The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-11-20
FEATHER BOYS"
NEARLY STARVED
Now Hull Island, Near the Equa-
tor. has No Human
Inhabitants.


after starving for a few weeks, have
now left the island. and this British
possession in the South Seas remains
without single occupant. while thou
sands of bosun birds sweep through
the frequent squalls that prevail there
and are unmolested by man.
All of the steamers of the Canadian
Australian line, in coming from or go
ing to Fiji, steer a course that takes
them within a couple of miles of Hull
Island low outcropping about seven
miles in length containing a lagoon,
and having land of only a couple of
hundred yards in width around the
inner lake. On the northern point of
the Island is one European house, some
grass huts, and flag pole. In this
place a squad of men working for the
Pacific Islands Company, of Sydney,
ON a peculiar trade that is necessary
to companies which trade with the ma
tives of the many islands dotting the
tropical portion of the Pacific Ocean,
Thirteen months ago steamer left
twelve natives and a half-caste manager
on the island. They were cut off from
all communication with the outside
world, although the island is in the
Phoenix group, to which trading YES
sells make frequent trips from Austral-
ia. But Hull island was isolated, and
the men on it had no chance of secur-
ing food in case vessel did not go by
them by the time their supply of pro-
visions gave out. In this case the
company seems to have forgotten that
such an island existed, for they sent
the men no supplies for thirteen
months. Then the natives had to live
on birds eggs and anything else they
could find about the island. When the
Moana passed the island some weeks
ago the natives seemed so bad off that
they failed to make even an effort to
reach the steamer Six weeks ago the
Aorangi, in answer to signals of dis
tress, in passing the island went with
in one mile of the shore and the ma
tives came out in a small canoe. They
said they were starving, wished food,
and wanted the officers of the steamer
to inform the company in Sydney of
their preGicament. The officers of the
steamer did all of these things for
them, and a few weeks later the Sgd
ney company had a vessel there to take
the natives away to another island of
the group.
Thousands of bosun birds infest this
coral island. The bosun bird is a large
sea bird has large white wings and
a very long pointed tail composed of
three white feathers, and when flying
these tail feathers form sort of long
cone which caused the sailors of old to
give the bird the name of "bosun," as
the tail resembled the bos,Tn's most
handy tool, the marlin spike. Now, in
trade, the natives of the South Seas
will give up their goods readily for
bosun tail fathers, as they are much
used for dress by the native. The
island traders pick out small islands,
uninhabited by natives and where the
bosun bird lives, ON which to make
their conquests. Small parties of ma
tives are placed there to trap and shoot
the birds and preserve the tail feath-
ers, and, under ordinary conditions,
schooners are sent to these islands
about every six months to get the
catches" of the workers. Usually
there are but few cocoanuts on these
islands, and no other food except birds
eggs, and the native must live on these
when the island companies fail to pro-
vide other food. They secure their
water from the ponds they build, and
these are filled by the heavy rain
squalls that are very frequent ali
through the Phoenix group.
A lady passenger of the Aorangi
gives description of the island:
1--WE passed the island only couple
OF miles off. There were several heavy
rain squalls, but the big, white birds
darted around us in thousands. The
island was very low, but everything
on it appeared fresh and green looking,
as the rain is so frequent that vegeta-
ton is very dense. A quarter of a mile
from the shore string of rocks goes
all round the island. Over these the
surf made a fine display, and just IN
back of the surf we could see fine
sandy beach, banked in back by two
or three houses and grass huts and a
magnificent growth of trees. Through
the trees we could just catch a glimpse
OF a lagoon. l think that the island
would be lovely place for one to have
a summer home in, If it were not for
the fact that it is so far away from
communication with the rest of the
world Officers have told me that the
steamers used to have big tin buckets
which they filled with all the old pa
pers they could find aboard their YES
sells just before reaching the island
and then would seal them up and throw
them overheard when they got as near
the island as possible. The natives
would then come out and get the buck
ct. It would have been good scheme,
if white men had been living there,
but I do not see what use it would be
to natives who could not read English.
l think bucket of rice would have
pleased them much more"