The Hawaiian gazette., 1885-03-25

The chief islands of the group-and, IN h
deed the ones worth mentioning pa t.
vail, Upolo, and Tatuila. The tirst Is the L
largest of the three; it measures forty g
miles from east to west, and twenty from
north to south. Its interior Is occupied
by two parallel chains of mountains on 1
the south side of the island these run
close to the coast, and form a precipltous
and rock-bound shore, without reefs or '
harbours. On the northern aspect the /;
land slopes gently down to beach oil
coral, encircled at a varying distance by
natural breakwater. Here the soil Is a
rich alluvium, covered with perennial veg
citation. and dotted with native villages
and homesteads. But with Savaii, as with
SO many other islands in the South "a.
cifc, a narrow strip of land Is the only
portion which possesses any commercial
value. The great portion of the interior
of Sayaii is barren track of country, |
thickly strewn with scoria, ashes, and vol |
canic debris. This portion is known to the
natives as 30 lie mu," or the burnt coun-
try.n In Upolo, the second island OF the,
group. the land is more fertile, and the
scenery more tame. Its interior, however,
like that of Savaii, is occupied by vol
canic range, but without the forbiddlng
lava beds. About four miles from Apla
the commercial capital of the group,
the whole range becomes lower, and grad
ually trends away towards the sea. This
norton of the coast is wonderfully fertile,
consisting of a deep rich alluvlum,
watered almost daily throughout the year
by genial showers Unfortunately, 1t Is
strictly limited in extent, and is,moreover,
thickly covered with native villages. Apla
is the chief town of Upolo, and indeed OF
the whole group 1t has population OF
about 100 Europeans and 200 natives; but
the number of the latter is never constant.
AHA. like Constatinople, looks It's best al
Assistance. From the harbor it presents a
long crescent-shaped line of white houses
Suffering in the sun, and peeplng out as
it we're, from amid dense grove OF cocoa
nut trees, the iron roofs sparkling galiy
while the flag of the various consulate:
and "stores" impart an air of business an1
cheerfulness to the little town. But on
nearer approach much of this appareh
beauty is dispelled. The houses are o
wood, and, with scarcely an exception, Il
amore or less advanced condition OF ole
cav. There are no wharves. no hotels, n
buildings of any size, nothing but a. te'
native huts and drinking saloons. Liner
is only one street and has only one sId
A few missionaries and Sydney traders ha
established themselves IN an uncertain wa
in Tonga and Eastern Fiji. Their tTaG
was limited to beads, knives and clot
which we're exchanged for cocoanut = o
bec1e de mer, and in FIJI and the New ne
rides for sandal-wood. The prohts We
enormous, and SO also were the rlsks' IL
Godefroys were the first to put any caI
tai and commercial knowledge IN South ,
Island business. They established factc
les round Apia, and employed heet
some seven sailing vessels, averaging ed
over 1000 tons. These lifted up drec'
for Hamburg, and, in order to get th'
cargo, literally secured the whole oou
Pacific.
The position of an ''agent" en- one
these olt-stations was peculiarly haza
ons, Their isolation was complete. Ma
of them have told me, more especially
the Caroline Island, that they never
secure of their lives for half an hour.
wav thew managed to live was somew
AZ follows: They first of all construc
house of planks, with a galvanised |
roof To lessen the risk of fire, and t
this was further strengthened by slabs
cocoanut wood, thick and strong enol
TO turn a musket ball In this fasE
thew could resist attack from the outs
But treachery was not so easily guar
against. Natives, especially in the ives
groups, are very fond of laying ambu'
for an enemy, and many time they
this method on Godeffroy's traders.
man told me he was constantly being
in wait for, and had anticipated his
mics many times, killing over sixty du
his residence of five years in Gel
island Most of these traders had IN
defence 'married" native women;
these "wives" most of them were indie
for their safety, for they formed abso
" fine only channels through which
Information could be obtained.
fidelity of these women to their lege
though touching and praiseworthy,
frequently, one regrets to say, rewi
by treachery and ll-usage. AS the
effroy interests grew, the firm beca
bankers of the South Sea Islands.
imported large quantities OF de
silver from Peru, which was accept
Samoa at fictitious value, but
nevertheless remained there, and tC
very convenient current coin.
The first white man who ever SO