The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-04-30
SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.
some Noteworthy Character
istics OF the Feejees.


Some Noteworthy Character
istics OF the Feejees.
Finely-Formed People Their Houses
Food, Language and Habits.
1t is common impression, says a
FeeJee letter to the San Francisco
Chronicle, that the South Sea Islanders
are all cannibals and that the islands
are filed with wild beasts. Such is not
;he case. There are no quadrupeds
'here except pigs. and cannibalism
aas ceased to exist except in the most
remote and unapproachable of the is
:ands. The natives are indolent and
sar from being savage. and in their re-
,ations with the whites are easy going
and simple. There is little romance
and less adventure in exploring these
southern archipelagoes. The islands
are all of volcanic origin, and in the
owest strata show no evidence of ores
'r minerals. The vegetation is tropi-
,al and luxuriant and the forests a.
pound in every variety of birds.
1t is common supposition that the
SANDERS are physically dwarfs and the
women shriveled and hag-like in ap-
pearance, resembling the Indian squaw.
rhe truth is, however, that no finer
:ace exists in the world as regards ply
iical structure. The men are tall and
we'll formed. The women have mag
nificent proportions. pleasing faces, are
neither tlabby nor fat, and the contours
'f their bodies are harmonious. By ac-
:ual measurement they approach the
Venus of Milo nearer than the Euro
pean.
Their houses ale built of frame
work of saplings, put together without
any nails, fastened by sennit made
from the cocoanut fiber, and thatched
with long grass to the thickness of
several feet. The sides and ends are
illed with a lattice work of reeds that
admit the air. The floors are covered
with soft grasses to the depth of sever
al 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 fifty to
one hundred of the softest mats. One
corner is reserved as small fireplace.
consisting of bare ground and few
stones, where are always kept smolder-
ing few cocoanut husks, used for the
purpose of making the suluka, or ma
ave cigarette. The tobacco which they
smoke is simply the raw leaf dried in
The sun. They hold the leaf over the
ire until it is crisp and then roll it in
Tried banana leaf to sharp point at
one end and broad at the other. One
cigar usually does for several persons.
each taking a few whiffs and passing
t to the next.
The food staple of the natives is
fruit, but they have more sumptuous
sdibles prepared by their own ingenui-
~. The chief of these is the nadroi,
made from any fruit, yams. taro, or
bananas, pounded into thick paste
and buried on the shore between high
and low water mark. There it is left
to decompose for year, when it is dug
up and steamed in large pot. When
unrolled from the dried banana leaves
the odor is that of bad sourkrout sliced
with Limburger cheese. The natives
relish this condiment as masterpiece
Of their art and eat it without even
holding the nose. 1t is sweet to the
taste and easily digestible. Another
Polynesian delicacy is raw fish about
the size Of 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
intercourse with each other. When
one sneezes his companion says. "sabu-
la" your health; the person sneezing
replying, "Moli," thank you. They
never meet in the morning without
saying. "Sa yandra." it is awake, and
in departing say, "Sa la'ki moce," 90
to sleep. The common term in their
language for white men is "kai para
lagi," the first word meaning "of the
race Of" and the last, "beyond the ho-
rizon." The Polynesians have words
to express even metaphysical ideas.
and the language is flexible enough to
convey new notions when first present
ed to them. They call steamer, "laca
Iinka," or sail of fire, instead of incor-
porating the English word into their
speech. The language abounds in poet
ry, without rhyme, and mainly of the
trochee metre, as the accents of the
words usually fall on the penult. They
celebrate love. martial deeds, feats of
strength. and drinking feats in verses
which are handed down by oral tradi-
ton.
A Generous Man.
"Did Won see ANYTHING of a nncket- |,