Washington sentinel., 1899-04-22
I'll ~ SENTINEL
Hi and it's Mountain Devils. A"
EZO6s

This Mbau is an island OF not more
than a mile in circumference, and !
from it's summit the traveller may
discourse from two texts-the one
being the natural beauties Of the
FIJI Islands all around. and the
other the awful horrors of canni-
balism which invested these beau.
tiiul regions even as late as 1854,
when the conversion Of the terrible
King Thakombau by the Yves
leyan Mission put check upon it.
AT the top OF Mbau are the ruins
Of the old heathen temple with the
historical Great Stone, against
which so many victims have been
battered to death before being
eaten. From this point at sunrise
the most beautiful view can b OBJ
tanned. AS one looks around over
the two hundred or more islands,
which seem to float on the water
like clouGs in a Golden sky, one
naturally calls to mind the late
Laureate's line:
On from island to island at the gateways
Of the day.
Far below the gnsTenIug rUa,.. -
the coral reels encircleS each cloud
like island with silver lining, and
the fringe Of cocoanut palms bv
the shore helps to justify the ex-
pre- ssion knots OF Paradise"
Each fragment OF land in the sea
for miles around is as much a hill
as an island, giving the impression
that the whole group is a collec-
ton OF the highest mountain tops
OF some submerged continent, and
this idea is iostered by review OF
the extremely ancient rites, illus
trated by monoliths here and
there, which have left their traces
in the original religion OF the Deo-
pie. But to return to the top Of
Mban and the view. One cannot
help noticing the prevalence Of
oVerhanging crags everywhere,
the reason OF which is not very far
to seek; the constant action Of the
water upon the basaltic and con-
glomerate formation of the rocks
causes an undermining whi:h is
a special feature OF the islands Ii
was due to this that Mbau was,
before any land was reclaimed and
added to its base, an inaccessible
coign OF vantage for the "moun-
tain devils or cannibais that used
10 live there.
Everywhere the vegetation is
most luxurious. Tree ferns and
the graceful bread fruit wave side
by side on the islands; cocoanuts
and bananas clothe the slopes near
the shore, and the wilder wood
lands are relieved by the papau
and the grotesQue screw pine.
rar out between the islands here
and there may be seen a canoe,
the inmates Of which are probably,
according to ancient custom. sing
ing or whistling for a breeze.
They might ust as we'll whistle for
the sun to rise, for nothing is more
certain than that their whistling
will be answered. There is an old
philosophical proverb which says:
HAPPY is he who wills what is
about to happen" Il IS on this
principle, perhaps, that the Fiiian
whistles superstitiously for the
breeze that is bound to come. In
all the Pacific nowhere can you
get a inner breeze than in Fiji.
where the humid land atmosphere
renders II all the more acceptable.
To stand upon the seashore, with
the palms swaYing and whispering
overhead, and tace the sea breeze
as 1t comes murmuring in over the
breakers on the coral rect is a most
congenial morning exercise. In
the calm Pacific, which washes
over the coral reels into the beau
tiful lagoons, no one would ever
imagine that there lurked thou
sands Of hungry sharks; nor does
one take readily to the still more
unpleasant truth that these islands.
IN general, have been he asene Of
some of the most hIueouS cannibal
orgiss ever enacted among man.
kind. Yet it is so; and Just as Mbau
was the hub OF all this little cannl-
bal world, so it was Thakombau.
o. kakombau ESQ named because |
he brought "evil to Mbau") the
most interesting figure in its his
tory This Thakombau was the
son OF the wicked King Tanoa, |
who strangled and ate his wives,
To show how nearly he approached |
the standard of Nero in youthful
cruelty, it is related oil Thakombau
that, when he was only six years
Did, a young man captured from a
neighboring hostile tribe was led
lp 10 be dubbed to death by this
little murderer. Il is also recorded
hat, later in life. when he was a
-uling chief, native accused of
SANDER was brought before him.
he had the slanderer's tongue cut
put and ate 1t there and then be
ore his eyes, cracking Jokes all
ne while. On another occasion.
when white man came to collect
debt which Thakombau did not
eel inclined to pay, he reminded
he import unate creditor that in
he opinion OF Thakombau and his
,rother chiefs there was nothing in
he world so nice as the flesh OF
he whith man it was "like ripe
bananas"
In the good. old days, before
Thakombau turned Christian, il
vas no uncommon thing for native
aborers 10 leave their work on the
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