The Legends of Volcano Island

By William M. Bellinger

In the early 1820s, Maia and Taygeto, two young Polynesian friends, followed a treasure map taking them on an exciting adventure to Volcano Island. What they found revealed a civilization hidden for generations. Their discovery had lifelong effects on them.

Their lives changed dramatically with the coming of European explorers and settlers in the 1830s. They each faced new challenges that separated them for many years.

Though dire circumstances brought Maia and Taygeto back together, their love for each other had endured. They went on yet another adventure of discovery back to Volcano Island that led to long-lasting prosperity for their culture and their people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662436222

Book preview

Chapter 1

Island Friends

A long, long time ago on a tropical Pacific archipelago was the little village of Sili. It was located on a small island on the eastern shore of Ofu in the Manua Islands. Two neighboring twelve-year-olds, Maia and Taygeto, lived there. They had grown up together and were the best of friends.

Maia (my-ə) was the darling of her family. Her sparkling hazel eyes, beaming smile, long auburn hair, and perky personality always gave her an aura of excitement.

Taygeto (tay-get-o) was quite handsome, athletic, muscular, creative, and often too adventurous. His family thought he was fearless.

They both shared a love of exploring the beach and could be found there together almost every day.

The snow-white sandy beach surrounding their island and its sparkling crystal-clear waters offered a wonderful place for Maia and Taygeto to play. They often built large structures with sand and seashells. They would make little boats from seashells and watch them float in the little canals they built through their sandy towers. Catching little iguanas was also a great source of fun for Maia. She loved watching them run around and through the sandy castles.

The daily tides would wash away their work, giving them a smooth surface to build anew.

Sometimes they wore traditional island clothing and practiced tribal dances. One dance was based on a volcano. Often they would sit and wonder about the nearby island with the smoking volcano. They called it Volcano Island though its real name was Olosega.

Maia often asked, Do you think it will erupt?

Taygeto would answer, No one remembers it ever erupting, but it always belches smoke and makes plenty of noise.

No one lived there, and no one ever went there. It was said to be taboo.

The currents between the islands were always very strong and dangerous. Even the island’s fishermen in their canoes avoided these waters whenever possible. So very few boats were ever seen in the straits between the islands. The small port of Sili was on the east side of the island.

Nearby Olosega Island was called Volcano Island by the children because of the constant rumbling and smoke emitting from its conical top.

Maia and Taygeto enjoyed all the wildlife.

They had made a friend of Reba, a little monkey. Reba seemed to have a sense of humor. He would sneak up on them and squeal loudly and climb trees and drop ripe coconuts onto the beach.

Taygeto learned from his grandfather how to open the coconuts with his special islander’s knife.

The knife had a very sharp obsidians blade, and its handle had an edge of flint that could strike certain rocks found on the island to create sparks to build a fire. It easily opened coconuts. They often drank the nourishing coconut water and ate the coconut meat.

There were few wild animals on the island, so the life in the sea was of interest. Often the sight of turtles, crabs, and fish would tempt them into the water; sometimes they tried to catch them. If they caught something sizable, they would bring it home for a meal. Taygeto often tried spearfishing. They both also liked to bodysurf in the crashing waves.

Maia always reminded Taygeto, Keep an eye out for sharks!

Sometimes sharks came very close to the beach. Taygeto had learned the differences between shark species. There were hammerheads, tiger sharks, and great white sharks around the reefs. Taygeto had a sharp and watchful eye and usually spotted them first and would yell, Shark in the surf!

Once, they saw a shark come very close to shore, almost beaching itself, to catch a fish it was chasing.

Chapter 2

The Storm

One night, a very violent typhoon swept over the islands. The villagers were worried about being swept away by the huge waves. A few huge waves inundated the beaches. Many huts and trees were knocked down, and the appearance of the beach was greatly changed.

Many things usually washed ashore after a big storm, and the next day was no different. Maia and Taygeto would always run down to the beach at first light to see what they might find. They were usually surprised.

They always had so much fun exploring the new beach and discovering whatever had been washed ashore. Along with many new shells, pieces of wood from trees, and maybe parts of sunken ships, they found an assortment of bottles that always gave them pleasure. They liked filling the bottles partway with water and blowing across the tops to make music and even create songs about the sea.

Suddenly, down the beach, among the trees, they heard Reba screeching. They ran to find Reba jumping up and down and still screeching loudly. They were elated to find that Reba was all right. He was struggling to pull out something half-buried in the sand. Taygeto said excitedly, He’s found something!

Maia started digging too and soon freed a long piece of waterlogged wood. It was slimy with seaweed covering its surface. It must have been washed ashore after being on the bottom of the sea for a long time. They turned it over, and under the seaweed, they found a sealed bottle attached to the wood.

They wondered what might be in the bottle. Maia asked, Can you open it, Taygeto? They heard several thumping noises. Looking toward the sound, they saw that Reba had thrown down some coconuts. This gave Taygeto an idea; he tried to crack open the bottle with the hard coconuts. After hitting the bottle several times on both sides, it finally cracked open. Out fell a folded piece of cloth. They wondered what it was.

Maia unfolded the cloth to find a picture drawn on it. The drawing included a small circular bay with a large rock right at the shoreline. A small pyramid-shaped rock pile was near the big rock. A dotted line went to a lagoon then around it to another pyramid of rocks. Then the dots continued toward the volcano to a square; then it continued and ended at a big X.

She said, "Reba, what have you found? It looks like