The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1909-12-02

tensively cultivated by the native
called the taro. The baked root OF
this plant is pounded into a moist
paste. thinned down 10 the consistency
of one, two, or thrce.finger poi. and
| allowed TO ferment or sour" just a
| little. II Is then put into large
calabash and served" II reasonably
thick one can carry mouthful from
| the calabash on one finger, II very
thin, II takes three. Knives forks and
spoons form no part of the native $
household possessions and none was
furnished us at the luau (native FEAST
that was given IN honor Of our party
by the Mayor of Honolulu, in which
1000 citizens. natives and others par.
ticipated. With our fingers We ate poi,
fruit, and fish. and many Hawaiian
delicacles, and enjoyed the feast i'm.
menscly As no finger bowls were fur.
nishcd after the luau. the ocean.
nearby, was well patronizcd by those
of us who had not learned the knaCk
Of getting it all off. The dishes were
all cooked In true Hawaiian fashion.
in pit IN the ground 4 lot of stones
are heated rcd.hot and put In the bot.
tom If the pit The article to BE-
cooked is then wrapped in II leaves
and put on the rocks More hot rocks
are then put on and the whole coy
cred with. leaves aud earth. and thus
steamed and baked for half an hour
or So
Animals.
At the time OF Captain Cooks visit
tic fowls which had probably been
brought originally from Samoa In ca
noes in the early voyages OF the ma
tivcs were the only animals to b"
found except a few harmless insects
and, of course. numerous birds In
1893 Vancouver landed cattle. sheep
and goats and horses We're brought
later. Some of these animals are now
found In half.wild state on parts Of
the group Some spotted deer. which
were imported from China during kal-
akau's reign. have multiplied so pro.
ILLEGALLY on the island Of Maui and are
so destructive TO plant life that mon
are paid to kill them The mongoos",
which was imported from Portugal to
kill mice aud rats In the cane fields,
has itself become nuisance. for 1t
extends its operations 70 the chicken
coops Of the people.
Through the indisCriminatc intro.
duCtion of plants from other countries
a number Of injurious blights and in.
sccts. as horinbcfOrc instanCed. have
been brought into the Territory In
soct-oating forest birds have been in.
troducpd to help overcome this but
the imported Mynah bird destroys N"
nests and eggs Of the other birds
and is probably a greater curse than
blessing.
Although 81 Patrick Is not known
to have visited there. there are IA
snakes on the islands, and so cautious
are the people to prevent the arrival
OF any that on one occasion they re-
fused circus show permission to
land because il had some snakes I'm
box for exhibition purposes, and the
authorities feared they might escape
The ccntipedr the barbnd scorpion,
and the tarantua and the spider
which grows to prodigious size
have, however. found their way 10 the
islands from elsewhere. probably in
cargoes of freight, but. fortunately,
on account Of the absence of poisonous
mineral substances in the earth and
the nature of their food and habits
they have lost their venom and are no
more dangerous than honey bee
The real annoyanCcs of the islands
are the mosquitoes. which are also OF
foreign importation, according to the
native, and so troublesome are they
that nets have 10 be stretched over
the beds al night But by modern eX.
terminating methods and with the aid
of the spider, who Is the masquito's
deadly enemy, the authorities hope TO
get rid of them. At Hilo where, on
account of inadequate hotel accommo.
dations the members of our party were
parcelled out among the good people
for entertainment in their homes, the
mosquitoes were especially obnoxious.
Mrs Elvins and / stayed At boauti
full bungalow by the sea, the home Of
Miss Ivy Richardson. haif.Ilawaian
young lady of wealth and refinement
who had been educated In the East
and had travelled extensively, sweet.
er and more well.bred woman than
whom 1t has never been my pleasure
TO meet. am indebted to her not
only for her excellent entertainment
and her genuine hospitality, but for
many interesting things, including
some of the historical and other facts
here jotted down. and. last but not
lpnst I am indebted very largely TO