The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-09-18

!. -, N ...l MI NEW y.
,lH<;ry IF the group. divin" in the
al~run> and in some waters outside
the atnll> for mother st' pearl.
Every islander in his prime is a
diver. and Father Bracconi says that
professional divers in no other part
OF the world can compare with them.
They can swim as though water were
their native element. They do not
even come ashore to eat. but catch
fish with their hands and devour
them raw. Four or five commercial
companies Of Tahiti have practically
made slaves of these islanders. For
years before 1903 the average produc-
ton of mother Of pearl was 400 tons
a year. The trading companies bought
this for about 100000 francs, all pay
able in merchandise, and sold it for
100000. They had besides the ex-
tortionate profits derived from the
barter trade.
The pearl diver was always in debt
to the traders and they manoeuvred
to keep him i'm debt, and he was al
ways $training every nerve to bring
more shells, for his creditors never
ceased to bully and threaten him. It
was a bare existence. hand -to-mouth,
for every one of the 5000 natives in
the archipelago.
This had for years been the situa-
ton when the storms Of January,
1908. destroyed every cocoanut tree on
the islands. overwhelmed the low
reefs on which the natives lived
washed all their huts and fishing i'm
plements into the sea and drowned
hundreds of the islanders, including
many Of the best divers, whose fam
lilies have since been dependent ON the
charity Of their poverty-strieken
neighborS. They had begun to get q
new start when the stoams of March
1905, occurred,
These storms were even more de-
structive than those Of 1908. The
giant waves not only killed nearly
1000 people, but dug to the bottom Of
the laeonns and carried out to sea the
bivalves that yielded the real wealth
of the islands, mother Of pearl. In
addition not a drop Of potable water
was left in the islands.
There are no brooks among these
little rings of rock. The people de-
pended upon cisteras of mason work
in which they caught the rain. Ev.
cry cistern was destroyed in the gales
and the first thing to do was to re.
build them. spreading cloths mean.
while to catch the rain and thus allie
viate suffering from thirst.
Under these circumstances the is
landers lost courage and wished te
flee from the scene Of their trials
They sent a delegation to Tahiti tc
Law their case before Governor Julli-
en-.
"We've lost everything but our
hves,' said the old chief. who was
their spokesman, "and nearly every
family is mourning its dead. We
men are not afraid to stay on the is
lands, but we fear for our women and
children. We ask you to give us some
places on this great high island. where
our families may be safe. Help US q
little at first and We shall not ask fol
anything, not even for work
! The governor was much affected
and promised assistance. Nothing v;ls
done, and i'm the following December
another great storm occurred. There
was not much left to destroy except
human life, and it took its share ~!
that.
France heard of this last blow anl
$4,000 francs Of the public funds
were voted to relieve the Immediate
needs Of the sufferers. A comn;- siHl
was also appointed in Tahiti to visit
the islands and see what could be
done to ameliorate the situation.
Father Braceoni severely criticiSes
the commission. In the first place il
used a large part of the money tc
buy European fishing gear, which
was useless to the natives. A few
thousand francs were used to build
cisterns. It was voted to build very
strong platforms on which the people
| ,o;pb+ +olyo ,.ofuoo ahoya tho cyc1one