, 1901-06-27

i, TIE colony because of the STARTLING
fact that when the bark l%nvcnciIl
which has just arrived at San Francis
CO.. passed Pitcairn no sign OF life was
visible. though the most careful inspeC-
ton was made with powerful glasses.
II is possible thai after Ill years tho
little colony has been wiped Ort by
famine or pestilenCe. The island is
but a dot on the ocean, being a little
over two miles in length.
Meantime the mutineers who had
teen 7eft on the island Of Tahiti were
called to account for their crime Cap.
Blight and his is companions. after
covering a distance of 3,Gl7 nautical
miles. an unprecedented voyage for an
open boat. succeeded in reaching the
Dutch island of TimOr. Thence he
made his way to England, where the
story of the mutiny created a profound
sensation. In 1871 an English vessel
reached Tahiti and seized the muffin
GERS. Four persisted IN the way home.
three were hanged after trial in Eng
land and the remainder were pardoned
or acquitted.
An Ideal Life.
Life in Tahiti is the nearest ap-
proach to the ideal that man has at
tanned. Although the island lies with
in 10 degrees of the equator, the elm
ate is mild, the Thermometer seldom
registering more than 80 degrees dur
ing the warm season-nothing to COM
pare with heat of the dog days in man.
American cities. The minimum tenn
p%erature at any period of the year is
5S degrees. The interior of the island
is mountainous, diversified with beau
tiful valleys, numerous waterfalls and
a multitude of brooks, ever singing
their song to the sea and appearing and
disappearing amid the rich tropical
foliage. Besides the vegetable life pc
culiar to the tropics. the islands have
plenty exclusive to themselves, while
many eXotiCs have been introduced and
flourish. Small lakes and lagoOns are
found on many of the islands, and on
the banks of these the natives dream
their lives away in happy Incidence
and peace. The islands are surround
~ ~ p'ilo Vi coli' vi
belts lying of shore at a distance of
several miles. Here in the calm wa
ters the natives sport in their tree-hol-
lowed canoes. or at times make jour-
neys to n~eighboring islands, where the
same peace and beauty prevail. Long
rows of bamboo cottages. with roofs
made of leaves, dot the banks of the
chnra ~. 1.-Two tho hnplnrG nf intnrnn1
waterways, while over them bread
fruit trees, palms and other tropical
arboreal growths lift their towering
heads and spread their outrageous
branches.
Dead to the Great World.
In this delightful paradise CONNER
cialism has little place. The din of tho
great world, with its merciless strug-
gle for supremacy. with its man-made
laws for man-made crimes, and with
its CHASTITY record Of human misery. ex-
tending from the cradle to the grave,
never reaches it, or only in faint echo
reaches the principal town of the group
-Papeete. Money is no object to the
interior Tahitians. Nature supplies
wants. They find food, clothing,
warmth at every season of the year,
without a struggle and without an eff
fort, and to the stranger who visits
them their hospitality Is ~unbounded,
They seek no recompense except the
assurance that the guest is satisfied.
The chief town of Tahiti. indeed the
administrative center for all the
French provinces in the south seas, Is
Papeete, with a population of 1000.
Here are all the foreign ~consulates and
here is the meeting place OF the two
civilizations. The harDOr is a magni-
ficent one and owing to this Papeete
is the commercial mart for the prod
ucts of the various islands.
The natives, who are a fine race, the
men being perfect specimens of man
hood and the women handsome, are
yery religious. Christianity was intro
duccl in Tahiti early in the last cen
fury, the pioneer evangelizing body be-
ing the London Missionary Society.
The exclusion OF Catholic missionaries
by this body led to the intervention of
France, and the ultimate result was
the loss by England of the beautiful
paradise of the Pacific.
Dom Pnurs Amusing Mistake.