The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-05-17
BONN ISLANDS
Bird PARADISE
Part of Territory Claimed By
Japan Is Home of Thousands
of SongSterS.
LONG WITHOUT INHABITANTS
Political Conditions and Crudeness o
Transportation Facilities Delayed
Its Settlement-Has Had
Many Claimants.

Observation-Disclosures formal defini
ton of her mainland as including thu
BONN archipelago, 800 miles to thu
south of her principal islands, and III,
discussion of Notifications there, turn
the spotlight of world news to thest
remote bits of land. They are the sub
ject of the following bulletin from thu
Washington headquarters of the Ma
tiOnal Geographic society:
"'BOnin' is a distinct misnomer fol
the little islands which, until the ad-
ditions that the World war brought
represented Japan's farthest extension
southwark toward the heart of the Pa
cific. 1t means without inhabitants
whereas a number of the 20 islets OF
the group TO- support among them Il
population Of nearly 5000. But BONN
nov is only a Western term. To the
japanese the islands are Ogasawara
Jima, family name of the first Japa
nese known to have viewed them, who
America, was driven to the islands by
a storm.
Birds Garden of Eden.
political conditions and crudeness
Of transportation facilities, not lack OF
value, long doomed the Ogasawaras to
remain without inhabitants. Like most
lands of volcanic origin they have an
exceedingly fertile soil. Because OF
warm currents their climate is in eff
feet tropical, although they are just
north of the Tropic of Cancer. Maj
could have existed on them without
raising his hand in work. Wild beans
and q p%rofusion of edible mushrooms
grew in the valleys and wild pine
apples and other fruits on the hill
sides. Palms and tree-ferns furnished
shade and greenery. And In Other
ways the islands were like a Garden
of Eden when they were explored by
the crew of an American whaier II
1923. There were no q~uadrupeds ant
only a few harmless reptiles, and the
birds, unmolested by any living thing
were entirely without fear Of man ant
could be caught by hand.
AT the present time the islands
produce all the japanese cereals anc
many vegetables and fruits, and are
stocked with the common domestic
animals. There also are wild goats
sheep, pigs and even dogs and cats
descendants of animals left by the frs
settlers. OF course the production
from the islands amounts to little, fol
those large enough for development
have an aggregate area of only abouI
thirty square miles.
Had Many Claimants.
although they are closer to japan
than to any other nation, the Ogasa
waras came near not being a japanese
territory. There is nothing TO shov
Lat the Japanese knew of their eX
istence before Prince Sadayari Ogasa
wara was driven to their shores abou
the end of the Sixteenth century
whereas the Spanish explorer, Villa
lobos first sighted them in 1543. INT
Ogasawara family made the island
theoretically a part of their feuda
land holdings, but they did not setti'
them, and when Japan drew more Sc
curely into its shell in 1885 by for
bidding it's subjects to construct sea
going vessels, all touch with tn
islands was lost for nearly a hundre'
years, and again from 1928 to 1861
Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer, sur
veyed some of the islands early In tn
Seventeenth century and American
whalers explored them in 1923 an
1924. In 1927 a British admira
| claimed the islands for his country.
1.-THE Ogasawaras received their mrs
settlers in 1880. They consisted OF
few British subjects from Hawaii WI
seem to have led the expedition, a fey
Americans, Portuguese and a handfu
of Polynesians. They considered them
selves a British colony. AS lat
as 1875 these settlers and a fey
others who had been added lived O
the islands without any government o
organization and without educationa
facilities of any kind, trading with tn
whalers who by that time frequente
the waters. In 1861 Great Britain re
nounced all claims to the islands !
favor of Japan, and that year an III
successful effort was made to plant
Japanese colony. Later efforts wer
successful and the population now
almost entirely Japanese"