The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-10-12
Our Island correspondence.
Review Of Kauai and silhau-SO. III.


COOKS HAEBoK, NnHAU, August. 1867.
The Captain remarks, vol. ., p. 237-'' In
everything manufactured by these people, theT,
appears % be an uncommon neatness, and IN
geuuity." Their principal manufacture was the
fGyG cloth Of the n0rus popyryerG, and - IL
colOring is staining il, the people Of AtoOi
display a superiority of taste by the endless yari
alton Of figures which they execute One would
suppose on seeing number of their pieces, that
they had borrowed their patterns from some mer-
GERS shop, in which the most elegant productions
Of China and Europe are collected, :. besides
some original patterns of their own" Besides
the parti-eoIored sorts, they bad some pieces OF
plain white cloth, and others Of a single color,
particularly dark brown and light blue The
pieces were generally narrow, about two feet
broad and four five yards long, the size Of the
marc. some pieces were sewed together, u prac-
tice not common To the southward- They also
made thin kind, resembling oil cloth, either
oiled, or soaked in kind Of yaruish, which
resisted the action Of water.
They made many white mats, which are strong,
with red stripes, rhombuses, and other figures,
interviewer on one side They stained their gDurd
shells prettily with uniulating lines, triangies
md other figures of n black color. They possess
ed the art Of vanishing, for some OF these gOurd
shells were covered with sort Of lustre- They
had strong size or glGey substance to fasien
their things together. Their wooden dishes, or
bowls were Of the ko or eordia, neat as If made
in turning lathe, and perhaps, better polished.
They had square fans Of mat or wicker work,
with handlcs tfpcrine. from them Of the same, or
Of wood Their fishing hooks ingeniously
made OF bone, wood pointed with bone, and Of
pearl shell. The elegant form and polish Of some
Of them, could not be outdoue by an European
artist with all his knowledge Of design, added to
the number AMI Convenience Of his toCl-. They
polished their stones by friction Of pumice in
ysater Their hatchets AIDES, were made OF q
blackish or clay colored stone. Their knives
were made OF sharks teeth, with handles made Of
the fore part OF dogs jaw-bone or Of wood.
'sThe only iron tools. bits Of iron amongst
them, anil which they had before our arrival, a
piece OF iron hoop, about two inches long, htte into
a wooden handle; and another etge tool, which
people Judged 20 be made OF the point Of a broad
sword Vol. ., p. go. Here the Captain gives n
general summary Of the means by which some Of the
PaciGc Islands acquired the knowledge Of iron from
toe first Htvigtor, anil the probability Of its being
foaed ashore, east up the Isltnls from hJatus
barrels or pieces OF wrecked vessel. The currents
anil trade winds setting from the Western coast of
America. wouIi carry drifts Of stranded wrecked
vessels % the Hawaiian Islands, with the
facility they carry tree, logs and spars- One
OF CaptIin Cooks FIR wood in OF
the houses at WsImea, and he was informed that il
driven ashore by the waves Of the
1.-The cIuOes Of the natives IN general about
"a feet long. and have the bottom for the part
formed of a single piece of wood, followed the
thickness OF inch and half, and brought TO a
point each end The sides consist Of three boards
each about inch thick, and neatly fitted and lash
al frf fh1 1rrf and
the single had out-riggrrs, shaped and fitted
with more judgment than any before They
sometimes dOuble-twO canoes lsshed together.
They rOwei with paddles and some have light,
triangular sail, extended TO a mast or boom The
ropes used for their boats and the smaller eors for
their fishing tackle, strong and well made
What Captain Cook saw Of their agriculture,
furnished proofs that they were novices in that
art The vale ground was one continued fGrO
patch, and u few other things which had all the
appearance of being well attended To. The VO-
tatO fields and spots CT sugar cane, or plantains
on the higher grounds, were planted with the same
regularity. in some determined figure, a square or
Oblong- There were no enclosures. neither was
there necessity for any. lie attributes the fine
quality Of the native productions, more 70 their
skill than to the fertility Of the soil. The soil
did not seem well adapted to the bread-fTuit or
eocoanut trees. The Island seemed capable of
much greater Improvement, and of supporting
three times the estimated population If not the
decline, the apparent want Of increase Of the
population was noticed by Captain Cook. He
observe page 2i5, We must therefore conclude
that these people, from some which We
were not long enough amongst them 10 be able to
trace, do not increase in that proportion which
would make It necessary To avail themselves Of the
extent OF the Island towards raising n greater
quantity OF it, vegetable productions for their
subsistence
He did not any chiefs Of note, though there
were several on the Island, 70 whom the natives
informed him they prostrated themselves, which
IL equivalent 70 the moe Of the Friendly
Islands, and i here called halOea or moe II
would BE- we'll 10 remark here that the residence
OF the principal chiefs of Kauai was on the wind
ward eide Of the Island (Sir. C.. Titeomb's pace)
and ut wailua. One Of these great men paid n
visit to Captain Clerke, on board the Discovery.
lie came OE m doublc canoe. running over
everything OF the canoe kind in his way. He had
numerous attendants who stood around him and