The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-02-07

terrible. II hay sna stream II mountains
C E-7en ana waterfalls IT silver. n troS-
& f--irs ane tossing pains Ia tie Esfy
welcoming saiie of 2 light-heartsd peo-
PIE. wss az sezst a pfcture IN whirn there
wss 70 blu--the realization OF dream
o. be&1ii15s in Tire south seas
Ths Mountainous Istefior-
The Interior q the larger islands rises
rapidly into lofty rn0gntaiEls. which. beng
entirely yoscaniU. assume many weird ana
fantastic SHAPE AGES hare turned me
lava .uts sci. tat mingled Eitn the lat"
ter are irCn-hsrIi boTiiers 20 thiekly -ls-
tribatsd as % rsZ1eT agriculture fiLn-
cllt Torrents have cut the mountain
SIDES into fearf5l so-ges and cs2srns' 70
the bottoms Of which 10 man has ever
yer penetrated U'Fez tbs TuEssd sl1-
face = spread q trcrtc forest OF often
giant trees. wiiE gEzEled roots q fan
tastic shapes. From lie. trees hang enoT-
nous vines and tire density OF the gT0Et n
i sUea that 70 advance one mast cG- as
way al eysry step EelsatE. whore the
suns rays never penetrate. twilight has
broods1 fer centuries. On the Island Ct
Szvaii the mountains attain an elevation
OF : mile above sea level TIE interior o.
the islands Is 10 n great extent unex-
ulore6. there is no population. 10 settle
meur IN the iuteTi0T-nO human habitzti0n
as FAR hack a. fer niles from t2e coast
IN any place NeveTtheiess- aLcisnt re-
mains indicate that IN TIE remote past
the population dSelr inland. probably for
seccrity against invasion b. marauciEg
,ribzs Ct a Steiner type from other island
groups
AL labor employed in Samoa L imported
contract iabcr-slavs al but IN name. II
cones from the CsiIbsrts. the S0lomons.
and various other groups q the Western
Pacific TIE lab0rers are recruited, as
the term goes. By the importers, COM
monty called "blackbir3ers-' Their busi-
Eess i a survival q the slave trade, ant
Is carried OF By most hardened wretehes-
70 whom is paid 50 much 2 head for each
man OF woman procured. No eXpe1itnt Is
too crUel or too infamous for practice BY
The blsckslrsers. IN plain Language. tneir
industry consists IN kiduaping the na-
tiyes which i accomplished AT any loss
OF life that may b requisite Sometimes
the victims are purchased nominally from
their chiefs Many OF them have their
noses and ears pierced, and most Of them
bleach their hair with lime until II Is q
yslI0wish white In the fields they are
her5ed Ike beasts under OVerSeers. The
best that can be said in favor o. he
system Is that The black boys are or
the most degraded type. from cannibal
tribes engaged in perpetual warfare Dc
tween villages and districts r. which lie
has TO value. cruelty no measure, and
mercy no place: that they gre better ted
and better situated IN samoa than IN
their native wilds.
A Race of IdIers.
The Samoans are . race OF splendid
yhysidue. handsome. bright, erect.
healthy. and OF tremendous strength
With al taeir strength. however, they
have TO endurance comparable with thai
OF the white man Their life OF almost En-
tire Idleness. requiring some sort Of oecL-
patton. IS mainly accountable for their
elaborate ceremonies and endless grave
fCrmaiitles. ali more or less absurd from
our point OF view Every common AFFAIR
IS mad the occasion Of parade, cereEo-
riOus visits. ard endless speech-making.
Friday and Saturday everything else Il
put aside 70 secure food for sunday II a
Samoan loses his employment II Is
n after Of Indifference 10 him HIS wants
being supplied with the least exertiOn, he
makes no more than barely sufficient for
his n@eGs. This idIeness leads 70 endless
discussion. the discussions to great meet
ings and these 10 inteTminaDle, purpose
less wars, in which the trees Of the in
yaded territory. being destroyed, are the
greatest sufferers In The field OF labor
The Samoan cuts 10 fgIre. At the same
time, he Is the best hammered. the most
generously hospitable, the most cOurte-
OUsly polite man 10 be found il any land,
civilized OF otherwise.
Samoa is the land OF fruits. All tropic
fruits flourish there and require little at
IeHtion- Oranges. lemons. lines. ciIrOns.
guayas. pineaFples. mangoes. bananas.
alligator pears. cusIsTd apples. and many
other species, all thrive and produce abun-
dainty. There are no apples. pears,
peaches, apricots, plums-none OF the nu-
merOus berry family; none OF the fruits
of the temperate regions; no grapes. Ba-
mas are of many varieties and probably
furnish . per cent. Of the native food.
There are wild oranges. used as a substi-
tute for soap: edible oranges have been
introduced and flourish but they are not
equal 10 those CT California and Florida
Samoa. distant from California fifteen
days by steam. is TOO far away 10 send
fruits TO this country.
Has Only One Export.
The single exportable staple for which !
Samoa Is eminently adapted. and the one
upon which all OF its business to-day !
rests, IL the cOCOsuut. II is 20 the group /.
what c1ttOn and corn are 70 the United /
States The export OF cOpya-the dried /
CoCOanut ueat-al0ne represents almost /
the entire agricultural output Of Samoa, /
and through this source every dollar that I.
trade ald commerce bring 10 the Islands I
finds its Wey. Unfortunately prices for |
copra are no longer what they used 70 be- /
Thirty years ago. when cOcoanut oil be- /
gan 10 be largely employed IN the making /.
OF soaps. copra commanded very remu- /
neTatIye prices. The stimulus afforded By I
these pr.Ces was felt on every trOpic sea !
shore, and Millions OF trees were planted /
in trODic Africa. America. and Asia All 1
the shores Of India and Of the Uunumbe-- !
ed Islands that form thu archipelagOes Of |
the vast Western Pacific were transform 4
cd into stately groves. Every year these /
groves We'd an increa sing crop, and the 4
re sUlt Of overproductiOn has been d low /
ering Of the price OF cop-a. COpra Is the /
meat Of the c0cOznut dried IN the sun OF /
mats. L is now worth only a cent and q /
quarter a pound as bought from the ma
Uges
Six hundred miles TO the west Of Samoa (
IS the little group OF the Tonga Islands,
peOpied BY POlynesians. o. close Kin win ,
the SamOsns. Tonga Is the lass in1eyend-
ent group IN TIE Pacific. II is always a.
peace and retains its Independence be
cause 10 white man Is allowed 20 acquire \
title 70 land. Tonga s. a. fertile - Sd
lnOa Is otherwise. With about one-fOurth
t5e area Of Samoa. this group has ex-
PORTS equally great. Tonga mas a native
government, and its system has secured /
peace and pTOsBerily-twin blessings
81 hicE the treaty control has failed 10
grovide Tor UNHAPPY Samoa.
Squirrel Inns.