Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-05-13
ABOUT TAHITI.
Jack Palmer Talks About Its Trade
and Products.

and Products.
As yesterday was a quiet day in the
city, reporter of the HERALD took q
trip to San Pedro to obtain a breath OF
sea air, and, while wandering about the
wharf, he ran across an old salt named
Jack Palmer, whom he recognized as
having, at one time, been second-mate
of a schooner running between San
Francisco and Tahiti. Jack has had a
good many years Of experience at sea,
and can tell as many yarns about its
perils and his adventures as any of his
associates. He is great talker and
when once started on subject, never
tires. In the course of his conversation
yesterday, Jack said that the trade
of San Francisco with Tahiti
was, in his opinion, very important.
His schooner had made many trips with
provisions from San Francisco for the
islands, bringing, in return, oranges, co.
coanut5, bananas and corals, and occa.
sionally shells. The orange trade, he
said, was growing smaller owing, he
thought, to the fact that the fruit after a
long voyage loses it's flavor and does not
find ready sale, especially when COM
pared with the California orange. Those
who had in late years imported Tahiti
oranges had lost money on them, and he
did not think that there would be many
more cargoes brought over. Cocoanuts
paid fairly we'll aud bananas were al
WAYS in good demand. The trade was
sufficient to keep three schooners busy
all the time and it might pay if a good
steam service were put on. A slow Ger
man steamer had been placed on the
route several years ago, but when it
was found that the schooners could make
the trip almost as quickly, and at much
smaller cost, the boat vas taken off. As
resort for health, he thought there was
no place like Tahiti, and it would pay to
run line of steamers, for the purpose of
carrying passengers only. At the pres
ent time, very few care to take the trip,
since nothing but schooners can be found
going that way.
Jack said that he was mate of the
schooner on which "Billy" Walker, the
Secretary of the Produce Exchange, of
San Francisco, went to Tahiti the year
before his death. Walker went there to
regain his lost health, and Jack did not
VILLA hO WOuku AlNO Quull lC SCU tACIC.
He was taken ashore at the city OF
people, and for several months he
seemed to be gaining, but he returned to
San Francisco and died shortly after
ward. Walker always was a lively
individual, and, after he had been
in Papete a week or so, and
was able to get out, he became the life of
the town. There were several American,
French and English merchants there,
and they took kindly to Walker, and
their ascapades together still live in the
minds of the people. Jack said that
when they heard that Walker was dead
they grieved as sincerely as if some of
their relatives had departed. Tahiti is
noted, among other things, for the
beauty of its female population, and
Walker was a great admirer of the oppo-
site sex, in consequence of which, it is
said, that there were as many dusky
maidens who mourned for him as there
were OF his own sex.
The natives Of Tahiti, who live on the
sea.shore, are constantly in the water,
and one of their principal occupations is
diving for coral, some of which is very
pretty. Their principal excitement is
the arrival of vessel from the United
States or elsewhere, and frequently they
swim out mile from shore to
meet the ship, which they board by
climbing up the chains and ropes. Their
clothing on shore consists of the lightest
kind of material, the females wearing
light colored print dresses, shaped some
thing like a Mother Hubbard" with
nothing underneath, and the men con-
.tenting themselves, in the majority OF
cases, with cotton trousers alone. The
climate is very even, and, except in the
interior, is not too warm for comfort.
Jack says that on only one occasion did
he find the weather too warm. That was
when he started out with a party to go
to the top of mountain something over
1000 feet high, in the interior. After
they had reached an altitude of about
2.0O0 feet they found it SO warm that
they were forced to give up the trip.
Some time in the future, when he is
ready to settle down, Jack says he is
going to take up a permanent residence
in Tahiti.
For Ladies' and Families.