The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-05-26

Preserved Manages.

8Iangoes are now in season and a friend who
has several trees loaded with the fruit, invited
us over to his house the other night to examine
his method of preserving them. Seated on his
vcrandah in the early evening he unfolded his
plan as follows
You see those small cottages across the
way well, from one or the other of them there
is a party who slips quietly into the yard here
every night and with that tall bamboo leaning
against that mango tree knocks down a lot of
green and ripe fruit, and by the time wife wakes
me and L get into my slippers he has filed the
bags he brings with him and, as I come out
on the verandah here, he bolts across the grass
plat aud vanishes through the gate, which he
leaves wide open when he comes in. Now /
think I've hxed things for him tonight, when
I'm pretty sure he'll come-for there is moon
enough for him to see by-and I'll tell
you how pve done it. To the trunk of that
tree over there on the left side of the grass plot
I've fastened 4 short bed cord about eight inches
above the ground, and I've carried it across the
.plot-hiding 1t in the grass-to that tree in the
shadow over there on the right, where rve pass
ed it through \ small eye bolt screwed into the
trunk about as high up as the other one then
the end pye carried further on to that thick
bush and fastened it TO a bag of sand weigh
ing about eighty pounds. Now you look
overhead here and you'll see u cord
from my bedroom window running across
amongst the branches of the tree to that
shrub where the sand bag is. pve hauled the
bag up by this cord so that the bed rope is all
slack down in the grass. I'll let go of this cord
and let the sand bag haul the other one taut
across the grass plat, and you'll see some fun.
Meanwhile we'll go in aud have a game of crib
bage and listen to some music"
Nothing more was said about the trap until
about eleven o'clock, when, w0 having spent q
very pleasant evening, we bid our hostess good
night, - and according to q preconceiYed plan
parted with our host at the entrance to the
house opposite the one opening upon the grass
plat, and then-quictly slipped back into the
house, and waited until the lights were ex-
fTu.rf=ba1 nn1 nfhar 11ranZraNi0nu - To-
going to bed. Then our friend joined US in the
darkened parlor, where we waited and watched.
The mango thief had evidently been emboldened
by his previous success, and not long after the
last light Was extinguished We heard the click of
the latch to the gate, aud saw it quietly opened
to its full extent, and a man steal in aud move
quietly across the grass plat to the mango trees.
lie laid his bag down with its mouth open, and,
Selling the bamboo, began to knock off the fruit.
There being quite u bright moon, he was able to
do this without making much noise, and that
that he did make was hardly to be distinguished
from the rustling of the leavesowing to the strong
trade winds that were blowing. The fruit fell
around him, and in a few minutes lie Stopped
and began to gather it into his bag. Our
friend then left us for a moment, slipped
into his bedroom and gently loosened the
cord that held up the sand bag. By look
ing very sharply, and knowing just what TO
look for, we were enabled to make out the
straight line of the tightly stretched cord as it
rose out of the grass, and then we were joined
by our friend VINO gave US a small DaSketful OF
ripe tomatoes, and over ripe papayas and man
goes, and-keeping one like it himself he softly
breathed in our ear:
"IIl go into the bedroom again and make u
little noise to make him think he has disturbed
me; then, he'll pick up his bag and run for the
gate, and before he gets outside let him have all
the ammunition you've got in your basket
He left us again and we softly opened the
front door and peeped out justin time to see the
thief start, glance around, sieze his bag and be-
gin to run. As he did we and our friend burst
out of the house and fired a volley at the flying
thief. As we did so his foot caught in the
stretched line and he was projected forward
about ten feet on to the grass plat his bag flying
from his grasp as he fell. For q moment he
lay fiat as if half stunned, while We fired round
after round OF tomatoes, papayas and mangoes,
and then he sprang to his feet again just in time
to get Il broadside of fruit and vegetables in his
back. and then he dashed wildly through the
gate followed by the remainder of our ammuni-
ton, and the bamboo pole that our friend had
launchei after him, and the last we saw of him
he was g~alloping down the street without any
hat, with the knees of his breeches torn out,
face and hands scratched the remains of a large,
soft papaya, and several tomatoes spread over
his back. THAT" said our friend as we re-
turned breathless to the house, lis my receipt
for preserving mangoes, and this time I've pre-
served q whole bag full, and got a tolerably
] good hat into the bargain"