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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
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TAH1T 
 
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TAHITI 
 
 THE GOLDEN 
 
 Charles Keeler 
 
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 ' OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
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 Published fay the 
 
 OCEANIC STEAMSHIP COMPANY 
 
 San Francisco, California 
 
 MDCCCCII 
 
TAHITI, THE GOLDEN 
 
 The Peopling of Tahiti 
 
 'I-NUI MARE AREA! Great Tahiti, 
 the Golden! Far over the sea it lies, a 
 beautiful isle of peace! Tropic wavelets 
 break about it in a blue wilderness of 
 sparkling sea! Its center is a citadel of cloud-hung; 
 peaks; its shore is a broad plain of verdure, where 
 breadfruit trees stand shoulder to shoulder, where great 
 banana leaves rustle in the trade-wind, and coco palms 
 sway airily with graceful tufts of drooping foliage atop 
 their slender stems* All about its shore the coral builders 
 have reared their wall a half-mile or less from the land, 
 and here the waves leap and laugh in a joyous line 
 of white spray* Within the sacred precincts of the reef 
 is the lagoon of passive opalescent tide, where myriads 
 of rainbow fish flash hither and yon, and the polyps 
 drowse or sway their painted tentacles in the still water* 
 Long ere Columbus had dazzled Europe with visions 
 of a new world, a hardy race of voyagers had sought 
 
out this lovely solitude and peopled it. They had come 
 from India, tarrying in their migration at Java, and 
 thence on to Samoa on the south and Hawaii on the 
 north* They had traversed the leagueless sea to the 
 eastward and had found Tahiti* What wonder that 
 the land seemed good to them and that they flourished 
 upon its bounty? Before their feats of daring many 
 more distinguished voyages of civilized men pale into 
 insignificance* "With no instruments to guide them* in 
 canoes sewed together with cocoanut fibre* poorly pro- 
 visioned for such buffetings with the sea* they sailed 
 for half discovered realms, taking with them not merely 
 the lusty men* but also women and children* Their 
 traditions are so exact and circumstantial that we can 
 picture them today in their great double canoe* plat- 
 formed over* with high carved stern-posts and graceful 
 prows* spreading their broad mat sail to the trade-wind 
 and venturing upon their perilous quest* steering by the 
 steady breeze and the silent procession of the constella- 
 tions* braving the perils of exposure and hunger upon 
 their voyages across the open sea* It was thus that 
 the great chief Olopana of Hawaii* driven from home 
 by disastrous floods* bore his wife Lu'ukia* in the XII 
 Century* to find a new dwelling-place in Tahiti, the 
 Golden* twenty-three hundred miles away* From that 
 remote time to the present the fame of the fair 
 chieftainess Lu'ukia has been passed on from mouth 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
to mouth, and her exploits have been treasured in song; 
 and story from Hawaii to New Zealand* She was a 
 poetess, a dancer famed for grace, and the inventor of 
 a style of dress which is still made by the Hawaiians* 
 
 In Tahiti every mountain crag and dimpled valley 
 has its tradition to enhance the natural loveliness of 
 the scene by association with gods and heroes* Every 
 promontory of the rock-bound coast, every coral cove, 
 where the wavelets murmur on the sandy shore, is 
 hallowed by tales of genii and spirits, or by the chival- 
 rous deeds of heroes* Here battles have been fought, 
 temples have been builded, lovers have sung their songs 
 to heedless ears* The spirit of romance hangs over the 
 land* There is not merely beauty in contemplation, 
 but also in reminiscence* It is a dream land, a poet 
 land, a South Sea Parnassus* To know it one must go 
 there and dream its dream* It is not enough to see 
 its sensuous splendor of verdant crags and shimmering 
 plains* The people of today are forgetting their old 
 traditions and tales of history, but it is not too late 
 to rescue them from oblivion* Fortunately, much has 
 been permanently recorded and should be learned by 
 all who would truly appreciate this fascinating isle and 
 the remarkable people who inhabit it* 
 
 But I forget that Tahiti is not for all the world as 
 for me the loadstone of memory* To many it is scarce 
 more than an intangible name without localization or 
 
association* Those who have delved in the chronicles 
 of the South Sea voyagers of Wallis, Cook and Bou- 
 gainvillehave read the glowing accounts of such hardy 
 mariners concerning this Isla d'Amat, while lovers of 
 Pierre Loti and Herman Melville, of Stevenson and 
 Stoddard, have gleaned from their pages something 
 of the glamor of tropic joy which invests the spot. 
 Nevertheless, I find hosts of restless spirits who have 
 but the vaguest notion of this South Sea paradise, and 
 for such the present brief sketch is written. 
 
 Volcanic Islands and cAtolls 
 
 The map of the Pacific, especially in the western 
 and southern quarters, is peppered over with islets and 
 archipelagoes in bewildering profusion* About thirty-six 
 hundred miles south-southwest of San Francisco, in the 
 midst of a group known as the Society Islands, lies 
 Tahiti* Honolulu is off to the west of north more 
 than two thousand miles. Auckland lies at nearly the 
 same distance to the southwest* Tahiti, in about f 7 S. 
 latitude, is not quite so far south of the line as Hono- 
 lulu is north of it. "With a length of scarce thirty-five 
 miles and a breadth of perhaps twelve, it is not a large 
 island, but its ten consorts in the constellation of the 
 Society Group are all of lesser size. Near to this 
 cluster are two other groups the Marquesas and the 
 
Paumotuan or Low Archipelago. All three, in the 
 division of the spoils of Polynesia, have fallen to France* 
 The islands of the South Sea are of two forms 
 volcanic peaks and atolls although both have a similar 
 origin. The floor of the Pacific, in common with many 
 other parts of the earth's surface, is either slowly rising 
 or sinking, like some vast uneasy sleeper breathing 
 heavily* Here and there at frequent intervals volcanos 
 have broken out and piled up peaks which in Hawaii 
 mount to nearly fourteen thousand, and in Tahiti to 
 over seven thousand feet. Around each of these 
 innumerable dots of land in the vast reach of the 
 Pacific, the coral polyps have builded a fringing reef 
 of lime. Since the creatures can only live in shallow 
 water, and die as soon as exposed to the sun and air, 
 their operations are confined to the coast of the vol- 
 canoes. Whenever, as it often chanced, the island 
 upon which they had located was slowly sinking, they 
 would build up their wall to save themselves from 
 perishing in deep water. It is obvious that if this 
 process continued long enough, the land would entirely 
 disappear and leave a submerged circular wall of coral 
 just below the level of low tide. The action of the 
 waves in breaking off masses of coral and piling them 
 up would in course of time produce a ting of sandy 
 beach rising a few feet above the sea. Upon this, 
 cocoanuts are washed ashore and ere long a grove of 
 
palms flourishes about the rim of an enclosed lagoon* 
 This is an atoll the last stage in the disappearance of 
 a volcanic islet from the sea* The Paumotuan Archi- 
 pelago consists entirely of such atolls* while several of 
 the Society Islands are also of this description* 
 
 The Land and its People 
 
 But Tahiti* the peerless Great Tahiti* the Golden, 
 as it is fondly called in native song* is no such low- 
 lying ring on the endless blue* Proudly it sweeps 
 in gentle slopes from the shore to the base of the 
 mountains* and then ascends in two glorious peaks 
 Orohena and Aoraii* the former split into two slivers 
 of rock which shoot up amid the dark masses of tropic 
 cloud so often hanging about them* Numerous other 
 peaks jostle one another on the scanty footing of the 
 island's center* with bold shoulders thrust against the 
 plain* The verdure which runs riot over the lowland* 
 nothing daunted* clings to the steep walls* with bare 
 patches of red volcanic earth showing here and there 
 to heighten the effect of green* Numberless cascades 
 leap from the cliffs in shimmering threads of silver* to 
 go gurgling on as rivulets to the sea. or* swollen by 
 sudden cloudbursts in the mountain's heart* foaming 
 and roaring as formidable streams* 
 
 The island is shaped like a figure 8* the larger 
 
ROAD IN MOOREA 
 
land mass being specially designated as Tahiti Nui, or 
 Great Tahiti, and the smaller division, connected by 
 the low Taravao Isthmus, as Taiarapu* The villages 
 are confined to the coast-line and are generally located 
 near the river mouths. They are all of small size, 
 the total population of the island according to the last 
 census numbering but little over eleven thousand* Just 
 at the bottom of the figure 8, on the northwest end of 
 the island, lies Papeete, the headquarters of the French 
 in the South Seas* Indeed, it is the only settlement 
 of the Society Group where any considerable number 
 of Europeans congregate* Of these there is a scant 
 thousand a cosmopolitan assemblage, with French pre- 
 dominating, but including American, English, German, 
 Scandinavian and, I dare say, many other nationalities* 
 The Chinese are well represented, many of the smaller 
 and a few of the larger stores being in their hands* 
 The numerous little coffee houses and restaurants, 
 chiefly patronized by the natives, are conducted by 
 the Chinese* 
 
 cA South Sea cMetropolis 
 
 Papeete is a charming, lazy, tropic seaport town* 
 Its harbor is entered through a break in the coral reef, 
 admitting with perfect safety, despite its extreme nar- 
 rowness, the largest ocean steamers* In the sheltered 
 
lagoon, with the green mountain walls piled up for a 
 background and the open sea stretching off before it, 
 interrupted only by the great natural breakwater upon 
 which the billows are crashing, many small schooners 
 lie at anchor or moored to the shore* A French cruiser 
 is generally stationed in its still waters, and at regular 
 intervals the steamers come and go on the voyages to 
 San Francisco and Auckland* 
 
 How quaint it all is! Here is the market-place where 
 multitudes of natives congregate at daybreak to make 
 their modest purchases of fish and feis, of pineapple 
 and melon, or of preserved shrimp done up in joints of 
 green bamboo* The lovely Quai du Commerce along 
 the water front is shaded by wide-spreading arches of 
 acacia trees* Many of the more important stores are 
 located here, and a fine new stone hotel is now in 
 course of construction* "We notice the public wash- 
 basin, roofed over with tiles, where a dozen or twenty 
 dusky- skinned women paddle about in the shallow 
 water and pound their clothes with stones* Idleness 
 and ease and good nature is the order of the day* 
 Men and women saunter on the shady highway 
 decked as for a carnival, with flowers tucked behind 
 their ears or wound in chains and wreaths about their 
 necks and heads* A man is well dressed if he wears 
 a bright red figured cloth, known as a pareu, around 
 his waist and an undershirt on his back* The women 
 
PREPARING BREADFRUIT 
 
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wear bright gowns of calico hung from the shoulders, 
 often caught up under the arm as they walk* Euro- 
 peans and the more fastidious and aristocratic natives 
 dress in white -the men in duck, with light hats of 
 native weave made of sugar-cane or bamboo* To 
 add to the picturesqueness of the street scenes are the 
 Gens d'Armes in their uniforms, the French sailors, 
 the officers from the substantial military barracks, the 
 Chinese, and a sprinkling of East Indians. A native, 
 carrying his burden swinging from the ends of a 
 bamboo pole held on the shoulder, treads noiselessly 
 down the quiet street. A party arrives in an open, 
 clinker-built boat from a voyage around the coast, and 
 listlessly disembarks and lands the cargo of charcoal 
 done up in rough baskets. An old-fashioned carriage 
 drawn by stocky little island horses clatters past, dis- 
 turbing for a moment the equilibrium of the scene. 
 
 Home Life of the Datives 
 
 'Tis -a pity the houses of Papeete are not more 
 picturesque. Corrugated iron roofs and painted walls 
 have played havoc with their aesthetic qualities, but 
 they nestle away in bowers of splendid foliage such as 
 only the tropics can produce. The native houses in 
 the outlying provinces still have the primitive charm. 
 They are built of upright sticks of bamboo, lashed side 
 
by side to a frame of stripped poles in the form of an 
 ovaL Upon this is a heavy roof of pandanus thatch, 
 covering a cool, airy and truly charming home* The 
 air circulates freely through the cracks between the 
 poles, as well as between the two doorways on opposite 
 sides of the house* There are no windows, nor are 
 they needed 
 
 Food is cooked near by under a shed of thatch, the 
 native oven consisting of a layer of stones upon which 
 a fire is built* When duly heated, the food is placed 
 amid the embers, wrapped in pieces of banana leaves 
 and covered over with piles of damp breadfruit leaves* 
 Breadfruit, taro, green bananas and feis or mountain 
 plantains, are the staple foods which are roasted in this 
 fashion, except upon the occasion of feasts, when roast 
 sucking pig and chicken are added to the bill of fare* 
 The cocoanut is used in a variety of ways, and an 
 excellent sauce made of the compressed juice of the 
 grated nut. together with lime-juice and sea water, 
 savors many of their viands* 
 
 The fish which swarm in these waters form another 
 easily secured food supply* They are caught in a 
 variety of ways, not the least picturesque of which is 
 the torchlight fishing on the lagoon* Torches are 
 improvised of long coco palm branches tied into rolls* 
 With a boatload of these, together with nets and spears, 
 the fishermen paddle out upon the water after dark. 
 
" 
 
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Flying fish, attracted by the light, come whining 
 overhead and ate dexterously caught in a hand net*- 
 Other fish are speared over the side of the canoe* 
 Dolphin and bonita are taken with hook and line in 
 larger canoes sailing on the open sea, but this branch 
 of fishing is limited to a few hardy men* The women 
 scoop up small river fish in baskets, and drag nets are 
 employed to capture the finny prey of the lagoon* 
 
 The Tahitians 
 
 The Tahitians are quite as much at home in the 
 water as on land, and are great bathers* Strangely 
 enough, they prefer the fresh water, the river mouths 
 being favorite places for them to congregate* They 
 are people of fine physique, tall and well proportioned, 
 with rich, bronzy skin of beautiful color and texture* 
 No feature of the race strikes the visitor more forcibly 
 or more pleasantly than their affability* They have 
 a smile and a greeting for all who chance their way* 
 "lorana!" the island salutation, is on every lip* They 
 have good features, the lips somewhat sensuously thick- 
 ened and the noses rather wide and flat ; but withal, so 
 kindly are their countenances, so large and dreamy the 
 dark eyes, that one cannot but be fascinated with them* 
 There is a childlike simplicity about their every action, 
 a litheness and grace in their motions, a naturalness 
 
governing their impulses, that is refreshingly delightful 
 to one who comes to them from the stiffness and 
 conventionality of modern civilization. Their hospi- 
 tality knew no bounds until it was continually abused* 
 Among themselves they are communists, sharing homes, 
 food and all that they possess with every needy kins- 
 man. Among Tahitians relations are numberless, so it 
 goes without saying that since they look out for their 
 poor relations, there are no poor. All are happy and 
 content, but alas! the usual fate of the dark races is 
 befalling them. Like other child -folk of the globe, 
 they seem unable to cope with the more aggressive 
 invaders that have come amongst them, and a slow, 
 but inevitable decline in the population is the result* 
 
 The French have treated their conquered subjects 
 with unusual liberality, giving them political equality 
 under a governor sent from France. But in spite of this, 
 the forces of disintegration are ceaselessly operative. 
 Some of these deadly causes which are undermining 
 the race are preventable, others not so. Strange as it 
 may seem, one of their misfortunes is their affluence. 
 Why should a man work when there is no spur to his 
 ambition when food is plenty and he has more money 
 than he knows how to spend? This is precisely the 
 condition with many Tahitians today. The high price 
 of vanilla beans makes this industry an extremely prof- 
 itable one. Although requiring considerable pains and 
 
AR7 
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attention, vanilla growing is done with the usual dolcc 
 far niente of the inhabitants* The drying of cocoanut 
 meat and shipping it away as copra is another industry 
 calling for little concentration or application, and yet 
 yielding a good livelihood* Within the past two years, 
 since the steamer has been running to San Francisco, 
 a market has been found for the surplus bananas and 
 pineapples which formerly went to waste* 
 
 Tropical Fruits 
 
 The traveler visiting the tropics for the first time 
 revels in the strange ftuits which are lavished upon 
 him so prodigally* To go into a pineapple patch and 
 pluck the golden fruit from its prickly nest, to slash off 
 its rough rind and feast upon its luscious, juicy pulp 
 is an experience not soon to be forgotten* Bananas of 
 unheard of varieties, from the little fine-flavored fig 
 banana to great fat, ted Burgomasters of the tribe, are 
 on hand in plenty, and are a different fruit from the 
 musty trophies of the huckster's garret* The cocoanut 
 of the northern markets would be fed to the pigs in 
 Tahiti* The green fruit, thrown by a dexterous 
 climber from its cluster suspended in mid-air, husked, 
 and opened at one end, is full of the most delicious 
 beverage Mother Nature concocts* The pulp can be 
 scooped out with a spoon and has the consistency of 
 
a delicate blanc mange. Other fruits in abundance, 
 many of them unheard of in the temperate zone, go 
 a-begging in this land of plenty* There are several vari- 
 eties of mangoes* guavas* papayas* avocados, oranges 
 and delicious green limes* as well as various less conspic- 
 uous fruits to be discovered and tasted by the curious* 
 The breadfruit* which forms so important a part of 
 the native food* is really a vegetable rather than a 
 fruit* since it must be cooked before it is fit to eat* 
 Nevertheless, it grows upon a tree and requires no care 
 or cultivation* It is spherical* considerably larger than 
 a full-sized orange* green in color* turning yellowish 
 when fully ripe, and has a honeycombed surface with 
 a wart in the center of each enclosure* "When roasted 
 in the native oven* the breadfruit tastes not unlike a 
 mildly flavored sweet potato* It has a firmer texture 
 and a less positive quality than the sweet potato* but is 
 a very palatable and refined food* The gray, mealy 
 taro root is another favorite native dish which is 
 agreeable to the European palate* 
 
 Out in the Provinces 
 
 One can not expect to see Tahiti by lounging about 
 Papeete* sipping iced drinks at the Cercle Bougainville, 
 or perambulating about the narrow streets and poking 
 into the countless little shops adjoining the market 
 
place* The weather is not so hot that one need be 
 uncomfortable, provided ordinary prudence be exercised 
 in keeping out of the sun during the midday hours* 
 The refreshing trade wind blows almost continuously 
 night and day* tempering the air with its grateful 
 ozone* By all means* then* let us stir about and enjoy 
 the life and scenery of this island of enchantment* 
 
 I recall with peculiar delight the moonlight drive 
 to Point Venus* famed as the spot where Captain Cook 
 made his memorable observation of the transit of Venus* 
 What climbing of heights commanding a sweep of shore 
 veiled in the mysterious haze of a tropic night! What 
 delving into sombrous hollows with strange, rank plant 
 forms catching glints of light on their broad leafage! 
 What clouds of silver rolling across the dark vault 
 overhead! At one moment a rain squall beat down 
 upon us furiously ; anon the moon was bewitching the 
 landscape with its serene light* We edged along a bay 
 where a break in the barrier reef let in the ocean 
 waves full tilt upon the rocky coast* roaring and crash- 
 ing in glittering white combers* Coco-palms towered 
 above us with fantastic plumed tufts fluttering in the 
 breeze* There were glimpses of native fires in the 
 jungle, and snatches of barbaric song floated to us 
 from afar* 
 
 Oh, those native songs, how they take hold of 
 one and stir him with their savage rhythm and impet- 
 
uosity ! To hear them to advantage it is necessary to 
 visit the outlying provinces* I did this under delightful 
 auspices the guest of an island planter who took 
 a merry party of us on the grand tour of the island. 
 "We went in two light spring wagons, stopping each 
 night on the way at a native village where we were 
 royally entertained by the district chief and his people. 
 We slept in native houses which were charming in 
 their simplicity and fitness to the life of the people* 
 We partook of their generous fare, in which roast 
 sucking pig and chicken were very much in evidence. 
 Such scenery was unfolded to our ever-wondering gaze 
 as I never expect to encounter elsewhere. Deep streams 
 had to be forded, and there were unfrequented stretches 
 of road that led through the jungle ; but all was novel, 
 beautiful, fascinating. Tautira, at the opposite end of 
 the island, was the objective point of our journey* In 
 its main features it has probably changed but little since 
 the days when Captain Cook delighted in its many 
 beauties. It is approached by fording the lovely Tau- 
 tira River and then down an avenue of lofty arching 
 trees close by the shore of the lagoon. The oval 
 bamboo houses are scattered in a picturesque line near 
 the sea, with bold mountains mantled in verdure rising 
 behind the village* It was here that Stevenson 
 remained to recuperate from an illness, the guest of 
 Ori-a-ori, the chief. "We returned to Papeete by the 
 
\ 
 
opposite side of the island, passing through the opulent 
 Papara district, which was famed in the days of the 
 early voyagers for its great marae* a truncated pyra- 
 mid of stone steps used as a temple, and the scene of 
 much stirring history* 
 
 Of shorter jaunts from Papeete* one of the most 
 interesting is to Fautahua* a French military post in 
 the very heart of the mountains* A carriage road 
 extends to Fashoda bridge* well up in the mountains, 
 beyond which a good footpath leads on up the gorge* 
 past a silver thread of a waterfall which leaps over a 
 rocky rim to the bed of the stream six hundred feet 
 below* It was here that the natives made a last stand 
 in their war with the French* A little beyond the 
 spot rise the crags which compose The Diadem* a 
 striking landmark in the mountains of Tahiti* 
 
 No one should leave the Society Islands without 
 having visited Moorea* Its shore is only about eighteen 
 miles distant, and a little steamer makes periodic trips* 
 It is Tahiti in miniature* with its beauties accentuated* 
 Peaks and spires rise in such fantastic forms as I had 
 previously imagined existed only in picture books or 
 stage scenery* These cathedral pinnacles jutting up 
 thousands of feet into cloudland* with two narrow 
 landlocked bays almost severing the island at their 
 base* and a lush tanglement of tropic foliage over- 
 spreading all* gave the island an unearthly beauty. 
 
One might fancy himself upon the island of an 
 enchanter, so unreal and spectacular it all appears. 
 Indeed, we see a hole in one of the lofty crags where 
 a genie of old hurled his spear through the peak* 
 
 lorana Tahiti 
 
 But enough of this South Sea wonderland! He 
 who has once visited it will forever after be haunted 
 with its bewitching charm! The fragrance of the 
 tiere flower will be wafted to him by mysterious 
 winds. The roll of drums, the wild cadences of im- 
 petuous singers iterating and reiterating their melodious 
 syllables, with swaying bodies and impassioned gestures, 
 will haunt his fancy* He will see the palm-fringed 
 lagoon, with outrigger canoes floating upon the glassy 
 tide* Smiling, dusky faces will peer upon him from 
 the coverts of memory and cry out to him blithe 
 " loranas." He who has eaten of the fei will ever 
 after think of Tahiti with longing fancies, for its 
 gentle people, its balmy air, its bounty of all green 
 things upon the land and its royal sweep of envel- 
 oping blue, deep, tender and serene, its glory of cloud 
 forms unknown in the temperate zone, all will conspire 
 to enchain his memory and make him often dwell 
 upon its peerless charms* lorana, Tahiti-nui marearea! 
 
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