The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-12-13

squatty little brown form that waddles
not ungracefully along the street il is
not unattractiye. The ladies' hats were
Of varied shapes and colors, but usually
decorated with an abundance Of flowers.
But when one meets a bevy Of smiling
young women, with snowy dress, gaudy
hats and well-fitting gloves, modestly
swinging an umbrella, and notices &hat
the skirts are short enough TO reveal
pretty ankles and plump bare feet,
smile usually follows the bow of recog-
milton, for these damsels are likely to
salute you.
on the streets one meet about as
many Portuguese as natives. These are
fully as dark as the natives. and II is
not always easy to distinguish between
them, but as a rule the color of the
Portuguese is more sOoty, the form more
angular the features harder and the
stride more stiff and masculine. Here
the clean cut, good natured little Jap
and the lean StOical son Of COnfuciuS
cut great figure. Nowhere have seen
so strong a tendency for amalgamaton.
There must be some charm about these
native women, in spite Of their taste
for gin and promiscuous caresses, for
this is the most motley squad / ever
beheld. You will see the blonde Scan
dinavian, Englishman and American
with the dark native wife, and the cute
little children of all cOlors and tints.
find this a common ground, for they
have taken unto themselves so many
native women as wives that the gulf
between these opposite races is spanned.
the line Of separation is eXpurged and
the connecting link firmly established.
l saw a funeral procession and it was
worthy of study. There We're forty car
riages, all filled; there were handsome
gentlemen elderly, with silk hats, kid
gloves, rudy faces and white or light
beard and mustache, showing American
English or other light races, sitting
composedly aside Of a pleasant dusky
wife, with children in plenty, Of many
hues, crowdins the vehicle with the
fond parents"
AS before remarked. bent my way to
the police headquarters. These L found
in charge of Americans, who very
coUrteously gave me all the informa-
ton possible in the time granted. But
the scenes. Several Of the old girls
with watery eyes, bruised faces, dusky
skin and more duslIy expectations, had
just been turned out of the calabOose
and were receiving their accustomed
lecture for their overpractice Of their
Christian" vices. With musical tones
though in words that sounded like broken
ks, long as and prominent rs ratified
together in an old milk crock. warmed
their old promises over and having
sanctified them with their tears, were
sent on their way Ito sin no more"
What grotesque pranks these frail
children of God cut when "snatched
from the mouth of a yawning hell by
a well-fed servant of the Most High"
and handed over to the tender mercies
of Christian society"
Then the great bell changed forth its
hollow tones, echoing along the tran
gull harbor. and unanimously dying
away in the deep glens and romantic
q fr4g
fell in" and followed a motley mass,
"A mixtie. mixtie, motley squad.
VIE money a guilt bespOtted lad,
Black coats a each denomination,
And thives of livery rank and station"
Burns.
to a massive church several blocks from
the dock Yes 1 went TO church, for /
wanted to study the animals. It was
very interesting. 1 found it to be the
Portuguese catholic cathedral As strange
and mixed a mass OF Variously dressed
people, Of nations and ranks one could
hardly conceive of. From the white
haired Goth to the crinkle-haired Afri-
can, all were there and the color and the
smell and the chant blended in a splen-
did harmony.
About one-third Of the crowd" were
barefooted. a third Of the ladies wore
mother hubbard" dresses-usually red
and fully a third looked very like
sanctifed thieves and hypocrites. It
was amusing to see John Chinaman,'
with his jute queue dangling at his bare
calves. marching up to the tank with
a horde of Japs, Kanakas, Portuguese,
Ocobans, Fijians Dagos, etc, and scat
tering the holy petroleum over his cum
ming face There was a small army of
thin-chested teachers" sour-lOOlSins
nuns, obedient bell-boys, and though
the Lords house was clumsily furnished
in the main body the altar was adorned
with all the gaudy and grotesque para
phernalia inherited by Christianity
from ancient paganism.
These people seem to be very pious-
from the teeth out-but their religion
seems to have had about the same in
fluence in their real morals and beliefs
as It has IN other countries, for here il
Is notorious that the people, regardless
of sex prefer a small bottle of gin lin
sight to an option on eternity OF milk
and honey" and TO the pleasures fol-
lowing the hoolie hoolie 10 loaflng
through the golden streets OF New Jeru-
salem" In the sweet bye and bye" That
Christianity is but a gauzy film to hide
from unobserving eyes the ancient su-
perstition is plain, for while on common
occasions a silent prayer will answer the
call Of conscience, in case Of need the
black pigs head is the open sesame"
for all the ills OF life, and the sacred
urbs Of the city.
But what can the monks who tell them
so many pretty stories about people
dying or the priests and preachers who
beg their substance to build cathedrals
do for them? Their religion is of an
other land their gods new and untried.
their miracles old and were performed
on trivial occasions, while this genera
ton has seen with their own eyes the
amazing manifestations Of their own
deity.
But a few months ago, a party ac-
companied by a protestant priest visited
n gorge near the Pail. Tradition says
the gods Of Hawaii hover over it and
demand an Offering from all who
pass. The "parson" smilingly spoke Of
the pretty tradition, and breaking a
bow gently cast IL to the ground at the
gorge's entrance. All save one did like
wise, while he remarked. Il will not be
silly enough to aid in the perpetuation
of n childish superstition"
Probably none OF them really believed
anything about Il, but it was a fading
tradition, a decaying superstition, and
like fairy tale was revived ON this visit
But as the happy party proceeded up
the kanion, a small, loose boulder from
the mountain side came rolling down,
and striking the gentleman who pro
famed" the place. IT killed him. This
was a factor so related to me--and
the coincidence Of the death OF a man
after testing about the fairy tale, more
deeply impressed the people than all the
Jonah and Sampson yarns that could be
spun In all time.
But few years ago the great volcano,
Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii
proper. was belching forth its rivers OF
molten lava. Slowly down the mountain