The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-09-20


carry passengers or freight to and
from the steamers at the various land
ings is done altogether by the native
HawaiIanS. This is a hazardous en-
ployment, requiring skill, courage, and
hardihood.
81 have seen these brave men battle
for hours in wind, rain and angry seas,
to effect a landing at some dangerous
points; / have seen their boats cap
sized and crushed on the rocks along
the shore, but so skillful are the boats
men that seldom is one of them
| drowned. / have often braved the
| dangers of the sea with an Hawaiian
| crew, at landings and in surfs where
| nothing could tempt me to try it with a
| crew of white sailors They swim like
| fish, and the capsizing of a canoe or
boat is a matter of Indifference to
| them. They are the only deep-sea
| fishermen, and often go in their frail
canoes out of sight of land, but rarely
| fail to return.
| The almost exclusive food which the
| natives depend upon for obtaining the
muscular strength above referred to, is
taro, the national s'staff of life' of.
| Hawaii. This food has the great adj
vantage of being both cheap and fat
| tening.
Taro is a plant that has claim on
the attention of physical culturists by
reason of the fact that in many re-
| spects it is an ideal food.
1t is a perennial plant, the stalk of
which grows from one to three feet
| high, having leaves resembling very
| closely those of the Gala lily, and a
| large root looking somewhat like a
| yam, or more like an artichoke.
The plant grows in very rich black
soil, which is flooded periodically, Just
| like the rice fields of our Southern
| States
The root requires from twelve to
| eighteen months to mature, and is rich
in phosphoric acid and potash, accord
| ing to the analysis of taro made by Mr..
A. B. Lyons, formerly government
chemist for Hawaii.
The meal of taro, as now purchasable
in the U. s.. markets, contains only
trifie over II per cent. of water and 81
per cent. of nutrition. The fuel value
to the human body of one pound of
raw taro varies from 400 to 695 calo-
ries, according to the quality of the
taro, whereas, the fuel value of one
pound of taro meal amounts to 1000
calories.
Dy way Oh comparison UHe Iuol value
of one pound of Irish potatoes amounts
to only 375 calories, peas 200, sweet
potatoes $50, and whole wheat flour
1915. Whole wheat flour contains
about II per cent. of water, or the same
as taro meal, SIS of nutrition, or
slightly less than taro meal, trife
more fat, II per cent. less of carbohy-
drates and ~ per cent. less of mineral
matters. This plain and easily COM
prehensible comparison will illustrate
the great nutrition value of the food.
Hon. George r. Carter, Governor of
Hawaii, in a recent communication
made the following statement regard
ing taro: For many years not only
the natives, but all those who have
lived in the Hawaiian Islands have |
recognized the products of taro to be |
soothing to delicate stomach and |
easily digested. ] have always believed |
that if this nature food could be sup
piled to those who are suffering from |
Indigestion, or who can not find food |
which can be assimilated, taro in some |
properly prepared form would, in many
eases, prove blessing
The following remarks are taken |
from the writings of DR.. G. III. Pearson,
author of the very popular =" Cabin en-
the Prairie, " and Young Pioneers:
We say we are educating and Chris
tianizing the Sandwich Islanders (Ha
waiians), but possibly we are to learn
from them the sensibleness and value
of a less artificial and complex diet
Anglo-Saxons eat not to build up the
body, but to tickle the palate Too
many kinds at meal, and too much
fused up which means too painstaking
care to the good wife, expense to hard
working husbands, and dyspepsia for
the pampered stomach Should taro in
some shape or the other prove an ac-
ceptable diet to US as people, how it
would simplify the menu, and how
much money it would save
One of the most interesting sights
the physical prowess of
these Hawaiians is on the wharves at
which the great steamers arrive and de-
part. The passengers on these boats
nave a custom of throwing money into
the sea so that the Kanaka boys may
dive for it. 1t is an inspiring sight to
watch these youths with beautifully
formed, bronzed bodies plunging and
swimming with the grace and ease of I
fishes, apparently as much at home in
the water as on the land. And they
rarely fail to recover the submerged
coins.
The climate of Honolulu is perfect.
The windward parts of the Islands are
always cool. 1t is favorable to white
people who have sense enough to change
their dietetic habits to suit the de-
mands of the climate. Still many of
those who settle upon the island con-
tinue to eat three heavy meals daily,
including much meat. AS a conse-
1uence digestive disorders set in and
he trouble is attributed to the climate.
'ather than to the folly of the suffer
ers. The diet of the Hawaiians should
BE adopted more or less by those peo-
Die who intend to live in the Hawaiian
stands. The food of these people is, I
is has been intimated almost wholly
arc and, in smaller degree. fish.
Hawaii is land of delight for those
Who would settle in a country where I
Nature is at her best and where the
-rowth of eVervthin needed for cloth