The Town Barber Of

Apia.

IN the old pre-war days, when Samoa was under the German flag, one of the originals of the Apia life was an old German barber named Stopfkinchen.

As there was only one barber in town, all Europeans had, by necessity, to patronise his shop, though he was not exactly famed for cleanliness or court esy. Quite a few amusing anecdotes are told about the treatment customers had to suffer at times at his hands, especially after a prolonged sitting of Stopfkinchen at the bar of the hotel situated on the beach road of Apia— opposite the barber shop.

Once, a customer entered his shop to have his hair cut. Stopfkinchen started work, and when he was half through, the victim of his operations observed that the clipper was very dirty and rusty and asked him to clean it.

Indignantly, Stopfkinchen refuted the charge, stating (he was very short sighted) that he could not see a trace of dirt, and, at the same time, refusing to finish his hair-cutting.

There was nothing left to his client but to leave the shop, showing one side of his head short cut, while the other half was showing a lion’s mane, to the huge amusement of a number of on lookers.

Old Stopfkinchen, like many German barbers, was a trained medical assist ant and nurse, and, owing to there being no dentist available in Samoa at the time, he used to extract teeth with more or less skill. It sometimes hap pened that, after several fruitless at tempts at extracting a tooth, when he had pulled his victim out of the chair but not succeeded in getting the tooth out, Stopfkinchen, exhausted by his ex ertions, felt the need for some refresh ment and, arm-in-arm with his latest

victim, walked across the road to the bar. After having- imbibed quite a num ber of whiskies and sodas, in unison with his victim —to whom he prescribed same as medical treatment for his den tal troubles —both would return to the shop to recommence work on the stub born tooth. Often he succeeded in breaking the tooth off, leaving the roots in.

When asked to get the root out, he said, “How can I? I cannot even see where it is! I shall give you some cocaine, then you will not feel any more pains.” And that was the last of it!

Stopfkinchen, later, went to Savaii, where he opened a trading station. In addition, he treated the natives for dis ease, gaining quite a good reputation on the island.

He died, during the War, at an ad vanced age.