Show rUE MID1YAY ISLANDS sJ 1 11y Joseph A Arnold J c J At M HE Midway Islands are jj Jj perhaps the least known of O T 6 this countrys Pacific pos 81 I X sessions However from TSflW their situation and tho unique position they occupy In the commercial world they are highly valuable val-uable The name Midway explains In a word their exact position In the I Pacific nUll they He within n few degrees de-grees ot the meridian wblch divides the eastern and western hemispheres The Midway Islands were discovered nuil claimed as possessions of the United Uni-ted States in 18iH by Captain Brooks of the Gambia The Islands are two In number entirely encircled by u coral reef eighteen miles In circumference circum-ference with the exception of an opening open-ing on the northeast which permits the admission of vessels of less than eighteen feet draft Sand Island the larger of the two Is about 000 acres In extent and Is aptly named It being entirely n desert of fine coral sand upon the light surface of which the sun shines with dazzling brilliancy Its companion island oddly enough presents another extreme of barrenness a rock paradoxically named Green Island from its utter I lack of vegetation There are however how-ever large deposits ot sumo in its rocky crevices and as Is the case with Sand Island countless thousands of birds find habitation on Its surface The coral reef round tho islands protect pro-tect them lit a measure from the high seas of the deepest portion of the Pa cific Soundings taUcn within thc vicinity vi-cinity have shown the depth of 4906 feet with vogue and sudden fluctuations fluctua-tions of ocean bottom The climate Is delightful the temperature being mild and not subject to great variations during the different seasons It is perpetual per-petual summer here but without tho enervating effects of excessive heat Sand Island Is the better suited for human habitation although Its barren surface offers but poor hospitality The highest point that on which tho Hag of the United States now flies is a mere sand dune ten feet above the general level of the ground There area are-a number of less pretentious dunes formed and held intact by the roots of a small dense shrub groups of which are sparingly distributed over the rest I of the island In the thick shrubbery millions of birds abound and in nesting time lay their eggs flat on the sand Terns of several varieties boatswains birds gooneys albatrosses sea pigeons plover plo-ver and curlew arc a few of the species spe-cies which are found in great numbers num-bers In walking through these rookeries immense clouds of birds are aroused and their flight veritably darkens the sky while during the nesting season eggs are demolished at rtst lfIt clouds of the birds are disturbed and fly away at the approach of man there aro as many more that prefer quietly to sit at his feet even sometimes snapping snap-ping as if resenting his intrusion on their sacred precincts Of late years the island has been frequently visited by Japanese for the purpose of obtaining obtain-ing the birds feathers a practice which has resulted in the death of thousands of the beautiful birds The United States Government however proposes to put a stop to this indiscriminate slaughter of the innocents inno-cents Plover and curlew aro two species spe-cies of game birds the flesh of which is extremely palatable and tho eggs of the tern closely resembling those of the bantam chickens arc also highly prized as food When one desires these eggs all that is necessary is to clear a space in one of the rookeries where fresh laid eggs may bo collected every morning If the Islands are barren and unfruitful un-fruitful and so unbalcil that the glare necessitates smoked glasses of the darkest shade the marine life abounds in color and magnificence Tropical fish in all the glory of multitudinous multi-tudinous shades of vivid colors abound in the water while sharks sea elephants ele-phants and setaceous animals are also to be found Fishing here Is delightful sport and some of the wildest fish i stories are related of the sizes of the catches The most recent chapter In the History His-tory of these two dreary isles and the one which has directed public attention more or less to their strategic importance impor-tance was recently consummated through the choice of Sand Island as ono of the relay stations for tho new Pacific cable which has united Uncle Slims new possessions in the far Pacific Pa-cific with the seat of government When Hawaii and the Philippines carne into the possession of the United States direct and ciliclcnt means of telegraph communication was wanting President McKinley was quick to realize real-ize just what such a bond with our new possessions would mean both to the land and water forces of this country I coun-try stationed there In his message to Congress on February 10 1809 he directed I di-rected attention to the necessity for the considera such a bond and urged tion of the matter by both houses The means of communication then in vogue called for at least fifteen or sixteen six-teen different stations controlled for the most part by European corporations corpora-tions The rate charged was then 235 Liner word and the Government was paying up to the end of the Philippine Phil-ippine Insurrection about 400000 a year for its messages It was at this time that the late John W Mackay offered his aid to the Government Gov-ernment outlining the plan which with a few unimportant changes Js now in operation During tine winter he offered Congress to lay tho cable purely as a private enterprise and when tho bill providing for Governmental Govern-mental construction and operation came to bo considered it was defeated defeat-ed Afterward the work was undertaken under-taken by the Postal Telegraph Company Com-pany and on July 1 1003 was completed com-pleted the Midway Station having been established as being the most practicable relay between Honolulu and Guam On Midway Islands before tho advent ad-vent of the cable Itself there was n smnll colony of men partly employes of the company and partly the otllcers and crew of the U S S Iroquois forming tho representation of tho Government t Lieu telill IItColUmnJulOr Ilugh linilmnn IT rt i d9signntnvl u n Gorcrnot by Uw Navy Department under whose jurisdiction the islands are now maintained assumed direction direc-tion On the highest point on Sand Island sailors from the U S S Iroquois raised the flag of the United States njid the rnslgu was thrown to the breeze In a spot near the southwest end of the Island twentyelglit degrees twelve minutes and twentytwo seconds sec-onds north longitude 127 degrees twentytwo minutes nnd twentythree seconds west The entrance to the reef a roomy and broad one of three quarters of a mile was christened Welles Harbor The greatest value of the Islands lies In the fact that they are most conveniently conve-niently situated for the sighting and reporting of vessels The value of such a station to our navy is at once apparent Congress has been asked to provide for Its establishment nnd malntcnncc Should favorable action be token it is likely that the Midway Islands which have heretofore been barren and uninhabitable save by till occasional visits of poachers and crews of stranded vessels will become the peat of a thriving community under the iing Dr ihe United States Youths Companion |