64 AROUND THE WOULD VIA INDIA. 



events caused by contending internal political factions, 

 complicated by outside interference. Space will permit 

 me only to give a few outlines. The Samoan arch- 

 ipelago, composed of not less than fourteen volcanic 

 islands with numerous adjacent islets, lies nearly east 

 and west between the parallels 13° 31' S. and 14° 31' 

 S.. and longitude 172° 45' W. and 168° 9' W. The 

 last volcanic eruption occurred in Savaii in 1866. The 

 islands were first seen by Boggeveen, but their discov- 

 ery is generally accredited to Bougainville, who came 

 there in 1768 and stocked them with domestic animals. 

 He called them Xavigator Islands. It is supposed that 

 the islands became populated by Polynesians migrating 

 eastward from Sumatra, via the Philippines and Ha- 

 waii, by a party of less than fifty, in seven canoes. Two 

 hundred years later the Tongans invaded the islands 

 and, with the aid of Fijians, drove the Samoans into 

 the mountain retreats. The hardships endured by con- 

 stant persecution served to strengthen the Samoan 

 forces, who finally gained the upper hand and cleared 

 the two largest islands, and later all of them, of the in- 

 vaders. Cannibalism was introduced by the Tongans. 

 but was abandoned before the arrival of the explorer-. 

 The missionaries came in 1833, and one of the first 

 fruits of their indefatigable labor Avas the conversion 

 of Malietoa, one of the most powerful chiefs, who was 

 christened Davita. This event gave rise to a religious 

 wave which soon reached the different islands. 



Frequent strifes between the different islands and 

 tribes induced the natives to look to the United States 

 as early as 1872 to establish order out of chaos by re- 

 questing our government to send Colonel Steinberger 

 of Xew York as adviser. Two years later President 

 C4rant granted the request. The colonel soon improved 

 the administrative affairs of the islands and had the 

 full confidence of the natives. His influence excited 

 the <iivv of the British and in less than a year he was 

 deported by a Britsh warship, no protest being made 



