The Portland daily press., 1893-01-12
SOME ODD STORIES.

How the "Hermit of the Pacific For.
got His False First Love and Married g
Beautiful South Sea Maiden.
copyright, 1898. by American Press Associa-
toni
In looking over map of the Pacific
pecan it is, or seems to be, SO studded with
islands that the inference would be that g
ship sailing, say, for New Zealand or Aus
traIia would never be entirely out of sight
of land. AS matter of fact, unless the
ship has to touch at some port like Homo
lulu in the Sandwich Islands, or Apia in
/ the Navigator's group, land is never seen
on this route.
For long days the vessel plows south
ward through the boundless blue waters
till the vastness of the unlimited expanse
overpowers the beholder with feeling OF
/ awe and the humiliating fact of his own
insignifcancs.
During recent trip of twenty-four days
! from San Francisco to Australia we sight
/ ed only three vessels, though the line Of our
progress was along the track of commerce
between western America and the vast aud
fertile lands to the south of the equator.
A passenger got on at San Francisco and
| got off at Honolulu who attracted my at
tention greatly. He was young man,
stoutly built, of medium height and with
the straight blue-black hair Of an Indian.
Indeed he might have passed for Cherokee
| Indian Of the more cultured class This
young man had been in the States studying
medicine. He spoke English unusually
well, though with an accent that showed it
was not his native tongue
Though by no means reticent when gen
eral subjects were being discussed, this
civilized young South Sea islander shut up
! like the proverbial clam when an attempt
was made to get him to talk about himself.
| From German resident of the Sandwich
Islands, who seemed to be well acquainted
with DR.. Greig-I think that was the name
Il learned the following facts, which am
sure will interest the general reader quite
as much as they did me.
Eleven hundred miles to the southwest
of the Sandwich group there is little nest
Of islets called Fannin's islands. There
are four of them, but their aggregate area
is less than 100 superficial miles, and they
are SO small and Insignificant that they are
not set down ON even the largest map, and
are indicated by pin head dots on the charts
of the ships that trade in those vast waters
The Fannin islands are inhabited by q
few score Malays or Polynesians, not ma
tives Of the islands, but brought there by an
American named Greig, who is now mon
arch of all he surveys, y lord and master of
the islands, owing allegiance to no ruler,
paying taxes to no one, with no rich and no
poor subjects, no excessive virtue and no
degrading vice.
No man of force and intelligence, such as
the lord of Fannin islands certainly is,
Ipu obi -, +baro
remote and solitary spots without being
moved thereto by some intense feeling of
love-and perhaps experimentation one
woman or an intense indifference to or ha-
tired for all men.
Such, on Investigation, l found to be the
case. Mr.. Greig, or s'the Pacific hermit"
as he is called by the. few who know him, is
now nearly sixty years of age. He is a
finely formed man, still stalwart and hand
some in spite of his gray beard and white
hair.
It is said, and my informant was inclined
to believe the story, that Mr. Greig was
born of wealthy parents in one of the New
England states. He1was educated at Har-
ward, and up to his twenty-fifth year there
was no young man in all the land whose
present seemed happier or whose future
was more brilliant.
Such a man was well calculated to win
the love of women and to return the love
of one with romantic devotion.
Who the lady was is now known to only
the hermit of the Pacific" and though he
fled from her and all things that might sug-
gest her it is safe to assume that she
though unworthy his devotion, will be the
last earthly object in his thoughts when
the hour has come for him to take the eter-
nal sleep by the shores of the limitless
ocean.
The woman was false to her pledge Then
the young man sold out his possessions and
went forth to find home far from the
worlds madding crowd. In his wander
ings he heard of or stumbled on the Fannin
islands, and there he resolved to make his
home, far fram the din and strife Of civil
zation.
He chartered vessel and succeeded in
inducing number of Sandwich Islanders
to accompany him. Hetook with him few
domestic animals, seeds and fruits, and
trees that would grow in those islands of
eternal summer, and then he babe goodby
to the world and turned his back on it, as
he thought, forever.
But the romance of his life did not end
here, and the world was destined to hear
from him again, for his solitude now makes
him conspicuous.
Among the Sandwich Islanders who
shared Greig's lot was beautiful girl, the
laughter of a chief who by reason of re-
volt against the reigning king of the islands
had fallen into disrepute.
Excepting the gazelle eyed Samoans there
are no more beautiful women to be found
in these isles Of the sun than the maidens
of the Hawaiian group. 1.-the of form,
graceful as fawns, with gold-bronze COM
plexions, laughing black eyes, teeth like
pearls and voices provocative of love in
their low, musical tones, he must indeed be
cold who remains unmoved by their pres
ence.
This maiden--I regret that I could not
learn her name, but what matters itp-was
drawn from the first to the handsome young
white man to whom her father and friends
had pledged allegiance.
In thenew home Greig's nervousness wore
off, and gradually his heart was weaned
from the old Iowa. il not from the old pain,
by the beautiful daughter Of the old chief
A nerfect daughter Of nature unframed