The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-10-10
.SAkI 4 TERROR
So Relates a Navy Officer
Who Mixed With 1t.
How He Was Inveigled at Waikiki
Fell Into Trap Warns All
People of the Liquor.
washington Starr

Among other joys that We acquire in
taking over Hawaii" said the naval Off
Ger with the very crooked, Mazatlan-made
cigar in his teeth, lis sakf. Saki is not
indigenous to Hawaii 1t got there from
Japan. But il is there to stay. 1t is now
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 Caucasian,
a member of the Indo-Iranic tribe, a
white man, has with saki-
Regard me carefully. 1 have toyed
with most of the gloom-dispelling liquids
of this, my own native land. l have been
thrown by few, II any, OF them. In mo-
ments of evil persuasion / have enveloped
my quota, and more, of that mesquite
grass compound that burns black holes
when poured out on western deserts. II
is manufactured in the morning; all that
is not puryeyed during the hours OF bus
mess is dumped at night. L have had my
Pulque, the juice of the cactus, has at
times submerged me without making me
utterly depraVed. That other liquid vii
lainy of the west coast of America. mes
cal, may have made me q sadder and a
damaged me You can tell me naught of
vodka. L have had my pannikinS, one,
two, three. a hundred, of vodka; il never
got me totally under. The Chianu of the
wine-dark Mediterranean, the heavy,
heady Oporto of Portugal, with its dark
brown sediment at the bottom of the
glass: the pelluClQ. unulluted GIN OF the
Netherlands; the raisin brandy of the
bland and simple Greek-all of these, and
others, have encountered, without ever
losing knowledge of the whereabouts OF
the north star; but Saki--
1T a man named Doyle. court
interpreter in Honolulu. who made me
acquainted with saki. While he was and
is a man of unimpeachable character and
citizen of standing, l nearby consiSn
him to an ingloriouS immortality for the
wrong he did me. Interpreter Doyle OF
the Hawaiian courts introduced me to
saki. Only one thing saved him when II
was all over. He did not do ii in Homo
lulu proper. He did it in Waikiki, a
beach pleasure resort on the outskirts of
Honolulu. Had Doyle right in the mid
die of the town of Honolulu-at one of
the clubs, say-introduced me to Sakt --
Sunday afternoon. Said Doyle:
. Now with regard to saki--
1T was bait; pure and simple. this al
felt that my intelligence was of so low
an order that l would manifest desire
to test salli and the virtues thereofk did
manifest such desire.
"A word about saki. 1t is the ferment-
ed juice of rice. 1t is a brownish white
in color; 1t is very deceptive. It goes
Rhine wine. which it resembles in taste.
But you are not supposed to gulp it down
but laymen do not know this-only Jap
anese and kanakas and court interpreters
- Delightful, cooling drink said Doyle
L really do not know how l should make
out without saki At luncheon, every day,
L take a quart OF it. Gently stimulating,
you know, and no after effect whatever
positively none, you know, really. Hon
est
I'VE took seats at table under a royal
palm, and the Kanaka boy brought a
quart bottle of saki. L bemoan that hour.
ing. Least harmful of all liquids of that
sort, saki, / should say. Honest
dFnnk tr tau 5en bt tar I
and comforting. Doyle's stomach, un-
fortunately, was disarranged, he said,
and so, no, thanks, he thought he'd not
Il took "a couple more glasses. y glow
a mellow, rosy glow-the turquoise sea at
my feet-the rainbow arching above the
Nuuanu gorge-that was all.
Just another word about saki. When
you go out, you go out all OF sudden
There is no gradual, foreseen approach.
My friend Doyle, the interpreter, smil-
ing malignantly. sat, with his legs
moved from me. ! remember that maltS-
nant smile very well. That was the last
Doyle was sitting beside my bed when
came to, nineteen hours later, the next
morning. Gentlemen, L decline to dwell
upon that head. These sad epochS in our
lives are not for common scrutiny.
Enough, that I had never before eXper-
fenced anything like it, nor have / ever
since. Doyle was quite solicitouS. / was
in hotel room in Waikiki. Likewise, !
was absent without leave from my ship.
But that was nothing. The head.-the
head, After l had thrown everything
throwable within reach of the bed at
Doyle, he began. First, / had whimpered.
and, in pitiable accents. lamented my sad
life. Doyle had enjoyed that, apparently.
Then | became suddenly cheerful and
sang 'Starboard Watch, My Boy, and
that sort. Doyle said il was beautiful.
Then L became patriotic and heroic. y
speech-DOyle said made a speech to
the royal palms. When the sails of our
country shall whiten the seas etc, etc.
Doyle said he hadn't thought il in
me, honest he hadn't Then l had fallen
into dismalness, and bemoaned the sad
state of the Eanaka race. Then 1 had
offered to fight Doyle with one hand tied
behind my back-and then, the hotel How
L loved Doyle,
And yet, wonderful saki! Doyle held
me down by main strength and compelled
me to take one swallow of il in bed. In
less than three minutes-'It is a hair OF
the dog that bit you. with a vengeance
said Doyle, but you may trust me to
know Saki-I was better than normal.
The head disappeared like n flash. In ten
minutes 1 was up and about. 1t was
miraculous. 1 felt magnificent. In ac-
quiring Hawaii, gentlemen-
After that" said one of the naval Of
ficer's listeners, you played according to
Doyle, and took quart of saki every