HILO. HAWAII. February.
The quiet, dreamy, afternoon existence of Hilo is disturbed. Two
days ago an official intimation was received that the American
Government had placed the U.S. ironclad "Benicia" at the disposal of
King Lunalilo for a cruise round Hawaii, and that he would arrive
here the following morning with Admiral Pennock and the U.S.
generals Scholfield and Alexander.
Now this monarchy is no longer an old-time chieftaincy, made up of
calabashes and poi, feather-cloaks, kahilis, and a little fuss, but
has a civilized constitutional king, the equal of Queen Victoria, a
civil list, etc., and though Lunalilo comes here trying to be a
private individual and to rest from Hookupus, state entertainments,
and privy councils, he brings with him a royal chamberlain and an
adjutant-general in attendance. So the good people of Hilo have
been decorating their houses anew with ferns and flowers, furbishing
up their clothes, and holding mysterious consultations regarding
etiquette and entertainments, just as if royalty were about to drop
down in similar fashion on Bude or Tobermory. There were amusing
attempts to bring about a practical reconciliation between the free-
and-easiness of Republican notions and the respect due to a
sovereign who reigns by "the will of the people" as well as by "the
grace of God," but eventually the tact of the king made everything
go smoothly.
At eight yesterday morning the "Benicia" anchored inside the reef,
and Hilo blossomed into a most striking display of bunting; the
Hawaiian colours, eight blue, red and white stripes, with the
English union in the corner, and the flaunting flag of America being
predominant. My heart warmed towards our own flag as the soft
breeze lifted its rich folds among the glories of the tropical
trees. Indeed, bunting to my mind never looked so well as when
floating and fainting among cocoa-nut palms and all the shining
greenery of Hilo, in the sunshine of a radiant morning. It was
bright and warm, but the cool bulk of Mauna Kea, literally covered
with snow, looked down as winter upon summer. Natives galloped in
from all quarters, brightly dressed, wreathed, and garlanded,
delighted in their hearts at the attention paid to their sovereign
by a great foreign power, though they had been very averse to this
journey, from a strange but prevalent idea that once on board a U.S.
ship the king would be kidnapped and conveyed to America.
Lieut.-Governor Lyman and Mr. Severance, the sheriff, went out to
the "Benicia," and the king landed at ten o'clock, being "graciously
pleased" to accept the Governor's house as his residence during his
visit. The American officers, naval and military, were received by
the same loud, hospitable old whaling captain who entertained the
Duke of Edinburgh some years ago here, and to judge from the
hilarious sounds which came down the road from his house, they had
what they would call "a good time." I had seen Lunalilo in state at
Honolulu, but it was much more interesting to see him here, and this
royalty is interesting in itself, as a thing on sufferance, standing
between this helpless nationality and its absorption by America.
The king is a very fine-looking man of thirty-eight, tall, well
formed, broad-chested, with his head well set on his shoulders, and
his feet and hands small. His appearance is decidedly commanding
and aristocratic: he is certainly handsome even according to our
notions. He has a fine open brow, significant at once of brains and
straightforwardness, a straight proportionate nose, and a good
mouth. The slight tendency to Polynesian overfulness about his lips
is concealed by a well-shaped moustache. He wears whiskers cut in
the English fashion. His eyes are large, dark-brown of course, and
equally of course, he has a superb set of teeth. Owing to a slight
fulness of the lower eyelid, which Queen Emma also has, his eyes
have a singularly melancholy expression, very alien, I believe, to
his character. He is remarkably gentlemanly looking, and has the
grace of movement which seems usual with Hawaiians. When he landed
he wore a dark morning suit and a black felt hat.
As soon as he stepped on shore, the natives, who were in crowds on
the beach, cheered, yelled, and waved their hats and handkerchiefs,
and then a procession was formed, or rather formed itself, to escort
him to the governor's house. A rabble of children ran in front,
then came the king, over whom the natives had thrown some beautiful
garlands of ohia and maile (Alyxia olivaeformis), with the governor
on one side and the sheriff on the other, the chamberlain and
adjutant-general walking behind. Then a native staggering under the
weight of an enormous Hawaiian flag, the Hilo band, with my friend
Upa beating the big drum, and an irregular rabble (i.e. unorganised
crowd) of men, women, and children, going at a trot to keep up with
the king's rapid strides. The crowd was unwilling to disperse even
when he entered the house, and he came out and made a short speech,
the gist of which was that he was delighted to see his native
subjects, and would hold a reception for them on the ensuing Monday,
when we shall see a most interesting sight, a native crowd gathered
from all Southern Hawaii for a hookupu, an old custom, signifying
the bringing of gift-offerings to a king or chief.
In the afternoon Dr. Wetmore and I rode to the beautiful Puna woods
on a botanising excursion. We were galloping down to the beach
round a sharp corner, when we had to pull our horses almost on their
haunches to avoid knocking over the king, the American admiral, the
captain of the "Benicia," nine of their officers, and the two
generals. When I saw the politely veiled stare of the white men it
occurred to me that probably it was the first time that they had
seen a white woman riding cavalier fashion! We had a delicious
gallop over the sands to the Waiakea river, which we crossed, and
came upon one of the vast lava-flows of ages since, over which we
had to ride carefully, as the pahoehoe lies in rivers, coils,
tortuosities, and holes partially concealed by a luxuriant growth of
ferns and convolvuli. The country is thickly sprinkled with cocoa-
nuts and bread-fruit trees, which merge into the dense, dark,
glorious forest, which tenderly hides out of sight hideous broken
lava, on which one cannot venture six feet from the track without
the risk of breaking one's limbs. All these tropical forests are
absolutely impenetrable, except to axe and billhook, and after a
trail has been laboriously opened, it needs to be cut once or twice
a year, so rapid is the growth of vegetation. This one, through the
Puna woods, only admits of one person at a time. It was really
rapturously lovely. Through the trees we saw the soft steel-blue of
the summer sky: not a leaf stirred, not a bird sang, a hush had
fallen on insect life, the quiet was perfect, even the ring of our
horses' hoofs on the lava was a discord. There was a slight
coolness in the air and a fresh mossy smell. It only required some
suggestion of decay, and the rustle of a fallen leaf now and then,
to make it an exact reproduction of a fine day in our English
October. The forest was enlivened by many natives bound for Hilo,
driving horses loaded with cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, live fowls, poi
and kalo, while others with difficulty urged garlanded pigs in the
same direction, all as presents for the king. We brought back some
very scarce parasitic ferns.
HILO, February 24.
I rode over by myself to Onomea on Saturday to get a little rest
from the excitements of Hilo. A gentleman lent me a strong showy
mare to go out on, telling me that she was frisky and must be held
while I mounted; but before my feet were fairly in the stirrups, she
shook herself from the Chinaman who held her, and danced away. I
rode her five miles before she quieted down. She pranced, jumped,
danced, and fretted on the edge of precipices, was furious at the
scow and fords, and seemed demented with good spirits. Onomea
looked glorious, and its serenity was most refreshing. I rode into
Hilo the next day in time for morning service, and the mare, after a
good gallop, subsided into a staidness of demeanour befitting the
day. Just as I was leaving, they asked me to take the news to the
sheriff that a man had been killed a few hours before. He was
riding into Hilo with a child behind him, and they went over by no
means one of the worst of the palis. The man and horse were killed,
but the child was unhurt, and his wailing among the deep ferns
attracted the attention of passers-by to the disaster. The natives
ride over these dangerous palis so carelessly, and on such tired,
starved horses, that accidents are not infrequent. Hilo had never
looked so lovely to me as in the pure bright calm of this Sunday
morning.
The verandahs of all the native houses were crowded with strangers,
who had come in to share in the jubilations attending the king's
visit. At the risk of emulating "Jenkins," or the "Court Newsman,"
I must tell you that Lunalilo, who is by no means an habitual
churchgoer, attended Mr. Coan's native church in the morning, and
the foreign church at night, when the choir sang a very fine anthem.
I don't wish to write about his faults, which have doubtless been
rumoured in the English papers. It is hoped that his new
responsibilities will assist him to conquer them, else I fear he may
go the way of several of the Hawaiian kings. He has begun his reign
with marked good sense in selecting as his advisers confessedly the
best men in his kingdom, and all his public actions since his
election have shown both tact and good feeling. If sons, as is
often asserted, take their intellects from their mothers, he should
be decidedly superior, for his mother, Kekauluohi, a chieftainess of
the highest rank, and one of the queens of Kamehameha II., who died
in London, was in 1839 chosen for her abilities by Kamehameha III.
as his kuhina nui, or premier, an officer recognised under the old
system of Hawaiian government as second only in authority to the
king, and without whose signature even his act was not legal. As
Kaahumanu II. she continued to hold this important position until
her death in 1845.
But the present king does not come of the direct line of the
Hawaiian kings, but of a far older family. His father is a
commoner, but Hawaiian rank is inherited through the mother. He
received a good English education at the school which the
missionaries established for the sons of chiefs, and was noted as a
very bright scholar, with an early developed taste for literature
and poetry. His disposition is said to be most amiable and genial,
and his affability endeared him especially to his own countrymen, by
whom he was called alii lokomaikai, "the kind chief." In spite of
his high rank, which gave him precedence of all others on the
islands, he was ignored by two previous governments, and often
complained that he was never allowed any opportunity of becoming
acquainted with public affairs, or of learning whether he possessed
any capacity for business. Thus, without experience, but with noble
and liberal instincts, and the highest and most patriotic
aspirations for the welfare and improvement of his "weak little
kingdom," he was unexpectedly called to the throne about three
months ago, amidst such an enthusiasm as had never before been
witnessed on Hawaii-nei, as the unanimous choice of the people. He
called on Mr. Coan the day of his arrival; and when the flute band
of Mr. Lyman's school serenaded him, he made the youths a kind
address, in which he said he had been taught as they were, and hoped
hereafter to profit by the instruction he had received.
This has been a great day in Hilo. The old native custom of hookupu
was revived, and it has been a most interesting spectacle. I don't
think I ever enjoyed sight-seeing so much. The weather has been
splendid, which was most fortunate, for many of the natives came in
from distances of from sixty to eighty miles. From early daylight
they trooped in on their half broken steeds, and by ten o'clock
there were fully a thousand horses tethered on the grass by the sea.
Almost every house displayed flags, and the court-house, where the
reception was to take place, was most tastefully decorated. It is a
very pretty two-storied frame building, with deep double verandahs,
and stands on a large lawn of fine manienie grass, {199} with roads
on three sides. Long before ten, crowds had gathered outside the
low walls of the lawn, natives and foreigners galloped in all
directions, boats and canoes enlivened the bay, bands played, and
the foreigners, on this occasion rather a disregarded minority,
assembled in holiday dress in the upper verandah of the court-house.
Hawaiian flags on tall bamboos decorated the little gateways which
gave admission to the lawn, an enormous standard on the government
flagstaff could be seen for miles, and the stars and stripes waved
from the neighbouring plantations and from several houses in Hilo.
At ten punctually, Lunalilo, Governor Lyman, the sheriff of Hawaii,
the royal chamberlain, and the adjutant-general, walked up to the
court-house, and the king took his place, standing in the lower
verandah with his suite about him. All the foreigners were either
on the upper balcony, or on the stairs leading to it, on which, to
get the best possible view of the spectacle, I stood for three
mortal hours. The attendant gentlemen were well dressed, but wore
"shocking bad hats;" and the king wore a sort of shooting suit, a
short brown cut-away coat, an ash-coloured waistcoat and ash-
coloured trousers with a blue stripe. He stood bareheaded. He
dressed in this style in order that the natives might attend the
reception in every-day dress, and not run the risk of spoiling their
best clothes by Hilo torrents. The dress of the king and his
attendants was almost concealed by wreaths of ohia blossoms and
festoons of maile, some of them two yards long, which had been
thrown over them, and which bestowed a fantastic glamour on the
otherwise prosaic inelegance of their European dress. But indeed
the spectacle, as a whole, was altogether poetical, as it was an
ebullition of natural, national, human feeling, in which the heart
had the first place. I very soon ceased to notice the incongruous
elements, which were supplied chiefly by the Americans present.
There were Republicans by birth and nature, destitute of traditions
of loyalty or reverence for aught on earth; who bore on their faces
not only republicanism, but that quintessence of puritan
republicanism which hails from New England; and these were subjects
of a foreign king, nay, several of them office-holders who had taken
the oath of allegiance, and from whose lips "His Majesty, Your
Majesty," flowed far more copiously than from ours which are "to the
manner born."
On the king's appearance, the cheering was tremendous,--regular
British cheering, well led, succeeded by that which is not British,
"three cheers and a tiger," but it was "Hi, hi, hi, hullah!" Every
hat was off, every handkerchief in air, tears in many eyes,
enthusiasm universal, for the people were come to welcome the king
of their choice; the prospective restorer of the Constitution
"trampled upon" by Kamehameha V., "the kind chief," who was making
them welcome to his presence after the fashion of their old feudal
lords. When the cheering had subsided, the eighty boys of
Missionary Lyman's School, who, dressed in white linen with crimson
leis, were grouped in a hollow square round the flagstaff, sang the
Hawaiian national anthem, the music of which is the same as ours.
More cheering and enthusiasm, and then the natives came through the
gate across the lawn, and up to the verandah where the king stood,
in one continuous procession, till 2400 Hawaiians had enjoyed one
moment of infinite and ever to be remembered satisfaction in the
royal presence. Every now and then the white, pale-eyed,
unpicturesque face of a foreigner passed by, but these were few, and
the foreign school children were received by themselves after Mr.
Lyman's boys. The Americans have introduced the villanous custom of
shaking hands at these receptions, borrowing it, I suppose, from a
presidential reception at Washington; and after the king had gone
through this ceremony with each native, the present was deposited in
front of the verandah, and the gratified giver took his place on the
grass. Not a man, woman, or child came empty handed. Every face
beamed with pride, wonder, and complacency, for here was a sovereign
for whom cannon roared, and yards were manned, of their own colour,
who called them his brethren.
The variety of costume was infinite. All the women wore the native
dress, the sack or holuku, many of which were black, blue, green, or
bright rose colour, some were bright yellow, a few were pure white,
and others were a mixture of orange and scarlet. Some wore very
pretty hats made from cane-tops, and trimmed with hibiscus blossoms
or passion-flowers; others wore bright-coloured handkerchiefs,
knotted lightly round their flowing hair, or wreaths of the
Microlepia tenuifolia. Many had tied bandanas in a graceful knot
over the left shoulder. All wore two, three, four, or even six
beautiful leis, besides long festoons of the fragrant maile. Leis
of the crimson ohia blossoms were universal; but besides these there
were leis of small red and white double roses, pohas, {203} yellow
amaranth, sugar cane tassels like frosted silver, the orange
pandanus, the delicious gardenia, and a very few of orange blossoms,
and the great granadilla or passion-flower. Few if any of the women
wore shoes, and none of the children had anything on their heads.
A string of 200 Chinamen passed by, "plantation hands," with boyish
faces, and cunning, almond-shaped eyes. They were dressed in loose
blue denim trousers with shirts of the same, fastening at the side
over them, their front hair closely shaven, and the rest gathered
into pigtails, which were wound several times round their heads.
These all deposited money in the adjutant-general's hand. The dress
of the Hawaiian men was more varied and singular than that of the
women, every kind of dress and undress, with leis of ohia and
garlands of maile covering all deficiencies. The poor things came
up with pathetic innocence, many of them with nothing on but an old
shirt, and cotton trousers rolled up to the knees. Some had red
shirts and blue trousers, others considered that a shirt was an
effective outer garment. Some wore highly ornamental, dandified
shirts, and trousers tucked into high, rusty, mud-covered boots. A
few young men were in white straw hats, white shirts, and white
trousers, with crimson leis round their hats and throats. Some had
diggers' scarves round their waists; but the most effective costume
was sported by a few old men, who had tied crash towels over their
shoulders.
It was often amusing and pathetic at once to see them come up.
Obviously, when the critical moment arrived, they were as anxious to
do the right thing as a debutante is to back her train successfully
out of the royal presence at St. James's. Some were so agitated at
last as to require much coaching from the governor as to how to
present their gifts and shake hands. Some half dropped down on
their knees, others passionately and with tears kissed the king's
hand, or grasped it convulsively in both their own; while a few were
so embarrassed by the presents they were carrying that they had no
hands at all to shake, and the sovereign good-naturedly clapped them
on the shoulders. Some of them, in shaking hands, adroitly slipped
coins into the king's palm, so as to make sure that he received
their loving tribute. There had been a hui, or native meeting,
which had passed resolutions, afterwards presented to Lunalilo,
setting forth that whereas he received a great deal of money in
revenue from the haoles, they, his native people, would feel that he
did not love them if he would not receive from their own hands
contributions in silver for his support. So, in order not to wound
their feelings, he accepted these rather troublesome cash donations.
One woman, sorely afflicted with quaking palsy, dragged herself
slowly along. One hand hung by her side helpless, and the other
grasped a live fowl so tightly that she could not loosen it to shake
hands, whereupon the king raised the helpless arm, which called
forth much cheering. There was one poor cripple who had only the
use of his arms. His knees were doubled under him, and he trailed
his body along the ground. He had dragged himself two miles "to lie
for a moment at the king's feet," and even his poor arms carried a
gift. He looked hardly like a human shape, as his desire was
realised; and, I doubt not, would have been content then and there
to die. There were ancient men, tattooed all over, who had passed
their first youth when the idols were cast away, and who remembered
the old days of tyranny when it was an offence, punishable with
death, for a man to let his shadow fall on the king; and when none
of "the swinish multitude" had any rights which they could sustain
against their chiefs. These came up bewildered, trembling, almost
falling on their knees, hardly daring to raise their eyes to the
king's kind, encouraging face, and bathed his hand with tears while
they kissed it. Numbers of little children were led up by their
parents; there were babies in arms, and younglings carried on
parents' backs, and the king stooped and shook hands with all, and
even pulled out the babies' hands from under their mufflings, and
the old people wept, and cheers rent the air.
Next in interest to this procession of beaming faces, and the blaze
of colour, was the sight of the presents, and the ungrudging
generosity with which they were brought. Many of the women
presented live fowls tied by the legs, which were deposited, one
upon another, till they formed a fainting, palpitating heap under
the hot sun. Some of the men brought decorated hogs tied by one
leg, which squealed so persistently in the presence of royalty, that
they were removed to the rear. Hundreds carried nets of sweet
potatoes, eggs, and kalo, artistically arranged. Men staggered
along in couples with bamboos between them, supporting clusters of
bananas weighing nearly a hundredweight. Others brought yams,
cocoa-nuts, oranges, onions, pumpkins, early pineapples, and even
the great delicious granadilla, the fruit of the large passion-
flower. A few maidens presented the king with bouquets of choice
flowers, and costly leis of the yellow feathers of the Melithreptes
Pacifica. There were fully two tons of kalo and sweet potatoes in
front of the court house, hundreds of fowls, and piles of bananas,
eggs, and cocoa-nuts. The hookupu was a beautiful sight, all the
more so that not one of that radiant, loving, gift-offering throng
came in quest of office, or for any other thing that he could
obtain. It was just the old-time spirit of reverence for the man
who typifies rule, blended with the extreme of personal devotion to
the prince whom a united people had placed upon the throne. The
feeling was genuine and pathetic in its intensity. It is said that
the natives like their king better, because he was truly, "above
all," the last of a proud and imperious house, which, in virtue of a
pedigree of centuries, looked down upon the nobility of the
Kamehamehas.
When the last gift was deposited, the lawn in front of the court-
house was one densely-packed, variegated mass of excited, buzzing
Hawaiians. While the king was taking a short rest, two ancient and
hideous females, who looked like heathen priestesses, chanted a
monotonous and heathenish-sounding chant or mele, in eulogy of some
ancient idolater. It just served to remind me that this attractive
crowd was but one generation removed from slaughter-loving gods and
human sacrifices.
The king and his suite re-appeared in the upper balcony, where all
the foreigners were assembled, including the two venerable
missionaries and a French priest of benign aspect, and his
appearance was the signal for a fresh outburst of enthusiasm.
Advancing to the front, he made an extemporaneous speech, of which
the following is a literal translation:--
"To all present I tender my warmest aloha. This day, on which you
are gathered to pay your respects to me, I will remember to the day
of my death. (Cheers.) I am filled with love for you all, fellow-
citizens (makaainana), who have come here on this occasion, and for
all the people, because by your unanimous choice I have been made
your King, a young sovereign, to reign over you, and to fill the
very distinguished office which I now occupy. (Cheers.) You are
parents to me, and I will be your Father. (Tremendous cheering.)
Formerly, in the days of our departed ancestors, you were not
permitted to approach them; they and you were kept apart; but now we
meet and associate together. (Cheers.) I urge you all to persevere
in the right, to forsake the ignorant ways of the olden time. There
is but one God, whom it is our duty to obey. Let us forsake every
kind of idolatry.
"In the year 1820 Rev. Messrs. Bingham, Thurston, and others came to
these Islands and proclaimed the Word of God. It is their teachings
which have enabled you to be what you are to-day. Now they have all
gone to that spirit land, and only Mrs. Thurston remains. We are
greatly indebted to them. (Cheers.) There are also among us here
(alluding to Revs. Coan and Lyman) old and grey-haired fathers,
whose examples we should endeavour to imitate, and obey their
teachings.
"I am very glad to see the young men of the present time so well
instructed in knowledge--perhaps some of them are your children.
You must persevere in your search of wisdom and in habits of
morality. Do not be indolent. (Cheers.) Those who have striven
hard after knowledge and good character, are the ones who deserve
and shall receive places of trust hereafter under the government.
"At the present time I have four foreigners as my ministerial
advisers. But if, among these young men now standing before me, and
under this flag, there are any who shall qualify themselves to fill
these positions, then I will select them to fill their places.
(Loud cheers.) Aloha to you all."
His manner as a speaker was extremely good, with sufficient
gesticulation for the emphasis of particular points. The address
was frequently interrupted by applause, and when at its conclusion
he bowed gracefully to the crowd and said, "My aloha to you all,"
the cheering and enthusiasm were absolutely unbounded. And so the
great hookupu ended, and the assemblage broke up into knots to
discuss the royal speech and the day's doings.
I.L.B.