St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-07-05

the ovens, the girls carry the banana
leaves for wrapping and preparing the
food; the men fish for sharks and dive
for turtles, the women catch prawns in
the rivers; the men do the cooking, the
women spread the least, and OF the
married couples it is the man who carries
the children; naturally" they explain,
"because he is stronger"
My mother and lived alone for
months at Vailima after Mr.. Stevensons
death, and my brother and his wife had
left for California. Our household con-
sisted of Iopu, the cook; Sosimo, who
did the housework; Levelu, the gar
dener, and Lafacee. who looked after the
horses and cows. These men went every
night to sleep at the village of Tanug-
manono, mile and half from Vailima.
so that, when the evening meal was
done. the lights lit, and our men de-
parted, we two women were alone on
the place; yet our doors stood always
open, and our windows could not lock if
we had wanted to fasten them. No
thought of fear ever entered our heads,
and this does not argue our bravery, but
the simple goodness Of the islanders.
Only once did my mo Their suspect them.
1t was after midnight on a fine moon
light night that she heard the tramp of
bare feet, as Of people heavily laden.
Looking over the veranda railing, she
saw number OF men crossing the lawn
with baskets carried on poles. They
had come from the direction Of our taro
patches. breadfruit groves. and banana
f,1o t,t toe, o,,I ~ ravtos,,tp ID@IxaI
picious. Hastily donning wrapper,
my mother ran down and, putting up
her hands, called them to halt. There
were about forty men gathered on the
lawn. She demanded to see the contents
OF their baskets. The spokesman
laughed ard said "Aolele is mistaken.
There is a famine in our village Of Mani
ami, and we have been in the woods dig
ging the roots of the wild taro. We
saw the breadfruit hanging ripe upon
your trees and the punches of bananas
turning red, but we touched them not,
for are we not friends, Maniani and Vail
ina? Wego at night for we fear the
shame and ridicule of the village of Tan
ugmanono, which is richer than we and
would jeer us il they heard that we were
reduced to eating roots like the wild
four-legged animal" (The Samoans
will not mention the word pig before
ladies or in polite society,"
The spokesman turned out his basket
for Mrs. Stevenson's inspection, which
was filled. indeed, with the coarse black
roots of the wild taro. Another basket
was brought up and another, and still
there was naught OF ours.
Enough" said my mother 81 was
mistaken. Pardon me, for | was in
error. l will go now, and you may de-
part"
But no; the others insisted that she
should look at each of the forty baskets;
and half laughing, half insisting, she
was made to glance at the contents Of
all. Then, when the last man was salts
fed, the talking-man (tulafale) said:
ut is beautiful evening; we will sit on
the veranda here and converse if it please
the high chief lady Adele" 1t did not
please my mother at all, at that hour in
the chill of morning, so she retired aud
left them smoking amicably on the YER
anda, and we heard them singing the
Vailima songs in compliment to us before
we went to sleep and forgot all about
them.
l have written this to try to prove
that the Samoan is not savage. When
angered and aggravated beyond endur-
ance, his villages shelled and burned, and
his just demands set at naught, he can
fight and fight bravely; but he is not
savage. | could tell of long visits to
native villages that white women have
made, where there was not another
white person for miles around; of trips
at sea in an open boat, where the care
and consideration of the natives could