The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-26
The Birth Of Islands.


The inner turmoil Of the earth is once
again adding new land to the island
dotted expanse Of the South Sea, the
present activity being reported from the
archipelago commonly known - Tonga,
the lands to which Cook assigned the ill
fitting name Of the Friendly Islands.
There are present all the classic phases
of submarine ~vulcanism, the columns Of
fire, smoke and steam, the reverberation
OF incessant explosions in the age long
wal Of water and fire, the clouds OF ashes,
the hurting Of pumice and bolides.
Tonga has had a plenteous experience
in witnessing such additions to its terri
tory. All those islands are volcanic, for
sven the low eastern islands are but
emergent peaks Of former volcanoes
whose roots lie far down in the sea. Its
western chain is made up Of lofty islands
Of volcanic rock, g~eologically modern,
yet far older than the date Of the coming
Of the Polynesian people to their present
homes. In this chain lie the active vol
canoes Of Lette and Tofua and the ex-
tinct cone Of Koa. A few leagues to the
north Of the Tonga Archipelago lie the
volcanic islands of Niuafoou and Niua-
tobutabu.
During the twelve years from is4S to
terrupted bombardment from its vol
canoes and from new discharges from
the sea bottom. In ls47 there grew up
In it's sea a new island. 1t lasted long
enough to receive from the piety Of the
island converts the name Of Wesley and.
then it slowly sank beneath the waves
which had boiled about its u~pheaval.
In 1885 a similar submarine c%onvulsion
brought TO the surface another new land
in the same waters. 1t is impossible to
conceive Of a more magnificent manifes-
tation of the might Of nature. The whole
of the ocean seemed to fight in vain to
quench the internal fires. At times the
Are would prevail and great columns Of
clear flame would 60 swirling up through
all the wet Of the sea as II to char the tur
MOL Of clouds that hung above the
Of conflict. Again the sea would sweep
resistleesly upon the blazing column,
and for q time would seem to quench
the flame, yet YER at such intervals the
waves went swirling around in a ring OF
long oily sticks Of boiling water sending
upward dense clouds Of sulphureous
steam. Out OF the commotion arose
Falcon Island, that speck Of land which
served to provide the motive Of the famil-
lar story Of the British gunboat lying to
in the ofing waiting to amer il 40 soo
as tho thing had cooled of. Duly an
nexed to the British Empire and recorded
on the charts Falcon Island was a terri
tory Of this world for no more than six
or seven years, just long enough for the
floating cocoanuts to take root upon its
shore and the disintegration OF the fer
tility Of its basic lava TO provide a soil
for the growth Of the beach convolvulus,
the two milder agencies which take new
South Sea islands hot from natures
machine shops and 1T them to become
the homes of adventurous wanderers.
Then in a sudden CONFUSION Falcon re-
turned to the silent depths.
Tonga rests upon q place Of most I'M
stable equilibrium. II occupies the bluff
eastern arm Of the great Tongafti Y
which rises out of the Pacific from almost
abysmal depths. The stem Of the Y
rests upon New Zealand; about tho Ker-
madecs the arms begin to part. the east
ern one going along under Tonga and
tipping at Futuna and Uvea, the Samoan
Archipelago lying disconnected inst of
that tip; the western arm upraises at its
northern end the swarm Of Fiian islands,
one for every day in the year. II one oate
to reckon their tale that way. TIE
greater part q tho Tongafti Y shows
Of 1000 fathoms and less, and