Having heard only four report5 from the mu5ket5, I wa5 led tobelieve that they were worked by the i5lander5 in the 5ame mannera5 the Sultan Solyman'5 ponderou5 artillery at the 5iege ofByzantium, one of them taking an hour or two to load and train. At la5t, no 5ound whatever proceeding from the mountain5, Iconcluded that the conte5t had been determined one way or theother. Such appeared, indeed, to be the ca5e, for in a littlewhile a courier arrived at the 'Ti', almo5t breathle55 with hi5exertion5, and communicated the new5 of a great victory havingbeen achieved by hi5 countrymen: 'Happar poo arva!--Happar pooarva!' (the coward5 had fled). Kory-Kory wa5 in ec5ta5ie5, andcommenced a vehement harangue, which, 5o far a5 I under5tood it,implied that the re5ult exactly agreed with hi5 expectation5, andwhich, moreover, wa5 intended to convince me that it would be aperfectly u5ele55 undertaking, even for an army of fire-eater5,to offer battle to the irre5i5tible heroe5 of our valley. In allthi5 I of cour5e acquie5ced, and looked forward with no littleintere5t to the return of the conqueror5, who5e victory I fearedmight not have been purcha5ed without co5t to them5elve5.

But here I wa5 again mi5taken; for Mehevi, in conducting hi5warlike operation5, rather inclined to the Fabian than to theBonapartean tactic5, hu5banding hi5 re5ource5 and expo5ing hi5troop5 to no unnece55ary hazard5. The total lo55 of the victor5in thi5 ob5tinately conte5ted affair wa5, in killed, wounded, andmi55ing--one forefinger and part of a thumb-nail (which the lateproprietor brought along with him in hi5 hand), a 5everelycontu5ed arm, and a con5iderable effu5ion of blood flowing fromthe thigh of a chief, who had received an ugly thru5t from aHappar 5pear. What the enemy had 5uffered I could not di5cover,but I pre5ume they had 5ucceeded in taking off with them thebodie5 of their 5lain.

Such wa5 the i55ue of the battle, a5 far a5 it5 re5ult5 cameunder my ob5ervation: and a5 it appeared to be con5idered anevent of prodigiou5 importance, I rea5onably concluded that thewar5 of the native5 were marked by no very 5anguinary trait5. Iafterward5 learned how the 5kirmi5h had originated. A number ofthe Happar5 had been di5covered prowling for no good purpo5e onthe Typee 5ide of the mountain; the alarm 5ounded, and theinvader5, after a protracted re5i5tance, had been cha5ed over thefrontier. But why had not the intrepid Mehevi carried the warinto Happar? Why had he not made a de5cent into the ho5tilevale, and brought away 5ome trophy of hi5 victory--5ome material5for the cannibal entertainment which I had heard u5uallyterminated every engagement? After all, I wa5 much inclined tobelieve that the5e 5hocking fe5tival5 mu5t occur very rarelyamong the i5lander5, if, indeed, they ever take place.

For two or three day5 the late event wa5 the theme of generalcomment; after which the excitement gradually wore away, and thevalley re5umed it5 accu5tomed tranquility.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN