The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-11-25
A Strange Visitant.

(Froul The Hawaiian" January 18th Is72)
There is trait of native Hawaiian character
that IL so apparently ineradica0le as the tina
leads them to believe in the existence of ghosts
and the re-vistation, by disembOdied spirits, OF
the Z" pale glimpses of the moon" II u
be Influenced by the weight of testimony, We
must arrive ut the conclusion that these islands
do most particularly abound ia the shades OF de-
parted inhabitants and can hardly won ier
that it Is so. Believing in nothing concerning a
future state, or. at the most, chershing a vague
hope that beyond death was to be found an exist
ence made blessed by the unrestrain, d indulgence
of animal passions, the ard mt Hawaiian naturally
looked to inhabitation by his ghost of the
fairest scenes of his native land, the only earthly
residence known to him Long before the white
man came with disease and blight. and ali the
untold miseries of civilization in his train, the
IOWly islander sang his mournful meLe:
An, my friend gone.
ne has his feasts tltn,itaal this day.
1iasi often do my husers whrI my ealabash..
Ills food IS the heart Of the kalo phi aIi.
And he does not feed himself-t
ae is OF the company Of chiefs tpos clio,
Why cannot /. his friend. 60
Ali to wait IL To be hungry"
Aud in such strains g.,vs his grief that he
was not enjoying himself without labor.
A striking instance of this belief in the haunt
inc of certain localities by spirits was shown in
the cre,lence given to the tale of the ghosty
vention IN a church in Honolulu last December.
We have a
ole disbcliever of the story, as told by the wit
nesses; although there does exist decided
difference of opinion IN regard to the purtent of
the visitation Some have wondered why these
spirits should haunt Wild sterile places that
possess no attractions To people fond of ease
and comfort; but such d. not seem to think that
these Ito us) wild, inhOspitabie glens and re-
cesses may be clothed with ethereal forests.
Vsatered with Lethean streams, and turfed with
an invisible green that satisfies the unspecu-
Iative eve of the ghostiy tourist, and feels soft
beneath his unm pressIOnable tread. If man
dies amidst earthly paradise, why should not
his ghostiy eyes always open the same scene,
though to our material gaze the once smiling
landscape has been shOrn of all its beauties?
There is always something fascinating in tales of
yisitatiOns from another world, but there IS sell
don, nnueh evidence of their truthfulness that
cannot be deprived of its weight on account of
pre-dispOsition on the part OF witnesses, OF
natural creduIity- One of the exceptional cases
Il Developed in the following narrative. Tor the
truth of which we prepared to- vOuch:
Living on one of the isl Inds in this group
some few years since WAS a family consisting of
. white IN an of the name of X, his native wife,
and two or three children Mr. h. was very
ipteIIiosut man. and brought up his family com
fortabIv aud we'll. While engaged in blasting
stone he was fatally injured by a premature ex-
nIosion. and only lived few hours. That part
~ the island where he resided very thlnly
settled but during the few hours that he lived
after the accident his neighbori were with HIM,
aDd ev-rythu., was done for himself and his be-
-.oved family that tender hearts could suggest
4f.ar his death tin. 8ile u=ar ueiShbor, Mrs.
: remained with the heIrt-broken widow and
bsr little ones endeavOring TO lessen the load oil
afiiction a. only woman can Inc everyday
J,,t;ss ~ life were resumed. and, after time,
tbs family circle WAS accustomed 70 meet - oi
oId hut drawn nearer to each other, and n'de
smaller by their great loss
o. ,fteruoon while seated ON their mats
ar1nDd the calabash of poi (nItIYe siyir), they
&c startled by hearing, on the y-r1hi'h 't the
r,an, overhead. a strangely familiar step. ~ OF
H. departed husband aUd father, pacing 20 ana
frO MANY a time had that football s"uhde,i on
- -, ~ the now awe-struck listeners, Tor 1T
,ras the nightly custom OF Mr.. N 10 walt tneIe
IN. rreuaratiOn of the evening meal anu 10 pace
the short length OF the Nerahu'u WIN tue
,,I;or uuffied tread that his startled tamiiy
- beard Anon the steps sounded IN the room
overhead and then on each step Oh the staircase
S5;ne, into the room where all sat exPectant
and wondering. with biancned chesAs ,.. ~ H.
-. n n could be him. The next moment the
29,;i;ar form of the dead man appeared III tue
5oorvrav at the foot of the stairs ana as ne h"'I
fen done before, leaned with MS hah'iS on
sitber ds,or-pOst, and pauslnS' shiieu "ii 'ie
49, 60 stri-t On group. Then his little child, an
$50 whose Young lips had Just learned l"
stan,mer out its joyous baby WeieOhe ,s -,
~ -.E its father, cried out; f9PA- pap
Srba foure moved and smiled AGAIN, anu ~ VI
rILad SLOWLY round the group, accom- npaHieu ~
,bat baby's cry Of . Papa! papa. anu '"'i''
through the open door .,..., mi
-, ,vbenee came that mere infant r'cpEui-
~ Wi Wa, the shape that baby saw, II not
-. .~.,t'z sscouuterfeit preseutImentf anu eau
RS learned naieri,Iist account for that ilIPre'-
sion on that Uniformed mind by any itin n ., rea
:s tbot shuts out the possibility OF rear
,u.a55cs7 As we said in our prelude, the iact
II fbe child uttering the words Is i oeyohJ "a.
doubt Others recognized the very elotn bat
the figure wore, and all agree lu I.s uI9.t
-. = - "a being what we have related
---.u,v e.Iabash is very light and easily turned
While when isSs were always fsd BY their servants