The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-11

Inc pupIic ueDI january l. 1880, was
! So, 764, 1856
F'ifty-two vessels combined tonnage
q, 1859 float the Hawaiian flag.
Of railways there have been builded
in Hawaii, Mani and Oahu. II miles;
of telegraph, go miles. All lines are
in operation.
Seventy-two postoffices in 1898 hand
led 2,216,000 letters. The republic be-
lOnged to the Postal union
The Hawaiian islands are valuable to
the United States chiefly as a naval
station. They are far isolated from
the rest of the world in vast expanse
OF sea, but a glance at the table of dis
/ tances printed above will show how
nearly central they are among points
in the Pacific ocean. 1t is, indeed, their
position that makes them of so great
Importance. They lie in the intersec-
ton of the main sea highways and so
have been called the half way houses"
and the cross roads" of the Pacific.
Their value in time of war has been
urged repeatedly by Captain Mahan
and others and now that they are ours
they will serve as coaling station for
our war vessels and force the enemy
to seek supplies of fuel 1000 miles
away, distance so great that it must
almost prohibit them from the prose-
cution of war
cred January Is, IT'S, by the famous
Captain Cook, who named them the
Sandwich islands after his patron, the
Earl Of Sandwich. The name Hawaii
is of native derivation and is rapidly
taking the place of the former name
The Spaniards probably visited the is
lands long before Captain Cook, but
records of the visits have never been
published and were unknown to the
bold sea captain. Manuscripts hidden
away in the archives of Madrid state
that Alvarado de Savoadra was sent
by CorteS from the west coast of Mex
leo in 1927 to hunt for the Spice islands
and landed on the shores of Hawaii
Juan Gaitano in 1906, according to the
Spanish manuscripts, landed on the is
land of Hawaii. When Captain Cook
landed on the,islands the natives looked
upon him with awe and cast about for
a fitting name to call him~Finally they
decided he was the great god, Lono,
come TO visit them and so they pros
trated themselves before him in wor-
ship. When they saw his jolly sailors
smoking cigars they called them fire
gods and did honor to them also On
his return voyage from Alaska Captain
Cook was murdered by the natives,
stabbed in the back with an iron dag
ger while trying to arrest thief or at
tempting to kidnap a king for ransom,
the legends are uncertain which. His
body was buried at sea and the monu-
ment built on the place where he fell
still stands. Captain Cooks discov-
cries were made known to the world:
the islands were frequently visited by
trading vessels and civilization maze
progress among the barbarians.
There were many bloody battles
among the nations until Kamehameha,
king of Hawaii conquered the islands !
and partly abolished idolatry The mis- !
sionaries came to the Hawaiians in 1920 |
Ond worked great reforms in their !
habits and morals Besides converting |
thousands of them and teaching them |
a better and more healthful life, they |
reduced to writing the language of the |
aborigines. The first constitution of |
The islands was framed in 1840 A pro- |
visional cession of the islands was |
made to Great Britain in 1S43, but was
revoked by the latter country five |
months later. In 1S49, after serious
-rouble with France, the islands placed |
themselves under the protectorate of !
he United States, but later the protec-
crate was withdrawn. The last of the
died in 1872 King Luz
lalilo. King Kalakaua, and next, Queen
succeeded him. Jan. II,