Happy Days in Takaroa

Where War Is

Not

By Mrs. Lorna Davidge, who, with her husband and son, are cruising leisurely in the South Pacific, en route from Vancouver to New Zealand.

BETWEEN the Marquesas, and Tahiti, in Lat. 14 deg. 27 min. S, and .Long. 144 deg. 57 min. W, lie the two lovely little islands of Takaroa and Taka poto, in the Tuamotu Archipelago.

Our first sight of them, was a fuzzy green line on the horizon. This, as we neared it, divided into two. The smaller was Takaroa, our destination.

A pirogue came out to meet us, as we came up to the pass, with a native pad dling. This was the pilot, Tomi Mapuki, who took the schooner through the pdss; and it was not long before we were moored, fore and aft, to the rough coral dock, with its cone shaped block of coral, that served as a flagstaff for the tri-color of France.

Here the entire population of the vil lage waited to welcome us. The day before, the chief had had a premonition that a strange boat was coming to the island from far away, and he told his people not to go to make copra that day, as usual, across the lagoon. They informed us that the “Lorna D” was the first Canadian boat ever to call there.

Takaroa village is very attractive, with its white coral streets, lined with palms, frangipanni, and neat thatched houses, the only blot on the scenery being two corrugated-iron Chinese stores.

Looking overside, we can see the shadow of our hull, outlined on the white sandy bottom, while the clearness of the water makes the boat seem to be sus pended in air.

Yellow, red, green and black velvety looking fish, dart in and out of the coral, and a native fisherman swims by, in his scarlet pareu, underwater goggles on, with a spear in his hand, ready for any fish that comes in range. As I watch, he swims down, and walks about under our keel, staying down what seem? :hn in credible time. These divers do not fear sharks as much as they do the great eels, which dart their ugly heads at passing fish, from the crevices in the coral dock.

That night, we sat on a low wall, in the brilliant light of the full moon, while the palm fronds swished and thrashed overhead in the strong SE trade, and watched the dancers in the school-house.

Nobody could speak much English here, but we were surrounded by friendly smiles and greetings. People seemed to be continually coming and going along the moon-lit road, mostly young folk, with wreaths of frangipanni, set at a slant, on their heads. As they strolled, they strum med a guitar, or sang in their soft voices.

WE seemed only to have just fallen asleep, on deck, when a figure ap peared at the boat-side. It was Tomi. He called, "Were we awake?” A woman of the village had apparently died, following a quarrel with her son.

They were unable to revive her. Had we anything that might help? As we rum maged the medicine locker, word came from the village that the son had ad mitted being in the wrong, whereupon mamma had come alive again! We went back to bed.

But yells from further up the street made sleep impossible. A man was being chased by the angry spirit of a relation, upon whose grave he had unfortunately dropped a coconut, the day before.

However, we did get a little sleep before daybreak. Then a large crowd gathered

on the dock, to watch us eat breakfast.

Each skylight and port was filled with curious faces, the owners' of which commented freely on our strange ways.

The skipper went off in company with the young school-master, who is saving his wages, to some day make a trip around the world!

School starts when enough children have arrived to make it worth while, and not according to the time kept by the ancient ship’s clock on the wall. It is a relic from the wreck of the British ship “County of Roxborough”, which piled up on Takaroa’s reefs in the hurricane of 1906. Her rusting hull is still a conspicuous object on the island.

After a few dozen children had strolled in, school began, and the skipper, being a visitor, was asked to write the months of the year, in English, on the blackboard, to be copied and learned by the pupils. After this, school was dismissed for the duration of our stay, as the children could learn far more or interest by sitting on the dock, and watching our

peculiar ways on board the schooner.

Later, during a walk, we meet Timiki, who -wants us to have a drinking nut, at his little, bougainvillea-covered cot tage. Here we meet Hono, who adopts us, after the custom of the South Seas; we go with him to the home of Tufurua, the big, gentle-voiced, pearl-diver. When we leave his home, we are the proud possessors of a live chicken, four eggs, a dozen drinking nuts, a hand-made hat, a golden blister pearl, etc.—while Hono presents the skipper with an iron-wood walking-stick. 1 go back on board to hunt up suitable presents for our friends, and the skipper continues his stroll, and picks up shells along the shore. A native sees him, and says to come with him to his house, and get some fine shells. Here, being pre pared for the stone oven, is the carcase of a large, black dog.

"You eat that dog?” the skipper asks, "Yes, maitai (good). You come five o’clock kai-kai?”

While the skipper appreciated the

generous invitation, he found that he would be unable to make it, on time for the least.

IN the meantime, our son, Dick, who always seems to find a mechanical , . J°£’ mended the chief’s clock, which had been asleep for five years.

On this news spreading, sick and tired clocks, sewing machines and gramophones appeared from everywhere. The finishing touch was given by an ancient motor car, of all things, which wouldn’t go, either. To make matters worse, Hono, who seemed to be at the bottom of all this, appeared with a pile of tin basins a^ T1 was k tubs, that nee ded soldering!

When Dick had the car in running order he took it on a trial run, around the island, a distance of about a mile, with the skipper, Hono and me aboard.

Later, Hono, who has a business head, advertised the round trip, for five francs per head, driving slowly, so that the passengers would feel that they were gettmg their money’s worth. This was just

as well, since they liked it that way; and it was very doubtful whether the car could be induced to go any faster than We never could discover who really owned the car, as the profits seemed to go to so many different people. Probably it was the community spirit, which crops up everywhere in these islands Dick, leaving a trail of ticking clocks, whirring sewing-machines and musical gramophones behind him, arrived back aboard loaded down with shell leis, hats, seed-pearls, shells, etc., from grateful owners.

One evening, we attended a play, given in the Mormon church, especially for us.

An enthusiastic audience sang, accom panied by guitars, until the players were ready to begin. Mormon the prophet is the hero of the play, and he, after many hardships, finally overcomes the devil — who, apparently, no one wanted to im personate, so he was made of wood, and manipulated by pulling strings from be hind the scenes. The chorus, decorated in

shells and flowers, provided good singing —and a very entertaining and interesting evening was enjoyed by all. Next morning, Harmani, one of the “angels”, made me a present of the pretty wreath of flowers, made from tiny colored shells, that she wore during the play. rE days went by very quickly, as our friends devised new entertainments for us. We had a picnic across the lagoon, to the island of the “bad king”, where his stone throne and oven, in the

circle where he held his court, could still be seen. A large black bird is supposed to keep guard over this once taboo spot; and he was on the job this day.

Another time, we walked to the wreck of the “County of Roxborough”. Then, a day on the reef with Hono, who showed us how to find the most beautiful shells, or spear an octopus, or fish, which he taught us how to cook, on our return.

In the evenings twenty or thirty young people would come aboard, and sit on deck, wrapped in pareus or white bed sheets—as the July nights seem cold to them—and sing for hours in the moon light, under the leadership of Henri and his starry-eyed wife, Teri. These young people did a great deal to make our visit a pleasant one, with their beautiful ren dering of their native songs, and their dances.

Henri was a dancer in the picture “Mutiny of the Bounty”. We like to re member him as he was, at the time of our visit, singing and dancing with his friends, and leading the sweet singers of Takaroa. Later on, after our arrival at Tahiti, we saw him again, but with only a few weeks left to live, after an injury received in a fall across an anchor.

Before we left Tahiti, Teri was a widow.

ONE day, there was great excitement.

The pearling season had opened, and the divers were leaving for Takapoto, five miles away, their sailing pirogues fly ing like the wind, as they skimmed across the lagoon, out to sea; and we heard their laughter and singing no longer.

They wouldn’t be back for two months.

As Tufurua came to say goodbye, the skipper told him, he thought that Tufurua would find a big pearl. Later, we heard that he was the only one from Takaroa to find a pearl of any great value.

Hono drops in, to bring the skipper a polished shell for the top of his walking-stick. We know that he wants a cup of coffee, with lots of sugar; and,

Top: A street in Takaroa, leading down to the dock, beside which the “Lorna D” is lying.

Lower: The dock, Takaroa.

if a can of bully-beef and a biscuit go with it—well, he figures the day has had an auspicious beginning. He is a good fellow, this little grey-headed is lander. One day, he was going to show us how to make fire, by rubbing sticks in the Islands way. He tried hard, but his age was against him, and he finally handed the outfit to a lad standing near, who soon had the wood smouldering.

The night before we sail, Henri and Teri and a few special friends have a party, when they sing their Islands songs of farewell, plaintive and sad, as the expression on the faces of the singers.

But all look more cheerful as coffee and cake appear. On the morrow, we wave good-bye to our good friends at Takaroa, and square away for Tahiti.