Following one of his great victories King Kamehameha I established his
court on the largest island of the Hawaiian group, Hawaii, and
prepared to make his headquarters there for the time. Of course a
heiau must be built, and he ordered construction to begin immediately,
selecting a site near the mouth of the Wailuku where today stands the
armory of the National Guard of Hawaii.
This heiau was unusually large and considerable time was consumed in
building it. Finally it was completed, but before it could be used the
customary human sacrifice had to be offered. Not willing to take one
of his own men, the king went in search of another.
Early one morning, accompanied by a small body of his warriors,
Kamehameha set out in his canoe, sailing along the coast in the
direction of Puna. As the royal party neared Leleiwi Point, two
fishermen in a small outrigger were discovered, busy with their nets.
The king's big war canoe bore down upon them, but recognizing the
royal craft from afar, they paddled lustily for the shore. Knowing the
heiau was nearing completion the fishermen guessed the reason for the
king's early morning visit and had no intention of remaining to
receive him.
[Illustration: Drawn by Will Herwig. Paradise Eng.
"Mamalahoa Kanawai o na Alii" Kamehameha Called After Them.]
Landing safely, yet with the prow of the big canoe not a spear's
length behind, the poor fellows made all speed over the open lava beds
that lie between the shore and the jungle at this point. The king,
standing in the bow of his canoe, was first ashore and in hot pursuit,
but, unfamiliar with the footing there, made poor progress. These lava
beds are full of treacherous pukas and into one of them Kamehameha
stumbled, sinking to his armpits. There chanced to be a sizeable stone
within reach of his hand, and this he hurled after the fleeing men,
but his aim was bad and he missed them. This very stone, and the hole
into which the king fell, may still be seen just mauka of Leleiwi
Point.
Glancing over his shoulder, the hindmost fugitive observed the king
was trapped and that his retainers were still some distance to the
rear. Here was a chance for revenge. Swinging his heavy canoe paddle,
which he had been too frightened to drop, the fisherman turned and
dealt his majesty a cruel blow on the head and, leaving him for dead,
made off at top speed after his companion.
When his men came up, the king was just regaining consciousness. One
look at their wounded monarch sent them like a pack of hungry wolves
after the fishermen.
"Mamalahoa Kanawai o na alii!" Kamehameha called after them. "Whoever
purposely murders a fellowman shall be hanged."
And thus the very first law was made in Hawaii.
"Let them go," he said, as his men reluctantly abandoned the chase. "I
am not much harmed and they are badly frightened now. They may never
do violence again to anyone. If any man hereafter wilfully take the
life of another he shall be hanged. Come, let us go back. My heiau
will not require a human sacrifice, for it shall never be used."
So it happened that this was the first heiau ever built without its
human sacrifice, and the last one constructed on the Island. Once the
law forbidding murder was enforced heiaus were no longer needed.
For the first time on Hawaii trails became safe for travelers. Always
theretofore one never knew at what moment an enemy in ambush might rob
him or take his life. Women and children could now go abroad at all
times in safety.
Peace reigned in the land and the people became more prosperous and
progressive. Years passed before the law was broken, and, true to his
word--for the king's word was law--Kamehameha ordered the murderer
hanged. The scene of his execution was the unusually crooked coconut
tree which until recent years stood near the present site of a cracker
factory on what is now Kamehameha Avenue.
Today a careful observer may, by peering beneath the Armory Hall, make
out the few remaining stones which were once a part of the foundation
of the last heiau built on Hawaii.