{"id":"01KG8AM5Y8HMHH9RQH5PVC0KTW","cid":"bafkreifcnw6fkihixt4oj7vtvll54nofo2esjsxzoiesit3kksswexfivi","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":8176,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:25.203Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 5","source_file":"01KG89J1JYRSHWXR7JM0HYS9D4","start_line":8127,"text":"canvas bags, partly filled with bullets and powder, and half a dozen old\r\nhatchet-heads, with the edges blunted and battered to such a degree\r\nas to render them utterly useless. These last seemed to be regarded as\r\nnearly worthless by the natives; and several times they held up, one\r\nof them before me, and throwing it aside with a gesture of disgust,\r\nmanifested their contempt for anything that could so soon become\r\nunserviceable.\r\n\r\nBut the muskets, the powder, and the bullets were held in most\r\nextravagant esteem. The former, from their great age and the\r\npeculiarities they exhibited, were well worthy a place in any\r\nantiquarian’s armoury. I remember in particular one that hung in the\r\nTi, and which Mehevi--supposing as a matter of course that I was able to\r\nrepair it--had put into my hands for that purpose. It was one of those\r\nclumsy, old-fashioned, English pieces known generally as Tower Hill\r\nmuskets, and, for aught I know, might have been left on the island by\r\nWallace, Carteret, Cook, or Vancouver. The stock was half rotten and\r\nworm-eaten; the lock was as rusty and about as well adapted to its\r\nostensible purpose as an old door-hinge; the threading of the screws\r\nabout the trigger was completely worn away; while the barrel shook in\r\nthe wood. Such was the weapon the chief desired me to restore to its\r\noriginal condition. As I did not possess the accomplishments of a\r\ngunsmith, and was likewise destitute of the necessary tools, I was\r\nreluctantly obliged to signify my inability to perform the task. At this\r\nunexpected communication Mehevi regarded me, for a moment, as if he half\r\nsuspected I was some inferior sort of white man, who after all did not\r\nknow much more than a Typee. However, after a most laboured explanation\r\nof the matter, I succeeded in making him understand the extreme\r\ndifficulty of the task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies, however,\r\nhe marched off with the superannuated musket in something of a huff, as\r\nif he would no longer expose it to the indignity of being manipulated by\r\nsuch unskilful fingers.\r\n\r\nDuring the festival I had not failed to remark the simplicity of manner,\r\nthe freedom from all restraint, and, to certain degree, the equality\r\nof condition manifested by the natives in general. No one appeared to\r\nassume any arrogant pretensions. There was little more than a slight\r\ndifference in costume to distinguish the chiefs from the other natives.\r\nAll appeared to mix together freely, and without any reserve; although\r\nI noticed that the wishes of a chief, even when delivered in the mildest\r\ntone, received the same immediate obedience which elsewhere would have\r\nbeen only accorded to a peremptory command. What may be the extent\r\nof the authority of the chiefs over the rest of the tribe, I will not\r\nventure to assert; but from all I saw during my stay in the valley, I\r\nwas induced to believe that in matters concerning the general welfare\r\nit was very limited. The required degree of deference towards them,\r\nhowever, was willingly and cheerfully yielded; and as all authority is\r\ntransmitted from father to son, I have no doubt that one of the effects\r\nhere, as elsewhere, of high birth, is to induce respect and obedience.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 5"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJR1YH02P9Q4PCAN5J7F8","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1JYRSHWXR7JM0HYS9D4","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AM5Y01F8M45B3NTGK2N10","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AM5Y0K8GEY678PEB6XFCV","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:28.616Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:41.262Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}