Show arol ci C afon X V jk A 3 lef r 4 M Z af native musicians of french morocco prepared by national geographic society naton U D C service lERTON ROCK which was C clipperton CLIP recently awarded to france by the ling king of italy Is a desolate spot of land 67 10 miles from the mexican coast and Is frances first possession off the pacific roat coast of north america king kin victor emanuel Ero anuel was the arbiter to whom prince france and mexico had biad submitted their claims ot of ow ownership clipperton rock Is one of the lone one blest and least visited islands on the globe it Is about the same distance from the nearest mexican port dort or of acapulco as the bermuda islands are arc from new york I 1 like iko the bermudas this bonef island r rises es sheer from the bed of tho the ocean it Is surrounded by bv dangerous coral reefs mariners marinero Ma who have hae sailed near car III clip porton rock nock say that the island which Is about two miles in diameter and reaches a height of 60 feet looks like a sail at a distance upon closer ap it presents the appearance of a castle rising from the most ship captains give ghe clipperton rock a wide berth in fair weather it Is eay easy enough to steer clear of its encircling reefs but in times of ro fo a ship could be wrecked before the ahe sounding load lead could give gie any warning of land soundings sounding less than a mile folle oft off shore gle give no bottom at 1 ia lath oms feet the island destitute of vegi tation has been inhabited only by a small mexican garrison it was annexed by france in 1857 A party of americans next claimed it and attempted a settlement tl when france protested to this country in 1897 the united states recognized french sovereignty but the same year president diaz adlaz of mexico claimed and seized the island later diaz agreed to submit the matter to arbitration of the king of italy and abide by his decision some time ago the mexican government leased clipperton rock to the pacific islands company which expected to exploit tile the guano deposits of the bird breeding rocks A wharf feet long was built out to the edge of the reef but as the sea breaks beyond it the wharf will have to bo be extended before ships can use it the concession ii has s not been operated since 1914 french colonies lie in every inhabited continent except the north amerlean american mainland and australia and french owned islands landi Is like clipperton rock are but a short sail from these A recent census show that the french frenc h flag flies files over some people about less than the population of the united states although france Is the third largest national landholder in the world with aggregate holdings nearly double the aren area of this country big african colonies the largest slice of the republics domain covers almost half the area of africa including nearly the whole western shoulder from italian libya and the anglo egyptian sudan to the atlantic and from the mediterranean to the belgian congo this ared area eon con fists of the fertile agricultural lands and mountains of the north the sandy sparsely settled wastes of the sahara the french sudan and chad with their fertile plains thick forests and swamps and the jungle land of F reach french equatorial afrim africa the OW in of these regions run the gamut of human color from the white berbers to the blackest senegal and congo negroes french Somal Soma lland liland on appo site bite shoulder la Is about as large as connecticut until recent years it was hot beserr country but irrigation has made it habitable for more than arabs and frenchmen who maintain good trade and handle much of abyssinian Abyss inias commerce through its port the comoro islands madagascar and reunion off the east coast of africa are also included in the french group of possessions their subtropical to tropical cli climate maie fertile valleys and thickly wooded hills make them island garden spots where people live under the tricolor counted among the reunion Inh inhabitants abRants is the famous AM abil el krim the Rif mifflan flan thorn in eu ropes side who Is spending an enforced lifelong vacation catlon la there syria the nearest asiatic possession las bas been french by mandate of the supreme council of allied powers since 1023 three million syrians jews and foreigners inhabit this area frequent uprisings have tested tile the success of french colonization in this region french india consists of he five diminutive colonies mahe on the west coast a short distance north of callcut calicut karahal Karl kal hal cherry and yarmon on the alie last east const coast chandernagore Chander nagore lying north of calcutta is so surrounded on the map by british pink that a geos geog raphy student could easily r miss finding it without tin nn apology summing up tip french india the five fire french spots if 11 placed together it would cover it a space no larger than one and one half times the area of philadelphia ra pa and rochester N Y could more than house its population most of which is hindu french indo indochina china which Is almost mile for mile equal in area to texas Is perhaps the most progressive of all french possessions while counting the nearly natives and tor for elgers here the census enumerator traveled through h one of the worlds great rice producing areas and an thousands or of acres of mulberry trees food fond for k worms the basis of a large larg r ando china silk industry off the northeast coast of australia lie ile the loyalty islands and many smaller groups and the new hebrides which are governed jointly by the french and british many of the inhabitants of these islands are pagan natives cannibalism is not openly practiced but it is said the tribesmen eat cat the toes foes they kill in tribal warfare with welts decorating their bodies sticks of wood thrust through their nostrils bushy hair and scanty clothing some of the tribesmen would not be good subjects for collar ads some of the older natives have holes in their ears which once held wooden disks but now are used for foil pipe racks south pacific islands tahiti Is more interesting and alluring it Is the center of the society islands and not far off are the mar the group archipelago gambler and rapa bapa islands where singing dancing feasting and all that suggest happiness and romance m nce permeate the atmosphere it Is a long journey from tahiti to Gaud Gaude cloupe loupe and martinique of the lesser antilles with their halt half million white mulatto negro and oriental inhabitants Martini ques people have not forgotten the eruption of mt pole in 1902 when the city of st pierre was wiped out french guiana one of the european triplets of south americas America 3 north coast has fins less than indians and blacks who live in the fever infested coastal swamps and torrid forests of the hinterland Altho although i diamonds silver mercury tin and copper have been found in the colony it libit Is yet to be extensively developed devils isle famous french penal island lies oft off the coast of french guiana napoleon III called devils isle the dry guillotine and in recent decades writers of fantastic tales have hare painted terrifying word pictures of the island with its neighbors isle royale and st josephs island devils isle makes up the isles du saint isles of salvation tier upon tier of prison buildings rise on isle royale to which in from other french guiana prisons are sent for discipline on st josephs are hospital and administration buildings nearly the entire foreign population ot or french guiana Is made up of men and women who have been convicted of crimes in the french courts to in the coast towns and in the hinterland farming fanning and mining regions are lluberes convicts whose days of confinement have ended french north america Amerl ca until the clipperton rock award consisted const sted of two rocky islands oft the southern coast of newfoundland w which are peo pea pled by about sturdy of breton and norman stock block |