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

MAP OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
nounced exactly like long ! in line and
prime as a in fate, as ee in feel. u as
90 in COO and all other letters asin English.
When ii follow a vowel, the first is
sounded with that vowel and the second
alone Thus Hawaii is Hah-wy-ee, ac-
cented on the second syllable.
1t is the consonants which make the
trouble. To say that the language has
no constant consonants would be scarce
ly an exaggeration. The vowels are al
ways pronounced clearly and strongly,
in many cases with real lingering
sweetness, but not so the consonants.
In fact, if clear voiced talker should
omit the consonants entirely, native
would generally understand him. One
must listen carefully to distinguish be-
tween and l. between and k, and so
OF many other doubles, and in the older
works on the islands one finds the names
thus spelled inditferently as taro or
kalo, Kilauea or Tirauea, or more COM
monty Kirauea, Pele, Tele or Kele, etc.
My first lessons were in the Book OF
Mormon" my local mentor being a mis-
sonary of that persuasion and this
book, unlike most, loses nothing in trans
lation The spirit of the original could
not evaporate, as Max Muller puts it, be-
cause in English the book is APPLY de-
scribed as "chloroform in print" hope
lessly dull. Nevertheless the Mormons
have done wonderful work on the is
lands, and this would be one of their
strongest outposts if their converts had
not, Kanaka fashion, died off SO rapidly
In Utah is an extensive family of Nebe-
kers, cousins, believe, of the present
United States treasurer. One OF these
did so good work in Kauai that his
most talented converts took his name.
After my return to Salt Lake City
heard one of these Kanaka Nebekers de-
liver an address there in his native
tongue which returned missionary
translated, and though by no means an
expert in Kanaka ! understood enough
to realize 6lat that interpreter was phe-
nomenally brilliant liar.
The American missionaries reached
the islands in 1920 and soon had the ma
tive speech reduced to a written Ian
guage. Now every adult Kanaka can
read and write. Some 300 books have
been published in the language, and the
Kanaka journals are read by every one
Bearing in mind the rules above given
the reader will easily see that Oahu is
pronounced O-ah-hoo; Maui, Novice
Kilauea, Kee-low-a-ah Liliuokalani
Observation-Disclosures, and so on of al
other places and persons. The main is
land gives a name to the whole grouI
with the addition of Nei Nay-ee), a wore
signifying union, or the whole; hence
the official designation of the kingdom
is Hawaii-Nei.
Hawaii is nearly twice as large as al
the other islands together, but Oahu i
politically the most important, having
the capital and by far the best harbor il
the islands, and Kauai is rather the mos
advanced in agriculture. | did not know
the reason of this till found it out, an,
was quite suddenly put in the way O
finding it out at Hilo, in Hawaii. 1t wa
a perfectly lovely day, and was writing
and lounging by turns when there cam
strange culver; my inkstand dance
over the table like quicksilvered to-
man, felt sudden nausea, there was
grinding sensation in the very ligh
frame walls, and subsequent proceed
ings interested me no more" in tina
room-for was in the middle of tn
street with several other people.
J was over in a minute. Then every
J body laughed and pointed out that eve
, if one of these houses fell on fellow
: would not hurt him much, for they AZ
; very light in structure. Heavy ston
: buildings are all very well for Oahu an
, Kauai, and will barely do in Maui an
Molokai, but not in Hawaii.
! The explanation is, to my mind, yer
J curious. The islands were all built u
, by volcano and earthquake. Nature b,
, gan the job at the northwest end of tn
! chain with some small islands, mel
: rocky peaks as she moved southeas
t ward she built up successfully larger i
t lands, and she is still at it--intends
, keep at it, the rock sharps" say, till 81
/ makes a real island continent. Viii
she is building an island it is of cour
powerful uneasy and mighty unce
s tain," but when she has finished it
t settles down to aquiet maturity. Hem
n the comparative steadiness of Oahu al
@ Kauai hence the instability of Hawaii
# Only five years before my visit the
: was Pele to pay in that island. Pele
IS the native devil Of Hawaii, or devile
II rather, for it is female) For mar
It days together the whole island shoe
1t like giant in an ague fit. The prop
II etor of the hotel at the Kilauea GRAFT
d said in letter to the Honolulu Adve
s. tiser that "Pele sent Rodman 20-in,
e. shot with such precision that it stru,
30 the ground within an inch Of my bed.