Bonin Islands  Source  Whalesite

      The Bonin Islands, situated in about the 27th parallel of north latitude, and in 142° east longitude, are all with the exception of Peel's Island uninhabited; and this has been only recently settled by some speculators from Oahu, who in the your 1830 emigrated from that place with the hope of acquiring an easy and speedy fortune from supplying whalers with refreshments; an object for which these islands are remarkably well situated, being in a temperate climate, and in a part of the ocean much frequented by the sperm whale, some of which are often killed by their adventurous pursuers, within a few miles of the land. Peel's Island moreover possesses an excellent harbor, Port Lloyd, and is well supplied with wood and water, and every kind of refreshment can now be purchased here at a reasonable rate.

      The soil of this island is of first rate quality, and produces every kind of vegetable in abundance and perfection; but the quantity of the good land is in very small proportion indeed, as compared to that which is rocky, mountainous, and unavailable; which is, indeed, the general character of the islands; the little flats and vallies here and there by the sea-side, where a rich soil is to be found, forming the few and scanty exceptions to the general rule.

      The emigrants arrived to the number of ten couple, the men being nearly equally divided in point of color; the women were ail Hawaiians.

      A disagreement soon occurred among them, for there being no légal authority or properly constituted superior, every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and their labor, instead of being concentrated upon a common cause, became divided, each man acting for himself, and forming a separate establishment; an arrangement not perhaps very detrimental in the long run, but productive of considerable hardship and difficulty in the early period of their settlement.

      Their number was afterwards increased by the arrival of some shipwrecked people who had been cast away upon Perry's Group, (some small islands lying about forty miles to the northward of the Bonins.) — From that period to the present the population has been very fluctuating; some having run away from ships to remain, and others, (and these the largest number,) having left the settlement in different ships which touched here for refreshments; so that their number at the present period, including men, women and children, amounts to 42 persons; and it is somewhat singular that of all the children born upon the island, only two are girls; and this through a period of thirteen years.

      The original settlement named on the charts Clarkson's Village, is situated on the right hand of the harbor as you enter behind a small but high island which forms the south head, terminating towards the sea in a high bluff, but sloping with a more gradual but still deep descent, on the side towards the village; from which, it is accessible on foot at low water. This, from the use to which it has been applied by the settlers, is called Goat Island. On the opposite shore of the harbor; is the location of Wm. Gilly and two or three others, marked on the charts by the name of Staver's Valley; and at the head of the bay Mr. Savery, one of the original settlers, has established himself, in a situation which possesses great picturesque beauty and abounding fertility, but it must he confessed it is rather out of the way of those ships which merely send their boats for refreshments, without coming to anchor; so much so indeed that but for an accidental detention upon the island of two or three days, I should not have known of its existence, as it may well be supposed the other settlers do not acquaint masters of ships with it, or not at least till after their own produce is disposed of.

      Green turtle are very plentiful at these islands at certain periods, when in accordance with their naturel instinct, these animais seek the shore, to deposit their eggs in the sandy beach. In one nest, the turtle will often lay from 90 to 100 eggs, carefully packed in layers, with sand intervening between each layer, and the whole is completed by replacing the sand above them as nearly as possible in its original state. The many enemies to which the young fry are exposed as soon as hatched, renders this wonderful prolificness of the parent indispensable; which again manifests the wisdom of the Great Creator, in thus providing against the possible extinction of the species.

      On the 24th April last, the water of Port Lloyd was observed to rise suddenly in a most unusual manner. Mr. Savery's account is as follows: at the time when the ebb ride was about half spent, in the forenoon, he was standing on the sand, which in front of his house extends out a long distance, the head of the bay being shoal water, when he observed the water suddenly to rise, and rush in with great violence, to nearly the height of the usual high-water mark; a second and third wave soon followed in the same sudden manner, which overflowed his cultivated land, and swept impetuously through his house, doing him considerable mischief. The entire height to which it rose did not exceed three or four feet, in all, and it very quickly retired to its usual level. A ship; the Matilda of London, which shortly after visited the Island, reported that in passing Volcano Island, situated some few degrees to the southard, about that time, the volcano was observed to be in active and violent operation, (as was also the case when the writer of this article passed it a month later.) No shock of an earthquake was felt at Port Lloyd, nor observed by the Matilda at sea, though the unusual rise of the water above described, is probably to be attributed to the distant volcanic eruption.

      Of the moral and religions condition of the Bonin Islanders, I fear I cannot say much. Some regard is, as I am told, paid to the Sabbath, and a few bibles and other religious books are in their possession; but of any public or religious service, they are of course destitute. Some of them appear to be moral and steady characters, but I am afraid that cannot be said of all; and the children are growing up almost entirely uneducated. Gilly and Savery, (though the latter has no children,) appeared deeply sensible of the wants of the settlement in both these respects, and the former expressed himself willing to guarantee a comfortable support to any person who was qualified to undertake the education of his two boys, But this would he an engagement requiring deep consideration before it could be entered upon, by any one who was at all fitted in any proper manner, for the due discharge of it.

"Sketch of Bonin Islands."
      The Friend of Temperance and Seamen.
Vol. II, No. 1 (Jan 1, 1844)
p. 5.

Bonin Islands  Source  Whalesite