Old Samoan Days. 
199 
to him by Gafalua, who, in his turn, gazed with 
astonishment at the doctor as he noticed him 
tying a large steel “ Kirby ” to the end of his 
line. “ No good,” says Gafalua, “ fish Samoa 
no like black hook; Samoa fish-hook very 
good,” and displaying to the doctor a large 
mother-of-pearl fish hook, a marvel of ingenuity 
and strength. However, the doctor thought 
his way best, and so off we go. My young 
friends had not forgotten to bring me a pair of 
native sandals, woven from the tough fibre of 
the coconut, and once much used in Samoa; so, 
discarding my boots, I tied on the sandals in the 
orthodox manner, eliciting from the natives the 
laudatory exclamation, Si tagata Samoa , lava — 
“ Like a son of the soil.” 
Then, all being in readiness, we start for the 
reef. 
The deep, calm waters of the pool are 
protected on three sides by the coral reef; on 
the seaward side there is a narrow passage, just 
wide enough for a small craft to sail through, 
and through this the spent billows of the Pacific 
roll lazily and sink to rest in the quiet depths 
of the lagoon waters. We make our way over 
