The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-02-26
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Home Life In Hawaii
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Mary H. Krout in Sydney Herald

~ " ~ - - ~ " ~ ~ ~ & ~ - ~ - ~ e 8
the perfect time of the singers. TIL
? frequent visits of warships. of til.
American and other navies, is also al
occasion of much entertaining, the cit.
2 liens of Honolulu giving a round O
: dinners, picnics and balls in honor o
, the officers, which they return by invi
taticns to dinners, teas and dances Oh
board
With the ordinary conventional en-.
, tertaining is the native feast, or luau
still in high favor amongst the wealthy
natives, for which the fish, pork, fow
and taro are cooked on hot stones il
an improvised oven, over which water
is poured, the earth being heaped
above it so that the steam may not
escape. The food cooks slowly, nearly
| twenty-four hours, each morsel OF
flesh being wrapped in ii leaf, which
gives it a delicious favor
The life on the great plantations is
delightful. In some respects il resem-
bles that upon the large Australian
stations, where every conner is made
! welcome-or was, in the old days. I
recently visited 'Molokoa," which must
+, not be confused with the leper island.
! Melokai, on the island of Kauai, which
lis deservedly called 1.-The Garden Is
land
! The estate contains 81, 900 acres of the
richest cane lands in the group, ana
1900 Iaborers are employed. 1t is own
/ ed by a stock company, most of the
stock being held by one family. The
/ whole country round about is a pic
! ture of high prosperity, in which all
share. While the estate yields annual
| ly an enormous revenue, millions of
| dollars have been spent in developing
! it, the most scientific methods having
been applied to the cultivation of the
cane. Annexation has interfered with
the labor. The Japanese. however, are
still largely employed. Men receive f6
dollars in gold month, a house, a
plot of land for a garden, upon which
they raise bananas and vegetables
large part of their food. They are also
supplied with the services of a physi-
clan free of charge, and there is a
model hospital, with trained nurses, to
which they may be sent when serious
lY i'll. Their children are given excel
lent instruction in the public schools,
which, in the buildings and tuition, are
fully equal to the best in the United
States, and this without money and
without price. Their religious opin-
ions are scrupulously respected, and
with the churches of the Christian con-
verts are the temples of those who still
adhere to Buddhism and Shintoism
The American families on the large
plantations live in a surprisinglys SIM
pie fashion. While there is nothing /
lacking that is necessary for comfort,
and the houses are tastefully and well
furnished, being lavishIy supplied with
books which are occasionally ordered,
so or 100 at a time, from the lists of
late publications, yet there is no osten-
tations luxury. People with equal in
comes in the United States, England,
or the colonies, would indulge in a
retinue of liveried servants, in equip
ages Of all sorts. Here there are
horses to spare, usually motor. but
carriages and American "buggies" and
"Surreys'' are plain and simple. The
reason is that immense sums are Civ
en- away, either to the needy, for the
education of promising boys and girls,
to educational institutions, In the
maintenance of the old and helpless,
in the support OF hospitals and
churches.
People travel a great deal, and there
is nowhere on the plantations anything
approaching the illiteracy still to be
found in some agricultural regions in
the United States, especially in the
south. One is impressed with the good,
grammatical English which one hears
though it must be confess
ed that the quick ear recognizes, now
and then, the familiar Yankee twang."
Horseback riding and swimming are
accomplishments, both sexes,
young and old, galloping up and down
trails steep as a roof. Nearly every
estate has it's deep, cold swimming
pool. which is a favorite resort early
in the morning, and to which guests
repair when they choose, properly
habited in bathing suits, which can
be supplied, of all sizes, at a moments
notice by the obliging hostess. Picnics
are a favOrite pastime, the picnickers
starting at daybreak for some pictures
que valley or favored beach. miles /
away, where there is probably a bum
galow in readiness for their accom-
mediation if they wish to remain over
night as they usually do. The veal |
thier classes often have several resi-
dences in the mountains, at the beach,
in or near the town, of which servants |
are left in charge, and which may be |
made ready for any number of guests
on short notice.
The amount of labor and money ex-
pended upon "Molokoa" has been
enormous. There are beautiful, smooth |
roads everywhere, water has been |
brought in pipes from a distance of |
thirty miles, tunnels constructed for |
the mains under the hills which, |
strangely enough, require no masonry |
except at the mouths One such tun- |
mel through which the water ~drips |
from overhead, has been in use for |
fifty years. Splendid iron bridges, sent |
out from the United States, and put |
in place by the laborers, span the deep