HEAD-HUNTING. 17 



some man has been killed by those on board her ; and any un- 

 fortunate vo}' agers are hunted down for the purpose on the first trip 

 or afterwards. The Rubiana natives are said to have introduced 

 head-hunting and human sacrifices into the neighbouring islands. 

 They carry ofi" not only heads but living prisoners, whom the}'" are 

 believed to keep, till on the death of a chief, or launching of a canoe, 

 or some great sacrifice, their lives are taken. 



White men have sometimes been the victims of these head- 

 hunting expeditions. As is well known, Lieutenant Bower, of 

 H.M.S. " Sandfly," met his death, together with the greater number 

 of his boat's crew, on the islet of Mandoleana, in 1880, at tlie hands 

 or a similar expedition undertaken by the Florida natives. Kali- 

 kona, the most influential chief of the Florida Islands, was freed 

 iVom implication in this tragedy mainly througli the eflbrts of 

 Bishop Selwyn, to whose influence the subsequent surrender of the 

 five natives concerned in the raid was chiefly due. More often 

 than not, these head-hunting foi-ays are unconnected with can- 

 nibalism, the mere possession of skulls being the principal object 

 of the expedition. In some islands, there is a rude idea of ju.stice 

 perceptible in this practice. It is the custom in the eastern islands 

 of the group to place out head-money for the head of any man who 

 may have rendered himself obnoxious to any particular village. 

 The money — a considerable amount of native shell-money — may be 

 ofl'ered by the friends of a murdered man for the head of the 

 murderer. Months, sometimes years, may elapse before the deed is 

 accomplished and the money paid. The task is generally under- 

 taken by a professional head-hunter, such as we met in the person 

 of Mai, the second chief of the village of Sapuna, in the island Of 

 Santa Anna. To make a thorough examination of the home and 

 surroundings of his victim, and to insinuate himself into that intim- 

 acy whicli friendship alone can give him, are necessary initiatory 

 steps which only the cunning head-hunter can know how to carry 

 to a successful issue. Time is of no moment. The means employed 

 are slow^, but the end is none the less secure ; and when tlie 

 opportunity arrives, it is the-friend of months, if not of years, who 

 gives the fatal blow. 



In the above description of the head-hunter, I have had before 

 my mind some of the reminiscences of Captain Macdonald, to whom 

 I have before alluded. By his judicious treatment of the natives 

 in the eastern islands, he has acquired a powerful influence for good 



