St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-07-13

'NSSo hut1 VI tiic IullClle western states.
Tire root is something like long beet,
and when boiled and mashed the pulp is
poi--a Whitley yellow batter at first, later
sort OF sour paste. 1t operates homu-
opathically, SO to speak-that is, it builds
up dllapidated constitution surprising
ly, but if used exclusive of any othey
food it Injuries the health. There is no
particular danger Of any American or
Englishman using the native style of it
to excess, for it is emphatically nasty
Decently prepared, however, it is quite
palatable. Local statisticians say that
one acre Of it will furnish yearly bread
for 5000 men-a pleasing statement
which, regret to say, do not believe.
Fish is said to be the proper corrective
to take with poi, and fish also are abun-
dant. Early visitors say the Kanakas
formerly ate them raw and at the soon
est possible moment after killing them.
Indeed it was thought luxury to begin
to gnaw on the tail before the head was
dead. At any rate the hungry native
took the fish as it came from the water,
hastily ran knife from gill to tail, tore
out the entrails and at once fell to eat
ing, and there is story that when the
first Kanakas were taken to be presented
to the king of England they behaved
quite handsomely till they saw some fish
in little aquarium in the royal apart
ment. Their appetite overcame them.
Men and women alike fell on the finny
prey, tore and devoured it with the savage
yum-yum of appeased hunger, and de-
clared in choice Kanaka that it was their
first square meal" since they left Homo
lulu.
They tell many hard stories like this
about the former Hawaiians, but as
saw nothing of the kind | will continue
to hope they are not true. If it was true,
as the first visitors said, that the parents
killed all their children above two or three;
that methods Of "check" were used which
soon proved fatal to half the women;
that thousands Of men were killed in the
saturnalia following kings death, and
thousands more were sacrificed or eaten,
how did the population get so large?
Why so much greater than now, when
none Of these things are done? cannot
help suspecting that there has been ex-
aggeration.
There is peace and good fellowship
enough now. There are social enjoyment
and ease and joyousness and feasting
enough now. Everywhere this is true,
but especially in Honolulu. There the
slant eyed Chinaman and the darker
Malay, the very fair Englishman, dark
Portuguese and medium American, the
smooth brown Kanaka and the rough
brown Samoan jostle each other good
humoredly in the streets and even prac-
tice sort of social equality unthought
of in the United States. During my stay
there King Bill was even as one of us in
many an excursion, and at poi suppers
it was not very uncommon to meet ma
tive ladies got up regardless" in silk
and delicate pongee done in the lite
back" style, and wearing the monster
chignons which were the fashion 90
years ago.
Of all our pleasure excursions those to
the Waikiki beach for bathing by moon
light were the most pleasant. and the
requirements in costume were much the
same as at Long Branch. Back in the
secluded districts, however, the native:
of both sexes took to the water without
the formality of putting on suits
The Kanakas are described by scientists
as belonging to the Polynesian branch
of the Malay race" which means, take
it, that they are Malays modified by long
residence among many islands" polu
nesia), and therefore swimming is about
as natural to them as walking to us
Brigham Young told me just before
left Salt Lake City that they were like
the American NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Of
the ancient Israelites who had "back
slidden" and been cursed and turned
dark accordingly. If so, they have slid
den back great deal further than they
are ever likely to slide forward again.
And this makes it fitting to close with
few words ON the political question
This is not the first time by several that
Hawaii has in a measure been revo
lutionized. From 1880 or thereabout,
to 1913 it was sharply commended for by
various powers. In 1889 the French
compelled King Kamehameha III to pay
large sum in gold and held the king
dom in duress till it was done. The
American merchants raised and paid the
money, and thus saved the kingdom fol-
the time. In 1S42 the British consul
Richard Charlton, and Lord George Pau
letoverthrew the kingdom in effect, com
PEELED the king to retire to the mountain
forests and raised the British flag.
The Americans however, prevailed
upon the British cabinet to annul these
acts And if Hawaii is now annexed
what?
The Kanakas are about as well qualified
to run republican government as sc
many school children of the intermedi
ate grade The boys of any English Oh
, American high school are ten times bet
ter qualified The Chinese are not ever
, to be thought of as voters. Equally Sc
, all the other dark peoples. The Portu
guese are somewhat better. Evidently
, if annexed, Hawaii-Nei cannot be state
or even territory. The 18th amend
ment must be ignored from the start
and such must be the condition for hal
century at least. In short, the an
nexed region must be an absolute de
tendency, ruled like a British crown