The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-08-21
Life on a Guano Island.
It's Chmate-Gu1no Dust SpoutS-Ihe
!SG SheHs-ArrIrai Of a Chinese ~Junk-ASiny
and Aketr-A Story Of Shiprreck.
- BAKERS ISLAND. Pacific OcEAS,1
Saturday, Feb. Is, 1869.

IJtktEE l-AtAAa - EAAdaltl Ou III I<Nu1NDl y bal
its climate docs not correspond in intensity will
the popular notions of equatorial heat. Famed
by the continual ocean bTeezes it is les torrid
than many n region far removed from "the
burning line"
To one fresh from the rigors and sudden changes
81 the impetuous climate OF America, that OF
Bakers Island might, indeed, ut first seem debll.
itatIng; but one fond of warm weather would
soon find in the balmy air Of this place such
yigor, health and renewal of life as De Soto and
his companions voyaged to find in the FlOridian
fountain of perpetual youth. For, though cold
braces, warmth stimulates.
At no time during my stay here has the heat
been excessive. Even when the thermometer
shows n temperature Of 90 Fahrenheit, which
Is an unfr, quent occurrence, one does not feel the
heat oppressively for the immense body of water
surrounding the island, and the unceasing breath
of the trade-wind, which comes laden with oceans
zest and fragrance, rob it of the arid. parcbing
quality which deserts of the continent possess.
These trade-winds are the very breath of
Heaven. When they move over the waters there
is life and vigor. When they die, the spirit sinks.
hen, however, the suns rays beat down pitt
lcssly from n cloudless zenith upon the glittering
sand, the effect is binding, and the eye needs
protection Us much from the reflected rs from the
direct rays of Heaven. Then both the shore and
the sea become dazzling mirrors that torture the
sense of sight.
Days occur, however, every two or three weeks,
that are notable exceptions to the usually COM
Portable temperature Of this island. At such
times the trade-wind dies away, the atmosphere
becomes close and oven-like, and the air is mo-
tionless, save as the whole ornament auiyers
with vibrations Of heat. But this quiet is not of
long duration for soon n strong wind strikes the
Island and lifts before it n cloud of guano dust
that obscures the light of the sun, and even blots
out the island from the sight of the ships at the
anchorage. This storm of dust lasts bat for a
few minutes. 1t is quickly succeeded by n pour
ing rain, by which the island is as completely
hidden as it was by the dust.
The digging of the guano has to be suspended
for n short time after these showers, which drcnch
the surface so completely that the agents, attentive
To their employers interests, decline To receive il,
owing to its undue gain in weight. But eyapo-
ration is rapid, and u fcw hours suffice to restore
the guano to its dry. pulvcrulcnt condition.
The amount OF rain that falls during these
short storms is considerable, and, were il possible
TO collect IL in a pure condition, 1t would amply
supply the island with fresh water. But the
guGHO-st0rm that preccdcs the rain causes the
water which runs from the roofs to be utterly
unfit for drinking purposes.
pusT-srorTs.
There is one phenomenon worthy of mention
which l have noticed several times since nv
arrival upon this island. About noon ON DAVIS
when the usual tradc-wind dies away, and n
draught Of cool air sets in from the ocean toward
the centre of the heated island, n gentle whirl-
wind is produced that sweeps together the guano
@1N $3.50 ~ sOaA4 " - tVAtAAb NAAlI oNNIitlo
higher and higher until it mingles with the
clouds. These dust-spouts continue their gyra-
tons until an uprising breeze disturbs the eaui-
poise of the nicely-balanced aerial forces, and the
stately column breaks up and ~vanisles in pulycr-
ulent clouds.
Bakers Island is n rich field for the concholo-
gist. Its reefs are stacked with sheels of rare
beauty, and each tide washes up great numbers
OF them upon the sand-beach. Join me in n
walk around this island. The tide is out and the
reef is now quite bare, making this q favorable
hour for US to start. O-pu-nu-i, my Kanaka
friend, my man Friday, carries a guano bag in
which to bring back the spoils of our adventure.
Having made the descent of the sandy bank mt
the front OF the house, we are at the edge of the
water. Let us wade in. The water is not more
than knee deep. Do not take your shoes off.
Your feet are worth more than shoes, and will
need their protection against the spines of the
" St0-urchins," (Echini,) which are long and
sharp, and would pierce your feet were you to
step on them L have seen a Kanaka's foot trans
fixed by one of these needles while wading on
this same reef. L watched the fellow for symp-
toms of tetanus, but luckily he did we'll. Look
well to your steps. The green moss that covers
the reef makes the footing very slippery. The
reef is quilted, too, by the action of the water,
as n mountain-side is worn into deep valleys by
the rains. Thirty feet from you the ravenous
sharks are swimming in the deep water outside
the reef. At high tide they come over the reef
on which we are now wading. See them as they
turn upon their sides and expose their white |
bellies to the sun, as they snap at the floating
body of u fish.
As we pass round to the north of the island
the water becomes s~hallower, and the sandy beach
stretches out over the reef.
O-pu-nu-i turns over n moss-covered stone,
partly imbedded in the sand, and out darts a
gray eel, half reptile and half fish. l put nv
foot on it to imprison it but it slips out from
nnder II rs If IL we're N spirit and ,,r;rrro. I'LL !
a snake into the nearest pool, where it is lost.
The under side of the stone is studded with
shells of chrome yellow color. Out of a dozen
which you scrape together you select three or
four that are fully grown, whose color is the
This beautiful shell (eyprga moneta) is called
the 90 cowry." 1t nbounds in the Indian Ocean,
and is used by the Mozambique negroes of the
coast of Africa as u sort of wampum.
Here. also, we find a still rarer shell Of the
genus CyPr9d, which is popularity termed the
Argos eye" from the great number of round
white spots, looking like eyes, that cover il.
This single genus of shells (Cyprqa) is repre-
'ented by no less than twelve or fifteen species
hat are found about this island.
Here lie the bleachcd shells Of mammoth
more than two feet in length, Johanna
JGgas,) whose ~scolloped jaws, when clamped to-
,cther By the living animal within, would require
he force of n crowbar and the skill of n New
York burglar to open. Their interior glistens
With pearl, making a couch ut for Aphrodite her
Doubtless it was in such a cradle as this
hell that Venus rose rcfulgcnt from the seas.
Between these rocks We see the cast-off armor
n race of immense crabs with claws as large as
'heep shears. This is the same species that flour
shes at Fanning's Island. Of these crabs it Is
'elated, perhaps in Baron Munchausen's vein,
hat they make excursions inland, and, like Pro-
essor Agassiz's climbing fish of Brazil, ascend
he tall stems of the cocoanut palm trees, to de-
our the young and tender fruit, of which they
ire very fond.
But it would need n sardnt to tell the names of
the dead relics of marine productions,
ying stranded about us. through which our feet
'runch remorselessly ut every step.
ARRIVAL OF A CHINESE JUNK.
Since my last writing, the monotony of this
'xile life has been most unexpectedly broken in
Ipon. Last Sunday morning O-pu-nu-i walked
ne, and in great excitement told me there was a
: naoku ono e." queer ship" to the windwa
lf the island. ran o,,t ON the ra-anaaL &c 49,