The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-06-11
ONOLULT-Hawaii. abounds

IL ONOLULU-Hawai sbounds in
n folklore and Weird legends. The
land is believed to swarm with
gnomes and fairies, and the water with
nymphs and monsters. The simple
minded native, whose grandfather
would have backed away from a pair OF
pants like mustang shying at new
harness. tells US that the god of the air
carries around the wind in a calabash-
He sOIemnly relates that an immense
bird once laid an egg in the ocean,
which in time was Matched by the
tropic winds, ana thus the Hawaiian
Islands were created.
One Of the prettiest legends is that
OF the COcOa-Hut tree. The story goes
that a beautiful princess was very
much beloved by one of the chiefs who
WAS a noted athlete. He tried to
please her in every way, swimming
the lakes and bringing her rare flowers
and choice fruits from the other side
OF the island, but she would not listen
to his suit. He found life not worth
living without her. and expired from
the pain of his unrequited affection.
Before he died he said to the princess,
The time will surely come when you
viii kiss me of your own free will
Years afteTWard while the princess
was walking one day by the beach, her
attention was attracted to "A beautiful
towering tree of a new and strange
variety. Its tUfted head nodded proudly
IN the wind and her eager gaze was
centered upon its delicious fruit. An
attendant procured one of the great
green nuts for her, and as she was in
the act Of raising il to her lips, to
drink the milk. she heard a voice say
DO you embrace me with your own
free will?' The spirit of the prince
. NM
tree.
The Valley of Rain.
Another legend concerns the fair
valley of MaHoa, the place of daily
rain. tt was here. in the long ago, that
a lovely princess was murdered by her
lover because he thought she had be
trayed him 10 a god The maiden was
really innocent of the charge and
rather than take revenge for her muir
der the gods deCreed that a gentle rain
should fall daily in the place where she
had died, the sparkling drops of
moisture representing the tears of the
angels and the graCes Of the departed
Ilaiden- This valley is one of the most
f rifle in the region of Honolulu. all
OV ing to the fact that the memory of
the gentle princess is kept green by the
constant fall of rain.
Still another story deals with the
the hog. Iris animal was not always
a lowly beast content to root in the
mud and forage for the sake Of its ap-
petite 1t once had the power to roam
the possessions of kings and live upon
the milk Of the land. One bold ruler
came to grief by sending his followers
forth to give battle to the hog and
destroy it. When approached the ami
NAL seemed dOcile enough and was led
away an unTeSiSting capI-Ve- When
the gOd-fOr the hog was really that
in those old days-judged he had gone
q proper distance he suddenly turned
and tore his CaptOrs to pieces. After
this he was treated like a hero and for
centuries was regarded as one of the
countTy's greatest warriors. This
yarn about the hogs proves as a
fighter. if II takes a notion, has been
handed down TO pOsterity as a warn
ing to all persons to approach this
much priced animal with caution
Why the Volcano Cooled.
Another pretty legend is that con-
corning the fire goddess, who lived in a
volcano. She was the most beautiful
woman on the earth. and yet she kept
alive the blazing hell that smouldered
IN the belly of the mountain. threaten
ing the lives Of all the inha bitants
TOunda bout One day she took jour
ney to a far-off mountain to rest her
self, Soon after her arrival she was
disturbed by the tum tum Of drum
She looked about and found that it
was being beaten to keep time for a
prince who was dancing the hula. She
straightway took part in the gaiety
by singing the refrain to words of her
own composition
The prince was naturally surprised
and enchanted by the appearance of
the beautiful singer When the song