Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-05-27
kAPIoLANrs BRAVE DEED.
How . Brave Woman Defied the Heather
God Pele.

HOW . Brave Woman Defied the Heather
God PeIe.
The distant kingdom of Hawaii, which
extends its sway over the Sandwich
Islands, can boast the largest active
volcano in the world. This volcano.
called Kilanea, on the shores of the
Pacific, Is two and hal miles high; itd
crater, measuring six miles round, con-
tains lake of molten lava in which
great rocks are tossed about as if in a
boiling caldron; from time to time the
+ lava boils over as it were, and rushes In
streams of liquid fire down the noun
tain sides. Over the summit there
hangs cloud which by day is of a sill
very hue, but which reddens to fierv
glare by night. 1t is not much wonder
that to such terrific work of nature
the people of Hawaii should have at
tached many superstitions. They be-
heved 1t to be the home of the goddess
Pele, who had power, if offended, to
overwhelm the inhabitants of the ISL
ands with destruction; certain berries
which grew upon its slopes were sacred
to her; no woman was allowed to tread
upon the verge of the mountain and the
priests of Pele lived in its sides
About the year 1924 the young king
of Hawaii, Liholiho, and his people,
were converted to Christianity and re-
nounced the worship of false gods; but
so strong a hold had the fabulous Pele
over the imaginations of the Hawaiians,
that, while they renowned all other
forms of idolatry, they still firmly be-
lieved in the goddess of the volcano and
rat cd nj
observed their superstitious rites.
This was a great grief to Kapiolani,
wife of Name public orator of Hawaii
She, too, with the rest of the people,
had been converted to Christianity, but,
unlike them, she resented the insult
offered to the one true God in the wor-
ship still offered to Pele. At last, when
all circumstances had proved vain, she
determined to try what effect a clear
proof of her own disbelief in the ex-
istence of the goddess of the volcano
would have upon the people. Accord
ingly on certain day in the year 1925,
in the presence of number of her fell
low-countrymen, she set out for Kila-
nea and boldly began to ascend its
sleeps. Carrying in her hand the for
hidden berries, she climbed the noun
tain side in spite of the priests of Pele,
who came out of their haunts and strove
to turn her back with threats and warn
ings. And, indeed, there was real dan
ger in ascending Kilanea, for not only
was the way rough, steep and difficult,
and the cold of the heights terrible to
a delicate Hawaiian, but poisonous gases
often issued from the mountain, and sew
eraa men had quite lately been killed
by inhaling them. But none of these
dangers could daunt the brave Kapio-
1ani, who toiled on until she reached the
very top of the volcano then she de-
scended the precipice which surrounds
the crater, and casting the sacred ber-
rfes into the boiling lava, she cried: eff
l perish by the anger of Pele, then
dread her power; but, behold, defy
her wrath. / have broken her laws; I
live and am safe, for Jehovah the AL
mighty is my God. His was the breath
that kindled these flames; His is the
hand which restraints their fury. o, all
ye people, behold how vain are the gods
of Hawaii, and turn and serve the
Lord!
Kapiolani's brave deed was not with
out its reward for the Hawaiians, from
that time, abandoned the worship of
Pele and the belief in her has long since
died out.-N. y. World.