LOUIS XVI. AND LA PÉROUSE.
"The ships went ashore in a severe gale. On one of them every one of the crew was drowned in the surf or killed by the natives. On the other, supposed to be the one commanded by La Pérouse in person, friendly terms were established with the people, and the crew were unharmed. They built a small vessel from the wreck of the larger one, and a part of them sailed away. They were never heard of afterwards; those who remained on the island died one after another, and it is supposed that the last survivor perished only a few months before the sword-hilt was found at Tucopia."
"And what became of Captain Dillon?"
"The French Government kept its promise. It created him a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, gave him a life pension of four thousand francs, and appointed him consul to Tahiti, where he remained until the establishment of the protectorate over the Society Islands. Then he returned to England, and lived on his pension until his death in 1846."
[CHAPTER VII.]
THE FEEJEE ISLANDS: THEIR EXTENT AND POPULATION.—TERRIBLE FATALITY OF THE MEASLES.—ROTUMAH AND ITS PEOPLE.—KANDAVU AND SUVA.—VITI LEVU.—SIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL.—PRODUCTIONS AND COMMERCE OF FEEJEE.—GROWTH OF THE SUGAR TRADE.—THE LABOR QUESTION.—OBSERVATIONS AMONG THE NATIVES.—FEEJEEAN HAIR-DRESSING.—NATIVE PECULIARITIES.—CANNIBALISM, ITS EXTENT AND SUPPRESSION.—HOW THE CHIEFS WERE SUPPLIED.—A WHOLE TRIBE OF PEOPLE EATEN.—LEVUKA.—INTERVIEWS WITH MERCHANTS AND PLANTERS.—THE BOLOLO FESTIVAL.—ANCIENT CUSTOMS.
