The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-24

tropics, they give Honolulu the ap-
pearance of q land of country villas.
Even the Chinese and Japanese have
dwellings and environments that ap-
peal to the artistic taste. And why
not? Land is cheap; airy. graceful, pa
goda-like structures suit the climate
and do not rob the purse, while ma
ture's landscape gardening can not he
surpassed. A tiny palm is thrust into
the ground, and rain and sunshine do
the rest. Before one is tired of wait
ing, a slender. smooth trunk springs to
goodly height, and bears a head
dress of plumes and a necklace of CO.
coanuts.
Since the republic was formed in Ha-
wall the business part of Honolulu has
grown fast. A number of commercial
blocks worth $4,000 and $4,000 have
been erected. Most of them are but
two stories high, for no one in this
land of rest and siestas is going to be
induced to climb stairs, besides, as we
have said before, land is cheap. The
street scenes always interest visitors
here. White duck suits and Panama
| hats, the latter ribboned with delicate
| shades of silk, and muslin dresses
| with wide -brimmed leghorn hats,
are common among the upper classes,
and given an equatorial glamour to the
| passing show. The prevalent Kanaka
male is picturesque in straw hat
| hound with flowers or peacock feath-
| ers, a negligee suit with floral circlets
| hung about the shoulders, his feet un-
shod and his attitude supremely rest
| full. The female native wears a bright
colo~ed Mother Hubbard gown, a
wreath of flowers which is called leis,
| and she, too, goes barefooted. She is
| always neat and never without a
| wreath of flowers or vines about her
| head or waist. No one accuses her or
prudishness, and she is likely to have
an unappehsable appetite for poi, raw
fish and the hula dance. Quite often
she eats 50 much poi and so little of
| anything else that she becomes af-
f1icted with incurable sores and dies be-
fore her time. Death, in truth, has
held high carnival in these islands
since Captain Cooks men landed. The
Kanaka had enough of his own way OF
dying, but Christendom gave him many
more. Because of gin, licentiousncss
and the kahuna doctors, his race is
fast passing eff the stage.
COSMOPOLITAN.
Then there are on the streets people
from every oriental nation. japanese
merchants and policemen, Chinese
laborers, peddlers and 'horsemen
Siamese fishermen, planters from thu
Philippine Islands, British and Ameri
can men, Of war 's-men, and tourist.
from every civilized country. There are
hundreds whose nativity it is hard t.
trace. Not infrequently intermarriag
occurs between Chinese and Kanakas
Japanese and Portuguese, Americans
and half-caste native women, and tn,
issue is sort of composite which, 1
must be confessed, is often an improve
ment on the mated types.
1t is not the class that determines
| ones standing in this cosmopolitan
| Hawaii, but his diet. The a.rstocrati
may dine on oysters from Chesapeake
Bay, on mushrooms from the South o
France and sip Mumm's extra dry; tn
British have their roasts of beef ever.
day. Notwithstanding the warm tom
perature; the Chinese confine their die
, to rice and the Portuguese have al
manner of dishes reeking with garli
and chilis. For the Kanaka there
abundant poi, an edible that might pas
: for bill posters paste five days old
/ dried and smoked squid, cooked sea
weed, raw mullet, poi, dog roaste
in ii leaves and a combustible drin
made from the fermentation of a roc
after 1t has been chewed by native wo
men, comprise the real delcacies of tn
Hawaiian cuisine. For the Japanes
and their cousins of the flowery king
dom the island supplies rice and shark
) fins. Tons of home products for tn
, Oriental table arrive on every steame