The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-05-12
UNIQUE EVENT
IN GARDEN ISLE
Old Flrebrand Throwing Custom
Revived With Some Extra
Elaborations.

Mrs. NAH Puulei, the wife of the
GENIAL police officer of the Hanalei
ponce force who keeps watchfuI guard
over Haena, had a birthday on Friday
| OF last week, and her husband gave a
celebration in honor of it which con
sisted of one of the famous exhibitions
| OF hrebrand throwing from the top Of
Mauna Makana, at Haena. on SATURDAY
| evening.
! Those exhibitions, explains the Gar
| den Island, are seldom given. the peak
over 1000 feet high, with almost sheer
| cliHs on all its four sides-being very
| difficult of access, and it is hard to
| ind men, often, who care to make the
! pefhous climb over the steep trail.
! When they are found, however. the
! dlsPlay IS worth going many miles to
| see, especially when the weather con.
/ ditIohs are perfect, as they were last
| Saturday. The ordinary trade wind
| weather IS the best to insure these con
! dItions
This time the four carriers had tax
en- to the top three or four hundred
OF the dry "hau'' tree sticks. nine
or ten feet long and two or three
inches IN diameter, which gave a good
, supply of ammunition when the day of
celebration came. Eight clock was
the time set for the fire throwing to
begin, and by that time large crowd
had assembled on the Haena Hat living
below the peak, arriving by horseback
carriages and autOmob les. The fat
here Is nearly half mile across. and
where the spectators stood was among
the sand hills near the beach just OPP
poslte the two large "water'f caves
which are in the base of the peak.
Then the fire throwing commenced,
ana a beautiful display was seen. \
few Of the burning brands failed to
be caught by the currents of air. and
fell onto the cliff or the fiat below,
but large number Of them were borne
out and upwards by the strong
draughts which prevail here during the
trade wind season, and were carr ed
far out over the ocean, blazing bright
ly where they could finally be seen
dropping down, beyond the breakers
and reefs, INTO the deep water.
An unlocked for diversion was soon
created by the brands which fell short.
for the whole side of the mountain here
was covered with dry bunch grass and
shrubbery which soon caught fire and IN
a short time the flames We're roaring
over the whole of the seward slope.
This made grand sight which had
not been bargained for by the specta-
tors. and they certainly appreciated the
addition TO the already magnificent
spectacle.
The four men on the peak We're kept
busy, throwing the burning sticks
down, until after half past ten, by
which time the supply was exhausted
and they wended their perilous way
down to the fiat again.
The host and hostess were ready to
greet the visitors before they return
ed to their homes and a sumptu0us
luau had been prepared at their resi-
dence on Haena Flat, for the hungry
travellers. who soon crowded into the
yard. and by midnight the feast was
in full sway, some of the guests
not getting back to their homes until
the dawn had begun to appear family
in the east.
This fre-throwing from the Haena
peak is an ancient and time honored
custom that takes place once in every
few years and it is always sure to
attract large numbers Of people from
all over the island who are eager to
witness the interesting spectacle. 1t
is said to have been originally an old
rel gi0us rite.