Template:626-627 - Revision history

Jere Krischel at 23:46, 5 January 2006

2006-01-05T23:46:39Z

Ken Conklin at 07:08, 2 January 2006

2006-01-02T07:08:56Z

Jere Krischel at 18:54, 11 December 2005

2005-12-11T18:54:21Z

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626 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
The CHAIRMAN. Are the houses built of wood?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Very generally.
The CHAIRMAN. Between what degrees are the variations of temperature!
Mr. ALEXANDER. Thirty degrees.
The CHAIRMAN. What is the lowest point?
Mr. ALEXANDER. At the sea level it very rarely goes below fifty,
generally not lower than fifty-five.
The CHAIRMAN. It gets colder as you ascend the mountains?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. There are two mountains quite high ?
Mr. ALEXANDER. The highest mountain is 13,820 feet. There is
another mountain 13,675 feet. On those you will find snow all the
year round, not covered, but more or less at the top.
The CHAIRMAN. Are those volcanic mountains ?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes, volcanic mountains. Snow falls on them in
the winter.
The CHAIRMAN. SO that, the climate is really affected or made there
by the altitude?
Mr. ALEXANDER. It is. Then we have some very fine upland, tableland,
that has not yet been used for agriculture, but I think it will be.
The CHAIRMAN. What is the elevation of the table-lands of which
you speak?
Mr. ALEXANDER. In the island of Hawaii, north of Mount Kea, which
has been overrun by catle, and which I think will be cultivated hereafter,
the elevation is 2,500 feet.
The CHAIRMAN. IS there water on it—running streams?
Mr. ALEXANDER. There is one running stream; but they depend
chiefly on the rain.
The CHAIRMAN. It is the side of the island, to windward?
Mr. ALEXANDER. About the center of the island.
The CHAIRMAN. The island toward the windward has rains ?
Mr. ALEXANDER. There is a difference between the two sides of the
island.
The CHAIRMAN. Like the Andes?
Mr. ALEXANDER. South America on a small scale. In the district
of Hilo we average 12 feet of rain, and have for a good many years.
The CHAIRMAN. HOW much of the island does that rainfall cover?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Not more than one-tenth. Perhaps I have put it
rather low, to keep within bounds. In the region of the Kona district
it is very dry. That has land and sea breezes, and has southerly
rains. It is a fertile district, although rocky. It has very rich land
between the lava flows. It has a good coffee district, although it is on
the dry side.
The CHAIRMAN. What sort of fruits have they in Hawaii, tropical or
semitropical ?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Tropical. We call our climate subtropical. Our
climate is changed by the trade winds and ocean current from the
Bering Sea.
The CHAIRMAN. Prom what direction do those trade winds blow?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Prom the northeast.
The CHAIRMAN. During what part of the year ? Are they continuous?
Mr. ALEXANDER. They are strongest in the summer; they follow
the sun.
The CHAIRMAN. In its movements north and south, do you mean?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 627
The CHAIRMAN. How long do they continue?
Mr. ALEXANDER. The trade winds blow pretty steadily during the
summer.
Senator GRAY. That is, the three summer months ?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes. During the winter they are not so steady;
at intervals there are southerly winds. It is not however, like the
monsoon.
The CHAIRMAN. IS there any period in the year when there is a
calm?
Mr. ALEXANDER. There are short periods, especially in the winter—
January.
The CHAIRMAN. But these trade winds during the year would be
reckoned as a steady blow ?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Irregular.
The CHAIRMAN. Irregular, but steady—I mean by that continuous,
with greater or less force. How about that ocean current?
Mr. ALEXANDER. We are on the edge of that current; it runs from
the east; but the ocean around us is cooler than the air, and our country
is ten degrees cooler than other tropical countries in the same latitude.
The CHAIRMAN. You say this current comes from the east, runs to
the west?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes; we are on the edge of the great equatorial
current.
The CnAiRMAN. It comes from the American coast and goes toward
the Asiatic, the equator?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes; a scientific gentleman examined the condition,
and explained the coolness of the current from the Bering Sea
to be on account of the Pacific Ocean being closed at its upper end.
The CHAIRMAN. Hawaii is within the flow of the great equatorial
current of the Pacific Ocean?
Mr. ALEXANDER. We are near the edge of it, so that it is rather
irregular. It affects our climate.
The CHAIRMAN. I would like you to state as briefly as you can, and
somewhat fully, the progress that has been made in Hawaii since your
childhood in civilization, in religion, in government, in industries, and
m general development. You can go on and state it your own way,
covering such points as will give the committee some correct idea of
the real state of the progress that has been made in that country.
Mr. ALEXANDER. When I was a child the natives were abject slaves
to their chiefs. They had no rights that the chiefs were bound to
respect. They were tenants at will. They could be turned off thenland
at the word of a chief. Sometimes the whole of the inhabitants
of a valley could be evicted at the change of the landlord—at the order
of a higher chief. The country was full of natives who were dispossessed,
looking around for a place, another home. They were very
poor. The natives had very little foreign cloth when I was a boy—they
wore the bark cloth.
Senator GRAY. Made by themselves?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Made by themselves, and not much of that.
They were subject to forced labor by their chiefs. Previously to that
time the sandalwood was exhausted. While the sandalwood lasted
they suffered a great deal of oppression; they had to spend months in
the mountains cutting sandalwood for their chiefs.
The CHAIRMAN. HOW would they get it down from the mountains?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
+{{p|626}}
 The CHAIRMAN. Are the houses built of wood?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Very generally.
+The CHAIRMAN. Are the houses built of wood?
-The CHAIRMAN. Between what degrees are the variations of temperature!
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Thirty degrees.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Very generally.
 The CHAIRMAN. What is the lowest point?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. At the sea level it very rarely goes below fifty,
+The CHAIRMAN. Between what degrees are the variations of temperature?
 generally not lower than fifty-five.
-The CHAIRMAN. It gets colder as you ascend the mountains?
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Thirty degrees.
 Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes.
-The CHAIRMAN. There are two mountains quite high ?
+The CHAIRMAN. What is the lowest point?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. The highest mountain is 13,820 feet. There is
-another mountain 13,675 feet. On those you will find snow all the
+Mr. ALEXANDER. At the sea level it very rarely goes below fifty, generally not lower than fifty-five.
 year round, not covered, but more or less at the top.
-The CHAIRMAN. Are those volcanic mountains ?
+The CHAIRMAN. It gets colder as you ascend the mountains?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes, volcanic mountains. Snow falls on them in
-the winter.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes.
-The CHAIRMAN. SO that, the climate is really affected or made there
-by the altitude?
+The CHAIRMAN. There are two mountains quite high?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. It is. Then we have some very fine upland, tableland,
-that has not yet been used for agriculture, but I think it will be.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. The highest mountain is 13,820 feet. There is another mountain 13,675 feet. On those you will find snow all the year round, not covered, but more or less at the top.
 The CHAIRMAN. What is the elevation of the table-lands of which
-you speak?
+The CHAIRMAN. Are those volcanic mountains?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. In the island of Hawaii, north of Mount Kea, which
-has been overrun by catle, and which I think will be cultivated hereafter,
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes, volcanic mountains. Snow falls on them in the winter.
 the elevation is 2,500 feet.
-The CHAIRMAN. IS there water on it—running streams?
+The CHAIRMAN. So that, the climate is really affected or made there by the altitude?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. There is one running stream; but they depend
-chiefly on the rain.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. It is. Then we have some very fine upland, tableland, that has not yet been used for agriculture, but I think it will be.
 The CHAIRMAN. It is the side of the island, to windward?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. About the center of the island.
+The CHAIRMAN. What is the elevation of the table-lands of which you speak?
 The CHAIRMAN. The island toward the windward has rains ?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. There is a difference between the two sides of the
+Mr. ALEXANDER. In the island of Hawaii, north of Mount Kea, which has been overrun by catle, and which I think will be cultivated hereafter, the elevation is 2,500 feet.
 island.
-The CHAIRMAN. Like the Andes?
+The CHAIRMAN. Is there water on it—running streams?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. South America on a small scale. In the district
-of Hilo we average 12 feet of rain, and have for a good many years.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. There is one running stream; but they depend chiefly on the rain.
-The CHAIRMAN. HOW much of the island does that rainfall cover?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Not more than one-tenth. Perhaps I have put it
+The CHAIRMAN. It is the side of the island, to windward?
 rather low, to keep within bounds. In the region of the Kona district
-it is very dry. That has land and sea breezes, and has southerly
+Mr. ALEXANDER. About the center of the island.
 rains. It is a fertile district, although rocky. It has very rich land
-between the lava flows. It has a good coffee district, although it is on
+The CHAIRMAN. The island toward the windward has rains?
 the dry side.
-The CHAIRMAN. What sort of fruits have they in Hawaii, tropical or
+Mr. ALEXANDER. There is a difference between the two sides of the island.
 semitropical ?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Tropical. We call our climate subtropical. Our
+The CHAIRMAN. Like the Andes?
 climate is changed by the trade winds and ocean current from the
-Bering Sea.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. South America on a small scale. In the district of Hilo we average 12 feet of rain, and have for a good many years.
-The CHAIRMAN. Prom what direction do those trade winds blow?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Prom the northeast.
+The CHAIRMAN. How much of the island does that rainfall cover?
 The CHAIRMAN. During what part of the year ? Are they continuous?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. They are strongest in the summer; they follow
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Not more than one-tenth. Perhaps I have put it rather low, to keep within bounds. In the region of the Kona district it is very dry. That has land and sea breezes, and has southerly rains. It is a fertile district, although rocky. It has very rich land between the lava flows. It has a good coffee district, although it is on the dry side.
 the sun.
-The CHAIRMAN. In its movements north and south, do you mean?
+The CHAIRMAN. What sort of fruits have they in Hawaii, tropical or semitropical?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes.
-HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 627
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Tropical. We call our climate subtropical. Our climate is changed by the trade winds and ocean current from the Bering Sea.
 The CHAIRMAN. How long do they continue?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. The trade winds blow pretty steadily during the
+The CHAIRMAN. From what direction do those trade winds blow?
 summer.
-Senator GRAY. That is, the three summer months ?
+Mr. ALEXANDER. From the northeast.
 Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes. During the winter they are not so steady;
-at intervals there are southerly winds. It is not however, like the
+The CHAIRMAN. During what part of the year? Are they continuous?
 monsoon.
-The CHAIRMAN. IS there any period in the year when there is a
+Mr. ALEXANDER. They are strongest in the summer; they follow the sun.
 calm?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. There are short periods, especially in the winter—
+The CHAIRMAN. In its movements north and south, do you mean?
 January.
-The CHAIRMAN. But these trade winds during the year would be
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes.
 reckoned as a steady blow ?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Irregular.
+{{p|627}}
 The CHAIRMAN. Irregular, but steady—I mean by that continuous,
-with greater or less force. How about that ocean current?
+The CHAIRMAN. How long do they continue?
 Mr. ALEXANDER. We are on the edge of that current; it runs from
-the east; but the ocean around us is cooler than the air, and our country
+Mr. ALEXANDER. The trade winds blow pretty steadily during the summer.
 is ten degrees cooler than other tropical countries in the same latitude.
-The CHAIRMAN. You say this current comes from the east, runs to
+Senator GRAY. That is, the three summer months?
 the west?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes; we are on the edge of the great equatorial
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes. During the winter they are not so steady; at intervals there are southerly winds. It is not however, like the monsoon.
 current.
-The CnAiRMAN. It comes from the American coast and goes toward
+The CHAIRMAN. Is there any period in the year when there is a calm?
 the Asiatic, the equator?
-Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes; a scientific gentleman examined the condition,
+Mr. ALEXANDER. There are short periods, especially in the winter— January.
 and explained the coolness of the current from the Bering Sea
-to be on account of the Pacific Ocean being closed at its upper end.
+The CHAIRMAN. But these trade winds during the year would be reckoned as a steady blow?
 The CHAIRMAN. Hawaii is within the flow of the great equatorial
-current of the Pacific Ocean?
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Irregular.
 Mr. ALEXANDER. We are near the edge of it, so that it is rather
-irregular. It affects our climate.
+The CHAIRMAN. Irregular, but steady—I mean by that continuous, with greater or less force. How about that ocean current?
 The CHAIRMAN. I would like you to state as briefly as you can, and
-somewhat fully, the progress that has been made in Hawaii since your
+Mr. ALEXANDER. We are on the edge of that current; it runs from the east; but the ocean around us is cooler than the air, and our country is ten degrees cooler than other tropical countries in the same latitude.
 childhood in civilization, in religion, in government, in industries, and
-m general development. You can go on and state it your own way,
+The CHAIRMAN. You say this current comes from the east, runs to the west?
 covering such points as will give the committee some correct idea of
-the real state of the progress that has been made in that country.
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes; we are on the edge of the great equatorial current.
 Mr. ALEXANDER. When I was a child the natives were abject slaves
-to their chiefs. They had no rights that the chiefs were bound to
+The CHAIRMAN. It comes from the American coast and goes toward the Asiatic, the equator?
-respect. They were tenants at will. They could be turned off thenland
-at the word of a chief. Sometimes the whole of the inhabitants
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes; a scientific gentleman examined the condition, and explained the coolness of the current from the Bering Sea to be on account of the Pacific Ocean being closed at its upper end.
 of a valley could be evicted at the change of the landlord—at the order
-of a higher chief. The country was full of natives who were dispossessed,
+The CHAIRMAN. Hawaii is within the flow of the great equatorial current of the Pacific Ocean?
 looking around for a place, another home. They were very
-poor. The natives had very little foreign cloth when I was a boy—they
+Mr. ALEXANDER. We are near the edge of it, so that it is rather irregular. It affects our climate.
 wore the bark cloth.
-Senator GRAY. Made by themselves?
+The CHAIRMAN. I would like you to state as briefly as you can, and somewhat fully, the progress that has been made in Hawaii since your childhood in civilization, in religion, in government, in industries, and in general development. You can go on and state it your own way, covering such points as will give the committee some correct idea of the real state of the progress that has been made in that country.
 Mr. ALEXANDER. Made by themselves, and not much of that.
-They were subject to forced labor by their chiefs. Previously to that
+Mr. ALEXANDER. When I was a child the natives were abject slaves to their chiefs. They had no rights that the chiefs were bound to respect. They were tenants at will. They could be turned off the land at the word of a chief. Sometimes the whole of the inhabitants of a valley could be evicted at the change of the landlord—at the order of a higher chief. The country was full of natives who were dispossessed, looking around for a place, another home. They were very poor. The natives had very little foreign cloth when I was a boy—they wore the bark cloth.
 time the sandalwood was exhausted. While the sandalwood lasted
-they suffered a great deal of oppression; they had to spend months in
+Senator GRAY. Made by themselves?
 the mountains cutting sandalwood for their chiefs.
-The CHAIRMAN. HOW would they get it down from the mountains?
+Mr. ALEXANDER. Made by themselves, and not much of that. They were subject to forced labor by their chiefs. Previously to that time the sandalwood was exhausted. While the sandalwood lasted they suffered a great deal of oppression; they had to spend months in the mountains cutting sandalwood for their chiefs.