The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-02-16
On MAUNA L0NS SLOPE,
HOSPITALITY AND RIO srICKISo
THERE.
A Readable Account Of Past visit To
the mig Mountain by New York
Journalist.

Once upon time, many years ago,
some cattle and pigs escaped from the
men who were landing them from an
American ship on the island of Hawaii.
They made their truaEt ways up the
side of mighty Mauna Loa, found food
and water and shelter in abundance,
thrived and increased and reverted to
savagery. They do great damage to
the stock ranges on the foothills of the
great mountain the wild bulls lead
the half-wild cattle of the ranches up
into the wilderness of the higher hills,
where they are lost to their owners the
wild pigs destroy many valuable acres
of pasture, so the stockmen make
frequent excursions into the country of
these wild beasts TO keep down their in
crease by killing them. II is exceeding
good sport. and visitors to the Islands
who are asked to a pig shooting ON Ha-
waii consider themselves particularly
fortunate; that is, il they are fond of
shooting, of rough, hard riding, and do
not mind n couple of nights in tent
which merely offers a polite pretense of
keeping off the rain.
1t is pig shooting" you will observe,
not "sticking," or spearing, as the sport
Is i'm India and some European countries.
A titled Englishman and a party of
friends sailed down to the islands few
years ago, and having on board their
yacht number of pig sticking spears,
insisted, with that British singleness of
idea which comnends their nation with
so much amiablity to the rest of man
kind, that as the English ''stuck" wild
bears in other countries where they
sought that sport, the pig Hawaiian
should be hunted with spears likewise.
Their host, a half-white planter, con-
scented to the experiment with much
doubt as TO the result on his horses.
They were trained his horses, for cow
punching work well enough, and de-
pended safely on their own wits and
nimbleness to keep out of range of a
wild bulls horns: but as to the tusks of
wild boars, the planter was doubtful.
But the Englishmen thought it would
be all right, because that was the way
they had always hunted bears. The eX-
pertinent was made. The Hawaiian COW
ponies had never before been urged to
run down the boars and had no idea how
to avoid the terrible tusks when they
charged near enough to give their riders
a lunge with the spears. After three of
his best horses had been cut down by
bears so that they had to be killed, the
planter said he guessed the hunt would
have to be continued with rifles, as he
felt indisposed to walk home. So they
continue to kill wild boars there by
shooting, the dreadful fact that it is not
English being in measure compensated
for by the safety of the horses.
Our hunting party was made up in
Honolulu, and so, one afternoon we
took the little inter-island steamer
Likelille for Hawaii. An inter-island
steamer sails two or three times week,
daily now, perhaps, yet the Importance
of the event, as the natives view It,,
suggests to the American observer that
it had never occurred before, and, in all
likelihood, never would again. The
lowliest steerage passenger, the deck
hands, the stokers, are accompanied to
the wharf by from one to Il dozen
friends, all of whom rub noses with the
departing one with a sentimental vigor
which suggests reason for the ground
off shape of the distinctively Hawaiian
nose. Then every one gets lei OF
flowers, sometimes dozen leis, either a
little lei for tho hat, ga a long oHe Mn'ch
falls over the neck and shoulders. There
is an amount of excited talk which
would supply the vocal exercises for
the depaIt ure of a dozen heavily laden
transatlantic liners, scnrrying around
for the safety of musical instruments
and supplies of poi, and at last, amid
tears and laughter, throwing of flowers,
singing. and agonized farewells, the
little steamer puffs out through the
channel between the coral reefs.
think the port we were bound fol
was a thirty-six hours sail, including
numerous stops, but l am not sure
When that trip is made, as mine was
under the thoughtful, not to say assdu
Gus. care of Honolulu merchant anC
a Hawaii planter, with their owl
notions of what should be done to XII
time, you find that time so successfully
annihilated as not to be accurately re
called. Part of that voyage is crossing
channels between islands where thu
wind comes from an unobstructet
sweep of no end of thousands of miles
and so, naturally has a pretty goot
speed. There the boat stands on end
Next you come into the lea of an Isl
and, where the water is like a river ant
the land shore of luxuriant verdure
Crossing the channels our party brace'
itself around little grass mat sprea'
on the deck whereupon were placed
calabash of poi, dish of salt fish an
supply of champagne to go in tn
glasses. but the bottles were never Sc
down, they were always passing. Gu
host had a little formula which wen
like this:
.'What is a sure preventive of seasicl
ness?'
champagne"
SIS it wise to drink without eating
at is unwise."
"What then, shall we do to
savedT
"Send the Paula to the ice chest fl
some more bottles I; put the poi whe
all may reach it, and the salt fish, let
be passed"
This being spoken with great CRAWL
and frequency, and suitable actlc
always following, the crossing of Il
channels were events marked with
placid content in our group strangely
contrast with the obnoxious activity
the steamer in its violent efforts
stand on both ends at once. They hi
another formula which was used viii
we were gliding along in the lee
some island:
.If the strangers who are with us a
poddy with poi and blissful with win
should they be allowed to stretch
out and sleepT
mo hands should be dealt them al
thew should sit in, for it is all in t
draw and it is unwise for the strange
to sleep in the moonlight. Paula, is I
ice chest empty, that ye stand idly |
grinning"
We left the steamer, making lar
ing IN a surf boat at little hamlet o
dozen houses; but scattered about
that point are the stone ruins of RI
temples, affairs and monuments. in
eating the great and powerful peo
who once made that part of Haw
populous; people who went out to bat
in catamaran canoes which carried sil
fighting men; that was before the
ands were Christianized.
We were met there by men and sad