ND FANGALII (_November--December_
1888) 112

IX. "FUROR CONSULARIS" (_December_ 1888 _to March_ 1889) 128

X. THE HURRICANE (_March_ 1889) 142

XI. LAUPEPA AND MATAAFA (1889-1892) 156

ISLAND NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS

The Beach of Falesa:

I. A SOUTH SEA BRIDAL 193

II. THE BAN 206

III. THE MISSIONARY 228

IV. DEVIL-WORK 240

V. NIGHT IN THE BUSH 258

THE BOTTLE IMP 275

THE ISLE OF VOICES 311

A FOOTNOTE TO HISTORY

EIGHT YEARS OF TROUBLE IN SAMOA

PREFACE

An affair which might be deemed worthy of a note of a few lines in any
general history has been here expanded to the size of a volume or large
pamphlet. The smallness of the scale, and the singularity of the manners
and events and many of the characters, considered, it is hoped that, in
spite of its outlandish subject, the sketch may find readers. It has
been a task of difficulty. Speed was essential, or it might come too
late to be of any service to a distracted country. Truth, in the midst
of conflicting rumours and in the dearth of printed material, was often
hard to ascertain, and since most of those engaged were of my personal
acquaintance, it was often more than delicate to express. I must
certainly have erred often and much; it is not for want of trouble taken
nor of an impartial temper. And if my plain speaking shall cost me any
of the friends that I still count, I shall be sorry, but I need not be
ashamed.

In one particular the spelling of Samoan words has been altered; and the
characteristic nasal _n_ of the language written throughout _ng_ instead
of _g_. Thus I put Pango-Pango, instead of Pago-Pago; the sound being
that of soft _ng_ in English, as in _singer_, not as in _finger_.

R.L.S.

VAILIMA,
UPOLU,
SAMOA.

EIGHT YEARS OF TROUBLE IN SAMOA

CHAPTER I

THE ELEMENTS OF DISCORD: NATIVE

The story I have to tell is still going on as I write; the characters
are alive and active; it is a piece of contemporary history in the most
exact sense. And yet, for a