308 Wila Life in Southern Seas. 
assisted him, mete out justice. Two boats were 
manned and armed, and went ashore, and the 
trader, calling his followers together in the 
village square, demanded the names of those 
who had planned the seizure of the schooner. 
Nine men were named, among them his son-in- 
law. No attempt was made at denial, and the 
unfortunate wretches, together with six Caroline 
Islanders who had joined in the plot, were 
marched to the beach and summarily shot. 
“ If he (the leader) had been one of my 
own sons, instead of only my son-in-law, and 
had been proved guilty, I would have had him 
shot,” he said, when speaking of the occurrence. 
And yet this stern old fellow was not only re¬ 
spected, but loved by his native followers, none 
of whom, not even those who were themselves 
concerned in the plot and were shot for it, 
would have thought of questioning his authority 
even in a matter of life and death. 
Some of those bygone traders lived in great 
style. They generally were sufficiently astute to 
marry a woman of some social rank and posi¬ 
tion, by which means their own status and 
influence with the natives was sure to be 
increased. Notably this was the case in the 
