The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-13


ters of mile wide.
The corals, on which the islets are
based, of whose disintegration they
are in fact composed are principally
meandrinas and madrepores, as shown
by the specimens still growing in the
lagoon as well as by the fragments in
the dry soil which have not yet been
reduced by the weather. The sand,
which is the product of tZe bleaching
of the dead coral by the rain, is a clear
white, very glaring in the bright sun
and remarkably trying to the eyes
! In the center and eastern part of the
Sand Island the disintegrating coral
has been compacted by the rains into
a stiff lime crust about a third of an
Inch thick and forming a glistening
surface which requires considerable
force to break. On the immediate
shores of the island the sand is about
eighteen inches deep before the frag-
ments of coral begin to appear of any
size; the higher levels are apparently
entirely aeolian, mere dune drif' of
} sand swept by the wind from the
beaches; at any rate digging to such
dept s,s was possible in the loose and
readily sliding material failed to dis
close anything but sand.
! Water is nowhere visible, in fact
there can be said to be no supply of
fresh water at all Pits along the
, beach will yield water at a depth OF
! about four feet and this is potable AS
lis so commonly the case in the Line
Islands nearer the equator, this water
lis sea water, filtred and sweetened by
, percolation through the coral sand
, One such pit will be found serviceable
in general for about month, a brief
life for a well, but matter OF no
great moment, since another pit may
be dug to a fresh supply within a few
: feet.
Not only is the vegetation sparse
upon these slets, it would be monoton.
Gus if there were more of it because
It's sameness has little variety. The
most conspicuous is a hardy shrub
which grows from three TO five feet
high in small clumps OF about a dozen
The thin grass is coarse and very
scrubby and mixed with It is the uni
versal and universally worth e.s pur
slane, or "pussley," bindweed, figwor
: and dwarfed iobelia. Here and there
may be found a coarse, wild turniI
closely akin to the Japanese daikon.
If the land is of little worth, the
sea and the air bear an inordnatt
. share of the burden of food for man
Small as the islets are, the number OF
birds passes all reckoning; one may
10 mention a million merely as a con
venient unit of measure.
i The albatross grudges mankind the
room to walk about in, the BOBBY is a;
n absurd and foolish and altogether well
J. named on Midway as wherever found
e the Sandwich tern is under foot and
S an excellent table bird, the bosnbird
and the frigate are found at certain
: seasons on their nests, and the plovel
e and the curlew are in sufficient guam
fare. In the lagoon is abundance oil
4 fish, cod sea perch, the always tooth
= some mullet mackerel and the gaudy
coryphenas, so brilliant in their varied
e coloring that to put them into the par
= seems almost to desecrate the rain
bow by cooking it. The trepang, oil
beche-de-mer, may be had with nc
e more exertion than that of picking its
j. dark ugliness from the clear bottoms
of the tide pools, and those who have
had Oriental table experience recog
nize that it may be made into the
most savory of soups. A delicious
, cookie is somewhat sparsely found and
! many univalve mollusks afford a plen
tiful supply of palatable foods.
In the crevices of the sea reefs
which skirt the lagoon lie hidden
+ many large crustaceans. There are
lhltlg SNtllI III llltAl ldblNb 10 btNl z
D tive; but pot baited overnight with
t somewhat high fragments of fish Is
+ usually found well filled in the morn
D ing and the size of the crustaceans
4 runs rather higher than our best lob
a sters. They lack the strong claws o.
g the lobster; they are more of the
S squila type, but the meat is very fine
eating and abundantly wholesome.
y Bare and barren islands, Midway Il
t not without its history. This histor!
e is the story of wreck, a9 BELTS un
h chartered and unlighted islands in tn,
e sea. Some of this history must re
2, main in mystery; all we may eve
y know is so much as may be told by tn
l. mute memorial of wreck stuff. Whel
The Sun correspondent was on Mid
e way in 1885 he counted the wrec
e stuff washed up about half a mil
s. within the principal entrance to tn
If harbor and made out fragments Of a
~ Iaogt five diffarant Vagsplg Of who