6 
the meals aboard, but the Captain and Tautu handsomely reciprocated 
was 
time and time again. The Capt ain -pr qv tjd,,.. t o-eg- an excellent chef, 
in addition to his other qualifications. Many v/ere the times that 
we came in, wet, bedraggled and tired, from working on the reefs, 
dredging, or seining, to find a well-prepared and appetizing lunch 
or evening meal awaiting us. 
Visiting the market with Cutress at half past five in the 
morning, v/hen it opened, was a refmrding experience. There were 
fresh fish of all kinds in great abundance, often more valuable 
to us as specimens than as provender, although we enjoyed many of 
them anyway. A profusion of vegetables, both tropical and 
temperate-zone varieties, and ripe fruits of all sorts ?/ere 
displayed for sale, and there was always a plentiful supply of 
that w'onderful French bread at five francs a loaf, the legally 
established price throughout the islands — as crisp, fresh, 
and as fragrant as any you ever bought in France., ’walking thus 
between the rows of tables and stalls filled v/ith all kinds of 
exotic foods, jostled by a noisy crowd of bargaining and gossiping 
people of the many races and mixtures that make up the populace of 
Papeete, and breathing in the intriguing odors arising from the 
fiuits and vegetables and fresh bread, mingled with the fragrance 
of the ever-present flowers worn either in the hair or hat or around 
the neck of women as well as men,(^l^/^ade^hls an ever-fascinating 
occasion. By seven-thirty the market was generally sold out and 
closed down. 
