"Blackbirders"

Kidnapping Incident in Cook Islands, 75 Years Ago

By “Cloughogue”

BLACKBIRDING (the kidnapping of unsophisticated Pacific Islanders for slavery under distant skies ) has been so long unknown in the Eastern Pacific that' the very meaning of the word is strange to most of the present generation. Yet one who had personal contact with the slavers, in their last attempt on the islands of the Cook Group, was alive some 10 or 12 years ago, in Manihiki.

His narrative, which follows, discloses the naivete of the native and the trick ery of the villains who traded on it. The incident, so far as can be judged, took place probably about 1855.

This page from the past was taken down verbatim, and translated literally by J. J. Murray, a sometime resident of Manihiki: — IAM 'Eriakima, Mataiapo of the Tube Tahi branch of the royal family of Manihiki and Rakahanga. I am a very old man, older even than Viriamu (Henry Williams, late Resident Agent of the two islands), for I was a big boy when he was born. I helped to nurse him. His father was a white man and mine was a brown man, although we were of the same mother.

I am a Christian and a deacon of the L.M.S. church.

I was not always a good man, having in my early years stolen boats and entered the stores of the white men to steal. For this I was beaten by the captain of a man-of-war. It hurt me very much and I stole no more.

The men-of-war in the old times were not like those of to-day. They had no machines, but used the wind like proper ships.

I have had many women. Some I married, and some I did not. I did not beat them too much, but only for un faithfulness and not having my food ready when I returned from fishing. My present wife is no good, as she talks, talks, talks all the time and spends my money on tobacco and in card games.

I am too old and too tired to get me a new one, so this one will be the last.

You want me to tell you of the ships that carried some of our people away, never to return.

I was about the age and size of Aupini (a well-developed lad, 14-15 years old). I had been away on the Pahuna side of the lagoon, seeking fiki (squid) for Takapu, the father of Here, who was the girl I was courting at the time.

I thought that by softening the heart of Takapu he would give me his daughter.

When I returned to Tauhunu (one of the two villages of Manihiki) there were two ships standing “off and on” the boat passage. It was too late to board them, so my father said to leave it until the morning. The night was without wind.

In the morning one of the ships was ashore on the reef at Tukao Point (N.E. corner of Manihiki). My father and I and other people went off in canoes to help them.

It was a small ship, and very dirty.

The other ship was also very dirty looking.

The captain of the ship on the reef could not speak English or Maori, and only one of the sailors could speak

English. I know this, because my father was one of the few Manihiki people who could speak English, and the talk was done through him.

We worked all day carrying the bal last out of the ship. She had no other cargo but stones. The captain gave us ship’s biscuits for food, and some Chile dollars. There was still no wind. (Eriakima’s description of the method employed in getting the ship off the reef is lengthy and confusing, owing to his ignorance of rigging and tackle, but it would seem that the vessel had been lifted by a swell and deposited, beam on, on the edge of the reef. The captain

had his ballast removed and ran out his bow and bower anchors, well out on the ocean side. He then either used the peak halliards or else rove a line through the topping-lift blocks and canted the ship over to seaward, keep ing the lines taut. The rising tide pulled her off, the boats then towing her out of danger).

It was nearly dark when we finished.

The captain was very pleased with our work. He told us to come back in the morning and he would make a feast for us of salt beef and flour. The sailor who spoke English was his spokesman.

In the night, the wind came and the

sea was rough. Not all of us could go out to her in the morning because of the sea on the reef. I think not more than thirty v of us went. The captain’s spokesman then told us to clean the hold up before he could give us the beef and flour. My father and I did not go down the hold with the other men.

We went to the galley. The cook gave us some coffee and ship biscuits. I saw the sailors making sail on the other Shi p I noticed that we had drawn well off the land under the head sails only.

My father and I then went forward to help our companions, but we found the hatch battened down. I could hear my People knocking on the underside of the hatch. Several sailors seized my father and me and took us into the fo castle. They locked us up in a sail locker. I was very frightened, and cried.

We were locked up all night and had no food.

In the morning, the English-speaking sailor unlocked us and took us to the captain. We were then standing on and off Rakahanga. (Rakahanga and her P again. The oapfain told us, through his spokesman, that he had locked our people up for stealing. I think this was a lie.

The cantain said if mv father would me capiam said n my lamer would call to the Rakahanga people to come aboard he would let our people go. My father pretended to agree, but told me to follow him and jump overboard when he gave me the word. Some Rakahanga people were coming over the reef in canoes. My father and I were taken to the break of the poop to

call to the people to come aboard. My father said to me “jump overboard” and I obeyed. My father tried to jump, but the sailors held him fast. I swam very quickly for the shore. The sailors fired shots at me. One shot hit me on the shoulder. Here is the scar (showing the mark). It did not break a bone but hurt very much. I was frightened that the sharks would smell the blood and eat me.

The Rakahanga people were fright . ened at the * oise p 0 f the guns , nd pulled back to the shore. That is the reason why no Rakahanga people were taken away. The ship was on the offshore tack when I jumped overboard, and this gave me time to swim to the reef. The sea carried me over the reef and I was hurt very much. My leg was broken below the knee, at that place. i crawled up on the beach and was very sick. I do not remember the ship leaving—l was very sick.

T was to]ri offward* ■ that tho chin t d th f u the The? a boat ashore but rfiH

nofknoVwhere the"„e"waf This

Ly’^^ictaes^was^going'

y ill fo? many months I forget how ’ i lorget now Jm > Vhen 1 remembered my father I or : Pf j very much T never saw mv father again ‘ * y ' x • I heard afterwards that the two ships went to Penrhyn, then called Tongareva.

They took many people from Penrhyn.

They sailed inside the passage there and anchored for many days while they repaired the smaller ship.

No one ever returned to Manihiki but one old man was brought back to Pen rhyn. The man-of-war brought him back many years later (circa 1865). I have spoken with him I asked after my father, but the old man was mad and made noises like a pig When he spoke, it was in a strange tongue- and after a while, he made more noises like a pig. He had been beaten very much for he had many marks on his body f heard later that he was dead. I do not remember his name.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: It was gath ered from Eriakima that the larger ship was a brigantine, and the smaller a schooner. The sailors were dark men like Maoris, with black beards. In the fo’castle there were many pictures of Mary and the Saints, and some Cruci fixes. There were no cannon aboard, that he saw. The sails were much patched and the ships were very filthy.

They most probably were from Peru, Ships from Peru and Chile, during the nineteenth century, enslaved thousands of Polynesians, and practically de »"» groups.

MR - J - E - WINDRUM has taken up duties ag District Commissioner Labasa, Fiji, replacing MR. R. N. CALD WELL, who has been transferred to Ba.

Mr. P. D. Macdonald, 8.A., Admini

strative Officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, has been appointed Assistant Secretary to the Western Pacific High Commission in Suva. He suc ceeds MR. R. H. GARVEY, M.A., who has gone to the New Hebrides as Assistant Resident Commissioner.