The Washington bee., 1899-04-01
A GIANT RACE.
Romantic Story OF One Found i'm the Sol
Omon Islands.

Romantic Story OF One Found i'm the Sol
omon Islands
When Captain Freeman. of the Brit.
iSh man-Of-war Mohawk. returned
from a six months tripamong the Solo.
mon Islands. on the occasion of annex.
ing IA of these islands to Great Brit
ain. he told of his strange experience
at one of the new patches of territory
that he took from the natives in the
name of Queen Victoria. 1t was the
island of Tocupa, 800 miles from the
next nearest island of the Solomon
group. 1t is Il land without a history.
and Capt Freeman says he thought of
Darwin'S theory of the submerged
continent and believed that theory
when he looked upon the 500 tribes
men of the mountainous island of To-
cupa. When the company of 20 blue
Jackets landed on the shore and Cant.
Freeman began to read the Queens
proclamation, the islanders began to
come down from the hills in hundreds.
expecting al attack. So huge were
they in size, and fearless, the Gatling
guns were wheeled into line. but the
ceremony went on just the same. Soon
the Union Jack was unfurled, the
proclamation buried iIf the sand and n
salute of 21 guns fired. but at ;he first
noise of the guns the natives again
fled to the hills, and it was only with
the greatest persuasion that they
could be induced to appear again.
BY and bye they became less shy.
and were induced to talk by signs. and
submit to being measured. examined
and felt. Who were these people?
Who but the interesting remnant of
Il glorious ancient race. probably i'm
their prime superior TO the races that
at present dominate the world. The
men were not the least like any of the
tribes inhabiting the Solomons or anv
Of the South Sea groups. They were
all giants. The average among n COM
pany of 100 being measured. he moved
the stick placed on Il level with his
head against an upright tree Mt six
feet ten. and was massive in proper
ton. measuring 43 inches around his
bare chest. His muscles. however.
were soft and as round as woman's.
But this giant was rs handsome as an
Adonis and wore his fiaXen hair long
in curls over his copper-colorel shoul-
derS. like the rest of the men in his
tribe. Strange To say. the women
wore their hair short. close to their
heads. The soft muscles of the men
was explained by the fact that these
500 men. women and children are not
Il fighting race. having never been to
war. and do not possess a single fight
ing implement. They live by snaring
wild animals in their mountain home.
in fishing and cnltivating delicious
fruit by grating and domesticating
the wild products Of the island. An
was found on the Mohawk
\ man who had before seen the tribe
made some headway with one of the
strange race. who had been taught
Solomon Island trade jargon by his
father. who had visited one Of the ISL
ands - years before
He learned that the Tocupians were
a sentimental, poetical race. conform
ing strictly TO the rules of their relig-
ion. strangely resembling Christianity.
They studied monOgamy rigidly, be-
cause they argued that when Il hus-
band or wife died he or she went to
the spirit land and waited for the part
ner left behind on the island. which
meant to them all the earth. If the
mate lived one hundred
years. the other was still waiting to
be united in the spirit land if q second
wife was taken home. or n second hus-
band, the better half gone before
would make it hot for the other part
ner when they were united in the
great beyond. This was their hell
The women were five feet ten inches
md six feet tall. appeared in public as
heir sister Eve i'm the Garden of Eden
II her first home, and were formed like
|, enuseS.