Chicago eagle., 1893-03-04
HAWAII.
TIMELY FACTS ABOUT THIS
KINGDOM AND ITS PEOPLE.
Location of the Sandwich Islands
Their Inhabitants and Rulers Queen
Lflioukalani and Her Palace.

Inc Kingdom OF Hawaii is about a.
large as New Jersey and has popula.
tion as large as that of Hoboken.
The area Of the Hawaiian or Sandwich
Islands is 1923 square miles. The ares
OF New jersey Is $500 square miles
The population of the little kingdom
which has just been turned topsy -turvy
is about $4,000. The population of Ho-
boken is about the same Queen Liliou
kalani ruled over about as many people
as does the Mayor of Hoboken.
The twelve beautiful islands of Ha.
waii lie in the Pacific Ocean, on line
between Mexico and China. They are
2, 100 miles southwest of San Francisco,
and it requires only four days voyage on
a fast steamship to reach them. They
extend in line $50 miles long from
northeast to southwest. Eight of them
are inhabited, and the others are snail
islets and uninhabited.
When the adventurous Captain Cook
discovered the islands century ago
they had population of 100000
healthy and happy pagans. These have
been civilized off the face of the earth
till there are only 80, 900 pure natives
left. They are of bronze brown, and
have black straight hair. Some of the
men are almost giants, and much exceed
Europeans in stature. Excessive fatness,
as in some parts of Africa, is oon-
sidered beautiful, and native wo-
men who are inclined to embonpoint are
much admired.
The natives are not Africans and not
Malays. They belong to the Polynesian
race, and are cousins, so to speak, of the
inhabitants of New Zealand and Samoa.
Five thousand miles of sea lies between
Hawaii and New Zealand, but the two
peoples can understand each other. The
musical Hawaiian speech may become
the language of American opera. 1t has
twice as many vowel sounds as Italian.
The Queen who has lost her throne is
Queen Lilioukalani. That is her Sand
wich Island name. Her everyday name
was Princess Lydia.
Her neighbors who didn't like her
called her "Mrs. Dominis." One day
there came to the Sandwich Ialands
. gay sailor boy of the name of John O.
Dominis. He fell in love with the island
princess, who was heir to the throne, and
his suit was so successful that he married
her He never furled any more sails on
ship, and was known as the Prince
Consort
Only four years ago Prince Dominis
was walking on Broadway, having come
to New York with Queen Kapiolani, who
was on her way to attend Queen Victo-
ria's golden jubilee. He died Il short
time ago, and the widowed Queen Lii
ioukalani is now in mourning for him.
She is a cultivated Hawaiian woman.
She speaks English, is promoter of
charity fairs, and gives garden party
once month to tourists. She is assisted
to receive by the standing army, the
members of the House of MOBILES and the
Hawaiian brass band.
The standing army of the Sandwich
Islands is force of about 100 men. di-
vided into the "Queens Own Guard, f"
the "HousehoId Troops" and the "sol-
diers of the line"
Connected with the palace is "gilded
chariot of state, and all the machinery
for being a monarch.
The palace is a beautiful building, and
contains forty rooms. 1t stands in the
capital, Honolulu, is three stories high,
and is built of concrete. 1t contains
costly gifts from the kings of Europe
and the princes of Asia. 1t measures
somewhat the progress of the Hawaiian
Islands that, though the Queens ances-
tors were cannlbals in the last century.
the palace contains library AID music
room. In the throne room is the world
famous yellow feather cloak.
There is a beautiful bird on the Sand
wich Islands which has under each wing
a small tuft of golden feathers. King
kamehameha |. wanted to be a swell in
the Pacific Ocean, and he had war
cloak made of these feathers. To meas
ure it like sealskin sacque, this golden
feather cloak was forty eight inches long
and 1873 inches wide at the bottom.
1t was one of the biggest tailoring Jobs
on record. 1t took nine reigns to make
it. Forests of birds furnished its golden
feathers. 1t is the only cloak of the
kind in the world Kamehameha |. was
the Sandwich Island Julius Caesar, and
he wanted to have mantle worthy of
his greatness.
Everybody remembers when that merry
sovereign, King Kalakaua, ruled the
Sandwich Islands. He was king. but
he was as happy as serving-man in a
tap room. The king was an expert at
draw-poker. According to all accounts.
he could have given "IIungry Joe"
points on the gentle art of ''bunco, " and
Kid Miller could have gone to school to
him with profit.
1t is said that he "buncoed" a China.
man out Of $50, 900 in few hours. His
brother would have succeeded him on the
throne had he not died in April. 1877.
His brothers daughter Princess Liiou-
kalani, then became heir apparent. King
Kalakaua died in san francisco in 1891
and on January 10 of that year the Prin.
cess was crowned She Is past fifty years
of age.
The present heir-apparcnt Is her niece
Her Royal llighness Princess Victoria.
Observation-Disclosures KaIaninuia-
kalapalapa, who Is now studying French
music, etc, in Eurote
CharlemaRne aud thc Two Irish