The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-04

 terpreter expressed desire for some thin to wet is troat" The captain told the interpreter that he was rather short of liquors, whereupon he was in- formed that "mose anyting do," The captain filled 0 glass with vinegar and passed it to his Highness, who took sip, and then with shudder gasped in broken English, "Goot brandy" and, lifting the glass anew, swallowed the contents, casting longing looks mean while at the vinegar cruet
 The governor wears most imposing uniform consisting of plug hat, an umbrella, glaring red in color and of huge proportions, and bandage about his Joins, when he visits ship.
 Upon the arrival of whale ship the governor and his staff, which is his crew also. board the craft and make an extended visit, not infrequently staying until preparations for leaving the island are nearly completed.
 These men are much in love with food cooked PAmericaine, and will not willingly forsake the craft so long as a chance to partake of a square meal offers.
 Though they are not addicted to pill fering in our day, time was when they were sad thieves. Captain John Swift of Provincetown, who commanded the whaling schooner Robert Raikes in the f1fties, tells a yarn respecting their sleight- -of-hand work that Is too good to slight He was at Annobon taking in wood, water and provisions, and had n1 The visitors ate with the after guard, or officers in the cabin. Sundry hunks of cold boiled beef found their way be- tween the top of the governors head and the crown of his beaver-which he never failed to wear at table-at vari- ous times, and other articles sought re- fuge in the same battered asylum when the captains attention was diverted.
 Joe King, a boat steerer, noticed the thefts and laid a counter plot while all were at dinner one day. Governor Tom had succeeded in smuggling several bits of food within the precincts of his royal tile and was in the best of spirits when something demanding the pres ence of the captain occurred on deck. The captain went from the cabin just
  ing boiled rice entered it. Governor Tom had partaken of cold boiled rice on the day previous; had fairly gorged himself, in fact and his eyes now eX- banded gloatingly as they espied the succulent mess. One thing he did not know: the scalding heat of the rice just from the fire.
 Joe Kings time had arrived. Reach ing across the table, he said to the gov ernor: Give us your hat"
 With wink that was the genuine American article, old Tom complied with all speed. King ladled great quantity of the rice into the beaver hastily, and as quickly passed it back exclaiming, "On with 1t; here's the cap- tain.'
 Governor Tom slapped 1t on his head and as he did so, the boiling mass dropped full upon his poll, and clung like red hot porous plaster. One fieeting glance-a look in which reproach, terror, anguish and rage were mingled-the hoodwinked thief gave his tormentor; one mighty yell that well nigh blew up the decks, escaped him; then. like cannon ball, he burst from the cabin and went overheard, head first, to cool his scalded scalp in the harbor waters.
 The trade winds, veering from south- east to south-southwest, blow gently and regularly over the little isle from years end to years end, with the excep- ton of the months of December and January, when squalls from the north and northeast. with thunder, lightning and rain, prevail. June and July are cold months, but fruits grow through out the year.
 The huts are made of a soft, pulpy wood, which the natives hew into boards, and have fiat or sharp roofs, as the owners elect, matched with the leaf of the cocoanut. Windows are uf1- known, while the entrances have no doors, simple screen of matched or woven leaves or grass being used in rainy weather. These huts have floors of clay, pounded down hard, on which the islander sleeps the sleep of child. Though formerly the inhabitants were great thieves, in these days the thief seems to have gone out of exist ence, the natives thinking that ships kept away from the island because of the petty thefts, having stopped the practice and now a boat containing many articles, the possession of which would mean comparative riches to the poor blacks, can land and lie on the beach all day and yet not an article will be stolen.
 Fish of many kinds abound around Annobon. The natives fish from ca noes Their hooks are made of pended wire; their lines are fashioned from plant fibre. Their fishing tackle, though primitive, is handled with skill, and large quantities of fish are landed annually.