Wrecked on the Feejees

by William S. Cary

After our return the natives came and spent the evening with us, sung a song or two and evidently employed all their arts and powers of pleasing to reconcile us to our condition, and in return only wanted their curiosity gratified by watching our movements and examining our clothes and other things which we had brought on shore. When the natives left us we laid down on the mats and slept at intervals until daylight, when we mustered all hands to go off to the ship for clothing, provisions, etc., but we found that some of the natives were ahead of us.

Capt. Riddell started first in hopes to get firearms, but found the natives had secured them, and had loaded their canoes with whatever suited their fancy. They brought their plunder on shore and buried it. Our boats, which did not return till late in the afternoon, brought some clothes, bread, salt provisions and liquor, but found only one chest on board. What the natives did with the others we never knew. They continued their visits to the ship every day, taking out whatever suited their fancy. They could get off with canoes when it was not prudent to go with our boats. Some of us would frequently accompany them and pick up whatever we thought might be useful to us.

On the 15th, it being moderate, we went off and secured the spare boat, which was still uninjured. By this time we had nearly all out of the ship which would be of use to us, and seldom visited her. She had turned completely round, and begun to break up.

The natives were friendly and endeavored, by every kindness in their power, to make our situation as pleasant and comfortable as possible, furnishing us of their provisions in abundance, with which, and our ship provisions, we lived well. The natives generally spent their evenings with us and seemed to enjoy our company very much. Thus ten or eleven days passed without anything occurring to affect our pleasant relations with them. Capt. Riddell thought that after the full of the moon we should have moderate winds, and then we calculated to start for the Friendly Islands in our boats, which we intended to put an extra streak on, to better fit them for a sea voyage.

But the morning we had intended to commence operations, we were much alarmed by seeing a fleet of about twenty canoes approaching the island, with warlike demonstrations. Capt. Riddell went down to the beach and met the party, who were a frightful looking set, being hideously painted with red and black, and all armed with spears and clubs. The chief and Capt. Riddell walked up ahead, the rest of the party, numbering about eighty, following in single file.

They were all large sized men, many of them fully six feet tall. They wandered about the town a while, getting a good meal which the islanders had cooked for them. One of the party, apparently a young chief, sat down beside me and began talking, but finding none of us could understand him, he left us, seemingly much disappointed. The visitors showed no signs of hostility nor disposition to meddle with anything, but contented themselves with looking at us, and finally retired to their canoes for the night.

The next day they came to our house and seemed so friendly that our alarm quite wore off. Before leaving for the night, however, they were particular to ascertain our number. The following day they came up to town as usual, but there was a marked difference in their conduct. They began taking many liberties, which they knew would be offensive to us, and one of them came into our house, took some articles of clothing and was about making off with them when one of our crew took them away and helped him out of the house. This treatment he did not at all relish. He took his club and beat the ground most furiously, and expressed his displeasure by every possible gesture. One of our boys had on a red cap, which a native seized and made off with. The boy cried bitterly for the loss, when the fellow returned and gave it back. It seemed as though they were trying all ways in their power to provoke us to do something which would justify them in declaring war upon us. They were continually stealing everything they could lay their hands on, which made repeated quarrels with the least consideration of the crew.

Capt. Riddell took every opportunity to advise us not to use force and let them take everything they wanted, and gave his advice for our own good as well as his own, as we were without arms and wholly at the mercy of the savages. Well would it have been for the crew had they heeded the advice of our worthy captain. The inhabitants of the island continued to treat us kindly. They at one time brought us some yams. While we were eating them one of the visitors put his hand in the dish to take out a piece, when one of our crew rapped his knuckles, telling him to keep his black paws out of the victuals. This so enraged him that he went out of the house, got his club and beat the ground, using many threatening gestures. It is my belief that if the captain's advice had been strictly followed, and we had let them take whatever they chose without resistance, they would have left without molesting us. But through the inconsiderate conduct of such no doubt the lives of many valuable men were sacrificed.

The next day we made an ineffectual attempt to get to the ship, and on our return to the town we met a number of the savages who were the most troublesome, swinging their clubs as though preparing for battle. In the house where we lived all the spears and clubs belonging to the islanders were deposited. These they contrived to carry off, as they thought, unperceived by us. I was sitting in the house alone reading and observed the manoeuvers, which excited my fears, and I told my companions that I believed they would attack us that night. Some of them shared my apprehensions, others only laughed at my fears. The officers were fully satisfied of their design, but could do nothing to avoid it. That night I decided not to remain in the house, but went into the woods and slept in a cave. The night passed, however, with no hostile demonstration.

The next day Capt. Riddell, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Drew, myself and two or three of the crew were assembled in a look-out house on top of a rock, when one of the islanders came in with a most sorrowful countenance, as though he had something dreadful to communicate, looked at us a few moments, and then left without saying a word. I have no doubt but he came to warn us of what was going to be done, but that his heart failed him. The previous morning one of the islanders brought to our house in the valley six or seven spears and threw them in. It appeared as though they wished to aid us all in their power.