| Show LANDING IN SAMOA hundred and seventy four miles from tutuila was waa the response to information asked at noon in one of the early days of september of the current year on board a transpacific trans pacific mail steamer by the party interested such information was the cause of some little unpleasant forebodings of being dumped at midnight in a small boat on a t sain saing restless sea SOMA two or three miles from a rockbound rock bound island in the southern pacific while considering what was wag in store for me and making mailing up my mind for the worst having been somewhat similarly placed before an old and familiar sound which ocean travelers in time get gei so accustomed to that they can hardly do without it viz the almost ceaseless 4 grinding of the propeller kellerby gel lerby by which the old vessel ploughs her rw way y across the deep suddenly ceased in some cases such an event would have caused causi d some consternation in the hearts of the passengers while in mid ocean but not so here only some small item hem in the bocol boiler had bad gone wrong and then there was a movement to the stern to watch 64 chips as ae that functionary is bermea termed fix a dainty morsel to attract the appetite of our friends the sharks which had been seen around for the last few days but sorry to say after many bites no shark could we get five hours hour thus glided by old sol had s sunkyo unk to rest before tired and blackened emerged oe like engineers from below telling us that their work was done once more we moved off at thirteen knots an hour to the soothing music of the propeller it is an old and true saying that it is an ill wind that tha t blows no one any good so thought I 1 in nay my case for the five hours thus thua lost gave me what I 1 so much had desired viz to land by daylight under such circumstances and in such a benighted spot accordingly by about 6 5 on morning loomed up before the the dark form of the mountainous island known among the samoan or navigator islands as tutuila rockets were sent up to signal our approach we were ere at length rewarded by D 8 seeing emerging from the shore fi first t one t then en two and also a third dark 0 object act which we were told were native boats oa rowing their hardest to make for the a steamer amer but there was no sign of the mail schooner a thirty ton vessel which between this island and apia abia every month for mail purposes this did not look very g inviting however the boats ultimately reached us and what a sight to the unaccustomed gaze thoy they presented I 1 dark red skinned natives now sprang on board climbing the decks from all quarters hatless esq shoeless oo atless shirtless shiftless in fact if it were not for their national costume known as the lava lava 19 they would have been in the condition of our first parents as r regards e r ds their bodily babila ments As ave they y knew their time was but limited they made the most of it running round among the passengers endeavoring to sell heir native productions duct ions in the way of plaited baskets an fans fn fighting clubs etc and as they had bad learned the sound zi of the almighty dollar 11 that seemed to be the price asked while such an exhibition was progressing the chief of the natives who could speak a little english explained to the captain that the mail boat had not yet come from apia abia when as it afterwards proved 2 it had been waiting round an adjoining headland but this was nothing to mr native so long am a he could get the mail ashore as well as squeeze a few dollars out of the luckless passenger who was wa 4 in the state of the historical hobson and had bad no other choice but to go and pay anything the native might ask or else go on to auckland and wait a chance for a trading steamer to take him back to apia abia which would amount to a grea deil more as aa one might suppose after some talking with the captain mail agent and others it was finally agreed by all parties interested that the mail and oth ar small items to be landed including one passenger your humble servant should be entrusted to the care of the aforesaid mr native chief and his retinue and get to their destination as well as they could then began an unceremonious bundling over the ships side of mail bags packages etc and finally the writer found himself changed from being a pa passenger ou on a ton ocean liner to a little cockleshell boat which it seemed the next wave would stove in fortunately at this time the sea could not have been much calmer which together with the sunlight was much in the writers favor it was quite a sight to look around towering up above was the side of the great vessel ur upon deck and gazing at us were the optics of some one hundred and fifty passengers aroused from their slumbers to see the spectacle the excited natives were rushing around in their eagerness to make a dollar or two before the steamer left talking away in their unknown tongue as fast as their tongues could rattle and then the whistle gave one or two wild utterances preparatory to start ing the propeller one or two turns burng an and then the ardent trader still lingered hoping to catch some interested buyer finally he left by a long dive into the e sea swimming for the nearest boat regardless of eb sharks arks and feeling as happy and contented as an if it were his natural element here was I 1 at last in sight eight of samoa my destination my surrounding a fast receding steamer which had bad brought me some miles across the sea seated in an open boat some two miles from a rook rock bound island amid people who could not understand me nor I 1 them As before stated slated there were three native boats one went in another direction but two in charge of one chief kept together having divided up the baggage gagean as well as they could carry IN ir the boat in which I 1 traveled was propelled by some fourteen ers seven a side the smaller boat had some ten scull ars rs As soon as the ship had started the natives pulled for shore the two rival boats racing the I 1 cox in each urging on his hia respective men wit wild cries and shouts then they would quiet down and all would sing their peculiar native boat song their sculls keeping lime to the music those on the bows dipping their sculls and then those in the stem half then altogether until they reached reache racing speed again after to several everal of such exhibitions we reached the small opening of the reef which encircles many parts of these islands and finally I 1 set foot fool on terra firma by the aid of the back of an oily native who packed rue me from the boat I 1 was thankful for so much that I 1 had arrived so far in safety but still I 1 had sixty five miles to go before apia abia was reached on the adjoining island of vip U upolu au I 1 sauntered up the nal native ive village alze entered the huts of the deni zens thereof and heard them talk but nothing that I 1 could understand save talofa the native word for welcome with which they greeted me the native chief I 1 found after all could speak but little english but he knew enough to ask 7 for taking me ashore how long I 1 would have to wait here I 1 did not know so I 1 began to look around rain kain having fallen lately besides the beav heavy Y dew prevalent here everything was wet and slippery steep craggy hills were all around covered covered with a profuse growth of coco cocoanut anut breadfruit and many other indigenous trees f I 1 did not feel much like striking out on a voyage of discovery so repaired to the house again fiere here natives surrounded me men women and children one old man wanted to see m my knife and then asked me to give I 1 it him another would examine my umbrella or anything that was loose around me after an hour or so of this kind of business the sail of the mail schooner hove in sight adf and soon the skipper a native of tongo bongo a big strapping fellow came ashore with his three black boy sailors after about an hour of chatting and making two trips to the schooner outside the reef I 1 atlant at last found myself on board the said schooner my follow fellow passengers being two french catholic priests bound from their missionary visit to tutuila for apia abia like myself they received me very cordially and with smiles on finding I 1 could coula talk a little in their native tongue I 1 tried to rub up as much as I 1 I 1 could of my former knowledge in the same and as they could speak next to no english we managed to get up a little conversation for the time being we then headed beaded with a light but favorable wind northwest for apia abia some sixty five miles distant there being but little room on our small craft and the sun being pretty hot the quarters were none of the best to a fastidious traveler if there should happen to be such traveling samoa wards the breeze steadily increased until the northeast trade wind blow blew quite strong and we scudded studded along in fine style riding the waves and managing to keep out of their sp lashings after a while this kind of motion been gan to bring about a difference in my feelings ling and I 1 spent most of the d day amin 1 lying g in the small boat on board thinking king over a great range of subjects the prominent one being when should we reach apia abia the island of upolu had been long in sight and old sol had again sunk to rest ahead of us but still no apia abia appeared darkness came and then light after light flickered from the shore the black boy sailors had settled down in the bow enjoying themselves with their native songs and clapping of hands which served them for a dance and our little craft almost flow flew over the waves which were now almost too dark to be seen all at once peter our skipper went to the bows as if on the lookout look out for something and then the course of the boat changed some sail was taken in and by the smoother water we saw we had passed through the opening in the coral reef and gently gent binally glided into the harbor of apia abia and finally cast anchor at p m having made an exceptionally good passage from tutuila that trip the journey on some occasions lasts some two three and with contrary winds even four days I 1 was ultimate ultimately lv landed on the wharf in a small boat and found myself in the city of apiag a strange place and at an unseasonable hour for finding my destination but as friends were expecting me it did not give me bucki cause for anxiety and only those who have traveled traveled many weary miles know what it is to fully appreciate kind friends in in a strange and far off land the above Is ia the experience of the writer in reaching the town towe of apia abia and it differs not very materially from that of the average traveler to the same destination that all those who land here may arrive as safely and under such favorable circumstances cum stances is the wish of J HC rr n upolu ramos october 21 |
