SAILING THE SEVEN SEAS 



their reported position, but could see no 

 signs of land. 



Calling at New Zealand before begin- 

 ning our year's work in the Pacific Ocean, 

 we enjoyed meeting again our friends at 

 Lyttelton and at Christchurch. 



Proceeding up through the Pacific, we 

 stopped for a few days at Papeete, Tahiti, 

 Society Islands, where we spent Christ- 

 mas and New Year's, 1 920-1 921. Much 

 has been written about this mystic isle 

 of the tropics, with its generous, open- 

 hearted people, its wonderful tropical 

 scenery, its lofty mountain minarets, 

 green-clad to the summits, an island which 

 seems to be the mecca of artists, authors, 

 and poets, of scientists, bird men, bug 

 men, and ne'er-do-wells. 



Proceeding northward, we decided to 

 call at San Francisco for repairs and 

 recalking, as the vessel was leaking con- 

 siderably. The route passed near Fanning 

 Island, a coral atoll, where we stopped 

 for a few hours to send cablegrams. 



THE ROBBER CRAB CLIMBS TREES AND 

 GATHERS COCONUTS 



We recalled our visit here in 1905 and 

 1906, when we first saw the coconut or 

 robber crab, known locally as the Fanning 

 Island flea, brilliantly colored with mottled 

 red, with a spread of 24 inches between 

 the tips of its claws and a body 12 inches 

 long. It lives on coconuts and climbs the 

 trees to sever the stems, allowing the nuts 

 to fall to the ground, some 40 feet below. 

 It then descends the tree, and with its 

 powerful claws slowly tears the husk from 

 the nut until the shell is exposed at the 

 end where the three holes occur. 



Breaking the shell with a few quick 

 blows of the heavy, claw, it is soon en- 

 joying a feast of the luscious white meat 

 of the nut. 



The natives often hunt the crab by 

 weaving an obstruction of palm leaves 

 around the tree trunk about 20 feet from 

 the ground. As the. crab backs down the 

 tree and comes in contact with the ob- 

 struction, it lets go its hold, as if the 

 ground had been reached, and is crippled 

 or killed by the fall. 



Some of these crabs were brought on 

 board, but the barefoot sailors objected 

 to their being allowed the freedom of the 

 deck. 



Fanning Island is nowhere more than 

 eight feet above sea-level, and each of the 

 25 or 30 English cable operators living 

 there has his coconut tree picked out as a 

 refuge in case a tidal wave or heavy storm 

 should visit the island. 



DESERTED EAYSAN ISLAND RECHARTED 



Sailing northward, we passed within 

 half a mile of Lavsan Island, in the west- 

 ern Hawaiian group. This is a small 

 sandy island, noted in the public press a 

 number of years ago because of the 

 slaughter of the sea birds which make it 

 their home. 



No one was on the island when we 

 passed. The sand was heaped up to a 

 height of 50 feet at one place and there 

 were only two trees and a few low bushes 

 growing. The island appeared as a thin 

 white streak on the horizon when first 

 sighted. We had been expecting to sight 

 land for about an hour before it appeared, 

 so we knew that it was wrongly charted. 

 By careful observations, we found it to 

 be about four miles north of its assumed 

 position. 



Our route called for a swing up into 

 the North Pacific Ocean before turning 

 eastward for San Francisco, and, as it was 

 winter time, we found stormy weather 

 awaiting us. 



HURRICANE TEARS SMALL SAILS TO 

 RIBBONS 



The vessel was leaking so badly now 

 that very few sails could be set if a heavy 

 sea was running. While hove to in a 

 strong gale about 300 miles off San Fran- 

 cisco, the center of the storm passed over 

 us and for about five minutes the wind 

 blew with hurricane force. The vessel 

 trembled and shook as if some giant hand 

 were trying to thrust her down beneath 

 the mountainous seas which were tum- 

 bling upon her decks, and with a terrific 

 explosion both the small sails which were 

 set were torn to ribbons. 



After the necessary repairs had been 

 made at San Francisco, we were soon on 

 our way to the Hawaiian Islands, where 

 we spent some time.* 



One of the most interesting experiences 

 during a trip through the South Pacific 



* An entire number of The: Geographic, with 

 many illustrations in color, will be devoted to 

 the Hawaiian Islands in the near future. 



