The Tonga Islands And Other Groups

Author : Emma H. Adams
Publisher : Theclassics.Us
ISBN 13 : 9781230374604
Total Pages : 36 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (746 download)

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Download or read book The Tonga Islands and Other Groups written by Emma H. Adams and published by Theclassics.Us. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 edition. Excerpt: ...of water, and off they will float to the coral belt, where the day will pass quickly, with everybody laughing and chatting as only coral islanders can, while they collect the shining snails, or spear other kinds of fish hidden among the coral fretwork. Early in the afternoon, they will return to camp. Here some will clean and cook the tripang, while others will prepare the evening meal. This dispatched, large fires will be made a little way from the huts; the mats will be spread on the ground, and there, lying upon their backs, will these light-hearted people while away the evening telling stories of phantom ships, of terrible ghosts and goblins, of daring adventures, and of voyages to wonderful lands far away. And possibly the evening will end with a dance on the smooth white sand, in the light of the full moon. In this peaceful, harmless manner will the fishers of the Chief Dog-fish work out the six moons for Captain Longbeard--provided Chief Dog-fish is worthy of their confidence, and Captain Longbeard proves not to be one of the insufferable white villains who have for years been the scourge of the South Pacific. The best mode of collecting beche-de-mer from a coral reef is for the fisher, as he walks along the reef, to trail behind him a little punt of boards, or a light canoe, and into it throw the fish as he picks them up. When the punt is full, he tows it out to deep water, where its contents are transferred to a more commodious craft employed for the purpose. Its cargo complete, the latter straightway steers for camp, the crew busily disemboweling the slugs on the way. At camp, they are quickly removed to shore and cooked without delay, for this reason--it is a remarkable peculiarity of the strange mollusks that so long as they...