The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-03-27

he said. with an oath; and. turning
on his heel. he went OF with his fol.
lowing of bucks. All of them were
armed with rifles and the long be-
heading-knives called Mia oti (death
knife). and as we three had nothing
hut our fists, we shoull have had q
lad time had they attacked us, for
We were in an unfrequen 4 place, and
would have been half-murdered before
assistance came. In Samoa in those
days street brawls were common.
"The next time you do meet him, "
said Hamilton as we resumed our
walk. don't give him chance. Drill
hole through him as soon as he gets
within ten PAGES, and then clear out
of Samoa as quick as you can"
Quite a month after this had 20
visit the little port Of Asaua, on the
island of Savaii, and as / was aware
that "Flash Harry" was in the vicinity
OF the place on malaga, or pleasure
trip. ! kept q sharp lookout for him,
and always carried with me In my
jumper pocket q small but heavy Der
ringer, the bullet Of which was as big
as that OF Snider rife. I did not
want to have my arm pulled out, and
knew that Flash Harry" being twice
my weight almost. would give me Q
sad time II he could once get within
hitting distance Of me; for, like most
men-of-war's men, he was very smart
with his hands. and was but a strip
ling, not yet 20.
had come to Asaua with a load of
timber to be used In the construction
OF church for the French mission,
and in the evening went to the resi-
deVt priest to obtain receipt for de-
livery. As he could not speak Eng
lish and I could not speak French, we
had to struggle along in Samoan, to
our common amusement. However,
we managed very we'll. and I was
about to accept his hospitable offer
to. remain and have supper with him
when young chief named Ulufanua
c'Top Of q High Tres'). who knew
me well, came In hurriedly and told
us that "Flash Harry" and ten or Af-
teen young men, all more or less
drunk, were coming to the village that
night with the avowed intention of
boarding the cutter under the pre-
tence of trading, then, after sei1ing
all the liquor, they meant to give me
father of beating-the latter to
avenge the insult Of month before.
Laughingly telling the priest that
under the circumstances discretion
was the better part of valor, I bade
him good-by, and walked down to my
boat. which was lying on the beach.
With two native sailors pulling, we
started for the cutter, a mile away.
The night was beautifully calm, but
dark; and as was not well acquaint-
ed with the inner part Of Asaua har-
Dor, several times ran the boat on
submerged coral boulders. Finally
lost the narrow channel altogether.
Then I told one OF my men---a
sturdy, splendid specimen Of native
of the Gilbert islands, named Te
Manu- Uraura ('Red Rird"), to come
aft, and take the steer-oar, knowing
that his eyesight. like that Of all
Polynesians, was better than that of
any white man.
The poor fellow laughed good-n
turedly. little thought that this
81" order Of mine would, when he
cn;..s s.' md took the steer oar from
me, indirectly be the cause of an in
jury which would cripple him for life.
I then seated myself on the after
thwart and began to pull. We were at
this time about 80 yards from the
beach, between 1t and the inner reef
Of the harbor. The boat had been sent
along for two or three hundred yards
without hitch, and was thinking
Of what my cook would have for sup
per, when we suddenly pumped into
q patch of dead coral and stuck hard
and fast.
Knowing that the tide was falling,
we all jumped out, and pushed the
boat eff into deeper water as quick
ly as possible, Just as hnlt-a-dozen
bright torches of coco-nut leaves
flared up on the shore, which revealed
the boat dimly to the torch bearers.
At first imagined that the chief of
the village had sent some of his peo-
pie to help us through the channel,
but l was quickly undeceived when
heard "Flash Harry's" voice.
"I've got you now, my saucy, quar-
terdeckstyle of rotten pup. Slew round
and come ashore, or I'll blow your
head off,"
One glance towards the beach
showed me that we were in desper-
ate position. "Flash Harry" who was
all but stark naked. having only
girdle of ti-tree leaves round his
waist, was covering the boat with his
Winchester rifle, and his armed fol
lowers were ready to fire volley in.
to us-f they had not been so drunk.
"They cant hit us, Te Manu." cried
to the Gilbert islander, whose Unborn
fighting procliyities were showing in
his cleaning eyes and short, painting