The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1901-12-05
THE STORY OF A FLAG
CONFEDERATE EMBLEM FLOWN
BY A SAMOAN CHIEF.
confiied to His Care by a ngnified
Stranger Who Had sworn Ii should
Never Be surrendered-old islander
True to His Trust.

A touching story of a Confederate
dag is told by Judge Chambers, who Is
member OF the Spanish War Claims
Commission. When President Cleve-
land sent him TO Samoa be attended
one Of the gala feasts so famous among
the natives of these islands. All the
native chiefs bring fiags Of some kind
when coming to the feasts and take the
greatest care of them.
Looking out on the beautiful scene
in the harbor of Samoa on one of these
gala days." says the judge, Il saw a
boat flying a flag that l could not make
out. | took a glass and saw what
thought was a Confederate flag.
could not believe 1t possible. however,
and waited until the boat came nearer.
Then | saw plainly that 1t was a genu-
Inc flag of the Confederacy. | natural
ly was greatly interested. and sent one
of my servants to ask the chief to come
to see me.
when he came began questioning
him about the flag. and he would give
me no information. He was a man OF
good features, and was apparently
chief of consequence in his neighbor-
hood. l. of course, wanted to get pos
session of the flag. and did not suppose
that / would have the least trouble in
doing so, particularly as the natives
were fond of exchanging flags, and that
of the United States was fayorite
with them, the flag Of England being
next, and Germany next.
Il offered the chief a flag of the
United States for his Confederate flag.
He said quietly that he could not make
the exchange. l then offered him new
flag of England or of Germany. He re-
fused these also and l suspected that
he was trying to drive a shrewd bar
gain with me. next offered him bolt
of cloth worth considerable money. and
when he refused that l offered him
barrel of meat, the most tempting and
costly thing in the mind of native.
As nothing could induce him to make
the exchange. l asked him his reasons
for refusing.
I'm reply he said that one day long
ago a white man came to his hut. He
supposed the man had come from Apia.
He had several bundles In his posses
sion and preserved them with the ut
most care. The stranger, the chief told
me, was man of great dignity and OF
amlable disposition. The natives soon
came to love him much and took pleas
ure in providing him with every deli
cacy they could obtain. The chief him
self became deeply attached to him.
and when the white mans health be-
gan to fail there was universal regret
among the natives. When the stranger
saw that his end was near he called the
chief to him and directed that one of
the bundles in his possession be opened.
Then there was displayed beautiful
silken flag. but worn by handling.
"'See that fagT said the stranger;
well, 1t was the flag of my nation-a
great people. 1t went down to defeat,
but | decided that 1t should never be
surrendered. So | left home, kinsmen
and friends, and came here with 1t.
am going to give 1t to you. Never let
a white man have it in his hands,.
"That was the dying Injunction of
the stranger, and the chief had sworn
that the flag should always remain with
him. He had made his tribe swear to
keep 1t and never part with 1t; and that
when he died the succeeding chief
should take it and bury it where no
human being would ever find it."