Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara Volume Iii Part 11

According to the law of the country, however, no captain or owner of a s.h.i.+p was permitted to land a pa.s.senger without having previously obtained the permission of the Queen or Governor of the island. After the two Catholic priests had gone the round of the island and had visited nearly all the native villages along the coast, they at last came to Wilks's Harbour, now Papeete, where they received a most cordial welcome from a Belgian settler, the then American consul, Mr. Moehrenhout.

In the course of an interview which Laval and Caret had with the Queen, they remarked that they had only come to teach the word of G.o.d, and presented the youthful and at that period pretty-looking Queen Pomare with a silk shawl. The Queen did not however seem disposed to accede to their wishes, but ordered the laws of the country to be read before them. The priests however declined listening to them, and took their departure.

A notification was hereupon conveyed to the two strangers that the Queen could not permit them to stay any longer upon the island, and a similar intimation was made to Mr. Moehrenhout. As the schooner which had brought Laval and Caret was preparing to set sail again, the opportunity was seized to dismiss them by the same conveyance which had landed them. They, meanwhile, had blockaded themselves in a house, to which they refused all admission. The schooner thereupon was detained for twenty-four hours, and the Queen's officers surrounded the house, awaiting the moment when the two missionaries were to leave the place. They never made their appearance however. Ultimately the officers of the law were compelled to tear off the roof from the house, while others, forcibly seizing the priests, conveyed them with their paraphernalia on board the schooner, which at once made sail, and carried them back to Gambier Island, whence they had last come.

Notwithstanding the ill-success of this first venture, Pater Caret made his appearance off Tahiti a second time seven weeks later, on board of an American brig, accompanied on this occasion by another priest, Father Maigrat. The captain of the brig, a man named Williams, wrote the Queen a letter requesting permission to land his two pa.s.sengers. The answer was a firm refusal, and so continued, despite the repeated representations of the captain, as also of the above-mentioned M. Moerenhout. Upon this the captain went to work in true Yankee fas.h.i.+on with the view of landing the two Catholic missionaries by force on the island, but had to give way before the prudent but decided att.i.tude of resistance adopted by the natives, who crowded down to the water's edge and prevented the boats from landing. This last attempt to carry matters with a high hand having failed, the captain set sail and carried off with him the two missionaries.

France, though no longer openly claiming the specific character of a Catholic monarchy as in the days of Louis XIV., but, on the contrary, proclaiming herself, by her laws at least, a free state for all forms of religious wors.h.i.+p, apparently thought herself compelled to interfere in this quarrel, with all the weight of a great European power, two of whose subjects had been treated with unmerited indignity. Accordingly in September, 1838, the French frigate _Venus_, commanded by Commodore Du Pet.i.t-Thouars, appeared off Tahiti to demand satisfaction for the ill-treatment of the French missionaries Laval and Caret, which they a.s.sessed at 2000 Spanish piastres. At the same time a treaty was concluded between the French Government and Queen Pomare, by which from that time all subjects of the King of France were to be at liberty to visit and reside in the Society Islands without molestation, and were to enjoy similar privileges with the English.[65]

To this treaty the French captain, La Place, who, in April, 1839, anch.o.r.ed in Papeete harbour for repairs to his frigate, the _Artemise_, added another article, which was countersigned by the Queen and the princ.i.p.al chiefs, and authorized the free celebration of the rites of the Catholic religion.[66]

Had these demonstrations on the part of France had for the sole object the protection of the interests of Catholicism and French subjects, no civilized power could have objected to an act which, in entire consonance with the more humane and enlightened spirit of the 19th century, a.s.serted the equal rights of every form of religious wors.h.i.+p.

But she was not content with removing obstacles or a.s.serting rights; political aims, as it proved, were being advanced under cover of a struggle on behalf of the Catholic Church; and the events which speedily ensued are but a series of acts of violence and humiliations inflicted, so entirely unjustifiable, that even the French Government found itself in the end compelled to disapprove and condemn the acts of its representatives in Oceania.

In September, 1842, M. Du Pet.i.t-Thouars came on a second visit to Tahiti.

He had by this time been promoted to his flag, and had been appointed Captain-general of the French stations in the Southern Ocean. He had already taken possession of the Marquesas Islands in the name of France, and appeared to have come to Tahiti with similar intentions. This second visit terminated after the Queen and her subjects had been submitted to the most cruel humiliations, in the establishment of a French protectorate, which several chiefs demanded in a doc.u.ment addressed by them to Louis Philippe, and which the Queen was compelled to subscribe. In November, 1843, Du Pet.i.t-Thouars came once more to Papeete, and now took possession of the entire island, on the flimsy pretext that an intentional insult had been given to France, in the shape of a flag which he saw waving above the Queen's residence, and which he mistook for that of England! The Tahitian flag was forcibly struck by the French soldiers, and replaced by that of France, while Tahiti itself was declared a French colony. Queen Pomare protested against this new high-handed insult; she wrote a letter of complaint to the French monarch, relating the extravagances of his officers, and in a dignified and simple address, implored the sympathy and support of Queen Victoria.[67]

The violent proceedings of the admiral were not endorsed by the Government of Louis Philippe, which recalled Du Pet.i.t-Thouars, and restored to Queen Pomare the islands of Tahiti and Eimeo, but the French protectorate remained unaltered, since which the two islands have remained, if not _de jure_, at all events _de facto_, a French colony. The administration is vested in the hands of a proportionately increased staff of French officials, and import and export duties are levied by the French authorities, while the Queen herself receives her civil list of 1000 at the hands of the "Tresorier et payeur des Etabliss.e.m.e.nts francais en Oceanie."[68]

Papeete or Papeti (_Pape_, water, _Iti_, little), which derives its name from a rivulet which falls into the sea here, lies at the bottom of a semi-circular bay, seven miles west of Point Venus, the northernmost spot of the island. It is the chief town on the island, the residence of the Queen, and the seat of government, all which is not incompatible with its being of very limited dimensions, not rising above the grandeur of an ordinary village. The dwellings of the Europeans, constructed for the most part of wood, covered with palm-leaves, partly extend along the sh.o.r.e, partly help to make pretty regular streets, amid which rise up on every side bread-fruit trees, cocoa-palms, and orange-trees, which make up in cheerfulness for any deficiency in stateliness of aspect. Southwards of the bay lie a belt of police barracks, the Protestant place of wors.h.i.+p (_Fare-pure_, house of prayer), and the prison (_Fare-auri_, house of iron); eastward it is bounded by the promontory of Fare-Ute, forming a sort of dock-yard, where s.h.i.+ps of 300 tons can be repaired. Not far from the place of disembarkation, and near the centre of the towns.h.i.+p, rises one of the most elegant buildings in Papeete, namely, that where the various stores for the troops are housed. The mansion of the Governor closely adjoins the residence a.s.signed to the Queen, from which it is only separated by a garden hedge. Both are extremely simple and unpretending edifices, built of wood, and impress the visitor much less than another large quadrangular building, built of stone in the Oriental style, and surmounted by a cupola--this is the Fare-Aporaa, or "House of Big Words,"

which has numerous congeners among more civilized communities. Here, for the future, are to be held the sessions of the Legislative a.s.sembly, and here the laws of the country are to be debated. Ever since the protecting hand of the French Protector has extended itself likewise over the unfortunate inhabitants of the Society Islands, the Tahitian parliament is opened with all that pomp and tinsel splendour which your true Frenchman cannot dispense with, even among the primitive islands of the Pacific. The Queen, accompanied by the Governor, proceeds, escorted by a long retinue, to the Chamber, and opens the a.s.sembly in person, which solemnity is announced to the gaping crowd outside by a salvo of twenty-one guns. The French Governor, however, plays the most conspicuous part, as in him is vested the right of deciding whether the convocation of the chosen of the people be requisite or not. Hence it happens that many a year pa.s.ses when it does not suit the wishes of the Governor that parliament should meet.

On such occasions (such was the case while we were there) the Governor promulgates a simple edict to that effect.[69]

The Tahitians, long before the arrival of the French, had a code or charter of their own. The last was drawn up in 1823 by the Protestant missionaries, upon the model of that of England, and was revised in 1826.

Its provisions were that the throne should be inherited by either male or female descendants of the reigning dynasty. By it the island was divided into seven districts; the legislative power was vested in an a.s.sembly of fourteen members, viz. two from each district, who were to be re-elected every three years by the people. This const.i.tution underwent divers mutilations at the hands of the French Protectorate, till it had lost all importance. At present, however, it is the subject of lively debate, and the Tahitian parliament at Papeete can reckon some really distinguished speakers; but its solution depends much less upon the conviction of logic than the influence of the French officials.

We heard a very remarkable speech from Ravaai, one of the most gifted of the native orators, on the occasion of a debate as to whether a law should be pa.s.sed admitting beer and French wines, duty free, into the island.

Several speakers were of opinion, considering the terrible spread among both s.e.xes of drunkenness, with all its attendant evils, that every description of spirituous liquor should be prohibited to be sold to the natives; Ravaai, on the other hand, spoke in favour of the enactment, and in the course of his speech remarked: "If the use of spirituous liquors were in itself criminal, as some persons maintain, we should not see it in every-day use by the Europeans living amongst us, our pioneers in the path of civilization. It is only excess, abuse, that are punishable. This we must expect to have to punish, but do not rob us of an inherent right by a sumptuary and unnatural prohibition. Your declarations concerning murder, incendiarism, ruffianism, all which you adduce as the results of the use of brandy, are but oratorical flourishes: spirituous liquors, the misuse of which I equally with yourselves deprecate, have, no doubt, produced disorders, but these have been suppressed, and if our island had no further ills to encounter we might rejoice this day over a future of such prosperity and promise! Such, unfortunately, is _not_ the case! People tell us of murders and robberies! Go the round of the island! go from Mahaena to Punaruu, from Papenoo to Taapua, and a variety of other places--climb the mountain to the very summit of Fautaua; ask at these abodes of sorrow, baptized with n.o.ble blood, and covered with honoured graves! Say what has filled the graves of Mahaena with human bones? Is it the unlimited use of spirits, or is it not rather the ignorance begotten of fanaticism run mad, which disloyally put weapons into your hands? But the graves are dumb; and certain persons present may at this moment rejoice at that repose. If it is your wish sincerely, and with hope of definite results, to forbid the sale of intoxicating stimulants in Tahiti, begin by forbidding those mighty nations who trade with our island, and are interested in this traffic, from bringing and introducing the destroying liquids in their vessels!! But your voices, ye unhappy Tahitians, are too feeble to make themselves heard in England, in France, in Spain, in America! Well, then, renounce it, deny yourselves!" The law was pa.s.sed by ninety-five votes against thirteen, and, in consequence, not merely French wines, but all sorts of liquors, may be sold in Tahiti unchecked by license. The penalties for drunkenness have since then formed an important source of revenue!

Among the foreigners settled in Papeete our Expedition had reason to be especially thankful to Mr. W. Howe, member of the London Missionary Society, and M. Adam Kulczycki,[70] director of the administration of native matters, two gentlemen, of whom the former has, during a residence of twenty-two years in Tahiti, employed in spreading the gospel and raising the morals and religious standard of his little flock, proved himself as useful a servant, as the latter by his valuable contributions to our knowledge of the physical condition of the island. Dr. Nadaud, botanist and physician, also laid the Expedition under deep obligations by the cordiality with which he placed himself at the disposal of the naturalists, to accompany them on their various excursions, and imparting to them his own valuable experience, while the splendid and comprehensive work of Dr. G. Cuzent[71] upon Tahiti, contributed greatly to a.s.sist our personal impressions, experiences, and observations. Mr. Howe, the sole English missionary now resident in Tahiti, received us with much kindness, and escorted us through the various missionary buildings, in which, unfortunately, the spiritual energy of bygone years has dwindled away under the baleful French Protectorate. The inst.i.tute for the education of teachers and pastors is quite closed,--in the printing establishment, which formerly kept ten compositors and two iron hand-presses in constant employment, only small religious tracts are now permitted to be sold, and these exclusively in Tahitian, a work which one man can easily get through. In the missionary library we saw several interesting works and ma.n.u.scripts, mostly of a religious cast. One was shown us which seemed to be highly esteemed, and consisted of a thick ma.n.u.script treating of Tahiti, the author of which was a Mr. Orsmond, the oldest Protestant missionary upon the island, who died in 1857. It is said that M.

Moerenhout, the former Belgian and American consul at Papeete, in his work upon Tahiti, availed himself largely of this ma.n.u.script, which has also been translated into Swedish.

Mr. Howe spoke highly of the liberality of the present Governor, M.

Saisset, as compared with the intolerance displayed by his predecessors, with respect to celebrating Protestant wors.h.i.+p. Then, he told us, he was not permitted to preach elsewhere than in his chapel, and then only in English, whereas now he can perform religious service in other districts whenever the natives request him to do so. Moreover, in the dissemination of religious tracts and books of prayer, there is much more relaxation than formerly, and during the last tour of inspection of the Governor, that gentleman himself took with him 500 copies of a translation of the Bible, for distribution among the Protestant natives of the districts he was about to visit. The want of elementary religious books in the interior was so great, that even Catholic teachers had to sue for some, preferring Protestant Bibles to having none at all.

Although Mr. Howe is the only one of the fourteen missionaries once resident here to whom permission was accorded to remain behind on the island, there are nevertheless a great number of native teachers who preach and celebrate wors.h.i.+p on the Sunday. The _Canakas_,[72] as it is the custom to call the natives, on such occasions bring with them to the chapel their Bibles and little hymn-books in a small case made of plaited palm fibre, a modern department of Tahitian industry, and, in the interior more especially, observe the Sabbath with much strictness.[73] It may be reckoned that by far the larger number of the inhabitants of Tahiti and Eimeo, or Morea, profess Protestantism, whereas the number of native Catholics does not exceed 100 in both islands. Notwithstanding the numerous advantages which the Catholic Church has enjoyed since the establishment of the French Protectorate, it has not succeeded in acquiring any great influence among the natives, or in enlarging its boundaries. The Bishop, Monseigneur Tepaud Jansen, Bishop of Axieri, who resides at Papeete, is also the sole priest and teacher in the colony.

This spiritual guide has every day to celebrate ma.s.s in his wretched little chapel of bamboo walls and palm thatch, and has never yet succeeded in getting the half-ruined church close by finished for his reception; the 8000 francs per annum (320) paid by Government as long as the church is being built seem rather to postpone than hasten its erection. Moreover, there is not as yet any public school in Papeete, a want which is the more sensibly felt and the more permanent in its effects, as the majority of the Protestant schools are closed, and consequently a large proportion of the rising generation[74] are growing up in utter ignorance. In four districts in the interior out of thirty-three, live two or three French missionaries who instruct the natives in French. There is neither lack of energy among these zealous labourers, nor of the requisite funds,[75] to extend the field of their labours, so that if the Catholic mission in Tahiti makes no progress, and after twenty years' exertion can only reckon 100 neophytes, the explanation must be sought in the existence of conditions, which neither the self-denying zeal of Catholic missionaries nor material protection can affect.[76]

While in the interior of the island Sunday is thus observed with much strictness, there is great indifference, if not worse, in its observance in the seaport; indeed, it is the French official who sets the example of disregarding it. For nowhere does one witness more utter shamelessness than at what is known as the Pre Catalan, a lawn-like meadow, which extends directly in front of the Governor's palace, and, in fact, is one of its dependencies. Here, in presence of the French gens d'armes and soldiers, under the very eyes of the Protectorate authorities, and in entire defiance of the native laws,[77] dances of the most dissolute kind are executed by half-drunk Tahitian girls. One must have seen the Upa-Upa danced by these lascivious Tahitians, with all the impa.s.sioned vehemence of a sensual nature, in order to comprehend the mingled shame and indignation with which it fills any but a French by-stander. Singularly enough, the Upa-Upa, or Hiva, has a marked resemblance to the well-known Can-can, as it is, or used formerly to be, danced in the Quartier Latin at the Chaumiere, by the students and grisettes, with the sole difference that in the Upa-Upa the grace of the Parisian dances is entirely lost sight of, so that there remains nothing but a series of obscene gestures, most unblus.h.i.+ngly presented. The musicians sitting on the ground strike with the flat of the hand a little kettle-drum (_pehu_), and beat time as well with their feet. Suddenly, a dancer of either s.e.x springs into the inclosure, goes through a number of extraordinary animated movements, which are the louder laughed at and applauded in proportion to their indecency, after which he or she mingles once more with the crowd, exhausted and breathless.

The Tahiti women have almost invariably beautiful black hair, and singularly small hands and feet. Their figure is on the average that of the middle stature of European women. Their dress is simple, but very clean and neat. They wear a long white gown with plaits, which gives them somewhat the appearance of vestals, and wear a coronal of flowers on their head, or entwine the flaming blossoms of the _Hibiscus rosasinensis_ in their thick black tresses. The more coquettish also affect an exceedingly elegant head-dress (_rewarewa_), which they make of the young tender leaves of the cocoa-palm, the satin-paper-like epidermis being converted by the manipulation of their skilful hands into an exquisitely fine-wove, rustling tissue, which they arrange among their luxuriant locks with genuine idealistic grace.

The men, like the women, are tall, slim, and well-proportioned. The face usually is far from ugly, and betokens no little intelligence; the lips are full, the complexion a yellowish-brown, but on the whole fairer than that of the New Zealanders. The occipital region of the head seems to be artificially flattened, the forehead well-formed, the chin and lower maxillary bones are broad. Some wear European clothing, others a wide piece of blue calico (_pareu_), wound round the loins and reaching to the knees.

The dancing in the Pre Catalan continued from afternoon till far on in the night, although only a faint gleam of light shone on the green floor, so that the darkness threw a convenient veil over both dancers and spectators. Quite close to the crowd of pleasure-seeking natives was a group of natives of New Caledonia. These had been made prisoners of war during the recent campaign of the French on that island, and had been transported hither to undergo a term of _travaux forces_ on the public works. On the whole, however, they were kindly enough treated, and on Sundays were permitted to "dance," such as the performance was, in the presence of their custodian. On our presenting them with a few small silver coins they went through their most renowned national dances for us, which are much ruder and more natural than those of the Tahitians, but apparently are not of so frivolous a character as the Upa-Upa, and other similar cancanized contortions of the limbs as indulged at Tahiti. The New Caledonians arranged themselves with spears and sticks in a circle, rushed violently at each other, leaped impetuously about in a state of artificial excitement, uttering the most singular sounds and the most appalling yells, then dispersed and reunited repeatedly, the leader of the dance all the while muttering very fast, but in perfect time, some unintelligible words, apparently to fire their ardour by recalling to them the memory of some national victory. The obscene Tahitian dances on the Sundays in Government gardens had been resuscitated five months before, and for this reason Pre Catalan, the only public promenade in Tahiti, is avoided by the Europeans resident in Papeete. The Protestants feel themselves sorely aggrieved by having such a spectacle openly sanctioned on the Lord's Day by the French authorities, and a collection having been set on foot about the time of our visit for raising sufficient to maintain a permanent band of music, a number of Protestants and missionaries declined to subscribe, on the ground of disapproving of money being expended in promoting such amus.e.m.e.nts.

Among the excursions made by the members of the Expedition, a double interest attached to that made to Point Venus. It was on this promontory that Captain Cook first made the astronomical observations by which he determined the position of the island. The ride thither lay through delicious groves of cocoa-palms and bread-fruit trees, mingled here and there with citron and orange-trees, as also bananas and guavas. Near the Point lies the village of Matavai, inhabited by several white settlers, each in his little cottage with its blooming garden around it. The tree-like _Oleander_ and the beautiful red flower _Hibiscus rosasinensis_ towered above in full bloom, the entire scene being almost sufficient to captivate a European. The native governor of the district is a pretty well-educated man, who has spent nine months in Paris, and on the occasion of the capture by the French of the fort of Fautaua had been rewarded for his not very patriotic services by the cross of the Legion of Honour, besides being appointed chief of the militia. His farm is very nicely managed, and his daughters, elegant, well-mannered brunettes, speak a little French, an accomplishment in which the Tahitian ladies, notwithstanding their intimate relations with the sons of "_la grande nation_," are usually entirely deficient. At Point Venus is a lighthouse, with an intermittent light, visible about 14 miles seaward, in charge of an aged French veteran (_invalide_). The tamarind tree is still pointed out, which Captain Cook planted close to the spot where he completed those renowned labours, which still single him out as the greatest of Pacific discoverers.

With the exception of those to Point Venus on one side, and to the large villages of Faaa and Papeuriri in the opposite direction, there are no practicable roads on the island. On the whole, there are about 36 miles of road suitable for wheeled carriages,--all travels beyond must be performed on horseback, by which means the entire island can be traversed in a few days. One of the most agreeable excursions, and which well repays the trouble, is undoubtedly a drive to the beautifully situate hill-fort of Fautaua, renowned in the annals of the island. The first part of the road leads over unsightly fields of guava (_Psidium guava_), first imported from South America in 1815 by an American missionary, with the laudable object of increasing the number of useful plants upon the island, but which has since so entirely over-grown large tracts of land, that its systematic extirpation begins to be discussed. Wherever the guava takes root it destroys all other vegetation. It has already extended over the loveliest spots, where its seeds have been dropped in human or animal excrement. Its apple-shaped fruit, red-fleshed inside, is in the raw state anything but pleasant to the taste, and is not readily eaten even by the natives, but a sort of jelly prepared of it could be made an important article of export, as it is already along the west coast of South America.

The fruit is also valuable for provender, as animals foddered with it speedily get quite fat, while its wood, growing with great rapidity, is in much request for fuel.

After riding a few miles through these guava-fields, we were astonished at finding a sugar plantation close by the road, which here ran through a lovely little valley. This is the property of an Englishman named Johnson, who, once a whaler, and afterwards a sandal-wood trader, has resided for more than thirty years in Tahiti, and has married a native woman. Johnson, in partners.h.i.+p with a Frenchman named Le Rouge, had planted 23 acres of land with sugar-cane, and when we saw him in February, 1859, expected a crop of from 100 to 110 hogsheads of sugar. The whole property is a perfect model farm, and receives every encouragement and a.s.sistance from Government, with the view of extending sugar-planting.[78] Immediately adjoining the plantation, the river Fautaua flows past, here about five feet deep, and furnis.h.i.+ng a most excellent bathing-place. Johnson, like many another, lamented the appalling rapidity with which the native population was falling off, which he ascribed to the daily increasing prevalence of the vices of drunkenness and debauchery. He related to us how many valleys, now lonely and abandoned, were pretty densely peopled only twenty years ago! Then the population was estimated at 15,000, now it is only 5000.[79]

The aspect of the sugar plantation is remarkably fine, and an occasional glimpse of the surrounding hills, bathed in the sunlight, imparts a sublimity that at once arrests the attention, the crags rising in close proximity, and appearing much more precipitous and inaccessible than they are in reality. The Diadem (the name given to several peaks which have a striking resemblance to a crown) displays itself from this point in all its wondrous loveliness, above which tower lofty mountain-peaks, 6000 or 7000 feet in height, which have never been trodden by the foot of the naturalist.

Close behind the hospitable dwelling of Mr. Johnson begins the primitive forest, under the delightful cool shades of which one can ride almost to the goal of the excursion, surrounded on every side by luxuriant green canopies that seem to scale the very clouds, under whose domes play grateful currents of air.[80]

The path, although always a steep ascent, was in very fair condition; only at the point where it was necessary to ford the river Fautaua, which every year swells into an angry torrent during the rainy season, did we find any serious impediment to our further advance. The bridge across the stream had been swept away, and there was nothing for it but to lead the horses through the water, an achievement of no little difficulty and waste of time, owing to the strength of the current and the terror and obstinacy of some of our horses.

After a ride of several hours in a sort of green twilight, the forest began to open, and there before our astonished gaze was the most important waterfall on the island, imparting an inconceivable freshness and animation to the landscape around. The Fautaua makes at this point a leap of about 200 metres (650 feet), into a huge basin, which lies at the foot of a lofty precipice, 420 metres (1450 feet) above the level of the sea; the temperature of the water in the basin itself being about 70 Fahr.

The steep crags, which tower overhead on all sides, and like a gigantic wall impede the view of the peninsula of Taiarapu, which lies behind them, are as marvellous in the luxuriance of the vegetation that covers them, as they are strategically important by their impregnability, the French having only succeeded in gaining footing upon them by treachery, and not by fortune of war. Some chiefs favourable to the French had acted as guides, and had led them by secret and dangerous paths up to these heights, for which service they to this day receive an annual pension paid in gold out of the state treasury. Formerly the rough, steep, almost inaccessible precipices formed of themselves a natural fort, and by their peculiar form, their position, and their strength, might be called the key of the entire island. The French conquerors immediately converted this spot, 630 metres (2052 feet) above the level of the sea, into a small fort with the usual tricolor flag, and, on the limited flat surface at their disposal, on which alone it was possible to build, erected a barrack and a few huts, besides laying out a kitchen-garden, which supplies with fruit and vegetables the residents of this solitary but lovely abode.

The officer on guard within the fort received us with that fascinating friendliness and _bonhommie_ characteristic of the French in all parts of the world, and which makes them everywhere such "jolly" companions. The provisions we had brought with us were speedily improved by the addition of everything that the garrison mess could set before us, and there was no lack even of delicacies, as they might be considered in these lat.i.tudes, for the little kitchen-garden contiguous furnished plenty of water-cresses and strawberries. The temperature was at this season singularly delicious and elastic, but in July, when the thermometer occasionally sinks to 46-1/2 Fahr., the little garrison suffers much from cold and inflammatory attacks.

Another excursion, not less charming but far more arduous, is that to the Waiiria Lake, far in the interior of the island. This was achieved by Mr.

Frauenfeld, one of the zoologists of the Expedition. From Papeuriri in the south of the island, which is easily reached in one day from Papeete by a road winding along the coast, the Waiiria valley leads in a S.S.E. to N.N.W. direction, up to the central peak, whence the deep valleys and water-courses radiate towards the coast like the spokes of a wheel. The valley is at first tolerably wide, but so densely covered with trees and shrubs, interlaced in wild confusion, that the horses had to be left behind at Papeuriri. A rather wide mountain-torrent rushes throughout its length, and, a little further on, when the valley contracts into a pathless defile, has not merely to be crossed so frequently as to baffle all count, but leaves the tourist to scramble up its rocky course by leaping from stone to stone. After four hours' toil the valley suddenly closes in, and it becomes necessary to scramble up an almost perpendicular precipice 1000 feet in height. It was a tight bit of work, struggling upwards under a tropical rain over the slippery moss-grown blocks, every cranny and projection thickly studded with creeping plants. The crest of the pa.s.s, from 60 to 80 feet wide, hemmed in by precipices impossible to scale, was fortified by the natives during the war; that is to say, a breastwork of stones was thrown up, thus converting the depression on the other side of the mountain, in which lies the lake, into an inaccessible lurking-place. Not far distant is the deep narrow defile of Ruotorea, which played so conspicuous a part in the older history of Tahiti, as it was customary to fling into it all prisoners of war. At length, about two P.M., the lake itself was reached, lying in a sort of mountain cauldron, the sides of which descend steeply, while two of the loftiest peaks, those of Tetuero and Anaori, rise sheer out of the lake to a height of 5000 feet.[81] Except at the narrow strip of ground, on which M. Frauenfeld found himself standing, and which was nothing but a beach of small extent, there was no other spot within sight at which it would have been possible to land. The distance to the opposite sh.o.r.e, when visible, seems about half a mile. The whole basin, even where the enclosing rocks are steepest, indeed, almost perpendicular, and thence up to the summits of the loftiest peaks, is densely covered with trees, reeds, and creepers, especially _scitamineae_, the brilliant green hues of which are reflected in the mirror-like surface of the lake below. All the forests here are of wild plantain, and the sugar-cane is found growing wild in a variety of places. A few ducks, a swallow, and a couple of parrots were all that was seen of animal life. A strange silence brooded over the entire landscape,--not a leaf trembled, not a sound broke the solemn stillness, and a depressing feeling of loneliness and utter abandonment seized on the traveller. The spot for the night's encampment was selected close to a large stone, against which a sort of penthouse was erected of banana leaves, which promised welcome shelter during the night. The exceedingly unfavourable weather prevented an adequate investigation being made of the environs of the lake, and as the following morning was ushered in with, if anything, an accession of bad weather, the plan which had been projected of constructing a boat with which to explore the lake was abandoned, and the party set out on their return to Papeete.

During our stay at Tahiti, a grand national festival took place at the little village of Faaa, about an hour's walk from Papeete. In fact, it has latterly become the custom, on every change of Governor, to have a feast of welcome in his honour in every district. On such occasions speeches are made, presents are prepared, dances are practised, and long tables, groaning under all sorts of food and drink, are set out in the open air for the invited guests. Governor Saisset, who had been seven months in office, and had already made the circuit of the island, visiting all the districts, was, however, not yet welcomed with the customary festivities of the inhabitants of Faaa. This solemnity accordingly pa.s.sed off with all pomp on 22nd February. By eight A.M. some twenty cavaliers had a.s.sembled in front of the Government Palace, whence, with the Governor at their head, and accompanied by the native militia, also mounted, they took the road to Faaa. Only one lady, Madame de la Richerie, wife of the _Commissaire Imperial_, accompanied the cavalcade. On our arrival at Faaa we found the native females, attired in their gayest national dress, formed into line, and the men, partly clothed in the European manner, partly in the "_Pareu_," a broad scarf of printed muslin wound round the loins, shaking their variegated plumes, and carrying banners and flags of bark specially prepared for the feast, some Panda.n.u.s leaves being also handed to the guests.

As soon as the Governor had taken his seat in the verandah of the large and elegant residence of the chieftain, or warden of the district (for in Tahiti every office, with all rights pertaining thereto, descends among the female members of the chief's family likewise),[82] a number of girls, dressed all in white and wearing elegant garlands of flowers, stepped forward and began to sing a national Tahitian hymn; after which the orator of the day, a handsome man, dressed partly in the European, partly in the native manner, wearing a black round felt hat and feathers, and a variegated bark s.h.i.+rt over a black coat(!) delivered a very pathetic address. His delivery and his gestures recalled strongly to mind the New Zealand orators, but, unlike the latter, he was considerate enough not to tax unduly the patience of his foreign guests, to whom not one word of his very moving discourse was intelligible. This preliminary over, a number of girls presented themselves one after the other to the Governor, and in token of allegiance presented their garlands and the nicely prepared upper robe of bast. In this manner about 100 crowns and bast-mantilles were delivered, the most elegant of which the Governor kindly presented to the members of our Expedition.

In the reception-court a perfect mountain of bananas had been piled up, together with an immense heap of cocoa-nuts; these were also presented to the Governor and his suite, with the remark that every inhabitant of the district had contributed his mite to the festival, and bade the foreign guests a cordial welcome. "We may stay days, weeks, ay! months," exclaimed the orator, "and every house and all that was in it will be placed at our disposal; every one will take a pleasure in doing our bidding and forestalling all our wishes!"

After this hearty, idyllic ceremonial, the inhabitants of Punatana, an adjoining district, came up, amid a flourish of drums and trumpets, and arranged themselves on the wide road right in front of the chieftainess of Faaa, in consequence of Maheanu, their chieftainess, a zealous Protestant, not permitting on her grounds the execution of any improper dances, or the singing of broad songs. In fact, neither the Upa-Upa nor any other of the numerous Tahitian "_Cancans a la Chicard_" were suffered to be danced; the consequence of which was that they danced it all the more eagerly on the road. Six drummers, each with his little kettle-drum, squatted cross-legged on the floor, the right hand being employed to strike the instrument. To this primitive music, enlivened at times by a shrill cry, both men and girls now began to go through the most indecent gestures, accompanied by leaping on and toying with their partners till they had worked themselves up to such an artificial frenzy of excitement, that each couple at last retired exhausted and bathed in perspiration, under a flourish of drums and a loud shriek from the orchestra.

The French Governor, the representative of European decorum, was one of the most animated of the spectators, and gave full swing to the recklessness of the Tahitians, who are accustomed to push the law of hospitality to the extent of prost.i.tuting their daughters, remarking, with much _navete_, that the natives would take it exceedingly ill were any one to refuse to take part in certain old habits and customs, or were to declare themselves openly opposed to their continuance!

At the close of the fete the Governor ordered some French wines, "the cocoa milk of the Europeans," to be set before the inhabitants of Faaa. A _dejeuner a la fourchette_ was laid out under tents, where, at twenty long tables covered in the European manner, the most distinguished personages took their seats. Every family had contributed something, the whole having the appearance of a regular pic-nic.

On each table were displayed flowers, bananas, bread-fruit, and other delicious products of the vegetable world. The European guests were seated at a large table erected at the upper end of an alley of trees. The chieftainess and her husband sat beside the Governor. Next in order was the Government interpreter, a Mr. Darling, the son of one of the oldest English missionaries sent out to Tahiti, on whom devolved the interpretation into Tahitian or French, as the case might be, of the various speeches and toasts.

The dinner-service, at our table at least, was entirely in the European manner, which seemed to me a pity; a meal without knives or forks, as is the custom among the natives, would have been infinitely more interesting and peculiar. The husband gave the health of the ruler of France, and--evidently in honour of the guests from the banks of the Danube--that of the Emperor of Austria! Immediately thereafter the Governor rose suddenly and left the table, with the intention, it would seem, of escaping some untimeous speeches of the natives. The company presently broke up, and while a few of the guests returned straight to the port, the majority, the French Governor himself mingling with the excited populace, did not reach Papeete till far in the night.

The fete at Faaa was followed, a few days later, 24th February, by a das.h.i.+ng ball at the Governor's. The _Pre Catalan_ was gaily festooned with coloured lamps, and various devices for illuminating the festivities. The Tahitians, accustomed to dance only in the darkness of night, or at most under the light of a few paltry suet candles, flocked hither in crowds to revel in the brilliant light, and witness the Europeans dance the "_Upa-Upa_" after their own fas.h.i.+on. Within the Palace was a.s.sembled all that was ultra-fas.h.i.+onable in Tahitian society. All the authorities and notabilities of the country were present. More than 200 persons thronged the apartment, where, out of courtesy to our host, the band of our frigate played a succession of polkas, waltzes, and quadrilles. Queen Pomare, accompanied by her consort and several princes and princesses of her house, was also present. The Governor received her at the threshold of the apartment, offered her his arm, and escorted her to seats already reserved for the royal family. Pomare is now almost fifty years of age, stout and under the middle size, with a full inexpressive countenance, and a waddling gait. Her toilette was simple but thoroughly European. She wore a white ball-dress of the latest French _mode_, and flowers in her hair. In her hands she also carried a gigantic bouquet. Her youngest son, a boy of twelve years, named after Prince de Joinville, showed spirit and vivacity; the heir to the throne seemed feeble, sickly, and too soon matured.

This happened to be the first presentation of the members of the Expedition to the Queen--the first opportunity they had had of conversing with her. Hitherto there had been apparent on the part of the French authorities a reluctance to bring about a meeting, which the Queen might possibly regard as a triumph. In fact, Queen Pomare was not at liberty to receive any one in her house, except members of her family, without first obtaining the permission of the French authorities. Two incidents, which had occurred to arouse the French authorities shortly before our arrival, had still further contributed to sharpen the Queen's watchfulness, and to limit her receptions to her own nearest relatives. The poor woman had, after much pressure, and without communicating with M. Saisset, signed in his absence a doc.u.ment which fairly ran counter to a previous ordinance on the same subject. A territorial squabble, which had long before been decided by law, had, through the exertions of one of the parties interested, been once more brought up for trial, before the native bench, as it was thought that the result of the opinion of several judges might be productive of some more favourable result. The Governor refused his a.s.sent to this proceeding. The Queen, notwithstanding, under bad advice, issued a written mandate to the native Court to try the case over again.

As the Court was being a.s.sembled, however, it was dismissed by the Governor, the chief judge banished to an adjoining island, and the Queen compelled herself to abrogate the ordinance. A somewhat similar affair had occurred a few weeks before at the village of Papaoa, near which Queen Pomare possesses a country-house, in which some of the royal family were implicated. Some native feasts, which in Tahiti are always accompanied with the wildest Baccha.n.a.lian license, had excited the crowd to an unusual degree. A few of the Tahitian nationality-mongers drank death to the whites, and pretty openly declared their hostility to a foreign yoke. The excess of a couple of drunken patriots was magnified by the excited fancy of the French officers into the dimensions of a political _emeute_, and seemed to present the long-coveted opportunity of showing their authority, and of acquiring with little trouble the credit of having nipped in the bud a formidable insurrection. As soon as the news of these seditious speeches and exclamations reached head-quarters, the Governor marched in the night with 150 well-armed soldiers to Papaoa, distant about an hour's march from the capital. Pomare and her family were just a.s.sembled to evening prayers, when the Governor made his appearance, and ordered her forthwith to accompany him to Papeete. An Englishman resident in the harbour was ordered to convey the Queen to her town residence in his small one-horse waggon. Her two sons, however, were escorted to Papeete as prisoners on foot, and their hands bound behind their backs, their ears saluted by the oft-repeated threat of the soldiers that their lives should answer for any intentional injury which the Europeans might sustain at the hands of the natives. As the procession approached the harbour, the Queen bent forward to her driver, and asked him in a low voice whether it was intended to carry her to the _Carabus_.[83] The driver turned off towards her own residence. As he turned the corner, the Queen suddenly started forwards, and seizing the reins from the driver with both hands, stopped the horse, and looked whether her two sons were by her side. She feared they would be taken to the prison, but they were likewise conducted to her house. However, Queen Pomare and all her family and attendants were cautioned not to leave Papeete till the matter had been thoroughly inquired into. An intimation was even conveyed to the Protestant missionary Mr. Howe that he must discontinue his visits to the Queen till further orders.

Under these circ.u.mstances it is more than probable that the persecuted Queen only made her appearance at the ball in deference to the Governor's commands, and hence possibly she confined her conversation with the strangers to the most common-place topics. The Queen was described to us as a clever, well-educated woman, who spoke English with considerable fluency, as also a little French, and in public affairs displayed a surprising degree of shrewdness and tact. With the French authorities she conversed exclusively in Tahitian. She appears much to dislike the intervention of an interpreter or secretary, preferring greatly to place herself directly in communication with the official concerned, as an autograph letter exhibits, which she addressed to the Treasurer Receiver-general, requesting him to send her a carriage in which to drive on business from her estate at Papaoa to Papeete.[84]

It is very surprising to find in the course of conversation with natives of every grade, that notwithstanding the French Protectorate has now lasted upwards of twenty years, the French language has hardly made the slightest advance. We met but two natives who could speak French. The knowledge of English even is confined to the few individuals who live entirely on the coast, and come frequently into contact with foreigners. A law was in contemplation, however, at the period of our visit, by the provisions of which no native after the lapse of 10 years, that is to say, by 1869, would be eligible for any Government employ, not even that of a _murtoi_ (police sergeant, literally "one who listens secretly to the words of the people"[85]), unless he has a thorough acquaintance with French.

On the whole, the Government of the Second of December appears to regard Tahiti simply as a military outpost and naval station, and to attach little value to the evident future commercial importance of the island.

If, however, there are behind this ostensible indifference no secret views, or political _arriere-pensees_ involved, it must undoubtedly be p.r.o.nounced most unjust and unwise. True, Tahiti possesses but a small proportion of surface suitable for cultivation; true, with the exception of oranges,[86] there is hardly any natural product exported,[87] the produce of the island barely sufficing to support its own population; but, apart from its extremely favourable geographical position, and the vegetable profusion of this and the adjoining islands, Tahiti might, under able administration, be made a sort of general emporium for the interchange of the products of Polynesia against the fabrics of Europe.

The total superficial area of Tahiti amounts to 104,215 hectares, 79,485 of which form Tahiti proper and the isthmus of Taravao, while the peninsula of Taiarapu comprises the remaining 24,730. The greater portion of this surface is occupied by mountains, only a very small proportion being devoted to tillage. At the mouths of several of the rivers are small strips of arable land, of which the plains of Taunoa (near Papeete), Point Venus, Pusenaura, Papara, Papeuriri, and Papeari, as also the delta of the river Fautaua, on the peninsula of Taiarapu, are the most important.

All these level grounds put together do not amount to more than from 2200 to 2500 hectares, while the swampy state of much of even this small area renders many portions fit only for the cultivation of taro and rice.[88]