The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-03-02
A CURIOUS CHARACTER.
From the New York Sun.
During the early years of Kalakaua's

During the early years of Kalakaua's
reign and for some years preceding a
half white called ''Bill" Ragsdale was
the official interpreter in the elective
branch of the Hawaiian parliament
Ragsdale had a great natural aptitude
for acquiring languages, and it was
told of him that when he visited
French man-of-war the officers would
not believe he had not been educated
in Paris, and that the German navy
officers wanted to bet that he had been
educated from infancy in Berlin. He
was quick-witted, eloquent, fop in
dress, and as a citizen a good-for-
naught., His official duties required
him to interpret the speeches of the
natives into English and the speeches
of the foreigners into Hawaiian. The
latter was necessary, as many OF the
native members from districts remote
from Honolulu and Hilo had little
knowlegde of any language but their
own. The former duty, turning the
natives speeches into English, was sell
dom necessary, as the foreign members
were, naturally, men who had been on
the islands long enough to master the
simple and easily acquired native Ian
guage. But it was a duty Ragsdale
loved and its performance was source
of constant delight to the foreign MEM
bers and spectators. His method was
to interpret every two or three sem
tences, and he would sometimes suave-
ly interrupt a native struggling in an
impassab BILE labyrinth OF gutturals and
leave him there, in speechless amaze
ment, while he launched into an elo-
quent address on the beauties OF
moonlight rainbow or some other
equally unrelated subject. Or gray
haired member from Waikipoo might
arise il his place and explode
few gutterals which were to the effect
that one of his oxen had been drowned
in the Ulupelakua ford, and he wanted
to know when the government pro-
posed to bridge that creek. Ragsdale
would rise, bow to the member, and
proceed dramatically in some such man
ner as this:
THE distinguished and eloquent
member from Waikipoo desires to di-
ACSb ChC dttChtiOil Va eAO AiOhOA apAC
members to what he aptly character
ICES as their lamentable lapse from
that high sense of duty which most
distinguishes the patriot from the poll
tician. Not since the regretted days of
Kamehameha 1. of glorious memory,
whose war club was as the thunder
bolt, and whose canoes shimmered DER
the waters like the mysterious lights
which beacon the spray as it dashes
across the coral reef; not since the
taboo was by royal edict placed on the
religion of our forefathers and we all
became Christians by ukase; not since
the enemies of the great Kamehameha
fed in alright up the valley of
the Nuuanu, and-fearing death less
than the wrath of their pursuer-fung
themselves over the Pail, where their
bones in fantastic disarray strew the
cruel rocks even now; not since the
juice of the ava first made the sailors
of Capt. Cook delirious with joy: not
since then has there been on all these
islands a Kanaka so mad as was the
honorable gentleman from Waikipoo
when his off OK sank in the treacher-
Gus sands where purl the waters of the
Ulupelakua."
Then the member, delighted to hear
that so little Hawaiian would make so
much English, would utter few more
sentences.
Ragsdale, in p1 p1etending to interpret
this, would attribute to the member
the latest good story the interpreter
had probably heard on board some for
ished his story he would inform the
member that he was out Of
order, as the river and harbor
improvement bill was not before
the house; that the only bill before the
house was Bill Ragsdale. He had many
foppish eccentricities in dress, SO no
particular notice was taken when Rags
dale began wearing one glove constant
ly. even while interpreting.
He furnished an explanation of that
when he gave himself up to the author
tiles as leper and asked to be trans
ported to Molokai. The fatal disease
was manifest only on that hand he had
kept gloved. Through that hand a
knife might have been run without
Ragsdale feeling it.
He went to Molokai, where he lived
several years, dying before Father Da-
mien. That good priest gave testimony
that Ragsdale's example in voluntarily
going to Molokai did much to allay the
discomfort of others there, and that he
was a cheerful. intelligent and indus
trious aid to the priest in governing
and caring for their unfortunate COM
nanious.