
as I could, and at last gained the level of the valley, and then down I sunk;
and I knew nothing more until I found myself lying upon these mats, and you
stooping over me with the calabash of water.«
    Such was Toby's account of this sad affair. I afterward learned that
fortunately he had fallen close to a spot where the natives go for fuel. A party
of them caught sight of him as he fell, and, sounding the alarm, had lifted him
up; and after ineffectually endeavouring to restore him at the brook, had
hurried forward with him to the house.
    This incident threw a dark cloud over our prospects. It reminded us that we
were hemmed in by hostile tribes, whose territories we could not hope to pass,
on our route to Nukuheva, without encountering the effects of their savage
resentment. There appeared to be no avenue opened to our escape but the sea,
which washed the lower extremity of the vale.
    Our Typee friends availed themselves of the recent disaster of Toby to
exhort us to a due appreciation of the blessings we enjoyed among them;
contrasting their own generous reception of us with the animosity of their
neighbours. They likewise dwelt upon the cannibal propensities of the Happars, a
subject which they were perfectly aware could not fail to alarm us; while at the
same time they earnestly disclaimed all participation in so horrid a custom. Nor
did they omit to call upon us to admire the natural loveliness of their own
abode, and the lavish abundance with which it produced all manner of luxuriant
fruits; exalting it in this particular above any of the surrounding valleys.
    Kory-Kory seemed to experience so heartfelt a desire to infuse into our
minds proper views on these subjects, that, assisted in his endeavours by the
little knowledge of the language we had acquired, he actually succeeded in
making us comprehend a considerable part of what he said. To facilitate our
correct apprehension of his meaning, he at first condensed his ideas into the
smallest possible compass.
    »Happar keekeeno nuee,« he exclaimed; »nuee, nuee, ki ki kannaka! - ah! owle
mortarkee!« which signifies, »Terrible fellows those Happars! - devour an
amazing quantity of men! - ah, shocking bad!« Thus far he explained himself by a
variety of gestures, during the performance of which he would dart out of the
house, and point abhorrently toward the Happar valley; running in to us again
with a rapidity that showed he was fearful we would lose one part of his meaning
before he could complete the other; and continuing his illustrations
