The San Francisco call., 1906-04-15
Tropic Island, in Spite of
Recent Storm, Still the
Paradise of the Pacific
REST FOR THE WEARY
L. w. Darling Tells OF the
Peaceful Valleys on the
Slopes Above Papeete

1be highlands Of Tahiti hardly knew that
a storm was raging and not until they
visited the town later did they ind out
how serious had been the disturbance
The water front of Papeete. to which the
damage on Tahiti was confined. is but
q small part Of the island. On tie slopes
Of Tahiti's hills and in the fertile valleys
between. the raging tempest made no
impression and the islands right 10 the
title Of Paradise of the Pacific still holds
good
z. ". Darling, the Stanford student
who calls himself the Nature Nan, is
now located in Tahiti. A letter has been
received from him, telling Of his life in
the South Seas. The letter contains the
plain account Of a simple existence. but
in its appeal 10 the work-wOrn Of the
busy outside world it is more eloquent
than the thunder of orators. In Darlings
picture Of Tahiti's peaceful valleys there
is rest for the weary. A permanent resi-
dence among the cocOanut palms may
appeal TO only a few, but for a week or
. month or, several months of perfect
peace, away from the smoke and noise
and nervous strain of the big city, most
men would give far more than the
modest cost of realizing the actuality of
the nature mans word-picture if they
knew how 70 do it. Darling tells how.
Consistently with the simple life he
lives. Darling spells phonetically. as ap-
proved by Andrew Carnegie. For the
sake OF those who prefer. as being more
familiar and easier TO read, the COM
plexity Of the orthodox method, lDarling's
spelling is converted into the conventional
groove. His letter follows:
NO FASTENING ILLS.
TAHITI, Feb. IS, 1906.
Il promised I would write you after
becoming settled down, in Tahiti. Well,
] rather have settled up instead. Ny
little bamboo bungalow has 300 feet ele-
walton, up on a beautiful mountain ter
race overlooking the cocoanut groves and
green valleys down toward Papeete.
"As I look out from my writing desk
] see the steamship MaripOsa lying at the
wharf. I can hear the rolling surf on
the coral reef I can see across a broad
expanse Of ocean TO the coral islands
due north, thirty miles. But best of all
I am breathing this delicious, pure noun
tain air. There are plenty Of bananas
and cocoanuts in my little store, so I'm
quite content.
Il have planted $50 bananas in addition
10 300 now growing; 50 cocoanuts, 100 more
are sproUung; 25 avOca pears: 800 melon
seeds and several other foodbearing trees.
4 have found the spot Of my ten years
search. Could not wish better.
There must be twenty-five ever-flowing
springs Of good water on this seventy
acres Of mine. The ground is very rich,
but billy. ] do not need a horse In my
work Would not have plow either
am going TO make my trees clear the land.
] VIII only dig around the roots a little
End trim away the brush as the trees
spread out their spreading branches
Along with my work, in which I average
seven hours a day, I do a little reading
] have a few good books and the latest
magazines, so keep myself posted.
FINDS HIS IDEAL PLACE.
Work, study, rest. good dieting and
sleeping always in the outdoor air, are
the life Of me.
First Of all. though. is work. IntelIi-
gent.wOrk is the panacea for most ills.
SO, you see, my School Of Nature is
started. II is open TO everybody I hereby
invite all true lovers Of nature to visit me
in my Tahiti mountain home According.
as they are nature livers they will be
welcome several weeks, months or years.
viii help such to find homes like mine.
There are hundreds of such suitable
spots, TOO. came here penniIess. went
70 work with hands and with brain!
learned 10 speak enough French and ma
tive 10 get along and searched diligently
for eight months till / found this unoc-
cupied land, seventy acres, three miles
back Of town / made certain that 1t was
totally without occupant or individual
owner.
When I spoke to NJ Vermasch. the
head Of the land registration depart
ment. he said, 'Aller travaiIIe bien. Tout
a leur je donner vous une bonne tire 1
knew enough French to understand that 1
was TO get in and dig, and by and by he
would give me a good title.
Il wanted no better assurance from the
chief authority, so I thanked him and i'm
1nediately went for a cOcoanut, a shovel
and my tent. I packed them UP the un-
inhabited valleys. through langley thick
cts, 10 a big orange tree located near the
center OF the tract
STARTS A PLANTATION.
1T was 10 o'clock and dark, but I plant-
cd that nut. tackled up my claim notice
and lay down to sleep in my tent. AL
though a heavy rain poured down and
soaked me through. slept fine. Arose at
3 a. m. and dug a well.
As the weeks have passed I have been
packing up young banana shoots and all
kinds Of plants for the plantation.
IF there are any more people in the
world who want 70 rustic for a home like
mine I am sure this French Government
viii treat them as kindly as il certainly
has treated me.
Il love the French people and ike
their language very much 1 love the
natives as well. Theirs Is nature Ian
gUage, so ] quickly caught on. How I
have toiled with these dark-skinned chill
dren of nature TO free them from dissi-
pations, But it's about ike pouring
water on a duck They quickly pick 10
the vices OF the white man.
Gradually ] have come to the conclu-
sion that the natives VIII lose all their
opportunities. Workers will come and
possess the land, clear away the brush
and plant these beautiful mountain ter
races and valleys with all kinds OF food
bearing plants, palms and trees. Rub
Der, cotton, Brazil-nut and hundreds OF
other things thrive beautifully.
PLACE FOR HOMES.
Tahiti is geographically formed SO
ss TO prevent its becoming a mere mer-
cenary country. The thousands of little
valleys make distinctly as many little
homes. As the island is only thirty
miles across II is too small for Rookie
feller. The next twenty-five years how
ever. will see many rock fellows up here
with five-acre plantations alongside mine.
happy and Independent as Kings Five or
ten acres is enough for q family of five
people. This rich soil. warm and moist
is producing every day Of the year. It
IS twice as productive as the same soil
would be IN the temperate zone