The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-10-20
Island. Owned By the Uniisd States.


F,osn The Washingfon Fosi.
Distributed over the msd-Pacifie. Ia
the neightorhooi Of the equator. arr
quite a lot % small isfands which b---
long % the United Stats-. Mo-t- %
them are from l0p to .00 mils-- b. che
south and southwest q Hawaii some
Of them are near The Gilbert Archipci-
ago, and there j. a considerable cluster
just about the lesser distance mention
ed and directly south OF the Hawaiian
group, including America, Christmas,
Palmyros and other island- % large
size. Christmas island i about thirty
five miles long. II got its name orig
inally from the fact that the famous
Captain Cook stopped there on Christ
mas Day for the purpose Of observing
an eclipse. IL is an atoil, or ring, OF
coral formation, enclosing lagoon Of
water that has become so salty through
evaporation a. to be a veritable brine.
Fishes thrown over the reefs by storms
are picked in il, and remain perfectly
preserved and good to eat for mouths.
These isles Of the Pacific belonging 10
Uncle Sam number sixty ia all. They
have been annexed to the United States
under an act of congress which became
a law August Is, 1856. This law,
which remains in force to-day, de-
clare, that whenever -.ny citizen of the
United States shall discover a deposit
of guano on any island, rock or key, not
within the lawful jurisdiction of any
other government, he shall be at lib
erty to take peaceable possession the;e-
of and such island, rock or key may, at
the discretion Of the president, be con-
sidered as appertaining to the United
States. The discoverer is required to
give due notice to the Department Of
State, with aflidavits, describing the
ISLAND and showing that possession of
the same has been taken in the name
of this country. He is obliged a: the
same time to give bond, which is filed
in the treasury.
The discoverer, at the pleasure Of Con-
gress enjoys the exclusive right TO oc-
cupy his island for the purpose Of OBJ
tanning guano. and for this product he
is allowed to charge only n certain
fixed price, namely, s. ton for guanO |
delivered at the ships side, or - ton !
for the privilege of digging it where it
lies. Furthermore, he gives guarantee !
by his bond to deliver the guanO only |
10 citizens of the United States and 10 1
be used in the United States. The law
also provides, curiOusly enough, that
all Offenses and crimes on such islands
by persons who may land thereon, or
in waters adjacent, shall be deemed A.
on the t.gh seas, on board =
merchant ship of the United State,
md shall he punished accordingly.
The Yr,sss,enf IS authorized Ia u-s the
ami Ead naval f9rc.s q the United
states 10 protect tue FiS ats OF the dis
,0Terer NJ his heirs.
But Uncle Sans Ocear empire in
.ludes a great many islands Of far great
r importance than the guanO isles re-
erred to. In Bering Sea there are sew
raj very large islands, beside the little
group to which the fur seals
'esort. This country owns the entire
;hain of Aleutian islands, which sep
rate Bering sea from the North Pacific.
The inhabitants of these islands, called
Aleuts, are particularly intelligent,
much more civilized than the Eskimo
md bear a close resemblance physical
Y to the japanese. Oh the coast of
southern Alaska, is a group of islands
If great size, on some Of which live the
Indians. These Indians are
the most artistic savages in the world,
being skillful wood carvers. OF the
,oast of Southern California is the
santa Barbara group, comprising a
number of large islands.