St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1908-05-09


Southern Belle. Not business aIona-
which was, of course, only to be ex-
pecteo, what with the civil war being
JUST over and the Kanakas driven to
cat tnelr cocoanuts instead of selling
tnem TO traders in the form of COBRA
OUT socially speaking, the little
c0pltal OF the Samoan group had been
next door to dead.
Possibly this long spell of monotony
contributed to Capt Satterlee's pro-
hounced and instant success. The
Copsalls OF the Southern Belle had
naraly more than appeared over the
horizon when people began to wake
up and realize that stagnation had too
Iong heId them in it's thrall. Satter-
zee was not at ali the ordinary kind of
sea captain to which the Beach (as
Apla always alluded to itself was
more than well acquainted. Gin had
no attractions for Capt. Satterlee, nor
ol0 ne surround himself with dusky
Afnpropriety. He played a straight
social game and lived I'D to the rules,
even to party calls, and finger bowls
on his cabin table. He was a tall,
thin American of about As, with floor
walker manners, grayish muttonchop
Wnlskers and rowing eye. The gen
eral verdict of Apia was that he was
very superior" His superiority was
apparent in his gentlemanly badness,
ms openWork socks, his well-turned
references to current events, his kind
" and indulgent attitude toward all
things Samoan. He depIored the rival
~ OF the three contending nationali-
tles-German, English and American
whose official representatives quar-
relied fiercely among themselves and
mlsmanaged the affairs of this unfor-
tunate little South Sea kingdom, and
whose unofficial representatives sold
guns and cartridges Unfortunately
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, and he would clinch the re-
mark by passing round Accent cigars.
The Southern Belle was snowy
little vessel of about 80 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 bottle of
trade scent to a key of dynamite. He
never was so charming as when en-
gagged in this exchange of commodi-
ties for coin, and it accorded so
piquantly with his evident superiority
that the purchaser had pleasant
sense of doing business with gentle
man.
70 "Of course I might run her as a
yacht and play the heavy SWELL" he
would remark. But. candidly, 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 handful of fishhooks,
or a packet of safety matches, or
toothbrush Indeed, apart from this
inyariable prodigality, his scale of
prices was ridiculously low, and if
you were a 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 he was just asked to help him
self; which young Skiddy did, though
sparingly Capt. Satterlee took an
immense fancy to this youthful repre-
sentative of their common country,
and treated him with an engaging
mixture of respect and paternalism;
and Skiddy, not to be behindhand, and
dazzled, besides, by his elders marked
regard and friendship, threw wide the
consular door and constantly pressed |
on Satterlee the hospitality Of a cot
on the back veranda.
The little consul had never known
such a man; he had never heard such |
talk; he had never before realized the |
extent and splendor of the world. |
Sitting in the cabin of the Southern |
Belle, often far into the night, he |
would give rapt attention to this ex-
traordinary being who had done |
everything and seen everything. Paris,
London, Constantinople, New York,
all were as familiar to Satterlee as the.
palm of his hand, and he had the
storytelling gift that can throw a
glamor over the humblest incident.
It is a sad commentary on human
nature that it is so easily deceived. A
glib tongue, an attractive manner, q
few hundred dollars thrown carelessly
about, and presto! you have the coun-
terfeit of Cecil Rhodes. We are not
only willing to take peeple at their
own valuation, but are ever ready to
multiply that valuation by ten. OBJ
trude romance-rich, stirring romance
into the lives of commonplace peo-
ple and they instantly lose their
heads. Romance, more than cupidity,
is what attracts the gold-brick in-
weston.
OF course Satterlee was poser, a
fraud, a liar; the highest type Of liar;
the day-dreaming, weli-read, genuine
" inventive, highly imaginative, low
acknowledgements liar. But to
skiddy every word he said was gospel
true. He never doubted the captain
for an instant. Life grew richer to
him. stranger and more wonderful. 1t
was like, g personal distinction-a
medal. or the thanks Of congress
that Satterlee should thus have sin
gIed him out. His gratitude was I'M
He felt both humble and
elated. His cup was Drumming over.
AS the time began to draw near for
The monthly mail from San Francisco
satterlee got restless and talked re-