PRISONERS OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2945, 4 December 1916, Page 5

PRISONERS OF WAR

THIRTY-EIGHT GERMANS ARRIVE FROM PAPEETE

NOW ON SOMES ISLAND'

Germany was pretty well established all over the Pacific Ocean. Not only. was Germany tho possessor of tho richer part of Samoa, but in the ramifications of her trade she was a decided influenco in Tonga, held valuable territory in New Guinea, and even in distant Tahiti tho emissaries of the Fatherland- were solidly established. A sample of Germany's settlers in French-owned Tahiti was given on tho arrival of tho Moana hero from San Francisco via Papeeto and Rarotonga on Saturday morning. The authorities at Papeete had deemed it wise in the interest of good government to intern many of the German planters and traders in tho Islands, and to make them completely immune from any possibility of creating trouble they wero sent on by the Moana, and are at present prisoners of war on Somes- Island. They may be sent on to Noumea or only to Sydney. The civilian prisoners are a hefty-looking, well-fed lot, all of military age, and most spruco and intelligent-looking. Most or them wore the whito duck and cork helmet of tho Island planter, others appeared to be of tho labouring class. Two were oddities. ' AVo have read of a peculiar sect of people who frequent Tahiti, and aro known under the name of "nature-dwellers," gr some such titlo. Two of the prisoners answer to the magazine description. The only clothes they wore were a light dungaree shirt (open to the waist) and trousers. Their heads and feet were baro, and burnt as brown as natives wero their faces and chests. This, with beards which had known no razor, and hair that had long known no acquaintance with tho scissors, made them tho cynosuro of all oyes. All their belongings were" wrapped in a bandana handkerchief. Tho prisoners wero brought down by Gendarmo Gadrot, who had as a guard Corporal Bambridgo (who speaks English), Privato Rochettc, and Seaman Lo Bagousso (of the warship Korsaint). They wero met at tho wharf by an armed guard, under Major Lilly, who, with Corporal Bambridge, tallied tho prisoners as they filed down tho gangway. 'The "children of Nature" wero quickly spied by tho barricaded crowd, and one wit quickly named the first ono "Rua." to the amusement of tho crowd. Tho prisoners wore escorted to tho Government steamer Jauio Scddon, and woro transferred to the island. Threo women also camo to Wellington with tho prisonors, but aro being allowed to stay in the city.