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Excerpt from The South Pacific and New Guinea: Past and Present; With Notes on the Hervey Group, an Illustrative Song and Various Myths The true coral islands, or atolls, are very unattractive, rising only 10 or 15 ft. above high-water mark. The soil consists merely of sand and broken coral, washed on to the reefs by Old Ocean. In this wretched soil grow luxuriantly the coco-nut palm, the screw pine, Cordia Hernandia, Calophyllum inophyllum, with a few other lofty forest trees and low shrubs. Seagoing canoes, carefully preserved from generation to generation, are made out of the Cordia, the wood of the Calophyllum being too hard to be hollowed out with their ancient shell adzes. So poor is the vegetation of these atolls that not more than fifty species of plants have been found in the Tokelau, Ellice, and Gilbert Groups. All the species consist of littoral plants found on the volcanic islands. The fauna of these atolls consists chiefly of a few birds, lizards, small brown rats, and insects. On approaching one of them, the eye rests upon a forest of coco-nut palms rising apparently out of the ocean; so abundantly does this invaluable palm - the staff of life to thousauds of Polynesians - grow on these tropical sand-banks, the roots (in many instances) layed by the sea. In three atolls known to me, the lagoons are of fresh water, thereby enabling the inhabitants to cultivate successfully the food-plants of the volcanic islands. The singular circumstance of a large body of fresh water, marked off from the ocean by only half-a-mile of coral reef, may be thus accounted for; these atolls are believed to be situated over the craters of former volcanoes, and there must be a submarine connection between them and some of the volcanic islands where mountain streams are abundant. These atolls suffer much from drought. I have known a drought on one of them (Arorae) to last for eight years. On these atolls the natives obtain brackish water by digging in the sand and coral. The water (misnamed milk ) of the coco-nut is therefore highly valued. Happily, the lagoons and surrounding ocean are alive with fish easily caught. As, however, experience proves that it is impossible to sustain life for any length of time on fish only, in times of drought and consequent famine, the natives fell coco-nut palms and eat the crown, which is very palatable. Even the green fronds and roots are pounded and the sap eagerly sucked, in order to counteract the evils resulting from an exclusively fish diet. As might be expected, the natives of Arorae were mere skeletons, and their naturally dark-brown skin became almost black. On a subsequent visit, when abundant rains had fallen, I was glad to see the natural colour restored to their (comparatively) plump bodies. Several elevated coral islands are found in the South Pacific. Evidently they have been lifted up by successive stages and sudden movements. The islands of Mare, Lifu, Uvea, Niue, &c, are of this order. On these there are clear indications of three distinct upheavals, which took place at very long intervals. These islands are old enough to have a considerable depth of vegetable soil, covered with coco-nut and other trees, yet not comparable with the volcanic islands for fertility. The cliffs are pierced by large caverns, formerly used as cemeteries, or as places of refuge for the vanquished in battle. Scores of these caves are filled with mummies. Stalactite and stalagmite abound, and form thick and fast-growing layers of lime-rock. I have sometimes chipped off pieces of lime-rock embedding human bones. It is perfectly well understood amongst the natives what tribes or families have the right to use these caverns. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

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