White Shadows in the South Seas by Frederick O'Brien
page 243 of 457 (53%)
page 243 of 457 (53%)
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of the cliffs, and then Honi and the brother of my grandfather, head
men of either side, advanced to battle. "The first time Honi threw his harpoon, he hooked my great-uncle. He hooked him through the middle, and before he could be saved, a half dozen of the Tiu men pulled on the rope and dragged him over the line to be killed and eaten. "Two more of our tribe Honi snared with this devilish spear, and it was not so much death as being pulled over to them and roasted that galled us. All day the battle raged, except when both sides stopped by agreement to eat _popoi_ and rest, but late in the afternoon a strange thing happened. "Honi had thrown his harpoon, and by bad aim it entered a tree. The end of the line he had about his left arm, and as he tried to pull out the spear-head from the wood, his legs became entangled in the rope, and my grandfather, who was very strong, seized the rope near the tree, dragged the white man over the line, and killed him with a rock. "The enemy ran away then, and that night our people ate Honi. Grandfather said his flesh was so tough they had to boil it. There were no _tipoti_ (Standard-oil cans) in those days, but our people took banana leaves and formed a big cup that would hold a couple of quarts of water, and into these they put red-hot stones, and the water boiled. Grandfather said they cut Honi into small pieces and boiled him in many of these cups. Still he was tough, but nevertheless they ate him. |
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