New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-01-24

station. tho more extensively his skin
punctured. The priests literally covered themselves
with tattooed pictures. A woman not tat
tooed until she was married. but should she have
royal blood she let It flow from almost as many
marks as priest One queen is said to have had her
body covered with such elaborate designs that
chiefs from far away islands came merely TO gaze
at the wonderful workmanship.
The English word taboo comes from the native
language Of the Poynesians. According TO their
pagan beliefs. there were certain things which
were taboo" or sacred. and which profane hands
must not touch. Thus in the times antedatng the
advent Of Christianity there the taboo prevented
women from the use Of canoes. 1t was death for
a woman even to enter dugout when it had been
hauled ashore. Robert LOUIS Stevenson writes:
Taboo encircled women on all hands. They must
not sit on the pae-pae Cor stone PLATFORM they
must not go up to II by the stair: they must not
eat pork; they must not approach boat: they
must not cook at a fire which any male had
kinded"
The heather Polynesian stilI believes that only
the noble classes taboo" and 20 70 heaven
after death. Many OF the Poynesian subjects Of
France have partly adopted the dress Of the Cau-
casan. choosing to wear that particular garment
which pleases their fancy most. One will be found
arrayed only In a pair OF trousers. waistcoat
or. should the case be that Of woman. n petticoat
loose wrapper. OF all the mechanical inven-
lions brought them by Europeans the sewing ma
chine is their favorite. Even in huts In the In
terror OF the widest islands Miss Wilson found
sewing machines to be almost the sole articles OF
furniture
"A sewing machine IS sine qua non in tho
native household" she says "and IS generally
found in those Of the better class Tho desires
OF the feminine heart gratihed IN the creation
OF new and tasteful halokus Cor wrappers) much
ruffied and adorned with lace and also pillow
cases stitched. tucked. rufled and variousiy
adorned"
The natives Of French Polynesia live almost
entirely on the breadfrut. which. according 70
many writers. is deleterlous to tho health ut GER
tain seasons OF the year. and which is the cause of
sickness. especially among children at these timea
The favorte dish made from the breadtruit Is poi,
which suggests the taste Of paste 20 an
American palate
THE breadfruit." says Miss Wilson, rs roasted
IN the embers. then freed from the hull. or outer
covering. mixed with water thoroughly kneadsd
and left 10 ferment, when II is ready for eating
Sometim 1t is only moistened with water and
then buried IN hole in the ground and covered
thickly with leaves. where IT may be left undis-
turbed against time OF scarcity. It then becomes
hard and when needed Is cut out with an axe
mixed with little fresh poi and eaten with great
relish by the native population"
The inhabitants Of French Polynesia are akin
In origin TO the Sandwich Islanders and It IS be-
Heved their ancestors came originally from India
Their number IS roughly estimated at 10000 or
onc-fourth the population foacd by the early
Spanish navigator Mndano. in the sixteenth con-
tury 1t Is believed that since tho French assumed
control Of the Islands in the middle Of the last
century the population has died of one-half
Tho area Of these French possesslo.s IS so
small that one wonders why tie mother country is
so solicitous concerning them. All Of French
Polynesia which includes the Society Islands the
Marquesas. Tuamotu Gambler and Tubuai groups
and which are scattered over a surface Of ocean
as far as from New-York to Denver. hardly equal
the 1000 square miles OF the State OF Delaware.