Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/539

 HAVRE DE GKACE to the United States. The number of vessels entered in 1870 was 8,458, tonnage 2,516,898, of which 116, tonnage 114,000, were Ameri- can; cleared, 5,707, tonnage 1,386,152. The number of vessels belonging to the port is about 500. The imports of cotton in 1870 were 464,- 985 bales, of which 294,032 bales were from the United States. The imports of petroleum were 116,247 bbls. ; of coals, 116,100 tons. The total value of the imports and exports is about $250,000,000 annually; and about one fifth of the whole foreign commerce of France is carried on through this port. The imports consist chiefly of cotton, spices, cofiee, tea, sugar, timber, &c., and the exports of French manufactured goods, wiae, brandy, oil, jewelry, salted meat, butter, cheese, fish, &c. There are manufactories of paper, sugar refineries, a gov- ernment manufactory of tobacco, a large cotton factory, several manufactories of machinery, a large establishment for the manufacture of salt, &c. The ship yards of Havre produce the best vessels in France. Its docks are among the finest in the world and capable of accommoda- ting over 600 vessels. The largest, called 1'Eure, has an area of 700,000 sq. ft., and one of its dry docks is 515 ft. long by 112 ft. broad. A basin recently constructed has an area of 53 acres. Havre is much frequented during the season for sea bathing. It has a commercial court, a school of navigation with an obser- vatory, three theatres, a public library, an ex- change, a chamber of commerce, a merchants' lub house, and a Lloyd's with the principal European journals. Among the churches are an English chapel and an American church. The old fortifications have been removed, and new forts constructed on the heights, which command both the city and the sea. The mil- itary quarter of Havre contains an extensive arsenal. The city hall, which is centrally sit- uated, is a magnificent edifice, resembling the late Tuileries in the style of its architecture. The adjoining picturesque village of St. Ad- dresse is studded with pretty villas and gar- dens. Havre was founded by Louis XII. at the beginning of the 16th century, and consist- ed then only of a few huts. Francis I. caused it to be fortified, and the construction of a port was begun under his auspices. It was called after him Ville Francoise or Franciscopolis, and afterward, from a chapel of that name, Havre de Grace. The English took it in 1562, and bombarded it on several occasions in the 17th and 18th centuries. The extension of the fortifications and of the town generally was ordained by Louis XVI. in 1786, and has since been carried out far beyond the original plans. Among the eminent persons born in Havre are Mile. Scudery, Mme. de Lafayette, Bernardin de St. Pierre, and Casimir Delavigne. HAVRE DE GRACE, a town of Harford co., Maryland, on the W. bank of the Susquehanna river, near its mouth in Chesapeake bay, 35 m. N. E. of Baltimore ; pop. in 1870, 2,281, of whom 441 were colored. It is the 8. terminus HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 525 of the Tidewater canal, and the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore railroad here cross- es the river on a bridge 3,271 ft. long, comple- ted in 1867 at a cost of more than $1,250,000. The town is noted for its scenery, and has con- siderable trade in coal, and a weekly news- paper. It was laid out in 1776, and was burn- ed by the British in the war of 1812. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, or Sandwich Islands, the most northerly cluster of the Polynesian archi- pelago, constituting a kingdom, and consisting of 12 islands, in the North Pacific, between Mexico and China, extending about 360 m. in a curve from N. W. to S. E., between lat. 18 55' and 22 20' N., and Ion. 154 55' and 160 15' W. Their names and areas, in order from S. E., are: Hawaii, 4,040 sq. m. ; Maui, 603 sq. m. ; Molokini, islet ; Kahoolawe, 60 sq. m. ; Lanai, 150 sq. m. ; Molokai, 169 sq. m. ; Oahu, 522 sq. m.; Kauai, 527 sq. m. ; Lehua, islet; Niihau, 70 sq. m. ; Kaula and Bird island, islets; total, about 6,100 sq. m., of which two thirds are included in the principal island, which gives its name to the group. The isl- ands are of volcanic formation and mountain- ous, the fertile lands being mostly confined to the valleys and to a belt of alluvial soil at the shore. The uplands are better adapted to grazing than to tillage. The mountains, cov- ered with dense forests, are not cultivable. The windward coasts, which receive the N. E. trade winds, intercept the rain, and are fertile, while the leeward parts of the same island may be almost rainless. On the windward side the mountains are densely wooded. The upper lim- it of vegetation is determined by the aspect. On the windward side of Mauna Kea the writer has observed mosses at a height of more than 12,000 ft. ; on the leeward side of Mauna Loa vegetation ceases at 8,000 ft. Only seven of the islands are inhabited. Hawaii, the eastern- most (formerly miscalled Owhyhee), is of a tri- angular shape, and is of the most recent for- mation; it consists of a sloping belt of coast land, a high central plateau, and three princi- pal mountains : Mauna Kea, 13,953 ft. ; Mauna Loa, an active volcano, 13,760 ft. ; and Mauna Hualalai, 7,822 ft. In no part of the islands can one journey far without seeing extinct craters, generally overgrown with luxuriant vegetation. Many hundred square miles of Hawaii are covered with recent and barren lavas. Near the shore the natives cultivate sweet potatoes upon lavas that are hardly cooled, pulverizing the scoria and mixing with it a little vegetable mould. Earthquakes, gen- erally slight, occur frequently upon Hawaii, but not so often upon the other islands. From June, 1833, to May 31, 1867, 173 shocks were recorded at Hilo. On April 2, 1868, five days before a great eruption from Mauna Loa, vio- lent shocks occurred in the district of Kau, and a volcanic wave which followed the earth- quake swept away the hamlets on the coast. Hawaii has two great active craters, Kilauea and Mauna Loa ; the former is continually, the lat-