SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11120, 12 January 1899, Page 4

SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

INTERESTING CRUISE. AN ALLEGED SORCERESS CONDEMNED TO DEATH. Stranger than fiction is fact very often in the voyages which are still made to , the South Sea Islands (says the "Sydney Morning Herald "). The era of terrible cruelty in the South Seas has not yet passed, if one may judge from the accounts which now and then are given by the masters of vessels which visit these shores, and are in touch with the native habits of some of the remote islands in ■ Polynesia, those islands particularly < which have not been brought under the . influence of the missionary or the decent ■ trader. An instance of this character ' occurred on December 22nd, when the ' sailing vessel Lady St. Aubyn, a private ' yacht, returned from a six months' " cruise amongst chiefly the unfrequented 1 islets of the Pacific, and the voyage ' of the steamer Ysabel is scarcely > less interesting The kind of barbarity 1 that takes place may be given in an off ) sentence of Captain Pentecost, of the ' Lady St. Aubyn, in reply to a question > asked by a " Herald " reporter. " Did '■ you find the natives troublesome at any > of these unfrequented places?" "Not at all ; they were all very kind, treacherous ' to a nicety, of course, so that one had to ' keep his hand on his revolver, but quite 1 kind in their dealings. There was an , affair that came undes my notice. I bought a woman's life for a pig. The girl had heen coralled for bringing ' big ; wind' (a hurricane), a sort of sorceress, and was to be sacrificed. I heard of the • affair, and having a pig aboard, bought ' her. It is wonderful what can be done • with a pig sometimes, you know, amongst ■ those people," and Captain Pentecost 1 went on to say that for 25 years he had ' been amongst them and knew their little > peculiarities. The voyage made by the Lady St. , Aubyn is so far interesting that when • passing the Yanikoro islands, or La ■ Perouse Islands, they called there just ■ io see the place that the great navigator . was wrecked upon. Here they found that the natives were few in number, but of I more importance was the discovery of 1 relics of La Perouse's ship equipment and armament. Producing a box or two, ' Captain Penteoost showed many interest--1 ing pieces of guns, old flintlock muskets, i lead and iron shot the size of marbles in ■ a fair state of preservation. "By dig- • ging down," said the captain, "we came upon what is supposed to have been the c workshop in which the boat was built by the shipwrecked crew, and in which they 3 embarked never more to be heard of." Of that visit Captain Pentecost said . — " Many, no doubt, have read hia travels, and have seen where his voyage ends abruptly, he never being heard of after parting company with Captain Cook in Botany Bay, Australia, in 17V7. One hundred years had passed away when the remains of his two vessels — L'Astrolabe (quadrant) and the Boussole (compass)— were found in thiß island of Vanikoro, lat. 11 deg. S., long. 166 deg. E. It is only a few years ago that the guns, anchors, &c, were brought to Noumea, New Caledonia, by a French man-of-war, the Bruate. It is supposed that during the night these two vessels went on the reef which surrounds the island, perhaps in a calm or during a hurricane. GOLD AND SILVEB COINS' PROM LA perouse's SHIPS. By engaging the natives to fossick sear the scene of the wrecks, a number of Spanish and French silver coins were found ; also one gold one. These bear dates 1727 and 1728. Carolus 111. AN EXCITING TIME WITH FRENCH CONVICTS. When near New Caledonia the Lady St. . Aubyn was hailed by a boat containing . convicts. The captain thus reports the J incident : — " It was understood by us that ) none of us were to speak one word of j French, or to understand it if asked. On j their coming off the boat passed round I our bow, so that they should not see our ) name and port of register on stern of , vessel. Such a villainous looking lot I never were eyes clapped on. One of 3 our boys took their bundles (swags) from them, and searched them for weapons on their arrival. This they made no objection to. One had a big poniard, which was placed aft with their bundles. They were made to understand that there was to be nothing crooked on their part, that we were armed, but we did not wish to harm them t so long as thoy acted straight. " We'll do something for them if you others are of my opinion. Kill the lot the first chance we see, they were overheard to , say. I called out, and at the same time ' presented a revolver at the door of the hatch, saying in French, 'Le premier qu ' bouge, nous les tuerons.' This staggered them a bit till a boat was alongside, when our passengers were soon fastened in couples and taken on shore." AN ATTACK AT MALLICOLLO. ; " While trying to negotiate for yams , and other native produoe at Mallioollo we had a brisk .time of it. The natives sang out, ' All right, by-and-bye,' and I was about to push our two boats off when a volley of shots was fired into the two boats from the bush. Luckily we had our guns ready, or else they would have Come for the boat (which is their custom) with their tomahawks, clubs, &c. We returned fire, and for a few miuutes [ things were pretty lively. I turned and I saw one of my boys was down, shot ; through the boat and through the leg. ' I told them to pull off a bit, which we soon did. None of us were otherwise ' r wounded. Several balls had gone through the boat, and one lodged in the steer oar. ' I suppose they wanted to kill some white ' man in revenge, but I am glad to say ! that they did not get their wants grati--1 fied."