Midway Islands

a group of islands in the North Pacific midway between America and Asia. The islands have come into notice as an intermediate station of the American Pacific cable which extends from San Francisco to Honolulu and the Philippines. The group consists of a low, circular coral atoll inclosing a bay some five miles in diameter. Within this shelter there are four islets, the largest of which is above a mile in length and rises to a height of forty-three feet above the sea. In 1887-9 a shipwrecked crew lived here for fourteen months. The present inhabitants are cable employes. Good fresh water may be had by sinking wells. There is an abundance of food fishes, turtles, and crabs. The islands are covered with a coarse grass, and are the nesting places of countless terns. The United States Navy Department has issued orders forbidding the use of firearms and the molestation of birds.