Mamule, money pau - all gone. Ah! very good, work! -
maikai, hana hana nui!"
"But you'll spend all your money in this way," said the captain.
"Aye! me know that. By-'em-by money pau - all gone; then Kanaka work plenty."
This was a hopeless case, and the captain left them, to wait
patiently until their money was gone.
We discharged our hides and tallow, and in about a week were
ready to set sail again for the windward. We unmoored, and got
everything ready, when the captain made another attempt upon the
oven. This time he had more regard to the "mollia tempora fandi,"
and succeeded very well. He got Mr. Mannini in his interest, and
as the shot was getting low in the locker, prevailed upon him and
three others to come on board with their chests and baggage, and
sent a hasty summons to me and the boy to come ashore with our
things, and join the gang at the hide-house. This was unexpected
to me; but anything in the way of variety I liked; so we got ready,
and were pulled ashore. I stood on the beach while the brig got
under weigh, and watched her until she rounded the point, and
then went up to the hide-house to take up my quarters for a few
months.
CHAPTER XIX
THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS - HIDE-CURING - WOOD-CUTTING - RATTLE-
SNAKES - NEW-COMERS
Here was a change in my life as complete as it had been sudden.
In the twinkling of an eye, I was transformed from a sailor into a
"beach-comber" and a hide-curer; yet the novelty and the comparative
independence of the life were not unpleasant. Our hide-house was a
large building, made of rough boards, and intended to hold forty
thousand hides. In one corner of it, a small room was parted off,
in which four berths were made, where we were to live, with mother
earth for our floor. It contained a table, a small locker for pots,
spoons, plates, etc., and a small hole cut to let in the light.
Here we put our chests, threw our bedding into the berths, and took
up our quarters. Over our head was another small room, in which
Mr. Russell lived, who had charge of the hide-house; the same man
who was for a time an officer of the Pilgrim. There he lived in
solitary grandeur; eating and sleeping alone, (and these were his
principal occupations,) and communing with his own dignity.
The boy was to act as cook; while myself, a giant of a Frenchman
named Nicholas, and four Sandwich Islanders, were to cure the hides.
Sam, the Frenchman, and myself, lived together in the room, and the
four Sandwich Islanders worked and ate with us, but generally slept
at the oven. My new messmate, Nicholas, was the most immense man
that I had ever seen in my life.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 112 of 324
Words from 57978 to 58479
of 170236
