THE CAROLINE ISLANDS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5304, 26 September 1885, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CAROLINE ISLANDS.

In view of the present dispute between ! Germany and Spain regarding the Caroline j Islands, the following particulars from j the Sydney Telegraph will be of in- i terest : — The Caroline Islands from a widelyscattered archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Philippines and the north of New Guinea, between 3 deg. and j 11 deg. north lat., and 135 deg. and 177 I deg. east long. By the Spaniards, who ! lay claim to the whole, they are divided into the Western, the Central, and the Eastern Carolines. The Western, better known as the Pelew, Pellew, or Palau I Islands, have a total area of 846 square miles, and are nearly encircled by a coral i reef. The principal .members of the ' group are Babelthaup, with an area of ■ 275 miles, Corore, Urucdzapel, Jaracong j or Erracong, Kiangle, Eimelius, Pellelew, | and Angour or Ngaur ; and the general ! title of Errekeltiu Islands is applied to. all the archipelago to the south of Babelthaup. The surface is frequently well .. wooded and the soil fertile ; and fruit-bread : cocoanuts, sugar cane, arums, oranges, and bananas are grown in abundance. Cattle, sheep, and pigs have been introduced ; there is a great variety of birds, and the lagoons abound with turtle and ; fish. The inhabitants are a dark copper- j colored race, and bear evident traces of j Malay and Papuan blood. Not only the '; separate islands, but even the villages : form independent but co-operative re- j publics. The most peculiar institution is i the Clobbergoll, a kind of corporation for ; purposes of mutual aid and defence. The j women have clobbergolls of their own, and j possess a considerable share of political in- | fluence. The Pelewese still used stone j I instruments and weapons at the close of- 1 last century, but produced a variety of ' ; artistic articles with their limited means. They have, five kinds of recognised currency in the islands, consisting of pieces | or beads of ancient glass and enamel, to which they ascribe a divine origin. The population seenis to be rapidly decreasing. ] Dr Semper calculates that 1 at present the whole group contains 10,000 inhabitants. The Pelews were brought prominently into notice by Captain Henry Wilson, whose ship— the Antelope — was wrecked in August 1783, on one of the islands A narrative of his residence on the islands was published by George Keate in 1788. Dr Semper gives a graphic account of his intercourse with the Natives in his ' ' Die Palau-Inseln im Stillen Ocean," 157.3 ; md in the " Journal des Museum Godeffroy," Hamburg, 1873, Alfred Tetens describes his visit during 1865-1868r The Central Carolines, or those which are more usually known as the Carolines proper, consist of about 48 groups with 400 or 500 islpnds. Omitting Ualan

Puynipet, and Rug, the area is hardly 20 square miles, but in3ludincr them it amounts to 3GO. The Ngoli, Gulu. of Matelotas group lies to the north-east of the Pelews, and consists of three islands inhabited by a few people from Yap. Yap or Guap lies further to the north-east, is about 10 miles in length, and has an excellent harbor on the soufch-east. The Natives are at a higher level of civilisation than most of their neighbors. They cultivate the betelnut with great care, build first-rate boats, lay out their villages regularly, pave their streets and construct stone piers and wharves. A Spanish mission was established in the island in 185 G. A map and description will be found in the "Godeffroy Journal" for 1873, which also gives an account of the Ulithi, Elivi, or Mackenzie group, previously described by Captain Wilkes, of the United States exploration. The Ulea, Swede, and Lutke Islands are of little importance; but the Hrgoleu or Rug group, discovered in 1834 by Duperrey, is composed of five large and about 40 smaller islands, and contains nearly 35,000 inhabitants, who are divided into two distant race's— a black and a red — which are often at'war with each other. The Mortlock or Young William's group, which received its former name from its discovery in 1793, consists of three atolls called respectively Satoan, Etal, and Lukunor. The Natives, who number about 3430, are of Samoan origin, and the only worshippers of regular idols in the archipelgo. To the north-east lies Ngatik Nutik or Raven Island discovered in 1773, and inhabited by immigrants from Puynipet, greatly mingled with foreign blood. An account of a visit by the Star to the last three or four islands is given in the Geographical Magazine for 1874. Punipte (Bornabi, Banabe, Bonibe*, Funopet, or Panapee), also called Ascension by the French, along with the two low atolls of Andema and Paphenomo (known to English sailors as Ant's Islands and Pakeen respectively) constitute the group called by Admiral Lutke the Senavine. The population at the time of the Nouvara's visit in 1859 was 2000, reduced by smallpox from 5000 in 1846; There is a small colony of whites, and the island has been . the seat, of an American mission since 1851. The island is the chief rendezvous for the whalers' in that part of the Pacific. There is a remarkable mass of ruins in the centre of tne island, which seems to have belonged to a fortification. (See Kubbarry, "Die Rumen von Naumatie auf der Insel Ponape" in the "Godeffroy Journal.") Ualan Kusai, or Strong's Island, which occupies almost the centre of the Carolines proper, is a volcanic island with an area of about 30 square miles, and a population from 700 to 1000. It was discovered in 104 by the American Crozier and is the seat of an American mission. The Eastern Carolines are otherwise known as the Mulgrave Archipelago, and comprise the Radak, Ralik, or Marshall Group, and the Gilbert Group. The total population is estimated at 100,000. They were discovered by the two voyagers, whose name they bear, in 1788. The Carolines were probably first visited by Alvaro de Savedra in 1527 ; and in 1578 Drake discovered the Pelews, and in 1686 another group was added to the list by Admiral Francesco Lazeno. To the lastmentioned navigator they owe the name they now bear, which was given in the honor of Charles of Spain.