Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/376

 346 FIJI AND THE FIJLAJNS. and abused with every .obscene indignity, and then cut up or torn to pieces and cooked, while a crowd of men, women, and children gathered round, yelling and rejoicing like fiends. Other bodies were floated away down the river. A party who went in search of a victim to feast the people employed in building the King's house, killed a Christian woman while out fishing. The Missionary heard the ill news, and hurried to the King before the body was brought to be presented. The King and Queen urged him to wait for the arrival of the canoe, and to take away the body for burial before it was presented, that the murderers might not be able to claim recompense, nor the builders think themselves neglected. A messenger had already come, saying that a body was on the way, but that it was brought from another district. A shout was heard as the canoe came near. " There it is brought," said the King. " Yes," added the Queen, " the false report and the true one, and the bakolo, are all here together." In accordance with the King's urgent advice, the Missionary, with a few Tongans, ran down to the river side, where the canoe had just reached the landing-place, and, pushing his way through the crowd who exulted at the prize, found the body lying naked in the bottom of the canoe. Without waiting he sprang in, with his companions, and paddled off to the opposite side, to the astonishment and mortification of the brutal savages left behind. A few banana leaves were put over the corpse, which was taken to the Mission Station, and buried with religious cere- mony, the aged mother of the murdered woman, and her fii-iends, coming more than two miles to be present at the interment. At Suva also things had lost their cheering aspect. The town was engaged in continual war with the Rewans, who did not like a place so near as Suva to be tributary to Mbau. The Teacher feared to remain, as the town was in constant danger of being burnt, which catastrophe came at last, in 1843, when about one hundred persons were killed, and most of them eaten. At the Mission-house there was family sorrow in addition to the trouble caused by these untoward events. Tavo of the Missionary's children had died, and he himself had a very severe attack of illness, in which he was greatly helped and comforted by the kind attention of Mr. Hunt, who came over from Viwa to render assistance. On his recovery, much time had to be given to the re-thatching of the house. The workmen employed were numerous, but idle, and incompetent, and, moreover, arrant thieves. Thus the work w^as badly done, and, in spite of the utmost vigilance, many things were irretrievably stolen. As