Evening star., 1897-06-07

the exact point on the front of the combing
wave. where it will be impelled forward 1T
highest speed. A swift rush of a fourth
mile IL the beach may thus be made in d
few moments with the tossing comb Of the
wave overhanging the stern. The charge
for this sport is 81 an hour, time enough
for several repetitions of the ride. Very
rarely might one get upset by a careless
stroke of the paddle. But the kanakas are
like fish in the water. aud never let any
ore drown The canoes are followed from
single logs, beautifully modelled and
snloothed. with light outrigger. This
sport is becoming very popular.
The practice of surf riding has become
nearly obsolete in these islands The ma
tives came to prefer horses to surf boards,
and now are taking to bicycles Up to
fifty years ago, before horses became
cheap, one could find no beach with outer
surf near a village where at any time
many might not be seen at this play, of
both sexes and all ages. With the long.
thin board of rounded ends under the arm
:hey breasted the waves to the outer surf.
diving momently under each great breaker
as it smote down upon them, and so cvad-
ing its crushing blow. When outside.
watching for a wave at the first moment
of its combing. the rider mounts his board
lying face downward on the front OF the
billOw, and with n few sharp thrlst5 of
hands and feet gets in motion Oh the
mighty comber, which shoots him forward
to the shore. 1t was very lively, and to
stranger an exciting. spectacle to see the
riders thus come flying in on the high green
fronts Of the great combers, with the wa
ter squirting aside from the fronts of their
boards as from the stem of swift ship.
After the first start, which had to be
made in a recumbcnt posture, SO as to ply
hand and foot in the water, it was usual
for all practiccd operators to rise into at
least a crouching posture on hands and
knees on the boards. The more skilled
would rise to an erect posture, standing
the board as they shot forward, guiding it
unerringly by automatic muscular action,
like q practiced cyelist with mis- arms
locked. This ''hee nalu.' or wave sliding,
was the favorite sport of royal princes as
well as of the common people. In the en-
trance of the Bishop Museum are two i'm
mense planks carefully shaped to thin
edges. which were the favorite surf boards
of the royal chiefs at Lahaina sixty years
ago. They are made of the cork-like will
will (weely weelD wood. very rarely found
of such size. Their royal riders We're men
and women of great stature, like all the
chiefs, and averaging 300 pounds apiece.
Shark Hunting.
Very rarely sharks attacked the bold
surf players. The natives had small fear
of these wolves and tigers of the sea,
being more than match for them if on
their guard. When bitten it attrib-
uted to having given offense to the shark
god. The oath most feared that
sworn by the Mana, shark. who never
IOrSaNe tne NlOldtOT, Dut slew MIN the
next time he entered the sea. Not long be-
fore the discovery of the islands a gay
young prince on Maui had his hand bitten
off while surf riding, and died of the
wound. He was said to have broken his
oath. The common sharks are of moder-
ate size, and easily killed by an active
diver, who gets under them. There are,
however, occasionally met larger class of
sharks, called NUM-, which We're objects of
superstitious fear. and became also OBJ
jects of the hunting prowcss of famous
chiefs, who baited for them with human
flesh.
| lately talked with an educated native,
a prominent official, who narrated at
length his experience when boy in trap
ping sharks outside of the reef at La
haina. His father was the chief operator.
He would go out in his canoe with his boy
and another man. When over the regular
sleeping place of the sharks he would put
his to the water and listen for their
snoring. 1t seems that when asleep their
gills emit the water with a strong vibra-
ton. Having located the shark, the fisher
mar dove with a strong cord. Very care
fully excarating the sand without disturb
ing the fish, he quietly passed the cord
under the tail and noosed it. Then rising
to the surface, all halls pulled the un-
happy shark to the canoe. stern first and
dispatched him. Some of our white friends
were at first a little incredulous, but sew
eral intelligent natives present emphati-
cally corroborated the truth of the prac-
tice described.
Every one knows that PolyneSanS are
all expert swimmers, because, being island
ers, they live near the sea. Do you know
why all quadrupedS swim without teach
ing, while all men naturally drown. unless
previously taught how to float? The rea-
son OF the difference is perfectly simple
cne The human being. finding himself in
deep water, instinctively reaches up for
help. He gets his hands above the water,
and in consequence his head goes under,
because his specific gravity is so little
above that of water that only the upper half
of his head can keep above the surface. If
the hands are put out the head must 20
under. Ii the drowning man would reso-
lute1y keep everything below his nose un-
der water his nose would float above, and
he would be safe. But he instinctively
reaches up, and therefore browns
But why does not the beast do the same
thing and also drown? Simply because he
can't. The adjustment of the Quadruped's
shoulders is such that he has no power to
reach above his head. So he keeps his
snout out of water by instinct, at the same
time his feet naturally paddle and propcl
him forward. About the best way to learn
to swim is to wear light float or life pre-
server into the water for few days until
you are familiar with the movements of
propulsion, and also with the sustaining
power OF the water. To learn in this way
is extremely easy, and swimming ought
for safety's sake, to be made a part of
every ones education. How many not
only drown themselves, but also drag down
those who try to rescue them!
KAMEHAMEHA.