Life of a Pioneer: Being the Autobiography of James S. Brown

by James S. Brown

The warship had on board the governor's aide de camp, who landed at Tuuhora with his guards. On the 29th he crossed the lagoon to Temaraia, where we were. At 8 p.m., while I was engaged in expounding the scriptures to a few of the natives, in came a French gen d' arme and a native officer. They presented me with a warrant, which, being in the French language, I could not read. The officers stood for a minute or so, when I gave them to understand that I was unable to decipher the document. Thereupon the native officer said that it meant that I was to appear before the governor's aide de camp, down at the stockade, at 9 o'clock, and if I did not come willingly, they had orders to drag me there like a dog. They being armed with swords and pistols, I thought it wisest to go willingly, especially as there was no chance to do otherwise. The officers were quite haughty, yet somewhat nervous, for they had been told that I was prepared to make a strong resistance. Of course, I accompanied them readily and without a word, and was soon ushered into the august presence of the governor's aide. I found him seated in a small room, in which were four or five other officers and a few soldiers armed with muskets and cutlasses. When I entered, the interpreter arose, read a long list of charges, and asked for my plea. I answered not guilty to each accusation.

It will be remembered by the reader that when I first landed on the island I sketched, at the request of some of the natives, a rough outline of the United States, pointing out my birthplace, also Salt Lake City, and where gold had been discovered in California. From that time the Catholic priests had conspired to entrap me, to break my influence, and to close my schools.

The charges against me began, as near as I now remember them, and with memory refreshed from brief notes taken at the time, by an assertion that I had subverted the laws of the French protectorate; had interfered with government schools; had hoisted the American flag; had enrolled some three thousand men for the American government, to be controlled by the Mormon Church; had armed the men; was a civil engineer of no mean ability; had ordered the people to demolish some of the towns, and rebuild with better fortifications; that my walk and general movements indicated military ability, and undoubtedly I had been brought up at a military school in the United States; that I had mapped out plans of defense; had great power with the native people, and was capable of doing much mischief in the country. These, and many other charges of a frivolous nature, were in the list, all of them without the slightest foundation in fact, except that I had much influence with the people.

I stated that I proposed to prove myself innocent of every one of the accusations made. To this the officer made answer that they had the most positive proof to establish the charges, which were very serious. He gave me two hours to settle my business, and see friends, when I would have to return to the stockade and stay where the governor's aide thought proper. The next day I was to be taken on board the man-of-war. and go as a prisoner to Tahiti, for trial.

Upon receiving this information, I claimed the right to be tried where I was accused of having committed the offense, and where I had the witnesses in my behalf. "No;" said the officer, "your crime is too great to be tried before any less authority than the governor." I asked to have witnesses summoned, and the officer inquired if I had any way of taking them to Tahiti. He knew, of course, that I was helpless in that regard, and being so answered, told his men to take me in charge. Accordingly, they marched me to where the arrest had been made.

I gathered up some of my effects, bade goodbye to my friends, and returned to the stockade. There I was ordered to a seat under an open shed till daylight, being guarded by two lustful police, who took unwarranted liberty with some lewd females, behaving most shamefully in the prisoner's presence. My friends brought bedding for me and attempted to spread it, but were rudely driven away by the guards, who took turns at pacing in front of me, while the other interested himself with the females spoken of, who were void of shame.

That night I was mortified and disgusted as I never had been before with peace officers. At last the long night wore past, and dawn appeared. Then close to my right, in a stockade, I saw about fifteen native cannibals, who could barely hide their nakedness. They had been captured by French soldiers on some island in the north, and were accused of killing, upon different occasions, the white crews of three small schooners. They were also charged with eating their victims, as well as robbing and scuttling the schooners.

I took my last glance at those fierce-looking monsters just at sunrise on October 30th, when I was called before the aide de camp to sign my name four times in English, and four times in the Tahitian language. Then I was ordered into a filthy old boat that was used to collect oil. The boat's crew were rough and dirty, and scoffed and jeered at me and otherwise made the sail across the lagoon to Tuuhora as disagreeable as they could.

When we landed at Tuuhora it was among about one hundred and fifty French marines. They, too, must jeer, and satisfy their curiosity by gathering around and impertinently staring me in the face, jabbering together and laughing, while the natives met me with sympathy expressed in their countenances. Two soldiers kept close to me, however, and did not allow much opportunity for conversation with anyone. I was served with a bowl of fish broth and a small piece of bread, and when this was eaten I was ordered to the landing, to one of the boats from the warship. By this time there were probably five hundred native people gathered. These followed to the boat, declaring that where their missionary went they would go, too, and saying, "It is the Catholic priests who have done this, with their lies."

The news of the arrest had been heralded during the night to every village, and boats and canoes were coming in, laden with sympathizing friends, not only Church members, but full as many that did not belong to the Church. They said, "E mea hama teie" (a shameful thing, this). The excitement became so general that the guard was increased to about twenty armed men, and the prisoner was urged to hurry into the boat. As the water was from shoe-top to knee-deep between the shore and the boat, I attempted to take off my shoes and turn my pants up, but I was forbidden to stop, and was crowded into the vessel. When I reached it, it was full of sympathizing men, women and children, weeping and accusing the Catholic priests. Fully five hundred people lined the shore, some with rolls of bedding, while others were laden down with baskets of cocoanuts.