Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-09-06
PACIFIC ISLANDS.
The Romance and Character of Their
lands, People and PrOducts-Coral
Reefs and ], 400 Miles i'm Canoes.


Captain Simpson, who has been ex
ploring the Pacific Ocean for the past
five years, has lately delivered a mos
interesting lecture at Sherborne, in
England, upon the islands and the DOB
ulatlons which he visited in his travels
he has given very curious details about
the Saloman Islands, about which very
little Is known. It has been believed
by Darwin and other sages, that al
these islands Uere once united and
formed a continent. Some of them
were coral, others basalts, or of volcanic
form alton. Several of them are sur
rounded by coral reefs of 800 or 400
miles, in the interior of which are four
or tive large islands. The real volcanic
islands have reefs very near their
shores. The sea between New Guinea
and Australia being on a single bottom
level, anchor may be sunk in any place,
and there is no doubt that these
two countries were once united.
These islands are inhabited by
two distinct races, though there
are a great variety of inhabitants.
One is that people which inhabit the
Carolina, Marshall and Gilbert islands.
who are Malays with long, straight and
generally black hair. The others are
the Payuans, race with woolly and
crisped hair. The Tongans, the New
Zealanders and the Samoans are mix
lures of the two races. According to a
tradition of the New Zealanders, they
came either from Samoa or from
Tonga. The people of these islands are
expert navigators. They sometimes
start off for six months in a fotilla of
canoes, and travel several hundred
miles in that manner. Upon one of
the Saloman Islands Capt. Simpson
met seven men and four or five wo-
men, who had started in canoes upon a
voyage of 400 miles. At the Strong
Islands he saw one of the most aston
ishing constructions in the world; it is
of stone, twenty feet in length, roughly
hewn, and is surrounded by immense
trenches. He questioned the tribes OF
this island in vain upon the traditions
of the country. The island is inhabit-
ed by q degenerate race.
The connection of the ISL
anders with the Europeans is very
disadvantageous to the former; they
have contracted habits of drunkenness
and other vices, which has caused a
rapid depopulation. Ten years ago the
Strong Islands had 1000 inhabitants;
In 1874 they were reduced to $50. The
islanders are very simple and quiet in
their ways.
When Capt. Simpson visited the
house of the king, he found his wife,
charming little woman, seated before
an embroidery stand. She spoke Eng
iish very yell, and was very afable and
polite; but later, when he bought four
COWS for his ships, he noticed that one
of them was that of the wife of the
American missionary, and that it had
been stolen by His Majesty. Upon the
island he was struck with
the difference between the two people.
Upon this island, one mile and 3 half
in length and one mile in width, and
which is of stone, he found 1000 in
and he attributes this fact to
the isolation in which they live, far
from all white people. They are very
inof ensive, and have never even seen
a man-of-war. A pirate in whose pur-
suit the captain had been sent, paid
pension to the chief as long as he
needed it, and they lived in the best
ding. go
The inhabitants own great many tor
toises, weighing as much as 800 pounds
apiece, and which they willingly part
with for pinch of tobacco. They are
Of a far more robust temperam ent than
those who have been In continual rela-
tons with Europeans. Captain Simp-
son also visited the beautiful island of
Lugona, the inhabitants of which are
very simple. They are very black and
wear long hair. The men particularly
pay great attention to their hair, and
delight in ornamenting it with flowers.
Women wear theirs short, and are not
allowed to appear in public. The cap
tain saw savages on another island.
of the same race as those
Of Lugona, who would not allow white
people to land upon their shores. They
even attacked a German brig which at
tempted to approach them, but were
obliged to fly, after having escaped from
great danger.
Capt. Simpson landed during the
nighttime; the savages were so fright-
ened that they immediately fled to an
other island. The captain made tour
of the place and found thirty or forty
canoes. He vainly tried to approach
the savages by showing them presents
of pearls, necklaces, mirrors, etc.; but
they could not make up their minds to
admit white people among them. These
savages are almost entirely naked, and
their arms are lances, sings and stones.
Capt. Simpson managed to get posses
sion of an earring, which he took from
the ear of savage; it is sort of tor
toise shell chain, two yards in length.
They bore great holes in their ears, and
also in the skin of their necks, to sup
port the weight of these earrings. The
natives of the island Of New Hanover
know nothing either of tobacco or of
Europeans. What caused them the
greatest astonishment was the frag-
ment of an old number of newspaper.
Any thing conld be obtained from them
with a piece Of paper. He asked q
savage If paper was a precious thing.
"Oh, yes" he was answered; /" this pa
per is worth several excellent women 7"
Upon the island of New Britain the in
habitants were very suspicious. They