Chapter Two.

“I had been a good many months in the place when my father-in-law, thinking I was securely moored, began to give me more and more work, which I didn’t like. However, I lived on pretty contentedly, but still I had a wish for a sniff of the sea air, and to feel myself once more on the moving ocean; not, to be sure, that I had not felt the ground move under me, for we had had two or three earthquakes, when not a few houses had been thrown down, and the ground tumbled and tossed, and here and there opened, as if ready to swallow us up.

“I took French leave of my wife, for I was afraid she would stop me; but when I reached Callao I sent word to her by her uncle that I hoped to be back soon, after I had collected no end of dollars to buy her a new dress, and keep the pot boiling.

“I hadn’t made up my mind what to do when I saw a whaler in the harbour. I thought if she was likely to remain in the Pacific for some time, and she wanted hands, I would make a trip in her, on condition that I was to be landed at Callao before she returned home.

“She was an American, only out a few months, and having lost several hands, the captain was very glad to get me. I hadn’t been long on board before I began to wish myself back with my wife. It was much harder work than I expected, especially when we got into the southern ocean among the icebergs. Those spermaceti whales, too, are savage monsters, and will often turn on a boat and try to capsize her.

“I was pretty well nigh losing my life on one of those occasions as several of my shipmates did theirs. We had chased a big bottle-nose right up to an iceberg, and had stuck two harpoons into his back when he sounded. He was making for the berg, we thought, and if he got under it we should have to cut the lines, and lose him and the harpoons. Presently the lines slackened, we hauled in upon them, when suddenly up he came not half a cable’s length from us, blowing away with all his might. We dashed on, when round he turned, and with open mouth came towards us.

”‘Back all,’ was the cry, but before we could get out of his way he struck the bow of the boat with his nose, sending it up in the air, and jerking several of us overboard. The next moment with his huge jaws he made a grab at the boat. Seizing a stretcher I sprang as far as I could out of his way, and struck out for my life. The shrieks of my shipmates and the cracking of the ribs and timbers of the boat sounded in my ears, but I had enough to do to take care of myself, even to turn my head for a moment. I swam on as fast as I could. Fortunately for me, the accident had been seen from the ship, and another boat was coming to our assistance. It’s a wonder the savage whale didn’t attack her, but probably he had had enough of it, while the harpoons in his back must have troubled him not a little. I was soon picked up, and two others were found floating, but the rest of the boat’s crew had either sunk or been crunched to death between the whale’s jaws. He had been watched from the ship, which made sail in the direction he had taken. In the evening a spout was seen in the distance, the boat shoved off, and before nightfall we had the very whale which had attacked us in the morning, fast alongside with tackles hooked on, and the blanket pieces, as we called the blubber, being hoisted on board.

“That trying-out is curious work to those who have never seen it. Along the decks were the huge tripods, with fires blazing under them, and the crew standing round begrimed with smoke and oil, putting in the blubber, while others, as soon as the oil was extracted, were filling the casks and stowing them below. All night long the work went on, and there was no stopping till the huge monster had been stripped of his warm coat, and we had bailed the oil out of its big head, which had meantime been made fast to the stern.

”‘Dollars are pleasant things to pick up, but I must find some pleasanter way for gathering them than this,’ I said to myself. However, for more than two years I hadn’t a chance of returning to Callao. When at last the whaler put in there and landed me, I found that an earthquake had occurred, and the ground opened and swallowed up my father-in-law, and my wife with all her family. My wife’s uncle, however, had escaped, and he received me very kindly, and more so that, as I had made a good voyage in the whaler, my pockets were full of dollars. They, however, went at last.

“One day I was thinking what I should do next, when he told me that several vessels were fitting out in the harbour, to make a cruise among the islands of the Pacific, just to pick up some labourers for the mines. ‘It’s pretty hard work up in the mountains there, and most of our native Peruvians who used to work in them have died out,’ he observed. ‘There’s a merchant in our city who is going to make a grand speculation, and as Englishmen have shares in most of the mines, of course he is assisted with English capital, which our country could not supply. Now if you like to ship on board one of these vessels, you will find the pay good, the voyage short, and but little risk.’

“I thought to myself that I could not do better. I had served too long on board a slaver to think much of the work proposed. There was no difference that I could see between a black skin and a brown skin, and as I had assisted to carry some thousands of black men across to the east coast of America, I did not scruple to undertake to carry as many brown men as could be picked up to the west coast. To be sure, the natives of those bright and sunny islands, unaccustomed to work, might not find it very pleasant to be carried away to labour high up among the rocks and snows of the Andes, but that was no business of mine.

“I accordingly shipped on board one of several vessels fitted out by the enterprising merchant I spoke of. The ‘Andorinha’ carried thirty hands besides the captain and mate, and we had four guns and plenty of small arms. Our orders were to proceed direct to the nearest islands, and to carry off as many of the inhabitants as we could get on board, but we were to try stratagem first, and by every means in our power induce them to, visit the ship. As soon as we had collected as many as we were likely to entice on board, we were to put them below and shut down the hatches, and sail away with them.

“The plan was simple, and I thought it would succeed. Should they object to make the voyage and attempt to regain their liberty, we had our arms, and were to use them, but we were advised not to kill more people than we could help, as each was likely to fetch fifty or sixty dollars on shore.

“Before sailing, the merchant who had fitted out our vessel came on board with several friends, and the crew being called on deck, he addressed the captain and us, telling us that we were about to engage in an enterprise likely to prove of great value to Peru, but all was to be done by fair and honourable means. That we were to visit various islands, and to engage the industrious inhabitants to come and labour in our beautiful country for good wages, where they would also have the benefit of being instructed in the Christian faith and become good Catholics, to the great advantage of their souls. We were to treat them kindly and gently, and to give them the best of everything, so that they would not fail, by their gratitude, to show how highly they valued the service we should render them.

“I could not help grinning when I heard this, knowing the way that matters were really to be managed. The speech was made just to hoodwink the authorities, and for the benefit of the merchant’s friends, who, if they were not to profit by the adventure, might have found some fault with the way in which it was really to be carried on.

“The ‘Andorinha’ was a large vessel, and we calculated that we could stow away five or six hundred people on board her.

“Seven other vessels being fitted out, we sailed together in company, our first destination being Easter Island, which lies in latitude 27 degrees South and 109 degrees West, some distance from the coast of Chili.

“Light winds detained us, but at length we made the island, which is high and rocky and about thirty-six miles in circumference. The inhabitants, of the same race as the rest of the Eastern Pacific, and somewhat less savage than most of them, were living in villages, at peace among themselves.

“As soon as our fleet came to an anchor, the boats were lowered and manned, and a strong party of us landed. The inhabitants, not liking our appearance, hid themselves in their houses. We immediately marched to the nearest village, which we surrounded, and entering house after house, dragged off the people, and sent them, with their hands bound behind their backs, to the boats. They did not attempt to resist, for as we had firearms and they had none, it would have been of no use. As soon as the boats were loaded they took them off to the vessel, and then returned for more. We, meantime, kept watching the village, so that no one could escape. Having carried off all the inhabitants, men, women, and children—for even the youngest children were of some use to us—we proceeded to the next village. These we treated in the same way, leaving a few old men and women who were not worth carrying off.

“Before evening we had shipped nearly every human being we found on the island. None escaped us, for they had no mountains to fly to, and no caves or other places where they could hide themselves. We then collected all the pigs, poultry, and such other provisions as we could find, and sent them on board.

“Before returning to our vessels, we burned down a considerable number of the houses.

“We stowed away all our captives on board two of our larger vessels, which at once returned to land them on the coast of Chili, while we proceeded on our voyage.

“The first land we made was one of the Society Islands, to the north of Tahiti. We could not venture to that island itself, because the French were there, who might have objected to our carrying off the people. For the same reason we avoided the Hervey, and other islands to the south, where we knew a number of English missionaries were stationed, and they might have complained of our proceedings, and taken means to put a stop to them. Here, however, we hoped to make a good haul, and be away before we were