The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-10-17
A FEAST IN HAWAII.
Novel Manner in which the Food was Pro
pared.

pared.
The following extract from n private
letter written from Honolulu by DIR.
Geo. p. Andrews gives an entertaining
account of a novel feast:
The great feast was q novel sight An
awning of sails covered in space of
about sixty by one hundred feet, under
which were laid tables, and the viands,
cooked la Hawaii, were laid on them.
As provision was made for one thou
sand people, an account of the cooking
may be of interest There were pro-,
vided forty-fve half-grown pigs, two
beeves, 1876 chickens, several hundred
fish, bushels of sweet potatoes etc.
The larger pigs were cut into fragments
and tied in bundles of banana and dra-
c@na leaves of pound or two weight
each. The beef was served in the same
way, also the chickens. The smaller
pigs were wrapped whole in the leaves.
Preparations for the cooking were made
the day before. Four holes were dug,
one ten by four feet, one six by four
feet, and the others about three feet
wide and two feet deep. A quantity of
wood was placed in the grotto and
upon this were piled large stones foot
deep. One fire was lighted early in the
morning of the day before and the sec
ond about one o'clock. Atthree o'clock
the wood was burned out and the bot
tom was mass of red-hot stones.
Upon these were spread layer of
crushed fresh banana stems six inches
thick, and upon these were piled the
small bundles of meat two CIR three
feet high and the size of the hole. Over
them were placed q mass of fresh
banana leaves several inches thick,
over this mating RAd then dirt foot
thick and the imu was finished and left
to steam until the next morning At
five in the evening the big one was
similarly filed with the remainder of
the meat and the trussed pigs and also
covered. One can imagine what a de-
lightful heat would be brought to bear
upon the contents of the imu and how
delicately the contents would be cook
ed during the long hours of the night
Early in the morning of the feast day
the two small linus were filed with the
fish tied up in leaves and sweet potatoes
and covered. The large ovens covered
the day before were opened during the
morning and the contents taken out
! and covered to keep hot.
| The tables seated between two hun
dred and three hundred at time. Poi,
the native food, paste made from the
calocosen esculentum and soured, was
put in small water-tight baskets along
the center of each table so that -four
persons could reach each one with the
dngers (knives and forks are eschewed
at a luan). Each table was also gay
with crimson-feshed watermelons cut
in fancy shapes, various relishcs of raw
sea urchins, meat, seaweed, raw
shrimps and pounded kukui nuts and
salt. Conveniently at hand were fern
leaves, and the viands upon leaves,
gourds and wooden bowls and plat
ters.
The guests recline at their ease on the
left side and cat with the right hand
Each one has bowl of fair water tc
ciease the fingers. The method of eat
ing is not disgusting. The natives use
their fingers deXterouslY and daintily
and not piggishly, though they are
rather gormandizing in their native
state.
After the feast came the literary en-
tertainment, and very entertaining
were the speakers, ancient Punahor
boys recalling the pleasures, the es
capades, the sorrows of schoolboy life
1t was well worth listening to.-Detroi
Free Press.