The Mutiny of the Bounty | Page 8

and even nails and broken glass, is in the same state
of mind with the meanest servant in Europe among unlocked coffers of
jewels and gold.' Captain Wallis has illustrated the truth of this position
by an experiment he made on some persons, whose dress and behaviour
indicated that they were of a superior cast. 'To discover what present,'
he says, 'would most gratify them, I laid down before them a Johannes,
a guinea, a crown piece, a Spanish dollar, a few shillings, some new
halfpence, and two large nails, making signs that they should take what
they liked best. The nails were first seized with great eagerness, and
then a few of the halfpence, but the silver and gold lay neglected.' Here
then it might with truth be said was discovered
The goldless age, where gold disturbs no dreams.

But their thirst after iron was irresistible; Wallis's ship was stripped of
all the nails in her by the seamen to purchase the good graces of the
women, who assembled in crowds on the shore. The men even drew
out of different parts of the ship those nails that fastened the cleats to
her side. This commerce established with the women rendered the men,
as might readily be expected, less obedient to command, and made it
necessary to punish some of them by flogging. The Otaheitans regarded
this punishment with horror. One of Cook's men having insulted a
chief's wife, he was ordered to be flogged in their presence. The Indians
saw him stripped and tied up to the rigging with a fixed attention,
waiting in silent suspense for the event; but as soon as the first stroke
was given, they interfered with great agitation, earnestly entreating that
the rest of the punishment might be remitted; and when they found they
were unable to prevail, they gave vent to their pity by tears. 'But their
tears,' as Cook observes, 'like those of children, were always ready to
express any passion that was strongly excited, and like those of
children, they also appeared to be forgotten as soon as shed.' And he
instances this by the following incident:--Mr. Banks seeing a young
woman in great affliction, the tears streaming from her eyes, inquired
earnestly the cause; but instead of answering, she took from under her
garment a shark's tooth, and struck it six or seven times into her head
with great force; a profusion of blood followed, and disregarding his
inquiries, she continued to talk loud in a melancholy tone, while those
around were laughing and talking without taking the least notice of her
distress. The bleeding having ceased, she looked up with a smile, and
collecting the pieces of cloth which she had used to stanch the blood,
threw them into the sea; then plunging into the river, and washing her
whole body, she returned to the tents with the same gaiety and
cheerfulness as if nothing had happened. The same thing occurred in
the case of a chief, who had given great offence to Mr. Banks, when he
and all his followers were overwhelmed with grief and dejection; but
one of his women, having struck a shark's tooth into her head several
times, till it was covered with blood, the scene was immediately
changed, and laughing and good humour took place. Wallis witnessed
the same kind of conduct. This, therefore, and the tears, are probably
considered a sort of expiation or doing penance for a fault.

But the sorrows of these simple and artless people are transient. Cook
justly observes, that what they feel they have never been taught either
to disguise or suppress; and having no habits of thinking, which
perpetually recall the past and anticipate the future, they are affected by
all the changes of the passing hour, and reflect the colour of the time,
however frequently it may vary. They grieve for the death of a relation,
and place the body on a stage erected on piles and covered with a roof
of thatch, for they never bury the dead, and never approach one of these
morais without great solemnity; but theirs is no lasting grief.
An old woman having died, Mr. Banks, whose pursuit was knowledge
of every kind, and to gain it made himself one of the people, requested
he might attend the ceremony and witness all the mysteries of the
solemnity of depositing the body in the morai. The request was
complied with, but on no other condition than his taking a part in it.
This was just what he wished. In the evening he repaired to the house
of mourning, where he was received by the daughter of the deceased
and several others, among whom was a boy about fourteen years old.
One of the chiefs of the district was the principal mourner, wearing