First published in 1967

The period between the years 1890 and 1893 in Samoa was marked by civil war between the rival factions of Malietoa and Matafa, ending, as all the world knows, in the overthrow and deportation of the latter chief.

The author, partisan feeding in the struggle, shared with Robert Louis Stevenson, his neighbour of Vailima, resulted in the extension of an intimacy with the Samoan people and their chiefs.

This text forms his account of his experiences and investigations in the Caroline Islands.