A PACIFIC PARADISE
Land at last! It seemed like Paradise. When we saw the rich, soft
grass, we felt like getting down and rolling on it, it looked so
good. Commodore Hoborn, of the Hawaiian Yacht Club, had tendered the
use of his bungalow to Jack and Mrs. London, an offer that was
gratefully accepted. The bungalow was only a few yards from our
anchorage, so that the _Snark_ family remained within easy hailing
distance. We unlashed our boats, covered the sails, and threw out
the spinnaker-boom; and then the Londons went ashore with the
commodore, while we remained for the time on the _Snark_, besieged
by reporters and photographers.
When the customs inspector's tug offered to tow us into Pearl
Harbor, Jack had been quick to accept the kindness; but I had kept
looking toward Honolulu, where I knew there was fresh meat and
fruit, to say nothing of the varied life of the city. But I soon
thought differently. Along the coast for several hundred feet out
the water was white with breakers. After we got nearer to the mouth
of Pearl Harbor, we could see palms along the shore, and other
tropical trees, while in the water plied busy Chinese junk-fishers
and Japanese _sampans_ and native sloops, the occupants in a state
closely approaching nudity. The air was warm and balmy. We all gaped
with wonder--all except Jack, who had been here before.
It was two o'clock that afternoon when we got shoreleave. We could
hardly walk. The land tilted and heaved, even as the _Snark_ had
tilted and heaved. I caught myself spreading my feet apart to
prevent my falling, just as we did on the boat. A train ran every
hour to Pearl City, so we made haste to catch it. It was one of the
queerest trains imaginable, a little yellow car and a miniature
engine, loaded down with Chinamen and Japs dressed in their native
costumes, and the reporters who were returning to Pearl City after
interviewing the crew of the _Snark_. Pearl City, which was only a
mile away, consisted of a depot and a few Japanese and Chinese
stores. We ate our lunch in a roadside hotel, where girls played
guitars and danced and sang all through the meal.
All the next day we packed things back and forth from the boat to
the bungalow, and put up hammocks and mosquito netting. It was a
one-storey building, with low, protruding roof. There were four
rooms, but even this seemed commodious after nearly a month on the
_Snark_, where space in every direction was rigidly economised. One
continuous window let in the sunshine on all four sides of the
bungalow; and the yard was filled with little forests of cocoanut
palms, and a profusion of bananas, figs, papaias, guava palms, and
other tropical trees. The grass was large and blue, and,
fortunately, sheltered no chigoes--or, as they are often called,
chiggers--to drive us mad with their biting. Along the shore was the
sea-wall and a long boat-landing; here the water was so clear that
one could see to the bottom in ten feet of it, to where the coral
lies in wonderful patterns, and shells nestle down almost out of
sight, and fish of every colour swim back and forth.
The weather was perfect. It is always perfect. The temperature never
varies over ten degrees--from about 75° to 85°. There was always
plenty of food, growing right to one's hand; no tropical diseases to
be seen, at least not yet; no dirt, no smoke; everything so pleasing
and satisfying as to be beyond description. The only thing that
really kept us on the jump was the mosquitoes. Sitting in our main
room, in pajamas, reading, talking or writing, we were obliged to
burn mosquito powder all the time, and even that did little to rid
us of the pests. Mark Twain had a bungalow near here a few years
ago, and the story is told that he had netting put all around his
bed, alow and aloft, that he might sleep without losing any of his
blood; but the mosquitoes got in anyway, and nearly tormented the
life out of him. At last, however, he made the discovery that when
the mosquitoes once got inside the netting, they could not find
their way out, so he used to lie there as a bait until all were
safely ensnared, then crawl out and sleep upon the floor.
In the next few days, we were continually finding new things to do
and to see. We swam in the crystal-clear water, despite the natives'
warnings about sharks. For my part I had plenty of leisure. After an
heroic silence of days, the crew finally broke out in protest
against my cooking; they simply could stand no more of it. When on
the sea, it had been eat it or starve; but now that they were
ashore, there was greater latitude of choice. After that, we all
boarded with different white families in the vicinity, and the poor
harassed crew forgot its troubles in the delight of eating once more
the things that humans eat, cooked as humans would cook them.
The people of Oahu were very accommodating, always bringing us fruit
and looking after our wishes with a care unknown in the States. The
conductor on the mile-long railroad-run to Pearl City brought us
various fruits gathered along the way; and when we were riding and
saw anything we wanted, he would stop the train to get it. Coming
from Honolulu one night, the main train switched, and took me direct
to our bungalow, carrying along four other coaches of Japs and
Chinese. The conductor was an American. He said that he didn't care
whether "the cattle"--referring to my fellow-passengers--got
anywhere or not.
Much of our time, however, was spent on the _Snark_, where we were
constantly receiving visitors. I met a great number of American and
English people, and many natives. As for the population of the
islands, the Japanese greatly predominate. I think, in figures, it
runs about as follows: sixty-one thousand Japanese, forty-five
thousand Chinese, twenty-three thousand British, twenty-five
thousand Americans, twelve thousand five hundred natives (Kanakas),
four hundred and fifty South Sea Islanders, and six hundred and
fifty Portuguese; and as nearly all these people dress in their
native costumes, the whole has a decidedly cosmopolitan look. As for
Honolulu, it consists mostly of stores run by Japs and Chinese--many
call it Little Japan. There are many half-castes and quarter-castes
on the islands. I knew one man who could trace through his ancestry
connection with every one of the principal divisions of the human
family.
On June 3 occurred the first split in the _Snark_ crew. Captain
Eames decided that he had had enough yachting, and departed on the
steamship _Sierra_ for California. Shortly after, word came from
Bert's mother, asking him to return and continue his course at
Stanford University. Bert considered a while over this, but in the
end decided to do as she had asked. He formally resigned from the
crew, and went to Honolulu to stay until he could work his way back
to California. It seemed as if the newspapers could never get
through inventing falsehoods about Jack and the rest of us. When
Bert left, they reported that Jack was a big, bullyragging brute,
and had beaten all of us into a pulp. As a matter of fact, there
was never so much as a quarrel among us.
Jack and Mrs. London had gone to Honolulu, and were staying at the
Seaside Hotel. Every day, Jack would send me his exposed films and I
would develop them and send prints by the next train. Never was
there so obliging a person as Tony, conductor of the mile-long
railroad I have mentioned, and which, because of its nature, we
called the Unlimited. Tony was not only conductor, but he was also
engineer, fireman, brakeman and porter. If he could help us at the
house, he would bank the fire in the engine, and leave his train for
half a day. Once, while watching me at my photographing, he found
that he was five minutes late for the run to Pearl City, so he
decided not to make the trip. As he explained, nothing but Japs and
Kanakas (Hawaiians), and Chinamen rode on it, and he didn't care
anything about them. As for us, when we rode he absolutely refused
to collect any fare. When I had made Jack's prints, I would bundle
them up and give them to Tony; then, when he reached Pearl City, he
would give them to the conductor of the train for Honolulu, and
eventually they would find their way to Jack.
About this time, we got our new captain. He was an old fellow who
had been all through the South Seas, and knew them like a book, and
whom we will call Captain X----. He was an ideal sea-captain of the
old school--the kind that is rough and headstrong. He and I had a
little set-to at first, but later ignored each other as much as
possible. About this time, too, Gene Fenelon, a young fellow of
thirty, came from Oakland to take Bert's place as engineer. He and
Jack had known each other for some years, and were good friends. We
took a great liking to Gene, who was really a clever fellow, though,
as will be seen, he did not last long at this particular job. He had
been for eight years assistant manager of an European circus, and
spoke several languages fluently. Bert and Gene and I would go of
nights up to the Hawaiian Yacht Club, and coming back would frighten
the very birds off their perches by our vigorous sea-songs. During
the day we were busy around the boat, scraping the masts and
painting the galley, and developing and printing Jack's negatives.
I myself spent a couple of days in Honolulu at this period, doing
some special camera work, and trying my luck at surf-board riding.
This is said to be one of the greatest sports in the world, but as
it takes several months, at the least, really to learn it, I can
hardly testify as to that. But I do know that I was nearly drowned,
and managed to swallow a few quarts of salt water before the fun
wore off. Jack stayed at it for some time, and got so sunburned that
he was confined to his bed. Let me say here that it is my honest
belief that only the native Hawaiians ever really learn the trick
in all its intricacies, despite the fact that, at several contests
held, white men have come out victorious.
For my part, I found swimming and fishing at Pearl Harbor much
better sport. The fish bit readily. I have caught as many as twenty
in five minutes. In the water, nearby, were turtles as big as a
wash-tub. One day a shark twenty-two feet long was killed, and the
day after one eighteen feet long.
Once, toward evening, Tochigi, Gene, and I were out rowing in a
little canvas boat. It sank about a quarter of a mile from shore.
Not that we cared much, for we had on nothing but swimming trunks,
but we went lively when we discovered that a little hammer-headed
shark was close to us, circling around in the water. He was too
small to do us any harm, but his little protruding eyes looked so
fierce that we all made haste for shore. This place was full of
these little hammer-headed sharks, as well as of turtles and
devil-fish.
It may sound rather strange when I say that we were in the habit of
wearing only swimming suits, but we lessoned from the people we saw
about us, and many of them were more simply garbed even than that.
Mr. and Mrs. London, however, usually wore Japanese kimonos. And our
captain dressed like a tramp.
Captain X---- was a horrible example of what ill temper will do. His
half-breed son declared that he was born angry. At any rate, he
seemed aboard the _Snark_ to have the idea that he was working
Kanaka sailors, and would have sworn at us continually had we
allowed it. It may be that he had cause to be irritable, for he had
once been beaten out of a great fortune. X---- had been plying
around the South Seas for twenty years, and once had discovered a
small island covered with guano--about twenty million dollars' worth
of it. X---- beat back to Honolulu with all haste, that he might
arrange to take the island in the name of the United States. He was
given the proper authority, and with a small crew he hastened back
to his wonderful find. Daylight was breaking dimly as he approached;
there was sufficient light for him to see a small Japanese
man-of-war slipping in the gloom toward the cherished island. When
he and his men landed, they were met by soldiers, who told them that
the island was now formally in the possession of the Japanese
government. I really think that this would be enough to sour any
man's temper. Another time, he drifted around for weeks in a small
ship, nearly dead for water, and with half his crew lying corpses on
the deck. He escaped when wrecked off the coast of the island of
Maui. One of his occupations was "shanghai"-ing South Sea Islanders
for work on the Hawaiian plantations; and a favourite trick was to
cheat the natives when buying copra--he would put his knee under the
sack while weighing it, thus making a two-hundred-pound sack lose
half of its weight. He was a regular old skinflint; but whatever his
merits or demerits, one thing was certain: he had been everywhere
in the South Seas, and had the records to prove it.
[Illustration: A MAN OF ROAS. SOLOMON GROUP, ISLAND OF MALAITA]
[Illustration: CHIEF OF FLORIDA ISLAND, SOLOMON GROUP]
Much work was being done on the _Snark_. Men came from Honolulu and
put everything shipshape. They got the seventy-horse-power engine to
running, also the dynamo of the small engine, painted the _Snark_
again, cleaned the rigging, scraped the masts and spars, and stopped
the leaks. Best of all, they put the engine of the gasolene launch
into condition. We used to make little trips in the launch by night.
All this time, Jack and Mrs. London were making visits to the
neighbouring islands, so that we saw little of them.
Oftentimes, in the evening, I would spend an hour or more watching
the beauties of the Hawaiian scenery when bathed in the soft beams
of the moon. In the harbour lay the _Snark_, looking as if lighted
by electricity where the moonbeams were mirrored on her freshly
painted sides and her polished metal, and further away was the
shadowy shore-line, fringed by groves of cocoanut palms, and still
further back, fading away into the night, were the majestic
mountains.
"The _Snark_ will never be able to heave-to," we were told. "She
catches too much wind aft, no matter how the sails are trimmed." But
with the seventy-horse-power engine in running order, the danger was
vastly minimised, for with its aid we could cut through a storm like
a knife.
The boat was taken to Honolulu for a thorough overhauling. Of
course, the crew went too. My stay in Honolulu was one of the most
enjoyable periods of my life, despite the growing enmity between
Captain X---- and myself. None of us liked him; even Jack was
wishing for an opportunity to let him go. He was an eccentric
person, to say the least, and had all the latest variations in his
vocabulary. Being particularly sore on me, he used to take his spite
out by calling inanimate objects about the vessel the names he
really intended to apply to the erstwhile cook of the _Snark_; and
when our repairs were complete and the _Snark_ was taken out for a
trial trip, all the crew, except Captain X----, knew that Jack was
dissatisfied with Captain X---- and would appoint a new captain at
the first opportunity--presumably Mr. Y----, who was then on the
boat as a common sailor. Hence his control of us was rather broken;
during the trip the entire crew absolutely refused to be ordered
about any; but, carried out the work that was necessary to take the
_Snark_ out in the bay and back again, while Captain X---- remained
at the wheel, seemingly much disgruntled. Entering the harbour, as a
result of this misunderstanding between the captain and crew, the
_Snark_ was so manœuvred that she bumped into a trading-steamer, and
then into a bark, at both of which times the _Snark_ was slightly
injured--several holes were made in the stern. As soon as we touched
the wharf, I telephoned to Jack to come down, as the opportunity was
at hand for him to discharge the profane captain; and this Jack
did, with neatness and despatch, as soon as a cab could bring him
from the hotel.
During President Cleveland's administration, there was considerable
agitation about the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. The
natives had become somewhat dissatisfied with Queen Lilioukalani,
because she refused to allow them to frame a constitution. They felt
that she wished to be the entire government. The natives dethroned
the queen, and elected Mr. Frederick Doyle as their president, and
they framed a constitution as similar to that of the United States
as they could possibly get it. At this time a Mr. Thurston, a
prominent land-owner and one of the most influential men on the
island, took a hand in the administration of public affairs. It was
his advice that led to President Doyle's trip to the United States,
which resulted in the annexation of the islands to our country; and
the Queen's palace became the United States Government building. Mr.
Thurston's plan of annexation was a good one; it prevented the
islands from falling into the hands of the Japanese, who were
rapidly gaining control of them. Hawaii was civilised before the
western line of the United States; the grass huts had disappeared
before California was developed. This progress in the Hawaiian
Islands was due to the conscientious efforts of the early
missionaries; but there is now to be found upon this island a class
of people who are the descendants of a few of the earlier
missionaries (who were of a distinctly mercenary turn of mind and
secured for their private use some of the most valuable lands of the
valley). The descendants, known as the "missionary class" now live
in ease and comfort without putting forth the slightest effort to
help develop the islands or assist in the betterment of anyone but
themselves. Of course, they are not missionaries, nor have they ever
been missionaries in the true sense, as they are not supported by
any church organisation, but live off the natural richness of the
land appropriated by their missionary forefathers.
During the development of the islands, it was necessary, in order to
secure suitable grounds for the rapidly growing and beautiful city
of Honolulu, to fill in and raise above its former marshy level the
entire end of the Nuuanu Valley; and this large drainage canal still
disposes of the water from the upper valley. The city of Honolulu
now boasts of as fine hotels as will be found anywhere in the world
in a town of that size, and the business section of the city is
built upon as solid a basis as any town of possibly twice the size.
In 1778, Captain Cook estimated the native population of Hawaii as
four hundred thousand. The 1900 census showed only about twenty-nine
thousand natives on the island. In their place have sprung up
thousands and thousands of Japs, Chinese, and half-castes.
With all its development and advancement, there are still
interesting spots in the city of Honolulu. One will occasionally see
a Japanese 'rickashaw, or see a Japanese mother carrying her naked
baby in the streets. The Chinese section presents about the same
weird style of Chinese architecture as will be found in many of the
large cities in the States, where the Chinese population still holds
to its original manners and customs. After the annexation of the
Hawaiian Islands to the United States, which took place in 1900, the
business advancement of the islands was very rapid, in spite of
certain peculiar laws enacted by the members of the first
legislative body. This body was composed of natives who had no other
idea in mind than to get their names on a statute-book as the makers
of law. One of them even proposed an act to regulate the rise and
fall of the tides. Of course, he had an idea that this legislative
body, backed by all the authority of the United States government,
could accomplish any act it saw fit to. Another member proposed a
bill creating the office of State Entomologist, as he had read
somewhere that an entomologist was a bug-man; he had himself
appointed to the office, and a few days later came with another bill
asking that the position of State Entomologist be declared vacant,
because there were still bugs in his coffee. But these minor defects
in the first legislative body were rapidly overcome, and now the
people of Hawaii hold dear to their hearts two flags, one the stars
and stripes of the United States, and the other the red, white and
purple of Hawaii. In their decorating, the two flags are always in
evidence, equal prominence given to each.
We paid a visit to the crater of an extinct volcano, called The
Punch Bowl. Out at Waikiki Beach the surf-board riding could always
be undertaken by such as liked it; and there were other amusements.
Once, at Thomas Square, I heard the Royal Hawaiian Band play, while
a Sunday School gathering of Japanese children sang. After they had
finished, a Kanaka class sang. All those three hundred children were
dressed in their native costumes. It was very enjoyable, even if we
couldn't understand a word of the songs.
We were in Honolulu over the Fourth of July, that is, all but Jack
and Mrs. London. Several American transports, with fourteen thousand
troops, lay in the harbour. The celebration of the Fourth of July
was a moral event in Hawaiian history; and the parade was one of the
most splendid I have ever witnessed. As a fitting climax to the
day's festivities, a picked baseball team from among the American
soldiers challenged, and were defeated by, a picked-up aggregation
of Japanese boys.
The development of the city of Honolulu under the American flag is
just as perfect and complete as in any city in America. In fact, the
street-car system of the city of Honolulu is the most perfect in the
world--all fine, big sixty-foot observation cars, especially fitted
for the passengers to enjoy to the utmost the tropical scenery
along the delightful suburban routes. The fire departments are fully
equipped with the most efficient and modern machinery, and their
runs are just as awe-inspiring as those of the city departments of
our land.
The equable climate of Honolulu has tempted many of the wealthiest
people of the United States to select it as a spot for permanent
residence. As I think I have mentioned before, the temperature
varies only about ten degrees, so that Hawaii is a veritable
Paradise of the Pacific. Beautiful homes are springing up along the
shady streets, some of the more elegant ones costing many thousands
of dollars. The Japanese seem fully to understand the use of the
picturesque and beautiful trees found on the islands. The parks are
as pretty as any in the world, little pagodas and brilliant-coloured
trees and grasses usually so disposed in landscape gardening as to
carry out quaint Japanese patterns. Some of the mammoth trees burst
into a mass of bright flowers, and they, too, will be found to be
set in varied designs. Here will be found the famous banyan tree.
One peculiarity of this tree is its method of throwing down from the
horizontal branches supports, which take root as soon as they touch
ground and enlarge into trunks and extend branches of their own,
until one tree will cover an acre or more of ground. A single tree
has been known to cover seven acres. The pleasant drives naturally
stimulate the breeding of fine horses. One may see here equipages as
superb as are to be found in Paris or London.
As a natural result of the religious basis upon which the original
civilisation of Hawaii was founded, there are many fine churches,
mostly constructed of lava. Volcanic lava forms a very solid and
permanent building stone, being much heavier even than granite, and
susceptible of a very high polish.
Upon the island are several volcanoes. Scientists have figured out
that one of these is the progenitor of the island of Oahu, and
certainly, whatever the validity of their claims, Oahu is entirely
of volcanic origin. Japanese now farm inside the crater of one
extinct volcano, which is more than a mile across. The volcanic
mountain called Diamond Head, the first point of land observed by
sailors approaching the Hawaiian Islands, is as beautiful a bit of
mountain scenery as will be found on any sea-coast. On the island of
Hawaii are the two largest volcanoes in the world, Mauna Kea,
thirteen thousand eight hundred feet high, and Mauna Loa, thirteen
thousand six hundred feet high.
Thunderstorms are rare and hurricanes are unknown in the Hawaiian
Islands, hence the deep large bays form very favourable shipping
ports. Their position puts them in direct line of vessels trading
between western North America on the one side, and eastern Asia and
Australia on the other. This is responsible to a great extent for
its commercial development. Regular steamers come to Honolulu from
San Francisco, Vancouver, Yokohama, Hong-Kong and Sydney, and the
various ports of minor significance. Honolulu is also a station
of the Pacific Commercial Cable, and has direct communication with
the United States and the Orient. During our stay, the cable ship
_Relief_ came into the harbour. We saw ships of every sort, from the
little fishing craft, Jap _sampans_, up to brigantines. One of the
most interesting of all was the transport, _Thomas_, with several
thousand American soldiers on board. Sailing-dates of one of the
large steamers are always big days; thousands of people flock to the
wharf.
[Illustration: GROUP OF ROAS WOMEN, SOLOMON ISLANDS]
Before leaving Honolulu, Captain X---- did everything in his power
to make me uncomfortable, for he considered it my fault that he had
lost his position. He called me a mutineer and told Jack that I was
not of much account, anyway. As the time drew closer for us to think
of leaving Honolulu, we set several dates for our departure, but
always at the last minute something went wrong with the engines, and
we were compelled to postpone sailing. Tochigi told me several times
that he thought he would quit--he could not help but dread the
seasickness he knew would afflict him--but each time I persuaded him
to remain, reminding him that it would be a sorry trick to leave me
all alone to fight the sickness.
Whenever we set a date there would be a crowd of people at the wharf
to see us off, but each time we were obliged to set out a sign,
_Sailing postponed_, until the people in Honolulu had ceased taking
us seriously; and one man asked Jack why he did not buy him a house
instead of living at a hotel--that it would be cheaper. The Honolulu
press came out with several amusing articles on the _Snark_, and
even reprinted the old refrain of "Not yet, but soon." This, with
other articles, made us dislike to go upon the street, on account of
the comments, as we were pretty well known by them. One day, while
in King Street, one of the principal thoroughfares of the city, I
heard even the newsboys crying: "When will the _Snark_ sail?--Not
yet, but soon."
But after spending several months in Honolulu and the suburb of
Waikiki, we managed to leave the harbour on a day when few people
expected us to be ready. The engines ran splendidly, until we were
out of sight of Honolulu; then the suction pump on the big engine
carried away.
Jack was angry, but said he would not go back to Honolulu if the
boat were sinking, so we set sail and during the next three or four
days sailed down past the islands of Molokai and Maui. At the island
of Maui, the natives were catching mammoth turtles that are sold in
the Honolulu fish-markets; as a matter of fact, these natives are
regular fiends for turtle-flesh. They catch their prey in a peculiar
manner, creeping upon them as they lie on the sandy beach warming
themselves in the sun. Two or three Kanakas will steal down upon a
turtle and flop him over on his back, in which position he is
powerless.
After nearly a week of sailing, we came in sight of one of the
largest active volcanoes in the world, Mauna Loa, or, as the crater
is called, Haleakala. This was Captain Y---- 's first landfall, and
I must say the way he brought the _Snark_ head-up into the wind and
lowered anchor was a marvel to us landlubbers, who up to now had
been sailing the vessel as a boy would float a tub. Captain Y----
sailed and anchored the _Snark_ as a ship should be sailed and
anchored. He gave his orders in a tone that left nothing for us to
do but obey; not that his orders were delivered in the manner of
Captain X----, but instead in the strong, clear tones of a man who
was used to giving orders and having them obeyed.
Kailua is the fifth largest town on the island of Hawaii, and
contains possibly one hundred persons. The main business street of
the town often appears utterly deserted, as the natives say no one
but fools and Americans will venture out in the heat of the day. The
main business house is an American saloon run by a Chinaman; the bar
fixtures consisting of a counter and a large refrigerator, which I
am quite sure never had any ice in it. Gene bought a glass of beer,
but it was so flat and warm that he could not drink it.
The volcano of Kilauea is situated on the leeward side of the island
of Hawaii, which makes it very dangerous for sailing vessels.
Captain Cook, whose monument stands a few miles below this volcano,
discovered the Sandwich Islands, or Hawaii, while searching for the
Northwest Passage. He determined to build here his winter home, and
study conditions among the islands while waiting for the snow and
ice to melt, that he might get through to Bering Strait. As the
natives had never seen the like of the saws and axes and hammers
used by the ship's carpenter in building this house, they stole
them. Not that the innocent people knew what stealing was--they had
merely planted the tools in the ground in the hope that they might
grow and produce more tools. Captain Cook, following his usual
drastic methods, seized the old King, whom he intended to hold as a
hostage for the return of his property. During the fight, several of
the natives were killed, and Captain Cook was himself captured. When
the sailors found that Captain Cook had fallen into the hands of the
natives, they sent word that the King was to be held until Captain
Cook was returned. Captain Cook _was_ returned; at least, as much of
him as could be found after the feast. The body was brought aboard
the ship in pieces, was buried, and a monument erected. Beside the
grave is the grave of a Kanaka who used to boast proudly that he had
eaten the big toe of Captain Cook, for, as the natives afterward
explained, the captain had really been eaten, and the body of a
native substituted.
In the days gone by, the natives used to call the feast of human
flesh the long-pig feast. They still have these feasts, only instead
of human flesh they serve the flesh of the wild boar, which is
plentiful on the island. Instead of roasting the pig from the
outside, as we do, the natives dig a hole in the ground, and, after
making a fire, pile stones on top of the fire until they are red
hot, then put the stones on the inside of the pig and bake him from
the inside out, and serve the meat with _poi_.
Like Oahu, the island of Hawaii is entirely of volcanic origin. The
two large volcanoes on this island, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa,
formerly had craters at the tops, which have soiled over, and new
craters have opened up far down the mountainsides. In many places
the surface of the ground is nothing more than lava, still in the
exact condition the latest eruption has allowed it to cool in, and
seamed with fissures that opened up as it cooled.
Kailua is one of the most lonesome, desolate spots in the Hawaiian
Islands. I had a great deal of time in which I had nothing to do,
for, as I have said, the crew absolutely refused to eat my cooking
any longer. I used to sit on the lava coast and try to see across
the several thousand miles to America, where there were people to
whom I could speak; I did not understand these people here. As
Tochigi had finally settled that he could not fight down his
seasickness, he had decided to remain in Kailua until the steamer
could take him back to Honolulu. I was very sorry to see Tochigi go,
but I appreciated his reason, and so offered no more resistance.
Gene I did not get very well acquainted with; and Captain Y----
seemed too much like a boss for me to be friendly with him, but
afterward he thawed out and we became the best of friends. During
the week that we lay in Kailua anchorage, Tochigi and I made long
trips into the interior and along the coast, where we saw some of
the large rice and coffee plantations. The Chinese are the only ones
in the islands who have any success with rice; we saw the young
sprouts in the artificial marshes they have made. The natives never
make any attempt at farming, except to farm fish. They have large
artificial fish-ponds that they stock with mullet and crimps, and
there is trouble if any person tries to catch fish out of another
man's pond. Fruit here, as on all the islands, is very plentiful.
There are no seasons for it; it grows the year round.
The famous Kona coffee is raised on this side of the island of
Hawaii--in fact, this is the only place in the islands where coffee
can be raised, as elsewhere the wind would disturb the coffee-tree
and cause the bean to shatter. The coffee is hulled by the old and
primitive method of allowing a large log to beat the coffee until it
is hulled.
A pleasant way of killing time was to do a little amateur sailing
with our life-boat. Gene and I knew practically nothing about
sailing such a small boat, and when we got on the bay all the
natives hunted shelter, terrified by our manœuvres; and when we
clumsily ran on the beach, there was much amusement among the
natives who were loafing on shore. Mr. and Mrs. London decided to go
across the island to Hilo, on the Puna coast, on horseback. So only
Captain Y----, Gene, and myself, and a white man we had picked up in
Honolulu, were left to take the _Snark_ around the island through
the main strait to Hilo.
Little Tochigi, who had been but a bundle of Japanese misery every
minute at sea since leaving San Francisco, now said good-bye to us.
As we heaved anchor and sailed out of the bay, the last thing we saw
of poor Tochigi was his diminishing form sitting alone on the
seashore, watching the _Snark_ disappear from his view.
The day before we left Kailua, a small trading sloop came into the
harbour and was still anchored when we left; in fact, we later found
that we had a whole day's start on this boat; but during the time
that the small crew of the _Snark_ was fighting head-winds and
tide-rips in the main channel, this vessel drew up and passed us and
was in Hilo Bay a day before us. After we got to the Puna coast of
Hawaii, we could see the prettiest shore-line, rich with tropical
fruit trees and luxuriant vegetation. Scores of waterfalls, some of
them hundreds of feet above us, were scattered all along this coast,
clear into Hilo Harbor.
We dropped anchor in Hilo five days from Kailua. The harbour here is
too shallow for the largest steamships to draw up close to the
wharf, but the _Snark_, being so small, was able to anchor just at
the mouth of the Waikaiea River. In the heart of Hilo's little
fishing suburbs, the town of Waikaiea is about one mile along the
seashore from Hilo proper, and is inhabited almost wholly by Japs,
Chinese and Kanakas. Before going further, I had perhaps better
explain this word "Kanaka." In the Hawaiian language, _Kanaka_ means
man, and _Wahine_ means woman, but all Hawaiians, both men and
women, are called Kanakas by the white people, so the word is
generally understood to mean native Hawaiian.
The people of Waikaiea are nearly all fishing people, everyone
taking a hand in the fishing. The men go out in their boats just
before sundown, and fish all night long. At five o'clock in the
morning the womenfolk are waiting along the little river-docks to
unload the fish. The fish are carried into one of the fish-markets,
where the children sort out the different kinds into piles. There
are large tanks for the turtles and octopuses; and big hooks are
suspended from the ceilings by pulleys for the larger fish that are
too heavy for handling. Then the auctioneer sells the fish to the
highest bidder. The big sharks weighing two and three hundred pounds
often bring less than a ten-pound fish, as the fins are all that is
used of certain kinds of sharks. I have seen devil-fish, or
octopuses, that were thirty feet from the end of one tentacle to the
end of the opposite one. The fish are usually bought by Japanese or
Chinese fish-runners. Immediately after they have secured all they
can carry, they start off at a dog-trot, which never ceases until
each has reached his district for selling, sometimes ten or fifteen
miles up the country.
To get to Hilo from the _Snark_, the best way was to walk along the
sandy beach clear into Hilo, for the damp sand was always cool and
refreshing, and the sea breeze blowing made one want to take off his
shoes and roll up his trousers, and splash along in the water, a
thing I did many a time. Truth is, people, after a few weeks in the
Sandwich Islands, start doing things they would never think of doing
in the staid old United States. The climate seems to make one
younger, for it is always spring in Hawaii.
On a quiet morning some strangely wonderful sights may be seen. In
the clear water one can easily make out many-hued fish, and coral,
sponges, coral-crabs; and, under the sponges, small octupuses or
devil-fish from the size of one's hand down to the size of a silver
dollar.
Hilo has about five thousand, mixed population. Here, as among all
the islands of the group, the Japanese predominate, with Chinese a
close second. The white people on this side of the island live
mostly outside of Hilo on plantations; and as the brown population
sleeps through the heat of the day, the business streets are
deserted until late in the afternoon. Then the streets spring
suddenly into life, and for several hours are thronged with people
of all nationalities. The clubs and saloons are crowded, the band
plays nearly every evening, and everyone settles down to enjoy
himself.
Off the business streets, the residence district seems like a park.
The roads are well paved, electric lights are strung at every
crossing, hedges and fences are of trees that usually bear flowers
throughout the year. Homes are mostly of the bungalow style, with
large porches running clear around the house. These porches are used
as dining and sleeping rooms the year round. In fact, the people
often give more thought to the _lanai_, as they call the porch, than
to any other part of the house.
The lawns around the bungalows are studded with fruit trees that are
usually laden with ripe fruit at all times. The small boys never
care to steal fruit here, as there is so much of it that anyone may
help himself to fruit wherever he finds it.
The fine public libraries, churches, and a good opera house at Hilo
are as truly modern buildings as any I have seen in the United
States. A large pineapple factory is located here, and one steamer
makes regular trips from San Francisco to get the bananas that grow
wild along this coast.
Hilo supplies the United States with more cane-sugar than any city
in the world. Large sugar-mills are located along the water-front,
in order that ships may load by gravity right from the mill. The
sugar-cane is raised back of Hilo, and as far back as twenty miles
into the mountains. The sugar-cane is sent to the mill in long
flumes that are filled with water, and the cane laid in the flumes
goes down to the mill at the rate of twenty miles an hour.
The manager of the Waipalia sugar-mill invited Jack, Mrs. London,
Captain Y----, and me to go for a flume-ride one Sunday, when there
was no cane in the flume. Cabs were secured, and we were driven away
back in the mountains to a good place to start from. Before leaving
Hilo we had donned our bathing suits. Making a good seat of cane for
ourselves, to guard against possible nails, we all got in the flume
and started off. There is no more exciting sport in the world than
flume-riding. Often, we could look down inclines, from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred feet below. We rushed so fast that had a
nail ever gotten in the way, it would certainly have ripped off a
lot of skin, but we could not stop, for to have done so would have
thrown us from the flume.
The rice fields looked like ordinary wheat fields. The rice is
threshed by the primitive method of cutting the heads off the stalk,
laying them on a large piece of volcanic rock, and letting in
Chinese with bare feet to stamp upon it until the grain is hulled.
Rice is an important factor in the Hawaiian farming, as the Japs and
Chinese live upon it almost wholly. No rice is exported; the
orientals consume the entire output.
As the rice must be planted in the water, the rice fields tend to
breed mosquitoes, which become so annoying that it is often
necessary to burn a powder called _buhack_ all night long, in
addition to having the regular mosquito netting over the bed.
About a half a mile outside of Waikaiea River is a small island a
mile in circumference, called Cocoanut Island. On this island is a
family of native fishermen who still cling to the old way of fishing
with spears, instead of hook and line, and they never employ the
large nets used by the oriental fishermen. Instead, they use a small
hand net, so that they can catch the particular kind of fish they
want. They will not eat an ordinary fish, but they have their
favourite variety, which are hard to catch.
Fish are so plentiful here that a child can catch as many as it
wants. Even a Kanaka child would eat only certain kinds, but to the
_Snark's_ crew they all tasted alike; and we ate whatever we could
catch--even shark, and the tentacles of the octopus.
On one side of Cocoanut Island is a large sandy beach that is fine
for surf bathing. On the other side, the large lava rocks go almost
straight down, making a fine place for diving. Nearly every
afternoon I would go over to the island for a swim, and usually had
the whole beach to myself, except Sundays, when the island was
crowded with bathers. One day, on going to my favourite lava rocks,
off which the diving was fine, I found the place occupied by a
person whom I had never seen before. I was so surprised that I could
only stand and stare. She was a full-blooded Hawaiian girl, and from
what I could see of her she was good-looking, too. Of course, I
could not let a chance like this go to waste, so I made several
photographs of her, and when I asked her to stand I was more than
sure she was good-looking. She did not like to stand with the sun
shining in her eyes, so we hunted a shady spot, and I used up the
rest of the film in my camera.
[Illustration: A MISSION SCHOOL. BOY IN WHITE SHIRT IS THE TEACHER,
THE REST ARE MEMBERS OF THE CLASS]
But it must not be supposed for a minute that the native girls are
the only good-looking girls in Hilo. Some of the Japanese girls with
whom I had a photographing acquaintance were as _chic_ as are to be
found any place. One in particular, who was head saleslady for the
Hilo Drug Company, was not at all bad-looking. To see these little
Japanese girls gliding through the streets--gliding, for their walk
is such a funny little trot that that is the only word to describe
it--I say, to see them gliding along makes a man ashamed of his own
uncouthness when he chances to meet one of them, and must, for
manners' sake, walk up the street with her. One girl I knew was born
in Hilo, but her parents would not let her wear clothes of American
fashion, so she looked like any native Japanese, but spoke excellent
English. American clothes usually spoil the looks of a Japanese, for
the Jap form will not take to our garb at all.
These Jap girls do not at first sight seem to be extravagantly
dressed, but for Sunday-and evening-wear, a Japanese girl's dress
will oftentimes cost double the sum the clothes of a stylish
American girl cost. At least, this is what the new cabin-boy we got
in Hilo, a Jap named Nakata, told me, and I suppose he ought to
know.
In the mountains are herds of wild cattle; and near Hilo are large
ranches, where the best cattle country in the world is found. Here,
too, will be seen the only genuine American cowboy. The cowboys we
have in the States are for exhibition purposes only. But here the
big open valleys and mountains, where the cattle breed, are so
extensive that when the cattle are rounded up only an expert cowboy
would be able to manage them, for by that time they are nearly as
skittish as the wild cattle. With every round-up, the men say they
catch many wild cattle which have attached themselves to the
ranchman's herd.
Gene and I made long excursions with the launch up the little creeks
and rivers, and always returned with a load of fruit. Mr. and Mrs.
London were staying with friends in Hilo. The sailor had been
discharged, so that Captain Y----, Gene and I were the only ones
aboard the _Snark_. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, and as there was
little work to do, we found ample time for exploring. Gene wore only
sleeveless track-shirts and swimming trunks, and became so sunburned
that wherever exposed, his skin was of almost Ethiopian blackness,
in strange contrast with the protected skin. During this time I
became as black as Gene, but I seemed to tan all over. Jack did not
tan at all; every time he became exposed to the sun he blistered so
badly that often it would lay him up in bed.
Finally, through a mutual agreement between Gene and Jack, Gene
decided that the trip was too much for his delicate constitution,
and Jack decided that he must consent to Gene's going. So Gene got
ready to go back to San Francisco.
One day I got a call from Jack over the telephone, telling me that I
was promoted to the position of engineer, and instructing Captain
Y---- and me to look out for a new cook, a new cabin-boy, and a new
sailor. I don't believe I would have traded positions with the
President, or King Edward, that day. I was in a greater state of
excitement than at the time of securing the position of cook. A
Dutchman named Hermann--which is all the name we ever got out of
him--was secured for the crew of one sailor. Hermann was one of the
real deep-water sailors, of the kind that is rapidly passing away.
He was about the best-natured fellow I ever worked with; in storm or
calm he was always the same, always singing in one or another of the
half-dozen tongues he could speak. We secured the cook and cabin-boy
at the same time. Wada, a Japanese, could speak fluent English, and
was a very good cook. He had been in almost every large port in the
world. Nakata, whom we hired for cabin-boy, was likewise Japanese,
and could not speak a word of English. All we could understand of
his vocabulary was _pau_, which means finished, and _pilikea_,
which means trouble. But when Nakata reached Australia, one year and
a half later, he could speak very passable English, and could write
quite well.
The principal photographer in Hilo was a young Chinese boy, who did
excellent work. He used to make pictures of the _Snark_ to sell; and
wherever Jack went, the Chink would be on hand to photograph him. In
the end, Jack could only get rid of the boy by consenting to pose
for a number of pictures, which were afterward published in a
Chinese magazine, with certain descriptive text beneath each one. I
have no doubt Jack is a very big man in their eyes.
The time was rapidly nearing for us to leave. The engines were in
good repair, we had fuel and provisions aboard, and practically
every one of us was anxious to be off. Our way led now to the
Marquesas Islands; and the trip, sixty-one days across the trackless
Pacific, in which we sailed four thousand miles in order to advance
two thousand miles, was to prove the greatest adventurous event of
my life. And it ended by our landing in the world's Garden of Eden.
But before going further with the voyage, I must devote some
consideration to one island of the Hawaiian group to which as yet no
attention has been directed, Molokai, the Leper Island.