In the South Seas : : Being an Account of Experiences and Observations in The Marquesas, Paumotus and Gilbert Islands in the Course of Two Cruises, on the Yacht 'Casco' (1888) and the Schooner 'Equator' (1889) / / Robert Louis Stevenson.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Hawaii Press Archive eBook-Package Pre-2000
• VerfasserIn: Stevenson, Robert Louis,
• Place / Publishing House: Honolulu : : University of Hawaii Press, , [2021]; ©1971
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Pacific Classics
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (252 p.)

“In the South Seas, being an account of experiences and observations in the Marquesas, Paumotos [Tuamotus] and Gilbert Islands in the course of two cruises, on the yacht ‘Casco’ (1888) and the schooner ‘Equator’ (1889),” is the full title of Robert Louis Stevenson’s record of his visit to the South Seas. Ill for many years, Stevenson journeyed to the Pacific in the hope that the tropical climate would benefit his health. He fell in love with the islands and resided for a time in Hawaii and later in Samoa. When he died he was buried, according to his wish, on Mt. Vaea in Samoa.Here are stories of ghosts and cannibals, of kings and peasants, of traders and natives. With an eye for detail and a novelist’s style, Stevenson evokes the tropical ambience of the islands and delineates the character and way of life of their people, illustrating his observations with pertinent, often amusing, vignettes of native life.This, then, is not just another narrative of wanderings in exotic places. Stevenson had no vested interest, being neither missionary nor trader. He wanted merely to observe and understand Polynesian culture. His own poor health made him acutely aware of the fragility of human life, but it also made him admire an endurance of spirit. Knowing that the old ways of Polynesia were passing, he recorded what he saw with perception and compassion.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- PART I : THE MARQUESAS -- I. AN ISLAND LANDFALL -- II. MAKING FRIENDS -- III. THE MAROON -- IV. DEATH -- V. DEPOPULATION -- VI. CHIEFS AND TAP US -- VII. HATIHEU -- VIII. THE PORT OF ENTRY -- IX. THE HOUSE OF TEMOANA -- X. A PORTRAIT AND A STORY -- XI. LONG PIG—A CANNIBAL HIGH PLACE -- XII. THE STORY OF A PLANTATION -- XIII. CHARACTERS -- XIV. IN A CANNIBAL VALLEY -- XV. THE TWO CHIEFS OF ATUONA -- PART II : THE PAUMOTUS -- I. THE DANGEROUS ARCHIPELAGO—ATOLLS AT A DISTANCE -- II. FAKARAVA : AN ATOLL AT HAND -- III. A HOUSE TO LET IN A LOW ISLAND -- IV. TRAITS AND SECTS IN THE PAUMOTUS -- V. A PAUMOTUAN FUNERAL -- VI. GRAVEYARD STORIES -- PART III: THE GILBERTS -- I. BUTARITARI -- II. THE FOUR BROTHERS -- III. AROUND OUR HOUSE -- IV. A TALE OF A TAPU -- V. A TALE OF A TAPU—continued -- VI. THE FIVE DAYS` FESTIVAL -- VII. HUSBAND AND WIFE -- PART IV: THE GILBERTS — APEMAMA -- I. THE KING OF APEMAMA : THE ROYAL TRADER -- II. THE KING OF APEMAMA : FOUNDATION OF EQUATOR TOWN -- III. THE KINO OF APEMAMA : THE PALACE OF MANY WOMEN -- IV. THE KING OF APEMAMA : EQUATOR TOWN AND THE PALACE -- V. KING AND COMMONS -- VI. THE KING OF APEMAMA : DEVIL-WORK -- VII. THE KING OF APEMAMA