IN THE SOUTH SEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 138, 13 June 1929, Page 27

IN THE SOUTH SEAS.

'VARSITY MEN'S CRUISE. NATIVES' HOSPITALITY. "SIMPLY WONDERFUL." (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, June 7. The auxiliary yacht Chance, a trim craft of 33 tons, 76ft in length and 10ft beam, dropped into the harbour from out of the Pacific on Thursday morning with her crew of three Yale University (U.S.A.) graduates, a French captain and a Danish cook.

The adventure started last year, when the three graduates, Messrs. E. H. Dodd, A. 0. Brown, and Thomas Marshall, decided to buy the Chance and sail the South Seas.' Dodd is the son of a wellknown American publisher, Brown's father is a banker, and Marshall's a doctor. The party set out from New London, near New York, on July 12, .and have touched at 30 ports, many of which were islands that have seldom, if ever, been visited by white men. Marshall was the spokesman for the three adventurers, and he told of the many incidents during-the voyage. "The native hospitality has been simply wonderful," he narrated. "Whenever we reached a port or an island, especially in the Society Group, the high chief would hold dances and feasts in our honour. At Waupiti (Society Islands) the natives were so hospitable that we stayed two months. When first we arrived there we were welcomed as well as any prominent visitor to the big cities of the world. There was a big dance staged in our honour, heralded by native speeches of welcome and goodwill. Then came the feast of raw fish, taro and poi, a sticky mixture like porridge, which is eaten with the fingqrs.

"When we left Waupiti we could all do the hula-hula with the best of them, and we had all developed the habit of •wearing the native pareu, or loin cloth. We soon realised how much more_ comfortable it was than tight clothes in the tropical climate, and we almost feel inclined to wear it in Sydney. • "The natives in the Society Group <rave one anything one asked for," he added, "but at Samoa and the surroundin«r islands, where the islanders had come into contact with the white traders, the natives knew the difference between the English shilling and the American fifty cents. The Samoans were very kind, and their handicraft appears to be finer than that of the Society Islands, but in Samoa the natives were always try lug to sell ns something, while in the Society Group everything was given away." NeWa, the pet dog of the vessel, was captured wild in the Galapagos Islands, which the voyagers described as teeming with cattle, wild horses pigs and goats. These islands lie SOO miles off Ecuador, and with the exception of one are not 6 Galapagos the Chance went to the Marquesas, a 3000 mile journey, which was covered in three weeks. Only two patches of bad weather were encounteThe cruise is not wholly for pleasure. Dodd is studying anthropology, Brown is doing hvdrographic work and punting, and Marshall is studying botany Marshall intends returning to . Amerua Shortly to study for an architecture,

degree. The scientific work is being chronicled for the Yaie Museum. Captain Rieham, who is the captain of the little ship, is not new to the South Seas, as he navigated the American yacht Speejaeks on its voyage through the islands and round the world, two or three years ago. Next port of call has not yet been decided upon, but several of the party are keen on seeing New Zealand, and also look forward to a trip into the Antarctic to inspect some of the islands in that region. Later it is their intention to return via Cape Horn to New York.