The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-18
A VISIT TO SPANISH MICRONESIA

Fxnloration in the Carolines-F'resh
Facts About Their People-Some In
teresting Ruins Explored by F. w.
| Christian.
A paper was read at meeting OF the
ROYAL Geographical society by F. W.
| Christian on 'Exploration in the caro-
line Islands" The lecturer said that in
1896 meeting in Sydney, Louis Becke,
that ULYSSES of Pacific waters, he de-
termined to take his advice and visit
Spanish Micronesia, in order to explore
some remarkable ruins reported to be
upon the islands of Ponape and Lele, in
the eastern Carolines. He reached Pom
ape on New Years day, 1885, After CIV
ing an interesting account of the inhab-
itants and their customs, the lecturer
described his visits to Metalanm, on the
east coast, and the result of his eXplo-
rations among the famous ruins of Nan
Natal. He said that the area occupied
by the islets of Nan Natal is about nine
square miles. For the most part they
are deserted aid altogether there are
not above twenty people living on the
three or four inhabited ones. Some of
them are planted with cocoanuts and
breadfruit, and are visited occasionally
by fishing parties.
The Kings Island of Tomun and the
shores of Metalanim harbor are fairly
thickly populated, but the folk as rule
give Nan-Matal pretty wide berth.
They say the place is haunted, and on
certain of the islets, such as Pan-Kata-
ra and Pei-Kap, nothing will induce
them to set foot All the enormous
quantity of basalt which the ancient
builders used must have been brought
in canoes or RATED down the coast
distance of twenty to thirty miles.
These pillars and blocks We're carried
down to the sea from the dales below
the precipices of U and the great per-
pendicular scarp of Chokach, where the
columnar basalt formation is very
strikingly marked. Here We're grand
natural quarries, whence the builders
required, lying around ready shaped to
their hand. The first of the islets wish
ted from Uchentau was Nan-Tauach,
the most remarkable Of all the Metala
MIN ruins. The water front is faced
with a solid terrace of massive stone
work, about six feet wide, standing over
six feet above the shallow waterway.
Above is a striking example of i'm
mensely solid CyclOpean masonry. A
great wall, between twenty and thirty
feet high and about ten feet in thick
ness, formed Of basaltic prisms laid al
ternately lengthwise and crosswise, in
closes an oblong space, which can be en-
tered only by the great gateway in the
middle of the west face, and by small
portal in the northwest corner.
The right side of the gateway is
overshadowed and all but hidden from
view by the dense LEAKAGE of huge
1koik tree. In olden times the wall
must have been considerably greater in
hight but much of the masonry has now
fallen into lamentable ruin. A series Of
huge rude steps leads into a spacious
strewn with fragments OF
fallen pillars. This encircles second
terraced Enclosure, topped by remark
able projecting frieZe or cornice of
The outer Enclosures We're
one hundred and eighty-five feet by one
hundred and fifteen feet, the wall vary |
ing in height from twenty to nearly for
ty feet, the inner, which forms a second +
conforming parallelogram, measuring
eighty-five feet by forty-five feet.
Height of the wall fifteen feet to eigh- ;
teen feet; average thickness eight feet.
Another rude flight of steps leads up to /
the great central vault or treasure i
chamber said to be the grave of an an
cent monarch, who bore the dynastic
title of Chau-te-Leur. 1t was difficult |
to gain much information about the old i
at first. The natives certain
" know something about the history of |