Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1888-02-04
WHILE THE TIDE CAME SLOWLY.


in all my cruising here and there, l
never came nearer losing the number
of my mess than once in the Sandwich
Islands. The natives are set down by
travellers as the most artless, confid ng
creatures on the face of the earth, but
as for me, | rate them, as rule, as the
biggest rascals and liars the world has
ever seen This time | speak of, the
bark Connecticut had run into Honolulu
from whaling voyage, and, as the old
man had nearly racked the sticks out
OF her i'll the North Pacific, he made
up his mind that it wouldn't do to go
to sea again without new topmasts, and
while he was about it, he thought it
Just as we'll to give the carpenters a
chance to give her thorough over
hauling, and as / had nothing better
tC do | thought I'd get boat and run
over to the other island, and see part
of the country whaler never gets a
chance at, for the reason that every
thing we have to get can be found at
Honolulu, and l never came down yet
to sailing in trader among the island
ers,
was o young chap then, and, like
all tars, pretty face would play the
devil with me, and | was sweet on
little ! anaka girl who used to come to
the ship with bread-frlit. She was u
beauty, Drown, but come}y," as the
saying is, with melting brown eyes,
and lips that seemed Just made for
kisses. | reckon | got up a pretty lively
Irritation with her, and it didn't seem
to suit o big Kanaka who sometimes
came in the canoe with her. Jim Rem
sen noticed it, and spoke to me.
See here, Jack" he said, Il know
Tn regularly in the line of promotion,
and if yol was to slip ont I'd be sec
ond mate of this barky, but [ don't
want it bad enough to let that big
kanaka slip knife under yoar short
ribs. He'll do it, sure, if you fool
around that pretty girl too much"
L looked the kanaka over as Jim
pointed him out and a murderous,
hang dog looking scoundrel he was, too.
He'd been i'll some fight and got cut
across the nose, and it didn't add to his
beauty worth cent.
But as I say, | was a young fellow
then, and pretty confident 1 could
whale any Kanaka on the islands, and
didn't pay much attention; so just to
liz VIC IL dllihi bllc llt[NU tlIiC L w do
ashore | took II handsome string of
beads and gave them to the girl right
before the Kanalla. She put them on,
and was aduliring them like the child
she was, when kaloola, the kanaka, ran
up, snatched them from her neck and
trampled them under his feet. OF
course | knocked him down on the spot,
but he came at me with Big knife; so
1 lent him kick in his bread-fruit de-
partment that doubled him up like a
jack-knife.
Then got the knife away from him
and went for him in way that he must
have despised, and when ] got through
he looked as if he had been run through
tbrcshing machine.
Luta was wild while it was going on,
and when [ had polished him off she
ran to me and caught my arm.
"Jack, go away" she cried, in her
pretty broken English. "Never see
.Luta again; come no more to Honolulu,
OF Kaloola he kill"
tried to persuade her that ! didn't
care for the brown old cuss, but it was
no use, and I think she was glad when
I hired u kanaka next day to take me
over to the other island.
We went in one of the native boats,
and tell you they are flyers.
l don't think | ever enjoyed run so
much, ard | was half tempted to say
I'd cut sailing, take little Luta for a
wife, and settle down topeace and lazi-
ness among the Kanakas.
Two or three times on the run over
sighted two other canoes, bound the
same way we were, one quite little
astern of the other.
We landed at a native Neral POh,
and while my Kanaka was rubbing
noses with his friends, and generally
enjoying himself, / took walk along
the sandy beach, and did not stop until
] had made two or three miles.
Then | sat down under a palm tree
On the beach and lit my pipe, while |
looked out across the sunny sea.
1t was pleasant picture, too. From
where | sat | could see the native vii
lage, its white huts, embowered in
vino and leaf, with the unprecedented
women running about among the dwell
incs.
Perhaps mile away, upon sandy
beach, number of native women were
bathing, and it was delightful to see
the grace with which they passed
through the waves breaking on the
coral reefs, ducking and diving like
mermaida, their merry laughter coming
to me even at that distance.
Looking at this pleasant picture,
forgot the lapse of time and nearly
two hours passed.
Suddenly l heard a step and half
turned to see who was coming, when a
crashing blow fell on my head and |
lost my senses.
When | came to myself | was in a
boat, lying on my back, hands and feet
DO md, and q gag i'll my mouth.
Twisting my head so that | could
see, what was my horror to see the ruff
fan kalooIa sitting in the stern, han
ding the sheets, while he looked at me
with glance which meant no mercy.
"ctrike Kalooka, ha; talk to Luta
and give her shining beads to steal her
heart? The white sailor shall die"
/ never felt smaller or meaner in my
life
1t wasn't possible fora man to shrink
into smaller compass than | did as [
realized that l had SO moderated tho
Kauaka
He had seen me leave Honolulu and
followed in his canoe with the express
intention of taking vengeance on me.
If could have spoken, if only to
give him back curses, would have felt