WAR SCARE IN SAMOA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1526, 1 July 1886, Page 2

WAR SCARE IN SAMOA.

A gentleman now travelling among the Samoan Islands sends us the following interesting account of (lie stirring events which have recently transpired there, and which have been alluded to in a number of telegrams published by us : Apia (Samoa), June 10th, The enmity between Malietoa, King of Samoa, and the vice-King, Tamesese, has been the ctuse of considerable excitemeat of late in these islands. The German squadron, not long since departed, had apparently ignored the sovereignty of Malietoa, but had paid a visit to Tamesese, now known as "the rebel king," at his residence, some fifteen miles to the west of Apia. Fearing that this wab a little piece of diplomacy on the part of the Germans, the American Consul, upon the arrival of the American ini.n-or'-war, the Mohican, began to endeavor to put the *f Ger-nans "in a corner," und at a meeting between Mulietoa, the Consul, and the Cnpiain of the man-of-war, it was resolved to place Malietoa for tbe time being under American protection. According'y tha fl ig which was pulled down by the Germans in the early part of the year was again hoisted on tbe top of the huge umbrella tree in front of the King's palace ; above it floated the Stars and Stripes, and a salute of 2J guns proclniined the guardianship of America. The fol. lowingf proclamations were then issued "- throughout Samoa : " Government House. "Apia, May 13>h, 1886. "To His Honorable Berthold Greeoebautn, • United States Consu', Apia. " Sik,-—As the Kingdom of Samoa has applied to the United States of America

for assistance and protection, and as it ii Mid that some of the Samoan people now (unhappily) in rebellion against my ■tthorily, are fearful tint thfl guns of tho American and English men-of-war will bn turned against them, we desire you to issue a proclamation to allay such fears and to bid all people in Samoa to be quiet and orderly, and to go to their own village, and there live in a peaceful and orderly manner. *V l (Signed) Maliet©a, Kin? of Samoa. " (Signed) Saw, Secretary of State." "Apia, May 14th, 1886. "In obedience to the rrque3t of His Majesty, King Malietoa, I, the undersigned, BertbolJ Greenebaum, United States Uonsul in the Kingdom of Samoa, in tbe name of the United States of America, and by virtue of the comroaari of King Malietoa above set out, do hereby order all people within this Kingdom to live peaceably aud quietly, and alie order all persons who may have assembled for the purpose of opposing the government of King Malietoa, forthwith to dis; • j- to their several homes, and theit peacefully. And I hereby state that no English orjAmerioan warship will be requested by mi, acting as and for the United States of .America, ind His Majesty King Malietoa, to fire upon, or otherwise wriest, any of the sabjects of this or any other country, unless for the preservation of life and property, punishment of crime. Tbe United States of America desire that happiness, gesce, and prosperity may be enjoyed by amoa, and trust that the difficulties 'hereto retarding the progress of these. islands will seon be overcome, tad thai by reviving commerce, and with an established Government, the great natural resources of this Kingdom may be peaceably developed, so that tbe welfare both of individuals and the community may be secured. I 1 ' BjRTMOLD GkXKKIXAUH, " United States Consul."

Several days bad elapsed when my guide, the ion of a chief, desired a revolver and amntnuition. I endeavored to edace the reason for requiring it so argently, and I discovered that Malietoa, at the supposed instigation of the American Consul, had declared war against Tamesese, and that it had been decided to make an attack upoa him the next morning. The next day Apia ■earned deserted : scarcely a Saraoan man or woman was to be seen. They had gone in the dead of night to the seat of war. Two thousand men and women armed with weapons of various kinds old carbineß, snider rifles, Wiachester repeaters, knives, clubß, and tomahawks—bad marched along a narrow bridle track for a distance of fifteen miles. At 6.30 a.m. the American man-of-war, having on beard the American and British Con■ills, steamed down to the Rarne district. Being desirous of observing Samoan warfare I obtained a boat and proceeded to the place where it was supposed the battle would take place. In three honrn I arrived at Fasetootai, where Messrs MoArtbur and Co. have a trading station, managed by Mr Meredith, and in whose house the representatives of Engand and America ware holding a conference with Tamesese. Whilst waiting until the meeting iras over I took a stroll to Lanulumoaga, Tamesese's town, and where the main strength of his force is stationed. Lanulumoaga is situated on an elevated piece of ground, and is laid out in streets which are covered with white sand and. shells. On each aide are groves of bread fruit and cocoanut trees, amongst which are the circular bee-hive houses of the inhabitants. A fortification of sand bags and stones faced the sea. The whole population was in a great state of excitement, some were dancing violently, some were singing their war songs, whilst others were prepreparing their weapons for the fight. I walked to the farthest end of the town, and in the bush which surrounds it I could discern some of Malietoa's troops from Apia. They were within speaking distance cf the rebels, yet not a shot was exchanged. Looking to seaward there were great numbers of canoes from Manono and the loyal villages of Savaii. At the approach of any on 9 of them a canoe from the rebel party would shoot out from the shore, but after cutting . some, frantic antics and gesticulations, and haranguing each other ia their most violent language, they would return. It was quite evident that the rebels were not anxious to commence the assault, and that the policy of the loyalists was likewise unless they were awaiting some orders from the man-of-war. Returning to Fasetootai I learnt that the result of the conference was unsuccessful, and that Tarueseae had insulted the Consuls. It appears that he was greatly excited, and had told them that his heart was very sore, and as he was anxious to get amongst his peeple, lie did not wish to ■ay anything to them. They then asked biro to sign the following ; " We, the undersigned, Tamesese and chiefs of Aana, do herebj solmnly swear that »e will live in peace and friendship with Malietoo, King of Samoa, in order ; that there shall be. peace and prosperity in .these Islands. .1 May 26th, 1886."

He declined to have anything to do with it, aod, turning his back, left abruptly. We all anticipated that before many minutes would elapse hostilities would commence, and that we would see the shells from the man-of-war lodging ia the village. Our eyes eagerly watched for the return of the boat conveying the Consuls ai.d Uaptaio to the warship. To our surprise the man-of-war steamed out into the ocean and was taken back to Apia, At the same time the Sumoans in the bush were signalled to return to their homes. This action we could not make out—we thought it incredible that with a defiant challenge in their teeth, they ebonld leave without aoy attempt to prove their power. What were their intentions in coming f and for what reason did.Malietoa'a men march in the middle of the night to Lanulumoago? Surely all this demonstration and show was not ft scheme to bully Tamesese into acknowing Malietoa as his King 1 If it were, their action was very impolitic, and showed considerable want of forethought. However, tbey found Tamesese defiint, .and rptrested, leaying birn undisputably jo possession. Al! uight long the rebels were jubilant. Bonfires were burning, volleys discharged, and various dances and songs of triumph tpok place. The pegt flay a proclarpaion was issued by the three Consul, stating that they had Dover recognised Tamesese as King, and ordering all people to obey Malietoa. With it came a report that the Eng-

! lish raan-of-war Diamond, together with the Mohican, were coming to be aveng«d for the insult of the preceding day, but it proved to be without foundation. Scouts were sent to all quarters. All wers packing up their worldly goods, and burying them. Some were handed over to the Europeans to take care pf until the fight should be over. Pigs and poultry and Samoan curios were being disposed of at greatly reduced prices. Fortifications were erected ; huge barricades of bags of sand, cocoanut husks, and stones, were built in front of the churches, whither all children and old women fled for safety. Hundreds of warriors were stationed in the bush at the several boundaries. These men were adorned in their "Sunday-best." Some, to make themselves appear fierce, spotted their faces with black paint. All were well armed with rifles and knives. Some of the firearms that the Samoans permitted me to examine were firstclass. Women followed to attend the wounded, but some Amazons were armed also, and were prepared to fight. The object of the knife is to cut off the htads of the fallen, and this work is sometimes left to the women. The highest ambition of a Samoan is to distinguish himself by presenting the greatest rrnaaber of skulls before his chief. Carrying the head through the village, he ealls out, "I am so and so, jrho have killed-—-," in a loud voice, and, with much dancing and capering, places it before his chief, when he is publicly thanked for bis bravery. lie then makes more ludicrous gesticulations, and marches off to see>: store prey. Samoan ware are not bloody: if one man is killed in a week, they have done good work. A war sometimes lasts several years, when not more then 100 men would be slain. They never fight openly, and a man who will go out bravely and fearlessly to another is considered insane. They rarely stir out from their hiding places, and will remain all day in one place until, when the darkness of night comes on, they can steal off. They use a good deal of stratagem to capture their enemies. A Manono chief was captured when walking alongthe pathway by some men who were concealed under cocoanut leaves. They deprived him of his lava lava (cloth) and gun, and then sent himbacktohis people. One main object is to cut down the breadfruit trees and cocoanut palms, thus depriving their enemies of their chief staple of food. To cut down a breadfruit is as chivalrous as to kill a man.

A treaty of peace has now been Bigned betweeD the high chiefs of both parties, and Tamesese has indirectly acknowledged Malietoa as Hing, but, Ibalieve, upon the departure of the i»en-of-war hostilities will be renewed.