The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-29
MARINE

Where else on earth but in Honolulu,
does stranger and friend alike receive
more cordial Godspeed aboard de-
parting ocean liner3 Where else, but
in Honolulu, do they load stranger and
friend alike with garlands of the sweet
est blossoms of valley and hillside un-
til the steamer rails present a kalei-
doseopic color scheme worthy of the
painters brush} Where else, but in
Honolulu, does the government band,
once at the beck and cali of successive
monarchs and rulers of the islands,
render concert program upon the
wharf and give so beautiful musical
sendoff to the departing ones9 Where
else, but in Honolulu, do friends and
strangers alike stream upon the steam
er s decks to place leis around the
necks of the travellers, leis that have
no equals the world overG Where else,
but in Honolulu does the population,
almost en- masse, week in and week out,
year after year, wend its steps toward
the wharf where the big liners tug at
their moorings ready to depart for the
mainland, to watch the departing for
Inmates until only mass of color and
waving handkerchiefs IS scent
Wender is often expressed by strang-
ers at the enthusiasm manifested by
Honolulans over the departure of
steamers, especially those bound for
the Coast. They wonder that as each
steamer comes in and prepares to leave,
the people remember the occasion, rath-
er than find it monotonous But it's
always the same, rain or shine, week
day or holy day, the crowds are always
there and the flowers are always there,
and the music, and the waving hand
kerchiefs and the shouts of "Alohas,
to strangers and Hawaiians alike, the
most musical, sentimental farewell ever
heard.
And yesterday when. the big Pacific
Mail steamship Mongolia, which arriv-
ed in the forenoon from Yokohama and
was preparing to leave for
San Francisco at half past five in the
evening, it was the same old scene. If
it was monotonous thing, something
that Honolulans had been accustomed
to for years, nobody knew it. The
farewell was there in all its freshness,
just as fresh as the fragrant blossoms
of the lima, the carnation, the rose, the |
violet and the plumaria, daintily gath |
cred into wreaths. All afternoon up |
to half past three there was only the
sordid commercial aspect to the steam |
er, the dock and the people, as the big
booms swung from matches to the side |
End dumped huge slingfuls of merchan,
disc to the dock, while the gaping |
ports gave forth streams of boxes and
casks. That was the commercial side
with the ching chug of the steam
winches. the creak of the beoms, the |
rasp of the steel guys as they rubbed |
the sides of the hull, the shrill whistle
of the head stevedores, the SCOT and |
smell Then a messenger boy came
with his arms full of leis. Then came |
who had travelled all the t
way from the Orient, and who had fall |
en- victims to the spell of the Hawai-
ian custom of wearing leis upon hats
and persons. Here and there along the |
rail a passenger leaned, garlanded and
happy. Then came hacks and autos, /
first in twos and threes, then almost by
dozens until one end of the wharf was
filed with vehicles and from each came
Iei-laden passengers and local people
with more leis. Up the gangway they
went, steady stream, leis, people, suit
eases, boxes, more leis, leis again and
bouquets until the ship seemed filed
with animated gardens. Leis every
where. The sonorous whistle blew its
warning for .Eeverybody ashore but
Adieus. Kisses. EN-
braces More kisses-and, tears, but
kisses again. Sometimes it was hus,
band and wife, sometimes just half
lozen women and then just sweethearts,
but it was always leis and kisses and
els. Down goes the gangplank, while
The leader of the band batons the must
.ians through the German national an
hem, the japanese national air, "God
Save the King" Down Upon the
Suwanee River" and Dixie" (tre-
nendous shouting and cheers), "Aloha
)e' and tears, and just as the bow
ylides past the end Of the wharf the
martial strains of ''The Star spangled
Banner" follow the departing cues and
little American flag is waved over
he rail and-f Alohal'
The Mongolia took away nearly a
hundred passengers, or strictly speak
ng about ninety. Many young people