Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-03-17

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range az peaks. Mount vaea, on whose
summit lies the mortal remains OF Lou s
*. Stevenson. and at Its base there Is
seen ffost Tile open sea. a struggling roN'
of small but cheerful looking houses and
this Is Apia- The graceful c%ocoanur
trees, and the dark palms indicate the
luxur!ance OF this tropical world.
As we steam through the break into
Apsa harbor, We catch a glimpse OF ths
stars and stripes. waving in front of the
United States consulate, and but a short
distance from this floats the Union Jack
JOINT rulers OF this little world. But the
moss conspicuous object. and the one
exciting the most curiosity Is the grim
iroa hulk ef the German war ship, "Ad-
Ter, lying on her broadslae, where IL
was tossed on the reefs on the fatal
March day in 1859.
Before we cast anchor, which we must
do something like a half mile rom the
city, owing TO the s~hallowness of rhe
water, dozens of row boats. filed with
dexterious and almost naked sayages,
are hurrying to the ship.
Their boats are rather primitive, but
they are well filed with shells, corals,
and peculiar articles Of rude hand
craft. which they desire TO exchange for
some fraction of that almighty dollar"
supposed the world over TO furnish a
lining for the average American pocket.
At their first appearance. these .'sav-
ages" impress one with their good ma
ture and fine physical proportions. In
color they are a rich soft brown, with
bushy hair, iustrious black eyes, heavy
chests, broad shoulders. well rounded
arms, muscular thighs and shapely
calves. The men are Of fine statue, the
women rather small. lnclining TO plump
ness. But here they are aboard before
the ship has fairly swung TO her anchor
With q sweeping glance along the
shore and up to the left We see a grace
full white boat being rapidly propelled
by sturdy oarsmen. from the stern of
which proudly floats a bright new
American flag. 1t is Mr., william
Churchhill the United States consul
general, and his handsome boat almost
flies under the dexterlous stroke of his
four herculean oarsmen. AS though
| contesting for the worlds championship
they BEND to their toll and though their
perspiring brown skin shines from the
direct rays of the tropical sun, their
! ringing voices are heard as they chant
j litt GAldAit1AtlE SOflE e ClCOItt 10 Od~
moa''-taught them by their proud mas
ter. A finer looking GROUP OF men thar
the consul's boatmen 1t would be hard
TO find anywhere. and more amiabie
and docile fellows never piundered a viii
lage or ate a missionary. AS they row
alongside. the native boats are moved
out of the way to make room for this
big chief and as the consul generals
rowers pull In, he II N up the steps,
chats business FOR a moment with the
captain: takes lunch with me on the
steamer: calls his men 20 the foot Of
the ladder. and we jump in the boat
and are of. for card is up sail at II
| o'clock
1t may be well here to remark that
| Apia, the so called capital of Samoa. is
| detached from the kingdom, and is elecle
tached from the kingdom. and is elecle
sa-or sacred soil-and is governed by
three consuls, one each of United States,
Great Britain and Germany-with the
United States consul as chairman OF the
tribune authority. Ii may be well to
remark too that u consul is a shrewd
and able fellow, that he is well ac-
quainted with the character, habits and
dispositions OF those islanders. hat he
! speaks their language well and is pop
ular among them and that. in my opin-
ion, American interests are safe in his
hands.
But we are off on our tour OF observa-
ton, being rapidly pulled north towards
the open sea, around the reef, then with
a sharp turn to the left, or west, and
we are making direct for the royal res
idence'' for we were to call on his ma
jesty King Maliotoa. at his place on
Msllnoo Point. some distance from his
objecting subjects. Finding the water
too shoal for our small boat, we were
carried about one hundred yards on the
! backs of our stalwart rowers to the
shore. and We strolled to the kings
~palace--a board cottage covered with
corrugated iron. In the sight of royal
tye we wiped our noses and assumed a
+ respectful attitude. The ladies" OF the
palaee were lettering around in the
shade of the palms and mangos, each
clad In a smile, a yard or two of tapa
and a fresh coat of cocoanu oil. From
! the little 1 saw of them they seemed
very nice.
We were shown to the royal residence
and soon his majesty, with the graceful
dignity OF his race, entered the room
and with many talofas welcomed US to
Samoa. King Maiiatoa Is a pleasant
! gentleman. and his attire was modest
as became his royal lineage. His majes-
tic feet were unshod, and his alabaster
legs were concealed, only by the cuticule
tinted dark brown for an all wise pur-
pose. His other garments were but lit
| tie more complex though they We're
| worn with becoming modesty. We
found him very sociable and his saluta-
tions, as interpreted by Mr.. Churchill.
were picturesqueiy complimentary. We
| saw the queen also. Her majesty had
! a fresh bath and wore a blue calico
Mother Hubbard that must nave
cost rs cents. They are very nice peo-
pie. As a fact they are the incest royal
pair I ever saw.
But our time was short, and shaking
the soft hand Of the Samoan Inonarcks.
we we're rowed back through the mar
row channel i'm the reefs. down h har-
Dor past the steamer, hence 10 the
wharf where other ceremonies awaited
us.
Under the waving palms graceful
| ~cocoanut trees. laden with luscious
fruits. past the British consulate. n
10 the, pleasant cottage. surrounded by
flowers and palms and rich and rare
tropical trees and scrubs, occupied by
the genial consul general of the United
States. and after 4 brief rest I'm these
\ chs rmI0frs nuQrfcr4 go pafd a visit TO