. Wine-dark seas and tropic skies; reminiscences and a romance of the South seas . girls and youths(children of the settlers) lived in a world of perpetual those isles, where I found myself as a boy, were notonly populated by fearless shellbacks who drifted in on thetide. Tai-o-hae at that time was surrounded by wild sceneryand mountain-guarded glooms. Those glooms were hauntedby handsome, tattooed native men and picturesquely robedgirls. By night one could hear their songs from afar,chants in a strange tongue, as they flitted soft-footed throughthe moonlit forest. In cleared spaces
. Wine-dark seas and tropic skies; reminiscences and a romance of the South seas . girls and youths(children of the settlers) lived in a world of perpetual those isles, where I found myself as a boy, were notonly populated by fearless shellbacks who drifted in on thetide. Tai-o-hae at that time was surrounded by wild sceneryand mountain-guarded glooms. Those glooms were hauntedby handsome, tattooed native men and picturesquely robedgirls. By night one could hear their songs from afar,chants in a strange tongue, as they flitted soft-footed throughthe moonlit forest. In cleared spaces of those wild valleys nestled villagesfull of the hubbub of native life. I spent days in those tinypagan cities, and so got a good insight into the native ways. Through the influence of emigrant missionaries, theirargimients, hopes and ambitions seemed to be based on thesubject of creeds. Natives who one day had embracedCatholicism, or Protestantism, or had become sun-worshippers, Mormons, Buddhists and Mohammedans, to-morrow cast the faith aside and re-embraced some other 80. Native tattooed with Armorial Bearings A REMNANT OF SOUTH SEA ROME creed that appeared to give greater hope of earthly happi-ness. These changes were chiefly caused by some apparentmiracle performed by a native who had gone over to a newcreed. He would rush into the village and tell the excitedmob of his success; probably some scheme had met withsudden triumph. I myself have heard a native chief shoutin this wise : What ams ze goods of a creed that promise me heavento-mollow, when me allee samee have heaven to-day ? His prayers had evidently been answered. His neigh-bours chickens were missing, or the adulterously inclinedwife of the high chief Grimbo had fallen into his arms—atlast. Withal, they were a fine race. I have seen dethronedkings and stately, tattooed chiefs stalk into the grog shantiesfor a drink. They still retained something of their erstwhilemajesty as they flung the coin (just begged fr
Size: 1587px × 1574px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyorkdoddmead
