Then I Learned The Reason, And
From That Time I Noticed A Decided Coolness On The Part Of Ratu Lala
Toward Me.
The fact, no doubt, is that Ratu Lala being exceptionally
keen on sport, this very keenness made him impatient of defeat, or
even of any question as to a possible want of success on his part,
as I afterwards learnt on our expedition to Ngamia.
I intended upon leaving Taviuni to return to Levuka, and from thence
go by cutter to the island of Vanua Levu, and journey up the Wainunu
River, plans which I ultimately carried out. Ratu Lala, however,
wished me to proceed in his boat straight across to the island of
Vanua Levu, and walk across a long stretch of very rough country to
the Wainunu River. My only objection was that I had a large and heavy
box, which I told Ratu Lala I thought was too large to be carried
across country. He at once flew into a violent passion and declared
that I spoke as if I considered he was no prince. "For," said he,
"if ten of my subjects cannot carry your box I command one hundred
to do so, and if one hundred of my subjects cannot carry your box
I tell fifteen thousand of my subjects to do so." When I tried to
picture fifteen thousand Fijians carrying my wretched box, it was
altogether too much for my sense of humour, and I burst forth into
a hearty roar of laughter, which so incensed the Prince that he shut
himself up in his own room during the few remaining days of my stay.
He had a musical box, which he was very fond of, and he had a man to
keep it going at all hours of the day and night. It played four tunes,
among them "The Village Blacksmith," "Strolling 'Round the Town," and
"Who'll Buy my Herrings" till at times they nearly drove me frantic,
especially when I wanted to write or sleep. Night after night the
tunes followed each other in regular routine till I thought I should
get them on the brain. How he could stand it was a puzzle to me,
especially as he had possessed it for many years. I often blessed
the European who gave it him, and wished he could take my place.
Whenever a man wished to speak to Ratu Lala he would crouch at his
feet and softly clap his hands, and sometimes Ratu Lala would wait
several minutes before he deigned to notice him.
CHAPTER 2
My Further Adventures with Ratu Lala.
Fijian Huts - Abundance of Game and Fish - Methods of Capture -
A Fijian Practical Joke - Fijian Feasts - Fun after Dinner - A
Court Jester in Fiji - Drinking, Dress, and Methods of Mourning -
A Bride's Ringlets - Expedition to Vuna - Tersi and Moe Journey
to School - Their Love of Sweets - Rough Reception of Visitors to
Vuna - Wonderful Fish Caught - Exhibition of Surf-board Swimming by
Women - Impressive Midnight Row back to Taviuni - A Fijian Farewell.
In comparison with Samoan huts, the Fijian huts were very comfortable,
though they are not half as airy, Samoan huts being very open; but in
most of the Fijian huts I visited the only openings were the doors,
and, as can be imagined, the interior was rather dark and gloomy. In
shape they greatly resembled a haystack, the sides being composed of
grass or bunches of leaves, more often the latter. They are generally
built on a platform of rocks, with doors upon two or more sides,
according to the size of the hut; and a sloping sort of rough plank
with notches on it leads from the ground to each door. In the interior,
the sides of the walls are often beautifully lined with the stems of
reeds, fashioned very neatly, and in some cases in really artistic
patterns, and tied together with thin ropes of coconut fibre, dyed
various colours, and often ornamented with rows of large white cowry
shells. The floor of these huts is much like a springy mattress,
being packed to a depth of several feet with palm and other leaves,
and on the top are strips of native mats permanently fastened, whereas
in Samoa the floor is made up of small pieces of brittle white coral,
over which are loose mats, which can be moved at will. In Fijian
huts there is always a sort of raised platform at one end of the hut,
on which are piles of the best native mats, and, being the guest, I
generally got this to myself. The roof inside is very finely thatched,
the beams being of "Niu sau," a native palm,[5] the cross-pieces and
main supports being enormous bits of hard wood. The smaller supports of
the sides are generally the trunks of tree-ferns. The doors in most of
the huts are a strip of native matting or fantastically-painted "tapa"
cloth, fastened to two posts a few feet inside the hut. In some huts
there are small openings in the walls which answer for windows. The
hearth was generally near one of the doors in the centre of the hut,
and fire was produced by rubbing a piece of hard wood on a larger
piece of soft wood, and working it up and down in a groove till a
spark was produced. I have myself successfully employed this method
when out shooting green pigeon ("rupe") in the mountains.
With regard to food, I at first fared very well, although we had our
meals at all hours, as Ratu Lala was very irregular in his habits. Our
chief food was turtle. We had it so often that I soon loathed the
taste of it. The turtles, when brought up from the sea were laid
on their backs under a tree close by the house, and there the poor
brutes were left for days together. Ratu Lala's men often brought in
a live wild pig, which they captured with the aid of their dogs.
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