River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1920-12-23


from her sister, Miss Bertha Foster,
who is at Kealakekua, Province of
Kona, on the west side of the Island
of Hiwaii, 200 miles from Honolulu.
The opening of the letter was writ
ten the day before Thanksgiving.
We came over here (KealakelSue)
last Friday from the Crater Hotel,
near the volcano. Had very inter-
esting ride over distance of about
IS miles. We passed through miles
Of lava beds, great places where the
flow of lava had come down from the
mountain way to the sea, and we
could see where it had swept the
trees down, just like mighty river,
in its wake. Some places it had
thrown up the lava and cooled, max
ing regular ravines.
On the road were miles and miles
of fences made of this lava rock pill
ed up perhaps four feet high and two
or more thick. You would perhaps
wonder, as we did, what use there
| was to fence up such land, but at
frequent intervals we came upon
stock grazing, so we judged there
were ranches scattered along the
way.
In one of the villages we stopped
and visited school. Near the school
house, along by the woodside, was
huge monkey-pod tree, the spread OF
which must have been 100 feet, and
which was planted by Mark Twain on
| his visit to the Islands.
The school we visited was interest
| ing indeed. Five native teachers had
charge, speaking English and leach
| ing in English, though all of the 125
children were natives, Japanese, Ha-
waiian and mixed races. We hap
| pened to arrive at very opportune
time as they had their Arbor Day
| exercises while we were there. They
sang their songs and spoke their
pieces as we'll as American children,
| and better in some cases. am think
ing now of one little girl in partic-
| ular who couldn't have been more
than 9 or 10, and who spoke such a
long, long piece from memory. After
the exercises they went out into the
yard and all planted something to
beautify the school yard. The teach
ers said most of the trees and shrubs
in the yard were planted by the
children. Just over the fence was
cemetery. Such odd grave stones of
cement, huge and massive.
Another thing we saw of interest
was a native Hawiian woman pound
ing poi. Poi is made from the roots
of the taro plant, which is first cook
ed and then put into huge wooden OBJ
long platters and pounded with a
stone. After it has been pounded and
pounded it looks more like moulding
clay which is thin and gluey. They
make three grades, called one finger,
two finger and three finger poi. As
it is eaten with the fingers these diff
ferent kinds get the name from the
ease with which it can be wrapped
around the fingers and thus carried
| to the mouth. This have not tried
| to do as yet but hope to soon as we
expect to attend native feast on
Friday. The poi is. the principal food
of the natives and is very fattening.
1t tastes something like sweet pota-
to.
You never saw a more interesting
place than this is. 1t overlooks the
bay, 1900 feet below us, where Cap
tain Cook was killed and where
monument to his memory stands.
This is the home of one of the early
missionaries who came around Cape
Horn in 1852, and is kept by the
daughter, a Miss Paris. Her par
ents are buried in a little enclosure
right back of the house. She reminds
you of characters of whom you read
in books, the old New England type.
| Thanksgiving Day.
We were up early this morning and
went down to the sea shore to the vii
'lage of Napoopoo, four miles from
here, and watched the loading of
some cattle. They drove their cattle
into a corral where they roped them
and then two men on horses drove
them into the water and out to a
small boat, where the rope around
their necks was exchanged for larg-
er one around the horns and they
were fastened securely alongside the
little boat and then larger boat
farther out lowed them over to its
side and they were loaded by being
hoisted up by ropes Just as they
would load an automobile. They took
over about IS at once. There were
/ 1OS ~ 81 Tho ,r.~.,so n rrO