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an entrance through a deep and clear channel formed by a break in the reef.

Between Savaii and Opulu are two small islands; at the southeast end of Tutuila there is the small island of Aunu'u, and sixty miles to the east of this Maun'a. Of these islands the Rev. Mr. Powell, of the London Missionary Society, says:

“The first island that come in sight of voyagers arriving from the eastward is Ta'u, the largest of the three islands that constitute the group, which the natives call Manu'a. It is about six miles long, four and a half broad, and sixteen in circumference, and contains one hundred square miles. [This is an evident mathematical mistake of Mr. Powell, as under his description, taking length, breadth or circumference, the island could not contain more than twenty-five to twenty-seven square miles.] About six miles west of Ta'u is the island of Olosenga. This is a very rocky island, three miles long, 500 yards wide, and about 1,500 feet high."

Savaii and Opolu contain the largest extent of flat land; fully two-thirds of their area (about 500,000 acres) are fit for cultivation. The whole group is of volcanic origin; craters of extinct volcanoes are seen at various points. Some of the small islands of the group are composed of a single large crater rising abruptly from the sea. The soil on all the islands is exceedingly rich, and is everywhere covered with dense vegetation from the water's edge up to the tops of the mountains. The high mountain ridges extending through the middle of the larger islands attract the passing clouds, which furnish a copious and never-failing supply of moisture, and feed the numerous streams of beautiful, clear water that abound in every direction.

CLIMATE.

The climate is mild and agreeable; the temperature generally ranges between 70 deg. and 80 deg., but the heat is greatly subdued by the breezes that are constantly blowing. Mr. Williams, the British Consul, kept a meteorological register for the Board of Trade from 1860 to 1865, from which I made an abstract of the mean recorded temperature in every month in the year 1864. The southeast trade-winds blow steadily from April to October, being strongest in June and July. From November to March westerly winds frequently blow, but not for any length of time together. A strong gale may generally be looked for some time in January, but frequently an entire year will pass without a severe storm. February, as a rule, is fine, with variable winds. March is usually the worst and most boisterous month of the year, the winds being still variable, and gales occurring from north to northwest. Copious rains fall from the beginning of December to March. June and July are the coolest, and September and October the hottest months; although it will be seen, from the abstract above referred to, that there is very little variation of the temperature throughout the year. Hence the growth of vegetation goes on without check all the year around. Cotton and Indian corn will yield three crops a year. I saw some of the latter gathered in January, which had been sown at the beginning of October. Thus it was planted and the crop gathered within four months. The taro also comes to maturity in four months, and is planted continuously all the year round. When the natives take up the taro, they cut off the top, make a hole in the ground with a stick, into which the top is

thrust, without the ground being dug over or in any way prepared. A short time after it is planted, they clean the ground and mulch between the plants with grass and leaves to keep down the seeds. Bananas yield ripe fruit in nine months after planting, some of the introduced varieties coming to maturity in six months. This fruit attains a great size, especially the indigenous varieties, some of which I measured and found to be eight inches long and nine inches in circumference.

PRODUCTS.

The following are the principal productions of the group: Cocoanuts, cotton, native chestnuts, candlenuts, bananas, plantains, oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, pineapples, mangoes, guavas, Malay apples, rose apples, custard apples, pawpaws, tamarinds, bread-fruit, sweet casava, indigo, coffee, Indian corn, tobacco, chile and medicinal plants, several trees with very fragrant blossoms that might be used in the preparation of scents, some that exude aromatic gum, and others that furnish very handsome and durable wood, suitable for cabinet ware and furniture.

INHABITANTS.

The Samoan natives are a fine, tall, handsome race, of a light brown color. They are docile, truthful and hospitable, and are very lively and vivacious. In conversation among themselves, and in their intercourse with foreigners, they are exceedingly courteous and polite. They have different styles of salutation, corresponding with the social rank of the persons addressed; for instance, in addressing the chiefs or dis

tinguished strangers, they use the expression Lau-Afio, or "Your Majesty;" in speaking to chiefs of lower rank, they address them, Lau-Susu, as we would use the words "Your lordship;" to chiefs of lower degree than those who are thus addressed, the term Ala-Ala is used, and to the common people the salutation is Omai, Sau, simply meaning "You have arrived," or "You are here."

The men only, tattoo, and not on their faces, as the New Zealanders do, but on their bodies from the waist to the knee, entirely black for the most part, except where relieved here and there by graceful stripes and patterns. At a short distance this tattooing gives them the appearance of having on black knee breeches. The clothing of both sexes is a piece of calico or native cloth wound around the waist and reaching to the knees. Some of the women wear a couple of colored cotton handkerchiefs, in the shape of a narrow poncho, over their breasts and shoulders, and hanging loosely down to below the waist. When in the bush, or working on their taro plantations, or when fishing, they wear a kilt of the long, handsome leaves of the Ti (Dracana terminalis). They have a kind of fine mat plaited from thin strips of the leaves of a plant called Lau-ie. These mats are only used on important occasions, and they esteem them more highly than any European commodity. Some of these mats are quite celebrated, having names that are known all over the group; the older they are the more they are valued. The oldest one known is called Moe'efui-fui, meaning "the mat that slept among the creepers.' This name was given to it from the circumstance of its having been hidden away among the creeping kind of convolvolus that grows along the shores; it is known

to be over two hundred years old, as the names of its different owners during that time can be traced down. The best mats are made at Manu'a. They are the most coveted property a native can possess, no labor or enterprise being considered too great to secure them. Both men and women spend a great deal of of time in dressing their hair, and frequently apply lime to it, which is laid on in a liquid state about the consistency of cream, and has the effect of turning the hair to a reddish hue. Both men and women frequently wear flowers in their hair—generally a single blossom of the beautiful scarlet Hybiscus, which is always found growing near their houses. Nature has supplied them so bountifully with food, in the shape of the cocoanut, bread-fruit, banana, native chestnuts, and other wild fruits, and the taro yields so abundant a crop with so little cultivation, that they have no necessity to exert themselves much, and they are, therefore, little inclined to industry, and probably will never be induced to undertake steady labor of any kind. Their houses are neat, substantial structures, generally circular in shape, with high, pitched, conical roofs, supported in the centre by two or three stout posts, and open all around, but fitted with narrow mats made of cocoanut leaves, which are strung together like Venetian blinds, and can be let down in stormy weather.

The Samoans are very expert in the management of their canoes, of which they have five different kinds -the Alia, or large double canoe, some of which are capable of carrying two hundred men; the Tau-maulua, from thirty to fifty feet long-these were first made about thirty years ago, and are fashioned after the model of our whale-boats; the Va-lao, or fishing canoes, with out-riggers-a beautiful craft, and very fast;

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