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Poultry; eggs.
Plants, shrubs, and trees.
Pelts; wool, unmanufactured.
Rags.
Hides, furs, skins, undressed.
Butter; tallow.
Article II.
For and in consideration of the rights and privileges granted by the United States of America in the preceding article of this convention, and as an equivalent therefor, His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands hereby agrees to admit all the articles named in the following schedule, the same being the growth or produce of the United States of America, into all the ports of the Hawaiian Islands free of duty:
Schedule.
Flour of wheat.
Fish of all kinds.
Coal.
Timber and lumber of all kinds, round, hewed, and sawed, unmanufactured,
in whole or in part.
Staves and heading.
Cotton, unmanufactured.
Seeds, and vegetables not preserved.
Undried fruits, not preserved.
Poultry; eggs.
Plants, shrubs, and trees.
Pelts; wool, unmanufactured.
Rags.
Hides, furs, skins, undressed.
Butter; tallow.
Article III.
The evidence that articles proposed to be admitted into the ports of the United States of America or the ports of the Hawaiian Islands free of duty, under the first and second articles of this convention, are the growth or the produce of the United States of America or of the Hawaiian Islands shall be a certificate to that effect from the American or Hawaiian consul or consular agent of the port from which such articles are exported, or, in case there shall be no such consul or consular agent resident in such port, a certificate to that effect from the collector of the port.
Article IV.
The present convention shall take effect as soon as the law required to carry it into operation shall have been passed by the Congress of the United States of America and the convention shall have been approved by His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands in council. The convention shall remain in force for seven years from the date at which it may go into operation, and further, until the expiration of twelve months after either of the high contracting parties shall give notice to the other of its wish to terminate the same, each of the high contracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to the other at the end of the said term of seven years, or at any time afterwards.
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Article V.
The present convention shall be duly ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Honolulu within eighteen months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible.
In faith whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed this convention, and have hereunto affixed their seals.
Done, in triplicate, in the English language, in the city of Washington, this twentieth day of July, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
W.L. Marcy. [seal.]
W.L. Lee. [seal.]
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[Confidential. Executive, No. 7. Thirty-fourth Congress, first session.]
Message of the President of the United States, communicating a treaty between the United States and the King of the Hawaiian Islands.
January 3, 1856, read first time, and, on motion by Mr. Mason, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
January 10, 1856, ordered to be printed in confidence for the use of the Senate.
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit to the Senate for consideration, with a view to ratification, a treaty between the United States and His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, signed in Washington, the twentieth day of July, A. D. 1855.
Franklin Pierce.
Washington, December 27,1855.
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VI. Also the following report on the physical features, facts of landing, supplies, climate, diseases, etc., of the hawaiian islands, prepared by capt. george p. scriven, of the signal corps, assisted by lieut. j. y. mason blunt, of the fifth cavalry, with the accompanying maps.
Report on the physical features, ports of landing, supplies, climate, diseases, etc.
[Compiled from the best available sources for the information of the Army.]
CONTENTS.
| Page. | |
| Location, distances from the Pacific coast | 410 |
| Communications with the United States | 410 |
| Names, areas | 411 |
| General physical characteristics | 411 |
| Soil | 412 |
| Climate | 412,413 |
| Earthquakes | 413 |
| Population, characteristics, religions, education | 413-415 |
| Laws, military forces, police | 415 |
| Language, Government | 415,416 |
| Business, currency, finance, commerce | 416,417 |
| Products, resources, vegetation | 417 |
| Industries | 417 |
| Diseases (other than leprosy) | 418 |
| Manner of life, clothing | 418 |
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| Individual characteristics of islands: | |
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419 |
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419 |
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420-423 |
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423,424 |
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424 |
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424 |
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425 |
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426,427 |
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428 |
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428 |
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429 |
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429,430 |
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431 |
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431 |
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431 |
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432,433 |
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433 |
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433 |
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433 |
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434 |
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434 |
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434 |
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434,435 |
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435 |
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435 |
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435 |
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436 |
| Communications | 436 |
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436 |
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437 |
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437 |
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437 |
| Leprosy | 437-440 |
Report on the Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian Islands lie between parallels 18° 50' and 23° 5' north latitude, and between meridians 154° 40' and 101° 50' west from Greenwich. A line drawn through the axis of the group would approximate roughly the segment of a circle convex towards the northeast; the chord connecting the most widely separated points would have a length of about 400 statute miles.
Honolulu, the capital and chief city, lies 2,080 miles from San Francisco; approximately 3,800 miles from Auckland; 4,500 miles from Sydney; and 4,800 miles from Hongkong.
Mean time Honolulu noon is equivalent to 10h. 31m. 26s. Greenwich mean time.
COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES.
San Francisco to Honolulu.—The Australia of the Oceanic Steamship Company and the Zealandia (W. J. Irwin) leave San Francisco and return every other Tuesday.
The Oceanic Steamship Company's steamers Alameda, Mariposa; and the Union Steamship Company's steamer Monowai, leave San Francisco for New Zealand via Honolulu once a month.
Time.-San Francisco to Honolulu, seven days.
Sailing vessels, with good passenger accommodations, run regularly from San Francisco to Honolulu.
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Sailing time.-San Francisco to Honolulu, ten to eighteen days.
Pacific mail steamers, San Francisco to China and Japan, stop at Honolulu every other trip.
"A new company sends its first steamer this month (February, 1893), from Tacoma and Seattle to Honolulu. Steamers of the Occidental and Oriental line to China and Japan [N. Y. Tribune, February 16] are due to stop at Honolulu."
Steamers of the Oceanic and Pacific Mail companies are under the United States flag.
POSITION, AREAS, AND GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.
The strategic value of the islands and their geographical position are indicated on the accompanying chart (A). In general the islands are mountainous, covered with verdure, and in parts, especially of Hawaii, possessing very considerable areas of forest, whose vegetation is that of the tropics.
The Hawaiian group is composed of eight inhabited, and of four uninhabited islands. [Chart B.] The names and dimensions of the inhabited islands are:
| Name. | Length. | Breadth. | Area. |
| Miles. | Miles. | Square miles. | |
| Hawaii | 90 | 74 | 3,950 |
| Oahu | 46 | 25 | 530 |
| Maui | 48 | 30 | 620 |
| Kauai | 25 | 22 | 500 |
| Molokai | 40 | 7 | 190 |
| Lanai | 17 | 9 | 100 |
| Niihau | 20 | 7 | 90 |
| Kahulaui | 11 | 8 | 60 |
The first five of these islands contain the bulk of the population as
well as the chief industries.
Three of the four uninhabited islands of the group are Kaula, Lenua, and Molokini.
The total area of the inhabited islands is about 6,040 square miles.
"All of these islands are volcanic. No other rocks than volcanic are found upon any of them, excepting a few remnants of raised sea beaches composed of consolidated coral sands. All the larger ones are very mountainous.
"The culminating points of the island Hawaii are Mauna Kea, 13,900 feet, and Mauna Loa, 13,700 feet," the highest points of the group.
"In general the island group consists of the summits of a gigantic submarine mountain chain, projecting its loftier peaks and domes above the water."*
On the island of Hawaii the volcanic forces are still in operation; on the other islands they are extinct.
None of the mountains are of sufficient height to reach the line of eternal snow.
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*See Hawaiian volcanoes, Capt. C. E. Dutton, U.S.A. Capt. (now Major) Dutton adds: "Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, referred to their true bases at the bottom of the Pacific, are therefore mountains not far from 30,000 feet in height." Maj Dutton is frequently quoted in the following paragraphs relating to the physical characteristics of the islands. Template:412-413 From TheMorganReport
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SOIL.
Only a small proportion of the area of the islands is capable of sustaining a dense population. The most habitable tracts are near the seacoast, and only a part or even a small part of these are really fertile.
"The interior portions are mountainous and craggy, with a thin soil, admirable in a few localities for pasturage, but unfit for agriculture.
"Many parts of the shore belt are arid and almost barren. Others are covered with lavas too recent to have permitted the formation of soil, and still others are trenched with ravines so deep and abrupt that access is difficult. "
Deep rich soils at altitudes adapted to the growth of the sugar cane probably form less than the fortieth part of the entire area.
"Shallower soils, however, are a little more extensive and yield other crops of tropical staples in abundance."
CLIMATE.
The climate of the Hawaiian Islands is warm but salubrious, the temperature equable, and the sky usually clear. In the shade it is never hot and seldom chilly, and there is so little humidity in the air that it is rarely sweltering, though during the months of January, February, and March the wind blows strongly from the southwest, and the atmosphere is damp and unpleasant. After such seasons the arid westerly slopes are clothed with verdure and the capacity of the pastures vastly increased.
"Upon the islands themselves it may be said that there are almost as many climates as there are square leagues, and the differences of climatic conditions exhibited by localities separated only half a dozen miles are extreme.
"As a general rule the windward sides are excessively rainy, the precipitation frequently exceeding 200 inches in a year. The leeward sides are generally arid, but to this there are some striking exceptions ; whenever the land barrier is low enough to permit the trade winds to blow over it the lee of the barrier is invariably dry and sometimes is as parched and barren as the sage plains of the Rocky Mountains; the winds throw down their moisture copiously as they rise to the dividing crest and descend hot and dry ; but when the barrier is lofty enough to effectually oppose the drift of the air, the lee becomes subject to the simple alternation of daily land and sea breeze. As the sea breeze comes in and ascends the slope it sends down rain ; as the land breeze floats down ward and outward it is dry and clear.
"The sea breeze sets in a little before noon and the land breeze goes out a little before midnight.
"Relatively to human comfort, the climate is perfection. It is never hot, and at moderate altitudes it is never cold. The heat of summer is never sufficient to bring lassitude, and labor out of doors is far more tolerable than in the summer of New England or Minnesota."
When the mountains are low, as in Oahu, the rains extend over them and maintain copious streams for irrigation of the leeward lands where little rain falls. Very much more rain falls on the windward northeast sides of the large islands. At Hilo in Hawaii as much as 20 feet has been measured in one year. At Honolulu the mean annual rainfall for five years ending 1877 varied from 32.30 to 46.40 inches, giving an average of 38 inches.
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Hurricanes and typhoons are said to be infrequent. There is, however, at Kawaihae, in the island of Hawaii, a wind called the mumuka which rushes violently down between the mountains, and is dangerous to shipping. When hurricanes occur on the island of Maui, great damage to the sugar crop ensues.
The temperature varies from 55° in winter to 70° in summer for the early mornings, and attains an average maximum of 75° in the winter and 85° in the summer for afternoon heats.
There is no rapid, sudden change; cold or hot waves are unknown.
During the heat of the day the sun-heated lava and rocks create a strong draft, loaded with vapor from the ocean; this vapor, at 2,000 feet elevation, forms a continuous cloud bank, covering the mountains.
Hail sometimes falls in the vicinity of Hawaii.
Table from Pacific Coast Commercial Record showing temperatures in Honolulu:
| Maximum temperature for 1891 in Honolulu | 89° |
| Minimum temperature for 1891 in Honolulu | 54° |
| Maximum daily range of the year | 22° |
| Average weekly maximum from July 1, to October 1 | 86° |
Table from " Vistas of Hawaii" showing temperature for 1890;
| Date | 6 a.m. | 1 p.m. | 9 p.m. |
| ° | ° | ° | |
| January 7 | 67 | 77 | 69 |
| February 4 | 68 | 72 | 69 |
| March 4 | 66 | 76 | 69 |
| April 1 | 67 | 78 | 71 |
| May 6 | 69 | 78 | 70 |
| June 3 | 73 | 78 | 74 |
| July 1 | 73 | 82 | 75 |
| August5 | 72 | 84 | 75 |
| September 2 | 72 | 83 | 75 |
| October 7 | 75 | 81 | 76 |
| November 4 | 71 | 80 | 72 |
| December 2 | 69 | 78 | 72 |
From the above it is evident that the climate of the Hawaiian Islands is in general that of a mild summer. The hottest months are July and August, when the thermometer sometimes rises to 90°, but this is considered unusual. Frost is unknown; rains are warm; and the days and nights are of so nearly the same temperature that little daily change of clothing is necessary.
EARTHQUAKES.
Earthquakes are of common occurrence in the islands, but they usually have their center of disturbance in Hawaii. In the islands to the northwestward the shocks are infrequent and feeble. The shocks are seldom of a very alarming or destructive character, but small or moderate tremors are frequent.
POPULATION.
The total population of the Hawaiian Islands in 1890* was 89,990, of which 58,714 are males, 31,276 females.
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*Statesman's Year Book, 1893.
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Latest official census of the Hawaiian Islands.
[Taken December 28, 1890.]
BY DISTRICTS AND ISLANDS.
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BY NATIONALITY—1890 AND 1884 COMPARED.
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Total population 1890 |
89,990 |
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Total population 1884 |
80,578 |
Population by nationality and sex of the Hawaiian Islands, and also of the principal township districts.
[Compiled from the latest census, 1890.]
| Nationalities. | Honolulu, Oahu | Wailuku, Maui. | Lahaina, Maui. | Hilo, Hawaii. | Lihue, Kauai | Population whole islands. |
| Natives, males | 4,494 | 1,260 | 687 | 1,076 | 411 | 18,364 |
| females | 4,068 | 1,178 | 599 | 900 | 310 | 16,072 |
| Half-castes, males | 1,257 | 267 | 199 | 175 | 49 | 3,085 |
| females | 1,346 | 248 | 101 | 189 | 61 | 3,101 |
| Chinese, males | 3,950 | 1,202 | 89 | 1,264 | 347 | 14,552 |
| females | 457 | 33 | 5 | 19 | 9 | 779 |
| Hawaiian-born, foreign parents, males | 1,250 | 254 | 41 | 537 | 203 | 3,909 |
| females | 1,236 | 215 | 39 | 513 | 177 | 3,586 |
| Americans, males | 767 | 65 | 15 | 90 | 11 | 1,298 |
| females | 431 | 23 | 11 | 27 | 7 | 630 |
| British, males | 529 | 53 | 7 | 68 | 8 | 982 |
| females | 267 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 362 |
| Germans, males | 261 | 29 | 7 | 27 | 163 | 729 |
| females | 105 | 5 | ..... | 7 | 108 | 305 |
| French, males | 25 | 7 | ..... | 4 | ..... | 46 |
| females | 23 | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... | 24 |
| Portuguese, males | 933 | 402 | 29 | 869 | 237 | 4,770 |
| females | 799 | 326 | 24 | 686 | 195 | 3,832 |
| Japanese, males | 277 | 842 | 249 | 2,703 | 363 | 10,079 |
| females | 111 | 183 | 40 | 708 | 60 | 2,281 |
| Norwegians, males | 55 | 31 | ..... | ..... | 6 | 155 |
| females | 21 | 11 | ..... | ..... | 6 | 72 |
| Polynesians, males | 49 | 22 | 33 | 22 | 23 | 404 |
| females | 23 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 17 | 184 |
| All others, males | 151 | 36 | 7 | 27 | 16 | 371 |
| females | 22 | 32 | 2 | ..... | 3 | 48 |
| Total | 22,907 | 6,708 | 2,113 | 9,935 | 2,792 | 89,990 |
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CHARACTERISTICS, RELIGION, EDUCATION
The natives are a good-tempered, light-hearted, pleasure-loving people. It is probable that little difficulty is found in governing them as, of themselves, they are not inclined to turbulence nor disposed to revolt against any form of government. Like children, they are easily led and controlled. Even when the Hawaiian Islands were discovered, the people were by no means savages, but had an organized state of society. After discovery, civilization made progress as rapidly, it is said, with these people as with the Japanese; and in twenty-five years after the landing of the missionaries (1820), the whole people had, in a great measure become Americanized. But today, except politically as the one-time owners of the islands, the natives are but an unimportant element of the people and their consent or opposition could have but little influence upon the course of events. They are a peace-loving race, and, in a military sense, are not worth consideration, but they are brave individually and make, it is said, excellent seamen. Little resistance could be anticipated from them even in defense of their country.
RELIGION.
All forms of religion are tolerated. According to the latest statistics there are:
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Protestants |
29,685 |
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Roman Catholics |
20,072 |
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Mormons |
3,576 |
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Hebrews, less than |
100 |
EDUCATION.
Education is general.
There are 178 schools, with 10,000 pupils, of whom 5,559 are natives and 1,573 half-castes. In 1890-'92 $326,922 was allotted for public instruction. (Sum allotted for public instruction, 1892-'94, $210,000. Statesman's Year Book, 1893.)
LAWS
The laws are modeled on those of the United States. There is a supreme court of justice, and, in addition, circuit judges and justices of the peace.
MILITARY FORCES AND POLICE.
The military forces authorized by law consist of the household guards, fixed at 65 men. It is reported that all but 16 of these men have been discharged, that number being retained as a guard for the deposed queen (February, 1893). Volunteer military organizations are prohibited by law. There is also an organized police force.
LANGUAGE.
The language is very largely made up of vowels, giving to the spoken tongue a pleasant liquid sound somewhat difficult to acquire. The consonants all have the English sound, the vowels that of the German
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vowels, except i, which is the same as the German ie. There are no silent letters in the written Hawaiian language.
English is very generally spoken throughout the group.
GOVERNMENT.
Under the great chief Kamehameha the islands of the Hawaiian group became consolidated into a kingdom about the beginning of the present century, and continued, with occasional interference from European powers, as an independent nation under the rule of the descendents of the first great chief.
At the beginning of the present year the Government was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a queen aided by a cabinet consisting of 4 ministers, and by a legislature composed of 24 members of the house of nobles and 24 representatives. These, with the ministers, made a total of 52. Members of both houses were elected by a popular vote. An educational qualification was necessary for all voters, and a property qualification for electors for nobles. In January of this year the revolution occurred which resulted in the present Provisional Government.
BUSINESS.
Business is almost entirely carried on by foreigners, principally Americans, British, Germans, and Chinamen. Many of the principal offices are filled by foreigners or by native-born whites.
CURRENCY.
Gold and silver coins of all nations are current as legal tender at real or nominal value. From 1884 only United States gold coins have been legal tender for more than $10; no paper money exists excepting in form of treasury certificates for coin deposited.
FINANCE.*
The budget is (was) voted for a biennial period. The following table shows the revenue and expenditures in dollars for the last five financial periods:
| 1882-'84 | 1884-'86 | 1886-'88 | 1888-'90 | 1890-'92 | |
| Revenue | $3,092,085 | $3,010,655 | $4,812,576 | $3,632,197 | $4,408,033 |
| Expenditures | 2,216,406 | 2,988,722 | 4,712,285 | 3,250,510 | 4,095,891 |
The revenue is largely derived from customs ($1,204,305, 1890-'92) and internal taxes ($963,495, 1890-'92), while the largest item of expenditure was for the interior ($1,641,848, 1890-'92). The debt, March, 1892, was:
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Bonded debt |
$2,314,000 |
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Due depositors' postal-savings bank |
903,162 |
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*Statesman's Year Book, 1893.
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COMMERCE—EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
Sugar and rice are the staple industries, while coffee, hides, bananas, and wool are also exported.
The following table shows the commerce and shipping for five years:
| Years. | Imports. | Native exports. | Customs receipts. | Ships entered. | Tonnage. |
| 1887 | $4,944,000 | $9,435,000 | $595,000 | 254 | 210,703 |
| 1888 | 4,541,000 | 11,631,000 | 546,000 | 246 | 221,148 |
| 1889 | 5,439,000 | 14,040,000 | 550,000 | 288 | 223,567 |
| 1890 | 6,962,000 | 13,143,000 | 696,000 | 295 | 230,120 |
| 1891 | 7,439,000 | 10,259.000 | 660,000 | 310 | 284,155 |
The chief exports in 1891 were:
| Sugar |
pounds |
274,983,580 |
| Rice |
do |
4,900,450 |
| Bananas |
bunches |
116,660 |
| Wool |
pounds |
97,119 |
The imports are mainly groceries, provisions, clothing, grain, timber, machinery, hardware, and cotton goods.
Ninety-one per cent of the trade is with the United States.*
PRODUCTS, RESOURCES, VEGETATION.
Besides sugar and rice, the staple products, coffee, bananas, oranges, and other fruits are largely grown. Food products are abundant, especially of the kind suitable to a hot climate.
The native food consists largely of the taro plant, of which the best varieties are grown in shallow ponds of fresh water. It is stated that about 40 square feet of taro will yield enough to supply one man for a year, this being his principal food. From this plant is made the poi, which is the ordinary food of the Kanaka.
The sweet potato grows even amongst the rocks and flourishes abundantly in good soil, while the common potato sometimes grows well, though is often injured by worms.
Wheat and corn are grown; the former was once cultivated for export. Flour is made, but it is said that the islands now receive all their cereal products from California.
The quality of the coffee raised is said to be equal to the choicest.
The climate is also very favorable to the growth of the long staple sea-island cotton; but as this variety must be picked by hand the high price of labor in the islands renders its culture unprofitable.
Tropical fruits of nearly all kinds grow in the greatest abundance, the orange, lemon, lime, mango, pineapple, chirimoya or custard apple, the alligator pear, pomegranate, and guava, all of which are exotic.
The banana is indigenous, and is the most abundant of all fruits; besides it there are the ohia apple—a fruit peculiar to the Pacific islands, soft, juicy, and mildy acid—many varieties of palms, the choicest trees of India, the caoutchouc, the papaya, the traveler's tree of Madagascar, and other foreign plants.
INDUSTRIES.
"The chief industry of the islands is the cultivation of sugar cane. Fer this the soil (although the area is limited) seems better adapted
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*Statesman's Year Book, 1893.
S. Doc. 231, pt 6----27
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than any other in the world. The yield will average about 5,000 pounds of sugar to the acre, and choice fields sometimes yield twice that amount. Large amounts of American capital have heen invested in the plantations and in the accessory commerce."
Large flocks of sheep and herds of cattle are found. These animals are raised chiefly for their wool and hides. On the island of Lanai great flocks of sheep pasture, while in Hawaii considerable numbers of wild cattle are still found in the mountains;* wild goats and wild hogs also exist in great numbers, and it is said that wild horses and asses are also found.
DISEASES (OTHER THAN LEPROSY).
It is asserted that diseases, other than leprosy, are not as troublesome as in most places considered healthful. Malarial fevers are thought to be infrequent, nevertheless in the monthly table (March, 1891) the greatest number of deaths for the year, 89, is recorded as due to "fever."
Consumption (probably imported cases) comes next with 74; "old age" next with 59. Amongst the other more important causes of death are diarrhea, 29; dysentery, 15. From diseases of the liver but 2 died, while 25 died of disease of the heart.
From this it would seem that the diseases common to the tropics—fever and stomach troubles—are to be guarded against. Rheumatism is prevalent in many of the damper localities; smallpox occasionally appears; and measels has on one or two occasions carried off many of the natives, owing to their manner of life, but this disease is now easily controlled when it makes its appearance. Lung and chest troubles are almost unknown to natives of the islands. In fact, the Hawaiian Islands are regions of unusual healthfulness.
The general health of the natives is steadily improving; leprosy, now largely under medical control, is gradually being stamped out, (See Leprosy.)
MANNER OF LIFE, CLOTHING.
The whites live, of course, much as they live at home, and usually in well-constructed houses of European style. The natives live as a rule in grass huts, upon native food, largely taro and fruit, and wear clothing of light cotton stuff, a straw hat, but shoes rarely.
Woolens are not in general use, but very light flannels are recommended for strangers at all seasons.
At night blankets are rarely needed, but a light blanket is often comfortable. Houses have no fireplaces.
For troops clothing for all seasons should be light flannel drawers and shirts, wide straw hats or helmets, and the light quality of outer garments issued to troops on the southern stations.
Ample tentage should be provided for use in localities where heavy and sudden rainfalls are frequent, and light blankets should be carried.
The ration should be suited to the requirements of a warm climate.
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*Descended from the animals introduced by Vancouver in 1792.
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INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EIGHT INHABITED ISLANDS OF THE HAWAIIAN GROUP.
Island of Oahu (Map C).
This island has the form of an irregular quadrangle; it lies 23 miles northwest of the nearest island of the group, Molokai. Length about 46, breadth about 25 miles.
Oahu, though not the largest, is the most important of the Hawaiian group, as it contains Honolulu, the capital, chief seaport, and principal city.
Coast.—The greater part of the island is surrounded by a coral reef often half a mile wide.
The windward side of the island presents a gigantic cliff hardly accessible, except at one point reached by a road cut with great labor from the mountain side; but the leeward side descends from the mountain to the sea in very moderate slopes deeply cut by ravines.
The northeastern coast of the island is generally a rugged plateau descending by gentle slopes to the water. When viewed from the ocean, this coast appears to be formed of detached hills rising steeply and covered with woods. The intervening valleys are fertile and well cultivated. From the southeast extremity of the island, called Makapuu Point, to the Mokapu Peninsula, the coast is often marked by scattered islets and rocks; and beyond, the peninsula is indented by a considerable bay extending to Kaoio Point, thence to Kahuku, the northern point of Oahu. Along this part of the coast is a narrow strip of land, varying from a half to 2 miles in breadth, only a few feet above the level of the sea. It is very fertile, and has a gradual ascent to the foot of the mountains.
From Kahuku to the village of Waimea lies a level plain from 2 to 6 miles wide, and but slightly above the level of the sea. It is a good pasture, and at many of its frequent holes and crevices may be seen streams of clear and cool fresh water making their subterranean way from the mountains to the outlets in the sea below low-water mark.
The southwest side of the island is composed chiefly of craggy mountains, some descending abruptly to the sea, others terminating a small distance from it; thence a low border of land extends to a shore formed by sandy beaches, bounded by rocks on which the surf beats heavily.
The southwest extremity is Laeloa, or Barber Point; thence the shore continues low, flat, and covered with bushes to the entrance of Pearl River, about 12 miles from Honolulu.
Some of the land in this vicinity is of extreme fertility.
Interior. —Two parallel ranges of hills traverse Oahu from southeast to northwest, separated by a low plain. The highest point is Kauia, 4,000 feet, in the west range. The east range is much longer than the other, and its ridge is very broken; lateral spurs extend from many ravines on the land side, but for 30 miles on the other side the range presents to the sea a nearly vertical wall without a break. There are few craters in the loftier heights; volcanic activity seems to have ceased; but several groups of small cones with craters, some of lava, some of tufa, exist. Valleys are numerous, with lateral ravines, in which water courses and cascades are found.
A chain of mountains rises near the center of the east part of the island to 3,175 feet, and descends near the middle into the Ewa Plain, which divides this range from the distant and elevated mountains that
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