Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-12-02

tensfvsiy cultivated By the native,
called the taro. The baked root Of
this plant Is pounded into a moist
paste. thinned down to the consistency
Of one, two, or three-finger poi, and
allowed TO ferment or "sour" just a
little. II is then put into a large
calabash and served" If reasonably
thick n a carry a mouthful from
the calabash on one finger, if very
thin, It takes three. Knives, forks and
spoons form nc part Of the natives
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
~delicacies, and enjoyed the feast i'm
mensely. AS no finger bowls were fur
nished after the luau, the ocean,
nearby. was well ~patronized 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 a pit in the ground. A lot of stones
are heated red-hot and put in the bot
tom of 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 GOV
cred with leaves and earth, and thus
steamed and baked for half an hour
or 30.
Animals.
At the time of Captain Cooks visit
in 1879, hogs, dogs, mice and domes-
tic fowls which had probably been
brought originally from Samoa in ca
oes In the early voyages of the ma
tives, were the only animals to be
found except a few harmless insects
and, of course, numerous birds. In
1893 Vancouver landed cattle, sheep
and goats, and horses were brought
later. Some of these animals are now
found in a half-wild state on parts of
the group. Some spotted deer, which
were imported from China during Kali
akau's reign, have multiplied so pro-
ILLEGALLY on the island of Maui and are
so destructive to plant life that men
are paid to kill them. The mongoose,
which was imported from Portugal to
kill mice and rats in the cane fields,
has itself become a nuisance, for it
extends its operations to the chicken
coops of the people.
Through the indiscriminate intro
duction of plants from other countries,
a number of injurious blights and in
sects, as herinbefore instanced, have
been brought into the Territory. In
sect-eating forest birds have been in
troduced to help overcome this, but
the imported Mynah bird destroys the
nests and eggs Of the other birds,
and is probably a greater curse than
blessing. ...
Although st. Patrick is not known
to have visited there, there are no
snakes on the islands, and so cautious
are The people to prevent the arrival
of any that on one occasion they re-
fused a circus show permission to
land because it had some snakes in a
box for exhibition purposes, and the
authorities feared they might escape.
The c%entipede, the barbed scorpion,
and the tarantula and the spider
which grows to prodigious size
have, however, found their way to 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 a honey bee.
The real %annoyances of the islands
are the mosquitoes, which are also of
foreign importation, according to the
native, and so troublesome are they
that nets have to be stretched ovor
the beds at 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
dations the members Of our party were
p~arcelled out among the good people
for entertainment in their homes, the
mosquitoes were especially obnoxious.
Mrs. Elvins and / stayed at a beauti-
full bungalow by the sea, the home Of
Miss Ivy Richardson, a half-Hawaiian
young lady of wealth and refinement,
who had been educated in the East
and had travelled extensively, a sweet
er and more well-bred woman than
whom it has never been my pleasure
to meet. I 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
least, I am indebted very largely to
her for the good opinion I formed Of
the Hawaiian people, whose virtues,
charms and graces were so highly ex-
emplifed in her. 1t was at her house,
that, on retiring n night, We saw an
enormous black spider inside the NOS
quito bar. The Japanese house-boy's
attention was called to it, and we
learned that he had put the spider
inside the net for u benefit, but
-nEALou 80 go ob1r;ohoI Lfa 1ronaoaa