Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1922-06-02


nfee 81 he women would probably in
Cite . suTragette to spectacular wrath.
Without exception on any island WON.
zen fni1ht not eat "long pig; nor brown
pig. Il delcacy much enjoyed by the
men folks In the absence Of the longer
variety.
Nor daily with bonita or squid, the
tive fishes most In favor with the
Marquesan palate.
Nor, except on special occasions, eat
fresh breadfruit, bananas, or coconut
Nor could they go in canoes. pro-
vision to keep them from being cap
tured by enemies lurking outside the
bay.
And, tapu savoring of Solomon in
its wisdom, women could not weepl
1t would be grave error to con-
clude from the taboos mentioned that
the life of the Marquesan woman was
hard one.
They Had No Agriculture.
Agriculture In any form was I'M
known. The natives took the bounti-
full variety of fora the islands provid-
ed, but to assist nature In any way
by filling or replanting never occurred
to them. Content with their gratifica-
ton of the desires of the day, the
Marquesans took literally no thought
for the morrow.
The most favored intoxicant In the
Marquesas Is namu-ehi, or, as 1t ID
more commonly known, kokO. Ehi is
Marquesan for coconut, and 1t Is from
the coco palm that this most insidious
and delectable of drinks is made. A
tall coco palm that has been wind
blown so that its plumy top leans far
out of the perpendicular, is chosen.
The buds, from which eventually fifty
or sixty nuts would be produced, grow
In compact, oblong cluster near the
top of the palm. The native climbs
the tree and, using long strips of
bark or fiber, binds the cluster Of
blossoms tightly round and round. until
the result resembles a huge, fat cigar
protruding from the fronds. Under
meath the point Of this bowl is sus-
pended and the tip end Of the wrap
| ping sliced off.
| After the second day 1t begins to
drip freely, but the end must be sliced
fresh every twenty-four hours to slim
ulate the flow. In this manner tree
will furnish one or more gallons day
for several weeks.
When fresh from the tree the kev-
| erage resembles a delicious lemonade,
with g flavor which would make the
fortune of soft-drihk manufacturer
who could reproduce 1t. Fermentation
takes place speedily, however, and in
/ few hours your soft drink has hard
| ened" into vicious man-killer that
only a savage can 60 against with
impunity.
| Captain Cooks report placed the
Marquesas literally and fguratively
ION the map" That was 145 years
ago. and since then the history Of the
islands is the tragic story of losing
! fight by a race Of savages against q
civilization represented In this instance
| by the whaler, the missionary, the
! trader, the "blackbirder" and finally
their conquest and subjugation by a
foreign power.
| In 1912 Admiral Du Petit Thouars
| took possession of the entire group In
| the name Of France, ostensibly to pro-
tect the missionaries in their labors for
Christianity. Forts were built on sew
eral Of the islands and troops installed
to enforce French authority.
The ensuing fifty years Is record
of desultory warfare between the
French soldiers and the Marquesan
warriors, In which the latter, always
at war with each other and poorly
armed, were constantly defeated; OF
"blackbirders' from North and South
America, who raided the weakened
villages and sold the men and women
into slavery in far-0ff lands, and Of
the frightful ravages of smallpox
tuberculosis. leprosy. and other con'
tagious.