Tropicalities

A TALL tale, related by a Fijian, was repeated to the Pacific Island Club on November 2, by Mr. R. H. Lester, of Fiji, who addressed the gathering on “The Fijian—Yesterday and To-day”.

By accident, a native fisherman up set his canoe in the water outside an island reef. Each time he tried to swim ashore the current carried him out to sea again. All day long he swam, until near evening he was close to the reef, only to be thrust back again. For a week this battle with the sea was waged, until the swimmer finally managed to reach safety, only to find when he drag ged himself ashore, that he had bar nacles all over his body as a result of his long immersion in the water! * * * A NOTE from another world-wander ing newspaper man—this time, Hakon Mielche, artist and special correspondent for a group of Danish newspapers. He has been recently in South America, the United States (16,000 miles in 33 States), Spain and Czecho slovakia.

“An American reporter, a good friend of mine, was killed by a bomb in his car a few days after I left him on the Tervel front, in Spain”, says Mr. Miel che. “They did not try such dirty tricks on us in the South Seas, so no wonder I prefer the Islands —even the reef around Vanikoro, where we left the poor old ‘Monsunen’. ”

The English translation of Mr. Miel che’s book about the “Monsunen” expe dition has been published in Britain and America and has been very favourably reviewed. * * * A STRANGE story comes from Tonga, which, if true, will probably have the effect of rendering those blessed lotus isles more sought after then any other part of the earth.

The story is that a woman living in one of the villages of Tongatabu, who can look back upon a century’s exist ence already, appears to have determ ined to make a fair start in her second century, and is cutting a new set of teeth. Whether this strange develop ment of second childhood has rendered the use of teething powder necessary, history does not state, and we do not know whether the old lady suffers from convulsions, or is given a ring to bite on.

It is also recorded that a young man, living in the same place, rejoices in the possession of a double row of teeth, “set sharkwise”; but that the old lady’s per formance has lowered his status in the village life— F.T.G. * * * A FIJI District Commissioner and his wife, on a trip through the country, came to a native village, where a mother had died, leaving a young orphan.

The Commissioner’s wife, taking com passion, decided to adopt the mite.

Some time later, two native women came to see the infant. It lay asleep on a mat. “Ah, little child, you are a white baby now, and when you grow up you will not talk to us”, sadly reflected one.

The other interrupted: “He is a white child now; he cannot understand Fijian.

Speak to him in English”, Her compan ion nodded wisely, and, bending over the infant, said: “Goddam! Goddam! God dam!”

HAVING spent 12 months in the Ply River section of Papua, engaged on an aerial survey, Captain Harold C. Crow ley arrived recently in Sydney, He told a reporter that Papua, generally, was “a monotonous, dreary, interminable swamp”; and the newspaper headings laid emphasis on the “dreary swamp”.

Residents of Central and Eastern Papua will be pleased with the new advertise ment of their country. * * * SEA-DOG” (New Guinea), in a bunch of Munchausen reminiscen ces, tells us that people who stam mer often sing well. A deck hand on an Islands schooner (he writes) who suf fered from an impediment in his speech

ran to the captain at the wheel during a storm and started, "P-p-please, s-s-sir”.

“For goodness’ sake, hurry up’’, said the captain, irritably. “If you can’t say it, sing it”.

The deck hand took a very long breath and sang:— “Should auld acquaintance be forgot “And never brought to mind, “The mate ’e’s fallen overboard, “And ’e’s half a mile behind!”

Mrs. Jean Stephens, who has been teacher at the Administration’s European School in Wau, New Guinea, for a little over a year, arrived in Australia at the end of October with her small son. Her place has been taken by Mrs. Rossi, of Edie Creek, who has had considerable teaching experience in Queensland.