Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-02-04

chiefly confined to small lizards, cent?
pedes, spiders, frogs and harmless
| snakes.
In the SolomOns the crocodile is met
with, both in fresh-water streams and
In tidal estuaries, but here this saurlar
reaches its easternmost limit, as 1t oc
ours nowhere else in the island groups
beyond.
From this brief description of the
physical and climatic conditions of the
Pacific islands, it must be clear that no
place could be more ideal for the
abode of man than this great and en-
chanting oceanic region, the dream of
romantic youth, the home of early buc-
caneering enterprise, and the scene of
great human struggles in tribal war
fare, when the cannibal feast was
deemed a fitting celebration of victory
on the field Of battle.
The people of the South sea islands
may be divided broadly into two
groups: the Polynesians, well-built,
light-brown, with straight black hair
and the Melaneslans, an inferior race,
sOoty black in color, broad-nosed, with
frizzly black hair.
AS to the origin Of these Pacific is
landers, there are various opinions,
some students of the matter suggesting
affiliations with various races, includ-
ing the Aryans, the American Indians
and the Papuans. There is one theory
81 ~ DnIY
originally peopled by Phoenicians, who
may even have reached the coast Of
Peru.
Strange Ruins in the carolines.
The remarkable ruins of ancient set
Element in the Caroline islands are one
Of the mysteries of Polynesia and will
probably never be solved When it is
considered that some of the stones
forming the walls of those extensive
ruins are of immense size and are sup
posed to have been brought from other
islands of the group across storm
tossed channels and placed in their
present position with precision and
mastery skill, 1t is apparent that all
this could not have been done by peo-
pie akin to the present inhabitants, but
must have been the handiwork Of
skilled craftsmen similar to the build
ers of the ancient ruins in Peru and
Mexico and perhaps, also, Africa.
These ruins are q mystery to the
present inhabitants Of the Pacific is
lands, who have no knowledge of the
art of building in stone and are ig-
norant of architecture, apart. from
their own primitive huts. Even native
tradition is singularly silent as to the
origin of the inhabitants and their mi
gratory movements among the island
groups.
In natural resources these Pacific is
lands differ to some extent from Aus
tralia, New Zealand, and New Guinea,
there being so far as Is known, an alb
sence of great and rich mineral de-
posts; but the soils are extremely rich.
and for the production of sugar, cotton,
rubber, coconuts, bananas, coffee, CO.
Goa, rice, pineapples, and many varie-
ties of fruit and vegetables they are
eminently suitable and probably un-
surpassed. 1t would indeed be difficult
to name any product Of tropical origin
that could not flourish In the fertile
soils of Polynesia.
Among the greatest of all the nat
ural resources of these oceanic terri
tories the enormous deposits of high
grade phosphates on several of the
Polynesian islands are of prime i'm
portance. This is especially so In the
case OF Nauru, or Pleasant island, a
small, isolated spot half degree south
of the Equator and rising about twenty
feet above sea-level. It Is estimated
by DIR. Paul Hombrun to contain 497,-
100000 tons of the richest phosphates
to be obtained anywhere, the quantita-
tive analysis giving from SO to 90 per
cent OF tricalcium phosphate.
As an outcome of the defeat Of the
central powers and the distribution at
Paris Of the control Of enemy colonial
possessions, the Australian mandate
gives to that commonwealth complete
control over Germany's former Pacific
territories, with the exception of
Samoa, the Marshall, Caroline, and
Mariana islands, and the phosphate
deposits of Nauru. the ownership Of
the last named being shared with
Great Britain and New Zealand. Ger
man Samoa was placed under New
Zealand mandate.
The Japanese hold the Marshall, the
Mariana Except Guam), and the Caro-
line islands under the peace confer