Vol. XL, No. 6 



WASHINGTON 



December, 1921 



THE 



NATIONAL 

 GEOG1APM1C 



COPYRIGHT, I 921. BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. WASHINGTON. D C. 



THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC* 



By J. P. Thomson, C. B. E., LL. D. 



Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, Royal Geographical Society op Australasia 



WHAT memories of the past the 

 place-names of the coral-girt 

 islands of the South Pacific 

 Ocean revive ! They bring to the re- 

 flective mind the romantic side of life; 

 they recall the daring exploits of adven- 

 turesome enterprise on the part of those 

 early navigators whose romantic career 

 has fired many a youthful breast with 

 hopeful enthusiasm; they remind us of 

 the illuminating pen sketches by Robert 

 Louis Stevenson ; they bring to our 

 thoughts stories of thrilling achievements 

 in the piratical operations of that one- 

 time buccaneer, Captain Bully Hayes. 



They bring us face to face with primi- 

 tive life in all its varied phases, ranging 

 from the nomadic peregrinations of the 

 native trader to the precarious existence 

 of the beach-comber ; from the reef 

 harvesters to the tribal councilors, and 

 from the wild head-hunters to the bush 

 cannibals; from the excited warriors, in 

 all their fantastic accouterments, to the 

 primitive village maiden, bedecked in gar- 

 lands of wild flowers and habited in the 

 simplest form of grass skirt ; from the 

 elaborate local native court (Bose Levu), 

 at which the great district chieftains are 

 represented, to the all-embracing pro- 

 vincial parliament of the people (Bose 

 vaka Turanga), where the ruling person- 

 ages assemble. 



Among these islands have occurred 

 some of the most wonderful manifesta- 



* See Map of the Islands of the Pacific 

 issued as a supplement with this number of 

 The Geographic. 



tions of the stupendous forces of nature 

 ever witnessed by the eye of man, in the 

 modification, alteration, and creation of 

 land forms and in local disturbances of 

 vast magnitude, through violent earth- 

 quakes or eruptive phenomena. Here, 

 too, have occurred wide devastations and 

 great destruction to property following 

 the wake of periodical hurricanes along 

 the equatorial belt. 



These facts and many others come 

 crowding to the mind when speaking of 

 Polynesia, the South Sea Islands or their 

 synonyms. While there is certainly no 

 place on earth more beautiful, more en- 

 chanting, or more seductive to the island- 

 dweller, there are few places where the 

 forces of nature are more active, more 

 varied, more constructive, or even more 

 devastating. 



THE MARVEL, OF THE CORAL, REEF 



Take, for example, the coral reef phe- 

 nomenon by which islands are formed and 

 connections established on a vast scale be- 

 tween widely separated areas, extending 

 over thousands of miles of ocean. Also 

 be it remembered that these immense sub- 

 marine and subaerial coral masses, on 

 which the very existence and stability of 

 most of the Polynesian islands seem to 

 depend, are the product of one of those 

 low forms of animal life that enter so 

 largely into the economy of nature and 

 make us feel that the combined efforts 

 of men are comparatively feeble and in- 

 effective. 



