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 it's 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, must confess, 'sthe Sand
wieh 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 its
name, and in the southeast corner there is a
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 very /
pretty boy, OF about twelve, and except for a /
rather ragged palm leaf hat, from which his /
long, black hair hung in plumes, like ravens r.
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 have seen, but think he was more
slender and graceful, and that his large, dark
eyes were gentler and had kindlier ex-
preston. -
Being anxious to learn more about this in-
teresting people, who, I 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-j
lage. the name of which I 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. j.
Mix, with whom had made warm friends
and who understood some English, for he
had been at the white school at Hilo for q
term, appeared to be much pleased at nv
coming. I found the village to consist Of !
about dozen or more huts, which at dis
lance looked like gigantic beehlves. 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
on stills. These hutS were scattered about
under a grove of cocoanut palms, and here
and there, like banks of burning yerdure
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 noticed
that all, even the old men, wore wreaths OF!
flowers about their heads, and some. of thI :
girls wore jackets, OF eapes, of flowers orr
many hues, which must have cost some labols
and could not last long; but, then, flowerss
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 Raphaels cherubs.j
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
to sleep, with carved piece of wood to be1
placed under the neck for a pillow, some
wooden pegs fastened in the post from which
to hang clothing; nothing more 4
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: ...k
''Whitey man! Supply now.''
I 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. I
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, /
and still others We're occupied in preparing
the great native dish called poi, which is i,
made from a 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 8
great deal of it. ia
I never enjoyed meal more than I did
that one. We had neither knives nor forks
and our spoons were made of cocoanut shellsl
or of the many beautiful sea shells to be-
found In such abundance along the shores.s
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 adjoin-
ing villages soon came trooping in. The slen.
der girls and youths were fairly draped in
flowers, and about the fountains of hameR
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 I
think I can say never saw SO happy and
merry a people. / I
The following morning at daylight was
awoke by the roar of the surf outside and !
the shouts and laughter of the people. : /
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 yards
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 spent with my Hawaiian :
friends look back upon as the happiest Of
my life. When left, Nix and his father,
accompanied me to Hilo. Here bought a.
suit of ready made clothes for the boy, of,
which he seemed very proud, but as hef
carried them away in a bundle instead of on
his back, l think he hung them up in his
fathers tent as curiosities and never wore
them. J
CAPTAIN Tom. q
- ~
Do not talk platitudes to a man who is
hungry. An empty stomach is a savage whom
no power except food can civilize. The most !
l1r., %I,+o ell