The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-10-15

Hawaii almost by accident. AS in the
case of much development in the is
lands, the start was on Oahu. Plants
were brought from the East Indies by
a few venturesome planters, They
grew so well that the fresh fruit mar
ket in Honolulu-the only market for
pineapples at that time-was swamped
and the venture proved a loss. The
plants were dug up in disgust and
thrown away. Some small planters
rescued a few and grew them for
their own use. Production proved so
easy that after some years a small
amer was established. From this
beginning the present great industry
has sprung. Now nearly 150,O00,000
two-pound cans Of the fruit are
shipped annually.
Like magnets the great volcanoes
draw many tourists southwark from
Honolulu and Oahu to Hawaii, the
largest and most southerly of the is
lands. Hawaii, too. biologists say, is
the youngest" of the Islands, and
there only the volcanic forces which
have thrust the islands above the sur
face of the Pacific are still active.
The principle objective of visitors is
the huge crater of F.ilauea with it's
lake of fire, in easy reach by automo-
biles.
The Island of Hawaii forms a rough
triangle from 20 to 90 miles on a side,
and is as large as the other islands
together. In spite of it's possession Of
two huge active volcanoes, and the
frequent lava flows which they send
! out, the island has a population of
| more than $4,000 and there has been
no serious loss Of life in many de-
cades. There is a great deal Of fertile
land, much of it devoted, as IN the
other islands, to sugar cane.
On the windward side of the island
an interesting method of transporting
cane has been developed. Water is
plentiful and the stalks are ioated to
the mills in fumes just as logs are
transported in parts Of the West.
Kauai, the Garden Isle.
While huge Hawaii at one end of
the group of islands is the youngest
member of the family, Kauai, n of
the smaller isles neal the other end,
is the eldest. In this, "the Garden
Isle,' the volcanic rock has had more
time to d~isintegrate and is of amazing
fertility. Thirty thousand people live
on this island, large areas of which
are devoted to sugar cane, p~ineapples
and rice. Mount W~aialeale, which
forms the center and peak Of the APP
proximately circular island, has a ire
mendous rainfall and is popularity
known as ..the wettest spot in the
world This heavy rainfall has
carved many gulches in the mountain
sides, among them Waimea canyon
5000 feet deep, with beautifully
colored walls, which is a miniature
Grand canyon.
Maui, between Hawaii and Oahu, is
| the only other island of fair size. 1t
is a sort of double island, the larger
part 20 miles across, the smaller ten,
while the connecting neck is about
seven or eight miles wide. The great
est length is about forty miles and the
area is 728 square miles, giving Maui
the second place in size among the
islands. On Mount Holeakola, near
the southern end of the island, is the
crater Of the same name which Is
| one of the most %stupendous craters in
the world. 1t is 20 miles in circum
ference, III miles in greatest length
The village of Tahaina on Maui Is
the Oldest white settlement in the
group and was once It's capital. In
whaling days it was the regular port
| Of call and at times so or more ships
were anchored off the port. There,
too. was one Of the first missionary
T, stations in the islands.
OF the small islands, Molokai, thirty
miles long by six wide, is perhaps
best known by name, largely because
Of its melancholy associations with
| the Iepers who have been placed in a
colony there. Only a small peninsula
Of the island Is given over to the
Iepers, and it is SO cut off from he
rest of the island by sheer cliffs that
they are as isolated from the rest of
Molokai as effectually as If on a sep
arate islet.
Lanoi. ten miles in length, near
Maui. and Niihau, about the same size,
the westermost of the group, complete
the roster of the inhabited islands
The former is given over to cattle and
sheep ranches, and the latter is a pri
vate estate, used largely for ranching