Year: 1869




/ had not intended to signalize Phillips
men with the canoe until some time in
Bickford's watch, or near the close Of it
about midnight A little after nine o'clock,
however, Inadvertently made the signal.
1t was done IN this way. | was sitting on
the end of the windlass, thinking, with
varying emotions, over the rash undertake
ing in which / was about to engage, and
its possible consequences; / was smoking
pipe, and at length, thoughtless of what
/ was doing, knocked the ashes out Of my
pipe over the side, and placing the imple-
ment on the rail, went aft to consult the
watch in the biunacle, to ascertain the hour.
Returning forward, after the lapse of about
ten minutes, l mechanically went to the
bow, and leaning my arms on the rail,
peered out into the dim starlight. There,
right under the bowsprit, holding on to the
chain cable, was canoe, with two naked





FJiimen, silently looking up at me. They
were Phillips men, and had taken the
dregs of fire which fell from my pipe as
the preconcerted signal, and consequently
had come off. In such a case, delays were
dangerous and | at once went below and
called Jim Bickford, and in few whisper
ed words informed him of the state of af-
fairs. Stealthily, and as noiselessly as pos
sible, we proceeded to hoist on deck my
chest, which contained all our joint pos
sessions in the shape of clothes and they
we're far from being numerous or valuable.
Indeed, had rat fallen into it, he wonld
have run the risk of breaking his neck.
But as cautious as we were not to make u
noise in getting the chest up the forecas-
tie ladder, one of the crew was awakened,
and as we were about lowering it into the
canoe, he came on deck He was Dane,
John johnson by name. Now, thought l.,
it is all up with our expedition this fel-
low will surely blow" on us. And as he
instantly OWNED our purpose to abscond,
he threatened at once, to inform on U.S.
We entreated him to keep silent, and at
length, by bribing him with the gift of two
new flannel shirts from our poor stock of
clothing, and sundry plugs of tobacco, we
prevailed on him to leave the deck and re-
tire to his bunk


At length, the chest fairly placed on the
platform of the little canoe, we swung our
selves down from the martingale and sat
side by side on the chest, our silent Fiji
men-they had not yet spoken a word
showed off from the brig and padded to-
wards the mouth of the river leading to
Rewa-town. jim and were equally silent
The thoughts of the rash and perilous un-
dertaking to which We had now fairly COM
mitted ourselves, were uppermost in our
minds, and precluded all inclination to con-
verse.


The brig lay about four miles from the
mouth of the river, and it was midnight
before we got in shore. There were some
eight or ten miles further to be passed over
before reaching the town. Instead, how
ever. of proceeding directly up the main
left, and entered a narrow and shallow
creek or branch, which came out not far
below the town. Dropping the paddles,
the men took to policing, and made good
headway. The banks of the creek were
not over six yards apart, and densely over
grown with mangrove.


The night, which, when we left the yes
sci, had been a bright starlight, now be-
came of pitchy darkness, and soon the
rain began to fall. Gradually it increased
from a shower to deluge. When it rains
at Rewa, there is no ignoring the fact that
it rains in earnest. For two hours and
half We sat on our chest, the water pour
ing down upon our devoted heads in per-
feet sheets and floods Twice were our
our natives compelled to stop and bail out
the canoe, not that she leaked, but actually
on account Of the rain. Then they would
resume their poles, and send the little
craft shooting rapidly along through the
darkness and the silent, leafy solitudes of
the creek. 1t was


water, water everywhere


And not a drop to drink"


To say that this unpleasant commence
ment of our adventures made my compan-
ion and l feel miserable, both in body and
and mind, would be but mild way of put
ting it. Jim was thoroughly disgusted,
and more than once proposed that we
should tell the canoemen to turn back to
the brig But decidedly objected to any
retrogade movement. We had fairly en-
barked on what acknowledged might be
a very foolish enterprise, but had no idea
of going back to be laughed at by my ship
mates. Besides, added, these two big
Fijiimen have got their orders from Phil
lips to bring us up to his place, and you