CHAPTER *0 
/ AtA/V The Race For Airports 
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Central Ticific Airways. 
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Following the period of guano digging, little was heard of the central 
Pacific islands, and several of them were all but forgotten for nearly 
half a century. * . __ 
On seven islands native populations lived their peaceful lives, making 
a little copra from the abundantly present coconuts, and trading this Of 
pearl shell for such necessities of life as could not be made, grown, or 
caught. 
On Swains Island the children and grandchildren of an American 
and his Samoan wife developed a patriarchal little domain, importing a 
hundred workmen from the Tokelau Islands and Samoa. 
A cable relay station was established on Fanning Island, together 
with a copra plantation. Guano digging was continued on Malden Island. 
Periodically there were colonies of copra harvesters on Hull, Sydney, 
Nassau, Palmyra, Washington, Christmas, Vostok, Caroline, and Flint. 
When profits were low these islands were abandoned. Pearl shell was 
cultured, especially on Suvarov Island. 
The other islands, although most of them were “leased” to varioits 
concerns, were neither developed nor used, and they were seldom visited. 
Then, with the rise of trans-Pacific aviation, there came a change. In 
1928 Kingsford-Smith and party flew the Southern Cross from San 
Francisco to Sydney, by way of Honolulu, Kauai, Suva, and Brisbane. 
When he reached Honolulu he appealed for information about possible 
emergency landing-places on the long hop to Suva. The writer gave him 
maps, photographs, and descriptions, showing how he could alight on 
Canton and Enderbury. 
Later, when possible routes from Honolulu to the antipodes were 
being mapped, much information was dispensed at Bishop Museum, 
whose scientists had thoroughly explored these little known islands in 
1924. 
In March, 1935, the first move was made to occupy equatorial islands 
for the purpose of gathering meteorological information and developing 
landing fields. At that time it was thought that land planes would be 
used, and Baker, Howland, and Jarvis were the islands selected. 
Colonists, under the direction of William T. Miller, then superintend¬ 
ent of airways for the Department of Air Commerce, were landed from 
the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca: on Jarvis, March 26, 1935; How¬ 
land, March 30; and Baker, April 3. Camps on these islands were 
established by men of the United States Army, in charge of Captain 
Harold A. Meyer, U.S.A. 
Most of the colonists have been young men of Hawaiian or part- 
Hawaiian blood, the majority of them students of the Kamehameha 
Schools, Honolulu. They were carefully chosen, after thorough medical 
examination, and very few have suffered any ill-effects of the experience. 
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