, is beautifully situated on the seaside and surrounded by pleasing hills and mountains. The most remarkable objects are the palace of the

Portuguese governor, the Catholic monastery of Goya, the fortifications, and the few fine houses, which lie scattered about the hills in picturesque disorder. Besides a few European ships, there were anchored in the roads several large Japanese junks, while a great number of small boats, manned by Chinese, were rocking to and fro around us. End of section 11.