The Hawaiian gazette., 1880-03-31
I.effer from nIolokai.
KAwr1A. Molokai, Mar. 18th. IS

KAwK1A, Molokai, Mar. 18th, 1880.
EDITOR GAZETTE "A few days spent here have
given on the whole pleasant impression as to the
social condition of these natives. They are hard
ly to be called industsious and yet do some work.
They raise food in abundance for their own con-
sumption, taro, sweet potatoes, squashes, few
wasting ears of corn and melons in the season.
Pigs and chickens are numerous. What is un-
usual, several keep cows and milk them; milk and
eggs have been daily fare.
Every morning early the canoes slip out with
their nets and sweep the shallow reefs for small
fish, which the women and children drive up to
the nets with great splashing and clatter. Occa-
sionally the men make day on the open sea,
HltG, oio and the like. small hammer-head
shark seems to abound in the shoal water. / saw
one chased about for sometime and finally spear
ed, after several vain thrusts.
One man is making salt, and has several piles,
containing perhaps a hundred tons. He keeps
cart and boat employed In transporting his salt to
Labaina for sale. His boat is suspended from
frame of posts erected in the sea as If from davits
Several persons are cultivating sugar-cane, some
10 or II acres in al They are careless with it,
but this rich fiat with its copious stream for
irrigation, it stands very fairly say or tons to
the acre. II is ground at McColgan's at Kawela
some five miles 10 windward The method of trans
portation is peculiar. Fifteen or twenty cart
loads are placed upon scow, and hauled by a
span OF horses, wad1ng IN the shallow water on the
reef. The trip is make in about four hours. Mr..
McColgan has Just finished the erection of small
vacuum pan. He was burned out of his sleeping
house about a month SINCE losing his watch and
clothing, and other effects to the value of $500
the work of malice, by native employee.
have Jared sumptuously and abundantly, my
host having a cooking-stove, and taking great
palms, 1t is worth remarking that for three weeks
l have seen not only no beef, mutton, Irish-pota-
toes, flour or butter, (save what brought) but no
fruit of any sort, not even a banana. Melons are
not in season. 1t is strange how little fruit Ha-
waiians raise for themselves. Mangoes are in full
bloom. The mango-groves form admirable shell
tiers for the houses ON this wind-swept coast.
Several of the people own comfortable framed
houses, but persist III occupying the low basement
with its earth floor. The family where stay have
plenty of furniture and crockery and live abund-
| antly. The mistress of the house has good sew
| ing machine, and uses it daily. / might not i'm
properly say the "lady" of the house, for she is
| lady like, bright comedy and refined in manner,
and good mother to the two little adopted chill
dren and maintains motherly authority in her
| large family. There are an old couple in the
house, who remember Kamehameha /. and old
! times in Kona, in heather days.
! The little steamer MokOlH is a great accomoda-
ton to this island. She is fine sea boat and a
fast steamer. After dawdling two days in calm
on the little schooner Kate with forty sheep and
| six Cinnamon, was glad to see the smoke of the
| M0kolHs funnel, and hurried aboard of her of
Molokai point. Her narrow quarters seemed pala-
tial, and the cooks beef and potatoes feast.
You see finish this after getting home. b.