The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1893-05-09
THE HAWAIIAN OFFERING THAT
COMES ON A SILVER
PLATTER.
Natures Bi-ChIoYide OF Cold
The Rice-Raising Chinese
The Old and New Dress of
the NatiTes-A Famous
Feather Cloak.

into unusual prominence those
strange islands far down in the
Southern seas. 1t calls peculiar
attention to their many individual
characteristics and the pathetic
history of them. They are peopled
by race of soft-voiced and soft
eyed, gentle and amorous, fond of
music and gewgaws, passionately
attached to their beautiful country,
its customs and its dances, the
hoola-hoola among the rest.
FISH, FRUIT, NUTS AND PUPPY.
Before the missionaries went to
teach them morality, and incident
ally to open the way for an inward
rush of foreigners, says the Wash
ington Post, the kanakas lived eX-
clusively on poi, fish, nuts and
fruits, of which latter the mango is
the most important. 1t grows wild
in the greatest profusion on the
islands and involves only the labor
of gathering. 1t was the simple
diet of simple people. The only
edible quadruped in their posses
sion was the dog.
MoNGoLIAN RICE-GROWERs.
The Chinese in the Sandwich
Islands are rice-growers. They
raise in Hawaii the finest rice in
the world. They occupy all the
low-lying farms, upon which u
inches of water will stand, and
have realized large profits. For
the cultivation of this grain they
have been compelled to use the
water buffalo, imported from China,
as no other animal will work under
such conditions. The water buffalo
is a peculiar beast He is willing
to work an hour, then he strikes. !
The mud splashed upon his back |
dries in the sun, and he refuses to |
proceed without bath. He is I'M
harnessed and driven to clear
pool, in which he lies down and |
dreams. At the end of 90 minutes
he responds readily to call, labOrs
another hour and quits again. He
is as regular in his time as any
watch ever turned out by the def
fingers of the Swiss. For the use
of these lands the Chinese willingly
pay an annual rental of $50 or $40
an acre.
HAWAIIAN DRESS.
The men dress in duck trousers
and shirts. They are imported from
England free of duty, and are
very cheap. The women univer-
sally wear the holoku. This dress
has history. When the first ship
load of missionaries reached the isl
ands they were met by women who
went out in boats. They wore fea-
Their cloaks, feather circulets about
the neck, and feather waist cloths.
Reaching the deck, the feathers
were removed, waist cloths and all.
Some of the ladies with the mis-
sionaries screamed others turned
away their burning cheeks and
looked far out to sea others dived
below; they all objected. The dis
robement was one of the customs Of
The country, signifying "you are |
very welcome" but to American
eyes it was little worse than full !
dress costume at a swell ball. One
If the chieftainesses was persuaded [
@ try civilized attire. Being told !
hat it was the height of fashion,
The gigglingly consented.
ORIGIN OF THE HoLoKU.
She was an enormous woman, I
over 800 pounds, and not q
dress on board would go round (
Ter. The nearest thing to it was h
lightgown belonging to the large
wife of small missionary. This
vas eked out with strip of cloth
ewed into the back, and placed Q
lpon the elephantine beauty of the F
outh seas. 1t is the holoku of to- r
lay. Its form has been SO modi- C
led that it is a cross between the b
lightgown and the Mother Hub i
ard" Even the white women of
he islands wear tit is so very 4
DOL.
A FAMOUS FEATHER CLOAK. 8
The feather cloaks worn by the y
hiefs on state occasions are of ex- h
rene beauty and very valuable. s.
ling Kamehameha was the man 8,
Tho conquered all the tribes of the !
stands and nodded them into one II
alton. His cloak represented the v
eaths of millions of fowls. There il
bird upon the islands which y
ears under each wing single B
elbow feather. about the size p