Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1895-11-30
Jenson's Travels.
LETTER no. XVI.

have families. BY all these the Elders
are treated with considerable kindness
and consideration. and one of them at
least Is investigating the principles OF
Tue Gospel. There are live Church
buildings 10 Mua, Catholic and 10
guar Wesleyan. The Free Church
meet IN native house, but is about to
build church. The Catholic priest Is a
white man-French, the other ministers
i are all natives The island ot Tonga.
iabu contains about sixty native villages
altogether, all Of which have been visit
ed repeatedly by our Elders, and meet.
lngs have been held IN most Of them
~ September last T. defs Alonzo d..
Merrill and Alfred NJ. Durham also
visited the neighboring island Of Eua
and preached the Gospel there. That
ISLAND has five villages and over three
hundred inhabitants The brethren
named, during their visit, held one meet.
ing and bofetestimonies IN every village.
The Tougan or Friendly Islands, lie
about five hundred miles southeast OF
the FIJI Islands, and about the same dis.
lance south Of Samoa The distance
rom Nukualoia, the capital to Auckland,
New Zealand Is about one thousand
miles, and to Sydney Australia, seven
teen hundred miles. The Islands are
divided into three sub groups, by two
vide channels. In the southern cluster
lies 'Tongaiabu, the largest island Of the
archipelago. They are surrounded by
dangerous reefs. The natives belong.
ing to the lair Polynesian race, com.
pare favorably with other South. Sea
Islanders In mental development, In the
structure OF their dwellings, and pre-.
paratiOn OF their implements, weapons,
dress, ETC., bctrayng considerable skill
and dcxtefity. The islands are all low,
consisting either Of raised coral VI vol.
canic deposits, and there are still several
active volcanoes among them. Tufoa,
to the west OF flaapai Is always smok.
ing; Late, southwest OF Vavai, Is also
active occasionally, as is Amurgufa, to
the northwest; and there are several
other extinct cones.
The Tongan dialect IS harsher than
the Samoan, and Is supposed to have
been influenced by contact and intefmix.
tute with the Fiiiaus. The people have
all been converted to some sort Of
Christianity many years ago. but, as in
almost every other instance, they are
diminishing In numbers. In ISl7 the
population was estimated by the mission
aries II 80, 600 or $4,000. which has now
diminished to less than 10000. The
chic exports are cocoa. nuts, oranges,
bananas and pine apples. while ships
obtain ample supplies OF other vcge-
tables. The people rank as first class
boat'builders and sailors, visiting in
times past all the adjacent groups in
their iine canoes.
The foregoing Is taken from an old
geographical work. and the following is
culled from the Rev. Thomas Vests
Ten years In South Central Polynesia"
an excellent work OF 500 pages, publish
ed IN London, England, in 1865 This
and WIN Mariners Tonga" written
by John Martin and published In Lon.
don In 1918, appear to be the best
works ever published on the Friendly
Islands. Nothing important has been
issued from the press Ia regard to
Tonga OF late years, except some letters
written by The Vagabond" for the
Melbourne Leader, which subsequently
appeared IN pamphlet form, enbilled
Holy Tonga but is said to be uureli-
able.
The Tongan Islands comprehend
three principal and well defined Etoups.
Fifteen OF the Islands rise to a consider.
able height; thirty-tve are moderately
elevated. aud the rest are low. The
three divisions are known as the Tonga
tabu, the Haapai and the Navau Islands.
The Iongatabu group contains Tonga,
the chief and largest island, from which
the group Is named and which by way
oil distinction and eminence Is most
generally called Tongalabu, which means
Tonga the Sacred, This island Is about
iorty'tive miles long and from seven to
eight miles wide, IL is situated between
latitude ~ and az 40 south. and longi.
tude i7S' and I750 40 west and contains
Nakualoia, the capital Of the kingdom
OF Tonga. Next in importance is Eua,
situated about eleven miles southeast OF
Tongatabu. II Is thirteen miles long by
about SIX miles In breadth, aud atialns
an elevation IN some places OF nearly |
six hundred feet. There are also about |
twenty small islands surrounding the |
two above named, Of which Eueiki, |
Bagaimotu, Atata and Faia are the |
largest With the single exception OF |
Eua, none OF the Tongatabu group
reach any considerable elevation.
The Haapai Islands are separated |
from the Tongatabu group by about |
thirty miles OF clear sea at their nearest |
point, from whence they extend north. |
ward over distance OF seventy miles. |
The whole group IS composed Of fifty |
seven Islands, most Of which are small, |
lying between latitude ig' IS and 7oe |
as south, aud between longitude I74o
TO- and I75o 10 west. A few only are |
inhabited. The whole group Is inlersect- |
ed by alternate reefs and deep sea chan. |
nels, which make the navigation both |
intricate and dangerous 10 strangers. |
The islands are all oi low elevation with
the exception OF the volcanic Islands Of |
Tofua and Kao. In addition to the two
Islands named, Llluka, Haano, Foa,
Lalaga, Mougaone, Uiha, Fonualoa,
Uoleva, Otu-rolu, Nomuka, Haaieya,
rugua and Fotuhaa ATE the principal
Stands in the Haapai group. Between
Tonga and Haapai there are also two
high islands called Huga Toga and Huga
Haapai. They lie about twenty miles to
The westward Of the usual course from
the one group to the other, and they
are separated from each other by deep
sea channel Of about one and a half
miles wide. They give clear evidences OF
volcanic origin, and are haunted by
locks OF sea birds.
The Navau group (also sometimes
called Haaiuuhao) Is the most vaTegat-
I'd and beautiful OF the Tongan or
Archipelago. OF the Islands
which compose II Vavau, embracing
4 bout one hundred and fifty square
niles OF land, is by Tar the most inpor-
ant, and contains nearly all the inhabi-
ants. Grouped closely around the