The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-01-06

\ Deck Oh DOdEQ, 10 receive a formal
| farewell. accompanied by many express
| sions of esteem and gratitude from all
the people as they fled past them.
With the first signs of breaking dawn
| the next day the work of debarkatfon
| was resumed with great vigor. and by
$50 a. m five boat-loads of passengers
| and luggage We're landed on the beach,
and whilst the young ones were scamp
/ ering about the beach or village the
| elder ones were being embraced and
| welcomed by their friends, many of
| whom had returned years before from
Hawaii. It was not difficult to distin-
| guish these as they passed from one
boat to another to welcome, perhaps, in
| some cases, a brother, sister, or other
near relative who had for many years
been thought of as dead, or at all
| events, gone, TO meet no more.
LEPER ON BOARD.
many. by the woman who had been
Frustrated all the time on board the
steamer, being found to be a leper. She
was at once isolated, to be attended to
more infinitely after the present rush
was over. Shelter was not wanted for
| the home-eomers as the Commissioner
! had several large empty houses at his
| disposal in which he lodged those who
! had no friends or relatives to go to
These latter will not have long to re-
main on Tarawa, as a small steamer
! was expected shortly which would take
! them to their respective islands and
thereby end a small chapter of island
history. Three p. m. that day beheld ev-
cry islander on the beach and the
Isleworth ready to leave for Ocean ISL
! and which she did at 4 p. M, and as
she hove up the anchor and steamed
away the beach was lined with those
who had spent many happy hours on
board and in the hearts of many of
whom there was an aching void and a
great wish, often expressed, to stay IN
the ship in which they had been SO
comfortable. So with their farewells
floating over the water 10 the echo of
the steamers whistle ara the dipping
of her flag, ends or nearly so, an Incl
dent fraught with deep concern to
many of our fellow creatures, and it is
only left to US to speculate as to the
wisdom of the step they have taken and
to their future happiness and comfort
under circumstances and conditions so
very different to what they had been
used to for so long time, and let us con-
lecture as to the permanent good, if
any, that our much-vaunted modern
civilization has done them.
1t is an axiom with many island au-'
thorities that the worst islander is the
one that has lived for any time at all
in an up-to-date country, but let us
hope these people will infuse new meth
DDS and manners into their islands.
BY their extra knowledge, if combined
with assiduity, they could establish
better order of things than has hitherto
prevailed amongst those islands. The
people there being generally careless
and improyident and as a result OF
their thriftless, methods have very
often to put UP with a scarcity of food,
and occasionally of fresh water.
News of them, one might venture to
assert, will be received and welcomed
by many in Hawaii who concerned
themselves over the natives return
home, at some not very distant date |
in the event of steamer taking up ]
the run between Ocean Island and Ho-
nolulu as has been conjectured will be |
the case So we now have to leave
them, thankful, for their sake, that so |
many wanderers have at last reached |
the homes they have so eagerly yearned |
for for so long a time, and that they are |
now, for the most part, content to take
their life as it will come to them.
From Tarawa the Isleworth went to I
Ocean Island where she left Mr.. Arun-
del, who assumes control there for the |
next few months, while important i'm
are being carried out. They
have now at the island a staff of forty
whites Extensive valuable plant and
over 500 Gilbert and Ellice island
boys" to work the phosphate. Three
more steamers are to load there before
the end of the year for Australia ana
which, when done, will make
total of over $4,000 tons shipped during
1903.
It is intended during 1904 to send L
away 100000 tons, and that from an
island of less than two miles in dame
ter 1t is indeed a veritable gold mine
and it marks the most rapid and thor
Ough rise of any island in the PACING,
and it is to the credit of the Pacific
Co. that they have SO success
fully founded such an industry IN an
sland of the British protectorate. we 4
are likely to hear more of it at future
late.
The Isleworth experienced fine wealth
sr whilst lying at the island, and ioad-
I'd 1000 tons in ten working days, on
some days getting on board the respect
able total of 500 tons, which cannot De
denied to be good work considering
hat it is conveyed off the ship in small
1oats of not more than two tons bur 4
len. No overtime was worked, eacn (
lay representing nine hours work.
When the steamer left on the 10TH OIL
November the weather broke up ana
he short bad-weather season. set H.
\ very rough passage was experienced
or the first ten days. very strong b f.
rades prevailing with a mountainous
ca, which did some considerable dam Z
ge: rigging carried away, steam pipes
washed off after deck, and decks buc- z
led and bent, necessitating extensive {
epairs in sydney
1t is rumored that the Isleworth will
hortly revisit Honolulu. =;