Living in Papeete

by James Norman Hall

A few years ago, living in Papeete , the capital of Tahiti, on one occasion , I found myself so short of funds that I had to retire to a single-room hut . The hut came with land of just over three-quarters of a hectare and was less than sixty kilometers from the city. The property cost me three dollars a month to rent. Being that land so fertile , I decided to plant a vegetable garden . The experience disappointed me. Myriads of tiny red ants soon carried most of the seeds and the crabs they took care of eating the few things that were born. After three months, the only thing I could show as a reward for my work was two ears of corn whose grains had been devoured by the rats, three cherry tomatoes and a pumpkin. Adding the value of my time, at a rate of 20 cents an hour, to the expense of tools and seeds imported from the United States, I consequently found that these vegetables cost me $ 15.50 each. However, I decided to try one more time and asked the United States for a new supply of seeds.

But when I removed the weeds to prepare the ground, I saw the battalions of ants and crabs waiting . I was completely discouraged.

“ I better go back to my writing profession “ I thought.

That same afternoon, when I was busy cleaning the types of my rusty machine, a local Chinese man, named Hop Sing, passed by my house driving his cart. I knew that the Chinese had a vegetable garden where he grew sweet potatoes, watermelons, and a cornfield. So as soon as I saw him I called him and gave him the seeds. I explained to him what was in each package : Lettuce, beans, squash, tomatoes and Golden Ban corn.

More or less grumbling, the Chinese asked me:

-How much is this ?-

- Nothing . It is a small gift I give you. - I replied.

Then the man gripped the seat of his cart as if to better withstand the crash and his black eyes gleamed but he made no other gesture to reveal his emotion.

I immediately forgot about Hop Sing, worried as I was about solving the problem of how I would manage to live on a capital of 128 francs ,equivalent to about 5 dollars , until I could write and sell an article or a story . Even assuming that a manuscript sent to the United States was immediately accepted, I could not count that I would receive the paycheck within three months. I had paid the rent three months in advance but what was I going to eat? Impossible to live for three months on only 128 francs, so I decided not to rush. I spent 25 francs on tobacco (if I was going to write, I would have to smoke) and invested most of the rest of the capital in cans of meat. When the supply of meat came to an end, I would worry about it in due time , not before. Three days later I was struggling in vain to write an article about events in my life in the South Seas when a knock on the door took me out of my discouraging musings.

It was Hop Sing. From his cart he had brought me three watermelons, a bottle of wine, an egg basket and a chicken.

A gift for you - he said and left immediately.

His generous gift was a life preserver. My meat cans and my sweet potatoes fed me but I was tired of them. I immediately thought of a chicken meal , but on second thought, I opted to tie the alleged victim to a stake nailed to the patio and looking for some coconuts partly gnawed by the rats, I gave them to eat the little animal. After providing me with an omelette made with six eggs, I returned to my work as a writer, now with enthusiasm . After a few hours I finished my article.

The New Zealand monthly steamer for the United States was due to arrive at Papeete very early the next morning and I resolved to personally take my manuscript to the ship. To save money I went on foot to the village. Strengthened with another scramble of six eggs and a glass of wine, I set off. It was a bright moonlit night and following the winding path, I admired the silvery steam of the falls that scalloped on tall cliffs. Above the coral reefs, great ridges erupted in white lines of fire. Echoes of French and Tahitian songs came from indigenous huts with guitar and accordion accompaniment. Towards midnight I felt hungry again. When passing in front of a straw hut, an old native of the place offered me something to eat that he and his wife roasted on the coals of a bonfire made of boards thrown into the sea. It was a delicious dish .To my great surprise, I learned from the old man that it was land crabs, the same plague that had helped to ruin my garden and mapé nuts, abundant in my home. I did not know you could eat them . He taught me to hunt the crabs with a fishing tackle using hibiscus leaves as bait.

I arrived in Papeete at dawn just as the steam entered the bay. At the post office I put my precious package in the mail with a prayer then I ate breakfast frugally. I was walking along the motley boardwalk, when a small, bald and chubby Chinese man ran up to me.

- Do you know hop sing? - he asked .

- Yes , Hop Sing live near me.- I replied .

- Hop Sing is my brother-in-law. He told me that you gave him seeds. I have a store there and pointed towards a street. When are you going home? -

this morning, by bus - I replied.

He said "Goodbye " and disappeared.

While waiting for the bus, I sat at the bum bench , usually occupied by the misguided from all over the world, waiting for letters with money that hardly ever came.

In three months, I will also be sitting here, sharing the same weak hope. Anyway, I would have nine francs left after paying the bus fare , with crabs and mapé nuts I would not perish from starvation and in the meantime I would work hard on my writing.

When I got off the bus near my house, the driver gave me a box.

- You are wrong .That is not mine.- I said .

He explained that a Chinese man had paid to transport the box to my house. Opening the lid I found a card written in pencil :

"Mr. Hall, for you. Li Fat " . In the box were two pounds of chocolates, a bottle of champagne, two silk scarves, and a pair of silk pijamas, too.

I lowered the champagne into the cistern to keep it cool, then I went to see my chicken. She had untied herself .I found her under the stairs at the back of the house, where she had laid an egg and was heating it up. The egg was unfertilized, so I took it out, made a nest of straw and laid the other five eggs from the Hop Sing 's gift. Then the chicken threw herself on them with clucking satisfaction.

Because of my worries and the diet of canned meat and sweet potatoes, I had become very thin, but in six weeks with the chance of the diet I gained 7 kilos. Meanwhile, my hen hatched five chicks. Absorbed in crab fishing and the attention to the chickens and my writing task, I had forgotten about the champagne. But one day when the owner of the house and several of his children came to visit me, I shared it with them and gave the children the Li Fat ‘s chocolates. In the morning I found at my door a bunch of bananas and a bag of orange and mango . From then on , I never lacked fruit or fish, which the landlord and his wife gave me. I was overwhelmed with so many benefits and remembered with gratitude that I owed it all to Hop Sing.

His garden was already blooming and he promised to have a good harvest under his patient care. Hop Sing was a baker and farmer. Four times a week he left a toast filled with pineapple on my door. Nothing I could say exhausted the spring of his gratitude for my little gift of seeds.

The third steam that was to come since I had mailed my manuscript was expected almost before I realised it. Again I went to town and waited at the bum bench for the mail to be distributed. Finally, gathering up courage, I went to the distribution window. First the girl said there was nothing for me. But when I was leaving, she asked me my name again.

-Yes , there is a letter. Fifty cents are owed.- she said .

After paying them, I only had one piece of 25 cents left, the smallest currency in French Oceania. But the letter had an acceptance letter for my manuscript and a check for $ 500!

To me it was a capital ! with such a sum I could live for several years. On the other hand, it would allow me to leave Tahiti and I knew very well that if I didn't leave now, perhaps I would never have enough money for the ticket . I began to wander the streets with the agony of indecision. Finally, when the town clock struck two, I made the decision. I would go .

On the day of my departure, Hop sing and Li Fat came to see me off. Hop Sing's parting gift was a basket of large tomatoes and a dozen Goldem Batam corn cobs , the first seed fruit I had given him. With smiles they said the last goodbyes to me when the boat left the dock.

I asked the cabin boy to make me prepare the corn for lunch. My only table companion was a tall, lean man with a mustache and a bilious complexion. He sat down without even saying hello. From the careless expression on his face, I judged that it was difficult to please him on the subject of food. When they brought the steaming cobs, he looked at them in surprise, pushed the rest of the lunch aside, and took it with them. After finishing the third, he took another and said:

-Waiter , where does this corn come from? It is not in the menu .-

-It's a gift from the gentleman sitting in front of you.

He looked at me quickly as if only then had he noticed my presence.

- Thank you very much, sir. - he said abruptly.

When I got up from the table, he was still eating corn. I was on the deck, half an hour later, watching the mountains of Tahiti disappear below the horizon, when my table mate approached me.

- Young man - he told me - it was delicious. I ate six corn cobs ! You see, I'm dyspeptic, and corn is one of the few things I can eat without hurting me. Now tell me about your island. I did not go ashore. A place is not worth visiting in six hours.-

I told him about the beauty of the island and the life of the natives and at last I suspended fearing to tire him out.

-None of that - he insisted. It is obvious that you have had an interesting experience and have used your eyes and ears well. Have you never tried to write? -

I explained that writing was my profession and when he asked me to show him some of my work, I brought him six short manuscripts. He settled into his deck chair. I left him alone for an hour and when I returned he said:

-These four are good . How much do you want for them? I forgot to tell you that I am the manager of a journalistic union in the United States.-

I was preparing to ask him if he thought it was too much $ 100 for the four of them, when he interrupted me:

-I give you 150 dollars for each one. Is that okay?-

I agreed saying that it was a very satisfactory price.

That night, remembering the streak of good luck that I had had since I gave Hop Sing the gift of the seeds and I wondered if something like that had ever given him such an abundant reward.

And it all came from seeds that were worth a dollar !