In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2,000 miles west of North America, lie the Hawaiian (hä-w´ yn) Islands. They were explored by an English sailor, Captain James Cook, in 1778. They had been visited by white men as early as 1549. At that time some 400,000 natives lived in the 8 islands. They resembled the Filipinos and called themselves Kanakas (kn´ å-kå). Their skin was of a copper color, and they wore skirts of the bark of the paper mulberry tree. They were a simple folk and fond of flowers, decorating their heads with garlands of the native blossoms. They were noted swimmers, excellent fishermen, and tilled the soil with crude agricultural implements. The United States early recognized the value of these islands as a coaling station in the Pacific. Moreover, Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, furnished an excellent port for naval base. Agriculturally, too, the islands are important on account of their sugar and banana crop. So when Hawaii asked our protection, we were glad to secure the territory. This occurred in 1898. The chief city in Honolulu. It is a city of more than 50,000 inhabitants, of all nationalities. Here one sees Englishmen, Americans, Kanakas, Japanese and Chinese. The city is the capital of the islands and is a modern seaport. The school you see here shows how far advanced education is in the islands. The schools are under the supervision of the United States, and a large number of teachers are Americans. These children are doubtless as proud of the flag which floats in front of their school building as you are of the same flag which floats on your building. In 1914, in all the schools of the islands, there were 33,288 pupils. Keystone ID: 10161 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.