CUSTOMS OP THE FEEJEE GROUP. 85 



twenty feet high, and one hundred feet square. The top of this is 

 reached by a natural staircase, formed by the roots of a banyan tree, 

 which insert themselves in the crevices of the rock. The tree itself, 

 with its numerous trunks, spreads out and overshadows the whole of 

 the rock. A house stands in the middle of the rock. This contains 

 two Feejee drums, which, when struck, attract crowds of natives 

 together. 



Some of the principal towns are not fortified at all. This is the 

 case with Ambau, Muthuata, and Rewa. The fortifications of which 

 we have spoken, whether palisades and ditch or stone walls, are con- 

 structed with great ingenuity, particularly the holds to which they 

 retire when hard pressed. For these a rock or hill, as inaccessible as 

 possible, is chosen, with a small level space on the top. Around this 

 space a palisade is constructed of upright posts of cocoa-nut tree, about 

 nine inches in diameter, and about two feet apart. To the outside 

 of these, wicker-work is fastened with strong lashings of sennit. Over 

 each entrance is a projecting platform, about nine feet square, for the 

 purpose of guarding the approach by hurling spears and shooting 

 arrows. The gates or entrances are shut by sliding bars from the 

 inside, and are defended on each side by structures of strong wicker- 

 work, resembling bastions, which are placed about fifteen feet apart. 

 When there is a ditch, the bridge across it is composed of two narrow 

 logs. The whole arrangement affords an excellent defence against 

 any weapons used by the natives of these islands, and even against 

 musketry. 



Sieges of these fortified places seldom continue long; for if the 

 attacking party be not speedily successful, the want of provisions, of 

 which there is seldom a supply for more than two or three days, 

 compels them to retire. Although such assaults are of short duration, 

 the war often continues for a long time without any decisive result. 



If one of the parties desires peace, it sends an ambassador, who 

 carries a whale's tooth, as a token of submission. The victorious 

 party often requires the conquered to yield the right of soil, in which 

 case the latter bring with them a basket of the earth from their district. 

 The acceptance of this is the signal of peace, but from that time the 

 conquered become liable to the payment of a yearly tribute. In addi- 

 tion to this burden, the more powerful tribes often send word to their 

 dependencies that they have not received a present for a long time ; and 

 if the intimation has no effect, the message is speedily followed by an 

 armed force, by which the recusant tribe or town is sometimes entirely 



vol. in. 22 



