Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1908-05-06
Copyright. by Joseph b. Bowles.)
BY LLOYD OSBOURNE

Things had been dull In Apia before
the arrival OF Capt. Satterlee in the
Southern Belle. Not business alone
which was. OF course. only to be ex-
pected. what with the civil war being
Just over and the Kanakas driven to
eat their cocoanuts instead of selling
them to traders In the form of copra
but. socially speaking. the little
capital OF the Samoan group had been
next door to dead
Possibly this long spell of monotony
contributed to Capt. Satterlee's pro-
nounced and instant success. The
topsails OF the Southern Belle had
hardly more than appeared over the
horizon when people began to wake
mp and realize that stagnation had too
long held them in its thrall. Satter.
lee was not at all the ordinary kind of
sea captain to which the Beach (as
Apia always alluded to Itself was
more than well acquainted Gin had
no attractions for Capt. Satterlee. nor
aid he surround himself with dusky
Improperly. He played a straight
social game and lived up to the rules,
even to party calls. and finger bowls
on his cabin table. He was tall.
thin American of about 45, with floor
walker manners. grayish muttonchop
whiskers and rowing eye. The gen.
eral verdict Of Apia was that he was
very superior" His superiority was
apparent in his gentlemanly badness.
his openwork socks, his well-turned
references to current events. his kind
IND LIT
things Samoan. He deplored the rival
~ or the three contending nationali-
ues-German. English and American
whose official representatives quar-
relied fiercely among themselves and
mismanaged the affairs OF this unfor-
tunate little South Sea kingdom. and
whose unofficial representatives sold
guns and cartridges indiscriminately
to the warning native factions. Sat
terlee let It be inferred that the role
OF peacemaker had informally settled
upon himself.
in little place everybody ought
TO pull together he would say. his
bland tolerance falling like balm from
heaven, ana he would clinch the re-
mark by passing round Accent cigars
The Southern Belle was a snowy
little vessel " about 90 tons. with
the usual trade room in the after part
Of the ship. where the captain himself
would wait on you behind a counter
and sell you anything from a bottle OF
trade scent tn keg Of dynamite. He
never vas SO charming as when en-.
gagged in this exchange OF commodi-
To-
piquanuy with his evident superiority
that the purchaser had a pleasant
sense OF doing business with a gentle.
man.
"Of course I might run her az a
yacht and play the heavy swell" he
would remark But candidly. I like
this kind Of thing. It puts me on a
level with the others. you know: and
then it's handy for buying supplies
and keeping one in touch with the
people with this he would give you
such a warming smile and perhaps
throw in free a handful Of fshhooks.
or packet Of safety matches, or a
toothbrush. Indeed. apart from this
invariabie prodigality. HIS scale OF
prices was ridlculously low, and n
you were lady you could buy out the
ship at half price. As for young
SkIddy. the American consul, the bars
IN his case were lowered even more,
and ne was Just asked TO help him.
self: which young Skiddy did. though
sparingly Capt Satterlee took an
immense fancy 10 this youthful reure-
sentative OF their common country,