Captain "Jim"

Smith

A Link With Bully Hayes

“11/ELL.” I said, “for an old man you ff are in extraordinary good shape how do you do it?”

“Old!” shouted Captain “Jimmie” Smith, of Abemama, Gilbert Islands. “Old! I’m not old—l’m only 83. Look here,” with an

appraising glance at my honourable con vexity. “I’ll race you down to the front gate.” And he meant it.

I met two or three such men in the Gilberts. Apparently, having endured the toughness of early life in those unfertile islands, they can survive anything, and live far beyond the three-score-years and-ten.

It is over 50 years since Captain Smith first saw the Gilberts—he had been wandering about the Central Pacific since the eighties—in 1894; he was in the labour trade and he sailed from Honolulu down among the equatorial is lands. In the following years, he was in and out of most ports in the Marshalls, Gilberts, Fijis, etc. About 23 years ago, he settled down in the Gilberts.

Captain Smith is one of the last sur viving links with Captain Bully Hayes— he was the last owner of the “Lotus”.

The “Lotus” was the little vessel which Hayes was sailing from Apia to Jaluit (Marshalls) in 1877, when he was mur dered. The "Lotus” was sold in Jaluit, and eventually came into the hands of “Black Tom”, well known in Samoa in Hayes’ day.

“Black Tom” raffled the “Lotus”, at one dollar a ticket, and Captain “Jimmie”

Smith’s ticket won. By this time, the “Lotus” was in poor shape, and on July 4. 1886, Captain Smith decided to make of her an American Independence Day bonfire: and thus she disappeared in a blaze of glory.

“Old Jack Sandberger, who was the sole survivor of Bully Hayes’ team of traders in these islands, died a few years asro at the age of 90,” said Captain Smith.

“He has a daughter, living on Tabautea.”

R. W. R.

Mr. Vic. Gabriel arrived at Samarai, Papua, from Rabaul, TNG, last month to act as relieving manager of Burns, Philp & Co.’s branch for a couple of months.