Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-02-06
prepared by the National Geographic So

prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety. Washington. d. c.
Plans for maneuvers of the COM
bined Atlantic and Pacific fleets Of the
United States with Hawaii as a base
bring large part of the Pacific ocean
with its thousands of islands into the
field of operations. The names alone
of the islands recall daring achieve
ments of adventuresome navigators
and the exploits of pirates and sailors
of fortune.
In these islands one comes face to
face with primitive life in all its varied
phases, ranging from the wanderings
Of the native trader to the precarious
existence of the beach comber; from
the reef harvesters to the tribal coun-
cilors, and from the wild head-hunters
to the bush cannibals; from the ex-
cited warriors, in all their fantastic at
tire, to the primitive village maiden,
bedecked in garlands Of wild flowers
and wearing the simplest form Of grass
skirt.
The Pacific ocean covers more than
third part of the globe and contains
within its vast periphery over half Of
the terrestrial water supply. The in
fuence exercised by this immense IL
quid surface on the climate and condi-
lions of life In both hemispheres must
be enormous; when we consider that it
is bIsected by the Equator and con-
sequently exposed to the full force of
the tropical sun. 1t is for this reason
and because of the moist, equable tenn
perature prevailing over the Polynesian
region that we find in most of the
oceanic islands great fertility Of soil
and luxuriant vegetation.
An Empire of Many Islands.
Geographically, the Polynesian re-
gton Is occupied by numerous groups
of islands of varying extent and i'm
portance, most of which are inhabited
by a variety of peoples, generally
known In Australia as Kanakas or
South Sea Islanders.
Viewed in a broad and comprehen-
slve light, this Polyneslan empire, it
may be so called, extends across the
Australia and New Guinea for hun
bred degrees of longitude to Easter is
land It includes the Bismarck archi-
pelago and Solomon group, New Gale
donia and Fill, the New Hebrides. Sa-
moa and Tonga, the Marshall and
Caroline islands, the Phoenix group
and Low archipelago, the Hawaiian is
lands, the Gilbert and Ellice islands,
the Society and Cook islands, with
numerous clusters of islands, reefs
and lagoons scattered over wide ex-
panses of tropical ocean and studded
like gems of emerald green on the
vast coral sea that eternally surges
along the equatorial belt of the great
Pacific. Long regarded as the dream
Of early Spanish and Portuguese en-
terprise, these Polynesian islands have
vast commercial possibilities.
Many of these Pacific groups possess
beautiful harbors, commodious enough
to shelter the largest ships of major
power. Most of them being guarded
by impregnable barriers of coral reef,
they would afford natural protection to
all classes of shipping and could be
utilized as naval bases of first-rate i'm
portance.
A remarkable feature of many Of
the PoIynesian groups is the luxuriant
vegetation on the southeast, or wind
ward, side of the islands, in marked
contrast to the northwest, or leeward
side, where the forest Is restricted to
extremely limited patches, with large
reed-covered areas of wide extent, sug-
costing aridity and the absence of fer
tile soil. This is, no doubt, due to the
fact that a larger percentage of mois-
ture Is deposited on the former, the
prevailing southeast trade winds be-
ing comparatively dry by the time they
reach the opposite side.
Their Fauna Scanty.
In strange contrast to their luxuri-
ant plant life, the Pacific Islands can
not lay claim to rich fauna except In
birds, which are fairly numerous In
New Caledonia. Fiji and Hawaii. The
dog and the pig have wide range, be
Ing found everywhere within the In
fuence Of native settlement, but both
have been introduced in comparatively
recent times and are not Indigenous to
| Polynesia.
There ere several species Of rodents
and some representatives of the bat
| family, which appear to be the only in
digenous mammals Of which we have
any knowledge. Even insects and rep
lilies are hv ~ means plentiful. being