The Cruise of the Kawa: Wanderings in the South Seas

rtistic duel. Whinney's deplorable condition. An assembly

ously than they did either of us. Of course, since the Kawa's forcible entry

dencies. "Artless art," was his formula, often expressed by his slogan-"A bas l'objectif! Vive le subjonctif." Wh

ne which he proposed to paint and, bending over until his head almost

he color," he exp

ows"-by which he was loudly acclaimed. Whinney and I used to sing, "He's alwa

een in the women's compound; again he would stage a scene of feasting, at which the men passed foaming shells of hoopa from hand to hand. A difficulty was that of preven

ugin!" he u

to look at Gaugi

s of his camera-foolishly, I say, though the result w

In a darkroom of closely woven panjandrus leaves the films were developed and a

allenged the scientist to mortal combat, an arti

udge, his decision was to be final, which should have warned Whinney, who, as the ch

g's gray and I can beat him a mile on gray; secondly, there won't be a gang of people around, and, thirdly,

n I explained the conditions

Lagoon at Dawn (W

n Note: THE

ey's V

s so deserted. An hour after this photograph was taken more than three thousand natives were assembled to witness the judging of the exhibits. In the small hours of night, the entire strand is covered with pita-oolas, or giant land-crabs, about the size of manhole c

ntime Whinney was dodging about with his camera, squinting in the finder, without finding anything-one never does-peering at the brightening sky, holding his thumb at arm's length, [Footnote: In Southern Peru the same gesture used to signify contempt and derision.] in a word going throu

nny," he crooned, "

hem for you,"

me aside.

g his canvas by squeezing the paint directly from the tubes, a method which has since been copied by many others-the "Tubistes" so called. Every few moments he

aabaa and Hitoia-Upa snored; Swank worked and I, from

he crest of dark palms unmoved, "like a Turk verse along a scimitar." The waters of the lagoon, a mirror of molten amber, refl

y colors-consequently his rendering of the opalescent

red. Where I felt the hushed presence of dawn "like a pilgrim clad," Swank vi

color hypnotism

as. "Zow! Bam! Ooh, la la!" His shrieks roused his escorts and brought a rapidly swelling crowd to the du

e Judgment. Baahaabaa had sent invitations by express swimmers

ree whence we watched the convergent argosies, hundreds of tiny specks each bearing

ana lohoo-a" c

formation, the enclosing sides being formed by swimmers carrying a web of woven har

e Lagoon at Dawn

n Note: THE

k's V

to it. In the beauty of nature about him it is evident that the great artist felt only the dominant feature of island life, the glorious, untrammeled womanhood of the South Seas. The wild abandon, the primitive gesture of modesty, the eyes of adoration-symbolically expressed as detached entities

hter, and the resounding slap of friendly hand on visiting hip or shoulder, the dignified welcome of the chiefs, cries of children, dances and games,

uch curiosity-and admiration. Hundreds of times

I should like to make you acquainte

e greeting. Hundreds of times did I raise the welcoming hoopa-shell with the usual s

g for pearls which rolled on the purple floor. As I think now of the value of those milky globes, the si

lustre for an instant and its perfect roundness acquiredfrom the incessant rolli

making ready to dive, bu

utiaa!"-"Look out! T

ourselves by sucking the eggs of the liho, a bland-faced bird which makes its nest in the surface coral branches. [Footnote: The liho is in many respects the most remarkable fowl in existence. It is of the gallinaris or hen-family crossed with the male shad which

ace. At top speed we swam ashore and joined the crowd. For once I was glad that literatur

nt conferred on the Bahia of Persia the title of "The Bab of

Captain Triplett, on his left Hanuhonu, the ranking visitor, and all about retinues of nobles, with their superb families, groups of dancers, slim and

ll the time. I can conscientiously claim that he is the champion long-distance

"we are met to witness the emulation of f

t, in this corner, Wano

in a Box" (this was p

ile in this corner, w

. Both boys are memb

to rise and kiss his finger-tips toward the audien

ng to advantage. The two pictures were placed against tufts of haro at forty yards distance where, naturally, the detail of the photograph lo

to his composition where no figures had existed. "What do I care?" he said to my o

. But it was plain to see whom the shouting was for. Then Baahaabaa made the awards and-the prizes were identical-two royal rigolos of moth

's photograph seems to me to reproduce more completely my memories of "The Lagoon at Dawn." But I may be wrong. Modern artists w