An Island King. 
249 
lagoon of Apamama, the largest but one of the 
recently annexed Gilbert Islands. The popula¬ 
tion of these islands, comprising the atoll of 
Apamama, is now something over a thousand, 
and they do not show any signs of diminution 
—probably owing to their disinclination to 
accept the introduction of European civilisation 
and a sudden change of habits and mode of life 
generally. 
For nearly fifteen years Apinoka ruled his 
people with a rod of iron. All the revenue 
derived by his subjects from the sale of their 
produce, such as copra and other island commo¬ 
dities, was paid into the Royal treasury, and 
from there it found its way into the pockets of 
trading captains, who sold the aspiring King 
modern breech-loading rifles of the latest 
pattern. As time went on he began to harry 
the people of the neighbouring islands of the 
Gilberts, and soon threatened to be the one 
dominant ruler of the whole group. And then 
the missionaries—native teachers working under 
the supervision of the Boston Board of Missions 
—began to get alarmed. For missionaries in 
general Apinoka ever expressed the most 
withering contempt, and word went out that 
