450 
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
the Presbyterian Church have been established in all the 
five islands, but they have been especially successful in 
Aneitium, where the natives are all converted to 
Christianity, and can all read and write. More than 
forty schools are in existence. There has been no 
murder on the island for many years, and crime of any 
kind is almost unknown. Tanna is about 30 miles long 
by 10 wide, well wooded, and with mountains of 3500 
feet. It is exceedingly fertile, and is highly cultivated, 
and European plantations have been formed on it for 
some years past. The natives are about 8000 in number. 
Formerly cannibals, they have now almost abandoned the 
practice, but intertribal warfare is still very common. 
The island contains the most formidable volcano in the 
group—Mount Yasowa. Captain Cook described it as 
discharging a column of heavy smoke like a vast tree, 
whose crown gradually spread as it ascended; and it is 
still active at the present day, Mr. F. A. Campbell 
stating that the noise of its eruption is distinctly heard 
upon Aneitium, 40 miles away. The height of this 
volcano is less than 1000 feet, but the crater was found 
by Admiral Markham to be 600 feet in diameter. The 
island is visited by frequent and severe earthquakes, 
which in 1878 destroyed the harbour of Port Kesolution. 
Erromanga Island is the largest of the southern group, 
and is high, rocky, well wooded, and in some parts highly 
cultivated. The natives bear a bad name, and five 
missionaries have been murdered by them at different 
times, but this sacrifice of life has not been in vain, for 
the character of the people has much improved of late, 
and out of the population of 2500 over 1000 are said to 
be Christians. Sandal-wood was at one time plentiful on 
the island, but no system having been adopted for the 
proper preservation of the species, it is now verging upon 
