The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-11-21
STORY OF KILA.
THE LIFE OF ONE OF THE an
GENT HAWAIIANS.
Read Before the Hawaiian Historical
Society by DR.. n. b. Emerson on
May IS, 1898.

for aquatic sports, which his sur.
roundings were admirably fitted tt
crafty and develop. We are told that
as child Kila's chosen plaything
was toy canoe. Near his fathers
residence flowed the famous Wailua
river, which, as visitors to that
romantic region will remember, after
precipitating itself over the beautiful
falls of the same name, offers for sew
eral miles-until it reaches the ocean
"a fine stretch of slack water, along
each bank of which grows a thick
fringe of bulrushes. To an enter
prising boy of Kila's tastes it must
have been a veritable paradise, the
best possible school for initiating him
in the management of canoe. 1t is
easy to imagine what enthusiasm and
ardor he must have put into the con-
struction and launching of his first
canoe of bulrushes,@ by which he soon
made himself acquainted with every
nook and turn of this fairy stream.
*The rushes, after being cut and slightly
wilted in the sun, are made up into cigar
shaped handles, tapering at each end. and
tightly bound with cord or some substi-
tute, l have often seen the tough stems of
the koai vine (convolyulus), which grows
to great length, used for this purpose.
These primary bundles are bound firmly
into two or three parts of equal size, and
these, in turn, are dashed together, side by
side form the lNhn,o
skill are used the result is a craft that will
do excellent service for months, on which
II Is possible to venture with safety quite
out into the ocean.
But it could not have been long that
he remained content with this clumsy
structure. His ambition must have
sought early satisfaction in the pos
session of genuine canoe dug out of
koa tree felled in the mountains,
fashioned, rugged and consecrated
with the scrupulous care that must
have been regarded his due, as the
favorite son of Moikeha, who had
now become high chief, or king of the
district. The possession of this new
treasure, coupled with the nearness
of the ocean, was an invitation to ex-
tend the range of his adventures that
he could not have long resisted.
As Kila attained the dignity of pad
ding his own canoe, the fascinating
sport of surf-riding (pakaka-nalu) be-
came one of his favorite pastimes.
This sport, though it resembles, diff
fers materially, from hee-nalu, in
which the swimmer enters the water
and uses a surf-board, while in paka-
ka-nalu the player rides the surf sit
ting in his canoe. The canoe, poised
on the inclined plane in advance of the
wave, is carried shorewards at speed,
so that it is possible to maintain this
position and avoid broaching to and
being upset, with the danger of break
ing the canoe, only by a delicate adj
iustment of forces and great skill and
judgment with the paddle. This pas
time, in which there was smack of
danger, exactly suited Kila's taste,
and he came to excel in it. Thus it
was young Kila grew up expert in
the use and management of the canoe
and, true to the sea-faring instincts of
ter old ocean in all his moods.
In addition to this practical training,
Kila was carefully instructed in navi-
cation and astronomy. He was taught
the names and positions of many con-
stellations and the principal heavenly
bodies, with the times of their rising
and setting, for which purpose no
doubt the services of the old bard Ka-
were called into requisition
as instructor. Another way by which
kila probably added to his store of |
on these matters was re-
sort to the halau, or canoe-house, of |
som distinguished canoe-man (kahu- !
where were to be heard
lectures and discussions by |
experts on the canoe !
and the art of navigation, with men |
ton, no doubt, of kukulu kahiki-a |
term that included what was known |
Of foreign geography. Here, too, was
discussed meteorology, not forgetting |
the study of the heavens.
However much we may be inclined |
to hold in light esteem the knowledge |
Of the heavenly bodies which Kila |
was able to obtain from the best teach
ings of his elders, we shoSld not for
get that it proved sufficient to guide |
him over the trackless waters of the /
Pacific and bring him with precision |
W LIS uSslI6u ueSlludllOu, after
voyage of over twenty-three hundred /
miles, and this without the aid of |
chart, compass, or any instrument of
precision known to modern science
solely by the educated use of his I'M
spoiled senses.
In his old age Moikeha, who had
never ceased to think of his son Laa
n Tahiti, determined to send an ex-
petition to bring him that he might
ook once more on his face and posi-
by make him heir to his kingdom.
BE accordingly announced his inten-
ion to his sons, and informed them
hat in order to decide with imparti-
llity which one of them should head
he expedition, he would submit them
III to competitive test of skill IN
handling the canoe. This being done,
Aila proved himself so greatly their
as canoe-man that he was
'ut in command, greatly to the cha
grin and dissatisfaction of his broth
RS. 1t was wisely arranged that the
age kamahualele, q veteran naviga-
or, should accompany the young cap
ain on his first voyage.
KILA's VOYAGE TO TAHITI.
Great was the interest and curiosity