The Pearsall Leader. (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 13, 1908 Page: 6 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Borderlands Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
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OVB TO YOU
tars in Ha
JL a „
Greeting to
PtLEETT SADM)ffi§ UDQEIEE
BYNAMES RIC_2g
i\i-
photograph* copyr/ght
/906 BY UMtRWOOD &
^ L//WMW0OD ,N.Y.
A EE MrTmils PAW PAW; Pl,mfAYlQN jveap
HONOLPrpiP) WITH cYLPAHEcJE ZA30PEP6.
|NT Hawaii and Samoa sailors of the Atlantic fleet saw a
mid Pacific* paiadise peopled by a noble race whose hcs-
.J | pitality is a proverb beautifully expressed in their own
R charming words of greeting, “Aloha-’ in the Hawaiian isl-
ii y ands and “Talofa” in the Samoans, signifying “Love to
H y you,” in boih languages. Our “alohas” and “talofas”
(“hcwdies” and “halloes”) are formal and often hollow
and heartless, while those of the Kanakas may be count-
ed on *as sincere and heartfelt. Not so much does the
y Ef i aradise consist in shaven lawns, castle homes, and
|| 7l, pi pampered luxury in domestic life, as rather in the sim-
B ® 1 Ie homes 01 tho natives, in the charming villas of the
|» ■ - i mfa foreigners nestling in tropical luxuriance, and in a cli-
r N maie of a soft variableness of only ten degrees, never
W P I ^ ll teaming froni ,he of Antarctic to crucible calorics
^‘1 j A P *h ^n'pcraie zones, which are often not temper-
E ^ '• lj E ale hut excessive in both heat and cold.
H a I P N When the navy lads entered the harbor of Honolulu
; J J V® B s«n to lsrdward a sky-pne of p-» s and craters,
P; || “jj some grim and somber in a n.a’l of ane.V.it lava, others
fcA___Jg fresh did green with a boskage produced by an unstint-
■SBKJ&sk ct{ moisture and a tropical warnr h. Many of these peaks
n.i cxiinet fro s whose fiery energies ceased in the remote past, and are
how grazing la r.whos inner 1 u <ls .ire* animated with feeding flocks and [
keros. One of tl. so. known as the “Punch howl,” forms a stable and lofty
background f<r the beautiful city spend out between it a d the sea. But,
a-as! it there were a thirsty “jaeky"among all the boys, this eraieriform punch
bowl con‘a ns r.ui even so much as a “drop of-the crater,”—only an occasional
herder s cut whose occupants, all unconscious of the bustling city not far
away, arc familiar with the note of the quail and the plover and the vanish-
ing song of the sky lark.
When the boys went ashore and into this mid-ocean metropolis they found
few remains of aboriginal conditions. They found everything up-to-date; the
streets regular, broad, and well paved; the buildings substantial and mod-
ern. Electricity illumines the streets and the street-ears. Beautiful man-
sions and costly villas are hidden among bowers cf tropical trees and shrubs.
Avenues of tall royal palms sway their fronds against the sky, and vistas of
cocoanui palms lead the way to cottages away from the thorough!ares. Ar-
tisfically trimmed lawns end hedges and well-kept gardens meet the eye at
every turn. Ornamental flower-beds furnish the necessary color in the prodi-
gality of tropical green. Gorgeous hibiscus spangles the hedge rows, and the
pomegranate in fruit and bloom presents a novelty to unfamiliar eyes from
north-m latitudes. The churches have donned the hedera) gowns as in Eu-
ropean countries.
Many sampled the national dish called poi. a favorite comestible curiously
made and partaken of with great z<st at the Hawaiian “Euan” or feast. Poi
is made from the bulb of a water plant railed taro by the natives; it is a
I lant of the arum family resembling the oaHa hly; it has an oblong root,
which, when baked and mashed, forms a glu inous p;is*e without much taste,
except to an educated poi-palate; however, .lack tried tlm poi.
Before he got clear of the landing place to enter the city he saw the
flower sell* rs who work special kinds of flowers into various fantastic decora-
tive ornaments such as wreaths and hat-bands. The Kanakas are a musical
and flower-loving people; and the boys were not many hours in the insular
capital before they had evidence of their musical bent and at least a commer-
cial Jove oi flo ve - T! - > \ • - a so rt mil de<j how diff< rent p tuples by.souk
circtimsiance of nrti»i:y c?-<> led fr,»' :» peculiar personal habit of decoration
the .Ini an' se a: I Vrn b - an women, into l iving chief u’tention to fantastic
and elaooi ite < if ire. the < hinese to Ply !< et; the women of other nation^
into loading theft arms and ankles with bracelets and anklets, others again
into trimming the ears and nose with rings.
Kite fields were familiar to boys from some of our southern states, hut
they were a novelty to those from the north who know rice only in a rice-pud
ding: the sugar enne plantation recalled the fields of fodder-corn on the north-
ern home farm. Instead of the chestnuts, beech nuts, butter nuts of a north-
erner’s boyhood he found chiefly.
If the boy from the fleet could not find his accustomed muskmelon with
which to slake a tropical thirst, he found an excellent substitute in the succu-
lent and well pepsinized pawpaw, a wonderfully wholesome and refreshing
tree fruit, plantations of which he saw in the immediate suburbs of Honolulu.
He did not look for apples as a native product, but in lieu thereof he indulged
his frugiverous instincts on oranges, mangoes, pomegranates, guaves, and
the finest pineapple In the world, some of which exceed ten pounds in weight.
Some visited the great pineapple plantations a few miles out of the city.
Having mentioned a few of the many interesting places and things that
THB TXZCUflVZ BUILDING, HONOZUUf.
the boys of the fleet saw in this delightful mid-ocean territory, let us pass on
to another. When they took leave of Honolulu they had a sail of 2,270 miles
a little each of south, before they were greeted by the “talofas” of our most
southern wards in the south Pacific, the natives of the Samoan islands. These
islands are nearly 1,000 miles south of the equator, and I do not recall that we
can claim a foot of territory in the southern hemisphere barring the island of
1 utuila and its insular appendages. The two latter islands of the group be-
long to Germany. It is just HO years since this group was first visited by
Europeans; but it is claimed by apparent authority that they were first peo-
pled about 800 years ago, and strange to say, by people from the island of
Sumatra, some TO of whom bad set out in crazy old canoes in search of some
imaginary devil whom they wished to destroy. After wandering over the il-
77ATIVY6 OR PAGO PACO, 6AH0A WITH SWf THATOgT
HUY-
the latter taking over the island of Tutuila which contains the small but fine
harbor of Pago Pago.
The island of Tutuila is 17 miles in length and three or four in width,
and the inlet constituting the harbor of Pago Pago is about two miles in
length and a half mile in width, surrounded by heavily wooded mountains.
The native people with warm brown skin, their houses without any in-
closing walls and with palm-thatched roofs, most attracted the attention
of the naval lads. The typical Samoan must not be judged by the “beach”
types who are generally menialized by contact with travelers and sea-faring
men. The trim characteristics of the Samoan, as in other parts of the world,
must be sought among the rural folks, and this can only be done during a
prolonged sojourn. A foreigner need have no fear in penetrating the interior;
he is quite safe and even welcomed with a sincere “talofa.” The tapo or belle
of the village kindly receives him. and most likely presents him with a cup
of their favorite beverage called Kava. Poi. as already mentioned, is a na-
tional dish with the Kanaka, which the fleet boys sampled, at Pago Pago they
tried the Samoan national drink. Although the tapo be fair as fairness goes
in Samoa, and also be the daughter of a chief or family of high rank
as she usually is, and although womanhood generally is here of a vigorous
liminate Pacific for long, weary months—touching at the Philippines and at
the Hawaiian islands, they finally reached the Samoans.
It is claimed that the Samoans are the finest native race in the world. ! order, the well known gallantry of over sea warriors was hardly equal to a cup
The boys of the fleet saw a fine type of an aboriginal in the Kanaka of the of tlie refreshing Kava after the process of manufacture became known. Kava
Hawaiians and here again they saw another branch of iho sgfne racial tree; is made from the root of the plant Piper methvsticum. and its chemistry in-
but it is difficult sometimes to reconcile all the theori s as to origins of pri- volves a rather unusual manipulation, or I should rather say, mastication. The
mal races; it has been claimed also that the aborigines of Australia came prettiest maids are selected for Kava making; they are seated around a huge
from Sumatra; ihe Australian, the lowest aboriginal known, and the Samoan wooden howl; the green or dry Kava root is cut into small pieces; and after
the highest, hotlt from the same parent stock about the same time. It appears
a little awkward historically. We will leave that matter with the ethnologist.
Our sailors saw for themselves that the typical Samoan is generally a tine
specimen of physical development and possesses pleasing, moral qualities.
Most people remember how the island of Tutuila came into the possession
of the United States in 1899 with some unimportant surrounding islets; and
will recall also the international squabble involving England. Germany, and
the United States, as to whether Mataafa or Malietoa Laupepa should be king.
England withdrew and the heme governments compromised on an agreement
that the islands should be divided between Germany and the United States,
the girls have been required to rinse out their mouths, they all proceed to
chewr the sliced root. As fast as thoroughly chewed it is stored up in their
cheeks; chipmunk fashion, until the fullness becomes burdensome, when they
disgorge into the wooden howl until sufficient has been chewed for the com-
pany present. This finely comminuted pulp is diluted with water and stirred
with a bunch of roots, and delivered in a cocoanut cup, first to the most Im-
portant guest, who drinks and spins the empty cup back to be refilled for the
next in point of rank, and so on. There were few boys in the fleet polite
enough, gallant enough, brave enough, to drink Kava with the Samoan lassies.
Talofa Samoa!
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Neeley, Houston. The Pearsall Leader. (Pearsall, Tex.), Vol. 14, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 13, 1908, newspaper, August 13, 1908; Pearsall, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth988242/m1/6/?q=central+place+railroads: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .