News from Samoa.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 135, 11 April 1901, Page 1

News from Samoa.

Mr H. S. Giiffi ’s many friends iq Waimate will bo glad to learn that be arrived safely in St.moa early in February. From letters received frorq him recently, wo make some extracts of general interest. Writing on February 18th he says ;

‘'Some very rough weather] was experienced here last monjffi. A number of natives cr< s ing between the island of Savai and Upholu in an open boat encountered this storm. There were some thirteen of them including an o’4 nadye Pastor, (a victim'to the disease elep* antiasis) and a number of women and girls. The boat got swamped and as it could not sm vivo in such a sea, they consid- red their best chance would be iq swimming ashore. The men gave up the oars and rudder to the wonuq. Some of the men started to swim ashore with the wome", hut when they saw that the women could manage all right they turned back (o the water-logged boat tq stand by the poor old pastor who, oq account of the disease, was helpless* They were, however, unaffie to right the boat in such a sea, and all the young teilows except one were drowned. It was a most notable instance of heroism, as every young fellow could have beeq sivtd if each had studied only himself. The survivors were swimming for twq whole days and nights. Just imagine worn, n swimming lor dear life all that lime ! Th y seem none the worse for it, and are knocking ab ub just as lively as i-v r now. There was a nasty murder iq Apia the otiier day. A Chinaman was found near the bridge in the middle of the town with his head smashed in with a club. Luckily the native who did it has caught. He ia a bad old scamp, who is reputed to have beheaded a couple of innocent girls about the war time. Mr B. h<d a disagreeable experienccJtUq other d iy. On going to his tidy-bag fop bis hairbrush he noticed something unusual in the bag. On closer i/ispse, tion he wis horrified to find a giant centipede in it. Ho brought the bag into the office apd Alovap caught the centipede, extracted its fangs and put the specimen into a bottle of spirits for me, Kince Mr Griffin’s re 1 urn to thq Blands ho and another gentleman entered into partucrsffip in “Bachelor’s Hall.’* The following is from a letter dated Alaiuit, March 15th. We are getting on first . ate wit h our housekeeping. The wife of one of .he students, a girl whb has b c u ti bined m English customs at) the i’uptuia Girls School, has kindly commit.: d to come in every morning to cook <>ur dinner and train our native boys. S; eis really vety clever, make? laits, scones, bread tic., in a surprising manner. One wonders she can bear live as the Samoans do seeing how accustomed she is to European ways, but it is ths old story over aga ; n Tr.ey prefer their own manner of living a;.d their 9. vn style of food. Aftsr it is better eo, for I fear if hey our ways to any gr-al extent they would soou become extinct. N-ture has prev vided hem with the right kinds of food for th-ir cliinato just as the has givejq th> m good tlu -k skins aud skulls tq stand the exposure they are subjected to. S.tmoiiis can sleep and eat at any time and anywhere The small quantity we eat at a meal must seem ridiculous to ana ive when compared with their own ‘st w away capacity.” What wq should consider food enough for foujf people and to spare would not satisfy one native. After a feast, ( hat is after everyone has eaten more than he caty honestly digest), if any special delicacy is brought forwaid they are all ablq and perfectly willing to do their sharq towards eating it—better than wasting it, is their motto. It must hava beeq on this acciupt that our table boy looked so astonished the ok er evening. Wq were just rising from the tabb when tq came in smiling apd sajtd he would now bring in the pudding an i di-played ala'gq dish. “ Take it away,” said Mr M f “we haye fini bed. Why on earth didn’t you bring it in sooner?” He had forgotteu it. But ,all the same-Tq consider' d our being “ finished’? a very paltry excuse for not eating the puddi Yesterday ,*at dinner the boy had for, gotten to bring any to sq we told him 19 go and get some. Hq took a brig wt.ile over it. But before we finished -dinner he appeared wtth them Mr M. did not want .any then and asked m - $0 take one or thq boy wopid feel hurt. Ha therefore call .4 out to the boy to open one only. He had opened two however and brought them jo. Mr M. "aid he was very sorry but he was not this sky now and wouKJ not dr nk any, and told the b»y to give it to Vaiesp { he student’s wife Who cooks for u i.) The boy stood and looked for a seqond or two trying to grqsp £feq idea. Then ho said f*'OTe a” Mr M said ‘f Doatask wby.

of you asking why. Take it to her e* once" “Fatrolemole.” (I beg your pardon)'began the boy, ‘‘bub if I take it to her she will think you want to marry' her.” I roared at this, and Mr M. who is a tat man, simply rolled around. “Oh dear,” he said as soon .as he recovered himself. ‘*l didn’t thick of that., Nevermind, take it to her and tell her not to take it seriously. My intentions are not mstrimonia'l.” Mr M. then told me this was the commonest custom among the natives of proposing to a. girl. The young man sends a cocoanut by a friend to the young lady who has captured his affections (although she does not know she has done so.) The friend does his best to recommend the suitor and arranges a time and place for fhe couple to meet. After the first meeting, if the lady approves of him, the groom elect sends a gift of food to her. people. .Shortly after this he goes himself to a-’e them faking v»itli him more food and a pig. The pig is killed and ■ aten, and after the feast the parties disf uss the marriage. trace back their lines of ancestors (or imaginary ones). If thteie should happen 10 have been a great-great grand uncle on one side married to a great great grand, aunt on the other there cur be no union of die intendeds as■ the blood relations dte too close. The couple are quite -atisfied. The young man goes home, not broken hearted, but with hia mind made up to try some where else; Of course it ends all right He finds someone else and they live happy ever ifterwards. We shall yet however have mmry a good laugh over Mr M’f proposii g to a curried woman, and in proper -Samoan fashion too.