The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-24

Melv1lleS valley OF ee-a Some
disiIlusionment, not, however, without
compensation?
There is in Mrs. London's diary an
occasional trace as the chemists
say, Of v%ulgarity: n little too much
dwelling on the details Of s~easickness
and the unlimited passengers aboard
"a sailing ship. But there are many
flashing passages of poetic beauty:
The sea In not a lovable monster. And
monster II H., II Is beautiful. the sea. al
ways beautiful In one way or another.
but It IL cruel. aud unmindful. OF the life
that Il in It and upon II. II was cruel
last evening. In Tho lurid low sunset that
made 1t glow, duly. to the cold. hooking.
ragged moonrlse that made II look Hks
death. The waves positively beckoned
when they rose and pitched toward our
boat laboring IN the trough. And all the
long night It seemed TO me that I heard
voices through the planking. talking. talk
Ing. cndlessly. monotonously, duerulously;
aud ] couldn't make out whether II was
the ocean calling from the outside or tho
ship herself muttering gropinrly, finding
herself. II the voices are of the ship. they
will soon cease. for she must find herself.
Hut II they are the voices of the sea, they
must ne sad sirens that cry. restless. ques-
tioring. unsatisfcd-quaint homeless little
sirens.
Jack euticcd me out to the tip end Of
tho bowsprit, with a heavy sea rolling. I
must frankly admit that I felt shaky
climbing out, my feet on a steel stay only
a few inches above the cracking foam.
and my hands ~ciinging to the lunEing
spar. But 1t was wonderful to watch the
yacht swing magnihcently over the un-
l~ulnting blue hills, now one side buried
In the rushing. dazzling smother. now the
other. the suushpt turquoise water rolling
back from the shining, clearing white
bows, and mixing witt the milky froth
pressed under. Now the man at the wheel
would he far. far below us. a great slaty
mountain rolled up behind him. and the
uneven horizon high In air: now ne was
way above rs. sliding down that same
mountain. But he never overlook us, for
about that time We were raising our feet
rom the Wet into which they had been
plunged. and were holding on for dear
life az the Sharks doughty ~forefoot paved
another steep rise.
There is a new feel about everything.
with this cios.ness 20 land. We seem
suddenlv 20 have a place IN the universe.
= character 81 our own. We have had
no'hing all these weeks with which to
'ofnpare ourselves. ourselves as a boat.
We have been alone Of our kind, with no
ono TO soc that We existed. THIS is al
most annihilation. But now we seem
about @" take our place once more In a
known world. on n big ship. carrying
hundreds OF persons. II Is different; the
many souls form a community. and the
unrelated character Of the vessel IL not
50 conspicuous, We are so very. very
httle. the daily surprise is that We know
where We are at all. that We can do aught
but arift q mote In a sunbeam.
At Taiohae In the Marquesas the
travellers, on renting the only avail
able cottage, were happy to find that
II was the old clubhouse where Ste
Nenson frequently dropped in on his
visits to that place. The Marquesan
women's looks were disappointing TO
the white woman. but the race has
not been improving since the far off
days when Herman Melville called
them the handsomest and fairest OF
the South Sea Islanders. There was
feasting in honor of the Sharks ad-
vent: Calabashes OF poi-poi, which these
people make from breadfruit. where
he lawaiianS use taro. and puarka,
p~iG-fourteen huge coan fed hogs
roasted whole in ovens of hot stone.
The barbaric music was up TO expec-
%tations, and there was dancing not to
he found fault with by seekers after
the outlandiSh. The procession to the
feast supplied a vivid. savage pic
ture," but Mrs. London cannot skip
the "anachronisms." one mar wore a
silk hat, and "a tattered rag of a
calico shirt; there were several bat
fprnl larhXZ n,,l ,hn l,,aFs, go, ,,.,,.
ducks and Il straw hat. The hula
hula was danced To the music of an
ACCORDION. And when the author Wis
tied Typoe Val she mourned: Melville
saw il blooming and happy; now it
Is unWhulesome. the remnant of it's
people ragged III civilized calico. and
wrctched. but in Ho-o-umi Valley
the explorers found "a little vale that
looked as Typee must have looked
IN her hcydaY.' n hit of aboriginal
fairylund.
Here was a prospect Of plenty"
Rich lands border the stream that
threads the valley. Breadfruit. ba-
nanas and c%ocoanut palms thrive.
Copper skinned natives fish In the
river. Grass huts. THE very o~uintes-
N'lA'' ~ FfN'irN' iH'Ahi 'N'IN'lltSSs tlOl
the landscape. In the little village at
the mouth of the valley the reexplor-
ers met n "Niarquesan Adunis." a 1.-THE,
strong specimen Of primitive manhood,
whose memor they cherish as OF the
one approximation 10 the Typean of
older chroniClers
Going into Fapeete, after being sa-
luted by the United State cruiser
Annapolis and questioned 10y the port
doctor, the SnarkerS wcre'hailcd from
a native craft flying n red flag. Stand
ing in the canoe was ~ startlingly
Biblical figure" a tail, tawney blond
man clad only in a sleeveless shirt of
large mesh tishnet hId n scarlet lnin
cloth. "Ilello. Jack, Hello, Char
miun'" II was astounding, Then
they recognized him as Il friend last
met in California, some years before,
and whom they called The Nature
Man" Mr., London asked, But what's
the red flag for" why. socialism.
of course" "Oh. | know that, But
what are you doing with it," DE
livoring the message, and the flag
bearer made n sweeping gesture
toward papcete. 'To TAHITI" the
skipper OF the Shark asked incredu-
lousy. Sure" was the reply. The
Nature Man brought better things 10
his white friends than to his dusky
protcges, for he left aboard the Shark
"a basket with clear white honey. two