Wrecked on the Feejees

by William S. Cary

I then went to the king of Ambow and told him I intended to stop with him, which pleased him very much. He said he was father to all white people who came to stop with him, and so long as I was under his protection no one would dare molest me. He told me "Charlie" stopped a great many years with him, was a great warrior and conquered all the islands. I inquired of some of the white men who Charlie was and found that he was a white man who was cast away in the brig Eliza, of Providence, on the island of Nivy, about fifty miles northeast of Ambow. The rest of the brig's crew were taken off, but Charlie preferred stopping among the natives and came to Ambow, bringing with him three or four muskets and all the ammunition he could procure. When he arrived at Ambow he was a great wonder to the natives, being the first white man they had ever seen. The women and children were very much afraid of him and thousands of the inhabitants came to view him.

He had not been here long before war was declared against one of the neighboring towns, and an army was raised to go against them. Charlie applied to the king for permission to go with them and use his muskets, and after much persuasion was allowed to do so. When the attack commenced Charlie singled out one of the enemy's chiefs and, as he raised his spear to dart, he levelled at him and shot him dead. The natives, hearing the report of the musket and seeing their chief fall, immediately fled in the greatest confusion, the Ambow people following and killing all who came within their reach. They plundered the town, set fire to it, and marched home in triumph without the loss of a man. The king then made him head chief, giving him command of the whole tribe, and he conquered the entire group, but he was very severe with the natives and would shoot them for the most trivial offenses. Charlie was finally killed in a battle at the town of Uylah.

I remained at Ambow six or seven months and during this time made several excursions with them against their enemies to different parts of the island and to other islands. The inhabitants of the mountains and the sea coast are most always at war with each other. The mountaineers are very wild and savage, and often attack an unprotected town and massacre or make prisoners of all the inhabitants. The prisoners they eat. On one of these excursions to the island of Coroo, in one day we took and burned seven villages. We had to march over rocky mountains and through almost impassable woods. I was excessively fatigued. At night we had sentinels stationed round our encampment and the natives were drumming and singing most of the night, so that I slept but very little.

At daylight we continued our march through dense woods, over rocks and hills, until we arrived before the town of Angarmy, which we were going to attack. This was a large place and had a strong fence around it. Our army was composed of about 4,000 warriors, of whom about 100 had muskets. Before we commenced the attack our army was drawn up in a circle, and the head chief entered the circle with a bunch of reeds about ten inches long. Immediately all was silent. He gave a piece of reed to each tribe, and at the same time addressed a few words of encouragement, telling them that the town must be taken and each man must fight well and do his duty.

After this, one of the chiefs of each tribe ran towards him, holding his club over his head, saying: "This is the club for the enemy". After this ceremony they divided into parties so as to attack several places at once. As soon as we drew near enough the enemy attacked us with arrows and showers of stones. We then opened fire with the muskets, which frightened them so that they made offers of peace, offering all their whales' teeth and the chief's daughter, but their offers were declined, and when they found we were going to storm the town they fled to the woods. We entered the town and killed forty of the inhabitants. One man climbed a coconut tree to secrete himself. He was soon discovered and fired upon, but they did not kill him. The tree was then cut down by order of the chief, and the poor fellow was soon dispatched.

We then marched down to our canoes, taking with us five or six female prisoners and some of the dead bodies for a cannibal feast after we got home. The next morning we set sail and proceeded to Ovalau, where we stopped for the night, and the following noon arrived at Ambow. Before landing, all the young chiefs who had killed some of the enemy for the first time painted themselves red and black and each one had a staff with as many strips of white cloth fastened to the end as he had killed enemies. They then landed and marched up to the priest's house, where all the old chiefs and priests had assembled. They presented their staffs to the priests, who stuck them up near the house to remain as long as they lasted. The dead bodies were also carried before the priest and songs of victory sung over them, after which they were divided among each tribe.

In accordance with their custom, the young warriors did not enter any house for several days and nights for fear of offending the spirits. They believed that if they did not observe this ceremony they would be killed in the next battle. At night they formed a circle, marching round and round, singing and shouting, taking it watch and watch half at a time. After three or four days they washed off their paint and were at liberty to do as they pleased, believing then they would be protected by their gods in all future wars.

A short time after this we were visited by a tribe of natives from Raver, who came in two large double canoes, loaded with tarrow as a present for the king. These natives were the finest looking and most intelligent appearing of any I had ever seen. I took a fancy to go to their island with them and make a visit, so I asked the chief to carry me and he readily consented. I then went to the king and told him of my intended visit. He gave me liberty to go, but requested me to be sure to return. The next morning we started and soon arrived there, it being only about seven or eight miles from Ambow. I found it a most delightful place situated on the banks of a fine large river. I was much pleased with the place and the people, and concluded to make it my home for a while, so I applied to a young chief (brother to the king) and told him I should like to stop with him. He seemed much pleased and told me to take the choice of his houses, of which he had three. I took one which was occupied by one of his wives (he had five) and lived here very comfortably, the chief's wife treating me with great kindness.

This chief had several brothers, all great warriors; the oldest was king, but the others wanted to be, so they got up a little conspiracy and declared war on him. He was too strong for them, however, so they made peace with him and went to Ambow. At this time all had been quiet for a year. One day, in company with a Manila man, I went down to a small island about three miles distant, fishing. We had rather indifferent luck and concluded to stop all night. Before morning news came to us that the king had been shot by one of his brothers who came from Ambow in a small canoe. It being a rainy, squally evening, he succeeded in reaching the town, unperceived, went to the king's house, pointed his musket through the doorway and shot him, wounding him so badly that he died in a short time. By the time the alarm could be given the assassin had fled beyond their reach. The Umbaty (priest) was called to save the king's life, but he was past his art and died sincerely lamented by his subjects.

The day after his death I attended his funeral. The chief was laid out on mats, with about one hundred fathoms of cloth wound around him. His face was painted black as though prepared for war, and his musket and war club lay by his side. His favorite wife sat at his head moaning most piteously and crying aloud, "Waloa nongu turang owsar cani lolocoo!" (Oh, my dear chief, I will soon follow you!) The rest of his wives, three more, came in and sat down beside the corpse and moaned bitterly—and well they might, for they were all to be strangled and buried with him. When all was ready, pieces of cloth were twisted up hard, a single turn taken around their necks, and a man took hold of each end. At a signal given by a chief (brother to one of the wives) these men hauled with all their might, and soon put an end to the troubles of the unfortunate women. They then kissed the hands and feet of the dead, carried them to the place appointed and interred them. The next day all the men and women shaved their heads, and the children had their little fingers cut off. This was done to show their sorrow and respect for the deceased. They believed that unless they did this the spirits of the dead would punish them by sending sickness and cutting off their crops.