The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1900-01-26
Something About The People Lately Taken Into.
Our National Family.

BY the partition Of Samoa. a few
days ago, Uncle Sam annexes 3s4 square
miles Of additional Pacific island ter
ritory, and makes $500 more Malay
Polynesians American subjects. The
FIVE islands falling to us are hardly a
fourth the area OF the entire Samoan
group, yet In many respects we get a
very generous third. Tutuila, the
largest Of these 1--WE now our territory,
contains 240 square miles, and is,there-
fore, only a seventh the area Of Long
Island. savaii and Upolou, which fall
to Germany, are each more than dou-
Bile It's extent. Nevertheless Tutuila
Is more suited to our wants than either
Of these. Although It is barely mem
toned In popular literature on Samoa,
the state department has slowed away
in it's files several extensive descrip-
lions from representatives who have
explored II. Their accounts attest that
Il offers better facilities for a naval
station than n island In the Pacific
ocean. Page Page, its magnificent
bay coded TO us as far back as 1872,
IA the most completely landlocked har-
Dor In the world. 1t is by far the
largest and safest in the entire group,
while that Of Apia, coded to Germany,
is t%reacherous and Unprotected against
storm. as proved by the great disaster
Of a few years ago. Page Page, formed
by a submerged volcanic crater, ex-
tends two miles inland, and can con-
tain our entire navy, sheltered against
hurricane by perpendicular walls Of
rock, In many places 1000 feet high.
II lies in an almost direct line between
San Francisco and Australia, and near
ly in the path Of vessels plying be-
tween the Philippines and the pro-
posed Nicaraguan or Panama canals.
Considering this magnificent location
and the fact that the navy last year
began preparations to utilize this bay
for a coaling ard supply station, 1t
would have been folly to have coded IL
with Tutuila to Germany in exchange
for a larger isla. i.
Americans in Tutuila will enjoy the
most beautiful scenery of the Samoan
islands. Here and there their eyes
will feast upon grottoes and natural
fountains. At many points liquid
lava, ~irregularly cooled, has formed
great caverns opening toward the sea
and often communicating inland with
the upper levels of the cliffs through
hollow shafts Of natural formation. AL
though there is considerable rain dur
ing the year to keep the soil moist,
there is no dreary rainy season, as in
lhe West Indies or Philippines. The
eternal summer keeps vegetable life at
Its height the year round.
Uncle Sans $500 new subjects in
rutuila are Independent Of the two
royal houses of Malietoa and Tupea,
which have jwaged the troublesome
aative wars This fact alone will be
advantageous to us. The Tutuilans
are governed by their own hereditary
chiefs, Fulmora, Tutele, Statele and
lie Tun, each Of whom reigns over a
district. Above them all is Maunga, the
great chief Of the whole island. These
tribes are descended from one great
family, known as Leatou. What has
been published in regard to the natives
Of the larger Samoan islands applies
70 them generally. They are Malay
Polynesians, like the Tagals in the
Philippines. but are a higher type, men
tally and physically, and have not