The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-07-03
THE FEJEEs
I'll. H.bits II R.markabls People.

90o ASp1tS OF - Aomarkab1o Seop1os
A correspondent of the San Francis
60 Chronicle, writing about the South
Sea Islands, says:
It is , common impression that the
South Sea Islanders are all cannibals
and that the islands are filed with wild
beasts. Such is not the case. The
natives are indolent and far from beisS
savage, and their relations with tbs
whites are easy-going and simplAs
There is little romance and less advent
r in exploring these Southern arcbi-
pelagoes. The.islands are all of volcan.
&c origin, and in tho lowest strata
show no evidence of ores or minerals.
The vegetation is tropical and lnxuriant,
and the forest abound in every variety Of
birds. Il is y common supposition that
the islanders are physically dwarfs and
The woman shriveled and hng-like in
appearance, resembling the Indian
s4naw. The truth is, however, that no
finer race exists in the world as regards
physical structure. The men are tall
and we'll formed. The women have
magnificent proportions, pleasing faces,
are neither, fabby nor fat, and the con-
tours Of their bodies are harmonious
and voluptuous.
They have ell-developed busts,
which show beauty in their natural
form, as they wear nothing above the
waist. By actual measurement they
approach the Venus of Milo nearer
than the European. Their houses are
built of a framework Of saplings, put
together without any nails, fastened by
sennit made from the cocoanut fibre and
thatched with a long grass to the thick
ness Of several feet. The sides and
ends are filled with a lattice work Of
reeds that admit the air. The floors
are covered with soft grasses to the
depth Of several feet, over which are
spread mats. One end of the floor is
raised about one foot above the rest,
and is used as a bed, upon which is laid
from so to 100 of the softest mats,
One corner is reserved as a small fire.
place, consisting of bare ground and o
few stones, where r always
kept smouldering o few cocoanut
husks. used for the purpose of making
the suluke, or native cigarette. The
tobacco which they smoke is simply the
raw leaf dried in the sun. They hold
the leaf over the fire until it is crisp,
and then roll it in dried banana leaf to.
o sharp point at one end and broad at
the other. One cigar usually does for
several persons, each taking q few
whifis and passing it to the next. The.
food staple Of the natives is fruit, but
they have moro sumptuous edibles,
prepared by their own ingenuity.
The chief of these is the madral,
made from any fruit, yams, taro, OF
bananas, pounded into athick paste and
buried on the shore between high and
low water mark. Then it is left to
decompose for o year, when tits dug up
and steamed in o large pot. When I'M
rolled from the dried banana leaves the
odor is that of bad sourkrout sliced
with Limburger cheese. The natives
relish this condiment as a masterpiece
Of their art and eat it without
even holding their nose. 1T is sweet
to the taste and easily digesti-
ible. Another Polynesian delicacy is q
raw fish about the size of q sardine,
which the natives scoop out of the
water and bolt while the fish is still
wriggling. They taste like sardines.
The natives are very polite in their in,
tercourse with each other. When one
sneezes his companion says, 1Sabula,n
your health; the person sneezing reply
ing, "Moli." thank you: They never
meet in the morning without saying,
.Sa yandre," it is awake, and in depart
ing say, "Sa la'H moce," goto sleep.
The language abounds in poetry, with
out a rhyme, and mainly of the trochee
metre, as the accents Of the words usu-
ally fall on the penult. They celebrate
love, material deeds, feats Of strength
and drinking feats in verses, which are
handed down by oral tradition.