The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-08

force as to make 1t q fact? L hope so, but
l believe the Southern States would re-
quire as condition that the islands of the
Spanish Main and all sorts of lands and
places be made also a portion of the
Union. Then the Northern States would
call aloud for Canada. All of which ought
to come, and / hope will come, in the
course of time, but the Hawaiian Islands
could hardly slip in alone, at least as they
now stand. So this continual talk of an
nexation by the little money-getting
oligarchy is simply blank nonsense.
The Queens lands alone which they
seized, brought her the best half of quar-
ter of million. The Honolulu Water
Works, perfected under the late King,
and being the property of the crown,
bring 100000 clear profit. The custom
house is mine of gold. But I set out to
talk Of the glory, not the shame, of the
islands and islanders.
The first thing European asks Cali
fornian about, as a general rule, is the
islands-our islands-out yonder beyond
the watch-towers of our Golden Gate, the
seas, the scenery, and then he asks if they
are still fighting there, as in South
America or Cuba. And then his voice
drops and in kindly key he asks about the
Iepers. Let US briefly consider these three
things in their order. The one and only
ocean, with long, strong, sweeping, gleam-
ing, glorious glide and swing of wave, is
this ocean that thunders at our doors.
You literally sleep and dream and dream
and sleep the full six days here where
''The spirit of God moved upon the face of
ha - %ha
seventh when you see the purple heavens
piked by lava-peaks to your right, and the
far lorn, gray levels of the leper island to
your left. Between these two you glide
into the dreamful harbor of Honolulu. with
rainbows above the town, clouds as white
as wool shepherded above the multiplying
rainbows, and away up and beyond the
scattered, silvery, drifting fecks upon the
sky, emerald fields of corn, fields so steep
below the laya-peaks that they look as
if they might roll up and slide down into
the banana and tamarind and mango and
algeroba set city of everlasting flowers.
This panorama alone is worth the voyage.
Rainbows and rainbows and rainbows! 1t
is the land of rainbows and the sea of rain
bows. Some are in completed circles, some
broad. some narrow as ribbons. The sud-
den showers, the trade winds, the wool
white clouds-these are the factors of the
phenomena Birdsl The birds not only
sing and ring and cling continuously, but
they simply roar as you pass through the
parks along the sea beach or above the city.
Up the sleeps and around the mountain
beyond the little corn fields set on edge
you ride under great beetling cliffs that
nd
hidden by snowy clouds. Down out of
these clouds. as if rooted in the heavens,
hang great, trumpet-laden vines. These
trumpets are yellow-brightert than bright
est gold-and they reach down out of the
clouds almost into your face, as If an in
visible and inaudible band of angels were
trumpeting a welcome from this cloud
built bastion of Gods house.
1t is said that Tennyson asked an Amer
lean, who had begged TO be presented,
how the first sight of Niagara Falls had
impressed him; that the American
answered that it was no longer the fashion
to visit Niagara, and so he had never been
there.
1t is further stated that this same
American instantly had a chance to meas
ure the length and latitude of Tennyson's
back.
We Californians cannot afford to ignore
our conservatory of flowers and our pam
Drama of rainbows out there in the warm,
sapphire waters, even if we want to, with
out being despised for doing it, as was that
vulgar American.
And now as to the wars. Will these I'M
warlike natives and the belligerent sons of
missionaries make another San Domingo
of the far, fair islands? Let US look at
their late great civil war. Two voluminous
histories have already appeared, published
by two little comic newspapers there-offi-
cial organs, both of them. My own his
tory is as yet unpublished; but l fought
and led all through that great and CORY
war of glory, and so when it does appear
please read it.
Captain Kidd led the infantry IN the first
hot days fight. 1t was the hottest of all
the fve-days war; for the mercury rose far
above par. King led the infantry. 1 led
the horse. He was borrowed horse and
[ had to lead HMM places where the
MOSQUITOES were thickest. The dead of
this day fighting were never counted. We
had no wounded. The enemy was five
miles away up a mountain; but still we
charged the enemy and the battle ragged
till we all went into the restaurant close
by. where the landlord had to charge us.
The second days fight was led by Cap
tain Smith. This time we got much nearer
to the fearful cannlbal foe-three miles
being my estimate. The only reason why
we did not utterly destroy the enemy was,
we did not have three-mile guns, for we
fred at him and he at us from morn to
dewy eve. No wounded on either side,
the dead not estimated.
On the third day the battle was resumed
as soon as we could get back to the battle
ground after bivouac at the hotel and a
breakfast on ham and eggs, at about the
same range and with the same fury.
AS night descended on the two contend
ing armies at about the same hour some
cattle passed within range of our park OF
artillery and three mich cows fell on the
field. When we came back from town to