A NOVELIST'S VOYAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13779, 18 June 1908, Page 7

A NOVELIST'S VOYAGE.

THE ENCHANTED ISLANDS. .— '" —~ * JACK LONDON AND HIS YACHT. ' [from orn OWN cor.nEsroxDEsr.] ■■. s I Apia, June 5 - . Mr. Jack London, the well-known American novelist, has been here in his yacht, the Smirk, and has left again after a week's star. The Smirk went away, bound for Fiji" and other islands, laden with fruit and many interesting mementoes. "When I worked up my schedule lor the vovage in the South Seas," said Mx. London, in the course of conversation, "I gave to Samoa three months, one month of which I was to spend in Apia. fcnfortnnatc.lv, I was delayed in Tahiti for three nlonths and a-half. As I had intended only to stop there a month.-1 was thrown behind my schedule two months and a-half and I am now like a man running after a train lie has missed, and trying to catch it. I want to get through Torres Straits before the end of August, and there are so many islands between hero and Torres Straits that I-must visit, that 1 am compelled to, cut down my stay in all the intervening lands. "Tahiti is very unfortunately situated these days. They have hard times there and nobody has any money, and the business men arc like a lot of spiders, in their nets, waiting for a fat fly. to come along. I was 'the fat fly. The work oil the engines of the Smirk and the alterations in the Smirk herself should have required not more than a month, under Tahitia.n conditions; but nobody had any money, and I Intel money, and my crew were drawing their wage- and spending money, and they held on to me for three months and ahalf. Tahiti is one of the most beautiful garden spots in the world: but from my experience of three months and admit with the men who do business there I am driven, to conclude that Tahiti is inhabited by thieves, robbers, and liars. This wretched state of affaire, however, I think is largely duo to the wretched colonial policy"' of the country. The French are certainly futile colonisers- Copra is, one of the staple industries of the country, but the Government places an export duty upon copra, awl thereby largely reduces the output. They certainly do not grow cocoanuts in Tahiti in any way comparable with the methods pursued in Samoa. 1 have never seen such wonderful cocoaunt plantations as here, on Upolu." Asked what his impressions of Samoa wete, the novelist -said, "As we came opposite to the entrance to Apia Harbour, Mrs. London and I sat on deck entranced by our view of the land. I began to cry out immediately, , "litis is a -white mans country!" No jagged cliffs and mountains rose directly front the water, but the land swelled gently from the sea into roll after roll of fanning country, and I began to imagine, at once all sorts of delectable delights in the back country spread before me. And when Mrs. London and I, on horseback, rode into that back country, its charm were enhanced many times. It "was truly a -white man's country. The soil was a, white man's soil and for the first time I thoroughly understood why Samoa appealed so strongly to Stevenson, and made him take up his residence, here. "We had the opportunity of riding over the Upolu Cacao Company's plantation, managed by Messrs. Hannah and Radford : and Mrs. London and I were ill ■ testacies of delight, over its natural beauties, and the thorough up-to-date methods employed. I was particularly impressed by the steam-drying plant that has been introduced. There tire many .occupations in this world that I am sure I would reject in favour of being a, cacao planter on Upolu. IJiave never in all my wanderings encountered a . finer hospitality than here in Apia. Before I landed. I fell into the arms of those who seemed to have been friends all -my life. And ever since. I have had a glorious round of engagements and entertainment. My only regret is that the days were only 24 hours long, and I don't know of any place that I have had such a- hard task to getaway from. Not that I desired to get away—quite the opposite. I have been having • too good a time to desire, to go .away. "I go from here to Savaii, stopping at Matatitir, in order to visit the volcano. Mrs. London has three hobbies in life-— horses, pearls, and volcanoes. And two of the three hobbies will have been fairly well satisfied by the time we leave Savaii, ; because in Apia she has enjoyed herself to her heart's content on Mr. Roberts' splendid animals, and At Matautu she will be able to gaze at close range upon a real live volcano. From Savaii we go to the Fijis, then through tlife New Hebrides and the Solomons to New Guinea, then westward through Torres Straits to Macassar, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and all others of that great -mass of islands." While in Apia, Mr. London gave a lecture. " I never enjoyed speaking to a better audience in my life." he said, afterwards. " Not merely were my listeners politely quiet while x talked, but I could sec that they, were following and understanding everything I said. One thing that surprises me is the fact that the Germans here seem to speak good English, every one of them. I had expected that my audience would be comprised practically of English, colonials, and Americans; and conceive of my surprise when I faced said audience to find that to all intents and purposes it was a German audience. The best compliment that could possibly have been paid me was the late hour at which the questioning and discussion ceased. My listeners' were certainly alive to the significance- of my lecture. "And 1 want to say in addition that when Mrs.' London and'l are back in California and 'settled down, when winter is coming on. and we. feel a- desire for a i change of scene mid climate, we shall cer- ; tainly get on a steamship and head for . Samoa.' Mr. London is pending forward manuscript from every mailing point, and he thinks that some of his'best work is to come. As he is only 27 years of age, and is in excellent health, it" is probable that lie will accomplish a, great deal yet in the way of writing. The Smirk is lit with electricity, and manned by a. captain, an engineer, a cook, . a- c.'ibinbov, and two Tahilan sailors.

Suva papers to hand report the arrival of tin- Smirk at Fiji. From there she i;'ues to the New Hebrides, Solomons, New Guinea, 'Thursday Island, and by stages right around the globe, .calling at the jess known places?. Afterwards ill*, and Mrs. London will visit the* larger cities by the move ordinary routes.