The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-10-01
suva. Fill. August 1907.


a two weeks cruise among the Fill
Islands. by inter-island steamer. cost
$3.50 per diem and worth more. BY
all means stop over trip at Fill and
take these delightful and remarkably
reasonable cruises TO the outlying is
lands-there are several-so that II
you stop over for a month you can
take the long and two short cruises,
or IL your stay is but eight days. there
is plenty of time for the ffve-day
| cruise. and you can learn mucn OF the
Islands in this time. One OF our Ho-
nolulu boys Is even now cruising about
| the islands spying out the land (Which
is full of rubber. cocoa and copra) for
certain home parties. On my inter-is-
land cruise 1 found many who wished
to learn everything concerning the Ha-
waiian Islands. I will tell you the
main points upon which they ask en-
lghtepment and trust the Promotion
Committee will do the rest
WHERE LIFE IS LONELY.
Life in Fiji is lonely at best. spent
one day on Mango Island, owned by
one of the big copra kings of the ar
chipelago. a Mr., Boron. who has
spent fifty years in Fiji. He owns
Mango Island and is lord OF other sim
liar estates, yet he and his good wife
do not see another white face for
months at a time. Guests are a god
send. 1t takes as long to get from
Mango to Suva, the little metropolis
of the group, as 1t does to get from
Honolulu. to Suva. for the steamer calls
at Mango two days out from Suva and
then goes on to complete her cruise,
so we had Mr.. Boron with US the best
part, of ten days.
Mr., Boron pumped me eagerly con-
corning Hawaii, and will, he assures
me, visit the islands next year. In
the meantime he wishes estimates on
the cost of sinking artesian wells. as
he intends boring on one or more of
his estates, believing that he can treble
and even quadruple his output of eopra
if he can but regulate the water sup
ply. l am certain that Honolulu inter,
ests can take up welI-boring in Fiji
and make it profitable. for not only
do many of the copra plantations need
artesian wells. but the larger islands
being given to growing cane, new areas
may be brought under this form of
cultivation once wells are sunk. The
area of the Fiji Islands is about that
of the Hawaiian.
OTHERS WANTING WATER.
Mr.. Boron is not the only copra
planter interested in boring for. water.
1 visited Mr.. Gus Hennings for an
hour on his cocoanut plantation on
Lomaloma Island, and he returned the
visit a few days later in Suva TO go
over my copy of the jubilee number OF
the Advertiser, announcing as he put
the pamphlet down that he had made
up his mind to go to Honolulu and
| take up the matter of wells with
the proper parties, besides casting an
eye about the islands with a view to
| the possibility of raising copra on
American soil. He will also represent
Mr.. Boron. Mr.. Hennings is the son
of Tongan princess and one of the
earliest white settlers. His father,
| whom I met, was the pioneer cotton
merchant on these islands, at a time
during our civil war; when there were
more white men in Fiji than at pres
/ ent. Fortunes were made raising sea
island cotton, but with the cessation
! of hostilities in America prices went
down. Later the British took posses
sion of the islands and practically con-
fiscated the white mans lands and
| turned them back to the natives. The
Governor, Sir E. i'm Thurn, told me
yesterday, however. that he Is ar
ranging for an equitable requirement
| of native lands by the white man and
that splendid opportunities are begin
ming to open up. Cotton is being
planted once more. Mr.. Gus Hen
nings. who is one of the big copra
planters, can give you much infor-
nation about Fiji on his arrival. in
return for facts about Hawaii.
TRIES SURF RIDING.
On Taviuni Island 1 met four of the
Douglas brothers, cattle breeders and
| them for half a day, as 1 insisted that
at the end of their island there were
natives who operated the surf board
so We rode to the END of the island
and, despite sharks and coral, I went
in with the natives, they using tiny
stray pieces of wood and L the part
OF a canoe. intending to astonish the
natives with standing stunt" The
less said the better, however. The I'M
dertow carried me over the reef, and
when l did get back the waves rolled
me on the coral urf-boardIng Is not
for the white man in Fiji. The ma
tives merely hold a small board in
their hands to guide them in, and
have never heard of anyone standing
on the board. The Douglases were en-
chanted with the sport-but they have
not yet visited Waikiki.
One of the brothers took me through
his cocoanut grove, explaining the
needs of the trees. etc, and asking
about conditions in Hawaii. The re-
suit of our conversation was that he
would like to investigate for himself
in Hawaii. and l hope ne viii. From
the limited description 1 could give OF
the condition Of the trees in the Kona
district, 1t seems that It may paw to
plant cocoanuts there. At present
copra brings s110 a ton in the London
market, usually netting the Fiji plant !
er about $40 a ton, four acres yielding
ton 1t takes five TO seven years to
secure yielding trees, but at the end
Of the third year cattle are 9razad