The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1879-04-12
THE PACIFIC
Commercial A6Oertisrr
SATURDAY,, APRIL L.
a New Book on Hawaii.
LONDON, Dec. 1st, 1873.

A book, containing seYeral chapters on d 'Ieit
to Hawaii, has just been published in Germany,
and 1 have procured a copy in order to report
thereon to the ADVERTISER. 1t is called " Noy-
age across the Pacific (Reise durch den Stillen
Ozean), and its author is DR.. Max Buchner, who
travelled from New Zealand via FIJI and Hawaii
to San Francisco. The headings of the chapters
referring to Hawaii will give a fair idea of their
contents:
Chap. XVIII.-Honolulu. Arrival. First
Impressions. History and ethnology. Sight
seeing. The Government, Parliament and mill
tary. Americans and Germans The Chinese.
market. The environs. Ride to the Pail.
Chap. XLX.-From Honolulu to Hilo. H. R.
II. Ruth Keelikolani. Morning toilet of the
travellers. Lahaina and Kawaihae. The hotel
at Hilo. Our Commissioner of amusements,
Hapai. Surfswimming- Schoolgirls bathing.
Hula-hula and concert. The Rainbow Falls.
Chap. XX.-Ascent Of Kilauea. Wild de-
parture. Halfway house at Oloa. The Crater
opens up. The Volcano House and its advan-
tages. The boiling lava cauldron. Moonshine
and hell. Difficult descent to Puma. Frozen
lava streams and caved-in lava domes. Captain
Eldarts and his ranch, Kapoho. The Warm
Springs. Ava and breadfruit. Back to HIlo.
Chap. XXI.-From Hilo to Honolulu. Strange
death-wake. Captain Spencer and his sugar
plantation. The Kilauea comes not. A Hawai-
ian supper and farewell to Hilo. Nocturnal
boat trip to Kohala. Conflict with the Sabbath
and off again. Ashore at Maui. An interesting
member of the press. The baker of Lahaina.
Stormy weather. At last at Honolulu.
Chap. XXII.-Last days at Honolulu. The
whaleboat and Honolulu gossip Audience be-
fore the King. Festal preparations. Bath in
the Kapena. Dancing pleasures. The Anglo
German Club. Visits to several churches. The
missionaries.
Chap. XXIII.-From Honolulu to San Fran
cisco. The Zealandia. Farewell to the Happy
Islands.
The author arrived at Honolulu Aug. 10th,
1876, by the City Of Net0 YORK. His first i'm
preston vas the striking resemblance between
the natives and the Maories, whom he found to
be exactly the came race, only that the Ha-
waiians have become more refined in mien and
figure by their paradisaical climate. There is,
however, less justice in his remark, that I" while
the Viii and Maori languages sound soft and
musical, like the Italian, the Hawaiian is rough
and barbarous." 1t Will also interest Honolulu
people to know that their streets are all broad
and cross at right angles like a chessboard, and
that their gardens shine in a fresh greep, thanks
to the plenteous supply of water. He is certain
ly right again when he says that the Government
library at Aliiolani is surprisingly rich for SO
isolated a place. Mr.. Berger is referred to as
follows "The leader of the Royal Band is
naturally q OeEudus lie Uduu uOeS IlIu
great credit" He then gives an account OF a
manouvre of Hawaiian troops under King Luna
lilo, who, he says, introduced general military
duty, during which the infantry made a bayonet
attack on the cavalry and killed 40 horses and
20 riders and wounded the rest. 1t seems some
body must have : sold - the Doctor badly. He
does not forget to mention the continual Growing
of Honolulu roosters during the whole night. He
is not partial to the Chinese, and comes to the
alarming, but under present circumstances SEN
sible conclusion, that 80 before long the waves of
this ugly race, with its disgusting vices, will
close over the beautiful and noble native race
He calls the climate simply perfect on the
60 happy islands of the Pacific. His approba-
ton, as a medical man, of the hospital and
lunatic asylum is of value. He also praises
Hawaiian horses for their strength and toughness,
and saws Mark Twain has vilely illuminated
them. The Doctor left Honolulu, five days after
his arrival, on the old Kiiauea for the windward
ports. Princess Iuka was also on board, but he
gives no very favorable description of her. Gov
ernor Kipi, however, he calls an 81 exceedingly
dIgnifed and decent-looking, strong old gentle
man, in faultless European dress" The chief
difference between the native women in the cabin
and those on deck he believes to be, that the for
mer wear shoes and stockings and the latter 90
barelooted. He says there are only three bro
theirs at Hilo who understand suri-swimming,
and regrets that this noble pastime is falling into
dIsuse. lie visited the crater on August 18th,
and compares it at night to Paris on fire under
the Commune. The sulphur bath he considers q
torture, which is strange. The Volcano House,
however, comes in for his unqualified praise, and
being a German. he particularly mentions the
Bremen bottled beer. He then descended through
Puma to Kapoho, and says Captain Eldartis
charming children are Il favorable argument for
the mingling of German with Polynesian blood.
Captain Spencer, at Hilo, he considers remark
able for his great personal strength and for the
vast number Of his halfcaste children. He also
z--- -. - I'll "a I1,N- $500
and light hair, whom lie would have taken for q
European if not told that he was a kandkd md0ke.
On September LIST, the Riidued not having
arrived on her round trip, and being anxious to
catch the San Francisco steamer, he started from
Hilo in q whaleboat, with several English COM
panions and q native crew. They paid $50 to be
taken to Kohala. where they expected to meet a
schooner, and that not being the case, 500 more
to Honolulu. together with the promise to send
the boat and crew back to Hilo by the steamer
or first schooner. They crossed Alenuihaha
channel safely, and made q landing on Maui, not
far from Maalaea, where they met a native fishing
party. Among them the Doctor noticed a tall,
handsome man, who seemed TO be t'eir leader.
sc Sharp, intelligent features. a wcii-cultIyated
Louis Quatre beard and carefully parted hair,
gave him the air of an elegant French brigadier
of gens-darmes." In fluent English he asked for
their names and the particulars of their trip,
saying he was correspondent OF n native paper at
Honolulu. Do any Hawaiians recognize the por-
trait? At Lahaina the Doctor made the ac-
quaintance of a countryman, a fat baker from
Bavaria. After a stormy passage across the
channels the whaleboat arrived safely at Honolu-
lu. This feat was noticed at the time In the
p. c. ADvERTIsER.) The agents of the Rilauea
not only returned one-half of the prepaid passage
money, but even undertook to return the whale
boat and native crew back to Hilo free OF charge
"a courtesy, says the Doctor, which he should
never expect of an American or European steam
chsH -nnon VV,tb he - -.
also Introduce % the King by Governor DOM
inis. On Icing asked whether he would ever
visit Europe, King Halakaua smiled and shrugged
his shoulders, as if to say, " should like to,
bit" On September 18th the author re-
g~retfully left g the Happy Isles " on board of the
ZedfdndiG. Looking aside from the inaccuracies
of a superficial observer, his book is an interest
ing account of a brief visit to Hawaii mel.
F. B.