The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-12

FIJI AND ITS POSSIBILITIES" by Beatrice Grtmshaw, published by Dou- bleday, Page & Co.,, New York; s net; at Judas.
 An exceedingly interesting book. The style is sprightly and it is entertaining ly written It is no compilation of dry Gradgrind facts, but is bright gossipy story of travel and of travel in most interesting far-off region and then there is the additional interest attach ing to the authors journeyings as she took considerable risk in traversing a little known portion of the Fijians country, where no white women have ever before Ventured and where she saw real cannibals. Luckily the canni- bals were not on the warpath and they were rather meet and harmless beings as she saw them, but still possessing 6 predilection for human flesh. And not go very long ago was it either when access to the fastnesses Miss GrimshaW visited was prohibited by the British government Miss Grimshaw is eVl- dently courageous or she would not have journeyed where man-eaters dwell, especially with no escort but a
 few natives. She is courageous De-
 cause she has found secret and unmls-
 takable joy in visiting places i'll her
 travels about the globe which people
 were warned against visiting as being
 unsafe, With this state of mind she set out to investigate the FijiSns and find
 out al! about them, so after doing the safe spots, alone much of the time she
 struck out for the interior of one of
 the largest of the islands, accompan-
 jed by foue or five native Fijians. One cheering thing she was assured of, viz.
 that no missionary had been devoured
 there in thirty years. She spent two
 years in this far distant tropical Britt
 ish colony She made good use of her
 eyes, as the reader will discover and
 gives much that is interesting regard ing the Fiji people, country produc-
 tions, homes, social life and industries,
 ths recreations, Inequalities and poli-
 teal situation. She does not forget to
 give the missionaries due credit for
 their splendid work in these Islands,
 in rescuing these once savage people
 from their depths of degradation.
 There are 155 islands in the Fiji group
 with total area of 7400 square miles
 Most of the land is contained in the
 two great islands of Vital Levu and Vanua Levu. Vita Levu is in every
 way the most important island in the archipelago, It contains the seat of government, the principal harbors, and
 all the roads, and much the greater
 part of the colony's trade. There is one
 town ir the group besides suva--Levu-
 ka, the capital of former days, on the
 small island of 0valau.
 Miss Grimshaw found the Fijians
 hospitable, comparatively honest, good natured and rather clever, and speaks rapturously of the climate and of the possibilities for entefprising colonists Probably Miss Griinshaw would no have fared So well in the trip had f not been for the fact that just before her visit the French and English wht are both interested in the islands, had chastised these cannibals who were therefore not looking for further trou- ble. The book abounds with fine illus trations from photographs the author took during her journeyings. Concern ing her visit to the cannibals of the New Hebrides, Miss Grimshaw says: -Four miles! What Is that to healthy Briton. Four miles of hart white English road, of bracing breeze. Just an appetizer for dinner. But four miles on the New Hebrides is some. z thing else. To begin with there are no roads. There is usually a track some $ few inches wide, but one cannot keer it without guide, and it is generally slippery and boggy owing to frequent heavy rainfalls. Either you are strug- gling up the side of slope so steep that you have to use your hands or you are sliding with clenched feet and fingers down into pit of destruction There is little air stirring and 1t is gloomy owing to the dense oyerhanr- ing canopy. Then it is hot--a good deal hotter than the orchid house of Kew and a good deal moister and before you have gone a mile you are as wet with mere heat as if you had dropped bodily into the sea, It is likely too that you have touch of fever hanging about you and island fever takes all the stiffening out of your bones $ and weights you brain with lead.p
 Miss Grimshaw came at last upon
 the Malekulans, all of whom were
 around with rifles and were weighted
 with ammunition Thefe are no dan
 gerous quadrupeds on the islands 5 hence the game they were looking for E was the noblest of all animals. "There was nothing noble looking about then, for 8 more ill-looking crew I never saw. 5 Nor does the Malekulans expression 5 belle his nature, for he considers mur-
 der a fine art and treachery the high est of accomplishments. Cannibalism he * thinks proof of fine manly charac- 5 ter, nfanticide-usually compassed by $ throwing unwanted children into the 2 forest to die, or burying them alive-is recognized social custom. He trusts and is trusted by no one, for he walks in the continual fear of death and with murder always lurking in his own
 heart"
 IA sample of treacherous murder is
 then given, where under the guise of fflendsn1p the foul deed was done by { stealth The approach to the town is & then described. IL was by designedly puzzling footpaths which finally came to a narrow opening to the clusters of # dwellings or huts rather. Miss Grim 5 shaw came upon an open space in the , middle of the town which was sur # rounded by a cluster of great drum # idols with the usual uncanny skull like faces. A boy was beating these so az & to make terrific din; and round and
 ,n11,nd +hn idnls itn 4l,n hrnndfr,cr hnnI