Eastern Polynesia

Mecca of Big-game Fishermen - Trading Conditions - July Fetes Were Dull This Year

From Our Own Correspondent.

Papeete, July 17.

WE REGRET to record the death, very suddenly, in California, of Capt.

Mitchell, the well known fisherman, who for many years had accompanied Mr. Zane Grey on his various expedi tions. The deceased gentleman had just left Tahiti to join his wife and ta'f I, after a stay of several months in the Islands. Heart failure is stated to have been the cause of his unex pected demise. Capt. Mitchell was about 65 years of age.

The waters adjacent to Tahiti, and the Society Group generally, are becoming noteworthy as a playground for big game fishermen, and several enthusiastic amateurs now make Tahiti their sporting headquarters. Some good catches have been made, apart from the record black marlin mentioned in one of my previous letters.

Mr. Jasper Moore, who recently bought a home in Tahiti, and now owns a high-power, twin-screw launch, had the luck a few days ago to land a sail fish weighing about 131 lbs. The fish measured an inch over ten feet in length, had a sail spread of 381 inches, and took fifty minutes to land. The world’s record fish of this species, which weighed 170 lbs., was captured by the late Capt. Mitchell, also in these wat ers, off the island of Raiatea.

To anglers interested in sword-fish ing and kindred sport, Tahiti certainly has a good deal to recommend it, es pecially to those who would prefer a warm and comfortable climate to make holiday in. Here the temperature is very seldom oppressively hot, even on land, and never so at sea; and, during the season of trade winds, from April to November, the weather is apt to be uniformly pleasant and breezy, with only an occasional off day. Benito, the usual bait for sword fish, can be had all the year round, but are most plentiful from November to March Sport of this sort is, of course, only for the well-to-do, necessitating as it does expensive tackle and boats, but the incidentals, such as boat hire, assist ants, gasoline, and accommodation, would appear to be much cheaper than

in some other places—New Zealand for example. Moreover, a fishing trip in this locality may easily be combined with holiday-making of a different var iety, for both Tahiti and Moorea, as well as other high islands of the Society group, have plenty of entrances for small craft, and the natives ashore, besides being most hospitable, can upon occasion provide entertainment of a unique sort.

Our monthly mail steamers, the Mak ura and Maunganui, which arrive a couple of days apart, from San Fran cisco and Wellington, respectively, brought over 50 passengers for Tahiti.

A good number of these have found accommodation at the Blue Lagoon Hotel, including Mr. Vanashe, presi dent of the New Zealand Law Society, and Mr. Gramman, Australasian re presentative of the old established firm of Sandeman and Co., of Edinburgh.

The Depression

Commercial conditions show no im provement since my last letter. One large French house, the Compagnie Navale et Commercial de l’Oceanic, closely allied to Ballande and Co. (who formerly owned large mining and other interests in New Caledonia) is in pro cess of liquidation; and some of the

smaller merchants are in consequence replenishing stocks at less than landed cost, instead of importing more.

Another sign of the times is that the Banque de l’ Indo Chine has notified its clients that they will no longer be allowed the 1½ per cent, interest on current accounts that they have been accustomed to.

Nevertheless, our local schooners and trading craft continue to comb the Tuamotu Archipelago for copra, and return to Papeete loaded to the rails with its odorous commodity.

Naturally, the natives in these far-away islands will continue to make copra so long as vessels go there to pick it up and buy it from them, but the native in most cases has no capital invest ment to worry about. It is the white planter, with overhead and wage bill to meet, who is feeling the pinch most during the present slump.

Major Douglas, who may be remem bered in connection with the St.

George research expedition to the South Seas some years ago, is spend ing a honeymoon on the neighbouring island of Moorea, where he has leased Lord Hastings’ residence, on Openohu Bay.

The New Zealand schooner yacht, “Valkyre,” which has been tied up in

Papeete Bay for some months, owing to a variety of difficulties, has now been taken over on a long-term charter by Mr. Preston Moore, together with her owner, Mr. Gilling, who remains as skipper. Mr. Moore plans to use the Valkyre for inter-island tourist traffic, thus providing a more comfortable means of travel to out-of-the-way is lands than has hitherto been avail able.

Papeete En Fete

The Cinquantenaire fetes have been in full swing for some days past, and attracted a fairly large crowd, in spite of the prevailing shortage of cash.

Luckily, the Administration came to the rescue with substantial sums as prizes for the various events, and the French warship, Bellatrix, was also brought into service to provide free transportation for natives who wished to come in from outlying districts.

Nevertheless, there was lack of the old time spontaneity and zest in the celeb rations. Some of us can remember the days when the end of a July fete would find three-quarters of French Oceania camping along the Papeete waterfront, and the road ankle deep in confetti. But the Tahitian July is not dead by any means —far from it.

Perhaps the most spectacular event on the present occasion, and the one that evoked most enthusiasm, was a long procession of decorated vehicles resplendent in richly coloured foliage and purple bougainvillea, and odorous with frangipani, gardenia and other strange perfumes that only the Islands can produce. Some of these equipages had mammoth superstructures of greenery, brown-skinned singing girls and bouquets of lovely children.

The official part of the programme ends to-day, but the celebrations, in time-honoured style, will probably con tinue in a sporadic fashion and peter out finally with the departure of the mail beat for San Francisco on the 21st.

Sailfish, weighing: 130 lbs., caught by Mr. Jasper Moore, at Tahiti.