The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-08-10
Samoan News.

From the Samoan Times of the 18th June we
take the following items
On Sunday afternoon a collision took place
between some SamOans of the district of Fuaiu-
polu and the district of Faleata. Sticks, stones,
clubs, axes and knives were brought into requisi-
ton, and flew about in such Il manner as to por-
tend evil. As it was, however, only two men
received severe wounds, one being badly cut with
an axe, the other being speared through the
shoulder, whilst there were any number who
received slight cuts and bruises. On Monday q
far more serious encounter between the two par
ties took place. The young men of Faleata
armed themselves with the intention of making a
descent upon Fuaiupolu, and the young men of
the latter place also armed themselves with guns
and went out to meet their foes. 1t appears that
the cause Of this row was a woman, and came
about thus The woman IN question was the
wife of a son of Total, who belongs to Fuaiupolu.
Some time ago she either left or was turned away
from her home, and then went to live at Faleata.
On Sunday last she was in town, and it CHANGED
that her husband met her, whereupon he seized
her and endeavored to drag her home. Some
Faleata men were close by, and she called upon
them for help. They Immediately responded to
the call, and rescued the woman from the grasp
of her liege lord. A number Of friends of both
parties were soon upon the spot, and a general
set-to was the result.
About twenty natives made a raid upon the
house of Mr.. Pratt, of Faleapunu, recently,
breaking into it and stealing therefrom goods to
the value of 80 dollars. Not satisfied with this,
the natives a most brutal assault upon
Mr.. Pratt himself, bruising him badly about the
body, and loosening nearly every tooth in his
head. This is the second time within a few
months that Mr.. Pratt's premises have been en-
tered and property stolen from them. Mr.. Pratt
is an American citizen, and complains in a letter
of the inaction of the United States Consul.
Complaint is made Of the drinking habits of
the natives. On a Sunday, recently, about 80 of
them were uproariously drunk. At about mid
day the gin began to take effect, and from then
till late in the evening it was as though BedIam
had been let down in our midst. The yells and
oaths that rent the air were such as to lead one
to think that an army of fends from the world of
darkness had arrived amongst us. Scarcely any
part Of the town was free from the nuisance.
Fights were innumerable, and in many places
palings were pulled down to aid them in break
ing one anOtber's heads. And as for a person
taking a walk along the street, it was next to
impossible without being hit with a stick or
stone, or beng Rugged in the drunken embrace
or otherwise molested by inebriate aboriginals.
How long will the foreign residents submit
quietly to this nuisance, 1t has been found
necessary upon one or two previous occasions to
petition the foreign consuls to issue a regulation
prohibiting the supply of intoxicating liquors to
the natives, and why should not a similar step
be taken now, before any further damage is done ?
\ correspondent writes to the Times, drawing
attention to the changes Of currents which have
been frequently observed among the Line Islands,
and draws the inference that these changes are
caused by an upheaval of portions Of the reefs by
volcanic action. He quotes from old log books,
and shows that changes of the currents occurred
about the time that volcanic disturbances took
place on the West Coast Of the South American
continent.