Nicholas Senn

“ A squall is a tempest on a small scale. We see in the distance a dark cloud of immense size which seems to ride slowly over the surface of the smooth sea. The gentle breeze gives way to a strong wind, the surface of the water becomes ruffled with whitecaps, the darkness increases, and at irregular intervals the threatening, angry cloud is lighted up by chains of lightning thrown in all possible directions; these flashes are followed by peals of thunder, and by prolonged rumbling, which becomes feebler and feebler, and finally dies away far out on the surface of the ocean. ”

“ Among the trees in the Garden of Eden, the palm tree was undoubtedly the most beautiful, and it remains to-day the queen of the forests of the seacoast in the tropics. The palm-clad isles of the South Sea bear a closer resemblance to the description of the Garden of Eden than any other of the many parts of the world that I have ever seen; and of these, Tahiti is a real paradise on earth. There is no country nor other isle where Nature has been so liberal in the distribution of her gifts. No other island can compare in natural beauty with Tahiti, the gem of the South Pacific Ocean. ”

“ The straight, columnar trunks, with their sail-like terminal fronds and clusters of fruit in all stages of development from the blossom to the golden yellow of the ripe nut, are objects of study and admiration which create in the visitor a strong and lasting attachment for the tropics. There is no other spot on the globe where the tourist can see larger and more beautiful palm forests than on the circular road between Papeete and Papara. The cocoa-palm is queen here, as there is no other tree among its many neighbors that has succeeded in equaling it in height. ”

“ We cross rivers, brooks and rivulets without number, and looking for their source we see glimpses, here and there, of cascades and cataracts, high up on the mountainside, in the form of streaks of silver in the clefts of the deep green ocean of trees. We see butterflies by the hundreds, of all colors, playing in the sunshine or eagerly devouring the nectar of the sweetest flowers. We admire the richness and variety of the floral kingdom, and inhale the perfume of the fragrant flowers, suspended in the pure air and wafted to us by the cool land breeze sent down from the top of the mountains. ”

“ Under the blue sky and lighted up by the vigorous rays of the tropic sun, they could see the mountain-peaks clothed in the verdure of a tropic forest, the little island set like a gem in the ocean, and, as they beheld these mountains and turned their eyes upward they could also see
They were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful that God alone was to be seen in heaven. ”

“ To see the sun disappear in the distance, where the dome of the sky seems to rest on the bosom of the ocean, is a scene which no pen can describe, and which no artist's brush has ever reproduced in any degree comparable with the grand reality. The canvas of the sky behind the setting glowing orb, and the passing clouds in front, above, and beneath it, are painted successively by the invisible brush in the unseen hands of the departing artist in colors and shades of colors that may well laugh to scorn any and all attempts at description or reproduction. ”

“ As the artist disappeared, inch by inch, under the limitless expanse of the ocean, he wiped out the brilliant colors on the canvas of clouds, and gilded the horizon with a sheet of gold, deepening his favorite color, yellow, into an orange hue, which remained unchanged until the approaching darkness threw a drapery of sombre black over the inspiring scene. Twilight shuns the tropics. Day lapses into night almost imperceptibly, and, with the setting of the sun, the earth is wrapped in darkness. ”

“ If you would hear a story of friendship pure and undefiled, listen to the story of Ariitaimai of Papara, a Tahitian of noble birth, a child of Nature in its wildest and grandest aspect, rocked in a gigantic cradle of sea, sky and towering mountains, in a land of palm forests, where Nature has provided everything necessary to the life of her children, and where the pearls are the purest. ”

“ Continue in the future as you have done in the past, to dispense your work of generosity and unselfish charity, to sustain and protect the life of man and beast in a climate you love and revere, a climate adverse for man to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow! I have seen your charms in your favorite island-abode and studied with interest your innumerable deeds of generosity, your full storehouse for the urgent needs of man and your safe refuge for the inhabitants of the air. ”

“ The traveler on the whole trip is never without the companionship of the branchless, slender, graceful cocoa-palms, with their terminal crown of giant leaves, clusters of blossoms, and nuts of all sizes and stages of maturity. A stately forest of cocoa-palms like those found on the coast of Tahiti is a sight that can not fail to interest and fascinate the Northerner fresh from zero weather, snow and ice. ”

“ The beauty of the island has been maintained because the natives have preserved the magnificent primeval forests. Strip Tahiti of its forests and it will be made a desert in a few years. Nature relies on the forests to attract the clouds which bring the moisture, and assist in the formation and preservation of the soil. Remove the trees, and drouth and floods will destroy vegetation, and the latter will wash the existing soil into the hungry abyss of the ocean. Fertile and beautiful as Captain Cook found Tahiti, he deprecated the idea of settling it with whites. ”

“ In the open roadway, brilliantly illuminated by the noonday sun, in the distance, a flame-tree, with its flowers of fire, dazzles the eyes, and its grandeur and beauty increase as we approach it, while, in a few moments, what appeared as an apparition is behind us, and the tension of vision is relieved by a long, restful look over the limitless expanse of the blue sea. ”

“ It is when the moon is about to be hidden behind a dark, impenetrable veil that the spectator may expect to see the most wonderful display of pictures above and around him. As the cloud approaches the moon, the blue background deepens in color and brilliancy and when its dark margin touches the rim of the moon it is changed into a fringe of gold or silver; with the disappearance of the moon behind the cloud the fringe of the latter is rudely torn away, the water beneath is robbed of its carpet of silver, and the captivated observer is made aware that the darkness of night is upon him. ”

“ But even here in the most peaceful part of the Pacific, when angered by the fury of a heavy squall, a diminutive storm agitates the waters into foam-crested waves, which, for a short time at least, impart to the ship an intoxicated gait. The effect of sun, moon and starlight on the smooth, undulating, heaving, billowing, tossing, storm-beaten surface of the ocean, is marvelous. ”

“ It is the island where life is free of care. It is the island where the natives are fed, clothed and housed by nature. It is the island where man is born, eats his daily bread without being forced to labor, sleeps and dreams away his life free from worry, and enjoys the foretaste of the eternal paradise before he dies. ”

“ I was fortunate in visiting the island during the latter part of January. It is the time when Nature makes a special effort here to produce the luxuriant vegetation after the drenching rains of December. It is the time when the evergreen trees cast off, here and there, a faded leaf, to be replaced by a new one from the vigorous unfolding buds. ”

“ The next interesting short drive from Papeete is to the Fautahua Valley, distance four miles. It is noted for delightful river scenery and tropic vegetation, and at the end of the valley is a beautiful waterfall. This charming valley, with its typical tropic scenery enclosed by towering mountains and resounding with the rippling, dashing music of a turbulent mountain stream and the babbling and murmuring of the many brooks and rivulets of pure crystal water which feed it, is well worth a visit. ”

“ Charming Queen! Retard your journey, prolong your peaceful mission for the well-being of your loyal subjects so much in need of your calming influence and of your soft, soothing light! To such petitions the goddess of the sky has only one inflexible reply: "The universe is my kingdom, the earth you live in is only one of my smallest possessions. I must remain loyal to all of my realms." ”

“ The abundance with which nature here has provided for the wants of man, the uniform soothing climate, the calmness of the Pacific Ocean, the pleasing scenery quiet the nerves, induce sleep and reduce to a minimum the efforts of man in the struggle for life. It is the island of peace, contentment and rest, a paradise on earth. ”

“ Thousands of these little beings discharge their magic light in the white veil of foam which adorns the crests of the storm-beaten surface, in the form of a narrow track as far as the eye can reach in the darkness of the night. The flashes of light thrown off by these minute, to the naked eye invisible, inhabitants of the sea, when angered by the rude action of the screw, appear and disappear in the twinkling of an eye. ”

“ When the tropic sun shines with all his force, the color of the water fairly vies with the deep blue of the sky, and the nearer we approach our destination, the tints of blue grow deeper and deeper, until at last they are of perfect indigo. ”

“ January and February are the months when the fruit is most abundant, and the climate most agreeable. The twenty-five days of voyage on the ocean, the few days on shore occupied by a study of its natives, their customs, manner of living, by visits to the various points of historic interest, and by the greatest of all genuine pleasures, the contemplation of nature's choicest exhibitions in the tropics, are all admirably adapted to procure physical rest and pleasure, and pleasing as well as profitable mental occupation. ”

“ It was in this bay that the ships of the early voyagers found a resting-place, and where on its shore the first white men touched the soil of Tahiti and came face to face with a people who had never heard of a world outside of the islands of the Pacific. The scenery all along this drive is truly tropical. The floral wealth is great and its variety endless. ”

“ All painters place the greatest importance upon a proper background for their pictures in order to give light and shade a strong expression. So does the sun. With a few strokes of the magic brush, the deep blue of the horizon was wiped out and replaced by the palest shade of blue, so as to bring forth, in bolder relief, the resplendent colors on the moving canvas of the clouds. ”

“ Here and there, at certain intervals, volcanic eruptions have created mountains, which, in Hawaii, rise to nearly fourteen thousand and, in Tahiti, to over seven thousand feet. Around each of these innumerable islands and islets in the great Pacific Ocean the coral polyps have a fringing reef of rock. As these minute creatures can live only at a depth of twenty to thirty fathoms, and die as soon as exposed to the air, their life-work is confined to the coast of volcanic islands. ”

“ The roaming chickens, from bald chicks a few days old to the ruffled, fatless veterans of questionable age, suspended their search for rare particles of food with which to satisfy their torturing sense of hunger, and simply squatted where the heat overcame them, in the nearest shady place, there to spend the enforced siesta with bills wide open and the dry, blue tongues agitated by the rapid and violent breathing. ”

“ This mingling, in the most friendly manner, of the old forest trees with familiar fruit trees introduced from distant lands and laden with golden fruit, is a most beautiful sight. The fruit trees stand their ground even against the most aggressive shrubs, and it is often no easy matter to reach the ripe hiding fruit in the dense network of branches thrown around and between the branches of the imprisoned tree. What a blessing these acid fruits are to the natives, sweltering under the rays of the tropic sun! ”

“ Its mountains are not pregnant with precious metals nor has nature stored up in their interior material for fuel and illumination, as none of these are needful to make the people content and happy. The Tahitian has no desire to accumulate wealth; the warm rays of the sun reduce the use of fuel to a minimum, and the millions of glittering stars and the soft silvery light of the moon in the clear blue sky create a bewitching light at night, which, more than half of the time, would make artificial illumination a mockery. ”

“ Every turn of the wheel on this winding road brings new delights. The views of mountains and ocean, the strange trees and flowers, the childlike natives and their dusky, naked children, the quaint villages, the turbulent mountain streams and the diminutive cataracts and waterfalls, framed in emerald green on the mountain-sides, enchant the eye and stimulate the mind every moment. ”

“ In fact, our so-called nineteenth century civilization has succeeded in practically exterminating a people who could produce a pearl among womankind, a rare and tender soul, such an one as English history does not give us, and France has produced but one, her own Jeanne D'Arc.
The government of the island has always been by chiefs and chiefesses, no distinction of sex being made in laws of inheritance, the eldest born inheriting the rank and estates and all the authority which the title of chief conveys. ”

“ Night on board the Mariposa has additional attractions for the passengers who appreciate the wonders and beauties of nature. When the night is dark, they find a place in the stern of the ship, lean against the taffrail, and watch the water agitated into a diminutive storm by the powerful screw. There one beholds a sight sufficiently attractive and interesting to keep him spellbound for an hour or more. ”

“ I am quite sure that the tourist who has tasted freely of modern life such as it now is in our large cities, with all its cares and temptations, all its unrealness and disappointments, when he has seen the happy, contented, free-from-care Tahitians, in their charming island and simple homes, will be willing to confess:
For my part, I should prefer to be always poor, in blessings such as these. ”

“ Above the tree-line, low shrubs and hardy grasses compose the verdure up to the bare, brown mountain-peaks. The largest trees are seen in the mountains' deep ravines, which are cut out of the side of the heights by gushing of cold, clear waters, which drain the very heart of the mountains, bounding and leaping over boulders and rapids in their race to a resting-place in the near-by calm waters of the lagoon. As we came nearer to the island we were able to make out the white lighthouse on Point Venus, seven miles from Papeete. ”