A TRIP TO THE SOUTH SEAS

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 88

A TRIP TO THE SOUTH SEAS

By the Rev. F. Stubbs. (All Rights Eeservca.) IV.— NUKUALOFA TO SAMOA. I left Nukualofa on June 2, by the s.s. Atua, after an exceedingly pleasant viatr of one month, the enjoyment and success of which had been appreciably increased by the hospitality and kindness of tie missionaries and other leading residents. Most of my observations are recorded in previous letters ; the Test must remain until I come to speak of the Islands generally. The arrival of a Union Company's vessel at Nukualofa is the signal for a scene that baffles description. .Hundreds of aatives — • men. women, and children — dressed in all colours of the rainbow, hurry down, the long causeway to the- wharf, many of them, bearing loads of bananas, yams, oranges, etc. ; and others, intending passengers, huge camphor-wood boxes. These boxe^ I may say in passing, are found in almost every Tongan or Samoan house, and' contain the owners' wearing apparel and any .other valuables of a personal nature-no-may possess. They are made in China, and imported in large numbers. Arrived at the veesel, part of the crowd, who have been engaged for the purpose, proceed to •work tlie cargo, -whilst another portion, consisting of native passengers, the»r uncles^ aunts, cousins, and various other relations, who have come to see them off, crowd up the -gangway, whilst all the - time a yelling and gesticulating^ and shouting of orders is going on that is decidedly bewildering, and makes conversation almost inaudible. But it is an interesting crowd, and good humoured ; and though: it is somewhat inconvenient to the European passenger to be pushed and rubbed, against continually by perspiring and generally greasy natives, yet the scene is at once so fascinating and amusing that it 13 impossible to keep away. In the present instance the Atua arrived on Saturday and left on Sunday. I am not an extremist in. regard to Sabbath observance j at the same time I think it is a pity that the steamers should leave, as I am told they frequently do, on the Sunday. In the iirst place, there is a strict law in Tonga against the employment of native labour "on the Sabbath, and this necessitates passengers' luggage being put on ooard the" 'previous day, which is somewTiat inconvenient. ' But a much greater objection, I think, is that it interferes with the accustomed j rest and worship of the day. In Tonga,_at all events, practically every native'abstains from labour or amusement and goes to church. We may think such an observance of the Sabbath foolish, but it is at least harmless, and in accordance with his conscientious convictions. The steamer's leaving on the Sunday with a large numbei' of natives means for' the native passengers and their friends, who naturally wish to see them off, an amount of labour and excitement that makes the accustomed uses of the day impossible. I cannot help thinking, therefore, on the grounds stated, thatit would be well if arrangements could be made for the steamers to remain over till Monday, which would also have thai further advantage: that it would enable tourists to attend church and to Bee a little more of the country. HAABAI. / The first port of call after leaving Nukualofa is Haabai, which we reacheS early on Monday morning. This island is one of a group, of which it is the principal, though itself quite small. From the landing-place it can be crossed in half an hour, and the walk is a very pretty and interesting one. There is no wharf, but the ship's boats land the passengers ; and everything is done, both here and at other points of call, by the ship's officers to make the brief stay an agreeable one. Not far .from where the ship lies anchored is the spot where, in 1806, > the British privateer Port-au-Prince was captured by the Tongans, and most of the crew massacred-— an event made famous by the fact that one of the crew (William Mariner) was spared, and lived to write, in collaboration with Doctor Martin, one of the most famous and — I may add, from personal v observation and inquiry — truthful Books of travel in the world. The day is a most ' beautiful one — warm, yet breejy, — and oa. the shore hundreds of natives are gathered to receive or send off their friends, assist tourists — or even, if they are not wary, take them in a bit; for example, I saw; cocoanuts sold for sixpence, the value of which in this part of the world is not more than a farthing ! For my own part I chose a bright-looking lad who could speak a little English as my guide, and made a tour of inspection. The houses and manner of life here and at Vavau are similar to those obtaining in Tonga Tabou, and need not further be described, but I may say that there is a fine native church, belonging to the Free Wesleyans, which, exhibits a great deal of fine native work in its construction and is well worth, inspection. But my most interesting visit was to the Misses Baker, the daughters of I Shirley Baker, once Wesleyan minister,, Premier, and de facto ruler of Tonga, whose downfall was marked by such jragic circumstances a few years ago. It may Tbe remembered that when his popularity began to wane he was ambushed by some natives as he was driving home. He "dmself escaped their fire, but his son and daughters, who were with him, were shot ;■ . and though they escaped with their liyjes, the son was permanently maimed and. one of the daughters, whom I visited, was rendered almost stone deaf. In consequence of this outrage Shirley Baker had! several of the natives conveyed to a neighbouring island and shot, which act of vengeance was almost universally deprecated, and accelerated his downfall. I found his two daughters amiable and intelligent Indies (they were educated in AiKkland)' and could not help feeling sympathy; with them in the poor and narrow circum* stance to which they have been '•educed*

Prom Haabai we proceeded to VAVAU, which we reached in the early hours of the following morning. This is our last port of call in the Friendly Group, and the most beautiful of them all. Unlike Tonga Tabou and Haafoai. which are very fiat, Vavau is extremely hilly and picturesque. The harbour, which I should judge to be -about six miles in length, is one of the most beautiful and commodious in the world, more beautiful to my mmd — I refer, of course, to its natural features only — than either Auckland or Sydney. It is cot a straight piece of water, but winds about, revealing a number of pretty islets, bays, and headlands, all surmounted by that most graceful of trees, the cocoanut palm. The foliage, indeed, is as beautiful as it is abundant ; tropical, of course, in its character, and clothing the Hlls to their very tops. The harbour is of considerable strategic importance to Britain. It is big enough to hold all the navies of Europe, and is said to be the safest and ' most .easily defended in the South Pacific, bo that Britain at least got some advantage from her deal „ with Germany oveT Samoa. On landing at the little town (really Tillage) at the head of the bay, I at once made for T^aiau Hill, 450 ft. high, about »• couple of miles from the wharf. The view from this hill is very fine, and affords a panorama of sea and land and winding ■bays ; of green isles, huge coral reefs, and breaking surf, such as I have never seen elsewhere. At the time of our landing a cricket match was in progress. Nearly ali Islanders play cricket, and are mighty hitters; and whilst I was looking on I saw a player hit a ball right into the sea — a distance of two hundred yards. I was also gratified at .meeting Finow in one of my walks. This chief is a direct descendant of Mariner's Finow, the then King of Tonga, but although, of course, of the highest rank, the present-day Finow — a 'huge man physically — is not to be comnared in intellect and moral qualities with his famous grandfather, and, from all accounts, 6pends much of his time and money in drinking the white man's liquor. At the time that I saw him, however, I am bound to say he was quite sober, and rubbing' noses most affectionately with a Tongan lassie (doubtless a daughter, or at least a niece or cousin). But the most interesting of all my excursions on this memorable day was to the Swallows' Cave, so called because it is frequented by .this bird, and 6ituated about four miles down the: harbour. It is an ideal cave, just such an one as I read and dreamt about id tny bovhood — broad and high, and from 60 to 100 ft deep — large' enough for several boats to manoeuvre in at -the same time. The wallß remind one of the ruins of some ancient cathedral, whilst huge stalactites hang, like candelabra from the roof, and far tielow the- water may be seen coral rock and 6and constituting a- pavement of most brilliant hues. In the evening a . Tongan ■ NATIVE DANCE was given in an improvised theatre constructed in the front of a verandah by means of Dosts and canvas, the performers sitting on" the grass, whilst the spectators occupied the verandah. The orchestra was composed of native drums. The dance was . different from anything I had even seen or heard of with such a denomination, for the performers do not dance with their feet, but with their bands! JThey sit in Hlb straight lines, girls in front and boys behind. The orchestra strikes up, and then the performers begin to sing, accompany- • ing the singing with simultaneous action of the hands and arms. They were love scngs, I was afterwards told ; but I should never have suspected it, for they sounded rather doleful. Possibly in Tonga, a 6 in New Zealand, love affairs do not always run smoothly, and thus contributed a tinge .of melancholy to the strains. In any case, as I did not know the language, I failed in be edified. Occasionally the boys would rise and pass between the • girls singing, but the girls never rose. As will be seen. to term the performance a dance is misleading. Properly speaking, they are action songs, but they are not very attractive — at all events to one who does "not understand the language— and are not to be compared in grace and interest with the Maori poi dance. From Vavau we sailed the next day to PAGO PAGO (pronounced Pango Pango), the port of Tuhuti. This, as i« well known, is one of the Samoan Islands, owned by the United States, and used as a naval etation. Ar least one man-of-war is always kept bere, and at the time of my visit there were two. It is a small harbour with "a very narow entrance, and surrounded by high hills, rising almost from tlie water's edge. It is therefore not very commodious, and could not, in my judgment, be easily defended, though it is no doubt very useful for coaling purposes. Only the day before a sergeant of marines had been killed by a landslip which had destroyed the barracks ; and, along with other passengers, I witnessed the burial service in the Court House. It was a solemn and impressive function, and the Governor delivered an appropriate address to those present. To see the poor fellow's body subsequently borne across the harbour for burial in this far-off land was a sad sight. A number of other landslips had also occurred, doing much damage, and I must say, after what I saw, I would not care to live beneath . the hills of Paj?o Pago. (I may add that the slips, over S3 in number, are attributed to" the fact that the bush has recently been destroyed, and a similar cause, I have no doubt, has had to do with the many landBlips in Banks Peninsula and elsewhere.)

Help the weak if you are strong, Respect the old if you are young, Own your faults when you are wrong, And when you're angry hold your tongue. Pay your debts before you bet, Back not a, bill for rich or poor, And when a cough or chill you get, Take some Woods' Great Peppermint Cure.