| Show MATTERS IN SAMOA our house on the small island of aunuu ainuu became too hot to hold us so ao we moved to this placed place during toe the first days of march circumstances have so changed since then that we found it desirable to remain here and expect to make this village the headquarters for elders traveling on this and the island of aunuu ainuu the thermometer here registers 81 degrees in the shade and since the destructive winds of march the alie weather has been delightful our village consists of a row of houses in a semicircle around the bay of vatia we get the benefit of the trade winds which give an almost constant cool sea breeze making this a very desirable place to live in there is but one mountain ridge between us and pago pago which Is ia the safest harbor in all of the pacific islands if the american and german men of war that were lost jost in the past storm had been in pago pago instead of apia abia they would have been landlocked land locked and perfectly safe if our government carries out its ite present intentions and establishes a coaling station there they will have a most desirable place of refuge pago pago runs at least three miles inland and on both aides are high mountains the entrance to the bay is narrow and curves carves so that persons inside cannot see the ocean there are some very good descriptions of samoan life and true allu illustrations 8 trat ions in the century for may and lesses popular monthly for april the former is much the better but is not free from mistakes the writer writer of the first article gives this V island tutuila credit for inhabitants when in fact there are not more than on tutuila and aunuu ainuu monday june was a day of r rejoicing with us because on that day the steamer from america brought four brethren from utah they are bri brigham ham solomon of bait lake H V E boothe jr of Grant eville sae brigham smoot of provo and jessie J bennett of meadow millard county utah they had a pleasant voyage on the and arrived off this island 4 land at daybreak june lath they 41 ebere F 1 were met by our boat and landed here in safety on the afternoon of the same ie day of course they us many kind wishes and substantial presents from our families and friends at home none but those who have been similarly situated can appreciate what our feelings were as we welcomed our brethren and received from them our boxes from the folks at home his it is now nine months since we left salt lake and we have been living in a land of war and famine but the lord has greatly blessed us so that we have not suffered to any great extent for the necessaries of life any person seeing us unpack our things could not help being struck with a sense of the ludicrous I 1 imagine we looked very much like a party of children opening their boxes and F am sure that our exclamations of delight as each article was brought forth would equal that of any party of youngsters we will always remember the kindness of bishop solomons solomon wife of the twenty second ward who sent us a large plum cake the second evening after the brethren arrived we held a meeting and received our appointments to labor on the different islands elders E J wood brigham solomon and brigham smout smoot will assist president J H dean on the island of upolu their address being A abia apia p i a U upolu lu samoa elders A beesley anso and H E booth go to the island of mainuu while wm 0 lee and J J bennett Bennet fc remain to labor on this and the island of aunuu ainuu the address of all the latter is for the present tutuila samoa all mail matter should be marked via san francisco we are putting the finishing touches on a house that we have been building here we have leased a nice piece of ground with cocoa nut banana breadfruit bread fruit and orange trees on it and expect to make a nice home for the elders who labor in this district we have spent a good portion of our time thus far studying the language and building houses we now expect to commence proselyte ing in earnest the brethren all have the spirit of their mission and we know that the lord is with us because he has proven it many times to our joy and satisfaction there is a great similarity in the languages of the inhabitants of samoa hawaii new zealand tahiti Baro tonga tonga marques and other islands of the pacific all writers on the sub subject J act agree that originally they were one common root roof stock and that they must have lived on one of the contin continents eats some say they came from southeastern asia others from an island similar to australia which some e convulsion of the earth caused to disappear leaving these islanders as a remnant of the original race A writer in the may century states of theSa the samoans Sa moans like all other races of eastern polynesia this people originally sprang from the malay alay archiie archipelago ago 13 those hose who have hav e studied studie cl Poly polynesian neelan migrations traditions dit ions customs and similarities do not for a moment duat this fact I 1 beg to differ from the writer of the above and state that we have a more amore sure word of prophecy in regard to the matter by which we know that the polynesians are of the same family as the american indians also that their common native land is america I 1 also claim that the facts will substantiate late this statement to all interested I 1 would recommend that they read the book of mormon which is a sacred history of the ancient inhabitants of america and it gives a full account of the origin and characteristics of the copper colored race that the bible and profane f history does not account for if that book is not convincing corn com pare the features habits natu natures res and languages of the polynesians with those of the indians of mexico i central and south america A noteworthy fact is that there is considerable sid erable hebrew mixed up with the language of this race which is perfectly natural seeing that their fore fathers originally came from jerusalem to the western hemisphere some B C all samoa is anxiously waiting for the decision of the great powers 3 as to who shall be king of sa moa I 1 suppose there will be a 4 national debt as a result of the late war but how hew these in dolent natives will ever pay it u or meet taxation necessary to carry on a government is more than I 1 can fathom these people are in debt wherever they can get trust for guns cloth and groceries if a native wants a thing he will for give ive his land or anything he has for security in fact it is kotun not un common for the same piece of land to be pledged to a number of per sons at the same time so that the title is somewhat mixed it is dan 3 berous for a stranger to buy land here and pay cash down our land y y we leased from the supposed owners some two months ago and since that time six different claimants have put in an appearance we expect a few more yet it A is rumored here that the samoan government is to be reh organized with white officers for I 1 j the first year to show the natives how to manage affairs if this be true I 1 pity the poor judges who will undertake to disentangle samoan land matters there is room on this island for A four times its population john chinaman would thrive and soon j get wealthy here as I 1 doubt whether there is a place on the face of the JS whole earth where vegetation will row with less labor than in samoa ft t will be a sorry day for these nat tives when the tide of chinese im migration turns this way atwould not take one of those industrious p persons very long to buy a samoans Sa moans land and then get the purchase money back for food raised on the j same we are all enjoying excellent health and spirits at the present writing with love to all our breth ren and sisters in zion NEMO tf VATIA island of tutuila samoa 1 j june 27 1889 |
