Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-01-30
THE DEATH OF KAnEhAiEiaA.
particulars Of the Event-9onae Char.
actcrtstics OF the Late Ktng-Nativ,
Funeral Ceremonice,

naturally able man, named LunalllO an
imbecile old woman; who would be the
merest tool of her advisers, named
Kellikolani; aid ati Inferior chief.
named David Kalakana: There is no
other noble timber out of which roy
atty may be reconstructed here. The
native aristonracy Is dSfuhct and if
American residents make tie elirhtest
manifestation in behalf of their politi-
cal princlples, We will have q republic
or annexation right away. The late
King was named Lot Kapuiwa Kane
hameha, and he was the the fifth
OF the royal line founded by the con-
9ueror Kamehameha, who united all
these islands Under one dominion.
his late Majesty had te-
ceived o superior English ed
ucatlon, and spoke our language
with perfect cdrrectnBss and with the
refined tone of an accomplished sentle-
man. He was we'll versed in ENGLISH
literature, and sometimes INDUCED in
very apt Shakspearean quotations.
He was stout; well.made, and skillful
in athletic sports. Like his great ore.
decessor, Kamehameha /, he was fond
OF the sports of the sea; he would
skillfully manage huge canoe alone,
and would dive to dangerous depths
with the playful ease and buoyancy of
dolphin and when he arose from
the deep. shaking the brine from his
curling jetty locks, and revealing his
magnificent dusky form, he seemed in
deed the Neptune of the Pacific wa
ters.
The King was q thrifty man. and had
accumulated large means for these
islands. He had 9 sheep run of 150,.
600 acres upon Moloki, upon which
grazed 30,000 head Of sheep. His in
come was about SEQ, O00 Dot atnuu.
and he held half i million of Grown
and Government lands. The quarter of
these means will amply sustain new
and efficient republican government.
A great maj ority Of the foreign popula.
tion desire to set aside our paltry. ex-
pensive, though interesting ROYALTY.
and the only difficulty will be to per.
suade the native population to acauisce
in the change: The Kanakas, orrather 4
portion of them, are now hoN1inR Over
their dead chief, although t must say
that less feeling has been shown at the
death of Kamehameha V. than on, the
demise of any previous chief, Still
there are enough to keep up the bar
balous saturnalia around the palace.
which amuses f0reigners 90 much. This
time the hideous funeral fandango was
tabooed strictly to the foreign popula-
tion. A strong guard enclosed the nal.
ace, and tried to keep the heathen sat
urnalia from critical foreign eyes, but
enterprise and a strong curiosity
managed to outWit the valiant
Kanaka guard. Within the Palace
Court were to be seen more than
1000 dark contortionists,. min
strels, and. professional wailers,. who
made night hideous It was lovely
moonlight, and the graceful tamarind,
algeroba, and mango trees, made beau
tiful silhouettes on the clear sky. The
crowds were interspersed among the
groves. A hundred half-naked women
gyrated with their supple, shining
bodies, and swung in the air tatooted
calabashes that ratified with pebbles
inside. Another crowd moved in mock
fights. Some recited, not the exploits
OF war or reace, but the lascivious
prowess of the late monarch. This is
the especial burden of the minstrels-
to laud the physical development and
cratic power of majesty.
Christianity with, ali it, benefoent
influences in these lands, has never
been able to check the filthy and riot
GUS mysteries enacted over dead kings.
1t is curious that such INTELLIGENT men
as the kamehamehas really were should
have consented to the perpetuation of
such abominable native superstitions.
Kamehameha Y. was an able man, and
qualified to be q statesman in q much
more important sphere than this Arch.
ipelago. He disdained his situation.
and said that his country offered
no basis for the dignity of royalty. He
had projected tour in Europe, and
intended to be present at the Vienna
Exposition, if he recovered from his
late sickness. He was 40 years of age
at his death, and was q ell.formed.
princely- looking man. Lady Frank
lin said of him, that he would be re-
garded as one of the most distinguish.
ed OF princes in any court of Europe.
He leaves no family, and not ono of his
blood, except an imbecile half sister, to
bewajl his loss. He intended to be q
great king among the Pacific Islanders,
and to re-people decayiug country,
but Providence has left this work to be
done by men who shall represent new
order of things.