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

dustrE Of the group, diving in the
al@oonS and in some waters outside
he atollS for mother Of pearl
Every islander in his prime is a
diver, and Father Braccom 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-
tion OF mother of pearl was 400 tons
a year. The trading companies bought
this for about 600,0 900 francs, all pay
able in merchandise, and sold it for
100000. They had besides the en-
tortionate profits derived from the
barter trade.
The pearl diver was always in debt
to the traders and they manoeuvrcd
to keep him in debt, and he was al
ways Straining every nerve to bring
more shells, for his creditors never
ceased to bully and threaten him. 1t
was a bare existence. hand-to-mouth,
for every one Of the 5000 natives in
he archipelago.
This had for Years been the stua-
tion when the storms Of January,
1903. 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
lies have since been dependent on the
charity of their povcrty-stricken
neighborS. They had begun to get a
new start when the stu,mS of March,
| 1908, occurred.
These storms were even more de-
struchvc than those of 1903. The
giant waves not only killed nearly
1000 people, but dug to the bottom Of
the la@onns 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 cistcrnS Of mason work,
IN which they caught the rain. Ev-
cry cistcrn 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
viatc suffering from thirst.
Under these circumstances the is
landcrs lost courage and wished to
flee from the scene of their trials,
They sent delegation to Tahiti ia
lay their case before Governor Julli-
ell.
"We've lost everything but our
lives. said the old chief. who was
their spokesman, "and nearly every
family is mourning it's dead. We
men are not afraid to stay on the is,
lands. but we fear for our women and
children. We ask vou to give us some
places on this great high island. where
our families may be safe. Help Us !;
little at first and we shall not ask fnl
anything, not even for work.. -
The governor was much aifcrteG
and promised assistance Nothing " as
done, and in the following December
another great storm occurred. There
was not much left to destroy cxncpt
human life, and il took its share u!
that
France heard Of this last blow am,
So,o"o frames of the public fund:
wrr" voted to relieve the immr,li,,,
needs Of the sufferers. \ comm. sion
was ais" appointed in Tahiti to v&i:
the islands and see wha, cnull be
done to amclinratr he situation.
Father Bracconi severely criticiScs
the commission. Tn the first place it
used large part of the mono" tt
buy European fishing gear, whicl
was useless to the natives. A few
thousand francs were used to build
cisterns. 1t was voted to build very
strong platforms on which the people
might take refuge above the cvclone
OF them, but to this day not stcr
| 1,>, l,1.