Evening star., 1902-01-25

Copyright 1902 by Frank G. Carpenter.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
APIA. Samoa.
I give you my notes concerning Apia, the
capital of the German colony in Samoa, as
they were written on the ground. / came
here from New Zealand en- route for San
Francisco. The ships start from Sydney
and call at New Zealand and the Samoan
and Hawaiian Islands on the way. 1t is
now four days since left Auckland, and it
will take me four days more to get TO Hon.
olulu-
Steaming is delightful down here along
the equator. We have nothing but sun
shine. and such glorious sunshine. As we
coasted the Island of Savii. the largest of
the Samoan group. the air was fresh and
the wind strong enough TO make it cool and
pleasant. The sea was a steel blue, with
silvery white caps dancing upon it between
us and the shore, and the sky was full OF
white, smoky clouds. Savii makes me think
of the Hawaiian Islands. 1t is long and
volcanic. but it's volcanic characteristics
are hidden in verdure. AS we sailed by
it, ii seemed like a great hill of the shape
of a horse shoe, the ends of the shoe siop-
ing down to the water Passing this we
soon reached the Island of Upoiu on the
north coast of which Apia is situated. Both
UpOlu and Savn now belong to Germany,
d4l the rest VI IIle lSldUuS having DeeQ
given up to the United States.
German Samoa.
The Germans, in their greed for more
land, were glad to take the two larger
Islands. Out here it is thought that We
got the best of the bargain. Both Saw;
and Upolu together are not as large as
Rhode Island. and they are of little value
outside their harbors, which are not good
SavH is forty-seVen miles long and twenty.
eight miles wide. and Upolu is much small
er- Both islands are mountainous fertile
and well watered- Like Tutuila. they have
been built up by the coral polyps aided by
volcanoes
As L came into the harbor of Apia the
20 zee was low. and / could see a great gar
Den or bed of coral rising up out of the wa
ter Here and there along the shore were
signs of cultivation. There were groves of
cocoanut trees. and further up the noun
tains plantations of cacao. In the green
Jungle on the hills I could see here and
there patch of chocolate brown, where
the ground had been cleared for new cacao
farms Just back of Apia the white villa
OF Robert Louis Stevenson showed out
and ABOVE 1t rose mountain after mountain
OF different shades of green or blue cover
ed by the vegetation and the clouds
The country looked very beautiful in the
tropical sunlight. The sky was full of tieecy
masses. Here the shadows turned the sea
TO green, and there to navy blue while
upon the land they made a mass of light
and shade. added to by the fresh green
crops shining out of the old green forest
Close to the waters edge were what from
our steamer looked like vast cornfields
which the captain said were cocoanut or
chards. containing tens of thousands of
trees. loaded with millions Of nuts.
Quite business Is done here in copra The
cocanuts are gathered, split open and the
meat taken out. This is cut into strips of
about by inches, and dried in the sun,
when 1t shrinks to about half that size and
is known as copra. After drying It is
packed In burlap sacks, each containing
about seventy pounds, and thus shipped to
Europe and the United States. 1t sells
here for about two cents a pound, and in
Liverpool or San Francisco for about three
cents pound.
A Look at Apia.
j am much disappointed in Apia. From
Robert Louis stevenson's letters and the
fuss which the town has made In the in
ternational history of the recent past, I ex-