Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 
ii 
The native Hawaiians, sometimes called kanakas, from the Haw¬ 
aiian word for man, are very dark-skinned people, finely built, 
with good features not unlike the Caucasian except that the lips 
are rather thick. They form now about a sixth of the population, 
and their blood is a good deal mixed with Portugese and Chinese. 
Practically all speak English, and they are well represented in 
the Territorial Legislature. 
Hawaii was discovered and settled by the Polynesians about the 
year looo to noo, according to tradition and native genealogies. 
The adventurous colonists were probably from Samoa. Did pres¬ 
sure of population drive them forth to discover new islands? Or 
was a canoe blown out of its course in some inter-island voyage? 
We will never know. But their landfall on the only islands in the 
vast north Pacific seems little short of miraculous. For some cen¬ 
turies after the settlement voyages were made back and forth be¬ 
tween the old home and the new. Without the compass, in frail 
outrigger canoes, we cannot but admire the seamanship of a people 
willing to undertake that 2300 mile voyage. 
With them the colonists brought the dog, pig, and fowl; also taro, 
cane, the banana, and perhaps the coconut. They were not canni¬ 
bals, though sometimes captives of war were sacrificed to the Gods. 
Kamahameha I, of whom a fine statue stands before the Judi¬ 
ciary Building in Honolulu, was the first king controlling the entire 
group. In 1795, he defeated the Oahuans, driving their army up 
Nuuanu Valley and over the Pali, a 700 foot drop. 
Hawaiians are still excellent boatmen, but while they work on 
cattle ranches and the like, they do not care for field and mill labor. 
In the industrial development of the islands, Japanese labor is al¬ 
most exclusively used. 
For the sessions relating to volcanos the Scientific Conference 
adjourned to the island of Hawaii. Here on the summit of Kil- 
auea vulcanology was discussed by the masters of America and 
Japan, Jaggar, Omori, and others, illustrated by an active crater. 
Professor Jaggar, Director of the Volcano Observatory, has had 
Kilauea under daily observation for over ten years. The work 
begins a new era in the study of volcanos. To see Halemaumau, 
“the house of eternal fire”, at night is one of the unforgettable 
sights of a lifetime. Black crags jut out of the fiery lake. Lava 
fountains give rise to rivers which stream to vortices where the 
