ROUND SAVAII.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 104, 27 September 1879, Page 2

ROUND SAVAII.

FKIIM Ol'li M'EflAI. C'OltniiSl'oMjKXT ( Villi. No. V. On Tuesday, 0:10 of our partv, Mr. Nelson, k-!t ub to walk across tho "moimtniu to Safune, not a particularly agreeable tramp at any time, and, 'i should imagine, a most disagreeable one in the wet. lie left with many expressions of good will and lurk on our part, and after L had thanked iiim again for the warm hospitality he extended to me while a guest of his at Safuno. 1 shall not readily torget the kind manner in which ho and his pleasant, good-humoured wife treated me, although, comparatively a perfect stranger to both of them. The track across the mountains which Mr. Nelson traverses was blazed and cut three years ago by Mr. Cornwall for the purpose oi lessening the distance between Lata and Safuue. It is used bv Mr. Nelson on every occasion when the vessel comes round, and, taking Uagaomalae as the starting point, Mr. Nelson, who is a capital walker, can do the distance in favourable weather, rough and toilsome as the road is, in a little under nine hours. The distance across to Safime is about :S0 miles, whereas round bv the Saruoan road it is about 70 miles, saving nearly ±0 miles, no mean consideration in walking in this country. Ou Wednesday afternoon, as the weather cleared up a little I was able to take a short turn round a portion of the plantation, and pay a visit to the oamp. The single women have their quarters at one end, and the single mon at the other end of the camp, the houses on each side of the road being occupied by the married couples and their families. In several cases where a family is rather a large one it is allowed to occupy a house to itself, as. notably, McKonzic's celebrated cook, and that arch hypocrite "Holy Joe." A few evening's later I strolled down to the camp with Mac when ho went to give the orders to the sub-overseers fortno next day. and of course we called on my chum the cook. We found his eookship on a mat seated cro s-leggeu, with a kerosene lamp by his side, ami a pipe in his mouth the centre of a respectful and admiring crowd of his own children and relations. A rich and powerful Turk, surrounded by his harem could not have looked so supremely happy, yet withal dignified to a degree than this man. As soon as our presence was discovered, he rose as gracefully as the circumstances of his sitting cross-legged and a lame right leg would permit, and welcomed us to his house with all the u«rs of an Eastern prince. A fter a short stay, we went on to the suboverseers' houses, and returned through the camp to the homestead. But to continue my inspection of tha camp. 1 found in all tho houses plenty of ventilation, the roofs and sides in excellent order, a plentiful supply of mats to lay on, independent of the iiner ones which were rolled up and put at the head of tho bed by the respective owners before they started out to work. Each bed was supplied with a "tainumu," or mosquito screen, all of which, like the tiner mats, were neatly rolled up. Including the children, there are considerably over a hundred souls, while there is ready for occupation at any moment ample aOCOIII* inodation for fifty more labour. In a large house built for the purpose, tho women were employed, as usual during wet weather or when not engaged in cotton picking, in making (hatch from sugarcane. The upper platforms aro used for storing com. As a hint, which may probably prove useful toother plantation managers, I am permitted to mention Mr. Cornwall's experience both bore and on his plantation at Magia, closo to his homestead at Fasitootai, as regards the best kind of thatching for houses in this

climate. Tho most popular thatch is thai plaited fi «9 the cocoanut branch : it popularity arises through it being sup a s ■,! to be tho ch*lip**. t ' l0 "o' 1 *& is. as I think I can show from tho results of Mr. Cornwall's experiments, a mistaken idea. Thatch plaited from the ocoanut brunch only lasts from six to eight months, or, in tho most exceptional cases, for a year. Having to bo renewed in such a short time, it does not pay itself for the labour of gathering in anil plaiting, in addition to which the produce of the produce of tho trees, which are thus robbed of their branches, is to no inconsiderable extent destroyed, which appears to mo a most important item to note by those advocates of cocoanut thatch. It is easily understood by evcrv one who has the slightest knowledge of the nature and habits of tho cocoanut tree, that the more it is deprived of its branches, except when it sheds them naturally, the poorer the tree becomes, ami the less fruitful its crop until, by continuing in this practice, tho tree very soon dies. Therefore, bearing tho main objectionable points in view, it must be patent to all that this thatch, in place of being cheap, as is generally supposed, is, in point of fact, a most expensive and unsatisfactory article. Tho next thing Mr. Cornwall resolved to try was the "lau paogo,"—the name of tho tree from which the Samoail mat is made. At the time of my visit, several houses woro roofed with thatch made from the lau paogo, and, although much superior to the cocoanut was found wanting. That it, should have disappointed expectations is the more to be regretted because the tree grows to an almost unlimited extent in the uncultivated portions of the estate, and being of no other use will have to succumb to the axe as the clearing of the plantation goes on apace. Unsatisfied with the lau paogo, Mr. Cornwall turned his attention to the sugar-cane, one variety of which, the "Tolo-pupuso," used by the Samoans for thatch, ho had introduced on the plantation when first started, to be used if nothing better was f :d. The material is close at hand

•■•ad now growing in large quantities ; and if properly plaited will successfully stand tin; tost of the climate, and bo a cool and substantial rainproof covering for five years. It is on this account that, whenever the women cannot be sent cottonpicking they are kept at work plaiting this thatch, (the material for which is brought in by the men) so that a large stock can always bo kept on hand. As the roofs of the houses in tho camp get out of repair, the nut and lau paogo thatchings are thrown on one side, and the superior sugar-cane thatch takes their place. Both Mr. Nelson's and .Mr. Me. Kenzie's weather-board houses are roofed with this thatch; and I can answer from experience that it makes a delightfully cool covering for a house under the hottest sun, and a perfectly waterproof one under some of the heaviest and most penetrating kind of rain I have ever seen fall in Samoa.

Before passing through the cninp any further, I may mention that every household has its own piece of "land close by, on which the labour are at liberty to cultivate their own talo, baunanas" Ac, which they consume in tlio way of extras to the ordinary scale of rations daily served by the manager. Somo how or ol her they rind time to plant plenty of talo, which appeared to me to lie drier and of a better quality to any Saiuoan specimen thas I have seen. " There i.s a largo bevy of fowls in the vicinity of the camp, which have strayed from the homestead. They are allowed to remain where they are on condition that the labourers will not kill any,—full permission however been granted to them to appropriate to their own use alf the eggs they can find, as well as all the chickens which are hatched in the camp. Furthermore, they are at perfect liberty to take as many baunans as they choose, there being miles and miles of trees on thi' plantation. So, what with their talo, an unlimited supply of baunanas, their eggs and fish as additions to a liberal scale of healthy, strength producing food including, amongst other articles, beef, rice, yams and corn, —thoy are an undoubtedly well-fed lot of people, and are thoroughly contented and happy. \\ e next passed on to the corn-house, where two shelters and two crushers were being manipulated by junior labour. When the corn is ground fine enough for use,—so fine indeed that it resembles meal, —it is passed on to the cook for his treatment. That which I saw was of a splcndind quality, many of the cobs passed into the shelter being of a great size, some of them on being measured at my request being sixteen inches in length. This awoke my intorost to such an extent that mi our return through tho camp I examined the corn which was strung up in cobs in tho storo-houso. llore 1 found that the majority of tho cobs were of an unusually great length,—fourteen and fifteen inches being common enough. This says a groat deal for the fertility and richness of the Lata soil, which very closely resembles the rich dark-brown loam in all its purity, than anything else.

From the corn-crushing house we passod on to the kitchen where, amongst other utensils there stands a giant iron pot which stands on sovcral logs, and is capable of cooking more corn than is required for ono meal by all the hands. May it never have a lesser number of souls to cook for than it has at present!

I/uaving tho kitclien, its utousils und tlio cook, a fow moro yards brought us to tho water tank. In a plac-o liku this, the lirst ami most anxious consideration in thu miml of an employer of a number

of labour—especially strangeis t„ ,/ country—must bo to fix upon thai„„", healthy spot upon which to build \\]„ tamp, "and the next important Consul,.,. ation must bo the supply of fresh whole ■MM water. Notwithstanding the h,', that on many parts of thel plautati,,,, theio are abuudant supplies of g, k „j water from lagoons, springs and watt*, holes,—notably.o very large lagoon son,,, little distance from the homestead toward, the beach, containing several million, of gallons, and into which the rain wat,. iseonductedby numerous natural ehanin U and a large fresh water spring near tli„ landing capable of supplying an army,- . the spot where the camp now stands was selected purely on account of its health , situation. It also stands in about tlcentre of the clearing,—another gunpoint of vantage, not only on the ncoru of health, but as being tho centre from which the plantation work is extended on all sides. Although, as 1 have sai.l there is such an abundant water supply in various parts of tho plantation, Mr, Cornwall, with the object of saving tin: labour required in carrying the water from these various supplies, built a tank which will hold 2.">,0U0 gallons of rainwater, right in tho midst of tho camp. The quantity of water which such a number of people daily consume in the way of washing"and drinking; that used for watering cattle, as well as the quantity used for cooking purposes, amounts to something over 2.J0 gallons per diem. Tho amount of the labour which would be required to carry in this water from any distance cau readily bo imagined, and the wisdom which prompted the proprietor to build this huge receptacle of good rain water in the centre of tin, camp, easily appreciated. The tank is blasted out of the solid rock, 'square in formation, and somo 18 feet deep. Tho bottom is levelled and cemented, and tho sides aro built up of stone varying in thickness from li to Hi inches, according to circumstances, so as to make the facing of the wall level; that afterwards being covered with tliree coatings of cement. The top of tho tank is s:mo four feet above the ground lovel, thus preventing any dirty water from running into it. Devoid of sides, the large roof covering it is covered with galvanised iron, and so supplied with ample guttering and numerous spouts or shoots into the tank that almost every drop of rain which falls upon the roof must necessarily run into the tank. From experiments made, it is found that the rainwater gathered from this roof and that of the corn-house, is quite sufficient to keep the tank full : although if such a necessity were to arise, in the course of an hour or so, shoots could be conveyed from tho roofs of every house in the camp to the tank. The tank, at the time of my visit, had sufficient water to supplv the tank for five months, if not a drop of rain fell during that time, and without having recourso to the lagoons or springs This must be to both the gentlemen concerned a most gratifying fact, as it relieves them of any anxiety with regard to one of the most important requisites,—that of a good and unfailing water supply. By the time I had got so far, the dinner gong called us to the homestead, —a call which was readily obeyed. Soon after dark the rain came down in torrents again accompanied with strong winds. During ono of the lulls, and after we had turned in for the night, a most ludicrous incident occurred in which I was a pal - ticipator. It was the custom to leavo the front door open near which I slept, and on this particular night 1 heard something or somebody walking on tho stones up the slight incline leading to the front of the house. I turned up tho lamp resolved to reconnoitre the ghosts or whatever my untimely visitors might he, and looked at tho clock, tho small hand of which pointed to 1, anil the minute hand to twenty. Although it was indeed the very "witching hour of night," and my friends asleep, I plucked up com age enough to go to tho door; hut instead of seeing a ghost, or an evil spirit in any shape or form my eyes met, such a ludicrous scene that I burst into a fit of laughing until my sides ached. The cause of all my fear proved to be fivo very innocent looking mules who were standing in line, the leader of the lot pawing his foot on the verandah floor to attract attention. On seeing me they at once turned tail and skeedadled down the I hill at a pretty good rate of speed. On mentioning the circumstance to Mr. He Kenzio next morning ho found they had broken tiown a portion of tho fencing of their paddock, and tho driver discovered (hem later in tho day in the middle of a dim-field, gorging themselves to their !i art's content. Was this not a fair ca>e of one donkey being frightened by othei> t

This wna the day on which, ncccording to our previous programme, wa were to have s'.mled upon our three day's wall, and jni ml the cuttor ut l'alauli. The heavy rain prevented us from carrying out <>iu [linn ; and, as it happened) it was a lucky circumstance for us. To our great surprise the master of the cuttor, who wc thought was lying quietly at at anchor at l'alauli, (some thirty miles to windward), preiented himself and reported his return to Oagamalao. On his being closoly questioned, wo learned that ho had beat up against a hoavy sea and a strong head wind to within two miles of his place of destination, having taken three days and nights to accomplish this feat, and gotting "gallied," at the appearance of tlio broakein on the reef and the sea generally, opposite Palunli, lie turned tail and ran the whole of the way back. AV'u should have been in a nico tix had the weother permitted us to walk to l'alauli, and found no etttUr

there. I haagina batting dead ti> vindward in a heavy m for twenty-eight miles, ami then running back wh.n within two miles of his dettination. Such is a specimen of Tapeteuoan seamanship' Of course he did nit -Us loldiug; oh, no ! nor was he ordered, to his giv.it dis"ust, to come up next morning with his crew from Gagaemalae, (where ho thought lie could sleep all day long, until we ■were ready to start) and set to work with the rest of his countrymen on the plantation. Hail he guessed at the consequences of his return, 1 think he would have beat up the remaining two miles in worse weather than ho had to encounter! The whole of Thursday, the 7th, uu-

fortunately turned out to be too wet to do any walking round the plantation, but on the following day 1 was able to tako a stroll round tho greater portion under cultivation, and have a look at sane of the other portions undergoing clearing and burning oil', with the accompanying adjunct of road-making. Neaaly the whole of this large estate, which runs from the bush up the side of one of the highest mountains on Savaii, —in fact an extinct volcano, —is very stony, tho huge boulders of lava stone having at one time been as pretty freely as the smaller ones, sometimes in great heaps, by tho volcano in times of action, "Alost of the stones howover, lay on the surface, and sometimes to a depth of a couple of feet; so that, rocky and stony as the uncleared portions of the estate are, giving a stranger the impression that it would be almost a matter of impossibility to convert it into a plantation of any value, in point of fact there is not really very much hard labour required to make either good roads, or remove those stones which would interfere with planting. Of course ill some places real ditliculties in tho way of these stone obstacles have to bo over- I come, for, having once made out a cor- ' tain plan of the plantation, neither Mr. < Cornwall nor his able manager wi u!d ■ turn the straight course of a road, or r- ' duce the size of a tield, to go round one of these obstacles instead of removing it. j And speaking of these stone obstruction*, , which sometimes are in tho shape of n j strong wall, or a large pile, sometimes oval and sometimes square, of large stones covored over with smooth Hal water worn ones which have been conveyed from the beach, brings uio hack to the subject of •'interior habitation," if 1 , may so call it, to which 1 alluded in my description of the products and other noticeable features of Savaii.--at a very early period of these lettrrs. If th'e theory which 1 hold, in common with many older and more eoinp lit men, of this interior habitation io d furthei proof than what 1 bad already seen I had still fuller proof of it on tho plantation. In addition to my own observations, the manager's informed me that tho clearing party wore constantly coining upon the ruins of stone pig fence's; foundations of houses, square and oval, largo and small, and band made wells of water. Another most assuring proof, are the existence of threo splendidly made roads from the beach, composed of large stones, the crevices being filled with sand and the surface very fairly levelled off and covered with the flat, smooth stones only obtainable from tho beach, and one of which has been put into thoroughly good order and used by the plantation people. Another leading out of tho plantation towards tho back is even now a thoroughly good road, evidently going through the onco existing town, and has been followed by unfriend for a distance of over five miles, when ho gavo up any hope of reaching its termination, more especially as it was leading up the side of the mountain and bore every appearance of loading right across the ranges to tho opposito side. As far as Mr. Cornwall traversed this road ho found here and there clumps of breadfruit trees on either side of the road in the small clearings which had evidently been native plantations of talo, yams, &c. Neither he, nor others who are pretty well acquainted with the hack of the Lntn bush,—such as Messrs. Nelson and MeKenzie, —have any doubt as to this road being not only the main one through tho onco existing large town, but that it was a direct means of communication with the opposite side of tho island. To be thoroughly appreciated, it must bo considered how many years ago this excellent road was made; and tho facts borne iu mind that the natives wero heathens, worshipping various kinds of gods, and spending an immense amount of time and labour in the erection of largo '• devil temples ;" and that they were actively engaged not only iu internecine strife, but iu bloody disastrous wars with the Tongan hordes of invaders. Then compare tho Samoans of tho pre. sent day, with all their civilisation, their superior advantages of education,' and consequent knowledge and intelligence: who nre not distracted by tho troubles "no '"•'• panying homes of war with an invading power. Then, us I do, accept the statement that they could not now make a road to compare'with any of these at Lata,- -without even having to contend with ft, lmh ,ral diffloultiog which presented thcrnsulvos to these old road-makers, in «,n shape of deep broad dry creeks and ravines, which had to be 1 ''."'''■"" d levelled with the road, and which difficulties, , ln ,le r whut m|lHt h|iv „ the,, bMB .mnienso disadvantages, wero !,Lnti:i. 5< ' aWVa " d "558S s(To bo continued.)