408 



MASSACRE ISLANDS. 



[1830 



of us, two hundred savage warriors, completely armed with bows and 

 war- clubs, and ready for battle ! their faces were painted red, and their 

 heads fantastically ornamented with red feathers and cocoanut leaves. 

 Every eye was bent upon our little band with an expression of demo- 

 niac ferocity ; mingled, as I thought, with a sense of shame and con- 

 trition for their perfidious treachery. When my indignant eye encoun- 

 tered theirs, a consciousness of doing wrong was betrayed in spite of 

 themselves, as I instantly read in the downcast looks of their savage 

 countenances. They felt that they were in the diabolical act of ren- 

 dering evil for good ; of seeking the life of one who had already 

 freely risked it to do them service. 



On seeing this formidable band of painted warriors, with their bows 

 strung, and their left feet thrown forward, as if in the very act of 

 discharging their arrows, I well knew that they were determined on 

 war. On turning to speak to my little heroic band of chosen follow- 

 ers, I found that nearly an equal number of these black devils, who 

 had been concealed on each side of our path, had now risen, and 

 closed behind us. Thus we were completely surrounded by nearly 

 four hundred ferocious cannibals, who were determined on our destruc- 

 tion, and only waiting for the word of command to riddle us with their 

 arrows, and then to carve us, not as " a dish fit for the gods," but as 

 carcasses for hounds. 



Self-possession and presence of mind sustained us in this trying 

 hour. Not a cheek was blanched, not a nerve quivered, among our 

 little band of heroes, whose coolness and courage kept pace with the 

 increasing magnitude of the emergency. I turned and addressed a few 

 words to them, adapted to the occasion, assuring them that our safety 

 depended solely upon coolness and decision ; that nothing but a des- 

 perate step could save us from destruction ; and exhorted them to put 

 their trust in Heaven, and promptly obey every order I should give. 



I now threw my musket on the ground, took a pistol in my right 

 hand, and my cutlass in the other, and ordered two of my men to 

 follow my example. I then gave such orders as I deemed requisite 

 to the other four, and proceeded in my plan of operations. In the 

 mean time Henneen was making a speech to his band of warriors ; 

 but I was in search of higher game, diligently surveying the whole 

 circle of savages, till my eyes at length rested on Nero, their king, who 

 had stationed himself on the opposite side of the ring. Henneen had 

 now concluded his speech, and the savages were fixing their arrows 

 to their bowstrings, ready for a general discharge. 



With a cool, calm audacity, which rendered these savages motion- 

 less with amazement, I advanced to their astonished monarch, with 

 my pistol presented to his royal breast ; while my two trusty follow- 

 ers, with equal deliberate firmness, took their stations on each side of 

 his majesty, holding two glittering cutlasses suspended over his head, 

 with strict orders to sever it from his body, the moment an arrow was 

 discharged from a bow at either of our party. In adopting this plan, 

 I hoped that during the confusion which would necessarily follow the 

 death of the king, some of our party might probably effect their escape. 

 This delicate service was intrusted to two men who I knew would 



