Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-05-21


from Knoxville, writes the following inter-
esting letter to his mother in this city,
HoNoLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS, J
March q, 1873.
The mail has come and gone once more,
the news brought by it cussed and discuss
ed and the excitement and stir produced
have died away. The "Benicia,n also sail
ed day before yesterday, so that it is even
more quiet than hitherto.
Last night / called on Major Dickson,
now residing here, who was on Gen. Scho-
fields staff during the war, and spent some
months in Knoxville. He was chartered
in Judge McKinney's house, for some time
and also stayed at Judge Temples he told
me. / did not remember him, but perhaps
you may have met him. He is a gentle
manly, pleasant man, though quite an in
valid. He has two brothers living here,
one of whom married a daughter of the
Rev. Mr.. judd one of the first band of
missionaries, who came to these islands in
1929. Speaking of Mr.. Judd, some one has
wittily dubbed his family, which is quite
large one, 1.-THE Judd Family Robinson"
DRESS OF NATIVE WOMEN.
To resume the description. 1t is a little
surprising how readily one becomes accus-
toned to strange and unwonted sights.
When I first came here the dress of the
native women seemed odd and peculiar
but now, l hardly notice it. 1t is dress
made with yoke / believe it is called,
very much like night gown, without belt
or waist falling loosely from the shoulders
TO the feet. 1t is usually made of some
black material though red and yellow cal
icoes are worn great deal. Some wear
straw hat, though they often go bare-head-
ed. According to Mark Twain, back in
the interior of the islands, "a smile or a
pair of spectacles is considered q suf-
/ -, nntfl lNtn
temperate climate" but as | have
| not been in those parts, | cannot vouch for
! the statement
! RIDING-COMPLEXION
| The natives are extremely fond of horses,
| which they always ride at full gallOp, and
| are bold and skillful riders. The women
| ride like the men ; such q thing as sicle-
saddle is unknown among them. They
are gOod-looklng people, especially while
young, many of the girls being very pref
! ty. They have the coppcr-colored skin
and black hair of the Malays, from whom
| they are supposed to have originated. AS
seems to be the case wherever native tribes
| come in contact with the whites, they are
rapidly decreasing in number, There are
now about 40, 600 of them seven years ago.
there were about As 600, a decrease of 5000
in seven years.
SWIMMING AND DIVING-sERF-RTDING
They are very expert in swimming and
diving, | have seen boys swimming about
the ship for hours, and an instance is re-
corded of a woman who, having been ship
wrecked swami for three days before she
reached the land. The boys will dive and
bring up small pieces of money from the
bottom in twenty or thirty feet of water
and we had some men dive under this YES
sells bottom, and walk her entire length
to examine the copper. A favorite amuse-
| wifi 10 arf- nj hiC
they have a board fifteen or twenty feet
long, rounded at both ends, with which
they swim out beyond the outer line OF
breakers, then lying flat on one end of the
board, they steady it on the outside or back
of a breaker and ride in with it, often al
the rate of thirty miles an hour. They
rarely fail, to do it successfully, though
once in while the board gets too far ovel
the crest of the breaker, and over they go
end over end, yet they don't seem to miGC
it, but pick up the board, swim out anC
try it over again.
FooD-HoUsEs-FEA
Their food is principally "poi" which
have already described, and raw fish
They seldom use fire except for boiling
tars. Their houses are made OF q ligh
frame work of poles, matched over entirely
with straw or grass, without chimney OF
windows, only one small hole for a door
way. They possess considerable skill in
some kinds of work They manufacture
a species of cloth, called "tlpa." 1t is made
from the leaves of q small shrub, which are
first soaked in water till they become
PUPPY then they are beaten with n cor
rugated club until thoroughly united int
thin, fiat sheet, which looks something
like blOtting-paper. 1t is then dried anC
dyed. A sheet Of it requires about three
weeks work before it is ready for use.
They are, also, skillful in FURTHERMORE
There is a bird living among the noun
tains which has a single bright yellow
feather under each wing. These feathers
are very highly priced. They catch these
birds, pull out their feather and then lie
them go. One of the Kamahamehas haC
a large cloak made entirely of them. Yol
, can imagine how many birds had to b.
caught, and the amount of labor required
to produce such mantle. My description
of the natives applies to the masses. Many
of them are intelligent and educated, an(
dress and live like their white neighbors
| GoVERNMENT-TRADE -SUGAR PLANTERS
, The King, Lanalilo, native, was elect
ed by the united votes of the whole people
whites and natives, and is nominally a
least, at the head of the government. Blu
g his ministers are all foreigners. Tn,
merchants and business men generally arr
+ all whites, excepta few Cinnamon and ar
: of nearly every nationality, though tn
$ majority are Americans.
t In former years, before the destruction o
the whaling fleet, this was the great rem