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During a series of cruises in the Pacific Ocean the routine of my official duties was pleasantly broken by frequent excursions on shore for the purpose of collecting material for the United States National Museum, as well as for recreation. While sitting in native huts and while wading upon coral reefs, traversing forests and climbing mountains, I interested myself in taking notes on the languages and customs of the natives, their arts, medicines, food materials and the manner of preparing them, and the origin of their dyes, paints, fibers for fishing nets and lines, materials for mat making and thatching, woods used in constructing their houses and canoes, and gums and resins used in calking.

Savai'i and Upolu islands are moderately well roaded, the former with di sco ntinuous coast roads, the latter with coastal and two cross-island roads. All islands are covered with moderately den se tropical forest, which, however, does not render progress as difficult as in many types of New Zealand forest. Upolu Island is narrowly elliptical in outline, roughly 47 miles by 16 miles; a rugged chain of volcanic cones forms the crestal ridge rising to 3,600 ft. Savai'i Island, 47 miles by 27 miles, consists of broad coalescing domes topped by numerous cones, of which the highest rise to over 6,000 ft.