The times., 1898-09-18

The color of the skin or the Samoan is
a light chocolate, and in texture 1T Is as
smooth as satin. Both men and women
are very handsome and of almost heroic
stature. They are splendidly formed, and
are the most expert swimmers in the
world.
The Solomon Islanders are extremely
black, and are fierce fighters. Moreover,
they are cannibals. and 1t Is known tnat
they are now practicing cannibaiism in
the Samoan bush, as the dense jungle is
called. Whenever a Samoan mysteriousiy
disappears his friends decide at once that
he has been captured and eaten by the
black men. White men never venture far
into the jungle unless they go in num-
bers and thoroughly armed. No attempt
has ever been made TO suppress the
slave traffic in Samoa, and il Is doubtful
if the plantations could be operated with
any other than slave labor.
The Solomon men have revolted at va
rious times, but they have always been
oYerpowered, being armed only with the
rude knives used in their everyday work.
A few years ago there was an over
seer on one of the Upolu plantations
who was particularly cruel. He seemed
to take a sort of fiendish delight in lash
ing the black men on their backs until
the blood poured forth in streams. In
that hot climate all open wounds quickly
tester, if not promptly treated, and 1T
was not uncommon to see a dozen or
more men or Schneider's gang going
about with their backs fairly covered with
dripping suppuration.
One night the blacks caught the over
seer in ambush and had securely bound
him hand and foot before he could give
alarm. Then with their sharp knives
they severed the tendons in his wrists
and strapped his hands back against his
~ q w. n n
he was found by. searching party two
days later. He was most frightfully
crippled and it goes without saying
that ne was never able to WELD his cruel
lash again. He was afterwards able to
act as superintendent of the Moo-Too-
Tua Gardens in Apia although he never
recovered the use of his hands. Those
gardens, by the way, are surprisingly
beautiful. They are filed with palms
and ferns of the greatest possible luxu-
rance. Among the ferns are specimens
more than twenty feet in height, and as
delicate in texture as the maiden-hair.
The most exquisite decorations / ever saw
consisted of these gigantic ferns placed
! around a native hut on the occasion OF
! the marriage of a native girl to a young
/ Englishman.
Luxuriant Foliage.
Words are inadequate to describe the
! luxuriance of the foliage of the Samoan
! forests. 1t is an absolute fact that 1 fol-
! lowed a great vine for over eight miles
without finding any place where il
touched the ground. 1t was festooned
/ from tree TO tree and at places it was
thickly covered with flowers of the most
| brilliant hues. On the day that l dis
! covered that vine / was on my way To
/ the famed Sliding Rocks of Samoa, sew
1 eral miles back from Apia. This is, per-
hapS, one of the most lovely spots in
the world A stream of water, as clear
as crystal, piunges over a cascade, the
height of which Is about sixty feet. The
angle of the rock over which the water
falls is about forty-five degrees The sur
face of the rock in the course of untold
centuries has been worn perfectly smooth
AT the foot of the waterfall is a wide
and deep pool Overhead there is a tan
! gle of foliage, the green of leaves and
I vines being interspersed with the most
brilliant of flowers. Along the banks OF
the stream at the head of the cascade are
hundreds of wild orange trees, always in
bloom and sending forth the most delight
ful of odors. The wild oranges, by the
way, are used in lieu of soap by the
natives. No matter how hot the weather
may be it is always cool under the leafy
/ canopy at the Sliding Rocks.
! l had the pleasure of attending picnic
! given in my honor at the Sliding Rock.
/ by some of the leading native families
! The Princess Suane, a niece of King Ma,
lietoa, acted as my escort. 1t is a pecu.
/ liarity of Samoan customs that a male
| guest is escorted to a place of enter
tainment by lady of rank and the guest
! in turn, sees the lady safely to her habi.
! tatton on the return. Horses were pro-
vided for the princess and myself, but
! all the other participants in the Festivities
Z were compelled TO walk the ten mile:
/ or more TO the Papasaya which is the ma.
tive name for the Sliding Rocks. The par.
ty consisted mainly of young girls moss
| of whom were in the neighborhood Of
sixteen years of age. There were, how.
ever. several matrons and a number o.
young men, the latter of whom acted a:
porters, bearing the materials for tht
| feast that was TO be eaten at the propel
time.
Shortly after noon the feast was spread
on the bank of the stream. Huge banana
leaves served as table cloths and a.
plates. There were neither knives forl1i
nor spoons. The Samoans have not reach
ed that stage of civilization which makes
such utensils essential. The piece d,
resistance of the feast was roast pig
/ wild pig. than which nothing more deli
( cious was ever served by Deimonico. Tn,
animal is captured alive in the woods
and is killed by being strangled. TIL.
Samoans will not eat of flesh or fowl O.
! which blood has been shed in the killing
/ The pig is roasted by being buried II
an oven of hot stones. and it is cooked
| through and through. The one we had al
our Papasaya feast was a young and
! tender fellow, the meat of which wa:
white and juicy. They do not carve theil
meats in Samoa, and 1 was a little start
led wnen the Princess Suane ripped off Z
mOrsel of flesh by seizing a rib with hel
pretty fingers and giving it an exper
! twist. 1t was passed to me on a piece OF
| leaf, and il tasted none the less deliciou!
{ for having been thus served 1 should
mention, l suppose, that the princess was
fifteen yeares old, stood a little less thar
| six feet in height. and weighed some.
| thing more than a hundred and fifty
pounds. A more perfectly proportional
female never lived.
| 1t would be impossible for me to de
| scribe all the things that we had TO ca
that day. There was taro in variou.
| forms, bread fruit. baked in hot ashes
! bananas oranges, and wild pigeons. alsc
| roasted in a bed of hot stones: and ther
| there was a native dish that l really dc
not like to tell about, for it is not nice, Il
say the least. Whenever the tide eoe:
out there are found clinging to the cora
reefs sort of black, hairy worm. the av.
erage length of which is about fourteen
| inches The front of its body is quite
| thick, probably an inch in diameteter
| The rest of it tapers into a slender tail
| The natives capture great numbers OF
| these worms and squeeze their insides
| into cornucopia made of a piece of ba
mana leaf This mess is regarded as a deli
| cacy, but L was compelled to decline Il