The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-08-13
CHAPTER

This hero will be regarded as one of the fore
most men known to history among all the brown
races. Certainly Polynesia, Malaysia and In
dian America have not produced another man his
equal as a leader and organizer. And when the
isolation and barbarous conditions Of his early
life are considered, his genius as the creator of n
State will give him a position Of unique promi-
hence among all races.
When we compare the Hawaiian hero with the
master men of other lands and times; with an AL
exander of Greece; with a Caesar of Rome, or a
Bonaparte of France. we must bear in mind that
Kamehameha had none of the advantages such as
they had, of any culture of mind, or of any tradi-
tons or associations with other races of men;
and yet he did the work of a great organizer and
civilizer. Alexander derived inspiration from the
perusal Of Homer; Caesar took lessons from mighty
captains and Bonaparte studied the masters of
antiquity; but who was Kamehameha g teacher?
He had no wide world before him; no stores of
learning TO prompt and aid his spirit; but
he had an Unborn greatness of soul, which rises up
grandly, and will shine forth brighter and
brighter before all mankind, rejecting a sur
passing lustre upon the Hawaiian race, and
giving them a distinction above all other aborig-
inal races in this great ocean. And it will be
manifest, that tits not the geographic, or supe-
Tor commercial, or strategic, position, which
gives to this Archipelago a i1remo>; rank in the
Pacific, before the world but the greatness of
character Of this one Hawaiian, who founded
and organized a Kingdom-in the order and ad-
vantage of which the people of all nations come
here to enjoy peace and prosperity and thus
Kamehameba becomes a bene factor Of the
world.
When the Dlscoverer Cook came, and made
known these islands to the world, Kamehameha
was then in the full vigor of manhood, and he
comes forward in the history Of the islands as
among the foremost to welcome the British navi-
gator and there Is a we'll sustained tradition
that he went alone in a canoe on board the ship
of the Discoverer when off East Maui, and spent a
night without fear among the wonderful stran-
gers, whilst his absence was bewailed by King
Kalaniopu, his uncle, and all his friends, then
staying as invaders on the Island Of Maui.
The young chief Kamehameha had evidently
by a series of encounters, made a vivid impression
upon Captain Cook and his officers. Lieutenant
King, the second in command. and who writes
the history of the expedition and of the discovery
of the islands, singles out our hero by some
points of description of his person, and speaks Of
him as a man of power, with a remarkable
buNdHC ltlONIl VI N2BAt@NACh" ~ q" aNN~H w
server, Vancouver, coming TO Hawaii some
thirteen years afterwards, finds no such ferocity
Of expression in the cOuntenanCe Of the great
Chief but instead, . face OF majesty and conf
mand, and an expression Of marked magnanimlty
Ell soul.
AT the time when Lieutenant King observed
him he was a young barbarian Of unusual physi-
cal strength. All the traditions of him say that
he had great breadth Of shoulder, and narrow
ness of abdomen. with long back, round, massive
head, and a protruding chin OF power the very
impersonation of a young Hawaiian Mars. At
this period be plunged after the shark into the
depths of the sea, and straugled the large publ,
the great, biting eel, or muroena of the Pacific,
hence, one of his names, Puhikapa. Or hls
sports were to leap from precipices. or to iend
off spears hurled at his breast. And he knew
only the savagery of his isles, and Lieutenant
King saw him with a creased head, and smeared
face, like a savage. But when Vancouver looked
upon this same great Hawaiian, who often came TO
his war ship in a canoe alone, he beheld q civilized
chief, who had met successive visitors from the
great world beyond his archipelago, who had
become familiar with their implements and their
power, who had been leading hosts OF men, and
treading the paths Of conquest, and who was
then every inch a hero and a hing.
There is no mention Of Cooks first observations
and impressions of this fearless savage Hawaiian
visitor; but they must have been interesting un-
der the circumstances, and as 1t is related that
after his visitor had spent q night on board, he
was sent awav with many presents, the impress
sions of the great navigator must have been OF
more than usual interest in the visit OF a Polyne-
sian savage. 1t is said that kamehamehn mani
tested neither fear nor curiosity, ana his conduct
must have presented 4 striking contrast TO that OF
Hawaiians first seen and met on the island OF
Kauai. They manifested, in a lively manner,
their savage wonder. They pulled at the Jackets
and shirts Of the English sailors to see what sort