The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 29, 1899, Page 17

ATIVES & NATIONS -7 = FIGHTING FOR SAMOA < | —4 i - NSAHOAN CHIEF WITH \DECAPITATING KNIFE. carnage went on, the Samoans reckless- ly showering their bullets on the de- voted dwelling, sure’ that some, at least, would find their mark. Now and agaln the German sallors, driven to despera- tion at the idea of being killed like rats in a hole, wou! and make a de- termined sortie, the Samoans out of the garden which surrounded the house. But in the ss they were unable to venture far, as s they got & few yards away the San would close up on their flanks. when morning dawned it was fo that out of a force of 140 bluejackets engaged fifty-six had been killed or wounded, an enormous percentage of 40 per cent. It was the first time in history that Samoans had ever defeated w men, and the Germans, to this day, speak of the affair with justifiable reluctance. Yet they have forgiven Mataafa and actuslly arranged with England and this Government to bring him back to Samoa. The reader, unacquainted with Sa- - moan intrigue, will naturally ask the, . reason why. We have not far to seek 5 for an answer. For years the Germans have pursued a consistent policy. Their 2 one aim has been to stir up dissension on & matter of business. We eps talking, just ew up his 2 down the it was an ac- were Very sorry r more Euro- e same Way, g about the held the e Mataafa thou- to do is to d of the spit nable for did not s are certainly not sci- They have very little f tactics, and no effective d of organizing their forces. Dis- ine can hardiy be said tofexist, the jes comsist merely of.an aggrega- tion of untrained, half-naked savages, ne of whom fights or.runs away own sweet pleasure. And a with a rifie Is very much like - engaged, only thirteen were sald to have been siain. In the old days, In- £ away at each other from e warrfors rushed to close quar nd the battle became a series of personal combats. Ome or the other or perhaps both of the fighters to go down, and there was © quarter was shown, one idea being to secure s fallen epemy and carry in order that he phy. No youth ged warrior un- is considered a til he has his man, and the head is his certificate of graduation. In spite of the opposition of the mis- slonaries this p ice of head-cutting still prevails, and there are plenty of men in Apia who will tell you how the natives returned from battle, walking through the streets of Apia, each man carrying ghastly trophy in a basket. And after the fight at Mataatu one of the most tragic incidents conceivable oceurred. Night had fallen and a group of na- tives were seated in ome of the large houses, which was illumined only by a fiickering flare of cocoanut shells. With them, too, were the women, grieving 80 for the chief of the household had fallen in battle, and no one knew where his head was. Then, from the darkness outside there came a great shout, as from an enemy, and a round object was hurled into the house. It rolled around the floor, staining the clean mats as it pursued its ghastly course, and then came to a stop before the daughter of the house, who was weeping bitterly. It was her father's head. ! The chivalrous manner in which the Samoans treat their women during war is in pleasant contrast to this barbarity. The women are privileged neutrals; they can go and come between the lines as they choose. bringing food and water to their husbands or reiatives, and car- rying backward and forward all the gossip of the war. It is considered the most disgraceful of all acts to kill a woman; ‘the man who-does 80 becomes [ 4 e s I 7 would do the most harm. Had Mataafs been away, it is probable that the na- tives would have quietly elected a King for themselves, all the sectarian bftter- ness which has been stirred up would have been avoided and Samoan life would have-gone on in the good old- fashioned, sleepy manner. It is impossible to overlook the fact that the compiications are due entirely to the intrigues of German officials at Apia. For years the Germans have cherished the most imtense batred of Mataafa, yet suddenly they. consent to his return from exile. They have never forgiven Mataafa since the day when he inflicted a disastrous defeat on their sailors at Vailele, yet now they propose to make him King. There i{s a monument at Mullnuu, a handsome granite affalr, erected in honor of some forty brave Germans who were killed by Mataafa’s men, and who, as the inscription puts it, rest there for their country’s sake. The point is a very sore ome to Ger- mans, for their national pride, always very sensitive, has never recovered from the shock. Mataafa, at the time, heid a strong position some miles to the eastward of Apia and the Germans decided to land a force of sailors In order to drive him into ‘the arms of Tamasese. The landing was made at night time, near the Vailele plantation. Some ninety men from the Olga suc- ceeded in getting ashore. but to their great surprise they found their further progress very strongiy opposed. They tock refuge in the house of the planta- tion inapager, a thin woeden structure, which offéred no more resistance to the heavy Snider bullets than if it had been built of paper. All through the night the Samoans kept up a constant fire on the house, while the Germans, having nothing to aim at, were unable to re- turn the compliment. All through the night-this dreadful ~He -Made a Sweep- at His -Head With the Great Knife. among the natives in order to give an excuse for armed intervention, which might be followed by annexation, or at least by a revision of the Berlin treaty, which would give Germany a greafer bold on the group than she has at present. Mataafa happened to be the most convenient tool at hand, and, as events have turned out, the Germans bave succeeded far beyond their most sanguine expectations. They could not have anticipated the opportune death of Malietoe, which gave them their chance of bringing forwerd & rival can- &idate to the throne.’ Yet by secretly supporting Mataafa, by defying the au~ thority of the American Chief Justice, the German President and Consul have managed to throw the “whole islands into"a condition Tittle”better than an- archy. The lives of white men are hardly safe, the Chief Justice has been -guarded in his house by British ma- rines, and the captain of the English man-of-war has had to take a firm stand, which nearly brought him into conflict ‘with the German cruiser. The inevitable will follow. The Ger- mans, baving deliberately created this condition of affairs, will disavow the acts of their officials. Then, through diplomatic channels, they will protest against the continuance of such an in- tolerable state of misrule.: A confer- ence will be summoned at Berlin and the Emperor will bring forward his favorite scheme for the partition of the group, which was tentatively suggested a few months ago. It Is a pretty plan, but neither the United States nor England are ever likely to agree to it. Germany is to get the only really valuabie portion of the whole group, the island of Upolu, America is to be put off with Tutaila, and England is to have the large but barren isle of Savafl. It is hardly prob- able that the scheme will ever be brought into practical operation, for Uncle Sam is now fully on his guard and the dispatch of American men-of- war to Samoa will at least insure the firm preservation of our interests in the &roup. - * J.-F. ROSE-SOLETY,