The Coolidge examiner., 1936-11-26

Method of Fishing.
The fishermen use canoes of hewn
and pegged timbers and also a log
device of the light wood of the fau
(same as the Hawaiian hau, a spe-
cies of hibiscus), to which splinter
rod is lashed tightly lengthwise,
with one end free for the purpose
of stringing fish by the gills. Hooks
are made from pieces of bone at
tached to short shanks of wood.
The fishline is a sennit Ga braided
coconut fibeD, fastened to the log.
Wearing water spectacles, two
plain glass windows in wooden cups
held by string around the head, the
fisherman swims out with his arm
across the log, his face plunged
beneath the water, so that he may
watch fish come to his hook.
After a capture, he removes the
fish from the hook and strings it on
the splinter rod. He then sWimS
away slowly with the floating log.
Two or more bats may be operated
at the same time; and two fisher
men may work from a single log
The fish are small and not abun-
dant, and many of the species found
in these seas are said to be in
edible. With the canoes large sharks
are occasionally taken.
Recently, the Tonga natives cele-
brated the completion of the govern
ment radio telegraph station. The
command went forth that native
dances or laka-lakas, would be in
progress for day. On the ap-
pointed feast day each village was
to furnish certain quota of bas-
kets of food, and in the evening
there would be European dance.
During the morning the clans be-
gan to gather, young and old,
dressed in the costumes of their
forefathers, with garlands of shells:
beads, beans, and flowers; head
dresses of many kinds; and skirts.
Some of these last were tapas COW
cred with scarlet berries cemented
in place in elaborate designs with
native gum; others were very old
and fine mesh mats, priced as rel
les of antiquity.
At the appointed hour, the high
chief emerged surrounded by func-
| tiOnaries, and seated himself on the
veranda of the radio building. Clan
after clan came forward, each rep
resenting a village, the headman
and warriors flourishing spears for
war dances.
The women and girls formed an
other line, bringing forward the bas-
ketS of food, placing them on the
ground in straight line, and sing
ing and dancing with the stately
steps and graceful motions of the
arms that told a story of bygone
days. Some of the dances are en-
tirely hand and body gestures of
girls seated cross-legged.
Drums Always Beating.
The beating of the drums is one
of the characteristic noises of the
! country. At all hours of the day the
sound can be heard by one wander
| ing in the jungle. The beating
means something with reference to
village timekeeping, or signifies spe-
cial orders to the people. The is
landers guide their lives by the
sound of the drum, on the one hand,
and the clangor of the church bell
on the other.
Niuafoo, alias Tin Can island, is
one of the Tonga islands. Like
vast angel cake in shape, Tin Can
island was formed when a volcanic
peak, protruding from the blue wa
ters of the Pacific, violently blew
off its head and left only hollow
outer shell. On the shores of a
peaceful tropic lake which now re-
places the molten lava and Suffocat-
ing gasses of its crater, a wise
bird, the malau, lays large eggs in
| Natures incubator, the hot volcan-
| ic sand.
No springs or streams are found
on the isle, so the natives must de-
pend on rainWater for their drink
ing supply. Neither are there har-
bors, for foam-hecked lava cliffs,
rising abruptly from the ocean, sur
round the island with hardly a
break. A tin can, bobbing in the
water offshore, pushed by a swim
ming native, to be picked up by a
passing steamer, is the islanders
| mail bag.