The Wonder Island Boys: Conquest of the Savages Part 18

relates an incident where he came to a village which had two graveyards, on opposite sides of the road. On one side were the scattered bones of the dead, and on the other side mounds to indicate burial plots.

"On questioning the chief, he said: 'Yes; our honored dead have their bones exposed, as you see, but those who were of no use are put out of sight underground.'

"So the object seemed to be to keep them where the people could see them?"

"That appears to be the reason the chief gave to Baker. But there may be another reason for this custom, and I shall get Suros' views on that subject."

"Isn't there some religious meaning connected with it," asked Ralph.

"I do not think so. Here is Suros; let us question him."

As Suros approached the Professor said: "I notice that one has been put underground and the other not; why do they observe this difference?"

"We cannot honor the dead by allowing them to go back to the earth."

"Why will it do any good to honor the dead?"

"If we did not honor them, no one would want to be great. No one would like to be a great warrior."

"Is that the only reward a man has, to be honored after he is dead?"

"What other reward has a man?"

"Do you not think man will live hereafter?"

"When? After he dies?"

"No; how can man live after he dies, and his body is given to the winds or to the earth?"

"The white man believes he will live again?"

"Does the white man believe the yak will live again?"

"No."

"Well the yak is stronger than a man, and if the yak cannot live again, then how can man, who is not so strong, expect to do so?"

This was a bit of philosophy which sounded curiously to the boys, and the Professor, noticing it, said: "Singularly, this is the same answer which Sir Samuel Baker obtained from certain African tribes, when he questioned them in like manner."

But the Professor was interested in Suros' statement that they would not permit the body of the honored dead to go back to the earth, and he continued:

"You said that you did not want the honored dead to go back to the earth. When you give his body to the air, does it not go back to the earth?"

"No; the earth and the air are entirely different, The Great Spirit is in the air; not in the earth."

"Then you give him to the Great Spirit?"

"Yes; the Great Spirit takes his body."

"Don't you believe that man has a spirit also?"

"No; because we have never seen it."

"But you have never seen the Great Spirit, and yet you say there is one."

"We have seen the Great Spirit. He comes when it rains, and we can see him and hear him. We can feel the wind that he blows, and we can see the great light which he makes every day, and the smaller lights at his villages every night."

Two things were thus impressed on the boys--namely, that they considered the air entirely distinct from the earth, and that the Great Spirit made the thunder and lightning, and that the sun was the Spirit's light by day, and the moon and stars the lights of his villages by night.

Notwithstanding Suros' limited knowledge, it must be said that in his further talk with the Professor he showed himself to be possessed of qualities which placed him far above the common run of the natives. When he was asked why honor was such a prize to them, he answered:

"Our good men are happy to know that they are so placed that the Great Spirit can take them. What greater happiness is there for him?"

"Don't you believe that trying to make your people happy and contented will please the Great Spirit?"

"We do not know that. We do not know why the Great Spirit should want the bodies of our great warriors and good men. We cannot understand it."

"The white man believes that if you do good to your fellow-man it will please the Great Spirit."

"That may be; but I do not see why. There is no reason why he should care how I treat my people. That is not what he is up there for. What good will it do him? How will it help him? I do not believe many of the things I have been told by the wise men, and I have never sacrificed the captives I have taken, although my father before me did. I try to make my people happy, because when I see the Great Spirit giving us the day and the bright light and the rain, so that the things about us may grow, it seems to me that he is trying to be good to us, and I believe that is what we should do to each other."

CHAPTER XI

EXPEDITION TO SUBDUE THE ILLYAS

The occupation of the little houses by the families of the natives gave the boys the first close view of the people in their home lives. They were exceedingly primitive. The leaf of the plantain tree was the greatest boon to these people, and the women were engaged most of the time in removing the beautiful fiber and in laboriously weaving cloth from the strands.

They were exceedingly deft in this, and it is singular how quickly they grasped the idea of the loom, as a means to make a better article. The loom used by them was a very crude affair, and an idea may be gained of its form by the accompanying ill.u.s.tration, which shows the fork of a tree branch (A), which serves to hold the ends of the warp threads (B).

To weave the goods, the woof thread (C) is threaded back and forth, and as they had no needles for the purpose, a thorn was used.

This thorn had no eye, but its large end was split, and the end of the thread held in the cleft thus made. Every family had this primitive loom, and the whole time, outside of their other household duties, was given to the weaving process.

The size of each woven piece was about twelve by fifteen inches, and the different sections were afterwards sewn together. When they saw the more modern looms at work it interested them intensely, and the Professor, noticing their eagerness and natural talents in this direction, concluded that this was a good field to encourage the industry.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 14. Primitive Weaving Frame._]

Most of the looms made goods thirty inches wide, and it was not long before several of the women were instructed in the art of using the looms. Like all of the low order of people, they were extremely fond of colors, and that is one of the things which attracted them to the fabrics which had been previously made and exhibited. At the end of the week they were paid for their work, the same as the others who were employed. The Professor now considered it time to make a change in the system of providing supplies. Under the direction of Will, a store was set up, which had on hand a supply of vegetables and game. As many of the warriors were away, and the others were generally employed in the workshop and fields, some systematic effort had to be made to gather food supplies and hunt.

By offering certain sums for such articles the Professor induced individual effort in that direction. The provender thus provided was placed on sale in the store, and by every art the heads of families were encouraged to purchase those things and take them home for consumption there.

Gradually, the workers were made to understand that a certain sum would be expected in return for their board, so that, in course of time, each one became accustomed to know the values of certain things all of which were measured by the coins now in circulation.

The kitchen utensils were very limited indeed. They had no metal vessels of any kind. Any article of that kind was worth a fortune, and it was only the chiefs who had such things, and they were obtained from the wrecks of vessels which had reached them from time to time.

Under the direction of the Professor, considerable time was given to the bringing in of ores, particularly iron, and the process of recovering the metals from the ores was undertaken by a considerable part of the force.