Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-04-26
NTHE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS

From letter OF Mldshlpman IRA
McJunkin to friend in Butler,
we take the following
The natives of the Samoan Islands
are truly South Sea islanders, the
same individuals we used to contribute
our pennies to at Sunday School and
for whom Sadie is now probably saving
her pennies. The missionaries have
been here and their influence has been
but l sometimes think
the Islanders would get along without
them, and the charity would have
more beneficial result if it were applied
at home, among the poor of our large
cities. The natives would be just as
happy in the possession of rush
breech cloth, as one made of gaily col
ored cotton, and from personal ex-
perience / found the ones most intiuen-
ced by the missionaries to be more
mercenary, greater sharps, and greater
beggars than those who were less
friendly towards the missionary The
missionaries have certainly impressed
their followers with proper notion OF
observing Sunday and on this day 1t is
quite surprising to see one of the con
verts appear outside of their hut. The
religion among them seems to be more
form than anything else, but If the con-
yerters and converted are satisfied L
will not grumble. The Sabbath day
is so strictly observed that no fires for
cooking are allowed after sunrise, and
all the cooking is done on Saturday
The native huts are supplied with
little furniture, only chest or two, q
chair occasionally, and sometimes a
looking-glass, clock, or small picture.
One or two, more advanced and more
ambitious than the others have board
house, and | saw one sewing machine
(White's) and one or two very rude
bedsteads. The natives sleep on mats
resting their heads on piece of bam.
boo supported on four legs, a very hard
pillow indeed.
The natives are well formed and
we'll developed set of people, of color
between negro and an Indian, or a
reddish brown color. Their hair is not
kinky like the negroes and they have
not the thick lips of the African race.
They have mild and kindly expires.
sion of countenance rather than the
fierce expression one would look fol-
among cannibals; but by the way the
Samoans are not cannibals, only limo.
cent South Sea Islanders. They have
nothing in particular to do except to
90 out and gather little fruit once in
awhile, and are not disposed to be very
active, yet for the climate they are not
markedly indolent. They sow not
and their reaping don't amount to more
than going out and plucking fruit when
they feel hungry. At Alia on Upolu
they have bread fruit, yams, taro
oranges, lines. bananas, pine apples
cabbage and a few other fruits and
vegetables with native names. Cocoa
nuts seem only to be used for drinking
and ripe ones for making oil, although
great many are exported. The
bread fruit resembles walnut of i'm
mense size and has tough covering
To prepare it for eating this cover is
scraped off and the fruit is roasted in
the fire, after roasting it is eaten with
out seasoning of any kind; sometimes
it is kneaded and then stewed and
dressed in rich cocoanut cream, and
served in banana leaves.
One day while ashore in Paugo-
Paugo l was no sooner on the bank
when 1 was invited into hut where
there was a crowd of men engaged in
some kind of game resembling our
quoits only they pitched polished sea
beans along smooth mat. When
went in they brought me some of this
bread fruit dressed in cocoanut cream
and | liked it very much, but just hav'
ing had breakfast short time before |
could not eat much of it.
In my penciled addition of last Sun
day week, | was talking about the
natives, and | think [ must continue
with description of native feast
which l had the pleasure of enjoying
while in Apia 1t was to be held in
the afternoon and the chief giving the
feast had extended an invitation to all
of the Richmond's officers. Mahoney
and l were ashore together and at
about 3 p. M. we reached the hut
where the feast was to be held and
found that many were before us, but
We managed to get comfortable seat.
The guests were all Sc ated around the
sides of the hut and in the middle the
eatables were spread on mats and
leaves. At the head Of the spread was
seated our captain and on his right
and left were the U. S. Consul and
the German Consul General. next came
the chief and his wife and then the
other guests indiscriminately the foot
of the table being occupied by sub
chief, acting as a sort of marshal,
and three or four beautiful CD dusky
maidens. The latter furnished the
"kava," the national feast beverage.
The manufacture of this drink is quite
novel and | must describe it The
drink is made from the "kava" root,
6 vegetable growth Of the island. 1t
is dried and washed cleanly. The
root is fibrous like the licorce root
and of a darkish gray color The
dusky maidens before mentioned, seat
themselves, "kanaka" fashion, before
a large wooden bowl, resembling our
Tread bowl, only the "kava" bowl has
four legs. When everything is ready
the maids begin to fill their mouths
with kava, and then the operation
begins in earnest. They keep their
jaws going at lively rate and soon
begin to eject Jumps of well chewed
kava, which, wonderful to say, is per-
fectly dry. How they can chew it and
not any of the saliva Of the mouth
get in il is a mystery, but these girls
are educated to the business, and if
one of them is unfortunate enough to