98 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. II, April, 1948 
ragged shorts partly covered by a skirt of leaves, 
but later he changed to a better garment. 
As the little canoe grounded on the beach, a 
host of people advanced. It seemed as if an 
interminable function of handshaking was im¬ 
minent, but it was possible to limit it to a few of 
the elders. A chief controlled them and lined 
them up. The group of some two hundred sang 
a hearty song of welcome. It was a warm and a 
stirring reception. Lest the impression be 
gained that the reception was a great personal 
triumph, it should be made clear that curiosity 
was enough to bring many to the beach, and the 
hope that the stranger landing on the beach was 
a trader bringing cloth, thread, knives, and other 
goods, was a strong motive to bring out the 
people. Unfortunately, the few articles, knives, 
cloth, chewing gum, and cigarettes, carried by 
the botanist were only enough for the guide and 
his family. 
The village (see map, Fig. 1) stretched along 
a single straight street starting from the 
bombed church at the south end and running 
northward parallel with the west beach. Most 
of the homes were frame structures, but a num¬ 
ber were of thatch, as were all the outbuildings. 
Fruit trees and ornamental shrubs and herbs were 
numerous in the village, which was well kept 
and attractive. Not many other food plants were 
cultivated in the village. Fecundity of the people 
was evident, for small children appeared in 
swarms, and had to be carefully dodged when 
one walked in the village. 
East of the north end of the village and about 
midway across the island was a large swampy 
depression, at least 300 feet wide and 600 feet 
long. This had been converted into a "lepuel” 
or wet garden. Each family controlled a lot in 
it, for wet-land agriculture. At a glance it ap¬ 
peared to be a solid growth of Cyrtosperma 
Chamissonis, the most important starchy food 
crop. The plants were of fair size in the black, 
wet muck, reaching about 8 feet in height. 
These were not more than 2 years old. If al¬ 
lowed to grow to maturity at 3 years, they more 
than double in height, and produce an enor¬ 
mous corm. Soas said that the largest corms were 
2 feet in diameter and 5 feet long and so heavy 
that two men were needed to carry one. Infre¬ 
quent in the patch were plants of Colocasia 
esculenta, Musa paradisiaca, and Saccharum offi- 
cinarum. 
The whole island was wooded. Native plants 
were not rare, but the forest stand was of Cocos 
nucifera, which had been planted to produce 
copra for trade with foreigners. These coconut 
trees made an even canopy which, at 73 feet, 
dominated the scene. 
Second in importance as a starchy food was 
Tacca Leontopetaloides, called "mugamuk.” This 
was stated to be planted in garden patches. It 
also occurred widespread throughout the coco¬ 
nut plantation, where it was self-sown. From 
small tubers it persisted and apparently it spread 
also by seed, which may have been broadcast. It 
was certainly not indigenous, and did not grow 
on the top of the beaches or in any close prox¬ 
imity to them. 
The shallow margin of the lagoon was note¬ 
worthy, for there were several large patches of 
mangroves, both Rhizophora mucronata and 
Sonneratia alba. 
PINGELAP LANGUAGE 
No published or other record has been found 
of any compilation or study of the Pingelap lan¬ 
guage. One would expect it to be similar to the 
tongues spoken on either one of the adjacent 
large islands, Kusaie or Ponape. 
The writer’s boatman, named Soas, spoke a 
little English, so he became guide and informant 
during the brief but vigorous exploration of 
Pingelap Island. Even without an interpreter or 
a common language, it is possible to obtain the 
native names of plants from a good informant. 
The writer has succeeded in doing so on numer¬ 
ous Pacific islands. Soas furnished the names 
for every plant collected and for others merely 
observed. The crowds of bystanders were asked, 
and they confirmed many of the names Soas sup- 
