83884 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
Hering, and Mr. Carl S. Smith, of Hilo; Mr. J. Storan Moloney and 
Mr. George H. Dunn, of Lahaina; Mr. E. H. Bailey and Mr. William 
T. Robinson, of Wailuku; Mr. Francis Gay, of Makaweli, Kaui, and 
Mr. Thorwald Brandt, of Waimea, Kauai. 
Mr. A. H. Baldwin, one of the artists accompanying the expedition, 
made the pen-and-ink sketches used. All but two of the photographs 
were taken by myself. 
Mr. M. Sindo, of Stanford University, a member of the party, ren- 
dered valuable assistance as interpreter with his own countrymen. 
PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 
The Hawaiian Islands proper comprise a group of twelve islands 
lying between latitude 19° and 22° 20’ north and longitude 155° and 
160° west. Eight of these—Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, 
Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Niihau—are inhabited, while Molokini, Lehua, 
Kaula, and Nihoa are uninhabited, but are occasionally visited by the 
fishermen. There are a number of small islands and reefs running to 
the northwestward, which are temporarily occupied by workmen of 
the guano companies, who collect the eggs and manure deposited upon 
them by the myriads of sea birds and turtles which resort there. 
These smaller islands and reefs have a melancholy celebrity in the 
annals of the islands from the wrecks which have occurred upon them. 
The Hawaiian islands have been called the ** Key of the Pacific,” 
owing to their location. From Honolulu, the capital, on Oahu, the 
distance to San Francisco is 2,100 miles; to Auckland, New Zealand, 
3,810 miles; to Sydney, New South Wales, 4,484 miles; to Yokohama, 
Japan, 3,440 miles; to Hongkong, China, 4,893 miles, and to Tahiti, 
2,380 miles. There is no land, except a few small islands close to the 
mainland, between the Hawaiian Islands and the American continent. 
The islands thus have an immense strategical importance in case of 
war. Owing to their convenient situation they have become ports of 
call for numerous steamship and sailing lines running from the main- 
land to Australia, China, and Japan. 
Hawaii,—This island has an area of 4,210 square miles, nearly 
double that of all the other islands combined. It is 90 miles long from 
north to south, and 74 miles wide from east to west. This island, 
which is said by geologists to be the youngest of the group, is com- 
posed principally of three enormous volcanoes, two of which are still 
active. The highest point on the island is Mauna Kea, which is 13,825 
feet in height, while Mauna Loa is 13,675 feet high. Both are capped 
with snow during most of the year. The coast line is regular, some- 
times precipitous, but with few bays and no regular harbors. On the 
eastern or windward side, Hilo Bay is a rather open harbor, which 
is partly protected from heavy seas by a sunken coral reef. This is 
the only harbor on the eastern side, as the others are merely landings 
which can be made only in fairly pleasant weather. On the westward 
