Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-11-10
RULED WNALERS
And CANNIBALS
British Governor Of Falkland
Islands Now on Vacation.


Man Eating Stopped by This English
man to Prevent Serving of Himself
as Piece do Resstance--Left Tropics
to Serve Union Jack on Edge Of Ant
arctic.
Twenty-Five years in the south sea
islands and six years on the border Of
the antarctic are enough to fill u T.
son with a desire to see something (
the rest of the world. and that is l., -
sibly one reason why w. L. Allardyce.
his Britannia majesty's governor of the
Falkland islands, is making tour al
the world.
From 1870 when he first went out to
1904 Governor Allardyce spent most Of
his time in the various islands in the
Pacific, notably in Samoa. Tonga and
the Fills.
Il first went to the Fills when King
Thakombar was alive" said Governor
Allardyce in New York recently. He
was the original king OF the cannibal
isles who has been sung about. Tha-
kombar was tail man with big
white beard. and his hands were so
big that if you put one of yours in
his it would disappear. lie always
wore the native gurb, somewhat modi-
fed, for he insisted upon the white
shirt of civilization and Il necktic,
which first he wore tucked into kilt
of native cloth His legs were bare.
He also wore headdresS of some kind
OF white or smoked native cloth.
Fiji Etiquette Severe.
"Thakombar always insisted upon the
observance of the outward forms of
respect. AS rule. the native Fiiian
doffs his headdress when he comes into
the presence of higher chief, but this
was not enough for Thakombar The
man who met the king on the road had
to sit down in the road and clap his
hands or smite his thighs and shout
'WOh WONT
Ihe missionaries thought the Fiji
ans were civilized in that early day,
and the natives had nominally accept
ed Christianity, but as late as 1894
they were not up to all the forms Of
Christianity and civilization. for they
We're still eating one another. In that
year. however. it was stopped by force
"There had been an outbreak in the
interior. l was native minister at the
time and with the governor, some
2,OOO native allies and q few hundred
of our own men went up and called
upon the cannibals to give lD those
of their number who had not long be-
fore eaten two native missionaries.
''To our Management the leaders re-
piled that If we did not go away they
would put the governor and myself in
the oven also. We tried to call them
to reason, l!ut they would not enter
tain or truce cnvoys. Finally we had
to attacE them. We captured some POO
of them in The fight. and the licking
they got taught them we meant what
we sail anl there has been no more
man eating since then.
White Population Growing.
"In tn early eighties there were not
more than 1900 white men in all the
islands. They were mostly Anglo
SaXonS. some being Americans. The
white population of the country is now
over 1000. In addition some 10000
East Indians have been imported into
the country from Bengal to work the
sugar plantations. The sugar industry
has grown so that the expectation Is
now approximately $4,000 tons.
1--WE try to preserve the communal
system of government among them as
FAR as possible. The people are ruled
by their chiefs. the something like
10000 Fiiians having several dozen
head chiefs. and these have many pet
ty ones under them. The heads Of
provinces are paid salaries ranging
from $1,000 year downward. These
chiefs have not the power Of life and
death.
"There is never any summer in the
Falklands." continued Governor AL
lardyce; but. on the other hand. the
thermometer hardly ever goes down to
Zero But what gets to you is the cold
wind with low temperature. Most
OF the people there are engaged either
in sheep raising or whaling. The
whole country is a sheep farm, and the
holdings range from 100000 acres. run
ming 100000 sheep to small runs that
carry only 5000 to 1000. There are
100000 sheep in the Falklands. In
the Falklands group are some fifty or
sixty islands. the largest being East
Falkland. which Is about 90 by so
miles. aud West Falkland. which is 20
by 30 miles.
"The aaiins industry IL very re-
mnnerativ. The whalers are mostly
Norwegians. and fhey Ash around the
Falklands and south Georgia. also go
ing as far south as the South Shet.
lands and the South OrkneyA
There are Ave different kinds Of
whales in those waters. OF them the
right whale. or the nord kappa. as
the Norwegians call 1t. is worth from
$500 to $4,000. principally on ac-
count of the whalebone. Then there
is the blue whale. which is the biggest
of all, often running to 90 or 100 feet