Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-17
sAkI AND ITS TERRoRS

Among other Joys that We acquire in
| taking over Hawaii" said the naval officer
with the very crooked. Mazatlan-made ci-
ger IN hIa teeth, lis saki. saki is not In
| qtgenous to Hawaii. 1t got there from
Japan. But 1t is there to stay. It is now
| an Hawaiian institution, is saki. 1t Is alb
| sorbed and assimilated by the whole Ka-
| naka population, in quantities to suit. APP
parently it does the Kanaka no harm.
but the first experience that a Caucasian,
a member Of the Indo-1ranic tribe white
| man. has with saki-
Regard me carefully. I have toyed with
most of the gloom dispelling liquids of this,
| my own native land. I have been thrown
| by few, IL any, of them. In moments of
eVll persuasion l have enveloped my quota,
and more. of that mesquite grass COM
| pound that burns black holes when poured
out on western deserts. 1t is manufac-
| tured in the morning; all that is not pur-
Feyed during the hours of business is
| dumped at night I have had my sad mo-
ments with sagebrush whisky. Pulque, the
juice or the cactus, has at times sub
merged me without making me utterly de-
PRAYED. That other liquid villainy of the
| west coast of America mescal, may have
maze me a sadder and wiser man, but
| IL never permanently damaged me. You
can tell me naught of vodka. l have had
my pannikins, one, two. three, hundred,
OF vodka; it never got me totally under.
The Chiantf of the wfne-dark Mediterra-
mean, the heavy, heady Oporto of Portugal,
with its dark-brown sediment at the bot
tom of the glass; the pellucid, undiluted
gin Of the Netherlands; the raisin brandy
OF the bland and simple Greek-all of these,
ana others, l have encountered, without
ever losing knowledge of the whereabouts
of the north star; but saki-.
1T was man named Doyle a court in
terpreter in Honolulu. who made me &C
a ha and lie
man of unimpeachable character and a
citizen of standing, 1 hereby consign him
to an inglorious Immortality for the wrong
he did me. Interpreter Doyle of the Ha-
waiian courts introduced me to sakf. Only
| one thing saved him when it was all over.
| He did not do it in Honolulu proper He
| did 1t in Waikiki, beach pleasure resort
| on the outskirts of Honolulu Had DOYLE
| right in the middle of the town of Homo
lulu-at one Of the clubs, say-introduced
| me to saki-
We were strolling around Waikiki one
Sunday afternoon. Said Doyle:
Now, with regard to saki-'
1t was bait, pure and simple, this allu-
SION OF Doyles to saki. He probably felt
that my intelligence was of low an or
| der that l would manifest desire to test
| saki and the virtues thereof 1 did mani
TEST such desire.
"A word about saki. 1t is the fermented
| juice of rice. 1t is a brownish white in
| color. 1t is very deceptive. 1t goes down
IKE the most innocuous kind Of Rhine wine
Which 1t resembles in taste. But YOU are
not supposed to gulp 1t down as you guIp
down Rhine Wine; otherwise-but laymen
do not know this; only Japanese and Ka-
hakaS ana court Interpreters and things
! Delightful, cooling drink said DOYLE.
| really DO not know how / should make
out without saki. At luncheon, every day,
| L take a quart of it. G,ntIy stinuiatinp
| positively none, you know, really Honest
| We took seats at table under a royal
palm, and the kanaka boy brought quart
bottle Of saki. I bemoan thac hour
" Perfectly harmless Doyls was saving.
Least harmless Of all liquids of that sort,
| saki, l should say. Honest
| L drank tall, thin glassful. 1t was re-
| freshing, truly-just bit TART snsppy and
comforting. Doyles stomach, unfortunate
| ly, was disarranged, he said, and So, 10.
| thanks he thought he'd not
| i took couple more glasses. A glow
| a mellow, rosy glow-the turquoise sea at
my feet-the rainbow arching above the
| Nuuanu gorge-that was ell.
| Just another word about saki. When
you go out, you go out all of sudden
| like fash-poof! and you are gone There
| is no gradual, foreseen approach.
My friend Doyle, the Interpreter snil-
| ing Indignantly, sat, with his legs crossed,
| at a. table that was 600 yards removed from
me. L remember that malignant smile very
| we'll. That was the last 1 did remember.
| Doyle was sitting beside my bed when 1
| came to, nineteen hours later, tho next
morning. Gentlemen, L decii2o to dwell
| upon that head These sad epochs il cur
lives are not for common scrutiny. Enough
| that had never before experienced any
tfing like it, nor have 1 ever since. DOYLE
was quite solcitous. 1 was in a hotel room
in Waikiki. Likewise, 1 was absent with
| out leave from my ship. But that WAS
nothing. The headi-the head. After had
| thrown everything throwable within reach
| OF the bed at Doyle, he began. First, I
| had whimpsred. and, in pitiable accents,
| lamented my sad life. Doyle had onjoyed
| that, apparently. Then 1 became suddenly
cheerful, and sang 'Starboard Watch, My
Boy, and that sort. Doyle said it was
| beautiful. Then l had become patriotic and
heroic. A speech-Doyle said 1 mads
| speech to the royal palms. When the Sails
OF our country shall Whiten the seas ETC..
| etc. Doyle said he hadn't thought it was
| in me, honest he hadn't. Then had fallen
state of the kanaka race. Then had Of
| fered to fight Doyle with one hand tied be-
hind my back-and then, the hotel. How l
| loved Doyle!
And yet wonderful saki. Doyle held mo
down by main strength and compelled me
| to take one swallow of 1t in oed. In less
| than three minutes-'It is a hair of the dog
| that bit you, with vengeance, said Doyle,
but you may trust me to know saki-I
| was better than normal. The head disap-
peared like a flash. In ten minutes l was
up and about. 1t was miraculous. l felt
magnificent. In acquiring Hawaii, gentle
| men
After that" said one of the naval Off
GERS listeners, you played according to
Doyle, and took a quart of saki every day
| for your luncheon?'
! The naval officer shuddered perceptibIy
and ignored the question.
l ~