Transcribed from the 1899 George Newnes edition by David Price,
With Forty-six Illustrations
London
George Newnes, Limited
Southampton Street, Strand
1899
[All rights reserved]
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press
To my Devoted Wife,
YAMBA,
The Noblest Work of the Creator,
a good woman,
And to her People, my True and Streadfast Friends,
who never wavered in their confidence or
attachment, and to whom I owe the
Preservation of my Life,
this work
Is gratefully Dedicated
Early life—Leaving home—I meet Jensen—I go pearling—Daily routine—Submarine beauties—A fortune in pearls—Seized by an octopus—Shark-killing extraordinary—Trading with the natives—Impending trouble—Preparing for the attack—Baffling the savages.
I was born in or near Paris, in the year 1844. My fatherwas a fairly prosperous man of business—a general merchant,to be precise, who dealt largely in shoes; but when I was about ten years old, my mother, in consequence of certain domestic differences, took me to live with her at Montreux, and other places in Switzerland, where I was educated. I visited manyof the towns near Montreux, including Lausanne, Geneva, Neufchatel, &c. The whole of the time I was at school Imixed extensively with English boys on account of their language and sports, both of which attracted me.
Boys soon begin to display their bent, and mine, curiously enough, was in the direction of geology. I was constantly bringing home pieces of stone and minerals picked up in the streets and on the mountains, and asking questions about their origin and history. My dear mother encouraged me in this, and later on I frequently went to Freiburg, in the Black Forest, to get a practical insight into smelting. When I was about nineteen, however, a message arrived from my father, directing meto return to France and report myself as a conscript; but againstthis my mother resolutely set her face. I fancy my father wanted me to take up the army as a career, but in deference to mymother’s wishes I remained with her in Switzerland for sometime longer. She and I had many talks about my future, and she at length advised me to take a trip to the East, and see whatthe experience of travel would do for me. Neither of us hadany definite project in view, but at length my mother gave me about 7000 francs and I set out for Cairo, intending eventually to visit and make myself acquainted with the French possessions in the Far East. My idea was to visit such places as Tonkin, Cochin-China, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, &c. My mother was of the opinion that if I saw a bit ofthe world in this way I would be more inclined to settle down at home with her at the end of my wanderings. The primary cause of my going away was a little love episode. Whilst atMontreux I fell in love with a charming young lady at a boarding-school near my home. She was the daughter of some high personage in the court of Russia—but exactly what position he held I cannot say. My mother was quite charmed with the young lady and viewed our attachment with delight. But when my father heard of the matte