TRIP TO HAWAII. 329 The loftier the altitudes we ascend, the wider becomes the development of things around us. So, when the soul takes its flight from its mortal prison, there will be developments of which it cherished no previous conception. Existence here is but the bud of being-the dim dawning of our futurity—the vestibule to everlasting hopes. And as the last moments of life are surrounded with foretastes of what the future shall be to every man, so, doubtless, the very first step beyond life's threshold will be an introduction to futurity forever future! The vast ruin of this ancient crater is a solid proof of the omnipotence of God. It is but one of the many of his footsteps which are so plainly stamped on the bosom of universal nature. His breath kindled the ancient fires of this abyss, that spread such a sea of desolation around its sides. By his permission alone these wrecks were left to instruct and astonish the traveler. As I left that scene, I was led involuntarily to exclaim, "Who would not fear THEE, O KING of nations!" CHAPTER XXVI. ISLAND OF HAWAII. Trip to Hawaii.-The Schooner Manu-o-ka-wai.-Hawaiian Sailors. -Abuse offered to a Native Woman.-An unpleasant Position.— A stormy Sunday.-The snow-capped Mountains of Hawaii.-Kawaihae. -Landing-place at Mahu-kona.-Mode of transporting Baggage.-District of Kohala.-Numerous Evidences of ancient Population. HAWAII is by far the largest island of the Sandwich group. It has long been, and now is, the theatre of volcanic action. It has been the birth-place of a long line of rival kings, and of generations that have passed away forever. These general associations are sufficient to allure the curious and adventurous traveler to its bold and rugged shores. It was with some difficulty that I restrained my impatience to see it; and it was with no common enthusiasm that I em barked on board of a Hawaiian schooner which would carry me thither. turn " The blue skies were just beginning to blush with the gorgeous purple of departing day, as the Manu-o-ka-wai (Bird of the water) spread her sails and raised her anchor to leave the port of Lahaina for Hawaii. With an extensive cargo of passengers, a sufficient complement of seamen-among whom was a white man, who had so far forgotten his dignity as to cook" and "steward" under the auspices of a dusky captain—and an almost endless assortment of calabashes filled with native food, and of water-melons, oranges, bananas, pigs, dogs, etc., that schooner, of about fifty tons, stood out to sea. We had made but little progress, when the coming twilight brought a calm with it, and there, within sight of the town, we lay imprisoned nearly all night. It is in such a situation as this, when hour drags along after hour, and the swell heaves the vessel in every possible position, that a passenger feels his own helplessness; and he is ready to swear, by NEMESIS, that, should he ever set his foot, again on the land, there he will remain, and no longer tempt the treacherous bosom of the deep. But, in spite of these occasional calms, there is little of monotony. There are so many ludicrous scenes constantly occurring, that there is ample food for mirth and excitement: In all probability, the most perfect novelties on board are the men who compose the crew. In the strongest sense of the term, a Hawaiian sailor is the "creature of circumstances." During a calm, he is the calmest being in the world, for he invariably always falls into a slumber deeper than that which creeps over the ocean, and lulls the wave into a peaceful repose. A sudden breeze may possibly excite him, or leave him in a state of apathy. In any case, he may usually be seen squatting down on deck, with his arm thrown listlessly over the tiller, while he is smoking a pipe, gorging himself with water-melon, or holding a tête-à-tête with the nearest darkeyed beauty. Under these circumstances, he is more likely to steer the schooner into the wind, and run the risk of having ABUSE OF A NATIVE WOMAN. 331 her driven down backward, than he is to steer her on her course, and so escape the danger. So lax is the authority of the captain, that a transient observer is liable to mistake him for one of his men, and so vice versa. But the singular deportment of these sailors formed not the only fund of variety on board that schooner. The principal share of it was produced by the mate of the vessel. This nautical hero was brother-in-law to the captain, through a marriage relation to his sister. When the mate came on board the schooner at Lahaina, he was well steeped in liquor. His first performance was to light his pipe, after which he commenced some disgusting familiarities with his "better half," and which she indignantly repelled. Her "lord paramount" relapsed into a seeming indifference to every thing excepting his pipe, and, when tired of smoking, he renewed his familiarities. His wife's temper now became irritated, and she gave him several heavy blows in the face, much to the amusement of the native passengers. But this pugilistic performance, and the merriment it drew forth at his expense, were more than his nature could surmount. He very deliberately went down into the cabin, put on another suit of clothes, came up on deck, and began, in the most villainous manner, to abuse his wife. With one hand he seized her by her hair, and with the other he dealt upon her face and bosom the most furious blows. The woman screamed and plead for mercy, but he only showered his blows upon her with increasing vengeance. All this time his wife's brother, the captain, stood against the main-mast smoking his pipe, and folding his arms, and the passengers chuckled most boisterously over the suffering woman. This state of things gave this human fiend courage to renew his cowardly insults. He seized her again by her hair, and dragged her across the deck with. the intention of throwing her overboard; but at this moment the hand of a foreign passenger held him by the throat, and the foreigner vowed, by the God of the land and the ocean, that unless he left that woman alone, he would inflict upon him her fate. The thunder-struck mate dropped his victim, cursing the interference which ended his baseness—for, like the captain, he spoke some English. Such a disinterested act of noble and virtuous daring was something new to these Hawaiians, and they stood mute in astonishment, while the poor insulted woman was left to lament herself to sleep. Such scenes as this are not uncommon. Some of these Hawaiian "liege lords" are guilty of treatment to their wives, a delineation of which would draw tears of shame and sorrow from any hearts but their own. And, in truth, to what I have witnessed among the inhabitants on that group, I am compelled reluctantly to acknowledge that the Hawaiians treat their wives with no more fiendish cruelty than most of the low foreigners do, who have married native women. A smooth breeze had sprung up about midnight, and by daylight next morning we were directly opposite the dangerous Cape Pohakueaea, on East Maui. Once more the schooner was becalmed. In his carelessness, the captain had the schooner steered too close to the horrible-looking rocks which formed this cape, and as we were imprisoned in this calm, an inland current was rapidly carrying us toward the shore. The captain and crew seemed to care nothing about it, and the native passengers were equally careless. The Hawaiians look upon the approach of death with remarkable indifference. Into its ghastly jaws we were speeding. I could have thrown a missile to the black rocks against which the heavy surge was thundering in sublime confusion. There was a prospect of a few struggles, a few stifled gasps, and an ocean grave; for no 66 A 'Strong swimmer in his agony" could have escaped being dashed to pieces on those rocks. But just as expectation was reaching its crisis, relief came. few puffs of wind from the land carried the schooner toward the middle of the channel, where we were out of the danger of being wrecked; but the heavy swell of the sea was such as seriously to test the strength of the schooner's ribs, as well as our own abdominal regions. Having passed this dangerous cape, we entered the Straits AN UNPLEASANT “FIX." 333 of Alenuihaha, where we struck the northeast trades. These straits separate Maui from Hawaii. Although they are only thirty miles wide, they are of great depth, and usually very stormy. From the hour we had left Lahaina, the weather had been too calm to permit our small craft to effect a rapid passage. Imprisoned as I was among seventy native passengers on that contracted deck, and the small-pox breaking out among them, not to say any thing of the effluvia of old wooden tobacco-pipes, sun-dried fish, and sour poi, I was longing for a gale, or any thing which would bring to a close the horrors of the passage. I envied the deer in the forest, and the Bedouin on the wastes of Lybia, their liberty. It was not long, however, before my wish was gratified. The Straits soon became lashed into a foam, and the schooner's canvas was nearly all shortened. In a short time every passenger was ridding himself of his breakfast by an upward passage. It was a sort of fast-day with myself. Wishing to escape the sickening scenes that surrounded me, I took refuge in the small boat suspended at the schooner's stern, where, nearly all day, amid wind and spray, and under a scorching sun, I preserved my fast from the previous noon. But it was a result of dire necessity, for I was the most sea-sick mortal in the company. Having been compelled to shorten sail, it was nearly sunset when we were within fifteen miles of the shores of Hawaii. It was at this spot that I first obtained a perfect view of the snow-capped mountains of the island. Among the loftiest of the Andes, looking from their thrones of clouds over the lap of a great continent, there is something so awfully grand, that a traveler can not but cherish emotions of reverence and wonder. It is so, too, in relation to "The Alps, The avalanche-the thunder-bolt of snow! |