The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-03-17
PLEASANT HOURS AT SAMOA
\ Characteristic Communication
From Geo. w. Bell.
A Quaint and Interesting Dcscrip-
tion of the samoan island
and His Visit To the
Natives.

or course, the charm Of Samoa have
tften been sung, her story been often
told. and the character of hel Interest,"
ing people has been often painted in
2rotesque figures Of speech. Vet in this
i,ustling age so many worthy thoughts
and Things impress us as but tiitting
visions, / venture the hope that some of
my friends may welcome the recital OF
a few hours experience in that enchant-
ing region.
For the benefit Of new readers and
those who have forgotten, it may not be
amiss to state that .Apin. tn port of call,
commercial outlet and capital of the Sa-
moan sroup-or. as will be seen on old
maps. the Navisator's islands-is stu
ated ON the north side of the island of
Ipolu. in about 1850 south latitude and
longitude about l1l-40 west of Green
wich. and is about 1870 miles from san
Francisco. 100 from Honolulu. 1850
from Auckland, 1850 from Sydney and
400 miles from Yokohama. In the
group there are four islands of consider
able size and importance-SaNaii. the
largest and most western one: Upolu,
the second; Tutuila. the third. and Tau.
another still further east and the small
est OF the four. on Tutuila is the best
a'i'' oiiIN i'Si III ''o1 IA me SIpilp. AGO
Page. which belongs to the United
States as a coaling station.
SaNii has a superficial area of some
$50 square miles. and contains about
one-third of the total populatio of the
group, while Upolu is but half thar size.
and about forty-fiNe m les IN myth. Thu
islands are purely volcanic and very
mountainous and rough. though the soil
is fertile and the whole surface. 10 the
very tops, is covered with
forests. scrub and rich tropical vegeta-
ton. The weather in Samoa is always
hot in the day time, but The nights are
cool and pleasant. Usually there arc
heavy rains duriAs January. February
and March. but drouths are too frequent
during the other months, and at inter
walls of a few Years the islands are
swept with the most dreadful and dew
astating hurricanes.
Like the heroine OF the modern novel.
the Samoan people have a past ana
like all primitive people who have
reached the stage of family or tribal or
ganization. they have traditions. super
stition and religions. Like the Austria
nan and other oceanic natives. the Sa-
means discovered. among the unseen
forces of nature, a devil and an evil
spirit before they even dreamed of a
God or good spirit. So. Ike the rest of
humanity, they have always been com
trolled more by their fears than by a
love of good or justice.
1t is said that over 500 Years ac, the
ancestors of these brave Samoans con-
ceived the idea of chasing the devil
down. roasting him in his own fat and
ending the seemingly "irrepressible con-
aict, rather than trust a paid clergy to
preserve a doubtful compromise. and
with this laudable object in view they
took TO their arms and boats. and. like
Jason, hunting the golden fleece they
started from some enchanted ropic4
island across the trackless seas. in
search of the arch enemy of human
happiness. Months past. thousands of
miles of angry ave We're butfeted and
The Hawaiian isles We're reached. but
the devil was still in business at the old
stand, and his headquarters were Vet a
mystery. After a long r5s1-I suppose
a century or so-they again set out. and
after many hardships they reached the
island of Tau. of the Samoan group. and
without a folma. command To thai er-
feet. they began to 'multiplN and re-
plenish the earth" Regarding the ac-
complishment of the original purpose of
the enterprise, tradition is silent. bal.
from other sources We may gather evi-
dence that the undertaking Was a sad
failure. tor the evil is yet TO paw
Notwithstanding the financial depres-
sion.
But | sat down to chat with ny Amer
lean friends about the things | observed
during my recent visit TO .Apia.
The harbor of .Apia is not a harbor at
all. blf AN omen r0D1sralJ Nh, =, 1,lI,.l
harhor being but a break in The great so
called coral reefs that stretch along the
island for many miles. the break being
caused by the fresh waters that flow
from the mountains through the Narisi-
Sayo river. In the SO called harbor there,
is little room for shipping. and the indi-
cation of a storm is a signal for ships to
leave the harhor and seek safety In fhr
open seas. However, Observation-Disclosures
this fact-the heroic struggle and the
loss of six warships and lag brave sea
men, 80 American and So German as
now told by that grim monument. tho
dark hulk of the Adler. which lies ON
her broadside On the reefs in the inner
harhor. the most conspicuous object of
picturesque Apia. as the results of the
appalling hurricane Of March. lSSA-4n
enormous amount of GASEOUS nonsense
has been written about the beauties of
Apia harbor."
But purposed only To write of the in
habitants of Apia, though / incline "a
the notion that people enjoy a little real
information, Ven where entertainment
is the chief object in view. / have seen
men and women from nearly all the un-
civilized countries. tribes or nations of
the globe, and I regard the Samoans as
ha "a ,,,;,I1o E,,.I. -a-i -. ID.