FLINTISLAND XP - '•

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 60

FLINT ISLAND EXPEDITION. - '•-

" ' (FiEO3£ Ouil O^vKT .CoaRKgEOHDBOT;}' " . - - - AUiCKLAKDv t January 201 -" Ife W-ar-indeed. a niiaigHificertt'-specSacfe/' said. Mr- Merfieid,. ff-R-A-S^ fn speaking of' thßßeolipse- to.an!-in*arviewer. «."Jt-w^ia well worth going 2000 milesr to see, more particularly fere these wbo-iad never pre^otisly eeen at total eelipsa. Ik ..was*, an aweinspuring sight. tEit could probabTy oaly bty surpassed by & tremendoua> wJoamc eruption. The- conduct of the natives on the island- on our arrival was very marked. They were sarpriaedl tftat people should travel; so far to see. such an uninteresting thing, as it aippearedi. to 7 taenv as the moon, passing over the sun^ The. foot tnafe we- fiauew *hs. exact time to expect the phenomena^ tw also a marvel to them. When; the eclipse occurred they were thrown into a. stiate* of: the. greatest excitement* 'The- msa bowled, .ihe; women cria<i snifr tbe doge barkcxir whikfc. the- 'binds, fehan.kiii« that m'jrmV hati oveortakep them, went to roost. " Needless to sa-y, it was tbe most marvellous pJieno- ' [ menon that. these simple islanders' in their circumscribed sphere of life had ever wit- , nessed. . It -v-asr not- quifa -daxk^ _ but -euffioiently so to make both Venue and i Mercury plainly visible. We were. only, mx OBiles. from- tbe actual" centre of totality, the exact centre being- at sea. The eclipse- waa partly visible 'at T*b?ti> Rarotonga, and! otber islands, about 'three-quartors of -the suit's, surfoce being- -'obscured as viewed from ..Tahiti-" . * ■„.'-" j " Some idea ot the completeness of " the. aTEa,ngements"made by tbe American" par ijr | for their brief"- visit- >to the island may be obtained from the fact that they took. j nearly 40 tons of timber and material tothe island. " As^ this, all haa to be landed by means* of surf boats* it fnay. be'under--stood that the undertakmg was no light task. Carpopters were taken to the island : for the purpose of erecting huts lor ihe |" temporary habitation of the - members of the expedition. " These were comptseel of ! wooden frameworks covered with banana" ! leaves'. '"Tha timbe-'was left'"on the island. I as a gift to Messrs Lever Bros.' station, | which will -thus; it is calculated, .profit by 1 the expedition? to the extent of about £100. The actual cost was about £45, - but the' value on thet island- wculd be more than twice that eum^ Mr Brooks, in speaking of the eclipse, said: "Tho? eclipse was . a -particularly bright one, andr * ne-vvspaper could be read dluring the whole of the timer wi£bout any I difficulty whatevier. We expected & dark ■ eclipse, being in the tropics, - and made preparation accordingly j but it wca more like half twilight, and our red lamps, though' all. in readiness, were not required.' ! The shower which, occurred during the first, minute ended as suddenly as it Began*, and the water appeared to come down in one solid wall. On the steamer, standing a little way out to sea,' there -was no rain,, and even at. our auxiliary camp,, half a raily. away, there ' was jxo t &■ dropv _ The? raia zone, as. seen. from, the Tayiuni, "was" vary plainly , anaxkei "Very ..extensive prepara-j tions. were made hy ,ihe American partjVv^ and they went to a great' deal of trouble-, to achieve their results- JBJor. their largest i instrument they flrectetfc a. double scatfold- j in# 40ft high— that is, one scaffolding inside-,, to support ib» camera, -alc-ney- and- one oufcside' for the otferato* to work, thus avoid-inig-any vibration or passibilriy of accident. All their arrangemente. were very complete AU the member* of tne party spealc'rery bfehly of the treatment meted ons to idiom by Captain LaJcey" and die officers of ihe ■ Taviu.ii during jlie trip. t . 1