A FIJI LETTER FROM ANGELESEA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 81

A FIJI LETTER FROM ANGELESEA.

Navua, Fiji, August 9. Dear Dot,—How am I to begin? I have seen so much and have such a lot to tell you that I don't know where to start first. The second week we wsre in Fiji we visited Nausori, Levuka^ Ba, and La-utoka. On v Monday morning jvc left Suva for Nausori in an oil launch. From Suva one sees in the distance two small islands, side by side. They are Nukulau and Nukalofa, the European and coolie quarantine islands. The launch stopped at Nukulau for a few minutes. A few days bsfore the s.s. Pilbarr^ had brought 800 coolws from India, and they were all on this island, wailing to be sent to the different sugar plantations. After about an hour's sail we entered the Navua River. It is a very pretty river. Along the banks there are sugar plantations; farther up, nestling among the palms, are picturesque native villages, with the still*more pictur-esque native moving about. About halfway up the river is the mission station of Aamelili, which, has a splendid Catholic church. Ii took five years to complete, all black labour, and is one- of the most beautiful churches I have eyer seen. It is built of a kind erf coral and has a clock tower, with a clock ihat chimes the hour. It is .strange to see such a '"beautiful building standing alone among, the native houses. Nausori is not a large place It is mostly native settlement, and is surrounded by miles of sugar cane, for Nausori has a sugar mill. On Tuesday we left at 8 o'clock for Levuka, 'Sailing along the river it was very funny to see the natives having their morning dip. The Rewa is- a tidal river, and the tide being against us we stuck three times. The darkie boy jumped overboard, swam under the boat, and shafted it with" his strength, and as long as we were in shaDow water he hung on to the bow. Father got out too, had a swim, and helped the boat along at the same time. After getting off the sandbanks for the third time" the darkie informed us that it was "all finish now; no more stick." Levuka is not on the main island (Viti), but on the*- island of Overlau—a small island, 30 miles round. It was very rough crossing over from -the one island to the other. The launch -rocked, up and down, and we shipped a great ,deal of water. However, at 3 o'clock we landed 1 safe and sound in Levuka.. Levuka nestles at the foot of high, rugged mountains It is so openly situated that it gels the full force of the hurricanes which sweep over it every year. Everything is destroyed, houses are, blown down, trees are torn up by the roots, boats are blown up on to the road—-everywhere is destruction and desolation. But not for long; the ground is of such a nature that trees and general vegetation grow up again vary quickly. A great many of the houses are chained down. . One gentleman was telling his experiences in the hurricanes. The first year it blew for 18 hours, and although other people suffered great losses he was very lucky and lost nothing.. Next year, however, he was not let off so lightly. In the middle of the night the hurrioane commenced. All the other men were leaving the house. They woke him up and told him to come too; but he was too sleepy, and, blessing them for disturbing his rest, turned over again to sleep. _ Presently the roof blew off; then he thought it high time to "get a wriggle on," Well, next morning he went do vvn to see how things were getting along. The house wa.s blown olsan down. He lost everything. The only things he saved were the shirt and trousers he wore.

The school in Levuka is wonderful. They teach the boys 'to do everything you can think of— navigation, surveying, carDentry, nettintr, modelling, etc. They aor-e taught to make every kind of knot and plait used on a boat. They are also taught to write as well with the left hand as with the right, and it is really p-onderful how well they <2o it. The schoolmaster is a great enthusiast. In the school grounds he grows everything — spices, cinnanion, bloves ginger, pepper, curry, and several different kinds of chili, besides cotton and other things that I cannot lemember just now.

The people of Levuka are very nice, and we had a delightful time there. Princes 3 Fsaanu took us over to the reef, which is about half a mile out. Wearing the reef the water becornss very clear, and you oan see the coral growing at the bottom, and darting in and out •are bright blue, yellow, and black fish. Tha water gets shallower and shallower till the boat grates on the coral: then, if you have old boots and old clothes on, you jump overboard to look for shells. Princess Faamu is a Samoan. Her brother, if he had his rights, would be King of Samoa now. Tht Germans took Samoa, and, not caring to live under G-erman rule, they_ left and came ever to Levuka. Most of the Fijian laundries are ran by Samoans. They have no hot springs provided for them by Nature, so they wash in the cold streams. They take the clothes and squat down in the water and wpsli. For a washingboard they use the boulders, and punch the clothes on them. The only tea grown in Fiji is grown by a gentleman in Levuka, and it hss a lovely flavour.

Well, on Thursday night we boarded the Adi Keva, as she was leaving for Ba at 4 o'clock the next morning. We were due Ln Ba on Friday night, but at 7 o'clock the boat; stuck fast in the mud four miles below tha township. There wo had to stay till the next morning, when we went up with the ticle. Th« evening was not dull, for we played "pit." Ba has a, large sugar mill. The engineer of the Adi Keva took us ashore and piloted m over tlu mill It was very interesting, one end of the building it goes in ?s cane, and at (hs other end it is sugar. The rave is

drawn up on a moving platform. At the tcp 1 is a large 10'ler; the cane goes under tlm, jg j ciusbod and the juice falls balow and iuiis j away 111 a wooden gutter. Altogether then; ara three 3 oilers, and after the third crushing there is no juice left in the cane. The different juioss ail join now, and run into a hugs vat. Here I find I know very little about it. It is boiled and boiled, and we were shown it in various stages, till at last m the molass^i vat we could.see that it was foiming into mnute grams, which grew bigger and bigger, till it w.is in the form of brown sugar. It is now put into sacks and sent to Sydney, and also to the Chelsea mill in Auckland, to bs refined. I thought the process of making sugar clean enough till I saw the coolies putting it into thfi sacks: what fell over the side they scooped up with their bare feet, and m it all went. I'm off sugar now. It is notFijians, but coolies, who are employed in the mills. They make the best workers. None of the ca.ne is wasted. After all the juice is extracted the remains are used to keep the Jurnaces going. We boarded the steamer again that night, and next morning landed in Lautoka, which they say has the second largest sugar null m the world. It is certainly a large building, and when lighted up at night it locks like some crystal palace. From Lautoka there is a railway lunning 30 miles into the country. There are no carriages attached, for it is merely u=ed for bringing the cane to the mill. The hotel is a mile and a-half from the township, and when we wanted to go there to do our shopping v/a just jumped on a truck and two Fijian boys pushed us along. Ba and Lautoka are on Viti Island, but on the opposite side from Suva, and the heat over there was terrible. Suva seemed quite cool in comparison. What with the heat, mosquitoes, and ftieS,"-.life" was not worth living. The only way to get-away from- the flies was to lie on the bed and rojl oneself... up' in the mosquito net. Every house has its mosquito room, made of the same material that our meat-safes ai-e made of, a-nd all ths doors and windows axe the same. Passing, the offices in the township one sees this notice stuck up, "Please brush the flies off the,' dooi before entering." - - At present we are staying in Navuas<on the Navua Itiver. It- is just three hours' sail from Suva. There are 3000 coolies here, Across the river is the Navua Sugar Mill, -^hxkl mill has just been taken over by an -American millionaire, "and great things are expected of it now. In the Fiji group there are six su^ar mills. Dear Dot, I intended this time to give you an account of the Fijian and coolie life here, but having allowed my pen to run on so I must keep it for another time. Soiti noqu vola. All sa lalorna ani viqo vaka levu sara. —Yours truly, ANGELESEA.