HOUND SAVAII.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 103, 20 September 1879, Page 2

HOUND SAVAII.

FROM OUR si'lxiAl. Kiltr.KSi'o.NnrNl CVRtt Bto. IV.

On tho sih January, IK.">7, a public meeting was held ;it Salajlua, at which H.B.M. Consul Pritchard, and Mr. R. S. Bwanston, Acting 1 American Consul wore present. Conaulti?ritcbard,:in tin-name of her .Majesty ami the British Govcrnment, demanded the Englishman who hail been living in their town, remarking, "This is an uftair of so grave a nature that (hi) American .Consul has accompanied me, to assist in investigating the cfl.se. What ive say Ac you will a»ply to both tho subjects of Groat liritai.ii and the citizens of the United .States. Whore is William Fav 'i Tolova, <ino of tho chief speakcro of Salnihiu, replied that iWillinm hail been shot by a Sagouu man named Sailuai, without any cause or provocation whatever. Ho then went on to say that the young men of Snhiiltia had killed a Sagone man to alone for tin.' life of the white man, and therefore Salailua was cleared. Consul Pritcliaul replied : We must distinctly and plainly tell you, Salailua, that m cwinot accept the death of any innocent man as a revenge for tho death nf William. We toast havo the minUerer, and the murderer only. Wo do not seek revenge; we come to punish the guilty; w« seek for justice. It it very wrong, indeed of you, thus indincriininately rt»> take tho: lift, pf an iuno-

cent limn, and to let the murderer be at liberty. Against such a practice w<j must publicly ami decidedly declaim. Weie you to kill all the Sagone people and lot the murderer of William escn]*, wo must huve the murderer of William Fox. Tolova said that Salailnu could uot dn more than they had done; they could ! not get the murderer. The Consul told the meeting that hu and the American ; Consul would meet the Sagone people, leaving the murder of this innocent | Sagone man in their own bands, "We j request you, however," said the Consul, "to let all Samoa know that you killed l this Sagone man without our knowledge ; i and we shall make it known that you killed this Sagone man without our knowledge, and we shall make known that wo 1 have not accepted hi* death as a revenge for our white man." A. meeting was held ' on the same day with the Sagone people and the two Consuls at (Jngaemalae; and at both places for a second time on the following day without any result. Finding he was powerless to ensure the punish meat of tlie murderer, the Consul reported the case home, and H.B.M.S, Cordelia, Captain Vernon, subsequently arrived. But in Uie interim, Mr. Pritehard had received on appointment as British Consul at Fiji, and the conduct of the affair fell into the hands of his suc-

cessor, Sir, Consul Williams, ■Some ten r twelve months after the murder the Cordelia, with Consul Williams on board, arx'h >red ofi' Gagaemulae, and demanded Fox's murderer. <ju the hea. b, surrounded by a baud of followers, watching the proceedings of the uian-of-war. The town was full of

persons from the adjacent towns who had come up to look at the ship. Failing to get file murderer, the Cordelia proceeded to Palauli, where the Captain lauded with 7IJ men, and destroyed the town. He then went to Sutupaitea, .on the lee end of Palauli Bay, but before he could ooiumence operations the chiefs came off and said that if the Captain would give then: 36 .hour's grace they would endeavour to get the murderer. He granted theni iti hours, and the town at ou.ee started off in their canoes for Sagone. Meanwhile, — I suppose to while away the tedious hours —Captain Vernon went down to Tufu and shelled the town, after which he returned to Satupaitea. Those people were as good a« their word, and they placed the murderer on board the Cordelia within 40.hours of the time when they .started. The Cordelia then came op to Apia, and Sail usi was tried, found guilty, sentenced to death, and finally hung at the yard-arm of .the Cordelia.

After this long digression, which may however be of -interest to -some of my roadors, I say good bye to Mr. De Yero ami continue the road to Lata with my friends. By the bye, Salailua is famed, all through tho group, foi the quality of its tobacco, which commands a higher prico:thau that grown,elsewhere in Samoa and is always in great request. After walking through the town to the extreme end, and climbing over the boundary wall,—or whatever these stone obstructions and nuisances are supposed to be,—we .struck into the banana plantations of , the towns' people, following the narrow path in single file. At the <£nd of a two-mile tramp, we entered one of those forests so peculiar to Savaii, and of who.se beauty and fertility no adequate conception can bo formed by those who hfcve not seeu them. N-tarly the whole of,the wav, —some four miles.—through this dense wilderness iff most gorgeous and luxuriant , tropical vegetation, is rather heavy walking. It is one. continual rise from tiro beach ; tho track of lava -stones is irregular in formation, covered hi many places with moss and damp weeds, making it impossible to walk with a steady stride, but necessita-

ting the traveller to imitate the goat iu his pedal actions, more than anything else. A long stride, tbt'Ji ..two or three short skips, a couple of slides backwards over some,m i-s, or a :.rip'forward- until one's urse almost kisses mother earth, causci 1 . ',; the unwary traveller eutr.ngling a foot, in one of the wild yams trailing into :>„ muttcd jn.ngle across tire

path, make it a matter of. hearty se.lfCjoogratulatinn to the unexperienced in hush travelling, when ho emerges into the open at, the other end. Although it was a .very hot'lay, and the sun .only Rome three hours after noon, I was able to walk through this forrest with my hat ill hand, so douse and tall are the trees that the .inn's warm rays only occasionally penetrates in a few places here and there. In this .forest, —which way be taken .as a Fair specimen of others on Savaii, jl found,,without diverging from tho path for any considerable distance, palms, plantains, craeporsof various kinds, bush yums,—which are growing iu such abundance that, this forest is called the yam garden of tho Itu-o-fafine; and in times of scarcity on their own plantations fho natives come hero in largo numbers for that uvt'ele of food which they son* not get elsewhere, The timber trees are of luige growth, wonderful vuriety and, if utilised, of great value I saw growitg in dense masses as far as the eye can penetrate, and doubtless for miles inland, gigantic timber trees such as tho Vi.— bearing a fruit similar to tho English apple, both in appearance and taste, —the Asi, the Orange, the Jlamala, tho juice of which is so strong us to invariably caiiso bleeding at tho nose of tho persou engaged in sawing it. Whon tho | Kov. George Browu was uonts timo resident i missionary at Satupaitea, hu sunt some of this wood home, uud received iu exchange j an extract from it which ho used as un effect ual cure in certain native complaints.' The wood of this true is of a beautiful deep, reddish-purple colour, capable of ii i

high polish, and jossessing what is in this country a moat invaluable quality,— that of l>eing thoroughly impervious to : the attacks of the white ant, the especial I enemy of most other native wood, of all Imported wood with the exception of the j red-wood of California, and particularly I destructive to the imported New Zealand Kauri. The Ifa'alili is alio a splendid timber trend suitable for shipbuilding,— in boats as timbers, aud ships as knees. The ltilele is a wood so closely grained as to almost resemble ivory-wood, awl so heavy in proportion to its size as to sink in the water like a stone. It is highly prized by the Sanioans for canoe anil tuuinualua building. In days gone by the privilege of building canoes out of this wood was strictly reserved to those chiefs who were entitled to the rank, of Pe'a, —a Samoan title of nobility. Then amongst other woods of real commercial value on the land, it may be worth while to mention the Gogofiatia, used by the natives for the keels of their canoes in preference to any other wood. The Talie is a line hard wood, generally useful for ship or house building, or oven cabinet making ; and grows plentifully all over the group. The Mnnaui is valuable from the fact that its juice will preserve any kind of iron free from rust; and the bark of which will yield, if not .the pure turpentine, a very good substitute for tho genuine article. The Tavai is a valuable timber for boat-boards, and by old boat-builders in tfce group is considered superior to kauri or any other ki;.il of imported boat-boards, almost rivalling as it does, the uia'nlili. The Toi is useful for furniture and housebuilding, and the supply of which may, without exaggeration, be sahl jto be simply unlimited, it being procurable in large ■quantities in almost any part of the islands. The Poumuli possesses the desirable quality of being perfectly indestructible it' left underground, even in the most damp places f«r generations. It is hard to procure in Upolu, being only found in the ranges; but it gro.ws plentifully at Lata, of all sizes, and within easy ,distance of the plantation landing. Tho Tauanavc is a valuable wood for furniture and box-making. It is beautifully grained, and is peculiar over all other woods fur its numerous beautiful colours which are blended like those of the rainbow. Several of the missionaries under whose notice the wood happened to come were \::\y much struck with its beauty, perhaps none move so than the Rev. ti. Ui'ummond, who sent homo several fine specimens in its unworked state, and also a number of boxes and tahles which were indeed at once a curiosity and a handsome present. The Ton, otherwise known as the iron-wood, and a variety of the same species of the ivory wood of Savage Islands, is used in Sagnoa for making clubs, and the sticks on which . the talking rum lean when addressing a large fono, or public meeting. It,is now rather scarce in this grjup, and only to , be found in any quantity to speak of at Pulea close to Tufu on Savaii. It was formerly held,to be a sacred wood; and only chiefs of a.certain high .rank had the privilege of cutting it, it being very 1 strictly tauu'd, with various pains anil penalties attached, from any' other but ■ this peculiarly favoured class of the people. TJie Mamjilava is useful for shingles.; tho Futu is indestruotible while immersed in .salt water, and the ■ fruit is used by the natives to poison Osh ; i while there are many other kinds of more : or less value. I must not forget, howi ever, tlu; Lama or caudle-nut tree, exten- > sively used in the Tonga group as an i article of commerce, more especially at a ■ time when copra is scarce. There it is called by the natives the tui : tui nut, and , requires much more labour on the part of l the natives to furnish to the traders tlie i same imouey value were it in copra. ■ Therefore, candle-nut picking is only roi sorted to, in any extent, when there are ; no nuts from which to make copra, and i the Tongans are "hard up" for food and money, On Savaii tha-caudle-nut seems I to be comparatively neglected. This I , look iipou;\s a great, mistake, fcoth on the put ol natives ujul tho tradese, because ; if a neb. were established it would, tu_ i some exte.ut be a stand by in the event of , a bad nut season. Hut over and above I all the trees growing in this and similar ■ I forests in Sjavaii, the timber of the I Fetau ranks the highest in value. It is a wood possessing a grain equal, if not superior to that.of the Walnut; and it ■ is the opinion of two or three good judges to whom lh*ve since spoken that it is capable of being utilised', instead of mahogany for The wdiite ant makes very littte,.jf any, way into, this wood also. A largo sample of the , Fetau, .with other valuable woods were,,l am given to understand, sent up to Messrs, Mc.Arthur and Company in Auckland, who gavo out some pieces to the various pabinet makers. J*o doubt Was expressed as to the beautiful appearance of tho fetau wood and its wonderfad resemblance to walnut; but tho workpeople in the various cabinet-maker's .shops unanimously declared that it was '.too hard' to work to make it .profitable, and the surplus still remains in tho back yard of .that, firm, tho cooks,declaring they cannot uso it on account of its great toughness. Amongst tho maiiy indigenous products also growing in this forest and whiqh-were .pouotod out to me, were various species of cane of the trailing kind,—and with which I frequently made my acquaintance in an informal | manner, .without further notice or intro•duetion than beiug sent to kiss.jnoUier earth through my feat becoming untangled in the Imlf bidden masses or.irit-s that am trailing across the path. Thaie and the bush yams, (ufi vao) woro my most invcteuito enemies, waylaying mo at almost every dozen yards, and, as I hove

before hinted, often with great effect. If a man is really anxious to arrive nt a proper estimate of his helpless condition under what seems the most ridiculously simple circumstances, Jet him walk a similar path, and while whistling, singing, talking or thinking, entirely unconscious of any danger, suddeuly trip across one of these trailers, and sprawl full length upon the ground. If his dignity, as well as his body is not upset by this sudden and unexpected reverse, not of fortune but of bodily position, then he is no longer qualified to lie accepted as a rational member of society. The most valuable of this eauo is, of course, is the true Bate or rattan of Last Indies, though I am doubtful whether it is generally known, or will be credited, that this particular cane is growing here in its purity, though such is really an indisputable fact. Those who, like Mr. Cornwall, are in the habit of travelling over Savaii, are confident that this true Bate grows in no inconsiderable quantities in the interior forests. Knowing that there is so much very valuable wood growing in almost inextricable profusion only a few mib»s from the sea coast, and within four or five miles of either the town of (iagacmaloo or the plantation lauding at Lata,—besides a variety of indigenous product* of value which are entirely unregarded by our local traders, it is pleasing to learn that the Auckland firm previously alluded to are about to make au efj'oit to utilise the cane, and have ma'U' an offer to the proprietor of the Lita plantation to induce him to procure quantities of it und ship it by their vessel to Auckland.

After a very heavy walk, yet withal an interesting and pleasant one, woeaine on to the commencement of the clearing of the plantation, anil in another halfhour we were receiving a warm welcome from Jfr. Mc.Keuzie. This gentleman has pretty considerable experience in tho plantation business, ami fully deserves the confidence which is reposed iu him hy bis employer as the overseer of such an extensive place. The homestead, situated about 3)0 feet above the level of the sea, is byilt of weatherboard, and contains two bed-rooms and sitting room, with a ■lean-to at the back for a dining room and a provision store-room. There is u good broad verandah in front of the house commanding a splendid view of the surrounding country. On a fiue day the picture is an exceedingly pretty one, including as it does, miles of r g l'a iy planted banana trees, fluids of cotton bushes in flower and whose yellow glare is pleasantly relieved by the ripe bushes laden with the snow white cotton .which is ready for picking ; clumps of breadfruit trees laden with fast ripening l'o >d ; a fringe pf cocoa-nut trees skirting the beach, gracefully bending their lofty and ever.-greeu leaves to tho gentle, zephyrlike breeze; in the distance, though appearing to be at our feet, is n broad expanse of deep blue water, whose billows crowned w itb white and gold are playfully tumbling about; a clear, blue cloudless sky with tropical sun pouring its cheeringaays from the high heavens, makes up .it picture which unmistakably proclaims itself worthy of a place amongst the many other beautiful spots i,. the Western Pacific.

.1 was quite ready to do justice to the excelleut'.dinner which was prepared for us. Mr. ilc.Kenzie's speciality is soup ; which I will back against any other in Samoa,—expert Chinamen cooks in the bargain. In this line, Mac could successfully compote with the first-class restaurants in,the colonies, anil which was a care treat after the abortive dish-water Jrind of mess one generally gets at most ,of the restaurants in Al>hi, After diuner we put up curtains under which we were happily free from the raids of tlie tormenting mosquitos who come into, and round about the bouse at .sun-down in great muahers.

Whan I rose ut daybreak otiithe 4tli, .1 w-iis muck disappointed to find that it was raining, ,and had every appearance ■of continuing so to do throughout tho ,<lny; and, as it afterwards turned out, it , continued unceasingly until the following 'Wednesday .afternoon, when it cleared up for a fcw.Jiours. At times the rain was jwitenseW heavy, hut it generally came, as a drift across the mountain at the had; of the house, accompanied by strong winds, like a Scotch ,mist, very fine in quality but very .wetting, in effect. Th's of course, kept me confined to the house and verandah ; but with the companionship of ,iny friends, some readable l>ooks,and other proper .QOiiiforta for wet weather the time slipped by pleasantly and swiftly. Although. the rain interfered ~,with cotton picking, thero was plenty of other work for the plantation hands to do; the wouieUi,buing einployod, under cover, in makiug.. thatch, and tho ,ineu in procuring the Huiterial. At Jialf-•pa-st five every morning the overseer blowsacouoh shell, thiv sound of \yhieli ,(jau he board at a great distance. The camp is some quarter of a mile frorn the jl'-oiiso : and thore tko.sqund is distinctly .heard by the slec[)ers. That warning is 4,he "rouse out and,smoke 0," previous to going to work; and eaoh man and woman roll up the-ir,,finer mats and stow them away, and honl up their mosquito curtains. At six, the conch shell informs them that it is time to "turn to," when the hands are despatched to work by the nativo sub-ovorseors, who have received their instructions for the day on the night previously from Mr. MclCmizie. By this time our morning ooifee und fmb eggs are ready and the manager takes.o quiet look round. At ten o'clock the Qonoh shell anils the hands to ■' breakfast and Hpoll O," until twelve o'otoflk, w,hen tboy resume work until culled in for siippm rtbortly bofotfl sun-down. The eveuings, ~nud oficu uut.il lalo through

i the night, they happily enough in their own fashion; smoking, talking, I singing and dancing. As there is no | work to do on Sundays, (except to cook j and eat extra rations) Saturday night is 1 their grand gala night. I ought first to I mention that the work ceases at four o' j clock on a Saturday afternoon so as to i give the labourers time to clean up their j houses, and the camp generally; a work I of necessity that is very closely impacted. j by the manager, and very properly so too. To resume. On these Saturday nights, lonio will go trooping dowu to the beach with their nets, rods and line*, and spend the whole night in fishing. All Tapetueans are fond of fish, that, and cocoanuts beiug the staple articles of food in their own country. Capital fishermen as most of the Sauioans are, they cannot compete with these people, who caw very easily outstrip them in net or ( rod fishing. Perhaps there remains in the ciinip enough men and women to get up a dance; if so they will sing and dance And make the night hideous to one who, like myself, fails to detect the slightest approoch to music in their songs, keeping *.<P their wild fun until the break of day. They are allowed to spend the day of rest as they ohoose. Some will fish all day long, others lounge about and smoke, eat *nd sleep, while' a few wi}l either attend the prayer meetings hold in the camp by"holy Joe"—of whom I shall have something to say by and by—or go all the way to the Samoan church at ungaemalae. Extra rations are also served on a Sunday, including beef. But corn is the fancy food of all these Tapetueans, without a'.plentiful supply of which they neither can nor will work. ■There i.UJtst Ata.%l extraordinary amount pi nourishment and strength-giving property in this dish, which is undoubtedly healthy and easy of digestion, as these people work infinitely better on corn than ■ivlu u .fed on any othe,r native or imported vegetable food. So much for the life of these .people on the plantation, who, without exception, carry the uumistakeablo stamp of being well fed; are undoubtedly cheerful and happy, and are on very good terms w,kh the manager, who has evidently an excellent knack o,f keeping idlers up to their work, while at the same time he retains their confidence anil good will. I was more than onco tild by two or three who could speak a little Euglish, that they all liked Mac, as they call him, very much. They said : He very giol man; sometime talkee plenty much strong all the same wind, but he no takee slick and fight. In the short visit which 1 paid to Lata, 1 .was soon.convineod from personal observation that it is often absolutely necessary for the Dcavuger to " talkeu plenty much strong all the same wind,'' for the purpose of keeping the hands up to their work. Where there are a number of hinds at work there are sure to bo a few who will try all they know to skulk and shirk their lair share of work and evade the notice of the overseer. To stir tjieni up with his tongue, "all the same wind," is a better plan, to my idea, than using a fist, stick or whip.