The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-12

chief of the bay, whose native name
and title is Manga, the mountain, a
most appropriate designation of the
ruler Of the plecipitous crags and peaks
which surround the bay. Seven years
later, in 1880, the Samoan orator, LIE
M6mea, visited Washington and con-
cluded treaty with Mr.. EVarts, then
the secretary of state. lie Mamea was
until he died four years ago, conspicu-
Gus in the petty chHdishness of Samoan
politics as the nearest approach to a
statesman who has ever had any con-
nectiOn with the administration of
native affairs, an administration by
Turns tempsstuOUS and shifty. He had
sufficient acumen to convince the de-
partment of state that an error had
been committed in negotiating the har-
Dor treaty with a minor chief when
there was a king and government III
SomOa with which to treat. The plea
was more speciOUs than true-it inVOlv-
ed q most important begging of an es-
sent:al question in describing Malietoa
a.; king of Samoa-but it seemed valid
in Washington and the treaty was con-
Guided. Intent only upon securing the
right to maintain a coaling and refitting
station in the South Pacific, Mr.. Evarts
neglected to notice that the United
States was taking first among nations
the initial step toward the recOgni-
ton of the small and imperfectly civil
lied kingdom of Samoa, which has con-
tinuOUsly since that time caused to
the three greatest powers Of the world
an absUrdly dispropOrtionate amount
of worry. Solely to secure the negotiat-
cd rights at PagO-PagO, the United
States found itself drawn into the
complexities which brought this cOun-
Try to the very verge of war with Ger
many, a danger which was averted
Only by the act Of Providence-the
great gale which filled the harbOr Of
Apia with wrecks and dead, which cost
the United States the warships "Tren-
ton" and "Vandalia." In this inVOlun-
tary plunge into foreign policy Pago-
Page was showed into the background
and forgotten, although it was to secure
the harbOr that the treaty was signed
which led up to all the trouble.
The final settlement of Samoan af-
fairs-the Berlin General Act of 1883,
which created the present tripartite
tectOrate-COnfirmed the American
right to PagO-PagO as a sole right.
BY the energy Of the first consul gen.
eraL Harold Marsh SeWall the navy
department was enabled to purchase q
tract of land on the bay. A small
depot of coal was established q shed
was built to house the fuel, two light
ers were built to carry the coal be-
tween shore and ship. The land bought
was not sufficient in extent, 1t was
commanded by heights which might be
easily seized and fortified, no attempt
was made to build pier out to deep
water; but these things frequently
happen in government purchases. The
small deposit Of coal was gradually
used up, as the cruisers of the Pacific
squadron paid their rare visits to the
islands; no effort was made to replace
the loss. The present supply consists
of a scattered heap Of culm screenings
which might amount in all n tu
tons of useless slack. The shed has
fallen to pieces by the rOtting of It's
timbers, the force of the wind and the
theft Of the iron sheets with which it
was sheathed. The lighters hauled up
on the shore have been let to rot and
would probably fall to pieces under the
strain Of launching.
Throughout the South Pacific no bet
ter site could be found for a naval sta
ton than PagO-PagO. It's position is
SO central as to make it available for
fleets operating IN the eastern part Of
those waters for fleets operating to
westward, and for those covering the
great trade routes to the north and to
the south From the naval base at
Honolulu 1t IS eight days distant; from
Auckland, in New Zealand, it is five
days; from Sydney and the Australian
coast eight days.
Thus conveniently placed, 1t is also
Ills "a t'ee'ooCu III IT'S lOCdl advantages.
Although far in the torrid zone, it has
neither facilitating heat nor endemic
fevers. An unfailing supply of excel
lent water is found in every valley
- where the mountain streams rush down
from the heights above. Fresh proVis-
1ons-that is to say, pigs, taro and the
bred-fruit-may be purchased from the
Samoans living in several villages on
the shore, but all such transactions
Will have to be conducted at retail.
The harbor is a right angle among
mountains. For nine months of each
year the trade wind blows steadily at
southeast, beginning at o'clock in the
morning and continuing until shortly
after sunset. During the midsummer
mOrths, from December to March, the
trade wind ceases, it's reliable breezes
are replaced by dead Gains, battling
airs and devastating gales from the
nCrtherly quarter. When the north
winds are blowing high the harbor of
Apia is unsafe and vessels must put
to sea or seek shelter from the storm
The same is true of the neighboring
bays on the same north coast Of UpoIu
Saluafata which is reserved to the
German navy, and Fangaloa, which is
the British depot In case of a gale
during the hurricane season these har-
bors are as unsafe as Apia. But at
Pago-Pago the cruisers of the United
States navy are far differently situat
ed. Between their anchorage and the