The Cordova daily times., 1922-10-04

OUule OI lllt lupuS Lol tllt Sulh' ance of the women would probably in cite a suffragette to spectacular wrath, Without exception on any island, Wom- en might not eat Hong pig nor brown pig, delicacy much enjoyed by the men folks In the absence of the longer variety.
 Nor daily with bonita or squid, the two 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 weep!
 It would be grave error to con- clude from the taboos mentioned that the life of the Marquesan woman was a hard one.
 They Had No Agriculture.
 Agriculture in any form was un- known. The natives took the bounti. lul 1Sly VI liOl q tiiC ioiuhto pio'iN ed, but to assist nature in any way by tilling or replanting never occurred to them. Content with their gratltica- tion 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 Is more commonly known, koko. Ehi Is Marquesan for coconut, and 1t Is from the coco palm that this most insidlous and delectable of drinks Is made. A tall COCO palm that has been wind blown so that its plumy top leans fat 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 stlm- u!ate the flow. In this manner tree will furnish one or more gallons day for several weeks.
 When fresh from the tree the bev- craze resembles a delicious lemonade, with flavor which would make the fortune of soft-drink manufacturer who could reproduce it. Fermentation takes place speedily, however, and in few hours your soft drink has "haru- ened" into a vicious man-killer thaf only a savage can go against With impunity.
 Captain Cooks report placed the Marouesas literally and 1iguratlvely "on 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 civilization represented in this instance by the whaler the missionary, the trader, the "bIackbirder," and finally their conquest dliu SuDJuSatioi pJ |" foreign power.
 In 1S42 Admiral Du Petit-ThouarS took possession of the entire group in the name of France, oStensiDly to pro tect the missionaries in their labors for Christianity. Forts were built on seV- 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 Marquesnn warriors in which the latter, always at war with each other and poorly armed, were constantly defeated; or "blackblrders" from North and South America, who raided the weakened villages and sold the men and women into slavery In far-of lands, and of the frightful ravages of smallpox, tuberculosis, leprosy, and other con- tapfOtlE.