Book Description

Letter, dated June 13, 1881 aboard the USS Lackawanna in Papeete, Tahiti, from her captain S.H. Gillis, to Rear Admiral Thomas H. Stevens, commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific, briefing him on the movements of the "Lackawanna," and on the political situation in Tahiti. After leaving the Marquesa Islands on June 5, the "Lackawanna" arrives in the port of Papeete on the island of Tahiti on June 9, where several French ships are also anchored. Capt. Gillis reports that both the French and the Polynesian natives are very friendly to the Americans, and suggests that U.S. vessels cruising the Pacific visit Tahiti regularly. He discusses the struggle between the French and the English for control of the Leeward Islands, where the French flag now flies, although against the will of the natives. The French government also controls the island of Tahiti, and pays the king Pomane V a salary of $12,000 a year. Capt. Gillis concludes by noting that there are three churches on Tahiti--two Protestant and one Catholic--with only 300 natives claiming to be Catholic. He leaves that same day, June 13, for Raiatéa and the Samoan Islands, and will be in contact with Admiral Stevens from Apia.