This name, as I have said,
is of peculiar honour; it had been given to, it had never been taken
from, the exiled Laupepa; those in whose grant it lay, stood punctilious
upon their rights; and Tamasese, as the representative of their natural
opponents, the Tupua line, was the last who should have had it. And
there was yet more, though I almost despair to make it thinkable by
Europeans. Certain old mats are handed down, and set huge store by; they
may be compared to coats of arms or heirlooms among ourselves; and to the
horror of more than one-half of Samoa, Tamasese, the head of the Tupua,
began collecting Malietoa mats. It was felt that the cup was full, and
men began to prepare secretly for rebellion. The history of the month of
August is unknown to whites; it passed altogether in the covert of the
woods or in the stealthy councils of Samoans. One ominous sign was to be
noted; arms and ammunition began to be purchased or inquired about; and
the more wary traders ordered fresh consignments of material of war. But
the rest was silence; the government slept in security; and Brandeis was
summoned at last from a public dinner, to find rebellion organised, the
woods behind Apia full of insurgents, and a plan prepared, and in the
very article of execution, to surprise and seize Mulinuu.
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