Early History of the Sandwich Islands.
Captain James Cook's Great Discoveries and His Martyrdom--Character
and Traditions of the Hawaiian Islands--Charges Against the Famous
Navigator, and effort to Array the Christian World Against Him--The
True Story of His Life and Death--How Charges Against Cook Came
to Be Made--Testimony of Vancouver, King and Dixon, and Last
Words of Cook's Journal--Light Turned on History That Has Become
Obscure--Savagery of the Natives--Their Written Language Took Up
Their High Colored Traditions, and Preserved Phantoms--Scenes in
Aboriginal Theatricals--Problem of Government in an Archipelago Where
Race Questions Are Predominant--Now Americans Should Remember Captain
Cook as an Illustrious Pioneer.
Regarding the islands in the Pacific that we have for a long time
largely occupied and recently wholly possessed, the Hawaiian cluster
that are the stepping stone, the resting place and the coal station
for the golden group more than a thousand leagues beyond, we should
remember Captain Cook as one of our own Western pioneers, rejoice
to read his true story, and in doing so to form a correct estimate
of the people who have drifted into the area of our Protection, or
territory that is inalienably our own, to be thoroughly Americanized,
that they may some day be worthy to become our fellow-citizens.
Sunday, January 18th, 1778, Captain Cook, after seeing birds every
day, and turtles, saw two islands, and the next day a third one, and
canoes put off from the shore of the second island, the people speaking
the language of Otaheite. As the Englishmen proceeded, other canoes
appeared, bringing with them roasted pigs and very fine potatoes. The
Captain says: "Several small pigs were purchased for a six-penny nail,
so that we again found ourselves in a land of plenty. The natives
were gentle and polite, asking whether they might sit down, whether
they might spit on the deck, and the like. An order restricting the
men going ashore was issued that I might do everything in my power
to prevent the importation of a fatal disease into the island,
which I knew some of our men now labored under." Female visitors
were ordered to be excluded from the ships. Captain Cook's journal
is very explicit, and he states the particulars of the failure of
his precautions. This is a subject that has been much discussed,
and there is still animosity in the controversy. The discovery of
the islands that he called the Sandwich, after his patron the Earl
of Sandwich, happened in the midst of our Revolutionary war. After
Cook's explorations for the time, he sailed in search of the supposed
Northwest passage, and that enterprise appearing hopeless, returned to
the summer islands, and met his fate in the following December. Captain
George Vancouver, a friend and follower of Cook, says, in his "Voyage
of Discovery and Around the World." from 1790 to 1795:
"It should seem that the reign of George the Third had been
reserved by the Great Disposer of all things for the glorious task
of establishing the grand keystone to that expansive arch over which
the arts and sciences should pass to the furthermost corners of the
earth, for the instruction and happiness of the most lowly children of
nature. Advantages so highly beneficial to the untutored parts of the
human race, and so extremely important to that large proportion of the
subjects of this empire who are brought up to the sea service deserve
to be justly appreciated; and it becomes of very little importance to
the bulk of our society, whose enlightened humanity teaches them to
entertain a lively regard for the welfare and interest of those who
engage in such adventurous undertakings for the advancement of science,
or for the extension of commerce, what may be the animadversions or
sarcasms of those few unenlightened minds that may peevishly demand,
"what beneficial consequences, if any, have followed, or are likely
to follow to the discoverers, or to the discovered, to the common
interests of humanity, or to the increase of useful knowledge, from
all our boasted attempts to explore the distant recesses of the
globe?" The learned editor (Dr. Douglas, now Bishop of Salisbury)
who has so justly anticipated this injudicious remark, has, in his
very comprehensive introduction to Captain Cook's last voyage, from
whence the above quotation is extracted, given to the public not
only a complete and satisfactory answer to that question, but has
treated every other part of the subject of discovery so ably as to
render any further observations on former voyages of this description
wholly unnecessary, for the purpose of bringing the reader acquainted
with what had been accomplished, previously to my being honored with
His Majesty's commands to follow up the labors of that illustrious
navigator Captain James Cook; to whose steady, uniform, indefatigable
and undiverted attention to the several objects on which the success
of his enterprises ultimately depended, the world is indebted for
such eminent and important benefits."
Captain George Vancouver pays, in the introduction of his report,
a remarkable tribute to Captain Cook, that should become familiar
to the American people, for it is one of the features of prevalent
Hawaiian literature that the great navigator is much disparaged,
and denounced. One of the favorite theories of the missionaries has
been that Cook's death at the hands of the savages was substantially
the punishment inflicted by God, because the Captain allowed himself
to be celebrated and worshipped as a god by the heathen, consenting
to their idolatry when he should have preached to them, as was done
with so much efficiency nearly half a century later. The fact is the
natives had a great deal of "religion" of their own, and defended
their superstitions with skill and persistence before yielding to
the great simplicities of the Christian faith. Captain Cook, it must
be admitted, did not attempt to preach the gospel. The gentleness of
the natives turned out to contain a great deal that was most horrible.
The closing years of the last century were those of rapid progress
in the art of navigation, and Captain Vancouver gives this striking
summary of testimony:
"By the introduction of nautical astronomy into marine education,
we are taught to sail on the hypothenuse, instead of traversing
two sides of a triangle, which was the usage in earlier times; by
this means the circuitous course of all voyages from place to place
is considerably shortened; and it is now become evident that sea
officers of the most common rate abilities who will take the trouble
of making themselves acquainted with the principles of this science,
will, on all suitable occasions, with proper and correct instruments,
be enabled to acquire a knowledge of their situation in the Atlantic,
Indian or Pacific Oceans, with a degree of accuracy sufficient to
steer on a meridianal or diagonal line, to any known spot, provided
it be sufficiently conspicuous to be visible at any distance from
five to ten leagues.
"This great improvement, by which the most remote parts of the
terrestrial globe are brought so sasily within our reach, would
nevertheless have been of comparatively little utility had not those
happy means been discovered for preserving the lives and health of the
officers and seamen engaged in such distant and perilous undertakings;
which were so peacefully practiced by Captain Cook, the first great
discoverer of this salutary system, in all his latter voyages around
the globe. But in none have the effect of his wise regulations,
regimen and discipline been more manifest than in the course of the
expedition of which the following pages are designed to treat. To an
unremitting attention, not only to food, cleanliness, ventilation,
and an early administration of antiseptic provisions and medicines,
but also to prevent as much as possible the chance of indisposition,
by prohibiting individuals from carelessly exposing themselves to the
influence of climate, or unhealthy indulgences in times of relaxation,
and by relieving them from fatigue and the inclemency of the weather
the moment the nature of their duty would permit them to retire, is
to be ascribed the preservation of the health and lives of sea-faring
people on long voyages."
"Those benefits did not long remain unnoticed by the commercial
part of the British nation. Remote and distant voyages being now no
longer objects of terror, enterprises were projected and carried into
execution, for the purpose of establishing new and lucrative branches
of commerce between Northwest America and China; and parts of the
coast of the former that had not been minutely examined by Captain
Cook became now the general resort of the persons thus engaged."
The special zeal and consistency with which Cook is defended by
the English navigators who knew him and were competent to judge of
the scope of his achievements is due in part to the venom of his
assailants. The historian of the Sandwich Islands, Sheldon Dibble,
says: "An impression of wonder and dread having been made, Captain Cook
and his men found little difficulty in having such intercourse with the
people as they chose. In regard to that intercourse, it was marked,
as the world would say, with kindness and humanity. But it cannot be
concealed that here and there at this time, in the form of loathsome
disease, was dug the grave of the Hawaiian nation; and from so deep an
odium it is to be regretted that faithful history cannot exempt even
the fair name of Captain Cook himself, since it was evident that he
gave countenance to the evil. The native female first presented to
him was a person of some rank; her name was Lelemahoalani. Sin and
death were the first commodities imported to the Sandwich Islands."
We have already quoted Captain Cook's first words on this subject. He
had much more to say giving in detail difficulties rather too searching
to be fully stated. As for the charge that Cook personally engaged
in debauchery, it rests upon the tradition of savages, who had no
more idea than wild animals of the restraint of human passion. It was
debated among the islanders whether the white men should be assailed
by the warriors, and it was on the advice of a native queen that the
women were sent to make friends with the strangers; and this was the
policy pursued. As for the decline of the natives in numbers, and the
"digging the grave of the nation." the horror of the islands was the
destruction of female infants, and also the habit of putting aged
and helpless men and women to death. The general indictment against
Captain Cook is that this amiable race was just about prepared
for Christianity when he thrust himself forward as a god, and with
his despotic licentiousness destroyed immediate possibilities of
progress. In Sandwich Island notes by "a Haole" (that is to say,
a white person) we see what may be said on the other side of the
picture: "It becomes an interesting duty to examine their social,
political and religious condition. The first feature that calls the
attention to the past is their social condition, and a darker picture
can hardly be presented to the contemplation of man. They had their
frequent boxing matches on a public arena, and it was nothing uncommon
to see thirty or forty left dead on the field of contest.
"As gamblers they were inveterate. The game was indulged in by
every person, from the king of each island to the meanest of his
subjects. The wager accompanied every scene of public amusement. They
gambled away their property to the last vestige of all they
possessed. They staked every article, of food, their growing crops,
the dollies they wore, their lands, wives, daughters, and even the
very bones of their arms and legs--to be made into fishhooks after they
were dead. These steps led to the most absolute and crushing poverty.
"They had their dances, which were of such a character as not to be
conceived by a civilized mind, and were accompanied by scenes which
would have disgraced even Nero's revels. Nearly every night, with
the gathering darkness, crowds would retire to some favorite spot,
where, amid every species of sensual indulgence they would revel
until the morning twilight. At such times the chiefs would lay aside
their authority, and mingle with the lowest courtesan in every degree
of debauchery.
"Thefts, robberies, murders, infanticide, licentiousness of the most
debased and debasing character, burying their infirm and aged parents
alive, desertion of the sick, revolting cruelties to the unfortunate
maniac, cannibalism and drunkenness, form a list of some of the traits
in social life among the Hawaiians in past days.
"Their drunkenness was intense. They could prepare a drink, deadly
intoxicating in its nature, from a mountain plant called the awa
(Piper methysticum). A bowl of this disgusting liquid was always
prepared and served out just as a party of chiefs were sitting down to
their meals. It would sometimes send the victim into a slumber from
which he never awoke. The confirmed awa drinker could be immediately
recognized by his leprous appearance.
"By far the darkest feature in their social condition was seen
in the family relation. Society, however, is only a word of mere
accommodation, designed to express domestic relations as they then
existed. 'Society' was, indeed, such a sea of pollution as cannot be
well described. Marriage was unknown, and all the sacred feelings which
are suggested to our minds on mention of the various social relations,
such as husband and wife, parent and child, brother and sister,
were to them, indeed, as though they had no existence. There was,
indeed, in this respect, a dreary blank--a dark chasm from which the
soul instinctively recoils. There were, perhaps, some customs which
imposed some little restraint upon the intercourse of the sexes,
but those customs were easily dispensed with, and had nothing of the
force of established rules. It was common for a husband to have many
wives, and for a wife also to have many husbands. The nearest ties
of consanguinity were but little regarded, and among the chiefs,
especially, the connection of brother with sister, and parent with
child, were very common. For husbands to interchange wives, and
for wives to interchange husbands, was a common act of friendship,
and persons who would not do this were not considered on good terms
of sociability. For a man or woman to refuse a solicitation was
considered an act of meanness; and this sentiment was thoroughly
wrought into their minds, that, they seemed not to rid themselves of
the feeling of meanness in a refusal, to feel, notwithstanding their
better knowledge, that to comply was generous, liberal, and social,
and to refuse reproachful and niggardly. It would be impossible to
enumerate or specify the crimes which emanated from this state of
affairs. Their political condition was the very genius of despotism,
systematically and deliberately conducted. Kings and chiefs were
extremely jealous of their succession, and the more noble their blood,
the more they were venerated by the common people."
Mr. Sheldon Dibble is a historian whose work was published in 1843. He
complains most bitterly that the natives bothered the missionaries
by trying to give them the benefit of native thought. They wanted
to do some of the talking, and said very childish things, and were
so intent on their own thoughts that they would not listen to the
preachers. But it ought not to have been held to be an offense for
a procession of heathen to march to a missionary's house and tell
him their thoughts. That was an honest manifestation of profound
interest--the slow ripening of a harvest field. Mr. Dibble's book
is printed by the Mission Seminary, and Mr. Dibble says, page 21:
"We know that all the inhabitants of the earth descended from Noah,"
therefore, the Hawaiians "must once have known the great Jehova
and the principles of true religion." But the historian says on the
next page that the Hawaiians were heathen from time immemorial, for,
"Go back to the very first reputed progenitor of the Hawaiian race,
and you find that the ingredients of their character are lust, anger,
strife, malice, sensuality, revenge and the worship of idols." This
is the elevation upon which Mr. Dibble places himself to fire upon
the memory of the English navigator Captain James Cook. The first
paragraph of the assault on Cook is this:
"How unbounded the influence of foreign visitors upon the ignorant
inhabitants of the Pacific! If the thousands of our countrymen
who visit this ocean were actuated by the pure principles of the
religion of Jesus, how immense the good they might accomplish! But,
alas! how few visitors to the Western hemisphere are actuated by
such principles."
This is preparatory to the condemnation of Cook in these terms:
"Captain Cook allowed himself to be worshipped as a god. The people
of Kealakeakua declined trading with him, and loaded his ship freely
with the best productions of the island. The priests approached him
in a crouching attitude, uttering prayers, and exhibiting all the
formalities of worship. After approaching him with prostration the
priests cast their red kapas over his shoulders and then receding a
little, they presented hogs and a variety of other offerings, with
long addresses rapidly enunciated, which were a repetition of their
prayers and religious homage.
"When he went on shore most of the people fled for fear of him, and
others bowed down before him, with solemn reverence. He was conducted
to the house of the gods, and into the sacred enclosure, and received
there the highest homage. In view of this fact, and of the death of
Captain Cook, which speedily ensued, who can fail being admonished
to give to God at all times, and even among barbarous tribes, the
glory which is his due? Captain Cook might have directed the rude and
ignorant natives to the great Jehovah, instead of receiving divine
homage himself.
"Kalaniopuu, the king, arrived from Maui on the 24th of January,
and immediately laid a tabu on the canoes, which prevented the women
from visiting the ship, and consequently the men came on shore in
great numbers, gratifying their infamous purposes in exchange for
pieces of iron and small looking-glasses. Some of the women washed
the coating from the back of the glasses much to their regret, when
they found that the reflecting property was thus destroyed.
"The king, on his arrival, as well as the people, treated Captain
Cook with much kindness, gave him feather cloaks and fly brushes and
paid him divine honors. This adoration, it is painful to relate,
was received without remonstrance. I shall speak here somewhat
minutely of the death of Captain Cook, as it develops some traits
of the heathen character, and the influence under which the heathen
suffer from foreign intercourse."
After setting forth the horrible character of the natives, Captain
Cook is condemned and denounced because he did not refuse the homage
of the ferocious savages, paid him as a superior creature. One of
Cook's troubles was the frantic passion the islanders had to steal
iron. The common people were the property of the chiefs, and they had
no other sense of possession. They gave away what they had, but took
what they wanted.
Mr. Dibble shows his animus when he charges that Cook did not give
the natives the real value of their hogs and fruit, and also that he
had no right to stop pilferers in canoes by declaring and enforcing a
blockade. This is a trifling technicality much insisted upon. Dibble's
account of the death of Cook is this:
"A canoe came from an adjoining district, bound within the bay. In the
canoe were two chiefs of some rank, Kekuhaupio and Kalimu. The canoe
was fired upon from one of the boats and Kalimu was killed. Kekuhaupio
made the greatest speed till he reached the place of the king, where
Captain Cook also was, and communicated the intelligence of the death
of the chief. The attendants of the king were enraged and showed
signs of hostility, but were restrained by the thought that Captain
Cook was a god. At that instant a warrior, with a spear in his hand,
approached Captain Cook and was heard to say that the boats in the
harbor had killed his brother, and he would he revenged. Captain Cook,
from his enraged appearance and that of the multitude, was suspicious
of him, and fired upon him with his pistol. Then followed a scene
of confusion, and in the midst Captain Cook being hit with a stone,
and perceiving the man who threw it, shot him dead. He also struck a
certain chief with his sword, whose name was Kalaimanokahoowaha. The
chief instantly seized Captain Cook with a strong hand, designing
merely to hold him and not to take his life; for he supposed him
to be a god and that he could not die. Captain Cook struggled to
free himself from the grasp, and as he was about to fall uttered a
groan. The people immediately exclaimed, "He groans--he is not a god,"
and instantly slew him. Such was the melancholy death of Captain Cook.
"Immediately the men in the boat commenced a deliberate fire upon the
crowd. They had refrained in a measure before, for fear of killing
their Captain. Many of the natives were killed."
"Historian Dibble does not notice the evidence that Cook lost his life
by turning to his men in the boats, ordering them not to fire. It
was at that moment he was stabbed in the back. Dibble represents
the facts as if to justify the massacre of the great navigator,
because he allowed the heathen to think he was one of their gang of
gods. But this presumption ought not to have been allowed to excuse
prevarication about testimony. The importance of Dibble's history is
that it is representative. He concludes with this eloquent passage:
"From one heathen nation we may learn in a measure the wants of
all. And we ought not to restrict our view, but, look at the wide
world. To do then for all nations what I have urged in behalf of the
Sandwich Islands, how great and extensive a work! How vast the number
of men and how immense the amount of means which seem necessary to
elevate all nations, and gain over the whole earth to the permanent
dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ! Can 300,000,000 of pagan children
and youth be trained and instructed by a few hands? Can the means
of instructing them be furnished by the mere farthings and pence of
the church? Will it not be some time yet before ministers and church
members will need to be idle a moment for the want of work? Is there
any danger of our being cut off from the blessed privilege either
of giving or of going? There is a great work yet to be done--a noble
work--a various and a difficult work--a work worthy of God's power,
God's resources, and God's wisdom. What Christendom has as yet done
is scarcely worthy of being called a commencement. When God shall
bring such energies into action as shall be commensurate with the
greatness of the work--when he shall cause every redeemed sinner,
by the abundant influence of His Holy Spirit, to lay himself out
wholly in the great enterprise, then there will be a sight of moral
sublimity that shall rivet the gaze of angels."
We quote this writer as to what became of the remains of Cook: "The
body of Captain Cook was carried into the interior of the island,
the bones secured according to their custom, and the flesh burned in
the fire. The heart, liver, etc., of Captain Cook, were stolen and
eaten by some hungry children, who mistook them in the night for the
inwards of a dog. The names of the children were Kupa, Mohoole and
Kaiwikokoole. These men are now all dead. The last of the number
died two years since at the station of Lahaina. Some of the bones
of Captain Cook were sent on board his ship, in compliance with the
urgent demands of the officers; and some were kept by the priests as
objects of worship." The "heart, liver, etc.," were of course given
to the children to eat! The bones are still hidden, and presumably not
much worshiped. The first of the remains of Captain Cook given up was a
mass of his bloody flesh, cut as if from a slaughtered ox. After some
time there were other fragments, including one of his hands which had
a well known scar, and perfectly identified it. Along with this came
the story of burning flesh, and denials of cannibalism. Mr. Dibble
speaks of Cook's "consummate folly and outrageous tyranny of placing
a blockade upon a heathen bay, which the natives could not possibly
be supposed either to understand or appreciate." That blockade,
like others, was understood when enforced. The historian labors to
work out a case to justify the murder of Cook because he received
worship. As to the acknowledgment of Cook as the incarnation of Lono,
in the Hawaiian Pantheon, Captain King says:
"Before I proceed to relate the adoration that was paid to Captain
Cook, and the peculiar ceremonies with which he was received on this
fatal island, it will be necessary to describe the Morai, situated,
as I have already mentioned, at the south side of the beach at
Kakooa (Kealakeakua). It was a square solid pile of stones, about
forty yards long, twenty broad, and fourteen in height. The top was
flat and well paved, and surrounded by a wooden rail, on which were
fixed the skulls of the captives sacrificed on the death of their
chiefs. In the center of the area stood a ruinous old building of
wood, connected with the rail on each side by a stone wall, which
next divided the whole space into two parts. On the side next the
country were five poles, upward of twenty feet high, supporting an
irregular kind of scaffold; on the opposite side toward the sea,
stood two small houses with a covered communication.
"We were conducted by Koah to the top of this pile by an easy ascent
leading from the beach to the northwest corner of the area. At the
entrance we saw two large wooden images, with features violently
distorted, and a long piece of carved wood of a conical form inverted,
rising from the top of their heads; the rest was without form and
wrapped round with red cloth. We were here met by a tall young man
with a long beard, who presented Captain Cook to the images, and
after chanting a kind of hymn, in which he was joined by Koah, they
led us to that end of the Morai where the five poles were fixed. At
the foot of them were twelve images ranged in a semicircular form,
and before the middle figure stood a high stand or table, exactly
resembling the Whatta of Othaheiti, on which lay a putrid hog, and
under it pieces of sugar cane, cocoanuts, bread fruit, plantains
and sweet potatoes. Koah having placed the Captain under the stand,
took down the hog and held it toward him; and after having a second
time addressed him in a long speech, pronounced with much vehemence
and rapidity, he let it fall on the ground and led him to the
scaffolding, which they began to climb together, not without great
risk of falling. At this time we saw coming in solemn procession,
at the entrance of the top of the Morai, ten men carrying a live
hog and a large piece of red cloth. Being advanced a few paces, they
stopped and prostrated themselves; and Kaireekeea, the young man above
mentioned, went to them, and receiving the cloth carried it to Koah,
who wrapped it around the Captain, and afterwards offered him the hog,
which was brought by Kaireekeea with the same ceremony.
"Whilst Captain Cook was aloft in this awkward situation, swathed
round with red cloth, and with difficulty keeping his hold amongst
the pieces of rotten scaffolding, Kaireekeea and Koah began their
office, chanting sometimes in concert and sometimes alternately. This
lasted a considerable time; at length Koah let the hog drop, when he
and the Captain descended together. He then led him to the images
before mentioned, and, having said something to each in a sneering
tone, snapping his fingers at them as he passed, he brought him to
that in the center, which, from its being covered with red cloth,
appeared to be in greater estimation than the rest. Before this
figure he prostrated himself and kissed it, desiring Captain Cook to
do the same, who suffered himself to be directed by Koah throughout
the whole of this ceremony.
"We were now led back to the other division of the Morai, where there
was a space ten or twelve feet square, sunk about three feet below
the level of the area. Into this we descended, and Captain Cook was
seated between two wooden idols, Koah supporting one of his arms,
whilst I was desired to support the other. At this time arrived a
second procession of natives, carrying a baked hog and a pudding,
some bread fruit, cocoanuts and other vegetables. When they approached
us Kaireekeea put himself at their head, and presenting the pig to
Captain Cook in the usual manner, began the same kind of chant as
before, his companions making regular responses. We observed that
after every response their parts became gradually shorter, till,
toward the close, Kaireekeea's consisted of only two or three words,
while the rest answered by the word Orono.
"When this offering was concluded, which lasted a quarter of an hour,
the natives sat down fronting us, and began to cut up the baked hog,
to peel the vegetables and break the cocoanuts; whilst others employed
themselves in brewing the awa, which is done by chewing it in the
same manner as at the Friendly Islands. Kaireekeea then took part of
the kernel of a cocoanut, which he chewed, and wrapping it in a piece
of cloth, rubbed with it the Captain's face, head, hands, arms and
shoulders. The awa was then handed around, and after we had tasted it
Koah and Pareea began to pull the flesh of the hog in pieces and put
it into our mouths. I had no great objection to being fed by Pareea,
who was very cleanly in his person, but Captain Cook, who was served
by Koah, recollecting the putrid hog, could not swallow a morsel;
and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished when the
old man, according to his own mode of civility had chewed it for him.
"When this ceremony was finished, which Captain Cook put an end to
as soon as he decently could, we quitted the Moral."
Evidently the whole purpose of Captain Cook in permitting this
performance, was to flatter and gratify the natives and make himself
strong to command them. The Captain himself was sickened, and got away
as quickly as he could without giving offense. This was not the only
case in which the native priests presented the navigator as a superior
being. Perhaps the view the old sailor took of the style of ceremony
was as there were so many gods, one more or less did not matter. Cook
never attached importance to the freaks of superstition, except so
far as it might be made useful in keeping the bloody and beastly
savages in check. Bearing upon this point we quote W.D. Alexander's
"Brief History of the Hawaiian People," pages 33-34:
"Infanticide was fearfully prevalent, and there were few of the older
women at the date of the abolition of idolatry who had not been guilty
of it. It was the opinion of those best informed that two-thirds of
all the children born were destroyed in infancy by their parents. They
were generally buried alive, in many cases in the very houses occupied
by their unnatural parents. On all the islands the number of males was
much greater than that of females, in consequence of the girls being
more frequently destroyed than the boys. The principal reason given
for it was laziness--unwillingness to take the trouble of rearing
children. It was a very common practice for parents to give away
their children to any persons who were willing to adopt them.
"No regular parental discipline was maintained, and the children
were too often left to follow their own inclinations and to become
familiar with the lowest vices.
"Neglect of the helpless. Among the common people old age was
despised. The sick and those who had become helpless from age were
sometimes abandoned to die or put to death. Insane people were also
sometimes stoned to death."
Again we quote Alexander's History, page 49:
"Several kinds of food were forbidden to the women on pain of death,
viz., pork, bananas, cocoanuts, turtles, and certain kinds of fish,
as the ulua, the humu, the shark, the hihimanu or sting-ray, etc. The
men of the poorer class often formed a sort of eating club apart
from their wives. These laws were rigorously enforced. At Honannau,
Hawaii, two young girls of the highest rank, Kapiolani and Keoua,
having been detected in the act of eating a banana, their kahu, or
tutor, was held responsible, and put to death by drowning. Shortly
before the abolition of the tabus, a little child had one of her eyes
scooped out for the same offense. About the same time a woman was
put to death for entering the eating house of her husband, although
though she was tipsy at the time."
Captain Cook seems to have committed the unpardonable sin in not
beginning the stated work of preaching the gospel a long generation
before the missionaries arrived, and the only sound reason for this
is found in Dibble's History, in his statement that the islanders
steadily degenerated until the missions were organized.
Writers of good repute, A. Fornander, chief of them, are severe with
Captain Cook on account of his alleged greed, not paying enough for
the red feathers woven into fanciful forms. Perhaps that is a common
fault in the transactions of civilized men with barbarians. William
Penn is the only man with a great reputation for dealing fairly with
American Red Men, and he was not impoverished by it. Cook gave nails
for hogs, and that is mentioned in phrases that are malicious. Iron
was to the islanders the precious metal, and they were not cheated. A
long drawn out effort has been made to impress the world that Cook
thought himself almost a god, and was a monster. The natives gave to
the wonderful people who came to them in ships, liberally of their
plenty, and received in return presents that pleased them, articles
of utility. Beads came along at a later day. The natives believed
Cook one of the heroes of the imagination that they called gods. He
sought to propitiate them and paid for fruit and meat in iron and showy
trifles. His policy of progress was to introduce domestic animals.
Note the temper of Mr. Abraham Fornander, a man who has meant honesty
of statement, but whose information was perverted:
"And how did Captain Cook requite this boundless hospitality, that
never once made default during his long stay of seventeen days in
Kealakeakua, these magnificent presents of immense value, this delicate
and spontaneous attention to every want, this friendship of the chiefs
and priests, this friendliness of the common people? By imposing on
their good nature to the utmost limit of its ability to respond to
the greedy and constant calls of their new friends; by shooting at one
of the king's officers for endeavoring to enforce a law of the land,
an edict of his sovereign that happened to be unpalatable to the new
comers, and caused them some temporary inconvenience, after a week's
profusion and unbridled license; by a liberal exhibition of his force
and the meanest display of his bounty; by giving the king a linen
shirt and a cutlass in return for feather cloaks and helmets, which,
irrespective of their value as insignia of the highest nobility in the
land, were worth, singly at least from five to ten thousand dollars, at
present price of the feathers, not counting the cost of manufacturing;
by a reckless disregard of the proprieties of ordinary intercourse,
even between civilized and savage man, and a wanton insult to what he
reasonably may have supposed to have been the religious sentiments of
his hosts." This is up to the mark of a criminal lawyer retained to
prove by native testimony that Captain James Cook was not murdered, but
executed for cause. The great crime of Cook is up to this point that of
playing that he was one of the Polynesian gods. Fornander says: "When
the sailors carried off, not only the railing of the temple, but also
the idols of the gods within it, even the large-hearted patience of
Kaoo gave up, and he meekly requested that the central idol at least,
might be restored. Captain King failed to perceive that the concession
of the priests was that of a devotee to his saint. The priests would
not sell their religious emblems and belongings for "thirty pieces
of silver," or any remuneration, but they were willing to offer up
the entire Heiau, and themselves on the top of it, as a holocaust to
Lono, if he had requested it. So long as Cook was regarded as a god
in their eyes they could not refuse him. And though they exhibited no
resentment at the request, the want of delicacy and consideration on
the part of Captain Cook is none the less glaring. After his death,
and when the illusion of godship had subsided, his spoliation of the
very Heiau in which he had been deified was not one of the least of
the grievances which native annalists laid up against him."
Contrast this flagrancy in advocacy of the cause of the barbarous
natives with the last words Cook wrote in his journal. We quote from
"A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean," by Captain James Cook, F.R.S.,
(Vol. II., pages 251-252):
"As it was of the last importance to procure a supply of provisions
at these islands; and experience having taught me that I could have
no chance to succeed in this, if a free trade with the natives were
to be allowed; that is, if it were left to every man's discretion to
trade for what he pleased, and in what manner he pleased; for this
substantial reason, I now published an order prohibiting all persons
from trading, except such as should be appointed by me and Captain
Clarke; and even these were enjoined to trade only for provisions and
refreshments. Women were also forbidden to be admitted into the ships,
except under certain restrictions. But the evil I intended to prevent,
by this regulation, I soon found had already got amongst them.
"I stood in again the next morning till within three or four miles
of the land, where we were met with a number of canoes laden with
provisions. We brought to, and continued trading with the people in
them till four in the afternoon, when, having got a pretty good supply,
we made sail and stretched off to the northward.
"I had never met with a behavior so free from reserve and suspicion
in my intercourse with any tribe of savages as we experienced in the
people of this island. It was very common for them to send up into
the ship the several articles they brought for barter; afterward, they
would come in themselves and make their bargains on the quarter-deck.
"We spent the night as usual, standing off and on. It happened that
four men and ten women who had come on board the preceding day still
remained with us. As I did not like the company of the latter, I
stood in shore toward noon, principally with a view to get them out
of the ship; and, some canoes coming off, I took that opportunity of
sending away our guests.
"In the evening Mr. Bligh returned and reported that he had found
a bay in which was good anchorage, and fresh water in a situation
tolerably easy to be come at. Into this bay I resolved to carry the
ships, there to refit and supply ourselves with every refreshment
that the place could afford. As night approached the greater part
of our visitors retired to the shore, but numbers of them requested
our permission to sleep on board. Curiosity was not the only motive,
at least with some, for the next morning several things were missing,
which determined me not to entertain so many another night.
"At eleven o'clock in the forenoon we anchored in the bay, which is
called by the natives Karakaooa, (Kealakeakua), in thirteen fathoms
water, over a sandy bottom, and about a quarter of a mile from the
northeast shore. In this situation the south point of the bay bore
south by west, and the north point west half north. We moored with
the stream-anchor and cable, to the northward, unbent the sails and
struck yards and topmasts. The ships continued to be much crowded
with natives, and were surrounded by a multitude of canoes. I had
nowhere, in the course of my voyages, seen so numerous a body of people
assembled in one place. For, besides those who had come off to us in
canoes, all the shore of the bay was covered with spectators, and many
hundreds were swimming around the ships like shoals of fish. We could
not but be struck with the singularity of this scene, and perhaps there
were few on board who lamented our having failed in our endeavors to
find a northern passage homeward last summer. To this disappointment
we owed our having it in our power to revisit the Sandwich Islands,
and to enrich our voyage with a discovery which, though the last,
seemed in many respects to be the most important that had hitherto
been made by Europeans, throughout the extent of the Pacific Ocean."
This is the end of Cook's writing. His murder followed immediately. He
fell by the hands of people for whom his good will was shown in
his last words. The concluding pages of the journal answer all the
scandals his enemies have so busily circulated.
There is a gleam of humor that shows like a thread of gold in the
midst of the somber tragedies of the Sandwich Islands, and we must not
omit to extract it from "The Voyage of Discovery Around the World" by
Captain George Vancouver, when he spent some time in Hawaii, and gives
two bright pictures--one of a theatrical performance, and the other
the happy settlement of the disordered domestic relations of a monarch.
_A Gifted Native Actress and Some Royal Dramatists._
"There was a performance by a single young woman of the name of
Puckoo, whose person and manners were both very agreeable. Her dress,
notwithstanding the heat of the weather, consisted of an immense
quantity of cloth, which was wreaths of black, red and yellow feathers;
but, excepting these, she wore no dress a manner as to give a pretty
effect to the variegated pattern of the cloth; and was otherways
disposed with great taste. Her head and neck were decorated with
wreaths of black, red and yellow feathers; but, excepting these,
she wore no dress from the waist upwards. Her ankles, and nearly half
way up her legs, were decorated with several folds of cloth, widening
upwards, so that the upper parts extended from the leg at least four
inches all round; this was encompassed by a piece of net work, wrought
very close, from the meshes of which were hung the small teeth of
dogs, giving this part of her dress the appearance of an ornamented
funnel. On her wrists she wore bracelets made of the tusks of the
largest hogs. These were highly polished and fixed close together in
a ring, the concave sides of the tusks being outwards; and their ends
reduced to a uniform length, curving naturally away from the center,
were by no means destitute of ornamental effect. Thus equipped, her
appearance on the stage, before she uttered a single word, excited
considerable applause.
"These amusements had hitherto been confined to such limited
performances; but this afternoon was to be dedicated to one of a more
splendid nature, in which some ladies of consequence, attendants on the
court of Tamaahmaah, were to perform the principal parts. Great pains
had been taken, and they had gone through many private rehearsals, in
order that the exhibition this evening might be worthy of the public
attention; on the conclusion of which, I purposed by a display of
fireworks, to make a return for the entertainment they had afforded us.
"About four o'clock we were informed it was time to attend the royal
dames; their theatre, or rather place of exhibition, was about a
mile to the southward of our tents, in a small square, surrounded
by houses, and sheltered by trees, a situation as well chosen for
the performance, as for the accommodations of the spectators; who,
on a moderate computation, could not be estimated at less than four
thousand, of all ranks and descriptions of persons.
"The dress of the actresses was something like that worn by Puckoo,
though made of superior materials, and disposed with more taste and
elegance. A very considerable quantity of their finest cloth was
prepared for the occasion; of this their lower garment was formed,
which extended from their waist half down their legs, and was so
plaited as to appear very much like a hoop petticoat. This seemed
the most difficult part of their dress to adjust, for Tamaahmaah,
who was considered to be a profound critic, was frequently appealed
to by the women, and his directions were implicitly followed in many
little alterations. Instead of the ornaments of cloth and net-work,
decorated with dogs' teeth, these ladies had each a green wreath made
of a kind of bind weed, twisted together in different parts like a
rope, which was wound round from the ankle, nearly to the lower part
of the petticoat. On their wrists they wore no bracelets nor other
ornaments, but across their necks and shoulders were green sashes,
very nicely made, with the broad leaves of the tee, a plant that
produces a very luscious sweet root, the size of a yam. This part of
their dress was put on the last by each of the actresses; and the party
being now fully attired, the king and queen, who had been present the
whole time of their dressing, were obliged to withdraw, greatly to
the mortification of the latter, who would gladly have taken her part
as a performer, in which she was reputed to excel very highly. But
the royal pair were compelled to retire, even from the exhibition, as
they are prohibited by law from attending such amusements, excepting
on the festival of the new year. Indeed, the performance of this
day was contrary to the established rules of the island, but being
intended as a compliment to us, the innovation was permitted.
"As their majesties withdrew, the ladies of rank and the principal
chiefs began to make their appearance. The reception of the former by
the multitude was marked by a degree of respect that I had not before
seen amongst any inhabitants of the countries in the Pacific Ocean. The
audience assembled at this time were standing in rows, from fifteen
to twenty feet deep, so close as to touch each other; but these ladies
no sooner approached in their rear, in any accidental direction, than
a passage was instantly made for them and their attendants to pass
through in the most commodious manner to their respective stations,
where they seated themselves on the ground, which was covered with
mats, in the most advantageous situation for seeing and hearing the
performers. Most of these ladies were of a corpulent form, which,
assisted by their stately gait, the dignity with which they moved,
and the number of their pages, who followed with fans to court the
refreshing breeze, or with fly-flaps to disperse the offending insects,
announced their consequence as the wives, daughters, sisters, or other
near relations of the principal chiefs, who, however, experienced no
such marks of respect or attention themselves; being obliged to make
their way through the spectators in the best manner they were able.
"The time devoted to the decoration of the actresses extended
beyond the limits of the quiet patience of the audience, who
exclaimed two or three times, from all quarters, "Hoorah, hoorah,
poaliealee," signifying that it would be dark and black night before
the performance would begin. But the audience here, like similar ones
in other countries, attending with a pre-disposition to be pleased,
was in good humor, and was easily appeased, by the address of our
faithful and devoted friend Trywhookee, who was the conductor of the
ceremonies, and sole manager on this occasion. He came forward and
apologized by a speech that produced a general laugh, and, causing
the music to begin, we heard no further murmurs.
"The band consisted of five men, all standing up, each with a highly
polished wooden spear in the left, and a small piece of the same
material, equally well finished, in the right hand; with this they
beat on the spear, as an accompaniment to their own voices in songs,
that varied both as to time and measure, especially the latter;
yet their voices, and the sounds produced from the rude instruments,
which differed according to the place on which the tapering spear was
struck, appeared to accord very well. Having engaged us a short time
in this vocal performance, the court ladies made their appearance,
and were received with shouts of the greatest applause. The musicians
retired a few paces, and the actresses took their station before them.
"The heroine of the piece, which consisted of four or five acts, had
once shared the affections and embraces of Tamaahmaah, but was now
married to an inferior chief, whose occupation in the household was
that of the charge of the king's apparel. This lady was distinguished
by a green wreath round the crown of the head; next to her was the
captive daughter of Titeeree; the third a younger sister to the queen,
the wife of Crymamahoo, who, being of the most exalted rank, stood in
the middle. On each side of these were two of inferior quality, making
in all seven actresses. They drew themselves up in a line fronting
that side of the square that was occupied by ladies of quality and
the chiefs. These were completely detached from the populace, not
by any partition, but, as it were, by the respectful consent of the
lower orders of the assembly; not one of which trespassed or produced
the least inaccommodation.
"This representation, like that before attempted to be described, was
a compound of speaking and singing; the subject of which was enforced
by gestures and actions. The piece was in honor of a captive princess,
whose name was Crycowculleneaow; and on her name being pronounced,
every one present, men as well as women, who wore any ornaments above
their waists, were obliged to take them off, though the captive lady
was at least sixty miles distant. This mark of respect was unobserved
by the actresses whilst engaged in the performance; but the instant
any one sat down, or at the close of the act, they were also obliged
to comply with this mysterious ceremony.
"The variety of attitudes into which these women threw themselves,
with the rapidity of their action, resembled no amusement in any
other part of the world within my knowledge, by a comparison with
which I might be enabled to convey some idea of the stage effect
thus produced, particularly in the three first parts, in which there
appeared much correspondence and harmony between the tone of their
voices and the display of their limbs. One or two of the performers
being not quite so perfect as the rest, afforded us an opportunity
of exercising our judgment by comparison; and it must be confessed,
that the ladies who most excelled, exhibited a degree of graceful
action, for the attainment of which it is difficult to account.
"In each of these first parts the songs, attitudes and actions appeared
to me of greater variety than I had before noticed amongst the people
of the great South Sea nation on any former occasion. The whole, though
I am unequal to its description, was supported with a wonderful degree
of spirit and vivacity; so much indeed that some of their exertions
were made with such a degree of agitating violence as seemed to carry
the performers beyond what their strength was able to sustain; and had
the performance finished with the third act, we should have retired
from their theatre with a much higher idea of the moral tendency of
their drama, than was conveyed by the offensive, libidinous scene,
exhibited by the ladies in the concluding part. The language of the
song, no doubt, corresponded with the obscenity of their actions;
which were carried to a degree of extravagance that were calculated
to produce nothing but disgust, even to the most licentious."
From "A Voyage of Discovery," by Captain George Vancouver:
_The Reconciliation by Strategy of a King With One of His Queens._
"Tahowmotoo was amongst the most constant of our guests; but his
daughter, the disgraced queen, seldom visited our side of the bay. I
was not, however, ignorant of her anxious desire for a reconciliation
with Tamaahmaah; nor was the same wish to be misunderstood in the
conduct and behavior of the king, in whose good opinion and confidence
I had now acquired such a predominancy that I became acquainted with
his most secret inclinations and apprehensions.
"His unshaken attachment and unaltered affection for Tahowmannoo was
confessed with a sort of internal self conviction of her innocence. He
acknowledged with great candor that his own conduct had not been
exactly such as warranted his having insisted upon a separation from
his queen; that although it could not authorize, it in some measure
pleaded in excuse for her infidelity; and for his own, he alleged,
that his high rank and supreme authority was a sort of license for
such indulgences.
"An accommodation which I considered to be mutually wished by both
parties was urged in the strongest terms by the queen's relations. To
effect this desirable purpose, my interference was frequently solicited
by them; and as it concurred with my own inclination, I resolved on
embracing the first favorable opportunity to use my best endeavors for
bringing a reconciliation about. For although, on our former visit,
Tahowmannoo had been regarded with the most favorable impressions,
yet, whether from her distresses, or because she had really improved
in her personal accomplishments, I will not take upon me to determine,
but certain it is that one or both of these circumstances united had so
far prepossessed us all in her favor, and no one more so than myself,
that it had long been the general wish to see her exalted again to her
former dignities. This desire was probably not a little heightened by
the regard we entertained for the happiness and repose of our noble and
generous friend Tamaahmaah, who was likely to be materially affected
not only in his domestic comforts, but in his political situation,
by receiving again and reinstating his consort in her former rank
and consequence.
"I was convinced beyond all doubt that there were two or three of
the most considerable chiefs of the island whose ambitious views were
inimical to the interests and authority of Tamaahmaah; and it was much
to be apprehended that if the earnest solicitations of the queen's
father (whose condition and importance was next in consequence to that
of the king) should continue to be rejected, that there could be little
doubt of his adding great strength and influence to the discontented
and turbulent chiefs, which would operate highly to the prejudice,
if not totally to the destruction, of Tamaahmaah's regal power;
especially as the adverse party seemed to form a constant opposition,
consisting of a minority by no means to be despised by the executive
power, and which appeared to be a principal constituent part of the
Owhyean politics.
"For these substantial reasons, whenever he was disposed to listen to
such discourse, I did not cease to urge the importance and necessity
of his adopting measures so highly essential to his happiness as a
man, and to his power, interest and authority as the supreme chief of
the island. All this he candidly acknowledged, but his pride threw
impediments in the way of a reconciliation, which were hard to be
removed. He would not himself become the immediate agent; and although
he considered it important that the negotiation should be conducted
by some one of the principal chiefs in his fullest confidence with
disdain, was equally hard to reconcile to his feelings. I stood
nearly in the same situation with his favorite friends; but being
thoroughly convinced of the sincerity of his wishes, I spared him
the mortification of soliciting the offices he had rejected, by again
proffering my services. To this he instantly consented, and observed
that no proposal could have met his mind so completely; since, by
effecting a reconciliation through my friendship, no umbrage could
be taken at his having declined the several offers of his countrymen
by any of the individuals; whereas, had this object been accomplished
by any one of the chiefs, it would probably have occasioned jealousy
and discontent in the minds of the others.
"All, however, was not yet complete; the apprehension that some
concession might be suggested, or expected, on his part, preponderated
against every other consideration; and he would on no account consent,
that it should appear that he had been privy to the business, or that
it had been by his desire that a negotiation had been undertaken for
this happy purpose, but that the whole should have the appearance of
being purely the result of accident.
"To this end it was determined that I should invite the queen, with
several of her relations and friends, on board the Discovery, for the
purpose of presenting them with some trivial matters, as tokens of my
friendship and regard; and that, whilst thus employed, our conversation
should be directed to ascertain whether an accommodation was still an
object to be desired. That on this appearing to be the general wish,
Tamaahmaah would instantly repair on board in a hasty manner, as if
he had something extraordinary to communicate; that I should appear
to rejoice at this accidental meeting, and by instantly uniting their
hands, bring the reconciliation to pass without the least discussion
or explanation on either side. But from his extreme solicitude lest
he should in any degree be suspected of being concerned in this
previous arrangement, a difficulty arose how to make him acquainted
with the result of the proposed conversation on board, which could not
be permitted by a verbal message; at length, after some thought, he
took up two pieces of paper, and of his own accord made certain marks
with a pencil on each of them, and then delivered them to me. The
difference of these marks he could well recollect; the one was to
indicate that the result of my inquiries was agreeable to his wishes,
and the other that it was contrary. In the event of my making use of
the former, he proposed that it should not be sent on shore secretly,
but in an open and declared manner, and by way of a joke, as a present
to his Owhyhean majesty. The natural gaiety of disposition which
generally prevails among these islanders, would render this supposed
disappointment of the king a subject for mirth, would in some degree
prepare the company for his visit, and completely do away with every
idea of its being the effect of a preconcerted measure.
"This plan was accordingly carried into execution on the following
Monday. Whilst the queen and her party, totally ignorant of the
contrivance, were receiving the compliments I had intended them,
their good humor and pleasantry were infinitely heightened by the jest
I proposed to pass upon the king, in sending him a piece of paper
only, carefully wrapped up in some cloth of their own manufacture,
accompanied by a message; importing, that as I was then in the act of
distributing favors to my Owhyhean friends, I had not been unmindful
of his majesty.
"Tamaahmaah no sooner received the summons, than he hastened on board,
and, with his usual vivacity, exclaimed before he made his appearance
that he was come to thank me for the present I had sent him, and for
my goodness in not having forgotten him on this occasion. This was
heard by everyone in the cabin before he entered; and all seemed to
enjoy the joke except the poor queen, who appeared to be much agitated
at the idea of being again in his presence. The instant that he saw
her his countenance expressed great surprise, he became immediately
silent, and attempted to retire; but, having posted myself for the
especial purpose of preventing his departure, I caught his hand and,
joining it with the queen's, their reconciliation was instantly
completed. This was fully demonstrated, not only by the tears that
involuntarily stole down the cheeks of both as they embraced each
other and mutually expressed the satisfaction they experienced; but
by the behavior of every individual present, whose feelings on the
occasion were not to be repressed; whilst their sensibility testified
the happiness which this apparently fortuitous event had produced.
"A short pause, produced by an event so unexpected, was succeeded by
the sort of good humor that such a happy circumstance would naturally
inspire; the conversation soon became general, cheerful and lively,
in which the artifice imagined to have been imposed upon the king
bore no small share. A little refreshment from a few glasses of wine
concluded the scene of this successful meeting.
"After the queen had acknowledged in the most grateful terms the
weighty obligations which she felt for my services on this occasion,
I was surprised by her saying, as we were all preparing to go on shore,
that she had still a very great favor to request; which was, that I
should obtain from Tamaahmaah a solemn promise that on her return to
his habitation he would not beat her. The great cordiality with which
the reconciliation had taken place, and the happiness that each of
them had continued to express in consequence of it, led me at first
to consider this entreaty of the queen as a jest only; but in this I
was mistaken, for, notwithstanding that Tamaahmaah readily complied
with my solicitation, and assured me nothing of the kind should take
place, yet Tahowmannoo would not be satisfied without my accompanying
them home to the royal residence, where I had the pleasure of seeing
her restored to all her former honors and privileges, highly to the
satisfaction of all the king's friends, but to the utter mortification
of those who by their scandalous reports and misrepresentations had
been the cause of the unfortunate separtion.
"The domestic affairs of Tamaahmaah having thus taken so happy a turn,
his mind was more at liberty for political considerations; and the
cession of Owhyhee to his Britannic Majesty now became an object of
his serious concern."
Captain Cook makes a strong plea in his journal that he was the
very original discoverer of the Sandwich Islands. Referring to the
wonderful extent of the surface of the earth in which the land is
occupied by the Polynesial race, he exclaims:
"How shall we account for this nation's having spread itself,
in so many detached islands, so widely disjoined from each other,
in every quarter of the Pacific Ocean! We find it, from New Zealand
in the South, as far as the Sandwich Islands, to the North! And, in
another direction, from Easter Islands to the Hebrides! That is, over
an extent of sixty degrees of latitude, or twelve hundred leagues,
North and South! And eighty-three degrees of longitude, or sixteen
hundred and sixty leagues, East and West! How much farther, in either
direction, its colonies reach, is not known; but what we know already,
in consequence of this and our former voyage, warrants our pronouncing
it to be, though perhaps not the most numerous, certainly, by far,
the most extensive, nation upon earth.
"Had the Sandwich Islands been discovered at an early period by
the Spaniards, there is little doubt that they would have taken
advantage of so excellent a situation, and have made use of Atooi,
or some other of the islands, as a refreshing place to the ships,
that sail annually from Acapulco for Manilla. They lie almost midway
between the first place and Guam, one of the Ladrones, which is at
present their only port in traversing this vast ocean; and it would not
have been a week's sail out of their common route to have touched at
them; which could have been done without running the least hazard of
losing the passage, as they are sufficiently within the verge of the
easterly trade wind. An acquaintance with the Sandwich Islands would
have been equally favorable to our Buccaneers, who used sometimes to
pass from the coast of America to the Ladrones, with a stock of food
and water scarcely sufficient to preserve life. Here they might always
have found plenty, and have been within a month's sure sail of the
very part of California which the Manilla ship is obliged to make,
or else have returned to the coast of America, thoroughly refitted,
after an absence of two months. How happy would Lord Anson have been,
and what hardships he would have avoided, if he had known that there
was a group of islands half way between America and Tinian, where
all his wants could have been effectually supplied; and in describing
which the elegant historian of that voyage would have presented his
reader with a more agreeable picture than I have been able to draw
in this chapter."
And yet there seems to be reason for believing that there was a
Spanish ship cast away on one of the Hawaiian group, and that their
descendants are distinctly marked men yet: There was also a white man
and woman saved from the sea at some unknown period, of course since
Noah, and they multiplied and replenished, and the islanders picked
up somewhere a knack for doing things in construction of boats and
the weaving of mats that hint at a crude civilization surviving in
a mass of barbarianism.
Captain George Dixon names the islands discovered by Captain Cook on
his last voyage:
"Owhyhee (Hawaii), the principal, is the first to the southward and
eastward, the rest run in a direction nearly northwest. The names of
the principals are Mowee (Maui), Morotoy (Molokai), Ranai (Lanai),
Whahoo (Oahu), Attooi (Kauai), and Oneehow (Niihau)."
This account Dixon gives of two curious and rather valuable words:
"The moment a chief concludes a bargain, he repeats the word Coocoo
thrice, with quickness, and is immediately answered by all the people
in his canoe with the word Whoah, pronounced in a tone of exclamation,
but with greater or less energy, in proportion as the bargain he has
made is approved."
The great and celebrated Kamehameha, who consolidated the government
of the islands, did it by an act of treachery and murder, thus told
in Alexander's history:
"The Assassination of Keoua.--Toward the end of the year 1791 two of
Kamehameha's chief counsellors, Kamanawa and Keaweaheulu, were sent
on an embassy to Keoua at Kahuku in Kau. Keoua's chief warrior urged
him to put them to death, which he indignantly refused to do.
"By smooth speeches and fair promises they persuaded him to go to
Kawaihae, and have an interview with Kamehameha, in order to put an end
to the war, which had lasted nine years. Accordingly he set out with
his most intimate friends and twenty-four rowers in his own double
canoe, accompanied by Keaweaheulu in another canoe, and followed by
friends and retainers in other canoes.
"As they approached the landing at Kawaihae, Keeaumoku surrounded
Keoua's canoe with a number of armed men. As Kamakau relates: 'Seeing
Kamehameha on the beach, Keoua called out to him, "Here I am," to which
he replied, "Rise up and come here, that we may know each other."'
"As Keoua was in the act of leaping ashore, Keeaumoku killed him
with a spear. All the men in Keoua's canoe and in the canoes of
his immediate company were slaughtered but one. But when the second
division approached, Kamehameha gave orders to stop the massacre. The
bodies of the slain were then laid upon the altar of Puukohola as an
offering to the blood-thirsty divinity Kukailimoku. That of Keoua had
been previously baked in an oven at the foot of the hill as a last
indignity. This treacherous murder made Kamehameha master of the whole
island of Hawaii, and was the first step toward the consolidation of
the group under one government."
This is one of those gentle proceedings of an amiable race, whose
massacre of Captain Cook has been so elaborately vindicated by alleged
exponents of civilization.
There is found the keynote of the grevious native government in
an incident of the date of 1841 by which "the foreign relations
of the government became involved with the schemes of a private
firm. The firm of Ladd & Co. had taken the lead in developing the
agricultural resources of the islands by their sugar plantation
at Koloa and in other ways, and had gained the entire confidence
of the king and chiefs. On the 24th of November, 1841, a contract
was secretly drawn up at Lahaina by Mr. Brinsmade, a member of the
firm, and Mr. Richards, and duly signed by the king and premier,
which had serious after-consequences. It granted to Ladd & Co. the
privilege of "leasing any now unoccupied and unimproved localities"
in the islands for one hundred years, at a low rental, each millsite
to include fifteen acres, and the adjoining land for cultivation in
each locality not to exceed two hundred acres, with privileges of
wood, pasture, etc. These sites were to be selected within one year,
which term was afterwards extended to four years from date."
Of course there are many safeguards, particularly in this case,
but the points of the possession of land conceded, the time for the
people to recover their rights never comes.
One of the difficulties in the clearing up of the foggy chapters of
the history of the Hawaiian islands is that within the lifetime of men
who were young at the close of the last century, the Hawaiian tongue
became a written language, and made the traditions of savages highly
colored stories, in various degrees according to ignorance, prejudice
and sympathy, accepted as historical. The marvels accomplished by
the missionaries influenced them to deal gently with those whose
conversion was a recognized triumph of Christendom, and there was
an effort to condemn Captain Cook, who had affected to nod as a God,
as a warning to blasphemers. Still, the truth of history is precious
as the foundations of faith to men of all races and traditions, and
the Englishman who surpassed the French, Spaniards and Portuguese
in discoveries of islands in the vast spaces of the Pacific Ocean,
should have justice at the hands of Americans who have organized
states and built cities by that sea, and possess the islands that
have been named its paradise because endowed surpassingly with the
ample treasures of volcanic soil and tropical climate. There the trade
winds bestow the freshness of the calm and mighty waters, and there
is added to the bounty of boundless wealth the charms of luxuriant
beauty. All Americans should find it timely to be just to Captain Cook,
and claim him as one of the pioneers of our conquering civilization.