St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-29
IN FAIR HAWAII.
A Story of Child Life in the Sand.
witch Islands.

In all the wide world there are no moro
beautiful islands than Hawaii, with its clear
streams, its beautiful valleys, its grand
mountains, its lakes of fire, its groves of
palm and its gentle people.
Before going to these islands. which sailors
call "the Paradise of the Pacific,a I had
been much over the world and seen many
lovely lands, not forgetting my own dear
Long Island; but, I must confess, "the Sand
Nich Islands," as we usually call them,
deserve the name given them by the sailors.
The largest of the seven inhabited islands
is Hawaii, from which the group takes it's
name, and in the southeast corner there is
great volcano, or lake OF fire, which the
natives call Kilauca, and which they believe
to be the home of their goddess Pele. Some
day may tell you more about this, the most
wonderful volcano in the worth, but at
present my mind is full of my guide, whose
name was Kama, and of his little son, named
Nikoluni. His father always pronounced the
name in full, but from the first I called him
"Nik," to which he responded, seeming to be :,
quite pleased by the change. Mix was a very
pretty boy, OF about twelve, and except for q /
rather ragged palm leaf hat, from which his I
long, black hair hung in plumes, like ravens :,
feathers, and girdle of sea grass about his
loins, he had no clothing, nor did he need
any in that soft, genial climate. Nix looked
somewhat like the North American Indian
children I have seen, but think he was moro
slender and graceful, and that his large, dark
eyes were gentler and had kindlier ex-
preston. a,
Being anxious to learn more about this in
teresting people, who, am sorry to say, are
fast dying out induced Kama, the guide,
to take me to his native village, and permit
me to spend a few days with him. This vil- !
lage, the name of which have forgotten,
was on the sea shore, about eight miles from
the lovely town of Hilo, where the most of the
white people ON the island live. !
Mix, with whom had made warm friends,
and who understood some English, for he
had been at the white school at Hilo for @
term, appeared to be much pleased at nv
coming. 1 found the village to consist of :
about dozen or more huts, which at a dis
lance looked like gigantic beehives. The
conical roofs were covered with dried sea
grass, and the sides were mats of the same
material, which could be rolled up or let
down. When all the mats were rolled up the
roofs looked like huge extinguishers, resting
on stills. These hutS were scattered about
under grove of cocoanut palms. and here
and there, like banks of burning verdure,
were bushes of crimson hibiscus Drawn
up along the white beach were the out-rigger
canoes OF the natives, for these people are
great fishermen, and seem to take to the
water as naturally as to the land. b;
AS we neared the village, men, women and
children crowded out to greet US with merry
laughter and bid US welcome, and I noticed
that all, even the old men, wore wreaths Of
flowers about their heads, and some of thIs
girls wore jackets, oF eapes, of flowers oiS
many hues, which must have cost some labols
and could not last long: but then, fowerss.
are abundant, labor is not valuable, and these
girls are very skillful at such work !!
Kama's wife was named Nolu and as we .
neared the two huts which he owned, we saw
the woman swinging child in hammock
suspended between two palm trees. The lit
tie one was about two years old, and seeing
her father she reached out her hands to come
to him. The mother kissed her and liftedl
her to the ground, when she ran to US as de. !
void OF clothing as one of Raphael's cherubs.f
unless the wreath of crimson blossoms inter-
woven in her dark hair might be called cloth,,
ing. L.
One of the huts was assigned to me- The
furniture consisted of a roll of mats on which J
to sleep, with a carved piece of wood to be-
placed under the neck for q pillow, some
wooden pegs fastened in the post from which
to hang clothing; nothing more. s
1t was about noon when we reached the
village, and being weary from my tramp down
the mountain, lay down and slept soundly
till the sun was setting. I might have slept
longer had not Nix aroused me by putting in
his handsome head and calling out: .. -
''Whitey man! Supply now.''
[ hurried out, and found wooden bowl
full OF cool water for me to wash in with a.
towel of sea grass to wipe NY hands upon. 1
soon discovered that the families did not eat
apart, but all together. A large fire had been
built, and about this the women were broil-
ing fish, fresh from the sea. The men were
opening cocoanuts just taken from the trees,
the great native dish called poi, which is
made from root and looks and tastes very
much like our sage when unfiavored and
mixed with sugar 1t must be very whole !
some and nutritious as these people eat
great deal of it. "a
l never enjoyed meal more than did
that one. We had neither knives nor forks.
and our spoons We're made of cocoanut shells /
or OF the many beautiful sea shells to be :
found in such abundance along the shores.t
BY the time supper was over it was quite
dark. Fresh fuel was added to the fire. not
for the purpose of heat, but to give light. In
order to entertain me the natives of adioin-
ing villages soon came trooping in. The slen.
der girls and youths were fairly draped in
flowers, and about the fountains of fameF
they at once began most graceful dance to :
the music of their own voices and the clap
ping Of hands by the men. I should have ,
said that Wa-Wa, Nick's little sister, and all ,
OF the children under the boys age, were
sent to bed Immediately after they had eaten
The dancing and singing was kept up, with
slight intervals, until near midnight, and 7
think 1 can say I never saw so happy and
merry people. jtt / |
The following morning at daylight was
awoke by the roar of the surf outside and
the shouts and laughter of the people. Z
hurriedly dressed and went out, and the
sight that met my eyes shall never forget,
Every man, woman and child, including the
baby Wa-wa, was in the surf, swimming and
diving like so many dolphins. But the most !
wonderful of oil was their coasting on the
breakers, Men, boys and girls would push
long planks to a distance OF about fifty wards
from the shore, then with wonderful grace
and dexterity would mount them and ride in
over the waves and through the breakers, {,
shouts of laughter going up whenever one
was upset. 4
The three days I spent with my Hawaiian
friends l look back upon as the happiest Of j
my life. When I left, Nix and his father
accompanied me to Hilo Here I bought a.
suit of ready made clothes for the bow, of.
which he seemed very proud, but as he'
carried them away in a bundle instead Of on
his back, I think he hung them up in his
fathers tent as curiosities and never wore
them. !
CAPTAIN Tom.
"a
Do not talk platitudes to man who Is
hungry. An empty stomach is a savage whom
no power except food can civilize. The most