AMONG THE FEEJEE CANNIBALS 



Feejees. The last two hundred miles we have been sail- 

 ing within the reefs adjoining the two largest islands, 

 beating our way through a narrow passage in some places 

 less than half a mile wide, getting on reefs and getting 

 off as well as we could, and now we have arrived at the 

 place of rendezvous of our vessels preparatory to leaving 

 these islands. Our vessel has sustained no injury, except 

 it may be the loss of a few square feet of copper. The 

 English surveying ships, the Sulphur under Captain Bel- 

 cher, and a schooner, which arrived within three weeks 

 after us, on their way home from our north coast, have 

 been less favored than ourselves. The first harbor they 

 entered they ran aground, knocked off the rudder, and 

 suffered other serious damages. We have supplied them 

 with some of the ironwork for a new rudder, and the 

 Vincennes is assisting them in cutting one. They say 

 their vessels have been aground seventy times in the 

 course of their cruise on the northwest coast. By the 

 way, the English are looking very seriously to the pos- 

 session and occupation of the Columbia River territory. 



' The Feejees have proved a very interesting group for 

 us. We have found the natives a cruel, treacherous race 

 of cannibals, preferring a roasted Feejee to the fatted hog 

 (a white man, they say, tastes bitter tame animals, you 

 know, never have the flavor of wild game), and some- 

 times killing a slave when no enemy has been taken 

 prisoner. But three or four days since a man belonging 

 to the village near us was murdered, roasted, and eaten 

 by a neighboring tribe. In our intercourse with them, 

 we have always found them kindly disposed towards us, 

 and at some of the ports I presume there would be no 

 danger in the most familiar intercourse, even without the 

 protection of arms. At others, your head would not be 

 long your own if trusted among them. In the interior 

 there are villages of mountaineers who have never seen 

 salt water; we have given them a wide berth. At Rewa 

 we managed to get into our possession one of the chiefs, 

 who was instrumental some years since in the massacre of 

 the crew of a Salem vessel. We intended to bring him 

 with us to the United States to gratify the people at 

 home with a sight of one of these man-eaters. To catch 

 him we detained the king of the place and the next 

 highest chief on board, threatening them with transporta- 



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