COOK ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13768, 5 June 1908, Page 7

COOK ISLANDS.

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Ant'iAKi, May 25. Thk Loudon Missionary .."Society** (-team yacht John William* strriveil here from 1 ; Sydney a day or two ago, and leaves again to-day lor Rarotonga ami the .dorthern islands. By this steamer there arrived here Miss Howard, the new principal of the Amwia boarding school. 'lids school, erected by the natives of this island'■'«* ;■ their own" expense » the largest and most commodious building mi the wl»»d. and is situated in the centre of. Aitutak.. In order to be equally approachable from all districts. The school ha, been closed since the departure of Miss Boyle;- »> Oc- h tober, 1907. I understand that the «"» of 1190 per annum is contributed by tin; ■ six district.' of the island towards. tlw. support of the cchbol, that is for 60 pupil*" at Ms each. This sum i*supplemented by a grant from the local I aland Council ol £50 pel" annum. The food lor the hoardon is also provided by the natives of ... Aitntaki, quite independent of the. London Missionary Society. _~' , One dav last week 1 had the opportunity of witnessing an exhibition of the old. heathen game of "pi*" bowling, at the district of Vaepie. This game ha* been held in high estimation for hundreds of years, ami came originally.' I understand..;, from the island of Atiu. The game consists of throwing, or rather bowling, r* solid wooden disc of sin in diameter . : liu in thickness as far W it can possibly be bowled... A long" Hat string of hybucu. bark is bound round the disc. One end is taken by the bowler, and an the string becomes unloosed the dice revolves at'a very rapid rate and i<? thrown with all , the force the bowler can ; bring to bear, J A long Hat road is necessary for the howling, and at the exhibition that I wit-; nessed the discs travelled oyer 400 yds. The district of Tallin, 50 in number, played against the district of .Vaepac, also in . number 50, every roan using his own disc. The day commenced with, a huge feast oL roasted hogs, rich, ybread fruit, and the like, and the first 'throwing took place at 10 a.m., and'the game continued without intermission till live p.m. First one :[ (side gained the advantage, with shouts of praise front their fellow**, and howls -of derision from their opponents, - then the . other «ide gained a point or two, with great applause; ultimately, at five p.im, the umpires declared that the district of Vaepae had gained the greatest number of points. The women of Vaepae were so delighted at their relatives having ginned" the victory that they all; set "to work and cooked another feast to appease the defeated party. The exhibition was unique in the extreme, inasmuch as it was-not only a source of great pleasure "to the onlookers, but the old heathen traits of character and speech were every moment < pouring forth, to the delight of the native ■ .spectators, especially the old men and women, who had collected .it Vaepae to witness the sports. The , name of the. sport, "pua," is really the name of the wood from which the discs are manufactured, although .-Many, of the modern, discs are made from ironwood. The disc* must be made of heavy wood and must also be ' perfectly roup'd and true. The Resident Commissioner, Ideuteftant- . Colonel Gudgeon, C.M.G., '> 'aceompariie*! by his secretary, Mr. S. Savage, also Dr. X. It. Galley, the resident medical officer, the Revs. Bond James, P. Hall and. J. Jones, were passengers by the steamer John Williams. The Resident Commissioner goes on to Penrhyn and ; other" northern islands by the steamer, on a voyage of inspection. I understand that Captain M. J. Nagle, the Resident Agent at Penrhyn, leaves shortly on a 13 months' furlough. *", Last week the large fishing net from the district of Tautu made a haul of ""over 3000 kew-fcew—-a splendid fash, ;yi each ;% weighing over 4lb. The day after th» above catch the natives of Vaepae proceeded to the small islets inside the lagoon ,on a fishing expedition, and succeeded in capturning over 4000 splendid fish, merely with twisted cocoanul leaves dragged in shallow \ water to the reef. The above hauls of fish were distributed to every household in the island, carried on poles through the several districts amongst the shouts and acclamations of the people. Immense numbers of coeoanut* are at ' present being collected for the making of copra, which commences in July next. It in estimated that 400 tons will be the output for the season. Oranges are plentiful, but are at present in a green state. A small quantity go forward j>er Ifauroto to-day, but the main crop will ■■probably last until November. The low pike of copra, at present ruling, will possibly delay the making of copra the natives hardly realise the fluctuations of - prices, and will, perhaps,'hold in the expectation of higher rates. * ■ The* auxiliary schooner Vaite called hero on the 18th inst., on a voyage -from Manahiki to Rarotonga, with * a full cargo of copra, for Messrs. Donald and Edenborough. I hear that the Vaite does not go to Auckland, but will probably proceed to Tahiti for overhaul.