“All that they possess, they offer it to you willingly: it is in them that equality and fraternity truly reign.”
Published by Plon in 1895, this adventure book represents the most unusual and best of the South Seas. Aboard the Compass, William Leblanc takes us from Normandy to the Marquesas Islands in the middle of the 19th century.
Curious about everything, he took part in fights between tribes, criss-crossed all the paths of the island of Nuku Hiva, lived in the intimacy of its inhabitants, and witnessed certain ritual practices never described before. In addition, he tells admirably and in great detail the incredible destiny of his childhood friend, Adolphe Bénard, a Frenchman forced to leave his country, an adventurer stranded in Nuku Hiva after many exploits in Peru, and who became “Manou Tavayé”, the White Bird, future great chief of the Atitoka tribe.
