SANDWICH ISLANDS (ante), so named by clot. Cook, but that name is not found in the constitution and laws of the islands. They are there called the Hawaiian Islands. which is the name used by the people. Their distance from Panama is 4,800 in., from San Francisco 2,100 m., and from Japan 8,400. They are ten in number. The group contains 6,000 sq. miles. The four largest and most important are Hawaii, Maui. Oahu, and Kauai. Kaula and Molokini are little more than barren formerly called Owlkyhee, is 300 in. in circuit, and twice as large as all the others together. It is in the form of a triangle, is 100 m. long from n. to s., and 80 broad. The interior, a table-land, 8,000 ft. above the sea, is chiefly covered with lava and ashes, but in some places overgrown with wanti trees or paper-mulberry trees. From this plateau the land gradually slopes toward the sea. There are three mountains, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Mauna Huai:did, near the edges of this table-land. The higher part of this slope, to about 4 in. from the shore, is covered with dense forests of acacia, which grows very large, and of which the natives make their canoes. The soil on which these trees grow lies on lava, which often appears above it. The tract w. of Byron bay or Waiakea, extending toward the base of the volcano Mauna Kea, is thickly inhabited and well cultivated; but nearly contiguous to it on the s. is a desert of lava extending 40 m. along the shore, without cultivation, and inhabited only by fishermen. The north eastern coast is bold and steep. Byron bay, on the 'eastern shore, has a spacious harbor lying s. and n., protected front the n.e. wind by a coral reef half a Mile wide, leaving a channel three-quarters of a mile wide and from 3 to 10 fathoms deep. It is the best harbor of the island. In the Kealakehua harbor, on the w. coast, capt. Cook was killed. The principal town is Hilo.—MAUI lies n.w. of Hawaii, separated from it by a strait 24 in. wide. It is 48 in. long. 29 broad. It is composed of two masses of rock, sur rounded by a narrow tract of low land united by a low and sandy isthmus 9 m. in width. The larger mountain, occupying the e. part, is 10,000 ft. high, and has but little cultivable land; the smaller mountain mass, or peninsula, has a tine tract of level land along the s.w. coast. The harbor of Lahaina, the principal town, nearly in the center of the plain, is formed by two low projecting rocks, 2 m. distant from 'each other.— KAUAI, 33 ra. long, 2S broad, is a mountain mass sloping on all sides toward the sea, where it terminates with a high coast. The valleys are fertile and well cultivated.— OAHU, 46 in. long, 23 broad, has a larger quantity of cultivated laud than the other islands, an extensive foreign commerce. ?and is the most populous of the whole group. A mountain range traverses the island from n.e. to s.w., terminating at Diamond Point, the s.w. cape, in• a hill 400 ft. high. This range, with the valleys which intersect it. covers halt the surface of the island. Another mountain mass is in the n.w., sep
arated from the other by a plain 20 m. in extent, called the plain of Eva, which is fertile and welt-wooded, but not much cultivated. The soil is a deep mold, resting on lava. The plain of Honolulu, extending 10 m. along the s. shore, from 2 to 3 m. in width, has a rich alluvial soil, and is highly cultivated. Honolulu (q.v.) is the capital of the islands and the residence of the king. It has an excellent harbor, which, though small, is deep and perfectly safe. It is formed and protected by a coral reef extending some distance along the shore.—Mommcm, extending 40 in. from e. to w. and 7 m. from s. to n., is a mass of rocks, the highest portion rising 5.000 ft. and the sides having deep ravines full of trees. There are level tracts along the shore, many of them fertile.—KAHULAWE lies s.w. of the larger peninsula of Maui; is 11 in. long and 8 broad. It is, like the other islands, composed of lava. The soil is thin, and covered with a coarse grass.—LANAI, w. of the smaller peninsula of Maui, separated from that island by a strait 9 or 10 in. wide, is 17 in. long, 9 wide, and is a mass of low volcanic rocks. A large part of it is barren, and there are but few Inhabitants.--Nmmu, the most western of the islands, is 20 in. long, 7 broad. The inhab itants make painted and variegated mats, which are used in all the other islands, and the island produce abundance of yams, which are sent to other islands. There is a good harbor on the w. mineral obtained in abundance on the islands is salt. A large quantity is taken from a salt lake in the island of Oahn, which is between 2 and 3 m. in circuit. The bottom and shores are incrusted with salt, the water being strongly impregnated, and the crystallization very rapid. There are also Artificial vats of clay along the sea-shore, into which the water from the sea is let at high-tide, and large quantities of salt obtained by evaporation. The forests do not contain many trees fit for ship-building. Sandal-wood formerly abounded in some of the mountains, but, having blien largely exported to China, it is now scarce. The Hawaiians are supposed to belong to the family of Malay nations. Their complexion is tawny, inclining to olive: they arc of middle stature, well formed, with muscular limbs and open counten ance. They are expert in swimming, and are good fishermen and horsemen. The Hawaiian nation is.believed to have a considerable antiquity. Persons have been appointed front time inunemorial to keep the genealogy of their kings unimpaired, and this embraces the names of more than 70 kings. The population in 1778 was estimated by the discoverer at 400,000. When the missionaries arrived, in 1820, they estimated it from 130,000 to 150,000, but since that it has been, from various causes, steadily decreas ing, so that in 1872 the official census gave but 56,899. For an account of the Hawaiian kings, see KANIEUAMEHA; and for the present religious condition of the islands, see Mm SIONS, FOREIGN.