The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 17Stevenson, Robert Louis
History
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 17
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Islands of the Pacific -- Fiction; Samoan Islands -- History; Short stories
About six miles up the coast there is a sheltered cove they call
_Fanga-anaana_--"the haven full of caves." I've seen it from the sea
myself, as near as I could get my boys to venture in; and it's a little
strip of yellow sand. Black cliffs overhang it, full of the black mouths
of caves; great trees overhang the cliffs, and dangle-down lianas; and
in one place, about the middle, a big brook pours over in a cascade.
Well, there was a boat going by here, with six young men of Falesa, "all
very pretty," Uma said, which was the loss of them. It blew strong,
there was a heavy head sea, and by the time they opened Fanga-anaana,
and saw the white cascade and the shady beach, they were all tired and
thirsty, and their water had run out. One proposed to land and get a
drink, and, being reckless fellows, they were all of the same mind
except the youngest. Lotu was his name; he was a very good young
gentleman, and very wise; and he held out that they were crazy, telling
them the place was given over to spirits and devils and the dead, and
there were no living folk nearer than six miles the one way, and maybe
twelve the other. But they laughed at his words, and, being five to one,
pulled in, beached the boat, and landed. It was a wonderful pleasant
place, Lotu said, and the water excellent. They walked round the beach,
but could see nowhere any way to mount the cliffs, which made them
easier in their mind; and at last they sat down to make a meal on the
food they had brought with them. They were scarce set, when there came
out of the mouth of one of the black caves six of the most beautiful
ladies ever seen: they had flowers in their hair, and the most beautiful
breasts, and necklaces of scarlet seeds; and began to jest with these
young gentlemen, and the young gentlemen to jest back with them, all but
Lotu. As for Lotu, he saw there could be no living woman in such a
place, and ran, and flung himself in the bottom of the boat, and covered
his face, and prayed. All the time the business lasted Lotu made one
clean break of prayer, and that was all he knew of it, until his friends
came back, and made him sit up, and they put to sea again out of the
bay, which was now quite deserted, and no word of the six ladies. But,
what frightened Lotu most, not one of the five remembered anything of
what had passed, but they were all like drunken men, and sang and
laughed in the boat, and skylarked. The wind freshened and came squally,
and the sea rose extraordinary high; it was such weather as any man in
the islands would have turned his back to and fled home to Falesa; but
these five were like crazy folk, and cracked on all sail and drove their
boat into the seas. Lotu went to the bailing, none of the others thought
to help him, but sang and skylarked and carried on, and spoke singular
things beyond a man's comprehension, and laughed out loud when they said
them. So the rest of the day Lotu bailed for his life in the bottom of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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