ARMY & NAVY: At Pago Pago

Cruising, cruising, the U. S. fleet (TIME, July 13) steamed on and came to Pago, Pago,* Samoa. Anchors were tripped. The first lap of the journey to Australia was completed. Refueling was undertaken, and again the fleet took to the high seas. The voyage from Hawaii to Samoa was broken by frequent maneuvers. The only incident of note took place when an officer, Lieutenant Harry J. Noble of the Medical Corps, aboard the destroyer Ludlow became ill. He diagnosed his case as appendicitis. The Ludlow turned on its course and ran back 30 miles to the hospital ship Relief (which had fallen out of formation because of machinery trouble). The water was too rough to launch one of the destroyer’s boats, but an ambulance boat was sent from the Relief and the sick man lowered into it. Aboard the Relief, he was operated on and reported recovering. On the green before the Pago Pago School, Chief Tupelos, barefooted and dressed in a huge brown helmet, batwing collar, four-in-hand tie, brown pongee coat and a cigar in his mouth, led 500 droning singers and nimble dancers for a sava (song and dance contest) for the amusement of the fleet. Despite his 250 Ibs., the chief danced most gracefully. In a brilliant, colorful fatiguing pageant the natives danced themselves half dead the while reciting endlessly the history of Samoa.

* Scene of Rain, famed play which is now running in London.