The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-10-10

| bark Of a sort OF mulberry universal in
the isles of the Pacific Ocean, and
| these garments were curiOusly marked
by lines and dots in rude imitation OF
| the printed calicOes worn by those
| who could boast such foreign fashions;
! but "tappa," being merely kind of
! paper, is but poor defense against the
! weather in the rainy season, and I'M
/ pleasantly warm wearing in the sum-
mer, so that cotton or cloth Is at a
! high premium, and print dress IS as
| much an article of luxury with these
\ islanders as a velvet robe Is with US.
IncOmparatively the raggedest OF
men was a spare, sallOw fellow of
about forty, with an unmistakable
New England cast of features and a
Yankee drawI which would have be-
come Uncle Sam himself. His name
was Warren, and he was married to
the prettiest and most refined looking
young woman on the island, a
daughter OF Edward Christian the
elder, and sister to the handsome lad
whom / had noticed in the boat.
Warren had deserted from q whaler
that had touched at Pitcairn some
eight years before our arrival, and
made up his mind to cast his lot in
with the simple community with
which he found himself, and had
married the belle OF the island-and a
very pretty, nice-mannered body she
was, with two chubby children,
neither of whom showed the slightest
trace of the rounded features that
mark the imperfect evolution of the
Kanaka and Maori race, which seems
to be about halfway between the
negro and the Aryan. Kanaka
beauty, in fact, puts one in mind of
the lovely but sensuous girls that used |
to queen it at the so-called "Creole"
balls in New Orleans before the war. |
Mrs. Warren, however, is, and it |
must be said, all the female popula- |
ton Of this "geni of the ocean, are, !
perfectly modest and ladylike, quiet |
and reserved in manner and dignlfied |
in demeanOr. The only lively laugh
ing lassies among them are those of
the Clan Mccoy, who, being descend
ed on the male side from Pat Mccoy,
mutinous fOretOpman of the Bounty,
have the Celtic temperament, "half
sunshine, half tears" together with
the blue eyes and ready wit of their
ancestor.
Members of the Clan Christian, on
the contrary, show tie innate quiet
reserve that we are accustomed to
attribute to the British upper classes,
and are the aristocracy of this micro
cOsm of the Pacific, the community
being always presided over by one of
that family, who, like the tribal rul-
ers OF old, is priest and chieftain both,
from whom there is no appeal.
The female element of Pitcairn is de-
scended from the Kanaka girls, who
followed their white husbands and
lovers in the Bounty, on her depart
IRE from the Sandwich Islands, the
presence of whom on board was q
prime cause of the mutiny against
Captain Bligh, who disapproved of
he feminine Eruption into his ship,
md had ordered the sweethearts and
wives to be summary divorced and
eft behind.
The girls hid themselves on board
md did not make their appearance
ill the ship was in blue water, when
{ was plain that not even the
&anakas' dexterity in swimming
Gould bring them safely to land if, as
he skipper proposed, they should be
.hucked overheard.
Even in the early days of the settle
nent on Pitcairn, when the muffin
ers, in imitation of XerXes and his
Irmy had 'burned their boats" the
presence of the ladies led to strife,
hose of the men who were wifeless
to adopt the methods OF the
Romans with the Sabine lasses, and I
o take by force what they could not
vim by love, while those who had q
,eep them at all risks. 1
Only the craftsmanship OF the Chris C
ian of that day sufficed to quiet the g
and to persuade the un-
Wiling bachelors to possess their souls
u patience till the rising generation
hould arrive at manageable age, a
ask which would have taxed a Glad
tones political sagacity and powers
persuasion to the utmost, and the
q l-c 70 /
loquence OF the chieftain and the
atience of the British tars thus con- u
emned To choose their mates in the .
radle and bring them up in the way
hey should go, themselves meantime
whitening on the virgin thorn" I
The task, however, was accom- L
lished, and in the fullness of time all L
'ere accommodated with partners, /
ne late corners having the laugh at
ne others in that their Rachels, !
lOugh long waited for, were young
nd blooming, while their rival LEANS
ere grown gray and blear- eyed. But 81
his is ancient history. =
We mounted the slopiDg, winding,
,cky path leading from the beach up Z
, a cluster of cabins, built of bamboo
nd matched with neatly plated pal
letto strips, accompanied with the 4
'owd of natives which had received
Green shining leaves of the bread 4
nit tree, with its curious globes of
rina, the sharp spears of the Spanish :
iyonet plants, lime shrubs, with #
leir little verdant balls of fruit;
anges, with their golden spheres :
Id fragrant flowers; cocoa palms, 4
it'll feathery crowns about their :
eads and great pendulous cases of
ugh fibre. protecting the delicious 4
lily and refreshing milk within; GUS ..
rd apples, with crystals of grape :
gar gemming their cups OF nectar ii
Id ambrosia; bananas laden with !.
eir vegetable saussges, vines OF va :
Ous species with their purple or am Il
r clusters glowing in the sunlight :
sc the jewel fruit OF the Eastern tale,
10 flowers of all kinds, colors and i
ents, blooming on trees, shrubs and :