Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1853-06-15
bleacbed until it becomes as white and as

fine as linen. 1t is never woven.
In disposition the islanders are, by Dan
Iieps account true savages. They are con
stantly at war with neighboring tribes
The country is full of mountains and woods
the former being very steep and difficult
the latter dense and extensive. The val
leys and bays are the parts in and abou
which the inhabitants are chiefly clustered
A distance of four miles is frequently al
the interspace between the lands belonging
to two hostile tribes. The men are con
stantly at war, and have the Dyak fond
ness for heads. Scarcely moonlight nigh
elapses but one man or other goes on 6
matchmaking excursion. They often go a.
lone, but usually hunt in twos or threes:-
They start before night-fall SO as to arrive
in the neighborhood of the intended victim
shortly after dark they then either lay in
ambush for lone man, or go to hut dis
guislng their voices, ask for shelter, or
| light for their pipes. When the door is o.
pened, they rush in; and if they can sue, !;,
ceed in overpowering the inmates,th they Kill
them, cut off their heads and return. The
bodies are too heavy to be dragged over the
mountains. The trophy or trophies being
thus secured, are cut into as my parts as
possible, and given to the numerous gods
to propitiate them and to procure from them
good luck. These gods are usually uncouth
figures, but by oversight omitted TO exam
inc Daniel on this subject: He spoke con-
temptuously of the people for believing just
what their doctor priests told them-sald
that they told them all sorts of things-but
did not, of his own will, particularise ally.
In these midnight expeditions the knife
is used; IN larger battles, however, the
musket supersedes all other arms. Great
battles are very numerous, fortnight new
er elapses without one. My informant said,
"He could not rightly tell what they fought
for-he did not think they knew themselves;
they could not be at peace" In these
fights between two and three hundred will
engage on either side the scene of the bat
tie is usually laid in the woods, and the
combatants dodge TO and fro among the
trees: None like to expose themselves full
ly, the whlz Of bullet Immediately fright
ems them, and causes them TO dlop upon the
ground. In consequence of all this caution,
the contests are often prolonged over from
one to three days, and It rarely happens that
more than four or five are killed on either
side. They sometimes, but seldom come
to close quarters, when they fight with their
muskets clubbed. As soon as few men
are killed, the losing side withdraws, the
victims are then conveyed to their village
by the conquerors, the 'fancy' parts OF
their bodies are devoted to the gods, the
rest is cooked and eater by the men. The
warriors do not appear to have much sense
of honor /; for the strong tribes constantly
make war upon the weak, and two or three
tribes now and then suspend their own quar-
rels 70 make more effective war upon a
fourth. In consequence of this spirit, many
tribes are now almost exterminated and do
not include more than twenty or thirty
men. All the people speak one language,
so that union might be easily effected if
the temper of the people changed.
As they are savage in their war with
hostile tribes, so they are rude and brutal
in their peace among themselves. From
some cause or another Daniel was constantly
attacked by the women Of the tribe who half
in savage fun and half in earnest, used to
selze HIM by the heard and hair and shake
him; this they could often do without fear
of his wrath, as more than two or three
would set on him at once. He considered
that the attention was paid chiefly in fun,
but he had often to thrash the ladies vigo-
rously before they would set him free. The
men are not commonly savage amongst
themselves, as man to man-rather as man
to woman. He had seen men thrashlng
women with the but end of a musket, and
had known limbs to be broken in this way.
In such cases it would be of no use for the
wife to 90 home to her father; he would
only thrash her again and send her back
It is not often that actual murder takes
place; when it does, atonement is made to
the friends Of the deceased by presents, or
the murderer is driven out into another
| tribe.
The islanders have enough regard for
their friends to show the delicate abstinence
of not eating them-whether killed in battle
rby chance. They never inter their dead
but take them out to distance in the woods
where rude cane hut is built to protect
each corpse from the sun and rain sort
of trough is made for the dead mans bed,
in which his body is left. Two days after
wards hog is killed, cooked, and deposited
by the bedside. This is done under the i'm
preston that the dead require food like the
living, and the supply is continued long al
ter the flesh has crumbled into dust In fact,
until the family Of the defunct has itself
become extinct. 1t forms one of the chief
occupations of the life of the living to con-
vey food to the dead. Unlike some other
savage nations, they keep the old people
during the helplessness Of age with assidu-
Gus care; the younger members OF the fam
lily, or Of the tribe, supply them regularly
with provisions.
The climate is WARM, genial and healthy;
sickness is rare; nevertheless from the
causes before mentioned, the population is
on the decrease. Daniel was not aware that
any European diseases had been Introduced,
nor were the people habtaally given to in
toxicaton.
There are numerous feasts held in the
course of the year-usually one every two
months. The occasion Of such feast is
most commonly the reception of some re-
Gently tattooed individuals, male or female,
among the adult members of a tribe. The
chief entertainment then is dancing.
All the natives of the Marquesas have
numerous names. Daniel himself had thir-
ty, which belonged, in fact, to graver class
of nicknames. His most common title {
write 1t from the sound,) was Touanahhee
matehoei, or(Tou-an- a.e-me-te-o-ey, y which
meant "the great Chief
There was no lack of food. The people
cultivated the (sweet) potato with success,