A VANISHING PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH SEAS 



285 



as the customs and habits of the savages 

 in the islands were identical, in specific 

 instances there was much variation. 

 Trees grew in some valleys which were 

 unknown in others ; the whim or judg- 

 ment of the tribal king instituted customs 

 and proclaimed tapus unlike those in 

 vogue among their neighbors ; and even 

 the language varied greatly throughout 

 the group. Although the islands lie but 

 5 to 50 miles apart, ceaseless warfare 

 prevented any affiliation among them, 

 and it is the great similarity rather than 

 the slight divergence in their mode of 

 life that is worthy of comment. 



It was with good cause that without 

 exception the numerous discoverers of 

 the group waxed eloquent over the Mar- 

 quesas He was a magnificent savage. 

 Averaging six feet in height, with a mus- 

 cular development any athlete might well 

 envy, good features, and the clear skin 

 and eye of perfect health, it is small won- 

 der he aroused their admiration. 



THE BEAUTIFUL MAROUESANNES 



To describe the dainty, graceful Mar- 

 quesanne as she unquestionably was will, 

 I fear, lay me open to the charge of ex- 

 aggeration. If so, I shall still be in good 

 company. From Mendana to Stevenson, 

 with Melville for good measure, her re- 

 markable beauty was a source of surprise 

 and admiration. Unfortunately, my per- 

 sonal observation has been restricted to a 

 period fraught with sickness, misery, and 

 mixed blood, but today the few young 

 women in the islands bear out the claim 

 made for the beauty of their maternal 

 ancestors. 



When women possess beautiful, luxu- 

 riant hair, fine eyes, perfect teeth, a slen- 

 der, graceful form, a skin of velvet tex- 

 ture and unblemished surface, and these 

 physical attractions are combined with a 

 vivacity of spirit and action, exaggeration 

 becomes difficult ; and unless all chroni- 

 clers of the islands have for several cen- 

 turies agreed to deceive the world, such 

 was the Marquesanne : and so she is to- 

 day when sickness has not diminished her 

 charm. 



EIERCE, CRUEL CANNIBALS 



The men were fierce, cruel cannibals, 

 whose chief occupation, aside from the 



indulgence of their amative proclivities, 

 was the killing of both men and women 

 of other tribes for gastronomic purposes. 



The sentiment often encountered in 

 other cannibals regarding their victims, 

 such as devouring a brave enemy in the 

 belief that the mantle of his courage will 

 envelop the victor, or the interesting idea 

 that it is better to eat your friend than 

 to have him rot on the ground, would 

 have found scant favor here. To para- 

 phrase a popular author, "pig was pig." 

 and the longer the better, to the Mar- 

 quesas 



Each tribe had its tiki, or god, to whom 

 its members tendered a somewhat casual 

 worship. High up in the valley, usually 

 in the gloomy shadow of a great preci- 

 pice over which the sun rarely shone, 

 they built their Maie, or sacred sacrificial 

 grove. 



Here, beneath the deep shade of the 

 sacred banyan trees, was erected a series 

 of terraces and platforms, the highest 

 some 15 feet from the level of the stone- 

 paved grove. This great paepae, often 

 100 feet in length, was large enough to 

 seat comfortably — on their heels — the 

 tribal king, his chiefs, and several hun- 

 dred warriors. 



In the center stood the tiki, a crude, 

 grotesque image, sometimes of wood, but 

 more often rudely carved from soft stone 

 with tools of flint. A large stone oven 

 stood at one end of the pacpae, and here 

 the priest, with his assistants, attended to 

 the preparation of the feast. After the 

 piece de resistance had been properly 

 baked, certain ceremonies of a nature 

 presumed to be gratifying to the tiki were 

 performed. A leaf-lined bowl containing 

 human eyes and other tidbits to tickle the 

 royal palate were presented to the king, 

 and the feast was on. 



In the sacred grove were gathered the 

 lesser ranks of righting men and youths. 

 who had not yet attained their spears. 

 No women were present. For a woman 

 to step inside the stone wall marking the 

 limits of the Maie at any time was tapn. 

 or taboo, and merited instant death. No- 

 where, to mv knowledge, in the South 

 Seas — certainly not in the Marquesas — 

 was the taboo against eating "long pig" 

 ever lifted for the gentler sex ; and it is 

 safe to say that in the centuries past, mil- 



