Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-05-14

same year Sustenance revisited his
pearling station and found little shell
| as yet collected. 1t is likely that he
gave forcible expression to his disap-
| pointment, but be that as it NAV, the
main feature is that the three beach
combers We're then there with the two
native settlements of Manahikians and
Penrhyn people and that all was well.
In April, 1858, the brig Charlotte
touched at Suvarrow and two of the
Manahiki boys, Otca and Vamau,
went on her to Samoa. Neither on the
voyage nor at Apia did they mention
any white men as having been with
them on SuVarroW, and the master of
the Charlotte knew nothing of the
former actions of Sustenance.
That trader again visited Suvarrow
on June -. ten months after estab-
fishing his diving station and eight
months after his last visit AS he
stood up for the passage through the
coral reef first one and then O second
canoe filed with Penryhn Islanders
boarded the Dart with many EXPIRES
sions of pleasure that they once more
say their friend Uru- Uru, for the three
beachcombers had long ago taken their
boat and sailed away westward to
Samoa. knowing the wild rowing few
er which drives the beachcomber hith-
CT and yon back and forth through the
South Seas, and their reckleSsnesS of
the chances of Voyaging, SuStenancc
saw nothing unusual in the thought Of
three men setting out in a small boat
for an ocean voyage of hundreds of
miles. His two mates suggested the
possibility of foul play, but he pooh
poohed their suspicious. At any rate
the Penrhyn Islanders told a consis-
tent story.
ON landing, SuStenance met the
Paumotu woman. Kokorariki Wife of
the Manahikian Here. Her story was
to the effect that in February the
three beachcombers had painted the
BOAT and made a new sail They had
taken the small cask filled With drink
ing water and a large supply of dried
eggs of the sea fowl which swarm on
the islands, together with variety
of food in the shape of fresh and baked
cocoanuts. The boat had been leaky,
but was tight after the new painting.
They had sailed away to the west and
before shutdown were out of sight AS
they had left their wives behind she
was sure that they intended 10 take
ship in Samoa and go to their own
lands beyond the horizon. They had
taken all their trade goods eXceut one
bolt of printed goods which they had
divided among the Penrhyn divers.
For "A savage this woman seems to
have had Il genius for lying. The other
people agreed with her account, ana
the island, when carefully searched,
yielded no indication in the way OF
goods or stores that the woman had
told other than the truth For the 1ol-
lowing fortnight the Manahikians and
the Penrhyns were on the Dart on the
homeward voyage back TO Penrhyn,
and not Il word or sign gave reason
to suspect that the story was false.
some weeks later Sustenance touch
ed in the course of trade at Rakahanga,
and there again encountered the
woman kokorariki. She asked at
once if he had heard of Joe and Tamu.
Apparently much concerned when she
heard that they had not reached
samoa. she asked in what direction
Pukapuka bore, and when the snip
master pointed down to the west. sh@
seemed much relieved. and suggested
that the heachcomhers had probably
reached that island.
Yet in her original story and in
this renewed interest in the voyage If
the beae hcomhers Kokorariki was bat
playing 4 leading part in tissue IF
fabrication which was sufficiently
good 10 deceive Sustenance. and i'll
may lie said that it is hy no means
easy to pun the wool over the eyes q
a South Sea trader.
The three brachcombers had been
murdered on Suvarrow in the presence
of this woman and every other person
on the island. and Kollorariki herself
had planned the consistent story which
had cleared them all from suspicion.
The story came out by the confession
of the Wife of Tamu. that is, Tom
Charlton the American. which she
made to Tairi the native missionary
teacher on RakahanGa.
For some time after the last visit
which Sustenance made al SuValroW
the people busted themselves about
their several occupations. Tamu and
his ManahiIlians fished and cured the
bee ne Qc-lncT. Joe anu tue en- iiS II
Islanders worked at the beds of pearl
shell, and Jules seems to have diversi-
fled his chief occupation of doing moth
ing by spells of watching the others at
work He was we'll liked by the
ISLANDERS So was Charlton. But Joe
Bird acted as the superior being is 50
apt to do when living among the
islanders. He brought two women
from Penrhyn to SuvarroW with him,
and while there he took away the
wives of three of his divers. He was
not choice in his wooing. for it was
proved that when he wanted to take
woman he nogGed her with a piece of
rope or the tail of the stingaree until
her consent was won. A common
threat when any of his divers proved
refractory was that he would cut them
in two and would eat their liver, and
when one is a cannibal such threat
does not seem as improbable as it
might appear in other conditions in
life Often he deprived his divers of
their rations and water when their
take of shell was not UP to the amount
he fixed for days task. The divers
plotted to take their revenge upon him,
and saw clearly that they must make