The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-07-24

The SHADOW OF uedlll sum hangs ONNA
Palolo Valley. The entire native pop
ulation of the valley seems as If it were
in the attitude of listening for the rus
tie of the wings of Azrael. In every
native dwelling in the entire valley
there is something to show that awe
and apprehension of mortality brood
there. Little pieces of red and white
cloth tackled up over the doors SNOW
it in some cases. Necklaces of ii leaves
worn as a charm show it in other cases.
In some instances it is only revealed
bv a subdued manner, and furtiVe REFER
ences to kahunas and anaana.
In striking contrast to this state OF
mind among the natives of the Valley'
is the stolid, unmoved demeanor of the
Chinese, who go about the ripening rice
fields shouting and firing their guns
TO scare away the devouring birds,
and the iconoClastic operations of the
Palolo Valley Improvement Company,
whose signs of seventh Avenue
"Tenth Avenue" and Lots for SAFE,
mark all over the lower part of the val
ley the march of the materlaIstlc SUI
urban tract diVider.
The cause of the somber sentiments
that weigh upon the natives, is tne
seeming mystery of the death OF SIX
people out of thirteen in three kuleanas
near the head of the valley since June
l. So heavily have these deaths weighed
serted their houses where the deaths oc-
curred. and are now living in house
nearer the mouth of the valley waiting
till opportunity offers to go to HaWall
where they have ancestral taro patches,
that so. far have been unmolested by
the spirit of death and evil
The deaths which have so disturbed
the quiet. isolated life of this charming,
but isolated region, as shown by the
records of the Board of Health, are as
follows:
June 9-Kaikuaana, girl, 10 years old,
acute nephritis, sick four days.
June 19-Pilipo, man, 40 years, single,
cirphosis of liver and nephritis, sick four
days.
July 3-Maka Kukona, male, SO years
old, fatty degeneration of the heart ana
percarditis, sick three days.
July 4-John KAPPA, male SO years OLD,
married, chronic intestitias nephrlta'
| sick seven days.
! July 6-Keoiai, male, is years old, SIN
gle. typhoid fever, sick three days.
July 1O-Malaka, female, aged Is
years, married, typhoid fever, SICK FOUR
days
Palolo Valley is the next valley be-
| vond Manoa and like the latter plerceS
almost to the heart of the range OF
mountains that separates the Koolau
side of the Island from this. Most OF
| the lower part of the valley is owned
by the Palolo- Valley Improvement
Company, which is now subdividing II
preparatory to selling suburban lots.
The head of the valley is government
land leased by the eX-Queen. OtheI
owners have parcels of land in the val
lev. and scattered throughout are q
number of kuleanaS owned ana occu-
pied by natives. The head of the valley
is cleft into two smaller valleys by d
bold headland spur from the mann
ridge of mountains High up in the
mountains is an old crater, now a per
ennial lake of water, from which a
stream breaks over into the farther OF
the two smaller valleys, and runs, g
noisy brook down the whole valley
watering the taro patches and rice
fields as it runs. In the other fork o
the valley is a smaller stream Whlcf
has it's source in spring near the heaC
of the valley.
The house in which the first deaths
occurred is near this second stream an(
about half a mile from the spring tina
feeds it, There is a small Nuleand her
fenced in on two sides by stone wall
There is an orange tree and mango
in the yard, and small patch )f sWee
- potatoes There are two houses on tn
kuleana. both small white painted
structures, now locked up and deserted
But over every door is nailed the tab
cloth of white and red. An irrigatlni
ditch runs through one corner of tn
kuleana, and it was from this, 1t i
said, the people got their water. Thi
kuleana Is at the left as you go up tn
valley. of the headland which divide
the valley, and near the foot of tn
headland.
About a furlong from this kuleane
and around the foot of this headland t
the right as you go up the valley, is tn
lluleana where the second death occur
red This is a small, dry, poorly cult
waited patch of ground, with no tree
on it of any size. The house is a sma
e one, raised about three feet from tn
'ground. An cave trough of bambo
G carries the water from the roof, whe
it rains, to a barrel setting on tn
ground at one corner of the porch.
e is said that the people used this raj
water for drinking purposes, except !
II dry weather when there was no rail-
In dry weather they got their waite
from the stream that breaks over tn
ridge from the crater lake Kaauhelt
moa. A trail down the hill from tn
house leads to this stream which is dis
tant twenty or thirty yards. This hous
like the others, has tabu cloths nalle
over the doors.
The third kuleana where these deatl