#taipivai

[timetolearnoclock]

tree of life - cash in hand

“Nuku Hiva coconut, dried on a pig-proof platform, becomes the copra of commerce. The stately palm shades and feeds the Polynesian, makes his baskets, twine, and fans, kindles his fires. Its nutty drink slakes his thirst. It is more than the ancestral Tree of Life; it is cash in hand.”

Quote taken from original text included with the image in the magazine

January 1950

[timetolearnoclock]

palms and pinnacles

“Palms and pinnacles ring Hatiheu Bay on Nuku Hiva. On a dark night the photographer saw the skipper guide Vaitere into the cove by taking a sight on these lava plugs. Children on the beach represent a pitiful fraction of the happy, spirited thousands whom Capt. David Porter found on Nuku Hiva in 1813. Porter, commander of the frigate Essex in the war of 1812, ran up the American flag, called the island Madison, and took possession in the name of the United States. In an amazing campaign - guns against war clubs - he defeated the cannibal tribes. Sailing away Porter was captured by the British. A garrison he left ashore was destroyed in a rebellion. Finally, the United States declined to ratify the annexation. France later took over.”

Quote taken from original text included with the image in the magazine

January 1950