Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-09-30
BELOW THE EQUATOR
DIR. EDwORDS is VISITING THE SOUTH
SEA ISLANDS.
French Fourth Of July Celebration. Dr..
Edwords Gives Impressions Of Unique
People and the Beautiful Islands
Of the Blest"

Papetee. Tahiti, Sept go :-Often as /
have watched the Maripesa steam out
through the Golden Gate. at San
Francisco, I have had the lines of
Kipling ring in my mind, and have
thought she's carrying tired people
to the island of the blest Ever
since when as small child sprawled
on the floor looking at pictures OF
scenes in the South Sea Islands, and
all these mysterious lands below the
equator, have longed for the day to
come when /, too, could go to the
islands of the blest,'' and rest in
that wonderful dreamland. Now the
dream has come true and mystery no
longer surrounds the tropical islands
below the equator, for am sitting on
Lovina's porch. surrounded by
tropical foliage. and breathing an air
that is redolent with the perfume of
all these tropical fruits which we hear
about, but seldom see in the temperate
| zones.
The charm still remains, however,
| but have been one of these "tired
people, and have come to the ''isiand
of the blest'' l have seen these
things which we of the prosaic tenn
perate zone are vouchsafed only in
dreams, and now there is left to me a
longing that will never be satisfied
until | can so arrange my affairs that
l can return to these islands of the
blest and pass my declining years.
This is the French Fourth of July,
and as these islands are under French
domination, the more to be regretted.
have reached here just in time to be
in the midst Of the celebration. This
is the evening of the great day, and
all around are the sounds of such q
merry making as only these simple
minded tropical children of nature
can devise to express their. pleasure.
We celebrate our Fourth of July in
the States with much noise. speech
making and music, and liberal al
lowance Of drunkenness mixed in TO
show good faith.
On the Maripesa, coming down, we
did not escape this idea. for we had
our celebration in the social hall.
music. speechmaking. hilarity and
even the drunkenness thrown in for
good measure. There are always q
few Americans who seem to think
that when they are aboard ship, or In
foreign land, they have license to do
many things that would disgrace
them if they were at home, and we
had few of these aboard. Captain
Hayward permitted much license be-
cause it was the Fourth of July, and
he even went as far as to permit tie
display of few fireworks from the
bow of the ship in the evening. But
all this almost faded from our memoir
les when we watched the natives of
Tahiti show their patriotism to
France by celebrating the Fall of the
Bastille
1t seemed as if Fate stepped in To
assist the people of this far-away land
in the South Seas in their effort to
provide ample entertainment for the
visitors on the Mariposa. for fairer
weather and smoother seas conld not
be imagined than those which marked
the closing DAYS of the twelve day
voyage from San Francisco. Twelve
days is a long time at sea, especially
when in all shat time there is no
sight of land ; nothing but the ever
lasting water, continually rolling and
tossing. consequently when we did
spy out bit of low lying land in the
evening, yesterday, il was sight that
took all of us eighty odd passengers to
the bow of the ship, and even the or
dinarily welcome sound of the dinner
gong failed to draw us down below
until we had feasted our eyes to the
full on the welcome sight. In my
younger days wrote some lines to
nv Dear Ones eyes and to her Voice.
which likened to
Music on the waters
"Whose sound is causing the charmed
And the waves lie still and gleam-
ing,
"And the midnight moon is weaving
her bright chain DER the deep
Whose breast is gently heaving. like
an infants asleep"
All this and more we saw ON the
evening before we sighted the ragged
outline of the rocks OF Tahiti, called
the "diadem.' but more nearly re-
sembling the head of some demon Of
the deep. Late in the evening the
frowning front Of the outlying islands
loomed upon the horizon, and then
the fall moon rose just as the sca
sank in the waters of the west. and
all night long her bright chain was
woven on the bosom of the deep. 1t
was a night OF unrest. for each OF Us
desired to be among the first to sight
the "island of the blest," and many
of us remained on deck the night
through. What we saw shall tell in
my next letter.
Clarence E. Edwords.