PITCAIRN ISLAND.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8998, 7 December 1907, Page 3

PITCAIRN ISLAND.

A visitor to Auckland at the present time is Miss R. A. K. Young, a native of Pitcairn Island, that lonely speck of land in the Pacific Ocean, where for over a hundred years the descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty have lived a simple, pastoral life. "The world forgetting, by the world forgot," disturbed only in the even tenor of their way by the visits of rare sailing craft in the earlier day 3 of the settlement, and of later a years by the more frequent calling of W steamers. Miss Young, who has the blood of three of the original mutineers in her veins—Christian, Young, and Adams—is a cultured and intelligent lady, and she gave a picturesque account of the little settlement to a New Zealand Herald representative recently. The settlement when she left comprised about 160 souls—--120 adults and 40 children. Pitcairn island is only about two miles and ahHlf in circumference, but it makes up for its small area by its hills and valleys, "which are nearly all under cultivation. The inhabitants depend on the. cultivation of the land for their livelihood, and the principal product is arrowroot. Trading vessels supply them with rice and flour, goats and chickens reared on the island provide them with the little meat they require, and for the rest of their food there are indigenous roots and fru\ts in abundance. Pigs once flourished exceedingly there, but those animals nave long been banished for several reasons. Prohibitionists will'learn with pleasure that strong drink and tobacco are unknown on the island. About 300 feet above the level of the sea is the little, village whssre the people reside. This consists of a schooihcuse, a church, and some 30 houses, irregularly scattered in tiers. The islanders are Seventh Day Adventists, and the elder of the church celebrates the marriages and reads the burial service

over the dead. A Liliuutian Parliament is elected yearly by balbt, which makes laws for the little community; law and order are represented by a magistrate, and in most respects the government is modelled on th?. British Constitution. Miss Young states that the islanders are contented and happy, and that very few of them wish to leave their island home. The statement that the men are lazy is entirely without foundation, she Bays. All the materials for the houses have to be hewn out ol trees clown in the valleys, air! then dragged up to the top. Tin men also work hard at cultivating the ground, and in addition every man is his own carpenter, blacksmith and fisherman. The

women employ themselves in house- j work, making braid, hats and bas- j kets from the leaves of the panda- j mus end palms, and designing little ornaments for visitors to the island. The boys of the place are passionately fond of cricket, which they play nearly all the year round. The children of both sexes are as j fond of kite-flying as the Chinese, j and are just as expert at it. Occasionally, social entertainments for the j whole of the islanders take place, j and when the school breaks up an i entertainment is given, to which-j every child contributes an item to the programme. From October till April news of the outer world is brought often by passing steamers, principally from San Francisco, and during the rest of the year communication, though more irregular, is sti.'l sufficiently frequent to meet the needs of the islanders.

Acccording to an announcement made at the Congress of Surgeons at Paris, the unpleasant facial disfigurement known as "port wine stains" can be cured. Dr. Wickham, visiting physician at St. Lazare Prison, and Dr. Degrais, of the St. Louis Hospital medical staff, say that in a number of cases they had removed the stains with the aid of radium. The> submitted a number of photographs showing the various stages of the cures effected. In the Inst stage the ugly purple discolouration had completely disappeared, and the surface of the .skin was smooth and white and the tissues themselves supple. The express engine that leaves Taurnarunui for Frank ton, on the Main Trunk line, returns the same day, covering a,distance of 182 miles, which is said to be the longest daily run of any single locomotive in the dominion. A strange romance, involving the colour problem, is published in the Sydney papers. Some weeks ago a tall, full-blood negro arrived in Australia on board a visiting vessel engaged in the African-Australian trade. The man landed, and got into the hands of one of the numerous Christian mission agencies in Melbourne, among whose active helpers was a bright and amiable Australian girl. The negro and the girl appeared to have been mutually attracted. Before long the negro was converted to Christianity by his teacher. A little later some of those responsible for the negro's whereabouts instituted inquiries as to where he could be found. They were informed that he had gone aboard a certain vessel. The steerage was searched, but no trace of the man was to be discovered among either passengers or the crew. After the boat had gone, however, somebody supplied the information that the negro was on board the boat, travelling first class. Further investigation revealed the fact that with the negro was his Christian instructress. The lady had married her black convert, and, being possessed of .2500, was able to sail away to some other country.