The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 20, 1898, Page 17

PURSUT OF THE TAUPOS” IN SAMOA Exciting Scenes A Gift*(eremoniaf. to see the| our chief. I we did want to see Had we not heard st tantalizing accounts of onfal of Samoa of food are brought nt to be after- the attendant and revelry? ance had come; the on the opposite side having a Ta’alolo f King Malietoa at we were, driving to that din; of royal ay Mulinu en fete and in gala attire, stalk oanut palms. all baskets—the green 1f baskets so rapidly woven setoutbeforec contain the offe toward the festivities, nan gabbles over their ith comments which pro- es roars of laughter from the ini- i; but to us, who-know only our in the Samoan t e, the anut creams) e and monoto- The s th to lunch, and gest that thi we unexpect- his t and Y full lib- hould the sup- Further- demur, so we squat m and enjoy our ba a leaves ood is good if eating be scrambling. fact that accept t and awed and handed to or, however, proves vilized prejudice: st, in full career of enjoymen gnawing a succulent bone, suddenly st short and holds out the delicate | el at arm gth. 1 naturally | e ntion to the pet s the dog, who But the tempt- 1ifts up her eager jaw: ing morsel is y withdrawn and | thrust in my face. This | I understand! The delicacy s ¥y delicious that I am ) share it. I deeply regret 1 that at this juncture e flight and I develop | sion to pork. Where- , at once distressed once returns to his zusto of one who feels self-denial. es, llkewise the 1 and stale to- | is satiated, even women have ex- energies in examining % the material of 4 y ., which di S r to church on Sun- and we are specu- | er all there be any- | when a distan floats over the waters amoan equivalent for boats come!” there toward the shore. d and curious, eager ey” who have kept us The holiday makers d heat Every one = The olo, s up w charred stump. The lagoon, circled by palms, a lake of placid blue, to and snowy curvet- icate the reef. A head, iuivering on the e boat song. Th and pid 24 , come skin white boats, their oars cadence with the , _monotonous chant of the With flags flying and snowy, e long, n even rowers red-edged awnings shimmering in t sun glare, thebronzed, green-garlande rowers bend to-their work in pairs— ten, fifteen, twenty oars on each side splashing In the blue. On the prow of the nearest boat stands Stlenus in per- son, with a short kilt of stiff siapo, gaudy necklace and wild wreath of shaggy leaves. He is the officlal jester | of his village, and as he brandishes a | huge knife he cuts strange capers, turns his face to the shore crowd and jeers at them in sallies that provoke six rowers shoot e, a South Sea vision vouth at the prow and = at the helm sailing into our ; prose. The following boat has a ehead sprung from a poet’s dream > Safata Taupo, her limbs veiled in filmy drapery that floats on the breeze, her bust garlanded with green, a Greek fillet confining her hair. Calm and smiling, her classic profile and ex- te form standing out like an an- atue against the all-enveloping lightly tossing her hythm of her forty , and the chant rowers is light and cheery—in harmony with the nymph of light and foam who guides them. After this comes the largest boat of fifty rowers, their scarlet turbans iing brilliantly with their tawny their chant slow and sonorous; but these have no figurehead and po- ry ms tc have passed them by. Finally the brilliant procession winds up with the gay little boat of the American consulate in which sits the qui white-robed figure of the American Consul’s wife, a newcomer, as eagerly curious as ourselves. There nothing more to be seen for the present and we wander back to our appointed hut: but a glow of romance has fallen upon us and the every-day chatter, the smoking and the glare have grown less wearisome. The gliding picture we have watched was worth ttending the Great events and gaze out at the groups of Samoan lads gathered under the awn- ings of their boats. Presently the pro- ceedings are diversified; the public jes- ter, an elderly gentleman who has been running about in a faded loincloth, hands our chief a letter which is duly read aloud. It is a political circular, bearing reference to the relations be- tween Tamasese, ‘‘the pretender,” and Malietoa, the reigning monarch. It is heard in dignified silence, but an ex- pression of profound annoyance rests on most faces, for the occupants of the hut are all loyal and the festival is in honor of their King. At the end of the reading there is a low, general murmur, an expression of loyalty of| which the reader is made the mouth- piec Then, preliminaries, the public crator arises after divers whispered | in his full dignity of well nigh six feet | and steps out from the house, prepared | to arrest, with stentorian tones, the at- tention of that open-air assembly. The orator chief is a never-to- gotten sight, as he stands, his thrown forward, leaning on his long, black staff of office. His lava-lava, of brown crackling ciapo, to which his wife gave dainty artistic touches as he emerged, from the shadow of the hut, falls stitf! scarcely displaying his tattooed s; above, a fine mat, edged with red and white parrakeet feathers, stands out like a ballerina’'s frill and is bound round his waist with soft white siapo; a scarlet pandanus necklace hangs from his throat and a native cigarette is thrust b his 1 ) a s with long intervening pause, he nally, by way of emphasis, brings down his fly-flapper on his siapo with a startling bang. Save for this his periods flow in a wearisome mono- the wards “Tamasese, Malietoa, epa,” repeatedly enlightening us to the nature of his discc And the people listen in the dogs and the hens peck and pl and tussle around. As for the they have all disappeared into green baskets. At length it is over; to us it seems to have lasted an hour. The orator re-en- ters the hut for a well-earned rest and the kava bowl appears upon the scenes with much clapping of hands. Then the jester returns, announcing, in what | can only be described as a stupendous | bawl, that the kava is ready, and his | Je: on the subject are fast and furi- ous, recurring with the name of each chief to which the drinking-cup is pre- sented. Scarce has the festive bowl been solemnly discussed—kava drink- ing always seems a solemn function, despite jests and jesters—when the sound of bugle, drum and cracked fife is heard, a general rush follows, and the two burly native policemen grow | excitedly busy, cuffing their neighbors right and left to clear the way. We share the excitement, and, being privi- leged papalangi, rush forward to stare downp the road. Ye gods! As I gaze at the advancing whirl T am lifted away from the palms Laug the | and ferns of the Pacific to the firs and heather of bonnie Scotland. The High- land blood flowing in my veins runs riot, as the shades of my wild ances- try arise; kilts are tossing, dirks flash- limbs flying in a weird maze before my eyes, the whoop of the reel and the drone of the pipe is in my ears. Then, as the human mass whirls nearer, I rub my eves, take cognizance of the non-Highland strain in my veins, and devoutly hope my ancestry were not as these. For the approaching fig- ures are grotesque, the dirks are but butchers’ knives, and the display, on closer acquaintance, is first cousin to a Christmas pantomime. On they come, with a forward rush and a back- ward rush, and a series of cries and a serfes of capers, their shred-ba- nan eaf wreaths and tow-colored wigs giving them a demon-like appear- ance. I have a personal acquaintance with those wigs, and their high-mir- rored adornment, sticking up like Prince of Wales' feathers! I saw one of them the other day ignominiously hung out to dry in our garden plot—a series of strung pleces of human hair stretched out on the washing-line. But now the wigs wear their official man- ners, and they are whirling, skirmish- ing, advancing, retreating, pursuing, performing their part in a mic fight. One wig-wearer throws away the knife and falls in a mock swoon, only to re- vive suddenly and join in the melee. On it comes, steadily on with an ebb and flow like that of the sea waves, and the advancing, gesticulating threafening figures exercise a strange fascination, it is the fascination of the pythoness, the dancing dervish, the Shaker and Salvationist; a panic seizes me lest I, too, should be smitten with the frenzy and drawn into that caper- ing mass. And as some outrunners come leaping and bounding toward me, flourishing clubs, I meekly and hastily retreat to the side. On they come, one in advance, others in hot pursult, others again playing the part of franc-tireurs to scare the spec- tators. “But where,” I'ask in blank disappointment, ‘““where are the tau- pos?” “In front, of course,” is the answer, and then it dawns upon me that two of the wig-wearers are women, play- ing the role of pursued maidens. Néver surely was maiden more willingly pur- sued; the first, a plump little damsel, somewhat heavily built, takes flight with a comfortable jogtrot, a smile on her lips—her immediate pursuer limps S0 as not to overtake her too readily. She it is, indeed, who acted the swoon and came round so readily. Strictly speaking I suppose the young lady's dress could scarcely be termed modest, seeing that it is well nigh conspicuous by its absence, though to be sure her head is sufficiently disguised to make up for the rest and looks like a guards- man’s bearskin dyed yellow; her bust and ankles are carefully wreathed, but her leaf girdle floats loosely over the merest apology for a black lava-lava. Yet, as a matter of fact, her attire only strikes me in the light of a very lib- eral display of tights at an open-air performance. This coy but willing maliden coquettes and ambles to and fro in exasperating fashion till at length her adoring pursuer loses pa- tience and a mimic struggle ensues. Then she gives in, with womanly pro- test, her pursuer’s supporters rush for- ward in glee, and the next bewigged lass comes on, tripping through the same performance. Last of all comes the real Taupo, our Nymph of the Prow, who has adhered to her Greek fillet and who is draped in a long, light lava-lava. Her tall figure is of a dif- ferent mold, her delicate Roman profile is not marred by heavy lip or flattened nostril; despite her claim to a pure Sa- hours of endurance, so we sit down placidly to awalt further progress atJ moan origin some allen white blocd rely flows in ber veins. Unlike the he utters his short, crisp sen- | her pursuer with graceful, undulating | motion, and when at last she turns upon him she wields her knife with a | pretty gesture and stubbornly fights to | the bitter (?) end. It comes to her, as | to the rest, and then the dancing pro- | cession breaks up, its members pile | their eontribution of green baskets and | the crowd disperses. | Those who remain are staying for | the speechifying and feasting, the bone- | gnawing and kava-drinking, and the siva dancing which will while away the night. We drive home along the blue lagoon. And in the shadow of bread- fruit and palm, orange and hibiscus we dream of a troop of wild warriors whirling and whooping, and of a Sea Nymph with her sweet face upturned to | the blue sky, her diaphanous draperies | floating on the balmy breeze. | ROSE DE BOHEME. —_—e———— COLONY FOR REFORMING DRUNKARDS. | The most original of all schemes to re- claim the drunkard is tha: of the Keswick Colony of New Jersey, which is located at Gibersons Mills, the southern part of the State. The founder is William Raws, who, with his wife, has conducted the famous ‘“Whatsoever Mission” in Ger- mantown. The scheme has received the indorsement of several ministers, and is in practical operation, apparently with encouraging succe The tract purchased for the use of the colony at Gibersons Mills contains 421 acres, of which twenty-five acres is cleared land, on which corn, potatoes, beans and other vegetables can be suc- cessfully cultivated. There is also in the tract an orchard, cranberry bog, 300 acres of fine timber and any number of huckle- | berry bushes. The beautiful surround- ings, pure air, etc., are regarded as aids in upbuilding men, and they exercise a quickly perceptible influence on those who come to the place as physical wrecks. There are several buildings on the place, and a number of additional dwell- ings will be built in the spring, the lum- ber for which will be cut on the tract and sawed into boards at the old mill, which is run by water power. The timber is now being cut up into cordwood by the colonists, who will thus be kept employed all winter. The lake is well stocked with pike, and supplies the residents with many a toothsome.repast. One of the colonists is an electrician, and he is now arranging to set up an electric plant, to be operated by water power, so | that all of the dwellings can be lighted by electricity. | The governing principle of the colony is Christianity. All the men enjoy.the ut- most freedom. They are Impressed in various ways with the idea that there is no man too far gone to be made right, and the results have shown that at Kés- wick men can break away from the drink habit and become useful, self-respecting, industrious citizens. The Bible is the Book of Rules—the court of last resort. From It there is no appeal. Religious meetings are held daily, and all the influences are elevating. The colonists have all things in common, They are given homes, food and cloth- ing. Whatever they earn goes into the general fund for maintaining and extend- ing the work. Should any one desire to leave the colony and seek employment elsewhere he is aided in every way. No stumbling blocks are placed in the road of possible success. If 2 man makes the attempt and falls by the wayside he Is taken back and given another chance to reform. No mat- ter how often he succumbs to the tempta- tion to lead a dissolute life, he is given to understand that he is free to return to Keswick and try again. The gates are never closed against any one who is ani- mated by a desire to reform. But one thing is demanded of the applicant, and that is sincerity. If he is in earnest he will find every one ready to lend him a helping hand. —_—— It is asserted that if no American meat were imported into the London market for two days the price of all kinds of meat would go up, and that if the American supply were entirely cut off, famine' prices would soon be in force, so large is the quantity con- sumed. THE REAL TAUPO TURNEOD UPON HIM WITH HER KNIFE AND STUBBORNLY FOUGHT TO THE END. others, she glides and sways away from | = £ 2 L BN - ——e .. SLEEP AND REST For Skin=Tortured In One Application of A warm bath with CUTICURA SOAP, and a single anointing with CUTICURA (ointment), purest of emollient skin cures, will afford instant relief, permit rest and sleep to both parent and child, and point to a speedy, permanent, and economical cure of the most torturing and disfiguring, itching, burning, bleeding, scaly, and crusted skin and scalp diseases, with loss of hair, when all else fails. uwt'fi-wfli PorTTER DRUG AND OREX. CORP., Sole Props,, Boston. British depot: F. NEWBEEY & Sons, 1, King Edward-st., London. # How to Cure Skin-Tortured Bables,” frets