The Western outlook. [volume] (San Francisco, Cal.) 1894-1928, 1915-01-30
STILL IN STONE AGE.
REMARKABLE NATIVES OF THE
CAROLINE ISLANDS.
One of Their Most Striking Peculiari-
ties Is Their Use of Grindstones
as What Might Be Called
Form of Currency.

When the Japanese conquered zap,
capital of the Caroline islands, they
found a good many things there to
surprise them, for there is no quainter
spot on the face of the globe, no place
where the customs are more strange
and more delightfully."- humorous from
the point of view of the western world.
Some time ago DR.. William Henry
Furness III, the distinguished scientist
of Philadelphia, made visit to the
islands and studied the character and
customs of the nhabitants-probably
the first time such a thing was ever
done He brought home with him
large collection Of chronological specl+
mems, which he presented to the UNI
versity museum, which is a depart
ment of the University of Pennsylva-
MIA. The most remarkable or the
specimens are what appear to be lot
of grindstones. These are coin OF the
realm In the Caroline islands and
nothing else is used except few clam
shells for very small change.
Now, in the Caroline islands nature
provides the people with everything
that most men work hard to get-food,
shelter and clothing. The food Is
abundant, the shelter easy to make
and the amount of clothing depends
entirely upon the style and not COM
fort. The only thing the people need
money for is to get ornaments OF vari-
Gus sorts, and SO it came about that
grindstones became the currency or
the realm. 1t may be noted that when
the first white people reached zap
there was not in any of the Caroline
islands anything resembling metal.
These people were still in the stone
age, and there they are for the most
part today.
The grindstones are not for use, for
they have no need for axes or scythes.
They come from the Pellew islands,
many miles away, and are fetched on
RATS with sails and paddles, although
in modern times prosaic steamships
sometimes perform the service. A
chicken can be bought With a grind
stone weighing 100 pounds, a pig for
500 pounds and wife for half ton.
Some of these stones are IL feet in
diameter and weigh five tons. They
are only rudely circular and have a
hole in the center proportional to the
size.
The owner of the money does not
consider that possession is even one
point in the law Generally he does
not take his stone with him.
The richest family in the islands,
the one which may be called the Rock
efeller outfit of zap, is in what would
be by most persons looked upon as in
& sad condition. 1t owns by far the
largest grindstone ever mined in the
Pellew islands. Figures as to it's size
vary, but there is no doubt that 1t is
enormous nor that it is owned by the
multimillionaire family of zap. The
seemingly unfortunate thing is that 1t
Is at the bottom of the Pacific ocean,
having fallen off the raft in transporta-
ton. That, however, does not mean
anything to the people of zap. They
are not ostentatious of their wealth
They own that stone and that is all
there is to it.
The university museum has other
specimens from zap which make one
think that Alice in Wonderland was
not wholly fgment of the magma
ton. Ii may be that Lewis Carroll
had been to the Caroline islands.