Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1885-06-25
THE rEJEEs


naei'H OLA Remarkable People.
a correspondent Of the San Fr,n.;,.
% Chronicle, writing about the south
Sea Islands, says:
IL is = common impression that tho
South Sea Islanders are all capuibal.
ana that the islands are filed with wild
beasts Such is not the case. The
natives are indolent and far from beins
savage aud their relations with thc
WI, are easy-going and sim,Ilr
lnere is little romance and less qdvcnt.
ure m exploring these Southern ar,I,i.
Pehgoes. The, islands are all Of volran.
&c origin, and in the lowest styato
/ snow no evidence Of urea or minnrnIs
lhn vegetation Is tropical and lnxuriant,
ana the forest abound in every variety If
"nus, IL II u common supposltior chat
Tue islanders are physically dwarfs ond
inc woman shriveled aud hagslife i,
appearance, Resembling the Indian
ssq"aw. The truth is, however, that no
hher race exists in the world as regards
physical structure. The men are tall
ana well formed, The women have
magnificent proportions, pleasing faces
are neither, habby nor fat and the con.
'oors OF their bodies arc hafmonious
am voluptuous. MUS
,iheY have well.dcyeloped busts,
which show beauty in their natural
FORM as they wear nothing above the
waist. BY actual measurement thcv
approach the Venus of Milo nearer
,han III" European Their houses are
nui't OF framework OF saplngs. put
together without any nails, fastened hv
schnit made from the cocoanut fibre and
matched with long grass to tic thick
ness Of 81 veral feet. The sides md
ends are filled with lai &c work of
reeds that admit the ali The floors
are covered with soft grasses 10 che
depth OF several feet, over which arE
spread mats. One end of the floor *
raised about one foot above the rest.
and is used as bed, upon which is laid
from % to 100 Of the sbttest mats.
one corner Is reserved rs a small fire
place, consisting Of bare ground and a
rev stones, where are ALWAYS
Kept SmouldCriug few cocoanut
huSks. used Tor the purpose of making
the sulukc, or native cigarette. Tho
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
sharp point ut one end and broad at
the other. One cigar usually does for
several persons, each taking a few
whltis aud passing it to the next. The
iood staple Of the natives is fruit, but
they have more sumptuous cdibles,
prepared by their own ingenuity.
The chief of these is the nadral.
made from any fruit, vans. taro, or
bananas, pounded into thick paste and
buried on the shore between high and
low water mark. Then 1t is left to
decompose for year. u it is dug up
and steamed in large pot When uu-
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 aud eat it without
even holding their nose. 1t is sweet
w 'AN ldHbt blll ttrtlN blRtnII-
lble. Another POlynesian delicacy is a
raw fish about the size of n sardine,
which the natives scoop ont Of the
water and bolt while the fish is still
wriggling They taste like sardires.
The natives are very polite i'll their in
tercourso with each other. When one
'neeGes his companion says, "Sabulu,"
YOUR health the person sncezing reply
ing, "Moli." thank you. They never
meet in the morning without saving,
"Sa yandre," it is awake, and in depart
ing say, "Sa la'ki moce," 60 to sleep.
The language abounds in poetry, with
ont 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, icats of strength
and drinking feats in verses, which are
handed down by oral tradition.