The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1908-03-15
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PLEASANT ISLAND.


A hit Of Land I'm the Pacific Named TOE
Natives Amiable Traits.
The solitary little island of Nauru
rises from Pacific depths OF ABOUT s,ov -
end Of the Gilbert group. It Is scarcely
as large as an American township ana
IL Is an. atoli, but II differs so mucn
Pacinc that it has attracted much a
tention, says The New York Sun.
The atills rise only a little above tne
sea level. and after the LravereI, ,, AZ
that they are very monotonous. But
part OF the outer rim of Nauru Is g
verdant ridge about 200 feet hign, ano
what was once the lagoon encircied ny
coral reef is now plain, slightly roll
ing and strewn with coral fragments
This atoiI evidently had q pecunar
many Of the other atolls Here and
vestiges OF ancient craters that help TO
explain this history: $50.
lifted the submarine mountain ON which
stood the circle OF coral and the lagoon
within 1t unt-i the lagoon was ABOVE
away, leaving dry plain So here we
see an atoll lifted into the air so that
its whole formation may be studied
Nobody Knows when emigrants came
in their small boats to settle on the lit
tie island. but there IL every reason 70
believe that they sailed from the GIL
bert islands. Their habits and arts are
very similar to those Of the Gilbert
Islanders and there are striking re-
semblances between their Languages.
most or quite Identical with the names
for these plants in the Gilbert archi-
pelago.
untary or accidental. that have brought
human inhabitants to many Pacific
isle. Probably q boat or TWO were
driven out Of sight OF land IN ,an 2 storm I'M
this unknown strand, the progenitorS
of the few hundred natives who now In
habit the island.
than they do now the natives used to
throng the beach welcome the visitors
with glad shouts and lavish their best
factions among tn EN- and they were Of
ten at war until they were were dis-
armed by the German warship Eber
after the island became part OF the
German Pacific possessions.
Every visitor for years past has said
| that they are the most gentle. peace
| able and friendly people that could De
| imagined, and these attractive quail
| ties induced some English seafarers 10
give a new name to the island by which
| II Is now everywhere known. Even on
| the German maps are found both the
| native name Nauru and the name now
| in use Pleasant Island.
Considering its smallness, the island
Il has become TSmarkaDly COh5paCuou9
| a commercial way. No other island OF
| its size procures so large an amount of
copra, the dried meat of the cocoanut.
Several years ago great phosphate
beds were found In the Interior and
they are proving a gold mine to the
German Jaluit Company, VIII ich is work
| ing the deposits in connection with an
| English company. The latter discovered
| beds in Banaba Islands. about 100
miles away. and the two companies are
| working both deposits together.
| They had hard work getting the phos-
pilates on board ship at Pleasant ISL
and during the first years of the in
| dustry, but the steel bridge they now
| let down over the hold of a vessel as
she lies a little way from the shore,
| dumping 100 tons an hour into the ship,
I is the greatest wonder in the world TO
| the natives.
which is similar in its history to
Pleasant Island. It is the Dutch island
| of Curacao, which was once an enor-
| nous atoll, but was lifted by subterra--
| mean forces till the ring around the
| lagoon was hundreds of feet IN the
| air and the lagoon became dry land.
| On the south side of the island large
! deposits of phasphates hav ebeen dis
! covered and the beds are now the scene
| OF an important industry.