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DUE NORTH.
BY MATURIN M. BALLOU,
AUTHOR OF "DUE SOUTH," "DUE WEST," "EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH," "GENIUS IN
SUNSHINE AND SHADOW," ETC., ETC.
One Vol. 12mo. $1.50.
Mr. Ballou's previous travel-books have had an immense popular success,
now repeated in this vivid record of his recent travels in Russia and
Scandinavia. It contains attractive accounts of the Danish, Swedish, and
Norwegian capitals, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Christiania; chapters
devoted to Bergen and Trondhjem; the Loffodens and Maelstroem; the North
Cape and Midnight Sun; Lapland and Finland; St. Petersburg and Moscow;
the Neva and Volga; Nijni-Novgorod; Warsaw and Russian Poland, etc.
=BOSTON TRAVELLER=:
"Of the finest and most extensive culture, Mr. Ballou is the
ideal traveller."
=GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP= in the =NEW YORK STAR=:
"Research is a recreation and travel a joyous rambling.
Above all things, Mr. Ballou does not believe in boring or
in being bored. Books of travel written in this light and
pleasant vein do far more, we are convinced, toward making
the general reader feel at home on foreign questions than
more labored and abstruse dissertations on the subject are
apt to do. Mr. Ballou's cheerfulness of mood is contagious,
and the book is one likely to meet with a generous welcome.
In 'Due North' (Ticknor & Co.) he has made a memorable
journey. The reader is interested and entertained, and comes
away with his eyes opened."
=THE OBSERVER= (=New York=):
"We are ready and glad to follow Mr. Ballou all around the
compass as long as he continues to lead in such delightful
and interesting ways. Mr. Ballou is in many respects a model
traveller. He sees and hears everything which ought to be
seen and heard, no more and no less, and describes his
experiences in such an easy and natural way that his readers
are carried along through his pages for hour after hour
without a thought of being weary. We count this volume of
travel as by far the brightest and best of any we have seen
during the present season."
=NATIONAL BAPTIST=:
"Exceedingly interesting. One of the best of recent works of
travel."
=BOSTON GLOBE=:
"An ideal writer of books of travel, and blends instruction
and entertainment in the most insidious manner. Next to
going one's self to the countries is the reading of Mr.
Ballou's own travel in them."
=CHRISTIAN LEADER=:
"We commend the book, alike for its novel information and
for its constant fascination."
=JOURNAL OF EDUCATION=:
"He has the tact to travel without an object; he strolls. He
sees things accidentally; you feel that you might have seen
the same things, under the same circumstances. He never
lectures; rarely theorizes. It is as useful to read him as
it is enjoyable to travel with him."
=B. P. SHILLABER=:
"He is a vivid portrayer of scenes visited, and in his
descriptions, so admirably given, there is a self-evident
authenticity that renders them charming."
=BOSTON TRANSCRIPT=:
"The late E. P. Whipple said, in a review of one of Mr.
Ballou's books, 'Few persons have travelled so extensively,
and no one more profitably both to himself and the reading
public.' ... The first two chapters are devoted to
Copenhagen and Denmark, so graphically described as to
induce a strong desire to visit that extremely interesting
Danish capital. From thence the narrative of the journey
takes the reader into Norway and along one of the most
remarkable coast lines in the world, indented by fjords
deeper than the sea into whose bosom they empty."
=THE BEACON= (=Boston=):
"The book as a whole is very pleasant, very entertaining,
very instructive, and very popular in the good sense of the
word. It will help in destroying the popular prejudice about
Northern and Eastern Europe which, strange to relate, is
still supreme in our press and even in our literature, but
is wholly unjustified."
=NEW-ORLEANS TIMES-DEMOCRAT=:
"A very charming book, ... a series of studies and sketches
of Northern Europe, with myth and legend and historical fact
interwoven, that makes it enchanting reading."
=THE CHURCH REVIEW=:
"Altogether, this is certainly one of the most successful
and satisfactory books of its kind recently published."
=THE WATCHMAN=:
"While Mr. Ballou confines himself to facts, his style is
yet so graceful and natural as to captivate the attention
and interest of the reader. The narrative runs on like a
pictorial panorama unrolled upon canvas, under the best
light, and we seem to see in tangible form the people, the
architecture, and the thousand characteristics of scenery
which are recorded by the author's ready pen."
EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH.
By M. M. BALLOU.
An Encyclopaedia of Quotations, the Brightest Sayings of the Wise and
Famous. Invaluable for Debating Societies, Writers, and Public Speakers.
A Treasure for Libraries. 1 vol. 8vo. $3.50.
* * * * *
NOTICES OF THE PRESS.
=CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL=:
"A vast collection of pungent quotations.... Mr. Ballou has
made this immense collection in a liberal spirit. His test
has been fitness and excellence. The volume will be an
addition to the working force of writers, speakers, and
readers."
=THE NORTHWESTERN=:
"An almost inexhaustible mine of the choicest thoughts of
the best writers of all ages and countries, from Confucius
down to Garfield and Gladstone,--a _potpourri_ of all the
spiciest ingredients of literature. There is a vacancy on
every student's desk and in every library which it alone can
fill, and, we believe, soon will fill. The book deserves the
popularity which it is most certain to gain."
=THE BEACON= (=Boston=):
"The quotations cover a wondrous multitude of subjects.
Indeed, the book is like an endless string of pearls, with
here and there a ruby, a diamond, or a bit of honest glass
interjected. Mr. Ballou's taste is thoroughly catholic, his
sympathy wide as the world, and his judgment good. The
friends of quotations will find these 'Edge-Tools'
inexhaustible, yet well arranged, and highly convenient for
reference. The book is a literary treasure, and will surely
hold its own for years to come. It deserves a place by the
side of Mr. Bartlett's 'Familiar Quotations,'--no mean honor
for any book."
=THE CRITIC=:
"M. M. Ballou's 'Edge-Tools of Speech' shows a broader
culture and a wider range of thought and subject. He has
classified his quotations alphabetically under the head of
subjects after the fashion of a glossary ('Ability,'
'Absence,' etc.), and has collected the most famous literary
or historical sayings bearing on each subject. Every side of
the subjects finds an application and illustration in one
quotation or another. Thus the word 'Ability' is made the
text of wise utterances from Napoleon I., Dr. Johnson,
Wendell Phillips, Longfellow, Maclaren, Gail Hamilton,
Froude, Beaconsfield, Zoroaster, Schopenhauer, La
Rochefoucauld, Matthew Wren, Gibbon, and Aristotle. It has
no rival."
=PHILADELPHIA TIMES=:
"There is a running fire of fine thoughts brilliantly
expressed, and hence a splendid fund of entertainment."
=BOSTON JOURNAL=:
"'Edge-Tools of Speech' will find its way into thousands of
families. It is a volume to take up when a few minutes of
leisure are found, and it will always be read with
interest."
=CHURCH PRESS=:
"The work, indeed, is a dictionary or encyclopaedia of wise
and learned quotations; and, beginning with the word
'Ability' and ending with 'Zeal,' it presents in consecutive
order the wisest and wittiest sayings of all the best
writers of all ages and countries upon all subjects in
theology, philosophy, poetry, history, science, and every
other topic that might be useful or entertaining. It is thus
a treasury of useful learning, and will prove valuable in
suggesting thoughts, or in supplying quotations for the
illustration of ideas, or the embellishment of style."
=BOOK NOTES=:
"It is a large collection of condensed expressions of
thought on a great variety of subjects, by the most
distinguished or profound writers of all ages. It is
arranged by subjects. Take the word 'novel,' by which we
mean a fictitious story. This book gathers short, pithy
expressions concerning it by Herschel, Goldsmith, Emerson,
Sir Walter Scott, Thackeray, Dryden, Carlyle, Sala, Beecher,
Willmott, Hamerton, Fielding, Swift, Macaulay, Sterne,
Masson, Balzac, George Curtis, and others. It is not within
the range of possibility for any reader to have read all
these writers. Even had he done so, how could he remember
just where to turn to these authors to find their thoughts,
and yet how convenient it is for a writer or a speaker to
have quick access to them for illustrations. This book for
the uses for which it was made is invaluable."
=THE COMMONWEALTH=:
"A remarkable compilation of brilliant and wise sayings from
more than a thousand various sources, embracing all the
notable authors, classic and modern, who have enriched the
pages of history and literature. It might be termed a whole
library in one volume."
=THE WATCHMAN=:
"Highly creditable, as evincing vast literary research and a
catholic spirit in the selections. Professional men and
litterateurs can hardly afford to be without a book which is
calculated to aid and stimulate the imagination in so direct
a manner."
=BOSTON HOME JOURNAL=:
"The volume is not only of great value to students,
professional men, and litterateurs, but will be a rich
treasury in the intelligent home."
* * * * *
_For sale by all booksellers. Sent, post-paid, on receipt of the price,
by the publishers_,
TICKNOR & COMPANY, Boston.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
* * * * *
GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.
_One Volume. 12mo. $1.50._
* * * * *
NOTICES OF THE PRESS.
=BOSTON COURIER=:
"One of those pleasant, chatty, and gossipy volumes that
everybody enjoys reading. In his easy and flowing style he
tells most entertainingly the curious vagaries of the men of
genius whom the world has revered, and many a fact which
escaped the ordinary reader of biography will here be seized
upon and remembered. The volume is a most agreeable
companion for solitary hours."
=PITTSBURG BULLETIN=:
"Mr. Ballou seems to have a positive genius for seizing upon
prominent traits of character or events in the lives of his
subjects. How many people who have read of Cromwell and
Hampden know that they were once on the point of setting out
for America to live before they took part in England's civil
war? How many people remember Agassiz's noble answer when
offered a large salary to lecture,--'I cannot afford to
waste time in making money'?"
=BROOKLYN MAGAZINE=:
"Daniel De Foe, Keats, Oliver Cromwell, Hugh Miller, John
Bunyan, Benjamin Franklin, Elihu Burritt, Benjamin West, and
hundreds of others are cited as instances to illustrate that
genius is independent of circumstances. A galaxy of the
names of the world's great men is presented to demonstrate
the fact that the humblest may rise to be the greatest. Mr.
Ballou's book is crowded full of interest from cover to
cover. He shows a wide knowledge of men and events, and his
strict regard for accuracy gives a permanent value to the
book. To place such a book as this in the hands of young men
is to confer a blessing upon them. It is full of beneficial
illustrations and lessons, and many a young man will take
new heart after a perusal of its pages."
=JOURNAL OF EDUCATION= (=Boston=):
"The book has much of the fascination of a conversation,
chatting leisurely about the gossip, history, anecdotes,
etc., which the names of hundreds of authors, artists, and
other celebrities suggest. The index is so complete and
accurate as to make this marvellous compilation as available
as an encyclopaedia."
=SUNDAY BUDGET=:
"A work of exceeding interest and value, for it is a
veritable epitome of biography, dealing with all the famous
characters of literature, science, and art, and presenting a
wealth of instructive data such as no volume of similar
compass has ever contained. A more instructive and
interesting book has not been brought out the present
season, and its charm exerts a hold upon the reader that
leads him on from page to page."
=THE JOURNALIST= (=New York=):
"A charming, gossipy volume of literary anecdotes. It is
this very gossipy style which makes the book an easy one to
read; and, while the briefness of some of the references
frequently piques the reader's curiosity into further
investigation, they are full enough to furnish much valuable
information concerning the masters of art and literature.
Mr. Ballou displays a broad and thorough knowledge of men of
genius in all ages, and the comprehensive index makes the
volume invaluable as a book of reference, while--a rare
thing in reference books--it is thoroughly interesting for
consecutive reading."
=THE WATCHMAN=:
"The book contains, in a condensed form, so large an amount
of interesting information concerning the personality of
authors, artists, and scientists as to cause us to wonder
how one mind could be sufficiently retentive to produce so
comprehensive a collection. The book is so easy and flowing
in style as to seem more like listening to agreeable
conversation than the reading of printed pages."
=BOSTON TRAVELLER=:
"One of the most permanently valuable publications of the
year. It has one very striking and curious element in being
a kind of literary phonograph, so to speak, with which one
can sit down alone in one's room and summon up spirits from
the vasty deep of the past with far better success than
attended Glendower's efforts in that line. One returns to
Mr. Ballou's book again and again to discover the secret of
this peculiar quality; but, open the work where he will, the
same spell of fascination is over it. The wide range of
literature in many lands and languages, the fine and
discriminating insight, and the scholarly culture that were
so conspicuous in Mr. Ballou's 'Edge-Tools of Speech,' are
revealed in the 'Genius in Sunshine and Shadow.' It is a
book to live with,--a statement that can be predicated of
few of the latter-day publications."
=SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE=:
"A large store of delightful literary entertainment. It is
written in a graceful, fluent, and attractive style, and
with an easy liveliness that makes it peculiarly pleasing in
the perusal. We know of no volume in which is presented so
vast a fund of interesting gossip about the world's great
ones in art, literature, and science as is here set forth.
Every page is abundant in anecdote, of which there is such a
copious shower that it even overflows into foot-notes. It
would be next to impossible to describe the work in detail,
so extensive is the field it covers and so luxuriant is it
in illustration. It is enough to state that it will be found
fascinating by every reader of refined and educated taste,
and attractive and edifying by all, not only for what it
tells, but for the bright, chatty, and spirited manner in
which it is told."
=MASSACHUSETTS PLOUGHMAN=:
"One of the most agreeable books. It is a work teeming with
delightful information and anecdote gathered from the broad
fields of literature and art. The great charm of the book is
its colloquial and epigrammatic style, conveying a whole
volume of suggestiveness and facts on every page. Open it
where we may, it reads charmingly, and one is loath to lay
it aside until every page has been perused. In saying that
the book is one of real and permanent value, we pay it a
just and merited tribute."
UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS
UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS
_OR TRAVELS IN_
AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA, NEW ZEALAND, SAMOA,
AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDS
BY
MATURIN M. BALLOU
AUTHOR OF "DUE WEST; OR, ROUND THE WORLD IN TEN MONTHS," "DUE NORTH;
OR, GLIMPSES OF SCANDINAVIA, RUSSIA, AND RUSSIAN POLAND,"
"DUE SOUTH; OR, CUBA PAST AND PRESENT," ETC.
... Of antres vast and deserts idle,
Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven,
It was my hint to speak,--such was the process;
And of the cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi.--SHAKSPEARE.
BOSTON
TICKNOR AND COMPANY
211 Tremont Street
1888
_Copyright, 1887_,
BY MATURIN M. BALLOU.
_All rights reserved._
University Press:
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
PREFACE.
Dr. Johnson is reported to have said that the best way to travel is to
sit by one's own fireside and read how others have done it; but though
this may be the safest mode it certainly is not the pleasantest. This
any travelled writer knows; and he also knows that could he succeed in
adequately inspiring the reader with his accounts of the delights of
foreign experiences, especially those of the grand, beautiful, and
marvellous exhibitions of Nature, he would surely induce him to add to
his own enjoyment by similar personal experiences. That there is a
degree of pleasure in recording these observations we freely confess;
but that one constantly feels how inadequate is language to convey a
realizing sense of what is actually enjoyed in travel we must as freely
admit. Madame Swetchine was more sarcastic than truthful when she
pronounced travel to be the frivolous part of serious lives, and the
serious part of frivolous ones. To an observant person nothing can be
more instructive than travel; in fact it may be said to be the only
royal road to learning. Travel is a magician,--it both enchants and
disenchants; since while it delights the eye, it often proves the
winding-sheet of many cherished illusions. There is always some bitter
to be tasted with every sweet; but even the bee which finds a thorn on
every rose comes home laden with honey.
M. M. B.
BOSTON, January, 1888.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page
Journey across the American Continent.--The Giant City of the
West.--A Chinese Community.--Embarking for a Long Sea-voyage.
--About Ocean Birds.--Navigating the Pacific.--Peculiarities
of Life at Sea.--Curiosities of the Deep.--Ambergris.--City
of Honolulu.--An Island Paradise.--Early Paganism at Hawaii.
--Wholesale Human Sacrifices.--Royalty at the Race-course.--
Not a Kingly Monarch 1-25
CHAPTER II.
Ladies Riding Astride.--Passion for Flower Decorations.--A
Sailor on a Bucking Horse.--A Weekly Gala-day.--Hawaiian
Ladies' Costume.--A Famous Battle-ground.--The Native's
Staff of Life.--Ubiquitous John Chinaman.--Largest Apple-
orchard in the World.--Hawaiians as Cannibals.--An Active
Volcano.--Colony of Lepers.--Unwelcome Visitors.--Our
Political Relations with the Sandwich Islands 26-49
CHAPTER III.
The Samoan Islands.--A Unique Race of Savages.--Diving for
Money.--A Genuine Samoan Mermaid.--German Aggressiveness.--A
South-Sea Nunnery.--A Terrible Disease.--Christianity vs.
Paganism.--Under the Southern Cross.--Grandeur of the Heavens
at Sea.--Landing at Auckland.--A Stormy Ocean.--The Famous
Harbor of Sydney.--England and her Australian Colony.--The
Modern Eldorado.--Early Settlers 50-75
CHAPTER IV.
Interesting Statistical Facts.--Emigration.--Heavy Indebtedness.
--Curious Contrasts.--New South Wales.--A Populous City.--A
Splendid Harbor.--The Yacht "Sunbeam."--Street Scenes.--Gin
Palaces.--Public Gardens of Sydney.--A Noble Institution of
Learning.--Art Gallery.--Public Libraries.--Pleasure Trip to
Parametta.--Attractive Drives.--A Sad Catastrophe in Sydney
Harbor 76-98
CHAPTER V.
A Zigzag Railway.--Wonderful Series of Caves.--Immense Sheep-
Runs.--Sheep-Shearing.--Central Australia.--City Characteristics.
--Fine Architectural Development.--Steam Tramways.--Labor
Unions.--Colonial Federation.--The Tariff.--Loyalty to England.
--Spirit of Local Rivalry.--The St. Giles of Sydney.--City
Clubs.--The Laughing Jackass.--Public Parks.--Gold Mines 99-125
CHAPTER VI.
The Capital of Queensland.--Public Gardens.--Gold Mines and
Gold Mining.--Pleasant Excursion.--Inducements to Emigrants.
--Coolie Principle of Labor.--Agricultural Products.--Sugar
Plantations.--Australian Aborigines.--Cannibalism.--Civil
Wars.--Indian Legends.--Fire-arms and Fire-water.--Missionary
Efforts.--A Brief Romance.--The Boomerang.--The Various Tribes.
--Antiquity of these Lands 126-151
CHAPTER VII.
Morning in the Forest.--Flying Foxes.--A Startling Snake-
story.--Geographical.--Want of Irrigation.--Droughts.--
Immense Sheep-Runs.--Seeking a Shepherd Life.--Wonderful Gold
Nuggets.--A "Welcome" Discovery.--Wool is King in Queensland.
--The Chinese Population.--Education in Australia.--Peculiar
Banking Business.--Waging War upon Kangaroos.--Journalism in
Australia.--Proposed New Colony 152-176
CHAPTER VIII.
An Inland Journey.--The Capital of Victoria.--Grand Public
Buildings.--Water-Supply of the City.--Public Parks and
Gardens.--Street Scenes.--Dashing Liveries.--Tramways.--
Extremes.--Melbourne Ladies.--Street Beggars.--Saturday
Half-Holiday.--Public Arcades.--The City Free Library.--The
Public Markets.--China-Town, Melbourne.--Victims of the
Opium Habit 177-201
CHAPTER IX.
A Melbourne Half-Holiday.--Inconsistency of Laborers.--Vice-
Royal Residence.--Special Gold-Fields of Victoria.--Ballarat.
--Great Depths in Mines.--Agricultural Interests.--Sandhurst.
--The Giant Trees of Australia.--The Kangaroo.--In Victorian
Forests.--Peculiar Salt Lakes.--The Bower-bird's Retreat.--
The Wild Dog.--Desirable and Undesirable Emigrants.--No Place
for the Intemperate 202-222
CHAPTER X.
From Melbourne to Adelaide.--Capital of South Australia.--New
Gold-Fields.--Agricultural Interests.--City Institutions.--
Inducements to Immigrants.--Public Buildings.--A City of
Churches.--Australian Ladies.--Interior of the Country.--
Irrigation.--German Settlers.--The Botanical Gardens.--West
Australia.--Perth the Capital.--The Pearl Fisheries.--Commercial
Advantages Considered 223-245
CHAPTER XI.
From Australia to Tasmania.--The River Tamar.--Bird Life.--
City of Launceston.--Aborigines of the Island.--Tattooing.--
Van Diemen's Land.--A Beautiful Country.--Rich Mines.--Mount
Bischoff.--Down in a Gold Mine.--From Launceston to Hobart.
--Rural Aspects.--Capital of Tasmania.--Street Scenes.--A
Former Penal Depot.--Mount Wellington.--Personal Beauty.--An
Unbecoming Fashion 246-268
CHAPTER XII.
Lake District of Tasmania.--Mount Wellington.--Kangaroos.--The
Big Trees.--A Serenade.--The Albatross.--Marksmanship at Sea.
--Dust of the Ocean.--A Storm.--Franklin's Proposition.--A
Feathered Captive.--Bluff Oysters.--Most Southerly Hotel in
the World.--Invercargill.--Historical Matters.--Geographical.
--The Climate of New Zealand.--Colonial Hospitality 269-298
CHAPTER XIII.
The City of Dunedin.--Scotch Residents.--The Enchanter's Wand.
--Chain-Cable Tramways.--Volcanic Effects.--The Salvation
Army.--Local Gold-Fields.--Enormous Aggregate Product.--Trees
and Flowers.--The Rabbit Pest.--Port Littleton.--Market Day
in Christchurch.--An Interesting City.--Wonderful Extinct
Bird.--Strange Record of an Unknown Race.--The New Zealand
Forests 299-321
CHAPTER XIV.
Capital of New Zealand.--About the Native Race.--A City of
Shops.--Local Earthquakes.--Large Glaciers.--McNab's Gardens.
--A Public Nuisance.--Napier.--Maori Peculiarities.--Native
Language.--Mythology.--Christianizing Savages.--Gisborne.--
Cruelty to Dumb Animals.--Shag Island.--Sir George Gray's
Pleasant Home.--Oysters Growing on New Zealand Trees! 322-343
CHAPTER XV.
Historical Glance at Auckland.--A Remarkable Volcanic Region.
--City Institutions.--Queen Street and Its Belongings.--Mount
Eden.--Comprehensive View.--Labor Unions.--The Public Debt.--
Kauri Forests.--Production of Kauri Gum.--Environs of Auckland.
--The Native Flora.--An Admirable Climate.--A Rich Mineral
District.--Agricultural Development 344-364
CHAPTER XVI.
A Journey to the King's Country.--An Experienced "Whip."--
Volcanic Hills.--A New Zealand Forest.--A Strangely Afflicted
Boy.--Lake Rotorua.--Ohinemutu.--Funeral of a Maori Chief.--
Wailing and Weeping.--Moonlight on the Lake.--Wonderland.--
Spouting Geysers and Boiling Pools.--Savage Mode of Slaughter.
--Maori Houses.--Chivalry and Cannibalism.--Savage and
Civilized Life 365-385
CHAPTER XVII.
The Maori Dog.--A Romantic Island.--Sinking of a Maori Fort.
--Volcanic Destruction.--A Country of Boiling Springs.--
Idleness.--A Lazy Race of Savages.--Native Religion.--A
Fitful Geyser.--Sophia, the Famous Guide.--A Funeral Dance.
--The "Haka" Performance.--Maori Improvidence.--Rubbing Noses.
--Native Babies.--Church-Going and Card-Playing.--The King's
Country.--Eloquent Aborigines.--A Sanitarium.--Sulphur Point.
--Future of New Zealand 386-405
UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS.
CHAPTER I.
Journey across the American Continent.--The Giant City of
the West.--A Chinese Community.--Embarking for a Long
Sea-voyage.--About Ocean Birds.--Navigating the
Pacific.--Peculiarities of Life at Sea.--Curiosities of the
Deep.--Ambergris.--City of Honolulu.--An Island
Paradise.--Early Paganism at Hawaii.--Wholesale Human
Sacrifices.--Royalty at the Race-course.--Not a Kingly
Monarch.
When the author resolved upon a journey to the Antipodes he was in
London, just returned from Norway, Sweden, and Russia, and contemplated
reaching the far-away countries of Australia and New Zealand by going
due east through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and
then crossing the Indian Ocean. But this is not the nearest route to
Oceania. The English monthly mail for that part of the world is
regularly forwarded from Liverpool to Boston or New York, thence across
the continent of America, and by steamboat from San Francisco. These
mail steamers touch at the Sandwich Islands, after which the course lies
southwest into the island-dotted latitudes of the widespread South
Pacific. Auckland, in New Zealand, is reached by this route in
thirty-seven days from London; and Sydney, in Australia, five days
later,--the two great English colonies being separated by over a
thousand miles of unbroken ocean. The latter route was adopted by the
writer of these pages as being both more comfortable and more
expeditious. Having already experienced the sirocco-like heat of the Red
Sea throughout its whole length, from Adin to Suez, the prospect of a
second journey in that exhausting region was anything but attractive.
The Atlantic Ocean was therefore crossed to the westward, and a fair
start made from much nearer home; namely, by the American Central
Pacific route.
The journey by rail across our own continent was easily accomplished in
one week of day-and-night travel, covering a distance of thirty-four
hundred miles from Boston to San Francisco. Comfortable sleeping-cars
obviate the necessity of stopping by the way for bodily rest, provided
the traveller be physically strong and in good health. On a portion of
the road one not only retires at his usual hour, but he also breakfasts,
dines, and enjoys nearly all the domestic conveniences in the train,
while it is moving at a rate varying from thirty-five to forty-five
miles per hour, in such well-adjusted cars as hardly to realize that he
is all the time being rapidly and surely forwarded to his destination.
The pleasing variety of scenery presented to the eyes of the watchful
traveller from the car windows is extremely interesting and peculiarly
American, embracing peaceful, widespread, fertile fields, valleys of
exquisite verdure, foaming torrents and mountain gorges, together with
Alpine ranges worthy of Switzerland. Now the route skirts the largest
lakes on the face of the globe, navigated by mammoth steam ships; now
follows the silvery course of some broad river, or crosses a great
commercial water-way, hundreds of feet above its surface, by iron
bridges skilfully hung in air. For scores of miles the road may run
parallel with some busy canal crowded with heavily-laden barges, slowly
making their way to market. Besides winding through mountain gorges,
plains, parks, and primeval forests, one passes _en route_ through grand
and populous cities numbering half a million and more of people each, as
well as through pleasant towns, thrifty villages, pioneer hamlets, and
Indian reservations, where the plains are as far-reaching as the open
sea, the blue of the sky overhead and the yellow buffalo-grass which
carpets the earth forming the only blending colors,--until by and by a
distant glimpse of the waters of the Pacific signifies that the
land-journey draws near its close, and soon after the young but
wonderful giant city of the West, San Francisco, is reached.
Five years had elapsed since we last visited this thriving metropolis,
during which brief period whole streets of substantial houses have been
erected in what was formerly a suburb of the town, and many noble
architectural structures have been reared upon the long avenues
previously established. In population forty thousand inhabitants have in
that space of time been added to its aggregate numbers, while it is
to-day growing in wealth, numbers, and political importance faster than
ever before. What a panorama of living interest was afforded by its
streets, alleys, and broad boulevards! How impressive to watch its
cosmopolitan life, to note the exaggerated love of pleasure exhibited on
all hands, the devotion of each active member of the community to
money-making, the artificial manners and customs so widely prevailing,
the iniquitous pursuits of the desperate and dangerous classes, and the
ripe aptitude of their too willing victims! It is the solitary looker-on
who sees more than the actors in the great drama of every-day life. It
is "the hearing ear and the seeing eye" that enrich the memory and ripen
the judgment. Is it not curious to observe how the lines of barbarism
and civilization intersect along these teeming avenues?
Of our own country we do not propose to treat at length in these pages;
but probably not many of our readers have visited the hidden corners of
Chinatown in the metropolis of California,--a section of the city
contiguous to its very centre, and yet at total variance with its every
aspect. It required but a slight stretch of the imagination after
passing its borders to believe oneself in Canton, Pekin, or Hong-Kong,
except that the thoroughfares in the Asiatic capitals are mere alleys in
width, shut in overhead and darkened by mats, while here we have broad
streets after the American and European fashion, open to the sky. They
are, however, lined with Chinese shops decked in all their national
peculiarities exhibiting the most grotesque signs, while the windows are
crowded with outlandish trash, and the whole is surrounded by an
Oriental atmosphere. This section is entirely peopled by the Mongolians,
and by such poor, fallen, abandoned men and women of other nationalities
as seek among these surroundings to hide themselves from the shame and
penalty of their crimes. There are but few native Chinese women here,
and those that are seen have been smuggled in, it being the rule that
none of them shall be landed in this country.
The Chinaman appears thoroughly at home here, and revels in his native
dress,--pigtail, odd shoes, and silk attire,--even though he may adopt
the American style while working as a stevedore on the wharves, or while
engaged in various avocations about the other parts of the city. Here
without the least attempt at disguise all the many vices of the race are
freely indulged in, especially as regards sensuality, opium-smoking, and
gambling. A Chinaman rarely touches spirituous liquors, so that there is
no drunkenness to be seen in the district, but only that insensibility
which is the effect of indulgence in opium. The thirty thousand Asiatics
who live in Chinatown are packed together at night like dried herring in
a box. Twenty of them often sleep in the same small room, lying upon the
floor, without even an apology for a bed. Here they cook and eat
mysterious dishes after the custom of their race, amid smells and filth
which no American or European stomach could endure.
A couple of hours sufficed to give us all the personal experience of
this locality we had the least wish to acquire, though our official
guide of the police force proposed to introduce us to other peculiar
sights and into deeper cellars,--places usually hidden from the curious
eyes of the general public. The vile practices, indecent and gross
exhibitions, which are indulged in by these Mongolians, no respectable
paper would publish in detail. In short, Chinatown is the repository of
vice of the most brutal and disgusting character, affording the fullest
entertainment for the low tastes of the most depraved. Finding that this
pandering to the curiosity of a certain class of whites brings them in
money, the Chinamen give them all the grossness they are willing to pay
for.
The reader, however, must not entertain a wrong idea with regard to
Chinatown, since in the midst of all this squalor, dirt, immorality, and
wickedness, there are some of this race living here who keep themselves
untainted by the objectionable associations that surround them. They are
the exceptions, to be sure. We were told of several Chinese gentlemen,
for instance, who have amassed large fortunes by legitimate trade,
within the last ten or fifteen years,--men who, as reliable and
honorable merchants, stand high among the commercial people of San
Francisco. Three names were given us by a gentleman who was well
informed in the matter, of Asiatics who were each worth over a million
dollars. To these were added the names of two who are worth over two
millions. These men will not return to China, because the property tax
is so high there. Like many of our own citizens, these Chinese find
their great satisfaction in accumulating wealth, and so go on adding
daily to their possessions. We have said that there are thirty thousand
Chinese in this district, but we were officially informed that forty
thousand would be much nearer the true aggregate.
The impression prevails that the open immigration of this race has
ceased at San Francisco, but the arrival of several hundreds by steamer
the day before we visited their miserable quarter of the town, was duly
announced in the papers. These came by the way of Japan. A sickening
odor adheres to one's clothing for hours after returning from the
Asiatic section of San Francisco,--a flavor of musk, opium, stale
tobacco, and sandal-wood, the latter being freely burned as an incense
before the Chinese gods; for amid all his filth and vileness, John does
not forget scrupulously to fulfil the conventional requirements of his
idolatrous faith.
After a few days devoted to renewing acquaintance with the familiar
localities of the city, passage was taken on board the Union Steamship
Company's mail-packet "Zealandia" bound for Australia. Once before the
Golden Gate, as the entrance into the harbor of San Francisco is called,
had been passed by the author when bound upon a twenty days' sea-voyage.
Japan then formed the objective point, the route being a northerly one;
but the "Zealandia" was bound for the tropics and the far southern
sea,--that vast region forming the largest expanse of ocean in the world
and containing fully one half of its water surface. The Pacific measures
nine thousand miles from north to south, and is ten thousand miles broad
between Quinto, South America, and the Moluccas, or Spice Islands; while
at the extreme north, where Behring Strait divides the continents of
Asia and America, it is but about forty miles in width, and in clear
weather one can distinctly see the shore of Asia from that of our own
continent.
The harbor of San Francisco presented much the same busy scene which so
impressed us five years before; it was full of commercial activity and
the occupations incident to various forms of maritime life. The noise of
steam-whistles from the ferry-boats, the hoarse signals from ocean-going
vessels starting on long voyages, and the boatswain's shrill whistle
were half deafening as they mingled in direst discord. Big white
sea-gulls in myriads flew fearlessly in and out among the shipping,
uttering defiant screams, or floated like corks upon the water alongside
of the ship. In no other part of the world are there so many snow-white
sea-gulls to be seen as frequent this spacious and charming bay. They
are large, graceful, dignified birds, and are never molested, being
looked upon as picturesque ornaments to the harbor; besides which they
are the most active sort of scavengers in removing the floating carrion
and the debris thrown from the wharves and the cook's galley. The gulls
one sees off the coast of Norway and among the Loffoden Islands are
thousands in number, but they are not nearly so large as are these
bird-monarchs of the Pacific. Their rank, fishy flavor renders them
unfit for the table, though the Chinamen about the wharves secretly
snare and eat them. Their breeding-places are not known, but they must
be hundreds of miles away on unfrequented rocks and reefs. Distance,
however, is of little account to these buoyant navigators of the
atmosphere.
One of the ship's officers told us of a sea-gull which was caught within
the last year just off the Golden Gate, and detained for a brief period
on board a steamship bound for Japan. A short piece of red tape was
securely tied to one of its legs, after which the bird was released.
This identical gull followed the ship across the Pacific into the harbor
of Yokohama,--a distance of over four thousand miles. Until this
experiment was tried, it had been doubted whether the same individual
birds continue with a ship on a long voyage as they seem to do. "You
will see the albatross as we get down south," continued the officer, "a
bird worth watching, the largest of the gull family, frequently
measuring across its outspread wings twelve feet from tip to tip." We
resolved to be on the lookout for this king-bird, though rather doubting
the mammoth proportions attributed to him.
By turning to a map of the Western Hemisphere it will be found that the
Sandwich Islands are located far up in the northeastern part of the
Pacific Ocean, whence a vessel laying her course for New Zealand steers
south by west through a long tract of ocean, seemingly so full of
islands that the inexperienced are apt to wonder how she can hold such a
course and not run foul of some of the Polynesian groups. But so vast
are the distances in Oceania, so mathematically exact are the rules of
navigation, so well known are the prevailing winds and currents, that
the passengers of a steamship may make the voyage and not sight even a
headland between Honolulu and Auckland,--a distance of more than four
thousand miles. This is the course we pursued, first steering for the
Hawaiian group, and thence for the north headlands of New Zealand, _via_
Tutuila, of the Samoan Islands.
It was Magellan, the Portuguese navigator, who first discovered this
great ocean, sailing through the strait which bears his name. In the
month of November, 1520, he finally came into the waters of the new sea
upon which he was the first to sail, and which he named Mar Pacifico. It
may have been "pacific" in his day, or may have seemed so to him after
experiencing some rough weather on the other side of the continent of
America, but we have seen it more turbulent than the Atlantic,
especially where it approaches the Antarctic circle. Magellan did not
long survive to enjoy the fame and profit of his discovery, as about a
twelvemonth later he was killed in an unfortunate skirmish with the
savages of some of the Pacific islands. He is often compared with his
great contemporary Columbus, whose experience in the West Indies was
undoubtedly the incentive for Magellan on his voyages of discovery.
Sea-life is conducive to idleness, and the saline atmosphere is
narcotic. Lying in his berth the voyager gazes listlessly at the yellow
iron-mould on the towels, the greasy moreen curtains, the restless
hanging-lamp, and the damp, begrimed carpet, while he inhales the
unpleasant bilge-scented atmosphere which penetrates everything. The
jerking motion of the ship shaken incessantly by the propeller, causes
the letters of the printed regulations tacked upon the door to run
together in unintelligible lines, until at last he grows dizzy with the
ceaseless motion imparted to everything. Finally, with a sudden burst of
energy the deck is reached, where there is pretty sure to be something
suggestive to occupy the mind and vary the wearisome monotony. The
wonderful blue of the sea by day, and its fire-like phosphorescence by
night, are always interesting. The Mediterranean between Malta and
Gibraltar is proverbially blue, but the Pacific seemed to us more so. At
times it lay as if in a trance, a perfect calm, the ship's keel gliding
as it were over a burnished metallic field, or a flood of molten
sapphire. The familiar jelly-fish often appeared above the liquid
depths, contracting and expanding its soft, flat body, and thus
progressing through the still waters, its half-transparent form emitting
opaline colors under the warm rays of the sun. The many-armed, vaulting
cuttle-fish was seen now and again leaping out of the water as though
pursued by some aquatic enemy, though its general habit is not to
frequent the surface by daylight. Specimens of the deep-sea star-fish
with its five arms of equal length were abundant. Those which we met
here were of a reddish and purple color combined, but we have seen them
in shallower waters of a bright orange-yellow. While exhibiting but
little apparent life, the star-fish can yet be quite aggressive when
pressed by hunger and in search of food, having, as naturalists tell us,
a mysterious way of causing the oyster to open its shell, whereupon the
star-fish proceeds gradually to consume the body of the bivalve.
One frail, small rover of the quiet surface of the sea always interested
us,--the tiny nautilus, with a transparent shell almost as frail as
writing-paper. It was to be seen only in calm weather. If disturbed, it
drew itself within its sheltering cover and sank slowly from sight. No
wonder the ancient Greeks saw in its beautifully corrugated shell the
graceful model of a galleon; and hence its name, derived from the Greek
word which signifies a ship.
Every amusing suggestion, however trivial, is welcome, if it only serves
to break the depressing monotony of the sea,--a sail, a shark, a new
ocean bird, a school of porpoises. Two or three of our passengers had
supplied themselves with microscopes, and they often dropped a gauze
scoop-net over the ship's side, where it was permitted to trail for a
few moments; then drawing it on board they amused themselves by
subjecting the contents to a microscopic examination. The results were
often very curious. On one occasion a short bit of floating sea-weed was
thus obtained, upon which was securely woven a cluster of what looked
like tiny quinces in shape, though the color was jet black. They were
called sea-grapes by the sailors, but we knew them to be a cluster of
fishes' eggs. They proved to be those of the cuttle-fish, and were
eighteen or twenty in number.
Amiable persons exhibit their natural traits of disposition at sea in
strong contrast to those who are actuated by opposite qualities,--the
latter, we are sorry to say, being nearly always in the majority.
Enmities and friendships are formed with equal promptness and facility;
but however desirable it may be, there is no escaping the forced
companionship incident to life on shipboard, where ceremony is for the
time being mostly banished. Customs become established which would be
considered rather _outre_ upon land. Ennui has made more persons
reckless than has despair. Those individuals are comparatively few on
such occasions who have sufficient mental resource profitably to occupy
their minds, and those who have nothing to do quickly tire of themselves
and of all about them. If it were not for the decided breaks in the
routine of each day and evening afforded by the several meals, surely
suicides at sea would be frequent. One inevitable conclusion is sure to
be arrived at; namely, that a long sea-voyage is an infallible remedy
for over-fastidiousness and sickly sentimentality.
When we had been at sea about a week there was observed floating upon
the water a pale-gray, amber-like substance; it was not abundant, but to
the watchful eye seemed peculiar, and was several times apparent. This
our captain declared to be ambergris,--a substance originally found in
the intestines of the sperm whale, and believed to be produced there
only. Science declares it to be a diseased secretion of the animal,
probably induced by indigestion,--just as the pearl is a diseased
secretion of the Australian and Penang oysters. Ambergris is often found
floating about the shores of the Coral Sea and throughout the region
known as Australasia, having been ejected by the many whales frequenting
these latitudes. On the west coast of New Zealand the natives may
frequently be seen searching along the shore after a heavy gale, eagerly
securing more or less of the article. The "Zealandia," on her previous
voyage to that of which we are now writing, brought from Auckland to San
Francisco three boxes of ambergris weighing about one hundred pounds
each, the three boxes being invoiced at a valuation of thirty thousand
dollars. It is rarely that so much is imported into this country in a
twelvemonth. When first taken from the whale it is of a soft texture,
and is quite offensive to the smell; but after a brief exposure to the
air it rapidly hardens, and then emits a sweet, earthy odor, and is used
for the manufacture of the choicest perfumery, being nearly as
important for that purpose as the more costly musk.
The peculiar currents of the sea in these special regions, its vast
extent and fabulous depths, the huge monsters and the tiny creatures
occupying it, the speed of the ship, her exact tonnage and the trade in
which she had been engaged since she was launched on the Clyde,--all
these items became of vital importance to the voyagers, but their detail
would seem prosy to the general reader. It was really surprising to see
how earnest intelligent people become over matters which under ordinary
circumstances and on shore would not have received a moment's
consideration.
The distance which we expected to accomplish was referred to daily, and
was thus formulated: From San Francisco to Honolulu is twenty-one
hundred miles; from Honolulu to Auckland is thirty-eight hundred miles;
from Auckland to Sydney is twelve hundred and eighty miles. The ship's
run was daily recorded and posted up for the general satisfaction, the
result being promptly deducted from the aggregated figures as above.
It was on the eighth day of the voyage that we made the Sandwich
Islands. A glance at the map will show the reader that these volcanic
upheavals lie on the bosom of the North Pacific, in a slight curve, and
number thirteen in all. The total area combined does not exceed
sixty-five hundred square miles, seven of them being mere islets, and
six only are inhabited. The largest of the group is Hawaii, situated
the farthest south, being in round numbers a hundred miles long by
eighty broad, and with the natives gives its name to the whole group, as
they are here officially called the Hawaiian Islands,--though Captain
Cook, on their first being discovered, about a hundred years ago, gave
them the name of the Sandwich Islands, after the then first Lord of the
English Admiralty, and by this latter name they are generally known on
the maps and in geographies.
The chain of islands which form the group are but a series of volcanic
peaks rising abruptly from a depth of three miles below the sea-level to
as great a height above it, being, so to speak, natural chimneys from
the tops of which vast internal fires in former ages have found vent.
We made the island of Oahu, passing along the windward shores of Maui
and Molokai in the early gray of a soft June morning, and doubling the
lofty promontory known as Diamond Head, which rears its precipitous
front seven hundred feet above the sea. We ran along the coast while the
sun rose and beautified the mountain-tops, the green slopes, gulches,
and fern-clad hills sparkling with streamlets. The dawn was lovely in
its aspect, fresh and sweet. A gentle land-breeze brought us the dewy
fragrance of the flowers which had been distilled from a wilderness of
bloom during the tropical night. The uncertain light melted slowly away
as a dainty flush appeared in the east. A few transparent clouds hung
over the verdant isle, clouds so fleecy and ermine-like that they might
have been the mantles of angels. It was entrancing thus to be gliding
noiselessly over a perfectly calm sea, with so many attendant elements
of beauty. We stood quite alone in the bow of the ship, wondering how
the passengers below could court the thrall of sleep at such a moment.
As we drew nearer and nearer to the shore, sugar plantations, cocoanut
groves, and verdant pastures came clearly into view, dotted here and
there with the low primitive dwellings of the natives, and occasionally
ornamented by the picturesque, vine-covered cottages of American and
European residents. As the city of Honolulu was approached, it seemed to
be half buried in a cloud of luxuriant foliage. Blessed with frequent
rains, drought is not known here, and the verdure is perennial.
The sudden change of the color of the ocean was very noticeable as we
steamed at half speed through a narrow gap of the coral reef which forms
a natural breakwater to the harbor. We passed the light-house which
stands on the inner edge of the reef,--a structure not over thirty feet
in height, consequently not visible from a ship's deck more than ten
miles away. The captain informed us that it was the only light between
this island and the coast of New Zealand, in the far South Pacific. The
channel through the reef to safe anchorage is carefully buoyed on either
side, and at night a safety-lantern is placed upon each of these little
floating beacons, so that a steamer can easily steer her course in
safety, come when she may.
Though the volcanic origin of the land is plain, it is not the sole
cause of these reefs and islands appearing thus in mid-ocean. Upon the
flanks of the upheaval the coral insect with tireless industry rears its
amazing structure, until it reaches the surface of the waves as a reef,
more or less contiguous to the shore, and to which ages finally serve to
join it. The tiny creature delegated by Providence to build these reefs
dies on exposure to air,--its work being then done. The far-reaching
antiquity of the islands is established by these very coralline
formations, which could only have attained their present elevation just
below the surface by the growth of thousands of years. As already
intimated, the land rises so abruptly from the bottom of the sea that
the water retains its dark-blue tint to within a short distance of the
shore, where it assumes a light-blue and bottle-green hue, with other
magic colors striking in their effect viewed beneath the clear morning
light and embossed with the rays of the glowing sun.
We were soon safely moored inside the harbor, where there is an average
depth of sixteen fathoms, and room for a hundred large vessels to find
anchorage at the same time. The wharves are spacious and most
substantially built, with ample depth alongside. Honolulu, which is
situated on the south side of the island, is the commercial port of the
whole group,--the half-way house, as it were, between North America and
Asia, California and the New World of Australasia.
The streets of the Anglo-Hawaiian capital are clean and all admirably
macadamized, the material employed for the purpose being coral, black
lava, stone, and sand. At night the thoroughfares are rendered nearly as
light as by day, through the liberal use of gas. One of the first things
to attract our attention after landing was a huge steam-rolling machine
at work upon the road-bed of one of the streets leading to the wharves.
The city, with its twenty thousand inhabitants more or less, has all the
belongings of modern civilization, such as churches, charitable
institutions, hospitals, schools, gas, electric lights, and the
telephone; yet it was forced upon the mind how brief the period that had
transpired since this was nearly a wilderness, peopled by a race of
cannibals, whose idolatrous superstitions involved frequent human
sacrifices. To-day nearly all the rising generation can read and write,
and the entire race are professed Christians. One fact especially
indicative of progress came to our knowledge; namely, that the
government expends fifty thousand dollars annually upon the local
schools. Could a stronger contrast be found than the aspect presented by
Honolulu when Captain Cook discovered these islands, in 1778, and that
of the Honolulu of 1888? In imagination we find ourself trying to look
forward to the close of another century, and surmising what may then be
the condition of these isolated spots of earth.
The original paganism of this people was of the most brutal type,
revelling in human gore. We were told of rows of stone altars on which a
hundred victims are known to have been sacrificed at one time, the
altars still standing as memorials of the wretched idolatrous worship of
the past. Such scenes were of frequent occurrence among the aborigines,
surrounded by a climate which was nearly perfect, and by a profuseness
and bounty of vegetation that made the support of life a mere holiday
existence. They poured out human blood like water upon the altars
erected to their idols, and fattened upon human flesh. It is strange
indeed that some of the most lovely parts of the world should have been
peopled by cannibals. We speak in the past tense; but all travellers in
savage, half-civilized lands know that there are many waste places of
the earth which are to-day the abode of the anthropophagi.
In those early days the several islands of the Hawaiian group had each a
separate king. Bitter wars were frequent among them, and the savages of
the Pacific islands always ate their prisoners taken in battle. King
Kamehameha finally subjected the several isles to his sway, and founded
the government which has lasted to our day.
Many of the streets of Honolulu present a grateful shade along the
sidewalks, being lined by choice ornamental trees, of which the
cocoanut, palm, bread-fruit, candle-nut, and some others are indigenous;
but many have been introduced from abroad and become thoroughly
domesticated. The tall mango-tree with its rich, glossy leaves, the
branches bending under the weight of its delicious fruit, was seen
growing everywhere, though it is not a native of these islands. It was
impossible not to observe with acute interest the great variety of
fruit-trees, most of whose pendulous branches were heavy with luscious
products. Among them were the feathery tamarind, the orange, lime,
alligator-pear, citron-fig, date, palm, rose-apple, and some others
whose names we did not learn. Of all the flowering trees the brilliant
_Ponciana regia_ was most conspicuous and attractive, with its cloud of
scarlet blossoms, each cluster as large as a Florida orange.
Some of the thoroughfares, especially that known as King's Street, are
lined by pretty, low-built cottages, standing a hundred feet and more
back from the roadway, with broad, inviting verandas, the whole front
festooned and nearly hidden by tropical and semi-tropical plants in full
bloom. This delightful aspect was supplemented by lovely flower-beds,
and groups of ornamental trees in the gardens, with here and there an
isolated Norfolk Island pine, forcing its strong individuality of shape
and foliage upon the observation. A China rose-tree full of crimson
flowers was noticed, and in a garden near the palace we saw a
peach-tree, with one side full of rosy blossoms, while the other was
decked with ripening fruit. How this was achieved we did not stop to
inquire, pausing only long enough to admire the novel and anomalous
effect. The gardens of Honolulu do not lack for water, a never-failing
supply of the precious liquid being brought from the neighboring
mountains in large iron pipes, and introduced into each city dwelling;
moreover, we were told by the residents that they have only to sink a
well ten or twelve feet deep anywhere on the plateau occupied by the
city, when an abundance of water can always be secured. It was
delightful to think that this lovely floral display to be seen all about
us, around the native shanties as well as in the grounds of the better
classes, was not confined to any one season, but that the various months
of the year were severally beautified with roses, lilies, and the
thousand and one gems of Flora's kingdom grown out-of-doors.
The race-course of Honolulu is situated four or five miles from the city
proper, and is reached by a hard, well-kept, level road passing, it
seemed, through one continuous tropical garden. Here was presented to us
a gay and interesting picture of strong local color. The course occupies
ample grounds laid out and fenced in the usual circular style of a
one-mile track. The racing was conducted by the Jockey Club of the city,
who certainly introduced on this occasion some remarkably well-bred
animals. However they may have become possessed of the money, the
natives, high and low, seemed to have plenty of loose cash to bet with,
and the silver dollars were rapidly passed from hand to hand as each
trial came to an issue. It was all conducted upon the cash principle; no
accounts seemed to be kept, but settlements were made then and there,
between the races. The scene was enlivened with music furnished by the
king's native band, composed of twenty-eight colored men led by a German
conductor. This band is certainly under remarkable discipline and very
scientific instruction, and few similar organizations of white men in
America can be truthfully said to excel them. They were uniformed in
pure white linen ornamented with brass buttons, bearing the national
Hawaiian arms, and wore snow-white helmets tipped with spikes of
glittering brass of the German army pattern.
King Kalakana, who is very fond of racing and always assists at these
exhibitions, greeted us cordially upon the grand stand, where he sat
among the other spectators dressed in a suit of white linen and a plain
straw hat. A few moments later, by invitation of his Majesty we stepped
into an adjoining apartment, where he jauntily tossed off a goblet
brimming with champagne, adding a few pleasant words of welcome. The
trouble with him is that he is far too much inclined "to look upon the
wine when it is red," though we were informed confidentially that his
favorite tipple was gin. Notwithstanding that he is a man of more than
ordinary intelligence, and even of a considerable degree of culture,
morally speaking he has no traits of character which command respect,
and is at times so much given to a sensual life as to outrage all kingly
associations, incurring the disgust even of his most intimate
associates. In person he is tall, well built, a little over six feet in
height, of very dark complexion, and with crisp curly hair. He is
remarkably superstitious, we were told, and consults pretended
supernatural agents as to various State matters. This trait must have
been born in him, and is matched by a similar spirit prevailing in the
breast of every native. He is too selfish in disposition to be exercised
by any real degree of patriotism, and "can be bought at a very low
market value in connection with any private enterprise," to quote the
words of a leading citizen with whom we conversed about the political
condition of the islands. There are always plenty of adventurers ready
to take advantage of such possible venality, and our informant told us
that there were stories privately circulated, and undoubtedly true,
which if publicly substantiated would result in his being dethroned.
"Indeed," he added, "there is only a sort of phantom royalty maintained
in Honolulu." These considerations did not tend to prepossess us much in
the king's favor; and besides, it was impossible readily to forget that
his direct ancestors slew, roasted, and ate Captain Cook.
This delectable monarch has just passed his fifty-second year, and as he
may very properly be styled a fast liver, his career will hardly be a
long one, more especially as the islands seem to be in a troubled
political condition, so deep seated that a revolution is at all times
imminent, while the proposed establishment of a republic is freely
prognosticated and openly discussed. It is reported that the king has
lately been detected in receiving heavy bribes for the granting of
certain valuable and exclusive privileges; besides which, his personal
life and habits being, as already intimated, extremely repulsive to a
large portion of the people, he is growing daily more and more
unpopular. It is well known that merchants and resident foreigners have
been for some time taking serious steps for self-protection and the safe
care of their property in the event of a popular uprising. The present
king, it will be remembered, was elected to the throne by ballot upon
the death of the former sovereign, who died about fourteen years ago,
without leaving any regular heir to succeed him. The heir-apparent to
the throne is the brother of the king, and is now thirty-three years of
age.