370 GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE 



sessed of a ready appreciation of the picturesque. The descriptions of 

 scenery are accurate in most particulars, so that a good idea of this " Para- 

 dise of the Pacific" can be gleaned from the pages of Mr Musick's book. 

 The much mooted "missionary" question receives considerate treatment 

 by the author, and, as intimately connected with the same subject, the 

 lepers of Molokai are described and illustrated more fully, perhaps, than 

 has been done by any other recent writer on the subject. The customs, 

 habits, and manners of the native Hawaiian are portrayed with a delicate 

 pen, the opinion being expressed that " though the Hawaiian is a failure at 

 the head of business, lacking the power to direct and control, he makes a 

 trusty and faithful clerk." Of course the famous volcano of Kilauea re- 

 ceives a due share of attention, and the description of a visit to the cele- 

 brated extinct crater of Haleakala, " House of the Sun," is well written. 

 Much space is taken up with a full and fairly unbiased account of the 

 political events which precipitated and accompanied the overthrow of the 

 monarchy, and a clear idea of those incidents is here given for the first time 

 to the American reader. The illustrations are well chosen and artistically 

 executed, and a careful index adds to the intrinsic value of an interesting 

 book. The reading world is to be congratulated on the appearance of a 

 volume pleasantly written and devoid of many of the blemishes to which 

 the subject seems especially liable. While the actual and valuable geo- 

 graphic and scientific knowledge of Hawaii is not materially increased by 

 the author, a fairly accurate description of the islands is presented. 



Harrie Webster, U. S. N. 



Ruins of the Saga lime : Being an Account of Travels and Explorations in Ice- 

 land in the Summer of 1895. By Thorsteinn Erlingsson, on behalf of 

 Miss Cornelia Horsford, Cambridge, U. S. A. AVith an Introduction 

 by F. T. Norris and Jon Stefansson, Ph. D., and a Resume in French 

 by E. D. Grand. London, 1899. Svo, pp. 1-112 and map. 

 As known through various publications, Miss Cornelia Horsford has 

 undertaken researches relating to the early Xorse discoveries in America. 

 The inquiries have been taken up and pursued with great vigor and in a 

 notably comprehensive manner, and the work has differentiated into sev- 

 eral lines. Among these are (1) studies of the Sagas, (2) investigation of 

 pre-Columbian and early post- Columbian cartography, (3) critical exam- 

 ination of artificial structures and other relics in eastern Massachusetts, 

 and (4) comparison of these relics with the known products of the Norse- 

 men in Iceland, Scandinavia, and elsewhere. Considerable portions of 

 the work are conducted by Miss Horsford in person, frequently with the 

 aid of expert archeologists ; other portions are performed by experts 

 under her directions and auspices. Certain summary results appeared 

 in her article in The National Geographic Magazine for March, 1898, 

 while some of the details were derived from the work in Iceland, which 

 is described at length in the recently issued memoir. The publication 

 bears the stamp of the Viking Club of London. W J M. 



The Institute Geologico de Mexico in its eleventh bulletin publishes a 

 detailed list of the minerals and mines in the Republic. 



