The San Francisco call., 1899-01-09
PASSING OF
The TAHIT|AN
!. PRINCESS TETUA
Mourning in Papeete
j.. Over Her Loss.
WAS LOVED BY THE FRENCH
MARRIED TwIcE-BoTH HER
=. HUSBANDS SCoTCHMEN.
Marrow Escape of the Engineers and
. - Firemen on the Torpedo Boat
Davis-After Boiler
Gave Out,
WAS LOVED BY THE FRENCH
MARRIED TWICE-BoTH HER
-. - HUSBANDS sCoTCHMEN.

The French mail boat Tropic Bird
should have sailed for Tahiti and the
p Narquesas last week, but necessary re-
pairs have taken longer than was antici-
pated to make, so it will probably be the
end Of the week before she can get away.
The Tropic Bird was forty days COM
ing here from Papeete and at times Cap
tain Jackson used to wonder if he would
ever make port. Light and battling winds
and Gains were encountered from the
start, and finally a fifty-mile run came to
be considered a good days performance.
OF the coast q heavy gale was en-
.countered, and for twenty-four hours the
barkentiue had a hard time of it. y
number Of sails were blown away and
other damage was done that necessi-
tated the vessel going on the drydock.
She was put on the marine railway at
Oakland Creek and is receiving thor
When the Tropic Bird left Papeete all
Tahiti was mourning the death Of the
Princess Tetua Mariana, the one whose
power extends over the heavens, heredl-
tary Princess of the islands. She was the
daughter of the Princess Ariioehau,
whose authority extended over the Isl
and of Morea and number OF districts
in. Tahiti, and was born November 3,
1S42. Princess TetUa was adopted by
Queen Pomare, and when she grew up she
became a great power in the southern
seas. At an early age she married a
SCOtChman named John Brander, and by
3Am she had nine children, all OF Whom
are living. Brander was the mead OF the
greatest commercial house IN the south-
eru seas. and since his death his children
are carrying on the business.
Later the Princess Tetua married
Scotland. While living there the Princess
Kaiulani of Hawaii was frequently
. their guest BY her second husband
Princess Tetua had three children.
n ian he Oceanic
Franchise said: BY the people Of her
ChiefdOm she was simply ldOlized, and
her influence was greater than the bounds
: Qf her authority. Her great trust in re
IgiOn, the beauty Of her character and
her widespread charity made her power
in the South Pacific. The ,i rain
fell in torrents during the funeral. This
was in keeping with the Tahitian tradi-
ton that all official ceremonies are
. blessed only as the rain falls on them.
1u token Of the public mourning in the city
.tPapeete) flags were hoisted half-mast
high"
The crew Of the torpedo-boat Davis had
a lively time Of ii during the run from the
Columbia River to San Francisco. There
were twenty of them in the little vessel
-and~not one Of them had a dry stitch on
during the passage. When the hull was
thrown all over II. After every spot had
% been covered by the cork coat of paint
was put over il. In consequence the cork
did not absorb the moisture and the men
lived in a shOwerbath the whole time the
vessel was at sea. Worse than that, how
- ever, the after boiler gave out and an
other disaster like the one at Portland
. was narrowly aVerted.
1t will be remembered that after a sue
cessful trial the Davis was lying along
side the wharf. getting ready for another
.. run. Suddenly something went wrong
with the forward boiler, and six of the
crew were sCalded to death before they
could be rescued. Leaving Astoria, the
p. Davis was using only the after boiler.
The men in the engine room decided tC
allow the navy engineers TO handle the
o.. forward one when they were in posses
. sion Of the vessel. They were not allowed
~ TO carry out their programme, however.
Something went wrong with the after
BOILER; the fires had to be drawn in a
. hurry, and another disaster was narrow
. ly aVerted by the presence of mind of the
engineer on watch. The Davis was ac-
Cepted by the Government before she left
p Portland. so she will have to be fixed
. up at the navy yard before she can &c
into commission.
The Alviso River steamer San Jose has
been laid up for repairs. When coming
10 the dock last Saturday night a floating
pile caught in her paddle wheel and did
considerable damage. Half a dozen
blades were broken out of the fantail.
and the vessel crashed into the wharf.
The steamers sides were badly chafed
and some Of the fender piles were knock
ed out
A number Of vessels of local interest
are overdue, and reinsurance is being
paid on them as follows: Celtic Bard
b c., 10 per cent; Caradoc, go days out
from Hiogo, Japan. for Puget Sound, g
per cent; Prince Edward, III days out
from Philadelphia for Honolulu. 25 PEI
cent. and Garnet Hill, 90 days from AS
tQria for Taku. China. 30 per cent