, 1865-05-03
PACIFIC LIFE,


| PACIFIC LIFE.
In the Sandwich Islands,
The first word Of Our title suggests the
eharacter Of the life We propose to sketch.
And although all nrc busy in some way, &C.
cofding to the best Of their ability, In living
their oWn life where choice or circumstance
has placed them, there is always q considera-
bic degree Of curiosity and interest to know
hoW'othcr people live elsewhere under dis.
similar conditions. Doubtless many most
| loyal citizens Of Chicago and the Northwest,
whose iIes are mainly invested in fhome
| securities, nevertheless sometimes In The
1oterlma and 1uli Of business, spe2u-
late somewhat in foreign etocks. By
making sight drafts upon their lore Of novelty
| and sense Of the marvellous, and borrowing
| from :" distance" little =" enc hantment" to
"lend to the VIEW" many heavy operators
"on 'Change' have almost uEconsciously
quite an investment in Pacific life, to be rea-
]lzed sometime in the future. TO 81 uch, and
romantic :" "lovycrs'' who are prone to sigh
! for some .sweet little Isle Of their own,'a
observation in the Happy 1sles'' Of the
Pacific may. not be unacceptable. We
say. TO-. such, for what comparative
inter eet can any true report from this island
Kingdom have to the mere practical man?
It Is composed Of but thirteen little dry
spots in The Pacific Ocean two Thousand
miles south Of San Francisco, six Of which
the largest Of tha remaining seven, Ia some
thing smaller than the State Of Connecticut.
Their principal exports --sacchasine-would
prove insufficient to. fill the sugnr-boWl Of
Chicago's hcspitahle Board Of Trade. Their
productions aTe but drop in the bucket Of
business which SO many wtlla Of civilization
are filing to ose113Wing. And the native
population is without permanent interest.
They belong to the brown race, aud origi-
nn1ly drificd thither by the eastward cur
rents OF the Malogan East Indies. About
the time Of their discovery By Capt. Cook.
in'1778, Kamchameha the Great successiyely
overpowered the other petty chiefs and re-
In 1870 the American missionaries com
menced the work Of egangelizatfon, Kane
hameha II. have just abolished the worship
Of idols By. royal decree. Thrown in con-
tdct with the influences Of commerce and
evzst1en ths b. the - ufe f. qf Ho1olulu
whaling fleet, and by the continued imm,gra-
tion OF enterprisfng foreigners, this people
have Tor fOlty-1Vc years bud the chaffce of
modern ideas pressed to their lips. And they
have imnibt d mucho civilization especially
ite. vices. They exhibit much Of outward re-
ltgfon. That part Of the dccal1gue concern-
the Sabbath, which salth, "in It thou shalt
do no work." they observe most pune
tiliously, but the colrelatiye Injunction,
"Si1 days shalt thou Labor" they don't obey
With equal aiactisy, There a1e many tokens
Of their reformation from barbarlsm-neayly
all can read and write in their native dialect,
and many, especially half whites, in thc,
English langunge-n weekly newspaper in
their own language ia very generally read
many have considerable skill IN the ordinary
mechanic arts. the women are quite expert
in the use Of the needle, they ore not unmit-
igated bal bar.ans, yet one has but little in.
terest In them, Of hope for them. They
hare not the Anglo Saxon touShness and
integrity that can abide the rude shocks and
large liberties Of gcRela1 Development.
From 300. 600 when visited by Captain Cook,
Their numbers have deceased to 10000
and me d:ulnution stu continues The
Goycrnnent IS constitutional monarchy.
modelled in essential respects after that Of
Great Britain, but the natives have little In.
huence IN lls administration, which is prac-
1tcally IN the lands OF foreigners. The King
is Of native blood, but be so well realizes the
condition II LIS people that he has recently
taken mt aEu:tB to limit cyen their nominal
privileges.
And Jet, although devoid of comparative
business attractions, md among people In
capable Of inspiring any especial CONCERN, our
residence In Honolulu las furnished us with
many pleasant and useful mem ories. AS We
said, nt the outset, life in the Sandwich Is
lands Is eminently pae!EeS TT active com-
petitions and exciting cd11:e1tion Of the
larger centers Of civilization, are scarcely
known there. There is less Of apparent mo-
tion in everything, and If motion Is the mea-
sure Of Lite; |<ss Life there than In the United
/, states. The mercury IN The thermometer
making range Of only 80 degrees during Tie
entire year. The wind don't keep moving
around TO all the points of the comp1ss-tne
northeast trades prevailing nearly all the
while. The tides move up and down only
= 9,on;s teT ,oud3,eh inches; n Ibe sun u that
South: The processes Of Nature move slow
IT,, The cane only perfscts its saccha.ine
stalk In from nine to eighteen months. a.
co1dfng to the altitude Of its location, While
q Canadian cornstalk will mature its ear Of
maize in three months. There is no winter
IN Is the es9ss NG9htne %nX the 519d and
have their time to fall'' there, consequently
mcye sloYly and not simultaneously as in tie
case Of aeclduous trees. Manifest, rapid mo-
ton is not the type Of tropical lite. Nature
displays her power by gentle, long continued
Influences. Any one 70 whom clear sky,
bright sunshine and genial wnrmth are not
staple pleasures will derive but little salts
taclion iu 1Le Sandwich Islands, But to one
who las not. amid the glorious triumphs Of
art, divorced his soul from its primal al1egi-
ance to the Sovereignty Of Nlture-to one |
ideas, half suspects thnt he has become chronl-
ca]ly dizzy and can't stand still ut all. q
"health trip to the tropics' would be both
pleasant and profitable.
The approach to Honolulu tends to fill the
voyager with favorable pIepoeset'ons. The
by mems Of elegantly equipped barqucs,
which borne before the steady tsadc-wlnds,
realize to the traveller his ideal Of sailing on
q SUMNER Nearing tho island Of Oahu. af-
ter passage Of ten days, the bold outlines Of
it's headlands, some Of them cratcrs Of extinct
volcanoes, together with the groves Of cocoa
palms upon Its shores, give encouraging FORE
taste Of an acquaintance with the world un-
der novel conditions. 4 spacious harbor ie
entered through in opening In the coral reef
which surrounds the Shore: Landing, per!
chance in December, abundant foliage Of the
AIDES. the Pride Of India, the guava, the
knargoe, banaha plant, de-, g1eets the yIsI- |
tors unaccustomed gaze. BE will3and CITY |
Of ten thousand inhabitants, bet~ean two
and three thousand Of whom are foreigners.
mostly Americans md English, although the
whole five races Of the world are represented
there. He must nov folego railroads and |
telegraphs; be: content with his local paper
once q week, and his fortign pa- !
,pers and letters bi-weekly. With |
no bulletin or extra to announce
the last sensation rumor, he will soon realize |
that be has reached the "Qaiet limit of the |
wofld." II, however, bis experience of the |
mild monotony- of perfection needs relief, let |
him visit the unsettled domfnions Of Madame I
.tPcle," the old Hawaiian Goddess of the
volcano Of Kllauea. Gazing upon the surg |
ing pillows and spoutiDg jets Of liquid, boil
Ing lava, his Impressions Of the night, as well |
as mlidness, Of mother earth will be strength I
ened. But flowers bloom, and huge tree |
ferns spread their beautiful palms near tho !
brink OF the crater, and he can soon again te-
sume communion with the quiet depths Of |
nature. Here will he find the especial glory
Of tropical Life. A thorough appreciation Of |
the resources and realities Of Pacific life III |
the Sandwihh Islands VIII furnish effective in- |
spiration and capital for the cultivation aud |
propagation Of That highest Of ali arts the
art Of living together"
EkAtlf1ad T1n1e Ta4If, |
CHIcAHa aHE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. o0a. vEtx |
EArE1 AND EINz1E eTs. |
Depart. Afr1:e.
Night ExFrsaA ....-:..:. *E&l p. HI. 45:t1 a. N.