A HISTORY OF FIJI 41 



cooked upon the hillside lay near this stone, as were also the great hol- 

 low log-drums, the " publishers of war " whose rolling beat the cannibal 

 call in old days, and one of which now serves to summon worshippers 

 to church. 



An interesting trophy of old days was the anchor of the French 

 brig Aimable Josephine which now lies close to the side of the founda- 

 tion of the temple. This vessel was treacherously cut off at Mbau on 

 the night of July 19, 1834, her captain and most of the crew being 

 murdered. Native wars were waged over the possession of this trophy, 

 the final resting place of which is Mbau. 



The corner posts of the house of old Tanoa were still to be seen, 

 and when natives pass these in the night they pluck green leaves and 

 cast them upon the earth, for beneath the ground by the side of each 

 post and embracing it with his arms there stands the skeleton of a 

 victim who was buried alive. 



The abutment of the sea wall of Mbau with its made-land, and docks 

 built of large flat stones, is a remarkable example of native engineering, 

 being surpassed only by the canal of the Eewans near Nakelo. Huge 

 canoes, some of them with bows studded with white Cyprcea shells, lie 

 stranded here and there. The native houses are scattered over the 

 made-land and along the gentle slope at the base of the hill, leaving the 

 summit barren as of old, although here overlooking the city stands the 

 residence of the Methodist missionary, and the graves of Tanoa and 

 of Thakombau, the latter of whom died in 1883. 



But exceeding all in interest was Eatu Epele Nailatikau, high chief 

 of Fiji, son and successor of king Thakombau. Unreconciled to the 

 presence of the white man, his memories harked far back to old days 

 and beams covered with woven sennit, and in its treasures of old days, 

 when his family were great and all-powerful in Fiji. Yet, though 

 shorn of power, no king could have been treated with more respect by 

 those around him than was he. 



His house in Mbau was a small one, in no way differing from those 

 of the lesser chiefs, excepting in the richness of its Taviuni tapa screens, 

 and beams covered with woven sennit, and in its treasures of old days ; 

 the most notable of which was a well-oiled elephant's tusk beautifully 

 browned and polished, which had lain upon the floor since the days of 

 old Tanoa, who once prized it as the largest piece of "coin" in the 

 world. Only the highest chiefs were permitted to enter his house, and 

 even these dropped their titles and crouched silently against the wall 

 awaiting his invitation ere they spoke. 



In his every expression and gesture there was a stately consciousness 

 of his high-born ancestry. 



Although over sixty years of age, his finely muscular body still stood 

 erect, with its dark bronze skin softened and smoothed through many 

 a cocoanut-oil massage. Upon ceremonial occasions he blackened his 



