THE SOUTH SEAS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13250, 23 August 1906, Page 3

THE SOUTH SEAS.

TO.IE UNION S.vS. CO.'s EXCUB.SION. „ (Continued 1 ). '„* SAMOA. t " From Vavau to Apia, the chief towr i on the island of Upolu, is 347 lnilew and it is dark as Uio Mamupour: steams along the roef to her anchorage, less than half a mile from a laffid ing! stage. Since <hxsk the -burning mountain on Sa^'aii 'has 'been visibly or rather the reflection of the firo; was to be seen, cm tho cljou'ds overhanging the mountain. On our arriv1 al tho port doctor and German Customs officer come on board, followed by hotel and laundry touts and tho iarcn Stable curio dealers, and the few x Sft-nioans v,-o '"brought from Tonga go aohore, a^er su-tomitting to what s.omcd to be rather extortionate dlustoms L ' charges an the kits of yams and the littLo pig-s they have 'brought with N thorn. The thraug-H passengers waited till nwnin^, and after breakfast proceed to inspect, tho town. Our first visit \va's to Mr Fred. Browne, formorly of Stratford, a ml brotOier o f Mr G. W. Bi-O'wnc, of Now Plymouth. J Mr B'rowoic is proprietor of the Tivoli Hotel, a surprisingly handsome builo!- ? in-gi, and he keeps a capital b t'asn ft oif "G erm a<n' 'lager ihnor, impo rt,>d ' in 1 stool-dined barrels, and drawn ■ through ice. All the hotels and many private houses' in Apia have regular supplies of ice, there being an ice factory in the ,town. The business and official portion of Apia extends along the beach. '.There art> four or five respectable hotels, Government Buildings, including 'Supreme" Court, Treasury Offices, Post Office, Police Barracks. &c, a fine Roman Catholic Cathedral, and other churches, several schools, and numerous stores, also a large market place, not yet used. At the back of the town and extending at both ends are the European and native dwellings, some of the former beingj -hands-dmc residences, with- well-kept gardens. Hiring a btfggy, a party of us drove a short distance out of town, along a beautiful avenue of oocoanut palms, breadfruit, and other trees, to Papalaloa, a large plantation owned by Mr H. J,. Moors, one of the principal traders and storekeepers. Ucrp we see the cocoa tree growing, and the beans' being dried ready for export, Chinese labour, at a dollar a month and keep, being employed. Copra, bananas, gren&dillas £ a ' fruit like a huge' passion-fruit and very nice), pine apples, and other fruits aro grown -here A number of cattle ane also kept to tlvelp clo-an tilve lauad. and ibey arc all 'in spkwd'V l condition. There Jis,,a -pretty water-fall o»n the property 'Wo,. Hasher up tin? hill is "Vailima," lorn? J Jw> rpsidoncr of Ji. L. Sl-cviroion, f'ho novelist, jaU'l liigdver still is his tomb, ovoi-iaojUiug Apia. TST'ot many minutes* walk from ifoo Tivoli Hotel is a batih'lmg place on a small stream, ec-nmodi'r.'vs drc-s-'-in'g rooimts being ' <bdilt 051 t<hie bank, with stone steps ' leading" down to the water. A lonvrer , ; drive is to tfoe Slid ing Eqck, ,or Pkpase'eaj a^aut siv miles away. Ifis a pretty drive loading to a ro-tti'an'tic spot, wl-<>re <a stream flows over "a* perfectly sm'aalfli rock, 'with a drop of twrinty or tlvlrty feet into a deep pool. The Samoans delimit i-n o v«r the fall, mv! soim-o of our party who, triad it declared at to \yc a most" ovlvilaratiaig soois-atiiryn. One 'micht is]>oad iwaiiy days air and about 'Apia, 'exploring the country and 'studying' the native habits n-nd cus-toins, '}>ut our timo is limited. An 'hour or tw C i is taken up with ;a to- ttbet Gorman school, of which JTcrr Otto Damm is 'headmaster, an oxccj'd.ingly nice follow and wrapt up in -his work. The winter vacation Ims just started, but ■he kindly shows us over the school, a mod"?l one •&! jts""way, and n;ellequipped .with inodfern ■appiLianc.^s £:nd furniture. Native boys are not ta>»en at the school. T-bo course of instruction. 'i'nclii>dos 'both En^'lie-k -and- Ger-m-a-n. A pleasant ■a'ft-jrnoon' is also spent with Mr Norman Jla'oDan'ald^ an old- Taraoaki 7 coy, who 'was on tho. 1 local Survey* ts'taff tWTnty odd years ago. LHie.ha" been at Apia alwut fourteen years, and practices his profession of* surveyor, in addition to wlvich 'hc J . is n ni'cmJb'cr of the Govern/mant Land Comiinissd-an awd also does a land 'agency business. He has a plantation a little outside the town, where he grows quantities of cocoanaits, "etc.,. and i^ just going in for cocoa 'and' riftj^ber, tw,o products which are likely to become of great importance in- Si\tmoaHis old friends ' will be 'gla'dto leara ill at ha up i^osporinoi, a-njd that he h'O{.«33 to visit (New Zealand -itn a few months. Driving ■aloaij tho Iwach road wo l^ass an old '•war-oaiaoi.v carefully put away wider a, thatched roof. This is said to- be the tet of its kind and is the property of the German "Brnprcror,' to wihrtm 'it -bas h&en presented, but so 'far no means have l>een found of fox'ward'iin'gi X to Europe. Away in th© native viUaiges wo saw t'ho natives, men aTid.' *woincn', playing cricket* .-of which i Ley are very forid. A NATH^E EfNTBRT f* MENT. •The evening belore our vk-pai'turo we wore, invit-ed to the ihouse of - Vau, a young SaTOoan lady of hisrli rank.' T-he house is a thatched roof on posts, open ail round, though mats may be bung on tHe weather side when it blows and rains. The floor is of black shingle, upon which mats are laiidf to< sit on. Outs-ide i© 'a pathway of shingle, and beyond that agaii^ nice turf, close cut and sloping gently away from the house. Hem Vaxi ;and others give an cxliiljlition of Samoan dancing, and sing a number of

Sainoan songs, after which Kava ia prepared an,d handed round. There is some ceremony and etiquett-e about this. The Kava, is well pounded- by r au on a stone, then placed in a wooden bowl, water Jjei-ng poured over it by an attendant, while Vau mixes it up 'with her hands and squeezes tlwj juice out of the "bruised roqt.. (At. one time tho root was chewed instead of being pounded, but that custom has been changed oi* is reserved for purely native gatherings). I'he ba-ndfiul of fibre or tow is -taken ana! with it the pieces of root are gwthered up and taken out of the Kava> lA drinking cupr—haM a coooa-nut-ahell—^is produced ■ ©and fiilcd, n>ot by dripping, but by squeezing- the fibre into it, <an=a hiand-cd "round 'by an aitendant> an old chief directing to \vcioai the cup is to be first presented. Attention is paid to tho rank of the visitors, -an easy mutter perhaps wihem they are natives, but not so easy wh«n they . are strange Europeans. The old man, 'however, picks us , 'out dm- some way of his -own, perhaps taking the oldest first. Whtia the cup is presented., to observe the propen etiquette, the Kava should -bo finished' at o-«e . 'drink (it is im-; pleasant • wihen one gets used, to ' it) amd t>lie cujj 'should then be tosseld dst to the floor, if possible witih'a spin: , The SiamocWts are a pleasant people, clean in their dwellings and persons, cheerful and happy, everyone greeting^ a stranger with a smile and the word "Talofa" ("My love to you"). Certainly they plague visitors a little " with requests to buj^ curios. Among* our passengers from here are Mr and , Mrs Reidcl and family, who are going -hoNne to Germany after many years' residence in Apia, where Mr Reidel has managed the affairs of the great German trading company, which has plantations and trading stations all over the islands. Their friends come ajx>ard in the morning to bid them, good-bye,; the laHiesi bringing huge bouquets of lovely flowers, which would have done credit to the Garden of New Zea&and. The, native band also comes off in a barge towed by a 'little tug, and, lying a short distance off the steamer, plays . a number of selections, including a pretty Samoan farewell. The ,bnnd, has only been trained for a year, 1)y a German New Zsoalander, who has got it. on ' wonderfully well. As we weigh anchor, and ' stcaan "out, scores of boats evvo -around us ptescerting a «*ay picture. 'A short way dmvnl-he coast wo drop anchor ofi'Mulifanira, a German store and plaaitation, to t a ke on board s&tee cc}>ra. Hero ttoo local maTiager $ svvt<d his staff have prepared a luncli-eon in honour of Mr Reidol. Two long boats, one •m-aamad by 28 oars and tlie other by 16, the crews of Samoans' singing as they row, tho boats ga-ily decorated witlh- flowers and greewerv, a chief in the tow of each with all- his war-paint , on, coa\ie alongside, to convey Mr Beidel and his party ashore. Tn the 'meantinv^ the copra is loaded, and presently the boat returns as ( bef ovo, ■bringaaig the party back, and we dep a rt far Levuk'a- Tx?£or>e leaving, however, if. may bo remarked that, in the opinion of many people who are qualified to judge, thy Saftnoan Islands, or at loa«t Upolu 'and Sava ; 'i, whachl now belong to Germany, will' ere long beocJnivj Britisih. At present they are well-gioverned under *Dr. Bolfe, whohas great tacf^ and discretion, and is respected equally by British and Germans. The government of the islands must, ' however, nKSceswariiy 'be costly to Germany, -and as far .-vs trading goss, the OerimaTis would • bas wAI off if Britain ruted, whicih «h'2 could do nt much less cost. T-he/x 'is a 'bright future baSore tii-e islctn* UOoprn is a crop which may 'be greatly increased by cul-tivation) find the market is xwrliimited. In addition, cocoa and rubber ti l oes do well and will become vary profitable. The Mwraapouri took away the largest shipment of cocoa beans yet exported, 26 tons, but the industry is only in its infanov, aui'd the beans ar-e of •high qoiality. The 'Q«reat firm of Ca'd'bnry's -L-trl. nave an interest -in the plantation. Rii'Mvr lias scarcely •passnd the experimnntal stage, but oonsideraWe capital is •beLn-K embarked in it. (To b« c©n€*u»d.) '