Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/59

WAR. 39 thousand) were cut off and placed in a row, and desolation was spread by the victors over all the western coast of Vanua Levu. Sharp and irritating remarks are exchanged by hostile parties pre- vious to an engagement. Thus a commander will cry out loudly, so that both sides may hear, " The men of that fort have been dead a long while ; those who occupy it now are a set of old women." Another, addressing his followers, says derisively, " Are they gods who hold yonder guns % Are they not mere men ? They are only men. "We have nothing then to fear ; for we are truly men.^^ Such speeches elicit others of like kind from the enemy. " You are men ! But are you so strong that, if speared to-day, you will not fall until to-morrow ? " " Are you stones, that a bullet will not enter you ? Are your skulls iron, that a hatchet will not cleave them ? " Under the excitement of the time, indiscreet men have been known to utter special threats against the leader of the enemy. Shouting his name, they declare their intention to cut out his tongue, eat his brains, and make a cup of his skull. Such boasters become at once marked men : orders are given to take them alive, and woful is their lot, if captured. On Vanua Levu, the punishment awaiting such is called drewai sasa, after the manner in which women carry fuel. A large bundle of dry cocoa-nut leaves is bound across the shoulders of the offender, so as to pinion him effectually. The ends of the bundle, which project several feet on either side, are then ignited, and the bearer of the burning mass is turned loose to run wherever his torment may drive him. The exultation of the spectators rises in proportion as the agony of the sufferer becomes more intense. Wars in Fiji are sometimes bloodless, and result only in the de- struction of property ; but in cases where the contest is of a purely civil kind, fruit-trees are often spared until the obstinacy of the enemy ex- hausts the patience of the rest, and a general destruction takes place. An opinion has frequently been expressed that the natives are sharp enough to dodge the bullets ; which means that they watch the flash of the gun, and instantly fall flat on the ground. Of their ability to dodge stones, thrown thickly and with good aim, I am a witness. Open attack is less esteemed in Fiji than stratagem or surprise, and to these their best men trust for success and fame. Their plots are often most treacherous, and exhibit heartless cruelty, without ingenuity. A Eakiraki Chief named Wangkawai agreed to help the Chief of Na Korovatu, who was engaged in war. Of course Wangkawai and his party must bole ; and the ceremony was finished joyously. As the earnest for payment was being presented by the Na Korovatu Chief,