A GLIMPSE OF HONOLULU
By the time the reefs of Oahu were in sight, the Corners had become
so well acquainted with Mrs. Beaumont that they felt that they would
have a friend at court when they should finally reach Honolulu. The
four stood on deck together watching for the first glimpse of the
coral reefs, Koko Point, and Diamond Head, then the city itself at the
foot of the mountains. Finally they passed on to the harbor inside the
reefs and beheld the tropical scene they had pictured. There were the
palms, the rich dense foliage, and, at the moment the vessel touched
the wharf, there were the smiling natives with wreaths around hats and
necks, waving hands, and shouting, "_Aloha!_" So was Honolulu reached.
As Nan had warned them it was quite like an American city, and as
they were driven to the hotel which Mrs. Beaumont had recommended,
they could scarce believe themselves upon one of those Sandwich
Islands associated with naked savages and Captain Cook, in one's early
recollections of geography.
"I do hope," remarked Nan as they entered their rooms, "that we shall
not find any centipedes or scorpions in our beds."
"Horrors!" cried Mary Lee. "How you do take the edge off our
enthusiasm, Nan."
"Well, there are such things, and I, for one, mean to be careful."
"We shall all be careful," said her aunt, "but I don't believe in
letting that mar our pleasure. Mrs. Beaumont says one rarely sees
those creatures, though of course they do exist. Some of them are not
so poisonous as we are led to suppose, and one soon recovers from the
sting. Now, girls, don't let us waste our time in discussing centipedes
and tarantula, for we must make the most of our time. I have ordered
a carriage for a drive to the Pali, which, I am told, is the favorite
one. We can take the shore line next, Waikiki, it is called, and then
we can see the surf-riding and all that."
"Such lovely, queer names," commented Nan.
"Such queer looking people," said Mary Lee as they started forth,
looking eagerly to the left and right that they might observe anything
worth their while.
"Why do those women all wear those awful Mother Hubbard looking
frocks?" said Nan. "While they were adopting a costume, couldn't some
civilized person have suggested something more artistic? Poor things,
I think it was a shame to condemn them to wear anything so ugly. When
there were Japan and China to give them models of picturesque kimonos,
it seems almost a crime for them to adopt these hopelessly ugly things."
"Now Nan is off," laughed Mary Lee. "You touch her in her tenderest
spot when you offend her artistic or musical taste."
"Speaking of music," said Nan, not at all offended, "I want to hear
the song of the fishermen. Mrs. Beaumont says it is very weird and
interesting."
"And I want to go to a _luau_," Mary Lee declared.
"I think that may be possible," Miss Helen said, "for Mrs. Beaumont has
promised to be on the lookout for any festivity which might interest us
and will let us know."
"She was a true discovery," Nan went on. "I am so glad she happened to
be on board our steamer. Those wreaths that the natives wear around
their hats and necks they call _leis_. Isn't it a pretty fashion?"
"The flowers are really wonderful," said Mary Lee, "but oh, such
commonplace looking shops, with canned things on the shelves just as at
home. In such a summery, balmy climate I should think they could raise
almost anything."
"So they could, but they don't," her aunt told her. "Everything almost,
in the way of fruit particularly, is brought from the coast. Sugar
is the great crop here. There are some coffee plantations, and rice
is raised. Pineapples and bananas receive some attention, but the
possibilities for cultivating other things seem to be unconsidered
except by a very few."
"The natives eat _poi_," said Nan. "It must be horrid stuff from the
description of it. It is made from a tough root something like a sweet
potato. They mash it, or grind it up, mix it with water into a sort
of paste, and sometimes they let it ferment before they dish it up in
a calabash. Then the family sits around to eat this appetizing dish
with their fingers. Mary Lee, how should you like to dine out with
some of the Hawaiian gentry and be asked to join in a dip into the
all-sufficing calabash with dried tentacles of an octopus as a dainty
accompaniment?"
"Ugh!" Mary Lee looked disgusted.
Yet the next day when Mrs. Beaumont appeared to bear them all off to a
_luau_ they were all quite as eager to go as if they had not discussed
_poi_ to its disadvantage.
"_Luau_ is the Hawaiian name for feast," Mrs. Beaumont explained. "The
presence of guests will turn nearly any dinner into a _luau_. We are
going a little out of town so that you may see one in its primitive
method of serving."
"Shall we have to eat anything that is set before us?" asked Mary Lee
anxiously.
"Oh, no, but I am sure you will find enough to satisfy you among the
things you can eat. There will be fish steamed in _ti_ leaves, and
probably pork roasted in an oven built underground. And I am sure you
will like a green cocoanut eaten out of the shell."
"But tea leaves," said Nan--"I should think they would give fish a
queer flavor."
"Not t-e-a, but t-i," Mrs. Beaumont explained. "The _ti_ plant is used
for many things. It makes a convenient wrapping for one's ordinary
marketing, and takes the place of paper in more than one instance."
The girls were very curious to see what the _luau_ would be like, and
were charmed to find that the feast was to be served from a mat spread
upon the ground. The mat was finely braided and was adorned with a
profusion of flowers. At each place were laid _leis_ of carnations,
begonias, bourga invilleas, or some unfamiliar flowers; only roses and
violets were conspicuous by their absence.
Mrs. Beaumont and her guests were welcomed with low salaams by those
who were native Hawaiians, though the company was a mixed one, as
the feast was attended by some of the officers and their wives more
in a spirit of policy or curiosity than because of strictly social
relations. The girls discovered that Mrs. Beaumont was quite right in
her advice about the fish and pork which they found delicious. They
tried the _poi_, but barely tasted it. There was a very possible salad
made from the alligator pear, and the green cocoanuts were indeed a
delicacy which they could enjoy. It was not appetizing to watch the
eaters of _poi_ wrap the sticky mass around their fingers before
putting it into their mouths, and one or two glances were entirely
sufficient. Knives and forks were provided for the principal guests,
and indeed for any who preferred, but some still clung to the simpler
and earlier manner of eating with their fingers.
Later on came a visit to the shore to see the surf-riding, less
indulged in than formerly since clothes have become an impediment, yet
interesting enough. Here, too, they heard the wild and melancholy song
of the fishermen which Nan tried to jot down as a hint to her musical
memory in days to come. A sightseeing tour about town was planned for
the next day when they were to see the various buildings, the Executive
mansion, once the palace, the Museum where, indeed, were the feather
cloaks and other interesting exhibits of primitive days, the Punahou
College, and, what to the Corners was the most interesting of all, the
Lunalilo Home for aged natives.
"When I see those low salaams, I know I am in the Orient," said Nan.
"Did you notice that old fellow actually prostrate himself?"
"They are a very gentle, biddable people, if they are lazy," remarked
Mary Lee, "and they say they are strictly honest."
"I think that is because of the old system of _tabu_," Nan made the
remark. "You were not allowed to take anything that belonged to a
chief, for it was a matter of life and death, and even to allow your
shadow to fall across the path of one of those mighty beings meant 'off
with his head' or some similar order. I know what I shall do when I am
queen of these islands; I shall _tabu_ Mother Hubbards. Look at that
fat old monstrosity; isn't she a sight?"
"There are quantities of Chinese and Japanese," said Mary Lee, noting
the various persons who passed them.
"It seems to me one sees more of them than of the natives."
"I believe they do outnumber the natives," Miss Helen remarked, "for
they form the principal class of laborers. The Chinese, more than the
Japanese, have become shopkeepers, and own a larger proportion of real
estate, so no wonder we see so many of them."
"Are you all very tired?" asked Nan suddenly.
"I must confess that I am," Miss Helen told her.
"And I shall be mighty glad to get to my room," Mary Lee put in. "Why
do you ask, Nan?"
"Because I am wild to take a ride on those King Street cars. Mrs.
Beaumont says that nobody of the better class does ride on them, and
that is the very reason I want to go."
"Oh, Nan, I wouldn't," objected her sister.
"Why not? Nobody knows me, and I shall probably see sights undreamed
of. Come along, Mary Lee."
"No, indeed, I don't want to get mixed up with lepers and filthy scum
of the earth."
"Nonsense! There couldn't be any lepers, for they keep a very strict
watch and hustle them off to Molokai as soon as one is discovered."
"Mrs. Beaumont saw one; she told me so."
"Oh, Mary Lee, did she really?"
"Yes, she was buying something in one of the Chinese shops at the time
of the Chinese New Year, and this creature was begging outside when
she came out. She says she shall never forget the sight, and that
sometimes their friends hide them so the officers cannot find them."
"Well, they will not hide them on a King Street car, that's certain,"
retorted Nan. "If neither of you will go with me, I shall go by myself."
Finding her determined, Miss Helen and Mary Lee went on to their hotel
while Nan boarded the car she had selected. It was about an hour before
she rejoined them. "Well, how was it?" asked Mary Lee as her sister
came in.
"It was great larks," was the answer. "You missed it, you two proper
pinks of propriety."
"Come in and tell us, Nan," called Miss Helen from the next room.
Nan laid aside her hat and came to her aunt, sitting on the side of
the bed while she related her experiences. "It was perfectly decent
and respectable," she declared, "and the route is a beautiful one. A
most polite Chinese person of the male persuasion took my car fare to
deposit, handed me my change with an entrancing bow and then," she
laughed at the recollection, "neatly abstracted his own nickel from his
ear and put that in, too."
"From his ear?" Miss Helen exclaimed.
"She is just jollying us, Aunt Helen," said Mary Lee.
"Indeed I am not," declared Nan, "and, what is more, he had stowed away
another nickel, for his return fare, in his other ear; I saw as I came
out. For my part I think it is a lovely idea, and I believe I shall
adopt it in future, particularly when I must get on one of those evil
inventions, a pay-as-you-enter car. One day in New York I dropped as
many as three car fares in trying to get a nickel into the box. It was
a rainy day; I had my umbrella and a small traveling bag to carry, so
how in the world I could be expected to grasp the situation I have been
wondering ever since. No, the ear is the place, a simple and effective
way of solving a very difficult problem."
"What else did you see?" queried Miss Helen.
"I saw a bland, urbane native lady, gowned in a pink Mother Hubbard--I
have learned that the native name for these horrors is _holuku_--well,
she wore one. She carried a basket of fish, principally alive, for one
that looked like a goldfish almost jumped into my lap. When she left
the car I noticed that the Chinaman next me began to jerk his foot in
a most remarkable manner. He attempted to get up, but somehow couldn't
seem to manage it. The woman was going one way; the car the other; but
finally another passenger stopped the car after some unintelligible
words to the motorman and I discovered that the woman's hook and line
had caught in the Chinaman's shoe. The woman was dragging away, all
unconsciously, for she had caught a fish which she didn't intend to
fry. It was very funny, but I was the only one in the car who laughed;
the rest were far too polite."
"Well, Nan, it is just like you to have had such an experience," said
her aunt.
"If I were going to stay in Honolulu for any length of time," returned
Nan, "I think I should like to take a ride in the King Street cars
every day. What are we going to do to-morrow?"
"We are to have tea in Mrs. Beaumont's little grass house--you know she
owns one--and she thinks there is to be an auction."
"Calabashes!" cried Nan. "Good! I have set my heart on one, but I am
not going to pay more than ten dollars for it."
"I am afraid you will be disappointed then," her aunt told her, "for
they run up as high as fifty dollars and over, I am told."
"Well, we shall see," said Nan. "Of course I can't spend all my spare
cash on calabashes or I will have none left for Japan where I expect to
be tempted beyond my powers of resistance."
"We are to dine at Mrs. Beaumont's this evening, so you'd better be
thinking of dressing," Mary Lee warned her.
"And no doubt we must look our best for there will be some fascinating
young officers there, I believe. Isn't it fortunate that our steamer
chairs happened to be next Mrs. Beaumont's? She has been perfectly
lovely to us all, and we have seen twice as much as if we had tried to
trot around alone."
They were not disappointed in their evening's entertainment which
brought them in contact with some of the ladies, as well as the men, of
the garrison, and gave them an opportunity of learning many interesting
things. The evening ended in a surprise when a band of natives came
to serenade, bringing their rude musical instruments and giving songs
typical of these islands of the South Seas.
The calabashes were the great interest of the next day when an auction
sale of a small private collection was held. Mrs. Beaumont, who was
wise on the subject of the antique wooden ware, went with them, and to
her great satisfaction Nan did secure an excellent specimen for the
price she had set.
"You see," said Mrs. Beaumont, "as there is no metal on these Hawaiian
Islands, the best substitute known to the natives was the _Koa_ wood
which has an exceedingly fine grain and is susceptible of a very high
polish. Wherever a calabash was decorated by carving, it had to be done
either with a stone implement or with one made of sharks' teeth, and
though these carvings are crude they are really very interesting and
add to the value of the calabash. There are very few of the very old
ones left now as they have been bought up by collectors. The natives
use those made of cocoanut shells or of small gourds, as you may have
noticed."
Nan bore away her calabash in triumph, stopping at a little place to
have it polished by a man who was noted for doing such work well. Hers,
while not large, was rather unique as it had a division in the middle
so that two kinds of food could be served at once in it.
There were more walks and drives, and even a visit to one of the
neighboring islands. The pretty little Japanese tea-houses, which they
came upon frequently in their drives, the girls absolutely refused to
patronize. "We want to save everything Japanese till we get to Japan,"
they declared. "There is quite enough novelty in that which is strictly
Hawaiian."
"And more than enough that is strictly American, if one is looking for
novelty," remarked Miss Helen. "Who would suppose that in these South
Sea Isles one would find severe-looking New England houses, electric
lights, electric cars, telephones and all the rest of American modern
improvements?"
"Including Mother Hubbards," Nan put in. "I am glad they have left
something typical of the old times. I suppose the little grass houses
were unhealthy places, but how picturesque they are."
They had the opportunity of observing one of these primitive houses
more closely that very afternoon when Mrs. Beaumont gave them tea in
the small hut which she retained as a curiosity. It was quite a gay
little company which gathered there, young officers, bright girls and
charming, elderly, soldier-like military men who, the girls maintained,
were more entertaining than the younger ones.
At last came word that the steamer for Japan would arrive the next day,
and so there was a repacking of trunks, a stowing away of souvenirs and
a final farewell to those who had helped to make the stay at Honolulu
so pleasant and profitable. Then early the following morning the three
travelers boarded the steamer for a still longer journey to Japan.
But they were not allowed to go off without being speeded on their
way by their new friends who came bearing _leis_ in such number that
their hats, their necks, their waists were adorned with garlands as
the vessel slowly moved out. When the last "_Aloha!_" had died upon
the air, they had moved outside the reefs, and finally when Oahu was
lost to view, upon the waters they cast their wreaths that they might
be borne back to land, a silent message to the friends they had left
behind. Such is the pretty custom in these southern seas.
[Illustration: CHAPTER III
FIRST IMPRESSIONS]