TYPEE

第37章

THEREwasnoinstanceinwhichthesocialandkindlydispositionsoftheTypeesweremoreforciblyevincedthaninthemannertheyconductedtheirgreatfishingparties。Fourtimesduringmystayinthevalleytheyoungmenassemblednearthefullofthemoon,andwenttogetherontheseexcursions。Astheyweregenerallyabsentaboutforty-eighthours,Iwasledtobelievethattheywentouttowardstheopensea,somedistancefromthebay。ThePolynesiansseldomuseahookandline,almostalwaysemployinglarge,well-madenets,mostingeniouslyfabricatedfromthetwistedfibresofacertainbark。IexaminedseveralofthemwhichhadbeenspreadtodryuponthebeachatNukuheva。Theyresembleverymuchourownseines,andIshouldthinktheywereverynearlyasdurable。

AlltheSouthSeaislandersarepassionatelyfondoffish;butnoneofthemcanbemoresothantheinhabitantsofTypee。Icouldnotcomprehend,therefore,whytheysoseldomsoughtitintheirwaters;

foritwasonlyatstatedtimesthatthefishingpartieswereformed,andtheseoccasionswerealwayslookedforwardtowithnosmalldegreeofinterest。

Duringtheirabsence,thewholepopulationoftheplacewereinaferment,andnothingwastalkedofbut“pehee,pehee“(fish,fish)。Towardsthetimewhentheywereexpectedtoreturn,thevocaltelegraphwasputintooperation-theinhabitants,whowerescatteredthroughoutthelengthofthevalley,leapeduponrocksandintotrees,shoutingwithdelightatthethoughtsoftheanticipatedtreat。Assoonastheapproachofthepartywasannounced,therewasageneralrushofthementowardsthebeach;someofthemremaining,however,abouttheTi,inordertogetmattersinreadinessforthereceptionofthefish,whichwerebroughttotheTabooGrovesinimmensepackagesofleaves,eachoneofthembeingsuspendedfromapolecarriedontheshouldersoftwomen。

IwaspresentattheTiononeoftheseoccasions,andthesightwasmostinteresting。Afterallthepackageshadarrived,theywerelaidinarowundertheverandahofthebuilding,andopened。Thefishwereallquitesmall,generallyaboutthesizeofaherring,andofeveryvarietyofcolour。Aboutone-eighthofthewholebeingreservedfortheuseoftheTiitself,theremainderwasdividedintonumeroussmallerpackages,whichwereimmediatelydespatchedineverydirectiontotheremotestpartofthevalley。Arrivedattheirdestination,thesewereinturnportionedout,andequallydistributedamongthevarioushousesofeachparticulardistrict。ThefishwereunderastrictTaboo,untilthedistributionwascompleted,whichseemedtobeeffectedinamostimpartialmanner。Bytheoperationofthissystemeveryman,woman,andchildinthevale,wereatoneandthesametimepartakingofthisfavouritearticleoffood。

Once,Iremember,thepartyarrivedatmidnight;buttheunseasonablenessofthehourdidnotrepresstheimpatienceoftheislanders。ThecarriersdespatchedfromtheTiweretobeseenhurryinginalldirectionsthroughthedeepgroves;eachindividualprecededbyaboybearingaflamingtorchofdriedcocoa-nutboughs,whichfromtimetotimewasreplenishedfromthematerialsscatteredalongthepath。Thewildglareoftheseenormousflambeaux,lightingupwithastartlingbrilliancytheinnermostrecessesofthevale,andseenmovingrapidlyalongbeneaththecanopyofleaves,thesavageshoutoftheexcitedmessengerssoundingthenewsoftheirapproach,whichwasansweredonallsides,andthestrangeappearanceoftheirnakedbodies,seenagainstthegloomybackground,producedaltogetheraneffectuponmymindthatIshalllongremember。

ItwasonthissameoccasionthatKory-Koryawakenedmeatthedeadhourofnight,andinasortoftransportcommunicatedtheintelligenceco

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