Year: 1876

Life in King kalakap's Capital
1Cor. of the San Francisco Chronicle.


Horseback riding seems natural tc
the Hawaiians, and they dash along
the streets and roads in troops and
cavalcades which fill the air with
dust and them with delight. The
women all ride la man fash shion, neat
ly tucking their long, flowing robes
beneath them, and being as bold and
expert in the saddle as their male
mates. They often ride without
shoes on their feet, and have spurs
attached to their bare heels, which
they use most vigorously on their
poor animals Ono day -Hawaii a
little woman rode along in our com
pany with a fine e-pointed spur on her
bare heel. which she seemed to thrust
into the side of her horse at every
step he took, till my own eyes tired of
seeing, as l am sure the poor animal
tired of feelingit, unless he became
feelingless by the time his side and
her heel were crimson with his blood.
On market-days - Saturday after
noons-there are often as many as
three or four hundred equestrians at
the fish market, down beside the
bay, in an old portion of the city.
They ride all kinds of old nags, and
come from all parts of the country,
and make that occasion regular
gala day. The fair damsels general


" dress in their best bib and tucker
that day, put on hose and shoes
which their liberty-loving feet abhor
and abominate at home; wear white
underskirts and hats wreathed with
flowers, or flying long red or blue
ribbons. Nearly all the men and
women wreath their hats and necks
with yellow flowers, and sometimes
with roses, and a kind of berry.
One afternoon saw native woman
dressed in rich silk robes, wearing a
costly hat and kids, come to the mar
ket in a barouche, and get out and
push her way among the crowd with
her more common sisters. The fish
market is scene of lively excite
ment after four o'clock, when the la
borers cease work and come in to
swell the crowd of animation. The
market is a large open shed beside
the water, and containing numerous
stalls for fish and meat, fresh and
salt. All kinds of fruit are also for
sale, and when | left-the middle of
October-there were plenty of fine
icy-mountain water-m melons in the
market. The fish are of all kinds
peculiar to the waters about the is
lands, the mnllet being the finest.
Some kind of shrimps are brought
from the mountains done up in taro
leaves. Several thousand persons
will crowd into the market in the
space of two or three hours, and at
the end of that time leave it bare
and solitary. The bellies and beaux
may be seen amid the crowd casting
sweet sly glances at each other, and
amid all the excitement and business
of the occasion carrying on desperate
flirtations. Such is the nature and
frailty of man and woman.


THE soRRIEsT DOGS


/ ever saw are to be seen around that
very market. Nothing can equal
them outside of Constantinople, and
it is little doubtful whether any


thing can come up to them even in
that city of the Sick Man. Each
dog is expected to remain beside its
own particular stall and devour only
such ofal as falls to its lot. But
some of these dogs are wonderful
Arabs, and in addition to eating every
thing given them by their own mas
tiers, go around to other stalls and
steal all they can lay their mouths
on; and one or two of them have be-
come so large and tough that very
few other dogs dare tackle them,
however much noise they may make
over their marauding expeditions.
Taking one of these lawless dogs as
an example and illustration, though
he had several confreres: He was
large, to begin with, and had no tail.
The place where his caudal extremi-
ty shauld have been was cut so close
there was hollow there. On his
back, and along his sides, the hair
was almost all off, there being but
occasional patches of it, and those of