St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-01-10
AN EARTHLY PARADISE.
Tutuila, in the samoas. and Some OF
It's Natural AttractiOns-Status
of the People.

| Tutuila, In the samoas, and Some OF
It's Natural Attractions-Status
of the People.
Lovely beyond all earthly express
sion, and folcibly suggestive OF ro-
nance. is Tutuila to the life OF poet
or an artist. An ambrosial dream
from which one expects to presently
have a rude awakening and discover
more stern and dreary existence; put
it is not so. If one happened to be
journeying to Paradise and reached
Tutuila, he would at once conclude
that his journey had ended, writes
correspondent of the Los Angeles Her
aid .6.
What glorious tonic is the harbor
of Pago Pago in the early morning;
plants bedecked with diamond dew
drops, bending with the softest mo-
ton; the stately palms, the birds MT
ting to and fro singing their thankful
hymns to the Creator; the hills, gaz-
ing majestically; the sun rising SUI
premely, tinging the picture with It's
golden light, while the ocean mur1nurs
in pathetic music some melody from
it's mighty bosom, making the most
delightful composite of ecstasy! A
picture never to be effaced from ones
memory.
The feelings which this spectacle
brought forth may perhaps be i'm
agined, but the sight itself is one
which no pen could well describe, no
brush portray. AS a touching piece
of music that has struck some hidden
chord will ring in the ear long after
the sound itself has ceased. Yet still
sweeter were many of the sunsets.
Above us were clouds-orange, golden
and purple, of unusually warm and
brilliant tints, even for an Australian
sky; scene such as might belong to
some giants palace in fairyland; every
ray of the sinking sun caught and
broken into thousand prismatic hues
by the countless crystals that hung
like lusters around the margins OF
successive basins, or mingling in the
blue waters within them with the gor-
geous reflections of the glowing clouds
above. Lower still, as a foil to this
glorious picture, lay the dark waters
of the calm harbor, buried in the deep
shade which the mountains cast east
ward-and motionless, save where the
still surface was ruffied by the Samo-
ans as they piled their. paddles in the
dark, smooth waters, to the tune of
their wild and uncouth songs.
The origin of the inhabitants OF
these islands has never been definitely
solved. The plants and the ethno-'
logical resemblances of the animals,
including the people, all point to the
islands of the south and southwest.
From research l should say that the
nearest approach we can come to is
that the Inhabitants of all the groups
of islands in the eastern Pacific from
New Zealand to Hawaii, scattered over
distance of 1000 miles, may be con-
sidered as one race, which is common
~ called the Polynesian race; for they
all speak dialects of the same Ian
guage, have the same physical fea-
lures, the same manners and customs,
the same general system of ''tabus"
and similar traditions and religious
rites. They have in common the
names of the principal gods, stories of
the origin of fire, etc., etc. 'a-1
The Polynesian language is men,
Der of large and widely spread fam
lily, including those spoken in Micro
nesia, the Philippine islands, the Ma
lay archipelago and Madagascar. 1t
is thought that the Polynesians origi-
nally came from southwestern Asia,
but it is positively known that their
progenitors were emigrants from the
Indian archipelago. S
1t is fairly well determined that the
island of Savaii, in the Samoan group,
is the point of departure for all. Of
the Polynesians of the eastern Pa
cific. 1t must be ages ago since the
first inhabitants came to these islands,
as it is stated that human bones are
found under the coral reefs and an
cient lava flows.
Now to the Samcans themselves
they are divided into practically dis
tinct classes, and the distinction is
wide between them. ~ The royal
family, which would mean the high
est chiefs and their families. (2) The
priests and so-called doctors. (3) The
poor people. The chiefs were the own
ers of the land and ell it's products.
They asserted that they owned the
fish of the sea, and the people were
nothing more nor less than their
slaves. The poor people got very lit
tie for their labors. The priests and
the doctors were in most, il not all,
of the islands the brightest and most
intellectual, keeping up the legends
and constantly studying the stars.
Polygamy was practiced by rich and
poor alike, but the tie was mere
nothing-if the wife in any way dis
pleased her husband or he became
tired of her, he dismissed her as he
pleased. But it was the aim of every
man to get wife of noble birth, as
she alone can be looked to as the
foundation of nobility. Since the flag
of the brave and the free has been
floating over Samoa vast changes have
taken place-houses are going up
roads are being made, customs of a
more becoming nature are being in
culcated, and ere long the Samoans
will be guessing and regard the for
eign flag that has come to stay as
the sweetest friend they could posi-
bly, have.
Tutuila will not be of any great
value to America as far as I could
learn apart from being splendid coal
ing station-but still the answering
energy of Uncle Sam and his ingenuity
can do wonders and maybe turn out