282 AUSTEALASIA. 



of its islands ; others were seen by Legasjji, conqueror of the Philippines. But 

 their position not having been accurately determined, it was impossible to identify 

 them, and every passing navigator laid claim to their discovery. The existence 

 of the lands south of the Marianas was well known ; but instead of endeavouring 

 to fix their position, mariners rather avoided them, owing to the dangerous shoals 

 by which they were surrounded. 



No serious attempt was made at an accurate survey till about 1686, when the 

 first " Caroline," from Avhich all the rest were numed, was discovered by the 

 pilot Lazeano. This was perhaps Yap, or else Farroilep (Farraulep], which 

 lies on the meridian of the Marianas some 340 miles south of Guam. Then 

 Cantova prepared the first rough chart of the region round about Lamurek 

 (Namurek) in the central part of the archipelago ; but the scientific exploration of 

 the Caroline Sea was first undertaken by Wilson and Ibargoita towards the close 

 of the eighteenth century. Between 1817 and 1828 occurred the memorable 

 expeditions of Kotzebue, Freyciuet, Duperrey, Dumont d'Urville and Lutké, after 

 which nothing remained except to fill up the details and explore the interior of 

 the several islands. This work of exploration has been stimulated by the question 

 of sovereignty lately raised between Spain and Germany, and finally settled by 

 papal arbitration in favour of the former power. 



The names of the islands, islets and reefs strewn over the Caroline waters 

 are far from being everywhere clearly defined. Except for some of the larger 

 lands, such as Yap, Ponapé and Ualan, custom has not yet decided between the 

 native appellations variously pronounced by the seafarers of different nation- 

 alities, and those given to the different groups by English, French, or Russian 

 explorers. 



Most of the Carolines are of coral formation, upheaved some few yards above 

 sea-level, and many lack sufficient vegetable humus for trees to strike root between 

 the fissures of the rocks. Some, however, have gradually been clothed with dense 

 verdure down to the water's edge, and here native settlements have been formed 

 beneath the shade of the cocoanut palm, the bread-fruit tree and the dark green 

 barringtonia. Some of the groups form perfectly regular atolls, where lagoons 

 accessible to boats through narrow channels are encircled by a verdant fringe. 

 Satoan, one of the circular islands of the Mortlock group, consists of no less than 

 sixty islets, some a few miles long, others mere pointed rocks, but all disposed 

 symmetrically round the periphery of the coralline enclosure. Others again, such 

 as Ruk, Ualan, and Ponapé (2,860 feet), attain considerable elevations, and these 

 are often clothed to their summits with magnificent trees of few species, con- 

 spicuous amongst which are the superb tree-ferns. This evergreen forest vegeta- 

 tion is supported by copious rains, which fall on the slopes of the hills especially 

 during the south-west monsoon. 



The fauna, like that of the Marianas, is extremely poor, the mammals being 

 represented only by a dog with pointed ears and long pendent tail, and a single 

 species of rat, which is said to have taught the natives the art of obtaining palm- 

 wine by gnawing the crests of the cocoanut palm to get at its sap. The vegetation 



