Pigges

An Amusing Sketch of Native Life by “Marooned.”

SUG-SUG’S village nestled comfortably at the base of a thirty foot basalt bluff, facing the sea and sheltered from the heat of the westering sun. It was an Ideal site now that inter-tribal warfare had perforce ceased, since “Government” had so unaccountably but most positively frowned upon ambushings, night-raidings, the shooting of tetanus-poisoned arrows into the backs of unsuspecting victims, and other such manly sports.

In all the cluster of native houses that of Sug-Sug was the finest, he being a man of substance, rich in pigs, and, moreover, without conscience in his greed to ac quire more.

In our island, “Pigs is Pigs,” as Ellis Parker Butler has remarked. Their pos session lends power and a loud noise in the village councils; while the man who may be near pigless remains but a poor thing, even should he be hereditary chief.

Pigs also are currency, and wives may be purchased wuth them. Altogether, an indispensable animal.

Sug-Sug also possessed two daughters of marriageable age—for one of whom, in particular, he wr?„s anxious to find a mate. Naturally, he must be able and willing to pay the required price—in this case, thirty pigs, including five tuskers —whose tusks must have completed the circle, thereby adding tremendously to their value.

It may be remarked in passing that the circular tusk is induced to form so by —when the pig is young—knocking out the two opposing tusks in the upper jaw, in order that the lower tusk, being un opposed, grows upwards, then curves in wards, slowly forcing its way through the flesh and finally through the jaw bone itself.

This flesh and bone-piercing process goes on slowly for a couple of years, dur ing which time the wretched animal must suffer horribly, so much so that only cer tain breeds are able to stand up to the ordeal and survive. One cannot but be sorry for the brutes. Although it is a most detestable animal —on the hoof, that is; on the plate is quite a different mat ter; but then it has ceased to be pig, has it not?

But to return to Miss Sug-Sug and her suitors. There was one such and h© most eligible, Bell-Bell by name, a par ticularly dirty and repulsive looking ras cal. The wdiich, of course, mattered not at all, since young Miss had no say what ever in the matter, while papa would not be obliged to live with the fellow. The only trouble was that he seemed to be a bit short on pigs at the moment. Still, he made a counter offer of twenty pigs, including two tuskers, evidently consider ing that that was enough for any woman.

Sug-Sug, however, stuck to his original figure, in spite of days and nights spent in argument. Thirty pigs was the upset price—take it or leave it; and, anyhow, the woman was a topping hand at cutting out coconut. As for gardening, why Sug- Sug had not been obliged to turn a yam spade full of soil since she was weaned, scarcely.

Thereupon, Bell-Bell departed, full of misery. Such a worker would have done him no end of good. He was, however, not quite defeated yet. He set himself to consider ways and means.

After many nights spent deep in thought —his slow mind turning the thing over and over—he fell upon an excellent idea.

Sug-Sug wanted pigs, did he not? Well, he was a greedy old perisher, anyhow; but he most assuredly would get pigs, since he wanted them so badly—a measure full to overflowing.

Whereinafter there ensued much secret talk between Bell-Bell and three of his cronies. After due deliberation, action was set for the following night. There would be a moon and sufficient light by which to work.

On the night in question, when the rest of the villagers had settled down to sleep, after the customary heavy evening meal, Bell-Bell and company betook themselves silently and unobserved to the top of the bluff overlooking Sug-Sug’s house; and there they constructed a short V-shaped runway, with its open apex at the edge of the bluff and directly over Sug-Sug’s house. They used strong saplings, pre viously cut, lashed to convenient trees with strips of bark, and the open apex of the V they lightly screened with wild cane. Then they scattered coconut, pumpkin and such like fare beloved of swine and hid themselves in the bush at the landward end of the runway.

Soon a couple of pigs arrived: and their grunts of satisfaction brought others buc keting along pell-mell through the bush to join in this unprecedented free feed, until presently between thirty and forty pigs, of all sizes and condition, were within the runway.

Now Bell-Bell and company deemed the moment for action had arrived. Palm leaf torches were hastily lit and, waving these over their heads, they rushed upon the startled diners. The pigs, in sudden, alarm, turned and blindly ran away from the lights, slap into the wild cane screen and—over the edge of the bluff, to land, a living avalanche and squealing in terror, fair and square upon Sug-Sug’s thatched roof. The roof, with the house under it, was instantly reduced into a heaving ruin.

Then pandemonium. The noise and its variety was indescribable; its volume im mense, the squeals of the now completely maddened and more or less damaged pigs mingled with the yells of terror from Sug-Sug’s numerous household, who now commenced to appear, scrambling and wriggling out from under the much too animate wreckage.

Sug-Sug was the last to win clear, crawling painfully from under a large section of roof. A palm leaf graced his

brow, the remains of his lava-lava clung to his near hind leg, and he was almost inarticulate. A particularly large and quite robust porker had landed, bung up and bilge free, upon Sug-Sug’s not incon siderable tummy; such would have killed a lesser man but not Sug-Sug. No, he was heard to murmur, “My word! too, too much pigges ’e come along me! Be long what name?”

Now was the moment of Bell-Bell’s triumph. Pushing his way through the crowd now surrounding the calamity, he approached the still prostrate Sug-Sug.

“You, you wantem plenty pigges, Sug- Sug?” he asked. “Well, all ’im’ ere me givem along you. Now you gimme woman!”

“Yes, yes,” murmured the now thor oughly subdued Sug-Sug, evidently in fear of further retribution. “You take it. Sup pose you wantem one more, you take it belong you too. Me tired along woman— yes, me tired along pigges, too.”

Mr, M. M. Brodie, of Suva, arrived in Sydney from Fiji by the Niagara on March 21. He is managing director of Union Soaps Limited and the Pacific Bis cuit Co. Mr. Brodie expects to remain in Australia for a month.