The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-24
In FAR-OFF SAMOA.
Wanderings and Writings of a
Salt Lake Boy.
THE NATIVES AND CIVILIZATION
How They Handle Sharks-The Fishing Sea
son and How They Make the
Most of It.

SALEAULA, SAyAII. Samoa, Dec. 70, 1871.
Correspondence of THE HERALD. The
Oldest of old maxins, that ''There is no
place like home,n is verified to the very
letter in the minds of about thirty four
thousand natives on the ten inhabited
islands of the Samoan group, as it is, no
Doubt in the heart Of every person in
civilization regarding his own respective
country.
To the Samoan, Samoa is what America
is to the American or England to the Eng
lishman. He does not comprehend longer
stretch of land than this, the longest island
of the group Sayaii, which is forty-six
miles long by twenty-five wide at
the widest point; he can not imagine
larger tract of land freed from
the dense forest and not carpeted, as
Samoa, is, with a thick growth of perpet-
ual green underbrush OF small bushes and
running vines; he will stay for hours in
his little old hovel and smoke the fitting
seconds away with his utufana (cigarette)
Of Samoan raised tapaa (tobacco) rolled in
small piece of dried banana leaf, and
every little while add a few cocoanut shells
to the smoking embers in the old fireplace
as he puzzles his unworried brain by Won
dering how any man could exist in coun-
try where there are no cocoanut, bread
fruit, banana or orange trees, and he
can no moro imagine that thousands
OF Americans live to be old men and die
without having seen the ocean, than the
creeping infant can have knowledge OF any
object out of its optical view.
Not wishing to have any more of our
breath wasted by telling our Samoan friend
of
THE MANY WONDERS OF CIVILIZATION,
which his child-like mind can not grasp,
we will turn the tables' as it were, and
have him tell US of what he knows by ira
dition and experience of that wise-nlan-
puZzler-species of sea worm called palolo,
which is only found four mornings in the
year, the first two mornings Of the last
quarter OF the October and November
moons.
This extremely peculiar species of sea
life only stays on the waters surface be-
tween the hours of early dawn and about
O'Clock am. when it begins to disappear
ana the Samoan says 1t turns again into its
mother element, sea water. Well not pre-
tend to say where we think it takes itself
on TO, but merely resolve that a: day dawn
you see it and little after sunrise you
don't.
We will take our vaaalo (bonita fishing
canoe and get native TO paddle US out to
the particular opening in the reef over
which the palolo floats. IT'S quite an ex-
perience we see in the half dark and half
light, the dusk Of forms of quite number
of natives
AS THEY PADDLE THEIR CANOES.
with their left hand, and with primitive
looking strainer in the right hand they
skim the oceans surface just like our
mothers do the milk pan, and put the pa
lnln
from lauaa "a cloth-like fibre which binds
the cocoanut leaves to the tree}.
The worm, when on the surface of the
water, is from six inches to yard long and
Is OF two colors or species, a blue and
yellow. 1t being SO very soft and tender,
1t is broken into short pieces, yet seems to
retain its life much longer than q fish after
being caught And it's a stomach-upset-
ting sight TO see the natives, from the two
year-olds up, flock around the sack full of
crawling worms and smack their lips as
they eat them by the handful.
We. or some OF US, eat them
when cooked, and they make
very good substitute for cove oysters.
The native way of cooking all kinds of fish
is By doing them up in banana and bread
fruit leaves intossmall bundles and cook
ing them in the oven of heated rocks
At the November gathering of palolo, |
had the privilege of examining a number
VI DObu hluuS through a microscope. Inc
body is round and about the size Of a wheat
straw, and on either side are short legs as
close together as they seemingly could be.
The yellow ones appear as if jolnted, and
the body is composed of matter resem-
bling the yolk of an egg, while the darker
ones seem full of spawn. yet there is life in
the dark ones as much as the yellow ones.
We sesrched in vain for one with its head,
they get broken in pieces so badly that it
is difficult task to get head or tail of them
Now that we know there is such a
peculiar species of worm life as the palalo
has proven to be, let us find out how the
natives astrological, astronomical, or more
properly speaking, Neurological wisdom
tells him the month, week and four par
ticular mornings on which to expect the
palalo to rise. First
SAMOAN YEAR OR SEASON
Is of six months duration, hence there are
two seasons in one year OF twelve months.
The first is called vaitoelau, dry season, or
months when the trade wind (toelau) blows
almost continuously, commencing in April
ana continuing till October, when the val
palolo, or wet season begins by the wind
blowing from the west, from which quarter
the much dreaded Samoan cyclones blow
during the entire season, Or that is thag
are apt TO spring up with only few hours
warning almost any day between the
mUnbuS Va OcIoper anu April, yet the
months most dreaded by seamen are Janu-
airy, February and March, the three
months that the sun, after reaching its
southern limit, is travelling north to the
equator. 1t is very rare that hurricane
ever visits Samoa after the sun crosses the
''line'' on its north bound trip.
When the trade winds begin to yeer
round TO the west lard, the weather gets a
little warmer a tree called the seasea
begins to bloom. The natives know that
the first new moon after the seasea puts
forth its blossoms is the moon in which
they will gather palolo. And to tell the
exact morning on which to begin, they
watch the moon until it overtakes the sun
and they both rise together, then they, the
natives, count eight mornings and on the
ninth and tenth the worm never fails 20
rise.
There are numerous kinds of the finny
tribe of all sizes ana colors imaginable
caught by the natives, from the tiny min.
now size to the monster deep-water fish,
the yoracious shark.
MOST OF THE FISHING
is done inside the reef. Nearly all the isl.
ands are surrounded by coral reef Only
for few Of the larger fish, such as shark
(malie), bonito or skipiack latu) and her
ring do the natives fish in deep water.
1t is surprising to see the dexterity with
which the Samoans handle the six, seven
or eight feet shark in their easily tipped
over fishing canoe. They always fish out
side the reef at night or very early in the
morning. When fishing for shark the dried
gills of the herring are tied on the end of q
long rope for bait. When the shark scents
The herring he makes a stir on the surface
OF the water, showing the natives where
ne IS, and starts for the bait. The
native holding the rope then draws in the
bait lust ahead of the seelzar II ntil hn h.,l.l.