MY NATIVE SERVANTS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9778, 14 July 1897, Page 2

MY NATIVE SERVANTS.

By a Sooth Sea Trader, PoH MaXl GazetU. I hail just said good-bye to the captain of the trading vessel that had landed mc on Niue {Savage Island), and was watching her getting under weigh when I saw that a deputation of the leading villagers was awaiting mc at the top of the ragged path thai led to my dwelling. Seeing among them several of the people who had been assisting the ship's crew to carry my goods up to the houee, I concluded they were waiting to tell mc the usual native story of having individually and collectively strained their backs by lifting cases of tinned beef, and demand another dollar each.

I was mistaken. Soseni, the spokesman,, stepped oat and said that he and the deputation, representing as they did the public voice of Avatele village, respectfully desired to warn mc against engaging any strangers from A lofi as domestics. They did not want to damage any one's reputation, but the Alofi folk were a bad lot. Certainly there were some who were hone3t—people who originally belonged to Avatele, and I said I would not decide just then. I should wait till I had settled down a bit. At present, however, I added, old Lupo's son, Moemoe, would cook for mc. The deputation seemed annoyed, and Soseni said they were sorry for mc- Lupo was a very good man, and although a Samoan, was an esteemed fellow-townsman and a deacon as well; also he had married a Niu6" woman, which was in his favour. But his sons were too notoriously improper young men (applause) ; their mother, while ot spotless morals, was a confirmed cadger and a public wrangler and shrew. As for the daughters—well, I could look at thdr record any time in the fahafiWs (judge's) chargebook.

I thanked the deputation for their goodwill, and said that while I would not decide hastily iv reference to other servants, I quite intented keeping Moemoe as my cook. I had, I said, known old Lupo for many years, and long ago promised him that if ever I came to Savage Island I would take some of his family into ray aervice. •' Thank you very much," said the polite Soseni, speaking in English, and then he and his friends bade mc good-day, and somewhat hurriedly left mc. (I learnt half an hour afterwards that they at once called an emergency meeting of the town council, and passed a law that no member of Lupo's family but Moemoe was to take service with the new white man under any excuse ; also that if any of Moemoe's relatives were seen hanging about the premises on the look out for a job the general public were at liberty to atone them,)

Just as I reached the gate leading te the house I heard angry voices from the back ; then followed the sound of blows, accompanied by much bad language, and presently three men and four women rushed down the path, pursued by a hundred or so of people of both sexes, who assailed the fugitives with showers of stones. Old Lupo came out to meet mc.

"What is all this row, Lupo?" Lupo smiled pleasantly and said it was nothing— "only some man and womans, sir, from Alofi. They wanted to come inaide and talk to you about getting some servants from their town. And this made the Avatele people cross ; yes, sir, very cross. So they threw some etone at them." (I must mention that Lupo always spoke English to white men, and to address him in the native tongue was a sore affront.) " Oh, I see. Well, I'm very hungry ;is my supper ready ? And, I say, Lupo, don't let any more people in to-day to talk about servants."

'•All right, air," he replied somewhat uneasily. I heaved a contented sigh as I mounted \ the verandah steps, for the day had been one of toil, and I was eager to rest a little before supper. My little daughter was already asleep in a fellow trader's house near by, worn out with the excitement of her novel surroundings. I stepped into the big sitting room of ray new abode, and there sitting on the floor in solemn silence with their backs to the wall were about fifty women. They all smiled pleasantly at mc as I entered, and then all began to talk at once: each one wanted to be nurse to the tamafafyie (girl child). "Here, I say, Lupo, clear all these j women out of this. What do -they want swarming into the place like this? Tell them that I won't talk about servants till to-morrow morning. And, besides that, I want to eat my supper, and I can't eat it with fifty women staring at mc in a circle." Old Lupo stroked hie bald brown head and coughed apologetically. "If you please, sir, these Niul womans all very much want to know who you going to get for nuise woman for your little girl." On my reiusing, with some warmth, to discuss the matter with them at that moment, and requesting them to clear out, they unanimously stated that I was the worst and most ill-mannered white man. they had ever seen ; furthermore, that if I engaged a single servant, ruale or female, from any other village than iAvatele, the blood of that person would be on my head. However, they would, the}' said, come again in the morning with some friends and talk the matter over with mc.

A few weeks later, my trading colleague, who lived ten miles away on the other side of the island, came along to see how I was getting on. He had heard that there was some ill-feeling among the various villages about my servants, and thought he might advise mc, as I was a stranger to. Niue people. I fell upon his neck and wept down his back, and told him that my servants had got possession of mc; I seemed to have engaged the whole village.

The confdunded young ruffian Moemoe was the worst. He was a tall, well-built youth of nineteen, with a pale olive complexion and big, dreamy ey«e that looked soulfully out from the black glossy curls which fell about his forehead. He turned up on the first day dressed in a white duck suit and canvas shoes, and with scarlet hibiscus flowers stuck through his curls, one over each ear. Hβ seemed a clean, intelligent lad, but a bit languid, and said he would be content with five dollars par, month; also that he could make bread. lat once took him over to the detached kitchen, unlocked the door, showed him that all the Necessary utensils used by my predecessor were there and in good order, and told him to come to mc for kitchen stores. He said " All right," sat down on a stool, and, asking mc for my tobacco pouch, began to fill his pipe. Thinking that he probably wanted to meditate a while on. the responeibilitiee of hia. position, I withdrew. Hakala, the senior nurse, had been strongly recommended to mc by Captain Packenham as a most excellent and deserving woman; and, mope than that, as the widow of a white man who had been hanged in Queensland. She was a pleasant-looking, smiling-eyed woman of about forty, with her long hair dressed <2 Iα Suisse ; and although she could not apeak a word of English, I felt sure my little girl would like her. Besides that she was a widow, and who can resist the claims of the widow upon our pity ? I couldn't. And presently my daughter ran oat to her and put out her arms to be lifted up. The woman's eyes sparkled and danced with .pleasure, her brown cheeks dimpled, and a soft, cooing, mother like laugh gently shook her ample bosom, and then subsided into an endearing, whispering rufc, («A, tuk — just the sweet, funny sound a mother hen makes as her chicks coddle up beneath her loving wing. And because of this, and her widowhood, X gave her the billet of boss nurse. (She entered on her dnties at once, sod when night came she lay down upon her couch of mate just under my youngster's bed. About midnight I looked in and saw that two native children lay one on each side of her. I awakened her, and asked her what she meant, bringing native children in the bedroom.

" They are mine/* , she said with a smile. " Why," I said angrily, " Captain P. said you had no children." " Only native children, sir. Ibe married again now. Sty husband comes here tomorrow to live with mc. He is a good man and says he will help Moemoe to make bread for you."

The next morning I engaged all the servant® I wanted, tot bad a lot of opposition from the town councillors because I selected a washerwoman from Alofi, a rough carpenter from another coast village called Fatiau, and a second nurse, or rather noreexnaid, from » bosh town called Hakogre, She -was quite a yoang girl, and promised faithfully sever to let the little white girl oat of her sight for a moment daring her walks. Her name wae ETea. Bat, co as not 4»«wm too en* fiMwliag ud jmtouj

among the Avatele people by the inclusion of too many strangers, the whole of the labourers, male and female, that it was necessary for mc to employ alxnit the station were residents of the village. This seemed to satisfy the authorities, and all promised well.

At noon I Went o\it to the cookhouse to se how my cliff was getting on. He had taken off his coat and shirt, but was still sitting down, playing an accordian to an audience of a dozen youug women, all more or leas in a state of deshabille—even for Niue women. They fled wildly the moment J appeared. "Moemoe, who are those girle? Why did you let them come in here.? Oh, they were cousins of his he said, and had come to see him make bread. And he wanted to begin work at once. And would I mind if some of the girls helped him in the kil«hen ? Minea was good at cleaning knives, Toria wanted to mend a hole in the floor mat, Kahe said she would like to help him peel the yams and taro, and Talamaheke— the girl with the wreath, of orange blossoms —wauted to wash up the plates ; the others were willing to make themselves generally useful. Here he was interrupted by a face, apparently his double, appearing at the kitchen window, and the angry exclamation of " Liar !"

"Do not heed him," said my cJuf, composedly ; "he is my brother, and he very jealous of mc. He thinks he can make bread."

1 warned the intruding brother off the premises, and was just half-way across the grassy sward that separated the kitchen from the dwelling-house, when I head loud feminine yells, and cries for mc to come quickly. Rushing into the big sitting-room a pretty scene was revealed. Hakala, the head nurae, valiantly assisted by the pretty E'eu, was engaged in deadly combat .with two other women who were apparently endeavouring to tear her hair out by the roots. My infant daughter was standing on the table, her shrieks of terror only seeming to nerve the combatants to greater efforts to destroy one another. Seizing a canoe paddle from a fat, burly native who stood at the door applauding the struggle, I belaboured the bane legs of the intruders with such effect that both women dropped upon the matted floor and contented themselves with hurling opprobrious epithets at Hakala, and promising to come again later on. In a few momenta the house was filled with natives, and an animated discussion took place as to who were the aggressors. Then Soseni came to my assistance, and, by banging right and left, he with a'heavy stick, and I with my paddle, we managed to clear the room. Then we learned that the fight arose in a very simple manner. Hakala had been giving her charge something to eat, when she was perceived by the two women from outside the station fence, who told her she was not fit to take charge of a pig, let alone a child—and that a white child. This she very properly resented. During the day several minor figlits arose out of trifling matters. The native teacher, accompanied by his daughter, a huge mass of adipose tissue, named Pep<s, solicited an interview with mc. The reverend> gentleman said he did not want to harrow my feelings, but—well, he would let his daughter speak. And she spoke. She "said that I ought to know that the girl E'eu, who had part charge of my " beautiful, sweet little bird," was a sinner of the worst description. Did I know that she {K'eu) had been turned out Sunday school for dancing heathen dances with some other girls one moonlight night ? I said that did not matter to mc. She said that it would not be good for my child to be taught such things. She herself was a proper girl, and hated wicked and immodest people, like thie K'eu. At this the native carpenter, who was working near by, mending a window, laughed derisively, and papa asked him what he meant. He replied by making the assertion that Pep 6 was the giddiest girl in Niue. *• How dare you say that, you pig !" demanded the minister ; and then, turning to mc, "This man is a very evil-hearted person. He it was who stole the hankerchief of Commodore Gooclenough ten years ago," And then Lhe graceful E'eu appeared in the doorway, carrying my infant. In an instant she placed it in the carpenter's arms, and then flew at the monstrous Pepd like a tiger-cat. We—the% teacher and myself— managed to separate them after they had -bitteii each other savagely. ■ Later on in the afternoon the washerwoman/from Alofi came to mc to have her head dressed with sticking-plaister : an Avatele woman had struck heron the temple with a stone. After this matters settled down a bit.