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fifteen or sixteen miles in length, with fringe reefs along the shore, but apparently no off-lying dangers. The north point near the center of the island was found to be in latitude 10 deg. 40 min. south, and longitude 166 deg. 3 min. The high land extends close out on its northeast side, but towards the northwest the hills slope at some distance from the extremes, leaving a considerable extent of low land near the coast. The island is well wooded and watered, the streams in some places running through the villages into the sea.

"The natives are a fine athletic race, and came off readily to the ship, bringing pigs, bread-fruit and yams. Mats, in the manufacture of which great skill is displayed, are also offered for sale. The appearance of the canoes, houses, etc., evinces great ingenuity. Canoes with outriggers, and mostly lime-washed, • have a neat appearance; they have also large seagoing double canoes. The villages are large, and houses surrounded by stone fences. On the north side, the villages are close to the sea, with from 300 to 400 inhabitants each. The natives are apparently merry and good-natured, but are not to be trusted, for without any known reason they attacked the boat of the Bishop, on leaving the village of the northwest extremity of the island, and nearly succeeded in cutting it off. Three of the crew were wounded with arrows, and of these two died from the effects of their wounds. Their bows are formidable looking weapons, being seven feet in length, with arrows in proportion."

SOLOMON ISLANDS.

North by west from Santa Cruz is the Solomon Archipelago, so named by Mendana, the discoverer,

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in 1568, supposing the islands to contain all the wealth and riches like unto that of the ancient king. They were re-discovered by Phillip Carteret, in 1767. The group is very extensive, ranging many hundreds of miles northwest and southeast, although but eight or ten are well enough known to afford data for a description. The principal are Malayta, Ysabel, Guadalcanar, Bougainville, San Christoval and Choiseul. They are of large size, some being fully 100 miles long by twenty or thirty miles wide, with lofty ranges of mountains sloping gradually to gradually to the sea, well watered and covered with trees and ferns, with here and there beautiful valleys, and streams of water meandering through them to the sea.

The inhabitants are active and energetic, and are great mariners, their canoes being well built, and handled with consummate skill. Some of their warcanoes are fully eighty feet feet, and carry sixty men. carving, while many of their implements are inlaid with the mother-of-pearl shell.

long, with beam of five They are very skillful in weapons and industrial

CHAPTER V.

ISLANDS

Deep in the wave is a coral grove,

Where the purple mullet and gold fish rove.

JAMES GATES PERCIVAL.

CAROLINE ISLANDS.

HE Caroline group, extending almost from the

THE

equator to 12 deg. north latitude, and ranging

from 135 deg. to 177 deg. east longitude, comprises over 500 islands. Dotting the great Pacific Sea with lands of indescribable fertility and fabulous commercial possibilities, they are almost beyond the description of tongue or pen. If anything were needed to substantiate the grandeur and extent of some of the islands and atolls of the Pacific, the following description would alone suffice.

THE GREAT ATOLL OF HOGOLEU.

Lying at the eastern end of the great Caroline group, it surrounds and contains within its limits a principality. If one could imagine a strip of land

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