The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-20
UroIB SANS ooEAx rMrlnr.
sixty islands IN the SIid-Pacinc ana sever.
Others Arc Ours.
From the Washington Fost,

From the Washington Post.
Distributed over the mid.Pacilc, In tho neigh,
borhood OF tho equator, nrc quito a lot u! small
islands that belong to tho United States. Most
OF them are from 1000 to 1000 miles to IN.
south and southwest of Hawaii. Some Of them
are near the Gilbert archipelago, and there is a
considerable cluster just about the lesser die.
lance mentioned and directly south of the Ha.
waiian group, including America, Christina
Palmyros. and other islands OF large size.
Christmas leland Is about thirty.iivc miles
long. 1t got its name originally from the fact
that the famous Capt. Cook stopped there on
Christmas Day for the purpose of observing IN
eclipse. 1t is an atoll, or ring, of coral fOrmA-
ton, inclosing a lagoon of water that has 10.
come so salty through evaporation rs to he a
veritablc brine. Fishes thrown over tho reef by
storms are picked in 1t, and remain perfectly
preserved and good to eat for months.
These isles of the Pacific belonging to Uncle
annexed to the United States under an act Of
Congress which became a law Aug. Is, 1850.
olares that Whenever yeru amy citizen Of the TShiiiT"Sd
States shall discover a deposit of Ruano on any
island. rock, or key not within the lawful. juris.
dlction of any other Government, he shall be at
liberty to take poaccablc possession thereof, and
such island. rock, or key may. at the discretion
to the United States.
The discoyerer Is required to give due notice
to the Department OF State, with affidavits, do
scribing the isi~1d and showing that possession
of the same has been taken in the name OF this
country. He is obliged at the same time TO give
o bond, which is filed in the Treasury.
The discoverer, at the pleasure of Congress,
enjoys tho exclusive right to occupy his island
for the purpose of obtaining guano, and for this
product he is allowed to charge only a certain
liked price, namely, SO a ton for guano delivered
at the ships side. or "a o ton for the privilege Of
digging 1t where 1t lies. Furthermore, he gives
guarantee by his bond to deliver the guano only
to citizens Of the United States, and to be used
In the United States.
The law also provides, curiously enough, that
all offences and crimes on such islands by per.
sons who may land thereon, or in waters ad.
jacent, shall be deemed as committed on tho
high seas. on board q merchant ship OF thu
United States, and shall be punished accord.
ingly. The President 10 authorized to use the
land and naval forces of the United States 10
protect the rights of the discoverer or his heirs.
But Uncle Sans ocean empire includes a
great many islands of far greater Importance
there are several very large islands, besides the
little Pribylov group to which the seals resort.
| This country owns the entire chain OF Aleu-.
tian islands, which separate Behring Sea from
the North Pacific. The inhabitants of these
islands. called Aleuts. are. particularly intelli.
gent, much more civilized than the. Eskimo.
and bear a close resemblance physically to the
| Japanese.
OF the coast of southern Alaska is a group OF
Thlinket Indians. These Indians are the most
artistic savages In the world, being skilful
wood carvers. on the coast OF southern Call.
fornia is the Santa Barbara group, comprising Q
number of large islands.