St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1893-03-04
SUBSCRIPTION, $3.50 A YEAR.

The root is something like q long beet,
and when boiled and mashed the pulp is
poi-a Whitley yellow batter at first, later
sort of sour paste. It operates homm-
opathically, so to speak that is, it builds
up a dilapidated constitution surprising
ly, but if used exclusive Of any other
food it Injuries the health. There is mo-
particular danger Of any American or
Englishman using the native style Of Ill
to excess, for it is emphatically nasty.
Decently prepared, however, it is quite
palatable. Local statisticians say that
one acre Of it will furnish yearly bread
for 5000 men-a pleasing statement
which, regret to say. do not believe.
Fish is said to be the proper corrective
to take with poi, and fish also are abrn-
dant. Early visitors say the Kanakas
formerly ate them raw and at the soo1a-
est possible moment after killing them.
Indeed it was thought q luxury to begin
to gnaw on the tail before the head was
dead. At any rate the hungry native
took the fish as it came from the water.
hastily ran a knife from gill to tail, tore
out the entrails and at once fell to eat
ing, and there is story that when the
first Kanakas were taken to be presented
to the king Of England they behaved
quite handsomely till they saw some fish
in little aquarium in the royal apart
ment. Their appetite overcame them.
Men and women alike fell on the fnny
prey, tore and devoured it with the savage
yum-yum of appeased hunger, and de-
clared in choice Kanaka that it was their
first square meal since they left Homo
lulu.
They tell many hard stories like this
about the former Hawaiians, but as
saw nothing of the kind will continue
to hope they are not true. II it was trne.
as the first visitors said, that the parents
killed all their children above two or three;
that methods of check were used which
soon proved fatal to half the women.
that thousands OF men were killed in the
saturnalia following kings death. and
thousands more were sacrificed or eaten.
how did the population get SO large?
Why so much greater than now, when
none Of these things are done? cannot
help suspecting that there has been ex-
aggeration.
There is peace and good fellowship
enough now. There are gocial enjoyment
and ease and joyousness and feasting
enough now Everywhere this is true.
but especially in Honolulu. There the
slant eyed Chinanan and the darker
Malay, the very fair Englishman. dark
Portuguese and medium American, the
smooth brown Kanaka and the rough
brown Samoan iostle each other good
humoredly in the streets and even prac-
tice sort of social equality unthought
of in the United States. During my stay
there King Bill was even as one Of as in
many an excursion. and at poi supper
1t was not very uncommon to meet ma
tive ladies' .got mp regardless in silk
and delicate pongee done in the .stie
back" style, and wearing the monster
chignons which were the fashion 20
years ago.
Of all our pleasure excursions those to
the Waikiki beach for bathing by noon
light were the most pleasant, and the
requirements in costume were much the
same as at Long Branch. Back In the
secluded districts, however, the natives
of both sexes took to the water without
the formality Of putting on 'ssuits."
The Kanakas are described by scientists
as belonging to the Polynesian branch
of the Malay race, " which means, take
it, that they are Malays modified by long
residence among many islands" (poIn-
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