ter,
towards the end of 1905, another volcano broke out in the bottom of a
deep valley in the island of Savaii, and rose till it attained a height
of about four thousand feet. Down at least to the year 1910 this immense
volcano was still in full action, and had covered many miles of country
under a bed of lava some ten or twelve feet thick, while with the same
river of molten matter it completely filled up the neighbouring lagoon
and replaced the level shore by an iron-bound coast of volcanic
cliffs.[7]

[6] F. H. H. Guillemard, _op. cit._ ii. 504; J. B.
Stair, _Old Samoa_, p. 43.

[7] G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, p. 3.

A remarkable instance of these volcanic cliffs is furnished by the
little island of Apolima between Savaii and Upolu. The islet, which is
in fact the crater of an extinct volcano, is only about a mile long by
half to three-quarters of a mile in width. On every side but one it
presents to the sea a precipitous wall of basaltic rock some thousand
feet high, while the interior is scooped out in the likeness of a great
cauldron. Only at one place is there a break in the cliffs where a
landing can be effected, and there the operation is difficult and
dangerous even in fine weather. In bad weather the island is completely
isolated. Thus it forms a strong natural fortress, which under the
conditions of native warfare was almost impregnable.[8]

[8] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 33 _sq._; G. Brown,
_Melanesians and Polynesians_, p. 171.

As might be expected from their volcanic formation, the islands are
subject to frequent and sometimes severe shocks of earthquake. The
veteran missionary, J. B. Stair, has recorded that the shocks increased
in number and violence during the last years of his residence in Samoa.
The last of them was preceded by loud subterranean noises, which lasted
for hours, to the great alarm of the natives. At the north-west of Upolu
also, Mr. Stair used often to hear a muffled sound, like the rumble of
distant thunder, proceeding apparently from the sea under the reef. This
curious noise always occurred on hot, sultry days, and seemed to strike
a note of warning, which filled natives and Europeans alike with a sense
of awe and insecurity.[9] Thus if, beheld from some points of view, the
Samoan islands appear an earthly paradise, from others they present the
aspect, and emit the sounds, of an inferno.

[9] T. H. Hood, _Notes of a Cruise in H.M.S. "F