The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-19
LIFE WITHOUT NElGHBORS
TUO BROTHERS VINO ACTUALLY opx
"ALL THE LAND MAT JOINS Tusv,,
Necessary to Take Long Sen y,x.
When They Make Cail-At HON. a
Dot In the sen, which Was Pound h.
Accident. W


right Imagine being absolute lord and mas,nr
OF n South Sen gem. a palm crowned ali
washed by the sparkling blue waves ~ ~.
Pacific Ocean. and separated by hundreds =,
miles OF ocean from all contact with cIyIlI,..
ton. Ii is lot which all who have a traca n,
romance In their composition must cove, Va,
Its attainment. In these modern days il p,ao-
tlcally an impossibility You cannot 20 and
take an Island for yourself. as they did half .
century ago. for the simple reason that thar.
are no unoccupied ones left TO take The vbo,.
surface Of the Pacific has been so thorough,
explored. crossed and recrossed In every N.
rection by thousands OF ships, that even the
tiniest OF reefs have been discovered and eIyen
a name. Every island fertile enough to hs
worth the trouble has beon exploited BY thu
white trader and missionary. and has been an.
nexod by one or another OF the great power,
You must be born to the role OF island prince.
you cannot achieve y: but there bappens 70 BE-
man now In san Francisco who was luciv
enough to succeed to faSh an nherItancs
cruising In the Pacific In command OF the good
old American ship Betsy. In those days they
conducted their voyages 10 a leisurely ma nnsf,
ately Put his helm down and sailed on to 10.
Just crossed the sa1stor tSsss v sas but
naturally the skippcr's curio.ity wa. aroused
HIs surprise was increased when he found
rising fe low green BANK out Of The tfopen
much asa the s soa a'et sss. ' .I%ss
to the teeth. being ever on their suard
ss ssloscu. nhaSssss a d p ,A. The lovely r :
sa1ases then. and The tate o. Capt cess es:
expected onslaught never came. though tSsss
island proved extremely fertile. its rich soil
n TS.ts onS
appeared from out The dcnse scrub which lined
day the fate OF the original inha bitsnts of Fan.
ming Island remains a mystery. Near by Capt
Which, Ss called s p S
not seem to have occurred 10 him TO take pos.
session Of the islands In tho name OF tbs
yet become fashionable and such Isolated dots o1s
in the ocean were not considered worth thu
Gsosf did 81 any Other nation wan, Tanning
ana an "as o5 % s. aSs
visit II TO MI her. water casks and lay. 10 a SEA-
stock OF cocoanuts. But except for these rare
soluteiy neglected until the hist half Of n.
century was near Its close. Then a wandering
Enelshman. Capt. John English, made his
other isands u started The mana Gs IRON q,
cocoanut oil. 10 those days no one had heard
The only known way OF utilizing the rich mes,
OF the nut was to convert It into oil. q tedious
and "a was n process.
uriant cline 70 AID him. he tended the palms
sSsas ,hs 'f ssuSS WITH ss
s Hnd n pSs so Ard tsd n With
portant enough TO attract the attention OF III,
British Goverpment, ever on the watch for new
his plantations would Be more secure II they
were under the protection OF a strong power.
union JACK was hoisted and the place has i re.
-, The present dynasty va. founded soon, after
nsmed Gfes sised the sand and i0saa aSs
place much 70 his liking. He Joined Capt;
eventually bought him out beoomins III. he, sole sole
owner Of the two islands, Washington and Fan.
S .Ins.. GseiF married ed P;nTrayn Island shs
the property was equally divided.
aided BY one q bis Sroshsr., rules ABSOLUTELY;
over the isles Of Tanning and Washington, He
Br: hish ns%Is SSs tine
kindly treated, that Official never interfsres.
man. hi. skin no darker than that Of many
SpaniaTds, his Eusllsh perfect. hi. manner
both in Honolulu and this e eouDtr So aSd ons
residence in his little Island dominion has not
worn on the POLISH Only once a year: for a
with civilization. but he makes the most Of his
chances. weasel is chartered annually to
Saef " si 81 & ss @
sssa, BaI .S s f &c ,i isi
We produce about 200, tons OF eopra every
PEAR, said Mr.. Grelx, "and we sell Il in San
here, Also the supplies we need are cheaper.
md the voyage 10 shorter than one to Austria
But Tanning Island has other resource. be-
sides copra. though the yield OF that greasy.
'vil-smelling article is by no means TO be de-
aaed at cent. sq POUND d. 20 se shat a.. Island
would WOULD supply over $1,000 worth OF thi, com;
he'll IL the and sy ssp "a o.
'asional pearl may De found. But the she'll
patches are not worked systematically. Now
,ear four tons Of shell we're brought to market.
Even more valuable than eopra and shell 10 the
,osits. the nc.um uiation Of countless centuries.
found M,, I. bard to get any detail. seoq. tn.
would say WY broshst and sre an m ,nat 10
i've IN modern. wooden house. which we havs
'uil! In beautiful spot close to the entrance
y the lagoon. OF course We have all the COM
'eIppy in our peaceful home.
How do we amuae ourselves? Oh, we 60
ishine or shooting, There are plenty OF plover
md snipe on the Island. In the old days ths
placed swarmed with wild pigs. but they did so
much damage, that we had to exterminats
hem. Then we have our business TO look
Iftsr. We are always planting fresh palms
md extending our plantation.
As there 10 no aboriginal population, all tho
work on Tanning Island has to be done BY I'M
'orted labor. In that intensely tropical climate,
'nly three degrees north OF the line. white
men, OF course. cannot stand the strain OF PLAN
alton work. About $50 black boys are em-
'loyed mostly obtained from Rakahanga, an
s9nd south OF the line. The men are treated
veil and prove tractable employees. rarely CIV
nR trouble. They are engaged by yearly con-
ract under the FIJI labor regulations which
re very strict In caring for the welfare OF the
'lnck Every year vessel tax es the boys home,
ach one the posarssor OF a pricelass stock OF
rade, the proceeds Of his years work Annths-
'atch of boys Is only too willing TO visit Fam
ing Island, and 40. year in and year out. tho
Ineventful life OF the little community goes
N,
I Is about n twenty-five mile walk around
his coral belt. which is but n verdant ring OF
ncoanut palms. battered on one side BY the
breakers OF tho Pacific. and gently
aved on the other by the placid waters Of tho
and locked lagoon. Thore are no horses nor
'heeled vehicles. and no roads. The lagoon
rovides such an admirabl" rnesS9d Of convey
noe that nothing further 10 needed. TO VISIT
nv pnr OF tina MIA ntntipn Won aim NV iumn