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

1893, Queen Lii attempted to make her
self absolute monarch over the islands.
She was Immediately deposed. A pro-
vlslonal government was organized
and established by the reform party,
led by the Americans, and a treaty of
annexation proposed to the United
States. but later withdrawn Sanford
b. Dole, the last president of the
islands. has brought about great i'm
provements in the condition of the in
habitants and the extent of trade.
The islands are supposed to have
been peopled as early as 500 A. d. The
present. inhabitants undoubtedly belong
to the Polynesian family, scattered
over many thousands of miles in the
Pacific ocean, for they bear unmistak-
able resemblance to that race in their
features, in their similarity of their re-
ligious rites and in their language
The Hawaiian language contains IS
distinct sounds. The missionaries re-
duced these to II letters, and laid down
rules of pronunciation as follows:
A as in call
E as a in base.
/ as ee in seen.
o as in cot.
u as 90 in cool.
Double letters very slightly prolong
the sound.
Every letter is pronounced, but all
letters must be sounded so smoothly
and rapidly as to merge into one an
other.
y summer school for teachers was es-
tablished in 1896. and normal and
training school was organized later.
The Kamehameha schools are devoted
almost exclusively to the education of
the natives in manual training. A pub
lie high school has been organized in
Honolulu, and Oahu college in Oahu
has for long time offered preparation
for any college in America All this. of
course, has brought about the rapid de-
cline of the native language. English
is the tongue taught in the schools and
almost the only language used on the
island. The Hawaiian tongue is now
understood by only a small proportion
Of the inhabitants.
Although the islands lie in the trop-
les. the temperature in both summer
and winter is much cooler than that of
other countries of the same Latitude
The mean temperature is II degrees.
This is due to the trade winds and to
the sea currents. About the Hawaiian
islands the sea is 10 degrees cooler than
anywhere else in the same latitude.
The land is rough and mountainous
The eastern slope is wet and heavily
wooded, and the western slope is dry
with scant vegetation. On the noun
tains the soil is barren and sterile, but
the valleys are often rich, and the
many different attitudes permit of
very diverse production of fruits and
grains. Even wheat is sometimes
grown on favored spots of the noun
tain slopes. The taco, the sweet po-
tato and the yam grow abundantly, but
the sugar cane is most luxuriant. Tim
Der. including sandalwood, is plentiful
Hawaii has the largest mountains of
any island in the world. The islands
themselves are of volcanic origin and
for many miles the land is mere lava
beds. Haleakala, an extinct volcano,
is equal to Mount Aetna in extent and
elevation. Haleakala is native Hawaii
an, meaning House of the Sun. The
great god Mani, say the Hawaiians,
once laid his nets upon the mountain,
shared the sun god and only released
him under promise that he would al
ways shed light and warmth on the
island. The mountain is terrible in its
vastnesS and silence. The summit, TO-
900 feet above the sea, measures 10
miles in circumference. Two thousand
feet below the rim of the crater lies a
desolate bed of dead lava. This rim is
twice broken, and the gaps, each three
miles wide. show the sea far beneath
AT one time the boiling lava rose up a
thousand feet above its present level
But the sea, dashing against the noun
tain beneath. cracked and shattered the
shell, and one day the mountain burst
and several cubic miles of its heated
bowels, with frightful sounds, rushed
down the slope and into the swollen I!
sea-
Kilauea is the largest active volcano |
IN the world. One hundred and TWEEN
-y-five Mount Vesuviuses piled to- |
gether could not surpass it in bulk. I
The crater presents view of demon |
acal fury. Throbs, roars and Kisses are |
heard and the SulphurouS gases choke |
he observer. From time to time the |
ava crusts break and disappear in the |
depths and sprays of golden showers
light uD the country for miles around.
The fire demons leap and play across
he mountain cliffs and the natives
Who see them say that the goddess Pele
md her attendants are bathing in the |
ire pillows. For Pele is the goddess of |
Hilauea. She it is who has her abode
ar down under the mountain in dark,
Subterranean caves. And
when she desires play, she, with her
attendant demons. rises up through the
polling lava and shoots out through the