The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-29

its. one inside the frame called the body
and the other outside it. ! never Conld
understand their exact theory of death,
but 1t seemed to be that the ENGAGED
spirit joined the liberated one, and the
two departed together The prayers
always seemed to be that the spirit
within the body be retained there, and to
bring about this end the most extra
VACANT supplications were made to some
one or something, the kahunas frequently
beating themselves violently with clubs
and Stats of wood and literally bowling
! themselves dumb, | once cured a sick
man very easily. and he objected to pay
( ing my bill because I had done so little to
earn il; the patient of the Hawaiian
| kahuna could never raise this argument,
Tor II the doctor doesn't cure he certainly
eNhauSts himself in his efforts to do so. ~
Why do you say the doctors pray to
some one or something}' the doctor was
asked
Because their ideas as to the deity are
distinctly shady. They are idolators and
yet they are not. That is to say, while
they pray to anything that may be around,
their SuppllCduOnS are rather addressed
to the spirit they believe TO be resting in
the tree or the animal, or the bird, than
TO the object or creature itself. On one
| occasion patient was found TO resist the
prayers very stubbornly. or at any rate
they did him very little good. The prayer
makers could have cured the man by the
use of quinine or morphine, and in the
absence of these the sufferer could have
been relieved by a series Of sweat baths
with the use.f nothing more than damp
sheet and few blankets. But the ka-
hunas decided that the spirit must be APP
peaSed, and after consultation they found
out that the said spirit was in a fish.
They hustled OF to the seashOre, and
while there found them Never did
the leader in an old-tme camp meeting
eNhort like these men. They advanced
into the water again and again up to their
waists, and shouted to and wrestled with
that spirit in a manner which at least
demonstrated their sincerity At last
they were satisfied and returned to the
sick man TO tell him he would recover.
And so he did All he was suffering from
was species of malaria or ague and
while so much effort was being expended
on his behalf the fever Just ran its course
and left him. am honest enough to add
that IN good many instances in which
white doctors treat patients very SINH
lar event occurs, for valuable as medicine
Is, nature often eXcels it as a curative
agent
The kahuhas seem to be on the most
amicable terms with the spirits, and when
they announce to a patient that these
beings have decreed that he must die
there is never any attempt TO dispute the
truth or justice of the ultimatum There
is convenience about this which it is
hard to overestimate, because when q
man finds he has run up against a case
which is beyond him he can excuse his
failure to cure by explaining that the
spirit having charge of the patient has
decreed that his days are numbered.
There are many humbugs, of course,
among the medicine men of Hawaii and
these doubtless take advantage of the
ideas suggested; but the bulk of these
misguided individuals evidently believe
every word they say and are as surprised
and heartbroken at failures as the
patients themselves"