The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-02-01
Rec.


REQ was a short. squat Malay, with a
face like a skate barring his eyes, which
were long, narrow Sits. apparently ex-
pressing nothing but Indifference TO the
world II general.
He came 10 Samoa in the old days,
long before treaties ana imperial com
Inissioners and other glded vanities were
dreampt Of by US poor, Woodworking
traders. He seemed 10 have or oppe5 from
the sky when, one afternoon, as Tom
I Denison and some of his friends sat on
Charley the Russians veranda drinking
lager, he marched up to them, sat down
on the steps and said, Good evening"
Hello said Schluter, the skipper Of
the Anna Goddenroy. who are you?
| Where 90 you come from?'
He waved a short, stumpy and black
clay pipe 10 and fro, and replied vague
/ y. "Oh, from somewhere"
What do you want anyway" asked
| schluter
Some tobacco. please. And a dollar
or two can pay you back"
''When?" asked Hamilton the pilot
! The pipe described semi-cirele. oh
tomorrow night; before. perhaps
! Denison left him and went aboard the
ancient, cockroach infested craft Of
which he was the heartbroken super
. cargo. Half an hour later REQ padded
/ past the schooner in wretched old ca
noe.
10 O'Clock, just as the supercargo
and the skipper were taking Their last
! nip before turning in, the ancient slipped
/ quietly alongside in his canoe and clam
/ bered on deck. In his right hand he car
RED big salmon-like fish, weighing
| twenty pounds. Laying 1t down on the
/ deck. he pointed to IL.
/
want some nlore?"
Denison went to the side and looked
over. The canoe was loaded down to
the g1unwale with the weight of fish
hsh that the lazy, loafng Apian natives
caught but rarely. The old man passed
up two or three more took glass of
grog and padded ashore.
Next morning ne repaid the borrowed
! money and showed Denison S15-the re-
suit Of his first nights work in Samoa.
The saloonkeeuers and other white peo-
pie said he was q treasure. Fish in
! Apia were dear and hard to get.
On the following Sunday marTta ge
! procession entered the Rarotongan chap
81 IN Afatafele, and Tarreo otherwise
Reo) was united to one of the prettiest
and least disreputable native girls in the
town. whose parents recognized that
REQ was likely to prove an seminently
lucrative and squeezable son in-law D n
ison was the best man and gave the
bride a s. gold piece (having previously
made a private arrangement with the
bridegroom that he was TO receive value
for it in fish.
'Reo's wife's relatives built the newly
married couple a house on Matautu
Point, and REQ spent S35 in giving the
brides local connections feast. Then
the news spread, and cousins and second
cousins and various breeds Of aunts and
half uncles Travelled up to M2tautu Point
to partake OF his hospitality. H cid his
best but in a day or so remarkable
sadly that he could not catch fish enough
in a poor canoe. If he had a boat he
could make $50 a week, he said and
with $50 a week he could entertain his
wifes friends continuously and In a b.
fitting manner. me relatives consulted
and thinking they had a good thing, sub
scrioed and bought d beat Con crediO
from the German firm, giving a mort
gage on a piece of land as security. Then
they presented REQ with the boat with
many complimentary speeches. and sat
down to chuckle at the way they would
make the old fool work." and the old
fool" went straightway 10 the American
consul and declared himself to be q cit
izen of the United States. and demanded
his country's protection as h. feared
his wife's relatives wanted to jew him
out of the boat they had given him.
The consul wrote out something terri
flying on a big sheet of paper and tackled
it to the boat and warned the surprised
relatives that an American man-ef-war
would protect REQ with her guns, and
then REQ went inside his house and heat
his wife with a canoe paddle, and chased
her violently out Of the pace, and
threatened her male relatives with
large knife and fearful langua &c.
Then he took the boat around the 9th
er side Of the island, and sold it for 500
to a trader, and came back 10 Apia to
Denison, and asked for a passage to
Tutuila; and the German firm entered
into and took possession of the mort
gagged land while the infuriated relatives
tore up and down the beach. demanding
Tarreos blood in a loud voice Tarreo
with his 5000 in his pocket, sat en- he
schooner's rail and looked at them stOl-
idly and without ill-feeling.
Denison landed the ancient At Leone
bay. on Tutuila, for he had taken kindly
to the old scoundrel who had NAM viz
tues and could give points 10 anyone
white or brown, in the noble art OF deep
deared him greatly 10 young Tom
REQ settled at Leone and made
good deal Of money buying eopra from
the natives. The natives got to like
him he was such a Conscientious old
fellow When he hung the baskets e
copra on the iron hook of the steelyard
which was marked to weigh 10 TO 80
pounds. he would call their attention to
the marks as he moved the heavy pea
along the yard. en- rs day. some IN
terfering Tongan visitor examined the
pea. and declared that Il had hem taken
from a steelyard designed TO weigh I'D to
s01 pounds 'Ro was so hurt at n Ia
situation that he Immediately took the
whole apparatus out beyond the reef IN
his boa- and Indignant sank It IN
fifty fathorns OF water. Then he return
ed 10 his house bade his wife (ae hal
married again a sorrowful farewell and
said his heart was broken by the Sian
ders Of a vie Tongsn pig from a mis-
sion school He would. he said g back
to ADia where no was respected bv "
who knew him. Then nc heean ~ PARK
up. Some Of e mattress sided with he
Tongan. some with REQ. and r. q few
minutes free fight took pace on tie
village green ard REQ stood in his door
way and watched 4 from his narrow
pic-1lke ewes. then, being If q nagnanf-
nous nsture. ~ walked over and askef
three stout youths who rad be1ten the
TON san into q state Of r7rouerfrtf1rr es