Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-12-11

WuiC4 was OlOWu lOuI times, I0en q very
Low bass note repeated the time and rhythm,
it being passed from one to the other with
unvarying monotony. This band of she'll
blowers preceded a long procession of men
and women, two women at the head, who
chanted meles, or native songs. After them
came men, two by two, followed by women,
two by two. They were all dressed in
white, with three-cornered apron of vel
low, silk perhaps, with a large star, or
badge, worked in silver or gold tinsel there
on. The women had loose flowing en-
broidered dresses and a sort of long plain
yellow tissue overdress was drawn tightly
around the upper half of the skirt Nearly
all of the men wore feather capes, which
were supposed and said to be very
rare and costly. But they looked like
white chicken feathers dyed yellow and
green, arranged in layers, the green ones
forming semicircles around the back of
the neck. A huge feather brush, hollow
and made of white feathers on wires, was
borne aloft by woman, these people being
all natives. This part of the procession
ended by company OF. boys dressed in
white and yellow uniforms.
After they had gone around the palace
twice, they proceeded up the grand en-
trance, the two women and two old men
behind them still
CHANTING NATIVE SONGS,
Which l strongly suspect had been ar
ranged for them, for the four voices,
although each always remaining on the
one note, formed a harmonious minor
chord, very pleasing and odd. This was
followed by the flourish of trumpets out
sidesthe walls, and the other half of the
procession entered the gates headed by
the royal band. Behind the band there
were a number, perhaps eight OF ten, long
boats arranged two together on long
coupled wagon and drawn by horses.
In the first of these were natives, with
paddles or fishing lines, and at first sight
supposed to be nude; but closer inspection
proved them to be attired in variously-
made, ill-fitting garments of brown stuff
The man in the stern had long pole and
line, with a huge fish tied to the string
which he alternately slung out and drew
in, as though fishing. Another man flung
handfuls of rice. or something of that sort,
out upon the suppositional waters to quiet
the very suppositional goddess of the
waves. Men appareled in brown, and
topped with red paste-board crowns or
rude cloth helmets, or leaves arranged as
helmets, broke the monotony of boats
One boat, small and light contained man
and woman in a sort of long rush and
weed cloak, the woman having a wig of
dark brown hair thrown over her face in
what would have been fierce style did not
the hair part in the back and disclose a
mans short-cropped black head. Another
huge wagon contained two large and three
small dancing girls, with two men
in the back who beat with their
hands on ancient drums made from the
skin of the shark and cocoanut wood. The
uir roNndastlu nlnfhaA in, FILL
yellow native kappa shirts which reached to
the knees. Their hair was tightly curled
in very Christian style, but their ankles
were clasped in ancient anklets of feathers
The wind was perhaps too free with their
frail skirts, and betrayed the secret of their
unrobed, dusky limbs. They did not hula
in the low native genuine style, but the
outstretched, graceful arms and regular
step were quite attractive to the eyes of the
crowd. The last boat contained Il set of
YOUNG ENGLISH DRESSED TARs,
With two native ladies in yellow jerseys
and white shirts and a vast quantity of
white stuff arranged as hair flowing from
the top of the head far out behind them
They each bore aloft white poles with
gold knob, and as coat of arms could be
discerned near them, where they sat in the
front OF the wagon, one was left to imagine
they were perhaps intended to represent
England and Hawaii in some sort of mys-
teal juxtaposition.
This procession slowly moved around
the palace the rear being brought up with
the reformatory band, as it is called, being
composed of boys from the Reformatory
School. a hard-looking lot they were, too.
But they played quite creditably. The first
half OF the procession did not emerge
again from the palace, and after some time
the latter half marched through the streets,
followed largely by small boys. No one
else seemed to pay much attention to the
affair, it hardly creating as much excite
ment on the streets as a good-sized circus
does at home.
Saturday afternoon it again started to
rain, and it did not stop all night. Sunday
it was still monotonously wet, and again
to-day the heavens are pouring out their
floods over this whole island.
FESTIVITIES BADLY DAMAGED.
The other side of Oahu is almost inun-
dated, roads washed out, bridges gone, and
Laie itself (my home) down on the bottoms
near the shore is one vast lake, the houses
being reached by boats. How far this dam
age may really have extended do not yet
know, but we have heard enough to make
the homeward journey dread, and yet
the weeks stay here, shut up almost con-
tinuously indoors, and seeing nothing,
hearing nothing but the drip of the rain
and nelghbor's parrot singing outrageous
tunes, laughing and screaming in Spanish,
is decidedly tiresome.
The festivities were to have extended
over a period of two weeks, including
grand ball, grander feast. ETC.. and when
one meets with the numbers of natives
who came here free in a small coast steamer
with the erroneous impression that they
could get back as they came, and now
roads and their own lazy legs as vehicles
between them and their distant homes, it
seems that Kings birthdays are not all
pleasure, and his loyal populace must often
suffer for his dear sake