The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-10-23
THE, CRUISE OF THE ISAwa, .,
Walter e. Tranrock & s.
e. U. &C. p. Putnam,s sons).

THE CRUISE OF THE KAwA, by
Walter e. Traprock. F. r. s. s.
Z. u. &c. p. Putnam's Sons).
A week or so after this remark
able book appeared the = rumor
reached us that the sales of certain
South Sea books which have long
stood high up on the list of best
sellers had already been affected by
this epoch making story of DR..
Traprock's alarms and excursions
We are unable to understand this,
for We have found this book a most
helpful aid to the full appreciation
OF South, Sea literature. In fact, we
are willing to admit that The
Cruise OF the Kawa" is the sine qua
non for the proper enjoyment of the
works Of the South Sea rovers from
Melville to Frederick O'Brisn and
Somerset Vaughan. Before we
yield, to the temptation which is
assailing US to devote the remain
der of-our notice to quotations from
the book. we pause to remark that
tthe tCruise of the Kawar II one Of
the most amusing and most thor
! oughly well done buriesques that
v we have ever had the pleasure of
After having reached a corner in
the South Pacific formed by the in
tersection OF the equator with the
1s0th meridian" and having recov
| cred from a celebration of the
Fourth Of July and having surviv-
monsoon and a typhoon (much
worse than one of those efght-sided
storms called an +octoroon'O the,
l.intrepid yagers-sappfoached the
IIrd& fafnous 1s1Snds which they
were chosen by fate to discover. OF
the first of these mystic isles DR..
Traprock writes: 81 have mention
ed the contour, color and fragrance
of our ilsand. 1 now come to the
strangest feature of all. / refer 10
its sound. I had for some time no.
ticed queer dripping noise which
had forborne to mention, fearing
it might be inside my own head-a
devilish legacy of our recent BUFFET
ing" Others OF the explorers heard
the same queer sound, but 1t was
Capt. Trfplett who was first to
kperceivs its cause.~-E Nuts :. said
Capt: Triplett suddenly, splitting on
the nose of fish that had made a
face at him." Gazing at the trees of
the island through his field glasses
the doctor saw that the skipper was
right. They are literally crawling
with nuts and tropical fruits of
every description. In the shadow of
the broad panjandrus leaves we
could see whole loaves of bpeadfruit
falling unassisted to the ground,
while between the heavier thuds of
coeoanuts and grapefruit we heard
the ineessant patter Of light show
ers OF thousands of assorted nut
let's, singing the everlasting bur-
den and refrain of these audible
isles"
The things which DIR. Traprock
and his valiant companions discov-
cred on the Filbert Islands (for so
they were named because of some
whlm OF the discoverer) are SO I'M
usual as to strain ones crsdulity
to the breaking point. Were the
testimony that of any other than
DR.. Traprock. it would be given lit
tie consideration. For example.
there was the wild hiodesty CT1a-
rella mud This tiny fiowerIet is
distinctly related. by marriage, to
the European sensitive, plant (Plan-
tus pudica) but is infinitely more
sensitive and reticent. An ilIustra-
ton Of this amazing quality is found
in the fact that its snowy blossoms
blush a deep crimson under the
gaze of the human eye. At the
touch of the human hand the flow
ers turn inside out and shrink to
minute proportions" Then there
was the fatuliva, a bird that laid
square eggs which, judging from a
photograph, SO closely resembled
African golf balls that for all prac-
teal purposes they were the same,
And there is that famous native
drink that could be drunk with
safety only by the aborIEines of
the islands or by Americans whose
esophagi have been callouaed bv
bootleggers' liquor, a drink that n
mixed with phosphorus and CLOVIS
and tastes like hell fire." ..-
We discreetly refrain from az.
tended reference to the romantic
adventures Of the explorers. the
Polynesian hearts they set patp,.
tating, the beautiful creatures with
whom they united in wedlock (pre.
sumably holy and the scapdaIous
conduct of one of the party; and the
limitations of space prevent men,
tion of many significant incidents.
Too many of them are Significant.
The book is, as the publishers say,
profusely illustrated from photo
graphs taken on the spot--sorne-
where near Rye, New York, it Is
reported.
In the words Of Sinclair Lew,
we say Salute to George Chappell"
who,- in spite of all the efforts of
the publishers to conceal his iden-
tity, Is generally regarded as being
responsible for this work of art.
PEEPS AT MANY LANDS. (rhe
Macmillan Company,
Here is an American edition of
the celebrated Peeps" series, re-
issued In an artistic and thorough
~ inyiting form. Written by we'll
known authors they combine In
.I.e g. - 49,