William Fisher Alder

“ More than once we sit bolt upright with rifles tightly clutched as some shadow takes on a human shape or moves slowly toward us. The rising moon casts a wan half-light over the scene, for it is in its last quarter. The scene is one of indescribable beauty and never-to-be-forgotten tensity. Even the crew of 84the Nautilus are crouched around a tiny smudge of their own, wide awake and silent. The air is surcharged with an electric expectancy; the darkness a malign mantle of doubt. ”

“ After several hours of earnest palaver in which we take no part, Intelligence turns to us and signifies that he would like us to speak on the subject. This we do, assuring them that the Dutch Government has no part in our plan, and that if they will deliver the bones of the Swiss to us we will guarantee that no punishment whatever shall befall the members of the community. We draw as vivid a picture of the scientist’s grieving relatives as is possible with our limited vocabulary, and at length prevail upon the savage assembly to promise to bring the poor man’s bones to camp upon the morrow. ”

“ There is not a breath of air stirring. The sails hang motionless. The hours speed by with no change in the motion of the schooner. As the situation begins to get on our nerves and we contemplate a two-months’ stretch in Merauke, we anxiously question the skipper as to the probability of the calm enduring. He gives us little hope and we descend to the depths of gloom. The crew are gathered up forward around the typical sheet-iron fireplace, cooking rice and fish. When they have finished their meal one of them worms his way below and emerges later with a large gong. ”

“ It is so good that one invariably overeats and repletion, together with the sultry heat of midday, brings a drowsiness that makes bed welcome. Even the ever-businesslike Chinese closes his toko and sleeps until four o’clock. At that hour, or shortly after, every one wakes up and the splashing in the bath-house is prodigious. The evening coolness brings the hour of the promenade and the streets and byways are gay with the varicolored sarongs that the Malay women affect. ”

“ As the dance goes on they grow hysterical, and it becomes a frenzied whirl of twisting, contorting women, who swing around the circle and thrust into the men’s faces the heads they carry, upbraiding them for their laziness and inability to bring in meat for their women. ”

“ The murmur of the surf seems to whisper to us of lurking dangers and the night is eery with unaccustomed sounds that come from the jungle. As the breeze stirs the fronds of the cocoas they rasp together. Now and then a falling nut thumps to the ground with startling abruptness. Each sound is magnified by our nervous expectancy, until the night becomes hideous with sounds and the grotesque shadows the ferns cast in the lamplight move weirdly to and fro like creeping savages. ”

“ When the new little being has entered the big outside world in its natural, unassisted way, and the proper time has come, it is the mother who handles the only instrument used in the case,—a sharp sea-shell. She tenderly wraps the child in broad leaves to protect its tender skin from insects, and within an hour, or at most two, after the actual birth she returns proudly to the kampong, carrying the little one, which is the object of much attention from then on. ”

“ As it happens, we are able to evade the issue gracefully, for the women take the food to the dancers on the beach, where they line up and receive it upon broad palm-leaves the women provide for the purpose. When all have eaten, the dancing is resumed. A great fire is built on the sand and the dance goes on in its light,—the most savage scene imaginable. ”

“ As we stroll along a scarcely discernible path that threads the jungle the mosquitos begin their accustomed attack, and we are thankful to reach a tiny clearing on which the creepers and obliterating growths of the primeval jungle are fast encroaching. When we finally get clear of the thicket and round a large clump of young cocoas, there appears to our astonished eyes a neat palm-thatched structure surmounted with a cross. ”

“ With the help of veils, gloves, and choking smudge we worry through our respective watches.
Moh does not sleep at all the first night, but sits in the drifting smoke of the burning cocoa husks in downcast self-commiseration. We cannot quite make out why he left happy Java to come on a fool trip like this. He thinks all Americans are crazy, for they do not seem to know fear. He keeps the coffee-pot working for us and fills the lamp once when the gasolene runs low. The mantle-lamp, hanging between the tents and the forest, throws a white glare over the camp site. ”

“ Centrally located in the street end of the house is the only door of which it boasts, and perched above and around this dark opening are grisly reminders of deceased foemen who have passed beyond via the roasting-pit. Over each of the doorways hang the skulls of several human beings, interspersed with those of crocodiles that the braves of the household have killed in their hunting-excursions. ”

“ Every time we essay a mouthful of hot coffee—and Moh serves it piping hot—there is a sputter and the air becomes lurid with imprecations. It is astonishing how hot those metal cups can get. Every time we burn our lips on them Moh looks up with a terrified, wondering expression, as though in doubt as to whether we are berating him as a cook or what. The Malay does not understand the soul-satisfaction the white man gets from swearing. ”

“ Here and there in the circle are a few men who by their tense attitude and sparkling eyes show the women that their interest is awakened. The women play up to these and by means of blood-curdling screeches and much waving of the grisly trophies excite the men to the point where they leap to their feet and join the dance. Some of them take the heads themselves and endeavor to stir in their fellows a like spirit of enthusiasm. 152One by one the others respond to the appeal, until all are dancing in a twisting, milling mass of yelling savages. ”

“ As we near the wharf a motley crowd greets us with a variety of expressions. The throng is composed for the most part of Malay-speaking Javanese or Ambonese, but here and there one sees pajama-clad Chinese and over there near the godown, or warehouse, is the white-clad 14figure of a white man. He is approaching us rapidly. We scramble up the rickety, slippery stairway to the dock and find ourselves in a chattering gang who clamor to be allowed to carry our barang to the passangrahan or resthouse, which in these Dutch possessions is the only shelter available to the stranger. ”

“ There is a high surf running, and in order to get the dinghy through it without soaking the baggage we have to jump overboard into waist-deep water and help steer it through the breakers. The barang is piled up just above the reach of the incoming surges, but the tide seems to be rising.
It is necessary to get the stuff higher up, out of reach of the water, and we bend our energies in that direction. The beach seems to be deserted, and we wonder whether or not the natives have discovered our presence. ”

“ If the natives had attacked us we should have joyously risen to the occasion and put Mr. Colt to the fore to argue for us. It was the suspense we minded. Those things which we can see and gage with our full consciousness never bother us. It is the unseen and mysterious that we dread. When one does not know what to expect, nor from which direction the danger may come, it is the nerve tension, the high-keyed alertness, that saps the system of its reserve stamina and makes the goose-flesh crawl along the spine at the slightest unidentified sound. ”

“ Mixed with our anger at the Kia Kias as we gaze upon the mute witness to their murderous proclivities, however, there comes pity for their ignorance, and we tell ourselves that their crime was due to savage ignorance and a natural hunting-instinct for the animal food their bodies crave. Man-eating is their custom, and this is their country, and it is reasonable to expect that some lives must be sacrificed before they can be shown the error of their way,—error in our eyes, but not in theirs to whom the land belongs. ”

“ They cannot comprehend how we two Americans can find recreation and amusement in coming to this Godforsaken spot, putting up with untold hardship and inconvenience merely to meet and study the lives of the Kia Kia savages. The Chinese is first, last, and always a business man and bends all his energies toward succeeding in his business. The Moresby boys immediately take up their abode with Ula and the crew of the Nautilus, who are camped near the kampong, and we make the Chinese comfortable in a spare tent, where they spread their mats and prepare to stay a day or two to rest. ”

“ As we keep Moh near us at all times, there is little to fear and we warn him of how her Kia Kia “husband” will prepare him for the roasting-pit without interference from us. Moh tells us volubly how much he loves his bagoose prempuan in Jahwa (Java) , and we listen with amused tolerance. The Malay does not live that is not susceptible to the charms of the gentler sex, and Moh is no exception.
There is a young moon, and as it rises from the palms that fringe the point that stretches seaward on the left of our camp the dogs gather in what seems to be an indignation meeting. ”

“ The grave is not filled with earth, but a framework covered with a heavy thatch of palm-leaves is placed over the dead and the earth is piled to a depth of two feet on that. As the body is lowered into the grave the relatives begin a quavering chant and all present seem to feel deeply the loss of their kinsman. ”

“ The natives generously offer us two of the kangaroos to vary our diet of tinned goods, but the little animals seem so much like things to be petted rather than eaten that we thank our hosts warmly and tell them that, inasmuch as we have plenty of our own kind of food and they have so little, we could not think of taking their meat from them. The excuse passes muster with them and they do not press the matter, much to our satisfaction; for at times it becomes awkward to explain certain things which to us are a matter of course. ”

“ The Story of the Swiss Scientist With the passing of the days our hosts forget the gloom caused by the death of the old man and resume their usual laughing, care-free demeanor, much to our relief. They spend hours in the shade of our tent, during which time we pick up many of their words,—enough, in fact, to enable us to converse in a limited way with them. Curiously intermingled with the pure words of their somewhat limited vocabulary are many of either pure Malay or Malayan derivation, and the presence of these, we find, helps us greatly. ”

“ We shall spend our time for the next few days in lazy languor, playing an occasional game of chess with the chief engineer, chatting now and then with the very amiable captain, or, as one learns to do in the Indies, just draping ourselves over most comfortable steamer chairs and daydreaming for hours on end. The air is like silk. The piping falsetto of the deck-hands as they sing at their work lulls one into reverie, and life 5glides by with a smoothness that takes no count of time. ”

“ While we talk over the chief’s code of morals, we wonder about many things. The sort of life he has led has been led by many white men, for four hundred years, in the Indies and every one seems happy and contented. True, there are 12many brown-skinned people with blue eyes and just as many fair-skinned ones with warm, dancing eyes of sloe black, but on the lips of each and every one of these there is a smile. They seem to know no trouble. The warm air makes us drowsy. ”

“ The air is stifling. There is a loud drumming sound over and around us. As we come wide awake we realize what the matter is. The Nautilus was headed for a heavy squall and Ula called Moh, who, rather than waken us, simply spread a heavy tarpaulin over us to protect us from the rain. It was the smothering and not the storm that roused us. How he got the covering spread without disturbing us we shall never know. We rise up on our elbows and peer out from under it. The rain is coming down in torrents. Ula is still at the tiller. ”

“ A young woman who we know is about to become a mother has just passed our tent on her way into the jungle. She is going there alone. Something in her demeanor tells us that this is to be the natal morning of a new member of the tribe and the other women’s calls to her, as she wends her way up the pathway, are significant. We question Intelligence, who is fast becoming our instructor in things Kia Kia, and he describes to us the method by which these savage mothers bring their offspring into the world. With them nature takes its natural course. ”

“ As the men advance and the circle closes up we see now and then swift-moving dun-colored objects bounding ahead of us through the half-light of the jungle. The men on the right and left of us nod their satisfaction, for there seems to be a good-sized herd of kangaroos enclosed in the converging human trap. Now and then one of the animals tries to break through the line, but it is almost invariably headed off and driven back into the thickets ahead.
The men, as the line approaches the swamp, are scarcely six yards apart and within this close-drawn ring are nearly a hundred of the animals. ”

“ The chief—or, as they call him, kapala kampong—senses that we are somewhat miffed at the reluctance of the women and takes things into his own hands. Turning toward the women, he bellows to them to come immediately. The commands of the chief in matters of this kind seem to carry some weight, for the women saunter in our direction, trying to appear coyly indifferent, but probably scared. Finally, when they have entered the circle of men which opens to receive them, we break the silence and turn to Moh with a request for the box of trinkets. ”

“ In fact, we offer a prize or bonus for himself and the crew if they land us in Merauke in time to catch our steamer.
The kampong is in utter darkness when we finally weigh anchor and glide out from the 182shadow of the point beneath which it nestles. Only the mournful howling of a dog bids us farewell, for the natives have all turned in. There is a fair breeze, and with low contented murmurings the wavelets lap the cutwater of the schooner. ”