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Show V TEST 01? FEALTY. MADE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC IS.ES. "Vital YTaa ltr.nlff,l of it Mnman IO. IT Who ORnle.l lilt I mil. A tltaw-annta tltaw-annta l.ol rma Mnry at life In lh tanioan I.Ian la. V The following grewsome though true story shows what a powerful Irter family approval and tribal Influence exert upon the Hamoan cbaraettr The story 1 vouched for In every ilela.ll pertain vouni Himoan. the on of a chief who had reached that agn when 'a young mans fancy lightly turn to thoughts of love" becamo deeply enamored en-amored of the taupo or belle belonging to a neighboring village between whose "talking man," ftther ot the taupo, and the suitor' family there existed n bitter bit-ter feud The attachment waa reciprocated, recipro-cated, but as Is customary In such Important Im-portant matters aa matrimony, tho question of eligibility waa duty eub-mltted eub-mltted to the alra a-e-no) or family council, which promptly returned n verdict of Impossible " Instead, however, how-ever, of accepting the decree ot his family and renouncing hi Inamorata, the young man rebelled and declared he would wed his dusky sweetheart In spite of all the rode of Faa Samoa and the trammels of family and tribal ills- me trammel oi lamny mtu mwi '--approval that could be Imposed Tho young girl also asserted her Independence Independ-ence and scorn for the obstacles which were put In their way, and, with the help of a few girl frlenda. began preparing pre-paring her trousseau ot fine mats and gaudy tapa, which brides In Samoa nf-fecl nf-fecl The wedding day approached The feeling between the rival villages ran high, and before tho arrival of the date fixed for tho ceremony culminated In open hostilities overwhelming pressure was brought to bear upon tho poor lover, who waa reviled and taunted with being a traitor and all the curses of endless generations of ancestors were heaped upon hi devoted de-voted head, family Influence combined to exert Ita every wile to break tha engagement, but atlll he stood resolute. He was driven from house and village, an outcast on the world and hla property prop-erty confiscated and divided The day came, and tho bride sat alone, deserted by her family, waiting for her faithful bridegroom The hours passed; he did tint rnrni Suddenly a step was heard oulaldo the hut where aho anxiously anx-iously awaited Bho rose expectant A curtain waa thrtiat aalde, something was thrown Into tho room and rolled to the feel of the horrified girl She looped and picked It up, and then screaming and laughing she fell upon the ground maniac It was the sev-1 ered head ot her talher, and before her stood her atTUne.! huahand, RUrn. v lentless and cold as It turned to stone. In his hand the terrible mlfe-otl (bead-knife), (bead-knife), freshly dripping Family per-suaslon per-suaslon had triumphed at last, and the ordeal which had been given him of proving his fidelity to tribe and family fam-ily In order to bo forgiven waa tho task he had Just performed taking tho head of tho bride s own father and throwing It at her feet The shock was too great for the poor girl, whoso reason, mercifully, gave way She may yet be seen about Apia, homeless and wsnderlng a sadly pathetic figure, decked Ophelia like In bridal wreaths, with a chaplet of vines twined around I her head singing her family song at victory, or crooning a love ditty The young warrior upon whoso fealty ao terrible a test had been Imposed sought and found In war that oblivion which bla poor allllcted bride-elect yet hopo-leraly hopo-leraly awaits San Francloco Chronicle. |