The Washington weekly post., 1900-11-20
Islanders Are TreacherOus.

| feSsed Christians, but no missionary ever
| calls there, and the only clergyman is j
native.
| Islanders Are TreacherOus.
| On the Caroline Islands were found ex-
| traOrdinary numbers Of fruit bats, though
| no such colony as the one already de-
! scribed. They were specially numerous on
! Ponape, where from one TO twenty ap-
peared to find a home in every 'poin-
| ciana" tree, on the flowers of which they
are said TO subsist chiefly. The women OF
/ this archipelago generally wear Mother
/ Hubbards but in the subsidiary Truk
| group the bark pettieoat and breech-
clout are reduced to their lowest terms.
The women of Truk and Kusaie (another
group belonging 10 the same archipelago
weave a coarse cloth from banana leaves
| the fibers of which are spun into thread
| by rolling several of them upon the ma
ked thigh and knotting the lengths into
a continuous piece.
The people of Truk are said to be
treacherous. They are much given to per-
sOnal adOrnment, their faces being heavi-
! ly powdered with turmeric, while their
hair is worn in a high knot on the crown.
and hound with strips Of bright
! cloth. They have necklaces of
various materials in profusiOn. and
| from pierced and eztravagantly stretch
| cd ear lobes are loOped chains OF
| cocoanut-shell rings four or five feet long.
| Several families commonly live under one
roof. a row of small rooms extending
| along each side of the communal house,
| with a broad hall between, which Is used
| as a general living room, a workshop.
| and a storehouse. Canoes are housed ami
sometimes built in the hall.
One of the most universal and wide
| spread customs among the Polynesians is
the drinking OF ''kava," which is derived
| from the green roots of d species of pep
per- Formerly the method Of making the
| beverage was by chewing and expecto-
| rating the juice into a bowl, bat this proc
ess has been done away with TO a large
| extent on most OF the island groups for
| hygienic reasons, the usual mode at pres
| ent being TO pound the roots in a mortar
or CRATE them. afterward adding water.
| Fermentation converts the stuff into an
| intoxicaEt of considerable potency.
Difficult 10 Catch Fish.
The expedition had much trouble In can
turing fishes for specimens wherever they
went I'm the South Seas. In the lagoons
| they could not haul seine on account OF
the coral growths on the bottom, and out.
side the reefs they could not set nets. GIL
nets were tried in various ways. and
traps were set where strange and gor-
geously colOred fnny curiOsities were
| swarming, but on the slightest alarm they
/ would withdraw into holes and crannles
| where they could not be reached.
| The South Sea Islanders use traps OF
| different patterns in every group, but they
/ are all on the same principle as our lob
/ ster pots. seines. and dip nets. The na-
/ tives generally have considerable skill in
making fishing lines and nets They buy
! iron hooks from sailors. but for some
/ purposes they prefer fish hooks OF pearl
/ shell and bone. Sometimes for catching
| sharks they still use the ancient hook OF
I hard wood. At night they spear the fishes
l along the reefs, with the aid OF torches
| made OF cOcoanut leaves with which they
| lure their prey from hiding places among
! the corais. The expedition tried 20 cOllect
/ fishes from the reef waters by the use OF
/ explosives and from the tide-Water pools
/ bv means Of psisons. and, though they
were rot very successful. Prof Agassiz
believes that these are the only feasible
methods 70 adopt.
The harbor Of Tai-o-hae, Nukahlya Tsi-
and, In the Marquesas group. seems 10 be
quite a wonder in its way II Is surround
Cd by high and pFecipitous hills. with a
narrow entrance, and the explanation Of
this curious formation Is that II j. an an
cient volcanic crater the seward wall os
which is broken down so as 10 admit the
waters Of The Pacific In the interior OF
1 this island :he houses Of the natives arc
| built on stone platforms. which Is some
| thing extraordinary and In the forest
are fOand sites OF many villages OF grea,
! sntiquity-so ancient. indeed. that fhsy
are now overgrown with large trees Dis,
eases introduced by the whites are rapisIv
i eXterInlnating the natives. and the sl-.
vivOrs are subdued ard rather meianehoiy
IN demeanoF, as IL realizing that the,,
race Is doomed 10 an early extinction.
The natives Of the MaTQuesas are among