Beach of Falesa" and the "Isle of Voices" are
probably the two most famous, while "the strange story of the loss of
the brigantine Wandering Minstrel and what men and ships do in that wild
and beautiful world beyond the American continent" formed a plot for
the story called "The Wrecker," which he and Lloyd Osbourne wrote
together later on.

Samoa was a place he was eager to visit. King Kalakaua at Honolulu had
already told him much of its troubled history. The group of thirteen
islands lay about four thousand two hundred miles southwest of San
Francisco. At that time they were under the control of England, Germany,
and the United States according to a treaty entered into in 1889. These
countries appointed a chief justice, a president of the municipal
council, three consuls, and three land commissioners. A native king was
likewise recognized on each island.

This triple control proved most unsatisfactory and for years past there
had been constant friction among the officials and warlike outbreaks
among the natives.

These complications interested Stevenson. His first idea had been to
stop there but a short time. He now found he wanted to remain in Samoa
long enough to write its history.

The Samoans are true Polynesians; a strong and handsome race whose
reputation is high among all the people of the Pacific. The large
majority have become Christians, but in spite of the influence of the
missionaries and the foreign powers who control them, they retain many
of their old customs and habits. They are naturally peace-loving in
spite of their many wars. Fighting does not appeal to them for its own
sake, and they enjoy a good family life, treating their women with great
respect and lavishing affection upon their children.

Stevenson wanted those at home to know these people better; his
sympathy, which was ever with the weaker side, was instantly aroused in
behalf of the natives, and he wanted to tell their side of the story.

If they were to make a home anywhere in the South Seas there could be no
better spot than Apia, the principal port and capital of these islands,
as it had a good mail service, a most important feature to a writer.
The monthly mail-steamers between San Francisco and Sydney, as well as
other Australian mail-boats, stopped there.

So he purchased four hundred acres on the hills three miles from Apia
and preparations were immediately made for clearing the ground and
building a house. Lloyd Osbourne l