The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-02-22
tCOmmunicated.l
My Visit to kabyIa.

Kabyla lies within the tropics; its climate of I'M
rivalled mildness, its sccnery awe-inspiring, its
skies serene, and the glories of its sunsets beyond the
power Of art to illustrate; it has often been visited,
and yet there are some who still believe it To be n
myth and refuse to credit the accounts of its visitors.
photographers have disputed over its location, and
many seamen stoutly declare they have sought in
vain for its shores. Notwithstanding all this, and
partly perhaps led by "A desire to explore the mystery
Of this dream-land, l started forth ON a vessel bound
hence Afer n pleasant voyage We were one day
called ON deck and witnessed the golden beams of the
setting sun illumining an island Of remarkable
beauty, and were assured that on the morrow we
should be in the harbOr where vessels from the outer
world were permitted to lie. I asked the Captain,
who had before visited the island. If the stories told
II the island were true. lie stated lac had often Wis
tied the place, and was always kindly and courteous
" received that ! should find a civilization beyond
my expectations. rs for many years Kahyla had been
favored with the teachings Of many good men. Pre-
yious to our nearing these shores the Captain had
been reticent. and il was with difficulty that even
now l drcv him into conversation ON the subject.
retired that night expecting ON the morrow TO
renew many 81 my experiences in visiting foreign
lands. I expected. Of course, To see n people lazy
anil cncryatcd 10y tropical life; n form Of Govern
mcnt, but no spirit 81 true inicpcnhcncc-n patchci
up Court. I presumed, of course. that ! should 10
presented with great ceremony at n Royal reception
one night. and the next day. perhaps. meet my Royal
host and barter for some Of the products IL the island.
! expected 10 sec Ministers doing police duty and all
the lulicrOus contrarictic- VI small mouarchics-as l
hal been told Ksbyla was n monarchy. With the
early morning came the pilot of the port. n quiet
g~entlcmanly man who. the Captain informed me, had
replaced one who. after his appointment, was dis
covered to bc n man who hs,cl his country aud was
violent in its Pronunciation. - that the authorities
hal declared that they could not tolerate in Office
for hsm a man Who had proven n traitor 10 his own
country. I was surprised Mt the high tone this
cvinccl.
My attention was next called 90 the Custom House
official who boarded the ves-rl. and who. in answer
Ia my questions a. t. the forInaUtics Ia 10 compiled
with on landing. courtcously explained them To- me.
I found the charges light AMI the officials unesccp-
tionably polite. On landing I was struck with the
neaineaz 20 the wharvc- aud streets. aud afterwards
ascertainel that tho prison lahcr was entirely eN-
pended ON the reals and whsrves; that the rroTo-
sition was once male 60 hire IL cut. but that the
Government hal decided that n paramount duty.
NJ regards the comfort aud health of lie people. WIS
the cleanliness 81 thoroughfsres. and that these du-
ties were more important than sreculnting ON the
pri-on labor or de,oting IL to ser,s the private ends
of Government officials.