242 MYSTIC ISLES 



of the consul, born in Persia, we were quite at ease. 



Both consuls were usually worried because of the re- 

 fusals of crews of vessels flying their flags to leave 

 Tahiti, complaints of the police of the misconduct of 

 their nationals, or appeals for assistance from impe- 

 cunious or spendthrift tourists. It was an every-week 

 happening for sailors of American vessels and of the 

 New Zealand steamships to flee to the distant districts or 

 to Moorea, to live in a breadfruit grove with dryads who 

 asked no vows, or to escape the grind of work and dis- 

 cipline at sea. 



They must be pursued by the French gendarmes, 

 under the warrant of their own flag, caught, and sent 

 in irons aboard their ships, with fees paid by their 

 furious captains. Many times the chase was futile, so 

 well did the dryads secrete them, and the natives of the 

 district abet the offense. To a Tahitian an amorous 

 adventure, either as principal or aid, is half of life, and 

 he would risk his liberty and property to thwart, in his 

 opinion, hard and stupid officials who wanted to sep- 

 arate loving hearts. 



We talked about the kinds of men, other than these 

 sailors, who made Tahiti their playground, to the an- 

 noyance of their consuls. Crime among the Tahitians 

 was almost unknown. A petty theft rarely happened. 

 They were never paupers, for their own people cared for 

 them, and unless absolutely mat-ridden, they could find 

 food on the trees about them. The whites — and not 

 the French whites either — caused the trouble, and but 

 for them M. Lontane might have left off his revolver 

 and club. 



"There is a type of Britisher," said the consul, "who 



