The morning news., 1892-02-06
THE MILLIoN-OoLLAR MANTLE
Priceless Garment That Has Envel-
oped the Forms of Hawaiian Kings.

A Priceless Garment That Has Envel-
oped the orms of Hawaiian Kings.
From the Washington Post
A valuable collection of Hawaiian feather
war cloaks and capes is on exhibition at the
National museum. One Of the cloaks. the
largest in the collection, is of immense
value. 1t is known as the "milllon-dollar
MANTLE" 1t once enveloped the kingly
form of Kekuaskalian, one Of the highest
chiefs of the Sandwich islands, in whose
reign 1t was completed, nearly a hundred
years after it was hegun. Upon the death
of Kekuaskalian, who fell in battle, il
became the property of his enemy, King
Kamehameha ILL.,. by whom it was pre-
sented to Capt. j. IN Aulick of the United
States navy.
The foundation Of this most remarkable
cloak is a network of olona. or native
hemp.n and to it are attached by threads
Of the same material, feathers Of native
birds found only in the Hawaiian Islands
The entire body Of the mantle is made up Of
small red and yellow feathers, the latter
ones being obtained from the 90 or Uho
(uohGn nobitiS), bird extremely rare and
possessing but one or two of these yellow
feathers, which are found under the wings.
This bird is captured alive by means Of tn Q
"lime trap" and when deprived Of the
precious feathers is SET at liberty. Great
prize Is put on these feathers by the crown.
They are used as money in buying and
selling and are accepted by the governme {
in payment Of taxes. The red feathers are
obtained from the most abundant bird of
the islands, the DrepOnis coocineG.
In the "million-dollar mantle" the
feathers are placed 30 as to overlap, thus
giving a smooth surface to the exterior OF
the cloak. The upper and lateral borders
OF the mantle are decorated with alternat
tufts of red, yellow. and black feathers, but
only on the margin are the black feathers
! used, which are obtained from the Uho. liz
the center Of the mantel is a large crescent
shaped figure Of yellow feathers, surrounded
| by belt OF red, which blends In the mid
die OF the belt on either side with a succeed
| ing stripe Of red the outer margins Of which
are divided by two wedge-shaped processes
| Of yellow. From this last-named figure on
either side to the circumference are alternate
parallel stripes of yellow and red, about six
inches broad. The upper circumference OF
the cloak, whore it fastens about the neck,
is about twenty inches, the lower one being
seven or seven and half feet, thus forming
a cloak capable of enyoloping a very largo
person. The mantle is projected by hand.
some case, and its beauty advantagelusly
displayed by a background of blue velvet
There are two other capes in the collec-
tion, very much smaller. and two boas
The larger Of the capeS is little more than q
collar, its upper and lower circumference
being but II and &C inches, respectively
The entire body is of yellow feathers, hav-
ing but two small crescents of red In the
centre.
The remaining cape. virtually red one
has only two small designs of yellow feath.
ers. and consequently is much less valuable
The boas, made from the feathers Of the
| Uho, are abouttwo feet in length and fasten
about the neck with hempen cords.
The feather garments we're at one time
| considered the greatest possessions of the
crown, but the costumes of European and
American manufacture have superseded
them, and they are no longer manufactured
! on the islands.