Ctngclcs Simbcuj (times. 19 cut , :,, ": . corn-beef One remarked, It to fail late me of be the pot the out and cup la to in and i not but you soft buy Put two the BEACH-COMBERS. Selfexiki Men Who Prefer Saragcry and Lawlessness. They are a Growing Power la Polynesia and an Obstacle to Missionary ' - ESort ' - - OOVrKIBlTED TO THE TIMES. THE name "beach-combers la of , doubtful origin. It is known that it was applied more than a century ago to those worse than pirates, the "wreckers," along the shores of the British islands and of our own country. These wretches hailed wrecks as a godsend, and by false signal lights they helped to produce them. Their harvest was In the cargoes cast upon the sands, when the ship had gone to pieces, and in the flotsam taken from the sea when the waves had subsided. Lighthouses, buoys and well-orran- lsed life-saving stations have banished the beach-comber from civilised ehorea Although equally brutal and indifferent to the laws controlling the rights to life and property, the beach-comber of the Pacific islands is an entirely different creature from his English and American predecessor. With his life lines cast in those favored "purple Isles," where nature Is so lavish with her bounties, the Polynesian beachcomber has lost his love of wealth. He has adopted the modes of life of the. people on whom he has force'd himself, and. although he has not. in all things adopted their guileless methods, something of the poetry of his surroundings and the simplicity of his associates cornea to him after he has ceased to yearn for the bustling, selfish world, on which he has forever turned his back. A. few years ago while in Apia, the capital of Samoa, the one city of the Navigaitor's Islands, a city with one street, and that street with very few houses. I gladly accented an Invitation from my old friend, Robert Louis Stevenson, to spend a night with him in his picturesque home, "up the mountain, within hearing of the waterfall and within sight of the world's most beautiful bay," as he put it. ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON ON THE BEACH-COMBER. Before, this I had started in to study the Polynesian beach-comber, and I had Just returned from the Island of Tetulla, where I had learned much that increased my interest in the subject, without at all adding to my respect for it I found my kindly,- brilliant host an enthusiast on the subject of beachcombers, and had he lived he would have added another fascinating chapter to a subject that has inspired the pens of some of the greatest writers in the last two centuries. After repeating my limited experience with these fellows, I was denouncing the whole band, -when Stevenson interrupted me in a half-laughing, half-serious way. "My dear boy," he said, as nearly as I can recall his words, of which I made a note next day, "you forget that studenrts of psychology, like . students of physiology, find their most abnormal subjects the most Interesting. The beach-comber is not V thinker, but he has set me a-thinking. How much he has done for literature" I stared in surprise,, and then my host went on to describe the beachcomber who is to be found in nearly all the Inhabited islands of .-.th Pacific from the Aleutian group to the clusters of islets that fringe southern New Zealand. These men.- he 'explained, were Americans and . representatives - of nearly every maritime people of the world. Nearly all were deserters from ships. Some were fugitive, criminals, but a majority were driven to extremes by the cruelty of their masters. Many had no home ties, no sense of obligation and no idea of duty; but for these deficiencies they were hardly i to, blame: They contrasted the beauty of these lovelv Islands and the: perfect freedom of the graceful natives with the fetid forecastles of the whaler or the merchantman on which they served; and they compared the tyranny of their captain with the low voices and seductive eyes of the. beautiful maidens of Polynesia, They yielded to the latter and deserted by thousands; indeed, they have been deserting for more than a century, and the end is not yet. These deserters, now called "beachcombers." whether they reside on the shore or in the interior, have taken native wives; where the custom permitted they took more than one; and the result Is a new race of half-breeds. As a rule this race is physically su-Derlor to that of either of the originals; but. unfortunately, the greater mental capacity that accompanies this greater strength and grace has not been used In an ennobling way. v .': "What the , frontiersman - was to America, the beach-comber though not with the heroic nature and the splendid purpose of the former; is destined to be to Polynesia," said Stevenson. "But what has he done f pr literature?" I .asked. , , . "Nothing directly." was the response; "but then neither, has the frontieds-man. the soldier, the -sailor or any other man whose life has been devoted to physical struggle. . All these, however, -have inspired the pens of others and, in this way, the beach-comber has done his share." , Seeing that I looked incredulous, my host continued, with a pleasant smile: THE FIRST BEACH-COMBER. ? "The first Pacific beach-comber of whom the world has any knowledge was our. old friend Alexander Selkirk. He was marooned on an uninhabited island by a cruel captain. Being put ashore against his will, differentiates him very decidedly from his vast army of successors. But it was this event that inspired Defoe to write the Immortal Robinson Crusoe, without reading which no boy's education . Is complete. It was the same jsubject that gave us Cowper's most popular poem outside John Gilpin. "A hundred years after. Selkirk we have the first ' attempt at wholesale beach-cortblng in the mutiny of the Bounty. Capt Bly may have been a tyrantmost merchant captains were In those days but his being' set adrift in an open boat out in that vast expanse, with a 'few friends, and the final rescue, form one of the most thrilling chapters in the history of the sea. Byron immortalized this drama in his poem 'The Island.' You know the story; how the crew under Christian and Adams took native wives, settled in Pitcairn's Island, and for nearly two generations were lost to the world. Then came this unexpected discovery, when all but one of the original crew were dead. The world learned of their woes, their troubles, their sufferings, their meanness and withal of their triumph, out on that desolate little island, and condoned their crime. When discovered, they had outgrown the land. Adams, from an old Bible, had taught the swarming halfbreeds to read and write, so that when found there was not a more moral or peaceful community under the sun than these descendants of outlaw whites and savege native, women. . IIO .J e -. .. una l club- ported most of these people to a larger lBig-nu, wuwi iu ine lan guage of. our own Rip Van Winkle, they and their families may live long and prosper." Many Incidents about the beach combers, learned from the narratives of his Apian associates, but still more valuable, gleaned from hi own sympa-thetio and uasurlaaaed power of oh- :0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0 P. Our First; 1 I Semi-Annual Clearance Sale o q The past six days have been days of big crowds and large sales, but they will not be a circumstance to the 21 days of selling that are yet to come. We are very sorry that some of those that visited our store last week could not be waited upon because of the crush. But we guarantee for the remainder of the sale that there will be adequate space and plenty of clerks to accommodate every customer. All we want is for the people to come and see what we are doing. The prices that appeared in last Sunday's issue of this paper will hold good for the balance of the sale. Below we add just a few new prices: V 9. ? t (D Double Fold Hungarian Cloth, comes snaaex, wun a neavy urocacea eneci. suitable for ladle' traveling dresses ana ererr day wear, regular price iic rardj during mis sale I yards to a suit for Standard Percale Dress Patterns, pat n especially for us, 10 yards in each pattern, comes in very latest colors, for midwinter and spring wear, regular price 7b; during mis saie ,. Egyptian Ladies' Black Hose, guarantee stainless, regular price 10; during this sale.. ' '' P. Ladies' Extra Heavy. French ribbed, seamless, full-made Hose, In black Uermsdorf dve, regular price sjc: during mis saie... Ladles' Vict Kid Gloves, heavy worked back, 4 buttons in very newest sbadesi these are none of A l tbc (c kind, but our choice 1.7 VI ill kind; during this sale we sDleaVf sell them for Our e-Hook "J. P." Corset made of the very ft r -best whalebone, with extra heavy black lul- K 1 Ian drill, sateen lined, in black only, regular J If price 11.00; during this sale - Ladles' Australian Wool Vests and Drawers, tfy n made with Oxford sleeves, worked front large pearl buttons, regular price II. 7i I J a garment; during this sale Igj The New Haiti Street Corner Main and Second Streets, next to Security Savings Bank; X :::.::::.:::::::::::.::::::::::: Rocker We have a Rocking Chair for every woman in Los Angeles. And the beauty of the whole thing is that we have them at just the very prices every woman can afford to pay. Price, however, is not the only consideration with us. We look sharp to the shapes and watch the workmanship. We know that the quality of each chair we offer is all it should be. Large Arm Rockers, Antique Finish, Cane Seat and Back, at $2.00 Large Arm Rockers, Antique Finish, Saddle Seat, $2.50 Extra Large ize Chair, Saddle Seat, $3.50; Cane Seat. . . . . .$400 Ladies' Cane Seat Sewing Rockers.... ..$1.50, $1.75, $2.00 and up Large Arm Rockers, Antique Oak, Cobbler Seat.. $3. 50, $4.00 and up Beautiful display of Oak and Mahogany Upholstered Rockers. Rattan Rockers, all shapes and sizes. LOS ANGELES FURNITURE CO., Carpets, Rugs, Draperies. 225-227-229 South Broadway. servation, my host repeated to me that night, as we sat on the wide veranda, the waterfall's music filling the unfre-quent pauses In our ' talk, and the silvery flaeb of the moon on the bay feasting our eyes, whenever we turned them in that direction. Kit Carson said to me one night, as we lay in that glorious gorge, through which the Rio Grande tears its way from the heart of La Sierra Madre to the prarle-llke expanse of St. Luis Park: "yes; the old hunters and frontiersmen know a mighty sight about this country, from the frozen ocean plumb down to Panama, but it's nothing compared with the knowledge of the prospectors. Gold leads men where there's neither meat nor fish. If the United States could get the Information of these gold-hunters and write it into shape, the world would know more about this great American continent than a thousand surveys like the one you are on now could give in a hundred years." FIFTY-FIVE TEARS AT THE BUSINESS. . I recalled this remark of the famous cout and guide, when years afterward. I epoke with Sam Brant in the Island of Hawaii, both of us sitting at the time on the glistening Igneous rocks that form the shore line of Kilanea's ever-burning lake. 8am Brant was, if ever there was one, a professional beach-comber and quite as proud of the name as the veteran Is of his medals When the wfcaler or merchant sailor deserts his ship in a Pacific island, he remains in hiding till the inevitable search Is over and the vessel sails, and then he makes friends with the natives, who rarely betray the refugee in their midst. The deserter marries and soon acquires the language, and drops into the customs of -the peoule, but It is not till years have brought forgetfulness and secur , -f Is Taking in five different uww umcrvut $1.00 Extra heavy Ladles' Cloth Winter Skirts, heavy embroidered borders, S-lnck double raffles, regular price II; during this - Ladles' fine Vict 55' toes, in lace or Demon, witn or witnout spring heel, very stylish and dressy, regular price daring this sale., Ken's French Calf in very latest style lace ana congress, ly same mater, regular price M; saie.. ....... 19' Men's seamless fast black Hose, full finished, high spliced heel, made in Germany by Crollcb, regular price loci during mis saie Department Store, Ease RockerEconomy ity that he ventures to the shore where a ship casts anchor. When I met Sam Brant he told me he was 71 years of age, though he might have passed for 50, he was so straight, strong and supple. "I've been a beach-comber out here in the Pacific." he explained, as we sat looklne at the fiery waves below us and smoking our pipes, "for Just fifty-1 five years. I began when I was is. Why did I start? Well, It's the old story. I was born at Sag Harbor, L. I., My father and mother died when I was 15, and, as I was my own master, I signed articles and ahipped on the whaler John Adams. Why, in those days there was no kerosene that the world knowed of, and so whaling wait the business. At one time there was over seven hundred whalers, mostly Yankees, out in the ocean. "When I first shipped, it was with the notion that one day I'd be a master myself, but then I was a boy and a fool. The captain of the Adams was a man named Phipps, very nice and smooth on shore, but a hog when out to sea. We hadn't doubled the Cape when another boy and me made up our minds to desert the first chance, and that chance came in the Bay of Islands, in Northern New Zealand. We married and lived with the natives for two years. Then a war broke out. We were suspected, and Tom Davison, my chum was killed. My wife warned roe, and I lit out and made my way south to Auckland. There I shipped on an Englishman bound for Fiji. This captain was worse than Phipps, so I deserted with a Scotchman named Ross, and we married and lived with the Fijians till the missionaries came. Then we left." ' I asked him if his departure was due to the missionaries, and Brant said that he did not dislike them personally, bat that wherever they went, powder and "square face" rum followed. ' The story of the man's Ufa, as out o o o o o b o p. b pi ' '0 Q . the Town by Storm 50' Kid Shoes, patent leather tip. trimmed. Goodyear welt In cola, razor and sqnare ana square $1.T3 Shoes, turned, elegantly finished. toes, ceieoraiea rackara mite, in Kara mue, in $2.25 also in patent learner in ciotn tops or cia, during this . .. . ... V Men's extra heavy Outing Flannel Shirts, 4 in come In medium light colors, ntil patterns, 1 U regular price 35o; during this 1 saie- i i . ,. Men's extra heavy ranchers' Twilled Shirts, tn double yoke in back, to inches long, in all -4 vj u colon and stripes, regular price lacr J , during this sale ' Men's Jersey Ribbed Australian Wool Under- trgr. wear, satin front parl buttons, extra piece lc around neck, double sewed, regular price I 11.24 a garment; durlni this sale . 9 W 8 m lined to me, was one of the most Interesting I had ever heard. During his lone career la the Pacific he had been In a dozen or more islands, and knew as marly heathen religions. Whenever he took his departure, he left behind him children and at least one wife. "But they didn't need much clothes and could get all they wanted to eat, so that it didn't much matter where I went," he said by way of explaining his seeming neglect of duty. At this time Brant had a wife in the Famine group of islands. He had come up to Honolulu for a change, and was about to return to his last wife and last lot of children ina few days. , But Brant, as I afterward found, was too well-traveled and too Intelligent a man to be regarded as a fair type of the Polynesian beach-comber. The great majority Of these men are ignorant, degraded, cruel and in every way immoral. Their influences on the simple-minded and hospitable natives is of the very worst character. The cruelty of captains has, without doubt, driven many good men to desertion, but my own investigations lead me to believe that a majority of these self -exiled outcasts from the world were incited to change by a love of ease, a dislike for law and hard work, in addition to a craving for that form of sensuality which It would be an Insult to the lower animals to call brutal-It is these beach-combers, rather than the natives of any Polynesian island or group, that most need the efforts of our churches. They are not only barriers to the progress of these Eden-like lands, but the tendency of their example Is degrading, even to the most bloodthirsty savage. Some day, and that not In the far future, the civilized world, when planning for the religious and commercial betterment of this rich field, must reckon with the beach-comber and his tncreaslnr offspring. ... ALFRED R. CALHOUN.
