4. A Castaway Femme Fatale
Over the years, Kazuko Higa developed into a full-blown femme fatale. She transferred her affections between a series of beaus, each of whom ended up violently assailed and chased off, or murdered, by some of the other frustrated men. Matters were not helped when the men discovered how to ferment an intoxicating drink known as “tuba”, or coconut wine. As a result, they often spent days on end drinking themselves into a stupor, interspersed with bouts of alcohol-fueled rage and fighting.
By 1951, there had been 12 murders on Anatahan, in addition to numerous fights, as the men violently vied for the affections of the island’s sole female. Jealous rivals stabbed one of Kazuko Higa’s lovers with a knife on 13 separate occasions. That did not stop him from returning to his amorous pursuit as soon as he recovered from each failed attempt on his life.
