The evening times., 1896-08-19

j. Lamb Doty, aged about thirty-fivc,
dapper suave, husband OF an alleged Fiji
princess, United States ccnsui to Tahiti,
in the South Pacific Ocean, is In the city.
visiting relatives whom lie has seen but
once in the nine years, OF his residence
abroad
| Ills post is on the islands which belong
To the Society group, and lie beyond the
equator at Il Latitude OF II degrees south
and longitude OF 142 west from Greca-
wich They are situated 75O miles frnm
San Francisco and :, 400 from Auckland,
| New Zealand.
| II required Mr. Doty nearly two months
TO make the trip via San Francisco, as
| at present there is no steamship connection
between the United States and The colony
| Of Tahiti The Journey is consequently
made in sailing vessels, which are fitted up
with elegant apartments, as the traffic is
quite extensive.
Owing to adverse winds his voyage was
only made in ioriy-six days. Steamships
connect Tahiti direct with Aukland, by
\ which a trip is made To San Francisco in
thirty days, bit ut much greater expense.
Tahiti lies considerably out OF the course
| TO New Zealand and Australia, and is not
either in the line direct from Hawaii. The
islands are situated just Q, 90 miles from
| Honolulu, which is the same distance from
the Pacific coast of the United States.
AN IMPORTANT POST
MIR. Doty is quitca young man, though his
consulate rs one of the most important OF
all the islands of the Pacific. He was ap-
pointed 10 his post nine years ago under
President clcvcland's former adniinistra-
tion, and this is his first visit here in five
| years
Tahiti is known as the Pearl of the Pa
cfic,' said MIR. Doty To a Times reporter.
| lit is said by travellers, those who have
encirclci the whole earth, to be the most
beautiful garden spot OF the world. Sci
| entists and Inineralofists state that the
| soil is the richest on the globe Tie slope
rises gradually from the sea to the mount
aims, which are 5000 feet above the level
| OF the sea.
| There are beautiful valleys aud rich,
| fertile table lands The sides OF Tie mount
aims to the peaks are covered with dense
| woods, and IL Is the foliage OF these trees
which has fallen for innumerable cen
turies and has enrichedthe soil The mount
aims are volcanic, though there has not been
an eruption for over a hundred years.
The climate is unsurpassed by any on
the face of the earth. 1 have been in
| hawaii when the atmospheric conditions
| are superb. but Hawaii cannot compare
with Tahiti. The temperature ranges be
tween 30 aud 80 degrees. The year around
the mercury fluctuates between these two
points, scarcely ever exceeding 30 degrees
| in summer and never falling below 20 in
winter.
Coming from the tropics l never suf-
| fered there such abnormal heat as / en-
dured while crossing the continent last
week. The chief products OF the islands
are coffee, sugar, cocoa, bananas, and
| all tropical productions. Tahiti is soon to
be the greatest coffee producing country,
in proportion 10 its size, in the world.
THE INDUSTRIES.
The people on The plantations are devcl-
oping a grade OF the breakfast beverage
| which is even superior 10 that of Mocha.
| The sugar cane Industry is also growing,
| now that the American methods Of produc-
iion have been introduced II will not
be long before American enterprise and
wealth will enter into the production Of
coffee and sugar on u large scale.
| What is most needed now for the fur
ther development of The islands is steam
ship communication with the United States,
| which would reduce the tine TO about
| thirteen days. Then Tahiti will become the
leading health resort of the Pacific, people
| will then be able TO acquaint themselves
| with the superior advantages Of the islands.
| Al present the trade with the United States
| is so per cent of that carried on by the whole
colony and is constantly growing, the re-
rnainder being divided between Great
| Britain, A ustralia New Zealand and France,
the latter being but about per cent.
| The States import lumber, flour, bread
stuffs, cottons, muslins aud manufactured
| goods.
People look on map of the world and
form i very crude idea Of the character of
| the islands of the Pacific. Their cunccp-
tion is always bound to be very vague; they
are not students of geography when il comes
10 such far-off lands. They fancy all the
| inha.itantsa are naked sava gesund cannibals,
making good Gnner of every stranger
| who makes his appearance, They consider
noexceptious, but generally form their ideas
| from wild stories of adventure in which
| there is scarcely any truth.
THE inhabitants of Tahiti are not can
nibles, and never were. They are people
OF modern ideas, following civilized GUS
| toms and manners, both In Industrial I'M
| provements and style of dress. 1t is also
a mistake, n great error. to think that the
Tahitians belong to the negro or Indian
races.
TAHITINs' ORIGIN.
while iheirorigin like that of many other
races is clouded in mystery the latest
| scientific discoveries and resea rches have
found a link connecting them with the Jews.