The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-09-20
NO MORE 'COLORS" IN BATTLE.

Lord Wolseley recently wrote TO the
Dean of the Litchford Cathedral that
"colors'' would no longer be borne by
regiments while in action; cit would
be madness and a crime to order any
soldier to carry colors into action; "
that it would be as we'll to order the
soldier to be assassinated at once.
The fate-dea'ing rife and automatic
gun, in the hands of an unseen enemy,
take the color-bearer first. On this the
Daily Telegraph Oondon) remarks
that battles were much more pictur-
esque and interesting in those Ho-
meric times, when the foeman adj
dressed some highly-spirited remarks
to his adversary before commencing
| business, to which he responded with
| perfect and leisurely animosity, after
wards exchanging spears or arrows and
proceeding with great decorum to the
hand-to-hand combat"
The Telegraph is rather mean in con-
| fining that style of warfare to Ho-
meric times. 1t prevailed on these ISL
and, within century, and was the
usual mode of warfare. There are most
authentic traditions of Hawaiian
armies approaching each other at early
dawn. After "partaking of a hearty
| breakfast" after the manner of Grim
inals about to be executed, the lines
of bows and arrows faced each other
at short range. The speakers for the
occasion took their positions in adj
vance The warrior-orator on one
side, rising and bowling to his own
general turned and made an utterly
hideous face at the enemy, then after
making the usual announcement that
it was ''the proudest moment Of his
life" and that he "had been called on
unexpectedly" proceeded to skin"
the enemy in a speech. The Hawaiian
vocabulary was rich in shady idioms,
prolific in touching vulgarity, bur-
dened with epithets of obscene re-
proach. When "sixteenthly," or the
noon hour was reached, the rival arm
les retired for lunch, and the friends of
the orator congratulated him on his
having made it hot for those fellows"
After lunch, the armies again stood
solemnly in line, and the orator of the
other side advanced, bowed to his
chief, and also announced that it was
'the proudest moment of his life and
at once held up the other side to 1.-The
scorn of mankind and declared that
its baseness was unparalleled in hu-
man annals" and closed the debate
with a solemn appeal ''to the verdict
of history
After the prolonged debate, clothes
were removed by both armies, the
idols stationed in front, and the first
demonstration was the hurting, by the
most powerful singer of one army, of
a decayed animal or vegetable into the
ranks Of the other army. The battle
then came on. So the battle of Nuu-
anu was fought.
AS we are in the habit of saying that
these Islands will be the meeting point
of the great Eastern and Western civil
lizations, we infer that in due time war
will take place, and there will be scenes
of carnage here.
But there is no reason why the ma
tions should not agree that all battles
fought on our soil should be fought
in our own traditional method of COM
bat and under our local management
Manoa Valley will make an excellent
field. ga decisive battle will be fought
on the 10th of October between the
American and Chinese, in Manoa Val
ley. Hon. James H. Choate of New
York and other eminent speakers on
behalf Of the United States, will empty