Samoa 'uma, where life is different . liest days of settlement there was no hind-rance to the limitless barter of the gin which hasbeen such general currency in the South Seas. Butthe Samoans are not a people given to drink. Underrecent systems of government the traffic has beenunder a strict prohibition. Even when they couldhave all the liquor they might want, they did notwant any. Now they want still less. Kava is enoughfor them, and it is just as well so. Under no circum-stances of Samoan affairs does one have to guardagainst the spread of the drink habit. The Samoandoes not drink. Neither
Samoa 'uma, where life is different . liest days of settlement there was no hind-rance to the limitless barter of the gin which hasbeen such general currency in the South Seas. Butthe Samoans are not a people given to drink. Underrecent systems of government the traffic has beenunder a strict prohibition. Even when they couldhave all the liquor they might want, they did notwant any. Now they want still less. Kava is enoughfor them, and it is just as well so. Under no circum-stances of Samoan affairs does one have to guardagainst the spread of the drink habit. The Samoandoes not drink. Neither the greed of the early tradersnor the misguidance of less commercial and, there-fore, more insidious foes, has served to introducethis habit among the natives in the islands of Samoa. One store is exactly like the next. Count themalong the beach of Apia, almost forty dealers in pre-cisely the same goods, a market more than a littleoverstocked. What one sells the next sells, there isbut one thing for them all to buy. The stock ac- 228. ^E E J COPRA AND TRADE. count is that of a general country store, everythingfrom a paper of tacks to the very latest abominationof crude colors for some native belle to carry as adecorative parasol, a strong business reliance placedon such substantial as canned salmon and cornedbeef (round tins only will catch the native trade, andthat closes the market to the American packers andgives it to those of Queensland and New Zealand).Business is based most largely on the native with hisrare sixpence; he must have the quantity for hismoney, quality is a secondary consideration. To seethe business done read the signs hung out for thebuying Samoan to read. Talasini, thats masima, salted salmon from the Columbia pulumakau, kegs of corned beef, a standard pres-ent to make to a Samoan village, a regular unit ofwagers on their cricket games. Falaoa, loaves ofbread; apa masi, tins of crackers; pisupo, tins of saltbeef. Competition cuts t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1902
