526 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS ter intermittently active. From the latter great eruptions took place in 1832, 1840, 1843, 1852, 1855, 1859, 1868, and 1873. The lava general- ly forces its way through the side of the moun- tain at a distance of several miles from the ter- minal crater, which is active at the same time. The eruptions of 1840, 1859, and 1868 made their way to the sea, adding somewhat to the area of the island. Those of 1843 and 1855 poured out respectively about 17,000,000,000 and 38,000,000,000 cubic feet of lava. That of 1859 ran 50 in. to the sea in eight days. Ki- lauea is the largest continually active crater in the world. It is situated upon the eastern part of Mauna Loa, at an elevation of 3,970 ft, and is a pit 8 m. in circumference and 1,000 ft. in depth. Its eruptions are commonly inde- pendent of those from the summit crater. The crater is easily descended, and the melted lava may 'be often dipped out upon the end of the traveller's staff. The principal town upon this island is Hilo, on the N. E. coast, which is rainy, fertile, and highly tropical in appearance. The leeward coasts of Hawaii are sterile and volcanic, overhung in many parts by a steep bleak mountain. Herds of wild cattle, descend- ed from a stock introduced by Vancouver in 1793, roam in the mountain forests, where they are hunted for the sake of their horns and hides. Maui, the second island in size, is composed of two mountainous peninsulas connected by alow isthmus. Mauna Haleakala, on the eastern pen- insula, is 10,200 ft. high, and has an extinct summit crater, the largest known, being 2,000 ft. deep and 27 m. in circumference. The prin- cipal town is Lahaina. Kauai, the third island in size, is the most uniformly tropical in char- acter; it is fertile and abundantly watered. Oahu, the fourth, has fertile plains upon the N. and S. sides ; the latter are the best culti- vated, and are the most populous -region in the whole group. The capital, Honolulu, is here situated. The highest peak on Oahu is 3,310 ft. high. Molokai, the fifth island in size, is mountainous, presenting a magnificent wall of precipices to the north ; it is thinly inhabited, as are the yet smaller and lower islands, La- nai and Niihau. Kahoolawe, Molokini, Lehua, Kaula, and Bird island are uninhabited. The Hawaiian islands have one excellent harbor, that of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. It is protected by a barrier of coral reef, has 21 ft. of water on the bar at low tide, and from 4 to 6 fathoms inside. It affords safe anchorage and great facilities for the discharging of car- goes, and is easy of access from all quarters and with all winds. Hilo, on the N. E. side of Ha- waii, has a good natural harbor, protected sea- ward by a reef of coral and lava, and with from 3 to 8 fathoms of water. With proper wharves, this would be an excellent harbor. Lahaina, on the island of Maui, has an open roadstead with good anchorage. Kawaihai and Kealake- akua, on the W. side of Hawaii, and Waimea, Koloa, Nawiliwili, and Hanalei, on Kauai, have tolerable harbors. The climate of the islands is healthful and remarkably equable, so much so that the Hawaiian language has no word to express the general idea of weather. Extreme heat is never known; the mean temperature of the year at Honolulu is 75 F., and the dai- ly range seldom exceeds 15. During 12 years the extremes of temperature in the shade were 53 and 90. At Lahaina the range in 10 years was from 54 to 86. June is the warm- est month, and January the coldest and most rainy. A more bracing climate may be ob- tained by ascending the mountains ; an hour's ride from Honolulu up the Nuuanu valley will give a lower temperature. Above Lahaina, at an elevation of 3,000 ft., the thermometer rang- es from 40 to 75 ; and at Waimea, on Hawaii, the average temperature is 64. On the wind- ward side of the islands the climate is rougher and the rainfall more abundant. Honolulu and Lahaina, from their genial climate, are particu- larly adapted for the residence of invalids. Much of the island scenery is extremely beauti- ful. The indigenous fauna of the islands is small. It consists of swine, dogs, rats, a bat which flies by day, and domestic fowls, which appear to be native. Snipes, plovers, and wild ducks are found on all the islands. There are only a few species of singing birds ; many spe- cies, however, have beautiful plumage. One of the birds, melithreptes Pacifica, has under each wing a small tuft of feathers of a golden yellow color and about an inch in length. The war cloak of Kamehameha I. was made of these rare feathers ; it was 4 ft. long and 1 1| wide at the bottom, and its formation is said to have occupied nine successive reigns. Many varieties of fish frequent the shores, and form a staple of diet with the natives. The indi- genous flora numbers about 373 species, and many more have been introduced. The cocoa- nut, banana, breadfruit, pandanus, cordyline (Tci), and taro or kalo (arum esculentum) are probably indigenous. The last forms the prin- cipal food of the natives. The productions of the islands are sugar, rice, coffee, cotton, san- dal wood, tobacco, arrowroot, wheat, maize, tapioca, oranges, lemons, bananas, tamarinds, breadfruit, guavas, potatoes, yams, kalo, fun- gus, wool, hides, tallow, pulu (a fibre collected from the trunks of the tree fern), and ornamental woods. Neat cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs are raised. The islands lie several hundred miles south of the commercial routes between San Francisco and Japan and China. They are a station for the English line of steamers from California to the Feejee islands and Australia, to which latter market the increasing trade of the South Pacific islands mainly goes. That of the Hawaiian islands is tending in the same direc- tion. A considerable part of the sugar crop of 1873 went to Melbourne and Sydney, where the duty is low. The planters and foreign residents desire a reciprocity treaty with the United States, and in 1856, 1867, and 1869 unsuccessful attempts were made to negotiate one ; and still more recently the Hawaiian government of-
