Life at Malden Island.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7911, 29 August 1905, Page 4

Life at Malden Island.

a uiiapiiic ui.seuii'TioN. CHKISTt linatt, Auk. 21. On Tuesday, a .small Norwegian barque, the Alma, aimed at LyHelton with a cargo <ii guano from Maiden KLnt 'lhe little vessel brought with her one passtiiger, .Mr Leslie, who for H months had worked on the island. A representative ot the Pus* lad a long chat with Mr Leslie a:.out his experiences. "I have (Welle.! about the world all my life,'' he said, "and have roughed jt jn many ways, hut never , yet have I seen such a iiod-forsaken place as Maiden Island." Maiden Island is situated right out in the Pacific Ocean, not far south of the equator. It is a coral formation. about 14 miles in length and six in hreadlh, its greatest l,ji-ht above the tea being about 15ft. "Stand in any part of the island and you can see the Pacific Ocean stretching away into the ',jluc distance on even- side," said Mr Leslie. "In the centre of the island is a small lake about two miles in cirtumferci.ie, and almost surrounded i,y quicksands. In some places the water is only a few feet deep, but in other pans it is of an immense depth. The lake risfcs! and (alls with the tides. Tie only vegetation on the island consists of thrie cocoanut palms awl a do'en small lives, which are situated at t he noil hern end. Occasionally, one sees a few blades of grass, but it is such miserable stuff that even the wild goats will not eat il." "There are about 60 or 70 wild pigs and ROJts on the island, (he dccendants' of animals turned loose some years ago. It is a niistery how these animals found enough food to keep them alive. The island swarms with rats and wild cats, these lattei: wing very savage. One of the strange and interesting features of Maiden Island is a number of large areas, raised some 3ft above the ordinary surface, and supported by blocks oi wrought coral, and each having in ■ts centre whit may be taken for an tltar cr tomb. These arc the only traces of a former people who inhabited the island long before it was visited by white men. "The only product of any commer-

cial value is, oi course, guano. There are imjvense deposits o guano on the island, the rights for working which are held by a Melbourne firm. The employees of this linn are the so'e inhabitants of the island, and their tfuty is to collect the guano, an.l prepare ii for shipment. There arc only seven white men at the islai.-l. Working under these are about 1 00 kanakas, recruited chiefly Irom Altutaki and Nine. Both the white men and the blacks sign an agreement twork at Maiden for the term of one year, at the end of which time the; are taken home in the ships trading jto the island. The inhabitants or the ; island are well eared lor by th... ; company. They live in wooden houses, '.which are very roomy and comfortable. Everything required for the:;ise of the inhabitants 'is imported. • The food consists of tinned meats, vegetables, and fruits. The only change which can Ile go| is fish, of .which there ale enormous quantities in the sea round the island, hut even fish, after a while, becomes distasteful.

| "Life at Maiden Island, according to this ex-resident, is not life at all, it is merely an existence, and a terribly dreary, monotonous existence at that. There is not a green blade of grass, let alone a green tree, to , refresh the eye on this flat pancaki ,01 an island. .

"Work on this island commences at five o'clock in the morning, an-l stops at five o'clock in the afternoon. Sunday is a day of lest. Th.guano is scraped up My the kanaka into fiat heaps, and is dried in the hot Sim, after which it is bagged up. The hags of guano are stacked u' on •'■in ill trolleys, runni'mr on light raiis to the wharf, six miles away. "About three or four vessels, as r lulc, cill al M.ilden Island durin> '•»' yrar, and these are watched for anxiously.''