The Hawaiian gazette., 1886-01-05

M
III students Of the characteristics OF countries
rs displavcd in the geological formations,
III necuIarities Of the inhabitants, vegeta-
mons. animals and climate. The report Is
NJ most interesting and being the result OF
III the researches and inquiries OF scientific
gentleman. who Is connected with the
most noted scientific societies. including
the French Academic de Science, the Brl-
tish Geographical Society, the Boston
Society Of Geology, etc, demands more
h than ordinary attention at the hands OF
NJ readers.
THE SAMOAN IsLASDs.-BY THE MARQUIS
1 OF TEASo.
h PART Il.
MI If fruit and vegetables, on the Samoan
MI Islands. are limited in variety; tins fact Is
L amply compensated for 10y their abund-
| ance. So bounteous Is nature, that every
n dav is practically 10 the Samoan holiday.
NJ The production Of food and the support of
1 a family can scarcely be termed labor, yet
| few aboriginal people live better. Bread
II fruit hangs invitingly about every house;
NJ II Is their chief article Of food. There are
several varieties. the fruit Is mostly baked
ia ovens and eaten with fish. yams. taro
and bananas There are eight distinct
N varieties OF the vans fDiocsorla alata) for
M the Samoan use. every family has Its yam
and turo patch This vegetable Is a poor
substitute for the potato. possessing but
little more than one half the nutrItive pro
rertio- ut the latter, but the ease of cult
" yation aud the certainty Of crop make it
i common food for both foreigners and
natives. In Samoa the dry taro CArum
4 rr-t1lumi lOuishcs best. 1t Is a rich
n nutritious and beautiful food Masoa
\ .arr1w-root is indigenous great quaint
re- might bc raised 10y little effort. The
uIaiutaIn and the banana grow upon all
the islands in great profusion and variety.
Il Oranges. lemons and lines are very abund
ant -Ciuavas. mungoes and citrons are
found iu plenty coffee Is found wild
though not IN sufficient quantities TO ever
Justify the belief that it Is native of
samoa. Climate, soil and especially the
favorable topography Of the country unite
go invite such an industry. Indigo grows
urofuscly. the stem Is fine, and the whole
plant rich In coloUrIng matter, 1t Is not
cultivated. The latOnel nutmeg Is indi
Esn1us. The mace Is fine and rich, the
nut larger but below the average flavor of
the mt of Commerce: cultivation no doubt
would improve IT. There are two yarle-
ties uf cotton growing on the island one
aA.lLA Aal III AAAt AAAfAAA AAAf RAANA- IL =
not known hv whom nor when II was first
introduced The cotton Is of a fine quail
IT'S and not subject 10 the cotton worm or
insects.
OF the fauna Of the islands little can be
-Hid The Samoan language furnishes
common term for beasts and birds Ma
which Is a general prefix to special
names uf birds 4 few wild dogs are
found ID the mountains. The pig (Pudel
i- common to all the larger islands of the
Pacific and very abundant in Samoa, they
and fowls comprise the animal food OF the
uatiyes The researches Of the mission
aries. with the abundant testimony from
history and tradition of the islanders
seems to prove that both the pig and com
mon fowl are native to the Pacific islands
though it has been generally accepted
that the pigs and fowl left by Captain
Cook were their original introduction
while the field for the ornithologist would
hs not extensive. vet he would be amply
compensated for this.fact IN the peculiar
laIrt- and rare plumage Of native birds.
The native pigeon tigpD a trIfe larger
than our same species Is very abundant
many are tanned and carried upon sticks
hv native chiefs The vampire bat, pea
fylnr bat iPlerOpus susicollis identical
IN appearance with the pleropus ed
uarl1u Of Madagascart Is very abundant,
once considered sacred, and entered very
largely into the structure Of their rever-
eutialreigion. Il attains great size, often
measuring four feet from tip to tip of
wings There are no poisonous reptiles
IN the Samoan group but there Is con
siderable variety Of harmless snakes upon
the island Of Savaii. white, red. green.
black aud spotted | saw the first reptiles
ut the village of Ason IN Savaii. and there
learned OF the Growing snake (Niyimi
gatal Ii Is the subject Of native songs.
A c1uchul0gist would have 4 most inviting
field Tor study The beaches, reefs and
estuaues of Samoa abound in beautiful
shells and shell fish Of numerous varieties.
Fishes used as food are also abundant
they ara the varieties common 10 southern
seas, dolphin, bonito and mullet being
most abundant
The climate OF the Samoan group pre-
-euts striking differences from most. if
not all the islands Of the same latitude of
the Pacific ocean. After exertion Its de
bilitatins effect is plainly apparent to a
foreigner ina mental and physical pros
tration, no premoniuons of which are felt
however while IN action, excepting when
are distributed throughout the year ex-
cepting the months Of January and Feb
ruary. and March, when northern winds
and rain storms often sweep over the
Islands. Storms are rare occurrence.
Hurricanes such as rush over the Fijis to
the Southwest and Society Islands to the
east are almost unknown. A striking
peculiarity Of the climate Is found In the
fact that the difference Of temperature be
tween the sun and shade Is seldom more
than Z 6 Repeated observations made
with q cloudless sky and vertical sun,
showed S} in the shade, - IN the sun.
The Samoans are not exempt from dis
eases, being afflicted with spinal com
plant, diseases Of the skin, eyes, and the
lungs with elephantiasis prevailing TO a
great extent The skin disease samoan
Lamea) has the appearance Of soriasis.
most prevalent among children. which
thew seem To- outgrow. Leprosy Is not
known in the Samoan group. Elephautia-
sis Is the scourge OF the South Seas, there
l. scarcely a village IN Samoa which has
not one OF more cases, The disease Is
usually heralded 10y an attack of chills
and fever and rapidly develops itself.
seeming TO defy medical skill. The limb
soon swells to an enormous size, though
the general health does not seem to be
seriously impaired and the victim of
this malady moves about without seem
ing discomfort Exposure and constant
life in the water are among the causes as
signed for the general prevalence of ele
phautiasis But 1t Is not restricted to the
natives, whites long resident in the is
lands are likewise subject 10 ii.
The natives Of the South Sea Islands
are generally regarded as Malayan or
Papuan latter the Polynesian negro
intensified in New Guinea and Australia,
and modified in the Fiji. while the broad
face, heavy features and dark skin of the
Hawaiian speak of Papuan admixture
The Maori Of New Zealand, the Tahitian.
the Tongese. and Samoan are the Polyne-
sian Malay. the latter fairer physical
and mental type Of manhood than the
Asiatic Malay Of to-day. Never subject to
the in roads Of other races and consequent
admixture, uncorrnpted and unchanged,
they have preserved many Of their original
characteristics Tho face has many of the