MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1931, Page 15

MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE

THREE YOUTHS GO TO SEA. SWAMPING OF A CANOE. Three youths in Western Samoa one night recently, prompted by a spirit of adventure, decided to put to sea from Lepa in a borrowed canoe. They chose the hour of midnight to set out on their adventures, eays the Samoa Herald, but eight or nine hours later returned to Lepa in an exhausted condition. T Shortly after tho party left Lepa it was discovered that tho canoe was filling. While two of the lads stuck to the paddles, the other boy did the bailing. This was off the island of Nuutele. The canoe eventually swamped. The efforts of the lads to make headway were not altogether successful, but they struggled on in the darkness. Early in the morning a Samoan who was fishing in a paopao observed the distressed youths waving paddles. He paddled over to tho boys and found them in the water alongside their up-, turned, canoe. The lads were in an exhausted condition. The Samoan rescuer jumped into the sea and by skilful handling turned the canoe over and bailed, it out. Nothing was saved from the boat, all provisions and other articles of clothing being lost. When tho canoe capsized the party about halfway to Tutuila, and it was not until well after six o’clock that they were picked up by the Samoan. The paddle back to Lepa was a laborious job for the exhausted adventurers, but the party landed about nine o’clock, sadder and wiser youths. Given muchneeded refreshment, they recovered quickly enough and the next day they walked over the hills to Apia. The three adventurers — Stephen George Young, Mathias Gabriel and a Samoan named Sulu —subsequently appeared at the High Court before Judge McCarthy to answer charges of leaving Western Samoa for a place beyond the seas without being in possession of an overseas permit issued by the inspector of police, and for being concerned in the stealing of a bonito canoe valued at £l2, ft bucket worth 7s and bed-sheet valued at 10s, the property of Lalofte of LCpa. . , On the first charge Gabriel was fined £3, YOung £2 and Sulu £L On the theft charge all were convicted And ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months. One condition was that Gabriel and Young make good any damage done to the canoe.