The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-12-26
Kirauea, four thousand feet; are mighty and fear

nl opponents Of the facts which, ut every glance
arrest the attention and awaken the astonish-
ment OF the spectator. Kea is now mute and
quiet. The present crater of Loa is six and O.
half miles in circumference it's ancient crater
has circumference OF twenty-four miles. Ho-
ualalai, with its numerous cone peaks, is still
disquieted. Fifty-three years ago its eruptions
were tremendous in 1882 the surrounding re-
gion was, Tor three days, fearfully desoated by
an earthquake and volcanic eruptions and in
1910 and recently these eruptions have been
renewed. Kirauea, with it's two lakes Of LIQUID
fire, Zone Of which has an area Of eighty thou
sand square feet, and the other glowing sur
face nearly ten times as great scouting molten
lava to the height of sixty or seventy feet pours
ont with furious ebullitions and rolls its fierce
lava streams for forty miles, until they enter q
wide abyss, or vast lake of fire, and eventually
quench themselves in the waters of the ocean,
Oahu the next island in size, with an area of
seven hundred square miles, exceedingly rregu-
lar in outline. and traversed by two ranges of
mountains three thousand feet above the sea. is
the chief mart of commerce and the seat of
government. Here rich alluvial soil, ten miles
highly cultivated plain in which is situated
Honolulu, the capital city of the whole group.
Its barbor about half mile long, and a quarter
of mile broad, is remarkable for it's safety at
all seasons
The two islands next in size to Oahu are
Kauai-The Beautiiul-(6SO square miles, and
Maui, COCO square miles, with its well wooded
itc rbo
Molokai, GOO square miles,) is huge mass Of
volcanic rocks, with few fertile spots along
the shores; and so also is Lanai, 12O square
miles,) with it's volcanic barrens The most
western of the group, Nihau, (S6 square miles,)
has very good harbor on the west but this
island and Kahoolawee, eco square miles) have
thin soil, and in general are very unproduc-
tive. The remainder of the group are small
and unimportant.
harbors One is at Kawaihae, and another,
further south, at Kealakekua, which is, how
ever, too deep for anchorage, except near the
rocky shore. This spot, Kealakekua, is mourn
fully associated with the name of Capt Cook,
killed there by the natives, in 1879. The me-
lancholy catastrophe is without any relief
from the fact that the superstitious associations
connected with his death won for him from. the
natives species of apotheosis bones hav-
ing been, for almost half century, preserved
by the priests of Rono in their temples, and,
until the national abolition of idolatry in the
year 1919, having received religious worship.
The present population of the islands consists
chiefly of three classes: Natives, Americans,
and Englishmen The natives call themselves
Kanaka They are very like Malays, with
olive compilations, and other wellknown char
acteristics Of the Malay race. They are of
middle stature, and have fine muscular forms
and open countenances, with mild, frank ex-
preston, indicative of their naturally amiable
dispositions. They are very unlike our abort
ginal red men. Instead of our Indians solemn
gravity, the Kanaka has bright, cheerful
smile, which readily kindles and blends with
that Of the Anglo-Saxon. Under the whole
some influence of sound moral training, such
has been the rapid and sure progress of the
Sandwich islanders that they have actually be-
come patterns for our imitation in some quail
ties that deserve to be recorded. Judge Lee,
an American by birth, the present Chief JUS
tice Of the islands, says of them, in his official
report to the government, in 1855 1t is our
duty to add the universal remark, that in no
part of the world are life and property more
safe than in these islands. Murders, robberies,
and the higher class of felonies, are quite un-
known here, and in city and country we retire
to our sleep conscious of the most entire secu-
rity. The stranger may travel from one end of the
group to the other, over mountains and through
woods, sleeping in grass huts, unarmed, alone
and unprotected, with any amount of treasure
on his person, an6, with 1.-THE Of the vigilance
required in older and more civilized countries,
90 unrobbed of a penny. Where does the world
afford O parallel OF equal security" Well
may the present king say, in the language OF a
devout heart, God has been very good to me
and my people"
1t is but thirty-three years since the Ameri-
can missionaries first visited the Sandwich
Islands. great struggle between several
rival chiefs had ended in the acknowledged
supremacy Of Kamehameha In the year 1917,
he placed his kingdom under the protection Of
the British government. His son and success
sor, Rhio-R RHO, abolished idoiatry in the year
1919, and visited England, where he died, at
London, in the year 1924. Since his time there
has been no interruption in the progress OF civ
ilization The Hawaiians have destroyed their
idols burned their temples, abolished human
sacrifices and taboos, and become, in all re-
spects Christian nation. From state of the
very deepest moral degradation they have been
elevated to the position of an enlightened people,
remarkable for purity of morals and for general
benevolence. They have constitutional gov
eminent and wholesome laws. They have
court-houses, courts of justice, a criminal code
and reported trials in the courts CUSTOM
houses, market-houses, prisons, roads and
BRIDGES water broup hit in iron mines from the