five to eight miles wide, varied in its topography by mountain, hill and valley, traversing the ocean for nearly 300 miles, in almost the form of a circle, and this strip covered with the most beautiful tropical foliage, of fruit and other valuable trees, some idea of the outward form of Hogoleu might be obtained. Enclosed in this great circle of land lies the lagoon, with four greater and twenty smaller islands dotting the surface, on whose broad expanse of waters the combined navies of the world might ride at safe and roomy anchorage. With three main outlets to the ocean, whose width and depth render them perfectly safe for the passage of the greatest ships, the lagoon forms an inland harbor unequalled in any other part of the world. The islands in the lake, some of which are thirty to forty miles in circumference, are covered with valuable timber, and abound in all the tropical fruits, of the cocoanut, citron, bread-fruit, oranges, bananas and mangoes, with trees of the sago and date palm, and timber of the toa, tomano, prima vera, and great quantities of sandalwood. Fine streams of fresh water flow through the valleys, while to add to the gorgeous beauty of the scene, birds with the most beautiful and valuable plumage give life and animation to the forests and glades. Here, too, the beche-de-mer, the tortoise and turtle find their favorite breeding-grounds, in the water and along the shores. The great lake teems with fish of nearly all the species found in the South Sea, many of whose brilliant hues and colors are only equalled by the pearl shell that line the bed of the lagoon. The latter is found here in great abundance, of the largest size and finest quality, covering the bottom of the lake wherever it can be

seen, and of course in just as great if not greater abundance in the depths not reached by the eye.

Our limited stay at Hogoleu hardly gave me time to form a just opinion of the character and manners of the natives, for which I have been forced to rely upon the valuable experiences and writings of others.

INHABITANTS.

"In judging of the character of the Caroline Islanders, one must remember that there are always two sides to a question; and in connection with this matter, I may refer to a fact which I regard as very significant. All Englishmen are familiar with the story of the wreck of the Antelope at the Pelew Islands in 1793, and of the Prince Lee Boo, who accompanied Captain Wilson to England. These same Pelew Islanders, who at that time treated the shipwrecked Englishmen with such generous hospitality for a period of four months, seeking no return for the same, are now regarded as piratical miscreants of the most atrocious type—and not without reason, for they have got into a bad habit of going out to sea in their fast-sailing proas, and attacking, off the coasts of their islands, such vessels as may be becalmed or entangled among the shoals; in which nefarious practice they have, on several occasions, so far succeeded as to have plundered the vessels and massacred their crews. This change of behavior is easily accounted for. In some cases it has arisen from ill treatment which they have experienced at the hands of strangers, but in most cases it has been the result of evil example by a set of scoundrels who disgrace humanity, and are to be found strolling about these seas, making themselves at home

among the simple-minded barbarians, and instructing them in every vice and villainy.

"No one knows with any certainty how many inhabitants are on Hogoleu; some say 15,000, some 20,000; but there are very many. They are armed with good swords with hilts of brass, daggers, spears pointed with iron, bows of great strength, arrows headed with iron, and slings out of which they fling round stones with great certainty and with the force of a shot. The iron weapons they have purchased from traders of Manilla and elsewhere. They have many combats with crews of ships, and display great courage. No white men have ever lived among them, to anyone's knowledge, though I have heard there is one living there now, established by one Captain Hayes. Many men have been on shore and have been treated with hospitality. From what I have seen of them, they are a people I would have no fear of, although they have an ugly habit of attacking ships upon small grounds of offense. In 1870 they tried to board the Vesta, but the German captain, although he lost his anchor and chain by having to slip it, was more than a match for them. He fired upon them with scrap-iron and killed a great many. Of course, he was not to blame; but these unfortunate misunderstandings tend very much to perpetuate ill feeling.

"That the first Europeans who can succeed in establishing a permanent agency upon Hogoleu will make their fortunes in a very short period, is an unquestionable fact. This island presents to the commercial adventurer such an opportunity as is scarcely to be found elsewhere in the world-not alone from the valuable products of the land itself, but from the possession of so magnificent a harbor for shipping,

whence could be extended the ramifications of a trade on a large scale throughout the whole great Caroline Archipelago. That there is any risk in the attempt, I do not for a moment believe. All that is required is for one determined man, acquainted with the Caroline tongue, to secure, by acceptable presents, the protection of a chief, to marry into his family (as he would be required to do), and after a few months' diplomacy he might have it all his own way, so far as driving a trade for his owners was concerned."

PELEW ISLANDS-ATOLLS.

The Pelew Islands referred to form the extreme western end of the Caroline group, and were discovered by Drake in 1579; the main Carolines having been visited by Alonzo de Saavedra, as early as 1528, although the discovery of the group has been ascribed by some writers to Lopez Villa Lobas, in 1543, which is an evident mistake.

These Atolls, or horse-shoe islands (sucl. as I have described Hogoleu), are an important feature in the geological formation of the Pacific Isles, and are to be found in nearly every group, as well as scattered over the great waste of waters of the South Sea, sometimes isolated and alone, at others in groups and chains, having the appearance of the last outposts of a sunken continent. Darwin, Humboldt and others account for their singular shape and formation by assuming that at one time they were portions of the mainland or continents, or islands, and that their centers, which at former periods were hilly and mountainous, gradually sank and disappeared; the coral insect building the fringe or edge on the sunken lands in the

form we now see them. They vary somewhat in size and form, and may be found from but a mile or so in diameter to hundreds of miles in circumference.

The inland lakes are nearly always safe harboring for vessels sailing and trading in these seas. Generally speaking, there are from one to four openings or passage-ways from the sea to the lagoons, through which the tide ebbs and flows. These channels vary from fifty to several hundred yards in width, and carry deep navigable water. In the storms and gales that sometimes prevail in these regions, an atoll might be truly termed the sailors' snug harbor.

CORAL REEFS.

A wide platform of rock, covered with the sea, except at low tide, borders most of the high islands of the Pacific. It is a vast accumulation of coral, based upon the bottom in the shallow waters of the shores. This bank or table of coral rock is of varying width, from a few hundred feet to a mile or more; and although the surface is usually nearly flat, it is often intersected by irregular boat channels, or occasionally incloses large bays, affording harbor protection to scores of ships. In very many instances it stands at a distance from the shores, like an artificial mole, leaving a wide and deep channel between it and the land, and within this channel are other coral reefs, some in scattered patches and others attached close to the shore. The inner reef in these cases is distinguished as the fringed reef, and the outer as the barrier reef. The sea rolls in heavy surges against the outer margin of the barrier; but the still waters of a lake prevail within, affording safe navigation for the tottling canoe,