New-York tribune., 1911-02-19

about the green rocm' entrances. Pre-
sently. as the shadows dissolved in the
strengthening light. scores of prone figures.
motionless save fer gentle waving OF the
''riya-riya" plumes OF the heads, could ps
made out. and doctor whispered that the
opening number was evidently TO be the
Dance of the Cocoanuts."
The plumes continued to nod for few
moments. and then, representing the sprout-
ing and the growth of the young trees. the
PROSTATE dancers, 10 the accompaniment
of low chanting, rose inch by inch 10
their full heights. Now the trade vino
was blowing through their tops, and they
bowed and swayed and bent and recov-
cred while the muffied nasal chanting rose
and fell undulatingly like the gusty south
east breeze Now il was harvest time, ana
new figures wove in and out among the
swaying trees gathering the ripe fruit and
chesty boom-booms in the bass told OF the
cast-down nuts striking tae ground under
meath
After q few minutes of indstinguishapie
pan,omime, which had to do with the hush
ing and drying of the nuts for copra' a
change came over the spirit Of the quiet
dance. The hum Of the wind rose to
shrill whistle the low monotone OF the
reef changed to the deep-mouthed roars
of crashing combers and hard-smitten
drum-logs sent forth throbbing peals Of
heavy thunder A hurricane was bursting
upon the cocoanut grove. No longer the
trees bent to the caressing touch or the
gentle trade Torn by conflicting gusts
they jerked now this wav and now that
thrashing limbs striking each other in the
pantomime OF bare arms and hands bangns
with resounding thwacks upon bare backs
and breasts. The wind and surf and thun-
der blend in a raucous roar as the storm
grows more furious. and now the trees
, are swapping and falling before the savage
onslaught. Down they go. now falling
alone now striking others and going to
the earth together. In a few moments all
but two firmly rooted giants in the heart
of the grove are tossing on the ground
and these, represented by two magnin-
Gently muscled men. lean together for sup
port and defy the hurricane for brlet
space longer Then they, too. give way
falling TO the ground interlocked. and the
Dance of the Cocoanuts" is over
MY wordw gasped w, as the roar OF
the storm gave way 10 laugh and chatter
what wouldn't II be worth 10 the man
who could put that on at Covent Garden!
"Himmel, snorted the doctor, impatient
". You'd haf der whole Island TO London
to move also und der ferdamte British gill
mate would right away der whole thing
kill"
For a time the dancers rested and slaked
their thirst with orange wine. Then with
short, sharp yels. compact mass OF girls
came charging out Of the green room,
like a flying wedge of the rood old days or
mass play in football. and went scurrying
straight across into the shadows OF the OPP
posite side Of the crater. This was the
launching OF the ship" FOR the "Pearling
Schooner Dance" Directly canoefuls OF
stout paddlers came towing her back into
the moonlight with Llama hawsers, and all
in an instant. as each of the dancers threw
aloft a square of white muslin she was
under sail and off to sea. Now she thread
ed, in short acks the passage through the
reef. and now, to low, sweet grooming, like
a lullaby, she bowed and courtesied ano
pitched and rolled in the swift-running
ocean swes.
But the comedy hit of this dance was the
hooking and landing of a shark on a strand
of LANA Baited with the cocoanut pearl,
the creeper lire was thrown over. to at
tract the instant attention of a school OF
glstening man-eaters, which. with raised
elbow dorsals, went wrigging about the
grass under the schooners bows. After an
amazingly clever bit of "shark-play" about
. the bait one OF the monsters rolled over
on his back and Swallowed It, the crew
promptly "tailing on" to the Llama TO bring
him aboard
The shark" as was explained TO us af-
terward. had drunk considerably more
orange wine than should have fallen to his
share and the fight he put up before being
landed and ''cut to pieces" came pretty
near TO sinking the pretty pearler then and
there
Floundering and swapping his teeth in a
manner that would have done credit TO a
monster of twice his size. and roaring as
no shark OF any size ever roared, the gamy
leviathan was no sooner laid alongside than
with vigorous swish of his tail (both feet
planted squarey in the pit of the stomach
of the trim "vahine" who chanced to be
nearest him) he stove a gaping hole in
the starboard side. An instant later his
triple row of barbed teeth" had closed on