THEY CALL THEM SAVAGES By Aletta Lewis The author, who
is an artist, went to American Samoa to paint pictures of native life. To get a proper understanding of her subject, she lived for a time in a village where she was the only white person, and while not exactly going native, joined in the life of the community as far as possible. The Samoans being no longer savages—" they " who still call them so are, one suspects,blishers who know the sales-value of the word—Miss Lewisvr seems to have had a pleasant time, having to endure nothing worse that the inevitable discom- forts the primitive domestic arrangements involved. The villagers found her sympathetic, she made friends, had a shot at learning the local dances, and the chief finally made her feel really at home by appointing her a taupo, or Chief Virgin. There is little in her book (Methuen, 8s. 6d.) that we have not read before. She does not pretend to have done any original anthropological research. But as a . simple un- adorned account of the life and customs of a " pacified " south-sea island village, it can be recommended. There are illustrations by the author.
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