TO ENGLAND VIA SAN FRANCISCO.

Evening Star, Issue 2808, 16 February 1872, Page 2

TO ENGLAND VIA SAN FRANCISCO.

(FROM OL’U SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) January 1, 1872. 1 am ■writing on board tbe Nevada. It is a special day of mutual greetings by tbe captaiu, officers, and passengers. The general exclamation one to another is, “I wonder what our folks at hpnae are doing ? ” said folks at home being distribute oyer the world —some in New .Zealand, some in Austraia. some in America, some in England, some somewhere else. “ Won’t they b3 enjoying themselves while we poor prisoners are cooped up in a floating castle, the long waves our prospect—foreground, middle distance, and background of tbe picture. Our good ship is bounding over them direct for the Navigators Islands, and thence to Honolulu. We wish we were with our friends ; bnt as that cannot be, we wish them all “A Happy New Year.” Life on board ship is usually monotonous, but I claim exception on board the Nevada. Everything is done in this vessel on a well-ordered and welldefined system Captain Blethers discipline is firip and unobtrusive—no swearing, no bustle, no confusiofl. Every hss his place and knows his duty. fa fact, I sometimes wonder where the seamen are. The only hands to be seen on deck during the day are the officer of the watch and the quartermaster directing the steering. At night a man to look out is added, and a saloon watch, who after the lights in the passengers’ cabins are cx-

V'- , f VK. tipgaißhed 'At- lO p.m, reports every half hour to th§ ofijcer on duty as to the safety of the saloon lamps, &c. The Nevada is registered to carry 700 and odd passengers, but our numbers all told are ninety—twentyseven chief and sixty-three second class and steerage. Amongst them are twelve souls bound for Salt Lake City, from Wellington : converts to Mormonism. I have had a long talk with one of these deluded ones, who gave me a brief history of his life. He was in respectable circumstances in the City of Wellington, but became captivated by the description given of Mormon life by Elder Beauchamp, one of Brigham Young’s body guards. What a sacrifice to superstition 1 1 touched tenderly on the curse of polygamy. He says, he dare not take another wife, unless his present wife, the mother of live or six children, is agreeable. “ But,” said the deluded man, “ sundry wives living under the same roof, are as gentle as turtle doves, and blandly call each other ‘sister.’ ” “Can the leopard change his spots ?” I asked. “ What is the metamorphosis in woman’s mind, that at Salt Lake City, reconciles them to such a condition as would not be tolerated elsewhere, excepting in the East?” “I cannot tell,” he said. “ Neither can I. Do you believe in it ?” “Of course,” was the reply. 1 gave up my effort to reclaim in despair. Our vessel is deeply laden with gram, woo. 1 , &c., which somewhat retards her; her comfort, however, as a vessel, is beyond question, and everything that can be done to secure the comfort of passengers is attended to. We are to call at the Navigators Island to land Mr Seed, the head of the New Zealand Customs Department, who, I understand, will report to the New Zealand Government on the desirability or otherwise of bavin" there a coal depot. We crossed the 180 th meridian to-day, so that we shall have two New Years’ Days. This happens only to very few out of the one billion two hundred million people living on this fair earth, and therefore it is a fact worth chronicling in a man’s experience.

Wednesday, January 3. A steamer in sight! Hurrah ! What a sensation ! The first event of the sort since the route was opened np. It proved to be the Nebraska from Honolulu, seven days behind lime, in consequence of the mails having been snowed up on the traus-con-tineutal railway. A gloomy prospect for travell rs ! W ’importe— sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The Nebraska sent a ho it with the chief officer and purser, and exchanged civil.ties and newspapers with us. Many inquiries were made as to news on both sides; and after a very short stoppage, each vessel,-after displaying stars and stripes and observing the customary sea punctilios, went ou her way. By this interchange of civilities ou the broad sea, we felt ourselves still within the pale of civilised life. Though imprisoned with no chance of escape, we felt ourstlves of the world, testing awhile from active participation in its struggles. We looked at the strange faces ou board the Nebraska enduring, like ourselves, temporary exclusion from society ashore, and could have hugged them in very sympathy, meeting as we did in so out-of-the-way a place. The Navigators Islands, January 6. Far away in the South Pacific, in lat. 15 S, and 171 E longtitude, right in the track of the U.S.N.Z and Australian mail steamers, are these beautiful islands, the land rising 3400 feet above the sea ; the very summits of the heights clothed in tropical verdure. Viewed from the deck qf the vessel the scene realised my forgone ideal of Eden —se calm, so fresh, so rare. The clouds, peculiar to those regions, rested on the mountain tops like curtains hiding regions of romance and mysteries to be revealed. Perhaps it was the consciousness that the world to which I was accustomed was far off—perhaps it was novelty—perhaps the glowing beauty of the landscape— pet haps all and other ill-definedimaginings combined, that led tp impressing the picture on my mind : whatever it was, it will never bo effaced while I breathe. The dress of the natives is of the simplest—merely a short covering round the loins about twelve inches in length. It is made from the bark of a species of cactus, and hangs down in shreds. They are a fine athletic race. The men average from live feet nine to six feet in height, and are well formed and strong. The women are particularly good-looking, simple in their manners, and delight to adoru themselves with floweis and wreaths The islands of the Samoa group have seldom been visited by Europeans, and in consequence the natives are not accustomed to our habits and manners. Upolo stands first among the group in point of ferti ity. Its a«ea is about twentyfive square miles, which may be divided into three districts, Western, Middle, and Eastern. Tee land rises to about 1800 feet above the level of the sea. The -western slope front the summit of the mountain to the seq-shore is qll suitable for cultivation. Tbrqq-foufthg qf tlqe Rfiddje district apij two-thirds of the eastern may be also cultir yated. The soil is of the richest kind, being composed mainly of decayed vegetable matter. Ham is frequent throughout the year, and small streams flow down the mountain sides every mile around it, which afford abundant supply of water at all times. Upolo is certainly one of the most fertile islands in the Pacific. In every district are to bo found figs,"dates, indigo, tamarinds, cinnamon, nutmegs, ginger, broad-fruit, cocoanuts, yams, bananas, sweet potatoes, melons, limes, pumpkins, pineapples, oranges, cotton, sugar, rice, coffee, &c., &c. Purt Apia is inhabited by about 160 whites, who have chiefly found their way thither in whaling ships, from which it is easy to conclude they nre not of a class likely to develop the vast resources of the country. Little p tigress, therefore, can reasonably be expected, unless the United States, New Zealand, and Australian Mail line make the port of Pango Pango. a coaling station : of which there is some probability. Che native populationisestimatedat 26,000. They areexceedingly friendly and well disposed towards white men, and have on several occasions sought the protection of England and the United States. 'Che island to the westward of Upolo is not quite so fertile, but covers amuch larger area. The surface is estimated to be about six hundred square miles. It is suitable for producing coffee, sugar, and cotton. These islands may be looked upon as the garden of the pacific. 4 s 3 central Polynesian station, the harbor of Pan go Pango ‘is not to be surpassed It is situated at nearly equal distances from the Society I-lands and New Caled mia; about 1800 miles from Auckland, and a little more than 3000 miles from San Francisco, and in close proximity to the Fiji and Friendly Islands. The Navi-

gators Islands will certainly one day become distinguished as the capabilities of Polynesia develop. ( To he continued.)