Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-04-02
Dr.. Edwards Letter

S~A AA, OuAn4Ob ONcu W
guessed by a day or two of hur
med driving about the port ane
ats neighbOrhoOd. Do not. forge
that this is a sort of delicious
1dleness and that hurry is as i'm.
possible as it is undesirable. To
all readers of Stevenson's de.
hghtful fiction, first interest cen.
tiers about his former home and
his grave. Vailima, as his home
Is called, is about an hours
drive from Apia over a beauti-
ful road shaded by cocoanut,
fruit, mango and other tropical
trees. The house is especially
built to meet the requirements of
the tropics, and is fronted by i'm
mense verandas. A thousand fee
above the town rises the lofty
hill where Stevenson's grave was
dugSy his own request. He ev-
en- selected the exact spot. He
had always wished to lie at last
on that airy summit, overlooking
the. blue harbor and palmy shores
he loved so well.
The climb to the grave is long
and hot, and one wonders how a
coffin was ever carried up, and
the wonder increases when remen
berlng that at the time of Stew
enson's death no path whatev-
er existed. 1t was the love of
his Samoan friends that over
came all difficulties. On the day
that the coffin was closed the
chiefs called out five hundred
men and set them at work and in
a few hours a wide pathway was
cleared through dense tropical
bush to the very top of the hill.
The chiefs themselves, who as a
rule shun all manual labor, car
ried the coffin on their Shout
ders to the top. Such was Stew
ensOn's funeral, and the road to
this day is called by the Samoans
The Road of the Loving Heart. D.
The people of Samoa are the
real attraction of the place, and
they cannot be known by remain.
ing IN the vicinity of the capital.
One must go inland, or visit an
other island to understand the
Samoan character. l left Apia
early in the morning on horsebac
for carriage roads disappear a
short distance from Apia, and
soon white population suddenly
ceased. All the villages are Sa-
moan and all speech is native.
Handsome bronze figures, clothed
IN bright lava and FLOWERS call
ed out as we passed, 'Talofa,"
the universal greeting here mean
ing exactly the same as 'Alofa il
Hawaii. At every house we were
invited to stop and partake of
hospitality and as we went along,
men would rush from the hous-
es and call eagerly for us to
come in and eat. At one place
We stopped and a mat was spread
for us to sit on. In front was
placed a small dinner mat with
a green banana Leaf for a plate.
Smoking hot fresh water crayfish
a pigeon, bread and milk made
of bread fruit, a connection of
taro and cOcOanut milk and a
green drinking cocoanut forms tn
meal.
Hospitality is supposed to be
free to all, and in early days
even the suggestion of a gift,
would have been taken as an in
suit white influence, however has
changed conditions here, as ev-
. erywhere else, and a present,
(never money! is always expect
ed by the entertainers on the de
parture of the guest. Large bath
towels are most appreciated. The
amount and value of the present
should be regulated by the length
of the stay and the number Of
pigs and chickens that have been
killed for the visitor. We follow
ed the Samoan custom and threw
our gifts at the host. 1t is sup
posed to signify that the gifts
are so, poor that they are fit on
ly to be thrown away. The host
scarcely glanced at the gift, but
our guide said it was etiquette
not to examine anything until the
guest had departed.
When a white person stays with
a Samoan without offering an
equivalent in gifts the Samoans
express no blame, but they con.
slider that such conduct is be.
low the DIGNITY of one who is
,o4 - 49,, - 49, ne $1,000.