CHAPTER V.
AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES.
While the coffee trees are growing and during the time that will elapse before the planter receives returns from his investment, it would be a wise thing for him to plant such things, as will not only provide the greater part of the food for himself and family, but may also yield a moderate return in money. The soil and climate of the Hawaiian Islands will grow almost anything that grows in any other country. All Northern fruits can be grown if one will only go high enough on the mountain slopes of Maui and Hawaii. But the coffee planter must confine himself to such things as will thrive in the vicinity in which his coffee trees are planted, and it is for the information of intending planters that this chapter is written.In the first place, almost all kinds of vegetables will grow in such profusion as will astonish those who have lived only in Northern climes. Green and sweet corn, potatoes, Irish and sweet, cabbages, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, radishes and many other kinds of vegetables, all of the finest quality and in the greatest profusion, can be had every day in the year. Strawberries and raspberries can also be had all the year round. In addition to oranges and limes, which grow to perfection in this country, many fruits peculiar to tropical and semi-tropical climates grow well and flourish in these Islands. Among the more important is the Avocado Pear (Persea Gratissima), commonly called the Alligator Pear. This tree grows well and bears fruit, of splendid quality, in from 3 to 5 years from seed. 38 The fruit is much esteemed by all classes. A small quantity of the fruit is shipped to California; what reaches there in good condition is quickly bought at high prices. It can only be carried safely in cold storage, and this is very expensive freight. A native peach does well, and will bear fruit in two years from seed. The fruit is much smaller than the American peach, which by the way does not do well on elevations below 4000 feet, but very sweet and juicy and makes excellent preserves and pies. Without doubt this peach could in a few years be improved so as to rival peaches of any other country. The Mango (Mangifera Indica) is a tropical fruit tree that grows in the greatest profusion and bears enormous crops of delicious fruit. It comes into bearing in 5 or 6 years from seed and does well from sea level to an elevation of 2000 feet. The fruit is much liked by every one; the green fruit is made into a sauce resembling, but much superior to, apple butter.
The Guava (Psidium Guayava) grows wild in all parts of the Islands below 3000 feet. The fruit, of which there is a great abundance, is made into jam and the very finest jelly in the world. In the fruiting season large quantities of the jelly can be made, and without doubt, exported at a profit.
The Poha (Physalis edulis) is a quick growing shrub bearing a berry that makes excellent jelly and jam. The shrub grows wild on elevations between 1000 and 4000 feet. A patch of pohas planted in a corner of a garden, will grow and yield a bountiful supply of fruit almost without cultivation.
Pineapples are at home on these Islands; a small plot planted with the best varieties of this king of fruits will keep the table supplied the year round.
Another valuable fruit indigenous to this country is the Papaia (Carica papaya). This fine fruit can be raised in enormous quantities and is a most fattening food for pigs and chickens. The tree fruits in eight or nine months from the seed, and thence forward for years it yields ripe fruit every 39 month in the year. The fruit is of the size of a small melon and is very rich in sugar. The unripe fruit contains a milky juice that, even when diluted with water, renders any tough meat, that is washed in it, quite tender. A small piece of the unripe fruit placed in the water in which meat or tough chicken is boiled makes it tender and easily digestible.
A very valuable food plant, indigenous to these Islands, is the taro (Colocasia esculenta). The variety known as dry land taro will grow on land that is moist enough for the coffee trees. The taro is a grand food plant, the tubers containing more nutriment for a given weight than any other vegetable food. The young tops when cooked are hard to distinguish from spinach. The tubers must be cooked before they can be used for food, in order to dissipate a very acrid principle that exists in both leaves and root.
Another important food plant that has been introduced and yields abundantly is the Cassava (Manihot utilissima). This plant furnishes the staple food for the population of Brazil. It is easily propagated by the planting pieces of the woody portions of the stems and branches. The tubers are available in nine or ten months after planting. There are two kinds, the sweet and the bitter; the latter being the more prolific. The sweet kind can be fed to pigs without cooking. The bitter kind contains a poisonous substance which is entirely destroyed by cooking. There is no danger of animals eating the bitter kind in a raw state, for no stock will touch it, while the sweet kind is eagerly eaten in the raw state by pigs, horses, cows, etc. The tubers are prepared for human food by grating them. The juice is then expelled by pressure, and the residue pounded into a coarse meal, which is made into thin cakes. It is an excellent food, and said to be much more digestible than bread and other foods made from wheat. Pigs can be very cheaply raised on the sweet variety of this plant. A field of the plant being ready 40 to gather, a portion is fenced off, and the pigs turned into it. They will continue to feed until every vestige of the tubers is eaten, leaving the ground in a fine condition for replanting. The tubers never spoil in the ground, in fact the soil is the very best storehouse for them. However if left for two or three years the tubers grow very large and tough.
Bananas, in great variety, are grown in all parts of the Islands where there is sufficient moisture. Any land that will grow coffee will grow bananas. The yield of fruit from this remarkable plant is something astonishing. It commences to bear fruit in a little over one year from the time of planting. The stem decays after the formation of a bunch of fruit; this will weigh from 50 to 100 pounds and upwards. Numerous suckers spring up from around the decaying stem and bear fruit in their turn. One-half an acre planted with bananas would not only furnish a large family with an abundance of delicious and nutritious fruit, but would also yield a large supply of feed for pigs, chickens and other stock.
The tea plant (Camellia Thea) grows well in this country and yields a tea of good quality. It is hardly likely that it will become an article of export from this country, as we cannot compete with the very low prices paid for labor in the great tea countries, India, Ceylon, and China. But it can be grown for home consumption, and there is no reason why every coffee planter should not have a patch of tea growing on his land. An eighth of an acre, planted out in tea plants, would yield more tea than could be consumed by a large family; the work of cultivation and preparation is light and easy and could be done by women and children.
The coffee lands are situated in forested tracts in which there is little or no pasturage for animals. Every coffee planter should keep one or more cows to obtain the milk and butter which will furnish a large addition to the food supply for himself and family. In order to do this, it will be necessary to 41 plant such things as will furnish food for the animals. We have several fodder plants that will yield a large quantity of feed and which will only grow in tropical and semi-tropical countries.
First among these is the Teosinte Reana (Euchlacna luxurians). This plant is a native of Guatamala, and grows splendidly in this country; each plant requires sixteen feet of ground for its full development. It is an annual if allowed to run to seed; but its growth can be continued by cutting when four or five feet high, and green feed obtained all the year round.
Guinea grass (Panicum Maximum), one of the grandest of fodder plants, has been introduced and finds a congenial home in this country. It is purely a tropical grass, it grows to a height of eight feet forming large bunches which, when cut young, furnish an abundance of sweet and tender feed. In districts when there is sufficient moisture, it can be cut every two months. Caffir corn, Egyptian millet and Sorghum grow well, and should be planted in order to have a change of feed.
Pumpkins and squash grow to an enormous size and yield an immense quantity of feed, much relished by cows and pigs.
A dry land rice is being tried in the coffee districts of Olaa and Kona, on the Island of Hawaii, and there is every reason to believe that it will be successful. Nearly all the laborers on the coffee plantations use rice as their staple food and it has to be brought from the Island of Oahu to the Islands of Hawaii and Maui. There is no doubt but that the rice used by the labor on the coffee plantations, can be raised on the spot, reducing the cost of living to the laborers, and making them more contented.
It will be seen from the foregoing that many things can be grown that will enable the coffee planter to not only reduce the outlay for living expenses for himself and family but will also allow them to enjoy many of the comforts and luxuries of life.
While our main industries, sugar, coffee and rice, are being vigorously carried on, new products are not lost sight of. Experiments 42 are in progress that promise to greatly diversify our industries and increase the number of our exports.
Several fiber plants are receiving attention, particularly the Sisal Hemp (Agave Sisalana) and Sansevieria or bow string Hemp. The Sisal plant will grow and flourish on lands that are too dry for any other cultivation. Many thousands of the plants have been introduced and at least one plantation is being set out.
The bow string Hemp requires a wet, rich land in order to do well. It probably yields the best fiber of all the leaf fiber plants.
Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) grows splendidly in this country and after being well established will yield 4 to 6 crops per annum. Whenever a machine is invented that will economically decorticate the Ramie fiber, its cultivation will become an important industry in this country. Ramie will grow and do well wherever the coffee tree will grow, and whenever the machine is available, the coffee planter will have a profitable industry, to go hand in hand with coffee and employ the slack time between the coffee picking seasons.
Cocoa (Theobroma Cacao) is the tree that produces the fruit from which chocolate is made. It grows and bears well in moist humid districts, and many of the coffee planters are setting out numbers of the trees.
There are many other economic plants that are well suited for culture in this country. The country is entering on a new era, and as the lands become settled and population increases, many small cultures will become possible, which will afford many persons the opportunity of making an easy living in a land of eternal summer.
CHAPTER VI.
DIGEST OF THE LAND ACT OF 1895.
(With reference to unoccupied lands.)
The Land Act of 1895, having for its special object the settlement and cultivation of the Government agricultural and pastoral land, vested the control and management of Public Lands in a Board of Three Commissioners, composed of the Minister of the Interior and two persons appointed and removable by the President, one of whom is designated the Agent of Public Lands; but excepting from the control of the Commissioners, town lots, landings, tracts reserved for Public purposes, etc., which remain under the control of the Minister of the Interior.
For the purposes of the Act, the Republic of Hawaii is divided into Six Land Districts, as follows:
1st. Hilo and Puna on the Island of Hawaii.
2d. Hamakua and Kohala on the Island of Hawaii.
3rd. Kona and Kau on the Island of Hawaii.
4th. The Islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.
5th. The Island of Oahu.
6th. The Island of Kauai.
The Commissioners are represented by a Sub-Agent in each District.
Public Lands for the purposes of this Act are classified as follows:
I. Agricultural Lands. First Class: Land suitable for the cultivation of Fruit, Coffee, Sugar or other perennial crops with or without irrigation.
Second Class: Land suitable for the cultivation of annual crops only.
Third Class: Wet lands such as kalo and rice lands.
II. Pastoral Land. First Class: Land not in the description of Agricultural land but capable of carrying livestock the year through.
Second Class: Land capable of carrying livestock only part of the year, or otherwise inferior to First Class Pastoral land.
III. Pastoral Agricultural Land: Land adapted in part for pasturage and in part for cultivation.
IV. Forest Land: Land producing forest trees but unsuitable for cultivation.
V. Waste Land. Land not included in the other classes.
The Act provides three principal methods for the acquirement of Public Lands, under systems known as
I. Homestead Lease.
II. Right of Purchase Lease.
III. Cash Freehold.
GENERAL QUALIFICATION OF APPLICANTS.
Applicants for land under systems named above, must be over eighteen years of age, must be citizens by birth or naturalization or have received letters of denization or special rights of citizenship, be under no civil disability for any offense, nor delinquent in the payment of taxes. Special qualifications are named under the respective systems.HOMESTEAD LEASE SYSTEM.
The Homestead Lease system permits the acquirement of Public Land by qualified persons without other payments than 45 a fee of two dollars upon application and a fee of five dollars upon issuance of Homestead Lease.
The limit of area in the different classes of land which may be acquired under Homestead Lease is:
8 acres first-class agricultural land;
16 acres second-class agricultural land;
1 acre wet (rice or taro) land;
30 acres first-class pastoral land;
60 acres second-class pastoral land;
45 acres pastoral-agricultural land.
SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS OF APPLICANTS FOR HOMESTEAD LEASE.
Any person having the general qualifications (as to citizenship, etc.) who is not the owner in his own right of any land in the Hawaiian Islands, other than "wet land" (rice, taro, etc.) and who is not an applicant for other land under the Act may apply under this part of the Act, and such application may cover one lot of wet land in addition to other land, if reasonably near. Husband and wife may not both be applicants.Applications must be made in person at the office of Sub-Agent of the District, accompanied by sworn declaration of qualifications, and a fee of $2.
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPATION.
The successful applicant receives a certificate of occupation which entitles him to occupy the described premises and to receive a homestead lease for Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Years, if conditions of certificate of occupation have been fulfilled, the conditions being:That the occupier shall, before the end of two years, build a dwelling house and reside on the premises. He shall maintain his home on the premises from and after the end of two years 46 from date of certificate. He shall before the end of six years from date of certificate have in cultivation not less than 10 per cent. of the land, or have in cultivation 5 per cent. of the land and, in good growing condition, not less than ten timber, shade or fruit trees per acre on agricultural land, or if pastoral land, fence the same within six years.
He shall pay the taxes assessed upon the premises within sixty days after the same are delinquent.
He shall perform any conditions of the certificates for the planting or protection of trees, or prevention or destruction of vegetable pests that may be on the premises.
CONDITIONS OF HOMESTEAD LEASE.
The Lessee or his successors must maintain his home on the leased premises, must pay the taxes assessed upon the premises, within sixty days after the same are delinquent, and perform any conditions of the lease relating to protection or planting of trees, or destruction and prevention of vegetable pests.Lands held under a certificate of occupation or homestead lease are liable to taxation as estates in fee.
In case of the death of an occupier or lessee his interests, notwithstanding any devise or bequest shall vest in his relations, in the order prescribed in the Act, the widow or widower being first in order, then the children, etc.
Certificates of occupation or homestead lease, or any interest thereunder, is not assignable by way of mortgage nor is the same subject to attachment, levy or sale on any process issuing from the Courts of the country. Neither the whole nor any portion of the premises may be sub-let.
Surrender may be made to the Government by an occupier or lessee having the whole interest if all conditions to date of surrender have been fulfilled, and the person so surrendering is entitled to receive from the Government the value of permanent improvement, whenever the same is received by the Government from a new tenant.
RIGHT OF PURCHASE LEASES.
Right of Purchase Leases, for the term of twenty-one years, may be issued to qualified applicants, with the privilege to the Lessee of purchasing at the end of three years and upon fulfillment of special conditions.QUALIFICATIONS OF APPLICANTS.
Any person who is over eighteen years of age, who is a citizen by birth or naturalization of the Republic of Hawaii or who has received letters of denization of special rights of citizenship, who is under no civil disability for any offense, who is not delinquent in the payment of taxes, and who does not own any agricultural or pastoral land in the Hawaiian Islands, may apply for Right of Purchase Lease, the limit of areas which may be acquired being:
100 acres first-class agricultural land;
200 acres second-class agricultural land;
2 acres wet (rice or taro) land;
600 acres first-class pastoral land;
1200 acres second-class pastoral land;
400 acres mixed agricultural and pastoral land.
Any qualified person, owning less than the respective amounts stated in foregoing list, and which is not subject to residence condition, may acquire additional land of the classes already held by him but so that his aggregate holding shall not be in excess of the limit named; or if desiring additional land of another class may acquire the same according to ratio established between the various classes.Husband and wife may not both be applicants for Right of Purchase Leases.
Application must be made in person at the office of Sub-Agent of the District, and must be accompanied by a fee equal to six months rent of premises, fee to be credited on account 48 of rent, if application is successful, and to be returned is application is unsuccessful. In case of more than one application for same lot the first application takes precedence.
CONDITIONS OF RIGHT OF PURCHASE LEASE.
Term: twenty-one years.Rental: Eight per cent. on the appraised value given in lease, payable semi-annually.
The Lessee must from the end of the first to the end of the fifth year continuously maintain his home on the leased premises.
The Lessee must have in cultivation at the end of three years five per cent. and at the end of five years ten per cent. of his holding, and maintain on agricultural land an average of ten trees to the acre.
Pastoral land must be fenced.
Interest in Right of Purchase Lease is not assignable without written consent of the Commissioners of Public Lands, but the lease may be surrendered to the Government.
In case of forfeiture or surrender of right of purchase lease, reappraisement is made of the land and of permanent improvements thereon, and if the land is again disposed of, the incoming tenant shall pay for such permanent improvements and the amount when so received by the Government shall be paid to the surrendering Lessee.
CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH PURCHASE MAY BE MADE.
At any time after third year of leasehold term, the Lessee is entitled to a Land Patent giving fee simple title, upon his payment of the appraised value set forth in lease, if he has reduced to cultivation twenty-five per cent. of his leased premises, and has substantially performed all other conditions of his lease.
CASH FREEHOLDS.
Cash Freehold Lots are sold at auction to the highest qualified bidder, at appraised value as upset price.The qualification of applicants for Cash Freeholds and the areas of land which may be acquired are the same as those under Right of Purchase lease system.
APPLICATIONS.
Applications must be made to Sub-Agent of District in writing with sworn declaration as to qualifications, and a fee of ten per cent. of appraised value of lot, which fee is forfeited if applicant declines to take the premises at the appraised value, and is credited to him if he becomes the purchaser of the lot. If such applicant, however, is outbid, his fee is returned to him.If two or more applications are made and there is no bid above the upset price, the first application takes precedence.
The purchaser at auction sale must pay immediately thereafter one-fourth of purchase price and thereupon receive a "Freehold Agreement."
CONDITIONS OF FREEHOLD AGREEMENT.
The freeholder shall pay the balance of purchase price in equal installments in one, two and three years, with interest at 6 per cent., but may pay any installment before it is due and stop corresponding interest.Twenty-five per cent. of agricultural land must be cultivated, and pastoral land fenced before the end of third year.
Freeholder must maintain his home on the premises, from end of first to end of third year.
He may not assign or sub-let without consent of Agent of Public Lands.
He must allow Agents of the Government to enter and examine the premises.
He must pay all taxes that may be due upon the premises.
If all conditions are fulfilled he is entitled at end of three years to Patent giving fee simple title.
In case of forfeiture or surrender the land and permanent improvements are reappraised separately, and the value of such improvements when received by Government from new tenant or freeholder, will be paid to surrendering freeholder.
SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATIONS.
Six or more qualified persons may form a "Settlement Association" and apply for holdings in one block.The provisions for cash freehold apply to the settlement of such blocks, but first auction sale is confined to members of such Settlement Association.
Any lot in such block which may be forfeited or surrendered, or which is not taken up by any member of the Settlement Association, within three months, shall be open to any qualified applicants.
Disputes, disagreements or misunderstandings, between the parties to certificate of occupation, homestead lease, right of purchase lease, or cash freehold and relating thereto, which can not be amicably settled, shall be submitted to the Circuit Judge in whose jurisdiction the premises are situated and his decision shall be final subject only to appeal to Supreme Court.
CASH SALES AND SPECIAL AGREEMENTS.
With consent of Executive Council, public lands not under lease may be sold in parcels of not over one thousand acres, at public auction for cash, and upon such sale and payment of full consideration, a land patent will issue.Parcels of land of not over six hundred acres, may with consent of Executive Council, be sold at public auction upon part credit and part cash, and upon such terms and conditions of improvement, residence, etc., as may be imposed.
Upon fulfillment of all conditions a Land Patent will issue.
GENERAL LEASES.
General leases of public lands may be made for a term not exceeding twenty-one years.Such leases are sold at public auction, and require rent in advance quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
The conditions of general leases are made at discretion of the Commissioners, and may be made for any class of public lands.
CHAPTER VII.
MISCELLANEOUS.
POPULATION.
The population of the Islands according to the census of 1890 was 89,991, or in round numbers 90,000. A census of the population has just been taken, but the results cannot be exactly known for some months. An estimate recently made based upon the knowledge of general increase from various sources gives the population as follows:| Hawaiians | 35,000 |
| Part Hawaiians | 10,000 |
| Chinese | 15,000 |
| Japanese | 24,000 |
| Portuguese | 9,000 |
| American and European | 14,000 |
| Total | 107,000 |
SHIPPING.
The vessels flying the Hawaiian flag number 52, aggregating 21,678 tons. They are divided as follows:
53
Of these vessels 13 are employed in foreign trade and 39 in trade between the Islands.| 23 | steamers, | aggregating | 9,575 | tons | |
| 5 | barks, | '' | 4,198 | '' | |
| 3 | ships, | '' | 6,272 | '' | |
| 21 | schooners and sloops, | aggregating | 1,623 | '' | |
FINANCES.
Mention has been made of the taxes of this country. A few words will be to the point upon the financial condition of the government.The direct taxes yielded, in 1895, $592,691.92. The Customs revenue was $547,149.04 and licenses, &c., produced $600,224.23, in all $1,740,065.19.
The current expenditures are kept within the current income. Great public improvements are provided for by loan. This is what every growing country has to do. The public debt of the country on January 1, 1896, was $3,764,335. With a population of 109,000, this gives about $34 per head of the population. The Hawaiian Government finds no difficulty in obtaining means for internal improvements, and a scheme is now on foot to reduce the interest and consolidate the public debt.
The exports in 1895 amounted to $8,474,138.15 and the imports to $5,339,785.04. This certainly shows well for a country whose total population is exceeded by dozens of cities. Of the exports $7,975,590.41 were accredited to sugar, $22,823.68 to coffee, $102,599.25 to bananas and $8,783.84 to pineapples. These three latter items are elastic and the showing of 1896 will give a very large increase in their yields.
Of the imports $4,121,920.22 came from the Pacific ports of the United States and $394,399.16 from the Atlantic ports; a total of $4,516,319.38, leaving but $1,197,698.16 for every other nation that the country has commercial relations with.
In point of fact, taking exports and imports, the business in 1895 done by the Hawaiian Islands with all its commercial relations amounted to $14,188,155.69; of this sum $12,908,508.92 was done with the United States, which amounts to 91 per cent. of the whole business of the Islands. From these figures it can be judged how prosperous a little community that of the Hawaiian Islands is, and further how close are its relations with the Great Republic. What country in the world has 91 per cent. of its commercial relations with its neighbor?
The financial condition of Hawaii is on a sound basis. The men in charge of its government are frugal and careful of the public expenditure, the whole tendency of the Republic is to foster industry and thrift. The institutions are liberal and nothing is more desirable for such a country than the immigration of colonists, with capital to develop the industries and determination to work honestly and well.
FOR TOURISTS.
It was not the intention when planning this pamphlet to speak of the opportunities for tourists visiting the Islands, but a few words are appended. The object of the pamphlet has been to show the agricultural resources and general conditions.The great attraction of the Islands is undoubtedly the Volcano of Kilauea, the greatest and most striking volcano in the world. Though quiescent for a time during part of 1895 and 1896, it has now burst forth with renewed splendor and promises to exceed many of its former efforts. Moreover, from the rising of the lakes of fire, and the floor of the crater generally, it has evidently come to stay.
But it is not only this one great natural wonder that is attractive to the tourist. The crater of Haleakala, the largest extinct crater in the world, is almost, in its silent magnificence, equal to the wonder of the boiling and seething Kilauea. Then the delightful climate, the balmy breezes, the brilliant coloring 55 of sky, sea and land, the luxuriant tropical vegetation, and the peculiar "Dolce far niente" life, all lend a charm to which no one who visits the place has ever failed to respond. In fact a visit to the Hawaiian Islands is one of the pleasantest experiences of a life-time.
For people suffering from pulmonary troubles the climate is unrivalled and there are now several sanitariums where such patients can be attended to.
San Francisco and Victoria are the two points of deportation for the Hawaiian Islands. The Oceanic Steamship Line has vessels sailing twice a month. One steamer sails for Honolulu, stays a few days, and returns to San Francisco. The other steamers touch at Honolulu and go on to the Australian colonies. Round trip tickets can be obtained and also lay over tickets, at the Company's offices on Montgomery street, San Francisco. The Pacific Mail and O. & O. S. S. lines, running from China and Japan to San Francisco, also touch at Honolulu regularly. Arrangements can be made to lay over in Honolulu, visit the Volcano and proceed on the voyage by the next vessel.
From Victoria the C. & A. S. S. sail once a month. They give the tourist a chance of seeing the Canadian Pacific Railroad before coming here, but a round trip ticket would have to be for a full month. By the O. S. S. lines less time need be spent on the Islands.
The cost of round trip passage is $125.
The cost of trip to the Volcano, including all expenses is $50.
Hotel expenses in Honolulu from $2 a day, according to accommodation.
Particulars on these subjects can always be learned by writing to Wilder S. S. Co., Fort street, Honolulu; or the Inter-Island Steamship Co., Queen street, Honolulu.PRICE LIST OF PROVISIONS ON THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
Fresh Hawaiian butter, from 25 to 50c. per lb.
Hams, from 16-1/2 to 30c. per lb.
Bacon, from 16-1/2 to 20c. per lb.
Cheese, from 20 to 35c. per lb.
Family pork, from 15 to 18c. per lb.
Corned beef, 7c. per lb.
Fresh meat, from 6 to 15c. per lb.
Loin of Porterhouse steaks, from 6 to 15c. per lb.
Tinned fruits per doz., from $1.75 to $2.25.
Golden Gate Flour, per 100-lb., $2.50.
Lower grades, $2.20.
Hawaiian rice, $3.25 to $5.00 per 100 lbs.
Hawaiian bananas, per bunch, 25 to 55c.
Potatoes, from 1 to 2c. per lb.
Eggs per dozen, 25 to 50c.
Rolled oats per case, $5.50.
Ice, in small quantities, 1-1/2c.; 50 lbs. and over, 1c. per lb.
WAGES.
The following is an approximation of the wages paid to different classes of labor on the Hawaiian Islands:
Engineers on plantations, from $125 to $175 per month, house and firewood furnished.
Sugar boilers, $125 to $175 per month, house and firewood furnished.
Blacksmiths, plantation, $50 to $100 per month, house and firewood furnished.
Carpenters, plantation, $50 to $100 per month, house and firewood furnished.
Locomotive drivers, $40 to $75 per month, room and board furnished.
Head overseers, or head lunas, $100 to $150.
Under overseers, or lunas, $30 to $50 with room and board.
Bookkeepers, plantation, $100 to $175, house and firewood furnished.
Teamsters, white, $30 to $40 with room and board.
Hawaiians, $25 to $30 with room; no board.
Field labor, Portuguese and Hawaiian $16 to $18 per month; no board.
Field labor, Chinese and Japanese, $12.50 to $15 per month; no board.
In Honolulu bricklayers and masons receive from $5 to $6 per day; carpenters, $2.50 to $5; machinists, $3 to $5; painters, $2 to $5, per day of nine hours.
DOMESTIC LABOR.
The domestic labor in Honolulu and in all parts of the Islands, has for many years been performed by Chinese males, who undoubtedly make excellent house servants. During the last four or five years the Japanese have entered the field; the Japanese women are especially in demand as nurses for children.
The following are the prevailing rates of wages:
Cooks, Chinese and Japanese, $3 to $6 per week, with board and room.
Nurses and house servants, $8 to $12 per month, with board and room.
Gardeners or yard men, $8 to $12 per month, with board and room.
Sewing women, $1 per day and one meal.
Good substantial meals can be obtained at respectable Chinese restaurants and at the Sailors' Home for 25 cents or Board for $4.50 per week.The market for all kinds of labor is overstocked and it would be very unwise for any one to come to these Islands with no capital on the mere chance of obtaining employment. The many steamships arriving at this port bring numbers of people seeking employment who are obliged to return disappointed.
CHAPTER VIII.
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
Although the written history of the Hawaiian Islands begins with their discovery by Captain Cook in 1778, yet the aboriginal inhabitants had at that time an oral traditional history which extended back for several centuries.ORIGIN.
As to their origin, these people formed but one branch of the Polynesian race, which at a remote period settled all the groups of islands in the central and Eastern Pacific, as far as New Zealand in the South and Easter Island in the East. This is shown by the close physical and moral resemblance between their inhabitants, as well as by the facts that they all speak dialects of the same language, and have the same manners and customs, the same general system of tabus, and similar traditions and religious rites.The evidence of both language and physical traits tends to show that their remote ancestors came from the East Indian Archipelago, and that they were still more distantly related to the pre-Arian races of Hindostan.
It is also proved by concurrent traditions of the different groups that there was a general movement of population throughout central Polynesia during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries of the Christian Era, during which the Harvey Islands and afterwards New Zealand were colonized, and many 59 voyages were made between the Hawaiian Islands and the Samoan and Society groups. This intercourse, however, seems to have ceased for four or five hundred years before the arrival of Captain Cook.
ARTS AND MANUFACTURES.
The ancient Hawaiians were not savages, in the proper sense of the term, but barbarians of a promising type. When we consider that they occupied the most isolated position in the world, and that they were destitute of metals and of beasts of burden, as well as of the cereal grains, cotton, flax and wool, we must admit that they had made a creditable degree of progress towards civilization. Like the other Polynesians, they had not invented the art of making pottery, or the use of the loom for weaving.Their cutting tools were made of stone, sharks' teeth or bamboo. Their axes were made of hard, fine grained lava, chiefly found on the mountain summits. Their principal implement for cultivating the soil was simply a stick of hard wood, either pointed or shaped into a flat blade at the end. With these rude tools they cut and framed the timbers for their houses, which were oblong with long sides and steep roofs, and were thatched with pili grass, ferns or hala leaves. In the building as well as in the management of canoes they were unsurpassed. For containers they used a large gourd (cucurbita maxima, which was not found elsewhere in the Pacific), and also cut out circular dishes of wood as truly as if they had been turned in a lathe.
For clothing they beat out the inner bark of the paper mulberry and of some other trees, until it resembled thick flexible paper, when it was called kapa or tapa. For insignia of rank, they made splendid feather cloaks, and feather helmets, which were worn only by chiefs.
For lights they used the oily nuts of the kukui or candle-nut tree.
For food they chiefly depended upon the tuberous roots of the taro plant (Colocasia antiquorum), but sweet potatoes were cultivated in the dry districts, and yams in Kauai and Niihau. They also cultivated bananas and sugar cane and the awa or kava plant for its narcotic properties.
Fishing was carried on with great ingenuity and skill. Extensive fish ponds were built along the coasts, which must have cost immense labor.
Their food was cooked then, as now, by steaming it in an imu or underground oven with heated stones. Fire was produced by friction, viz., by rubbing a hard, pointed stick in a groove made in a piece of softer wood, until the little heap of fine powder collected at the end of the groove took fire.
There was no circulating medium which served the purpose of money, and all trade was conducted by barter.
CIVIL POLITY.
The civil polity of the ancient Hawaiians was far more despotic than that of any other Polynesian tribe. The community was divided into three classes, namely:
1. The nobility or Alii (N. Z. Ariki), comprising the kings and chiefs of various grades of rank.
2. The priests, Kahuna (N. Z. Tahunga), including priests, sorcerers and doctors.
3. The common people, Makaainana, or laboring class.
There was a wide and impassable gulch between the chiefs and common people. In fact, the distinction between them was primarily of a sacred and religious character. The chief was believed to be descended from the gods, and to be allied to the invisible powers.The contrast in stature and appearance as well as in bearing between the chiefs and common people was very striking. Only 61 a chief had the right to wear the feather cloak and helmet, or the ivory clasp, Niho Palaoa; his canoe and his sails were painted red, and on state occasions he was attended by men carrying kahilis or plumed staffs of various colors. When the highest chiefs appeared abroad, all the common people prostrated themselves with their faces upon the ground. It was death for a common man to remain standing at the mention of the king's name in song, or when the king's food, water or clothing was carried past; to put on any article of dress belonging to him, to enter his enclosure without permission, or to cross his shadow or that of his house. If a common man entered the dread presence of the sovereign, he must crawl prone on the ground, kolokolo, and leave in the same manner.
The head chief of an island was styled the Moi, and his dignity was generally hereditary. There were usually at least four independent kinglets in the group, and sometimes the single Island of Hawaii was divided between several independent chiefs.
LAND TENURE.
As a rule, the chiefs were the only proprietors of the soil. They were supposed to own not only the soil and all that grew upon it, not only the fish of the sea, but also the time and labor of their people.The accepted theory was that all the lands belonged to the king, of whom they were held by the high chiefs in fief; i. e., on condition of rendering him tribute and military service. Each of these district chieftains divided up his territory among an inferior order of petty chiefs, who owed to him the same service and obedience that he owed to the king.
In this way the land was subdivided again and again, while at the bottom of the scale were the miserable serfs who tilled the soil. These last were simply tenants at will, liable to be dispossessed 62 of their little holdings at any time, or to be stripped of their personal property at the requisition of the chief.
WAR.
Wars were frequent and cruel. There were numerous wars to settle the succession to the sovereignty of an Island, as well as contests between the head chiefs of the principal Islands. For example, the chiefs of Oahu often contended with those of Maui for the possession of Molokai, and there were frequent wars between the chiefs of Hawaii and those of Maui for the district of Hana.Their weapons consisted of long spears, pololu; javelins, ihe; daggers, pahoa, and clubs made of hard wood. They never used the bow in war, but slings made of cocoanut fiber or human hair were extensively employed. They used no shields, but became wonderfully expert in catching or parrying spears thrown at them.
Sometimes they engaged in sea fights, with large fleets of canoes on each side. In general no quarter was given to the vanquished, but there were certain sanctuaries called puuhonuas, which afforded an inviolable refuge in time of war. Cannibalism was regarded by them with horror and detestation.
RELIGION.
The religious system of the ancient Hawaiians was very similar to that of other Polynesians. It consisted in a great measure of nature worship. To their minds all the powers of nature, especially those that are mysterious and terrible, were conceived of as living and spiritual beings. Thus the volcano, the thunder, the whirlwind, the meteor and the shark were feared as being either the embodiment or the work of malevolent spirits (akuas).The four great gods, Kane, Kanaloa, Ku and Lono, who were worshiped throughout Polynesia, originally belonged to 63 this class, as is shown by the cosmogony of the New Zealand Maoris. Among these four Kane held the primacy. The souls of great chiefs went to his abode after death.
Pele, the dread goddess of volcanoes, and her numerous family, dwelt in the crater of Kilauea, but also caused the eruptions of Mauna Loa and Hualalai. In Hawaii she was feared more than any other deity.
One large class of akuas were supposed to be incarnated in certain species of animals, which were feared or believed to have a supernatural character, as the shark.
Another class of deities, which included most of the professional gods, consisted of deified spirits of the dead. The Aumakuas were tutelar deities, attached to particular families, who were often deified ancestors. Sickness and disease were generally caused by their displeasure.
CEREMONIAL SYSTEM.
There were two hereditary orders of priests, endowed with lands, who kept up the elaborate liturgy and ritual of the temples, and also preserved whatever knowledge of astronomy, history, medicine, etc., had been handed down to them.The tabu system covered the entire daily life of the people with a vast network of minute regulations and penalties. Thus, it was tabu for men and women to eat together, or even to have their food cooked in the same oven. Women were forbidden to eat pork, bananas, cocoanuts, or turtle and certain kinds of fish, on pain of death. There were certain tabu days when no canoe could be launched, no fire lighted, and when no sound could be made, on pain of death. Even dogs had to be muzzled and fowls shut up in calabashes for twenty-four hours at a time.
The human sacrifice was the crowning act of the ancient worship, offered only on certain solemn occasions, and at the temples (Heiaus) of the highest class.
Whenever a temple was to be dedicated, a new house to be built for the chief, or a new war canoe to be launched, many of the people fled to the mountains and lay hidden till the danger was past.
Besides the regular priesthood, there were many kinds of medicine men, necromancers or mediums, sorcerers and diviners, who preyed upon the superstition and credulity of their countrymen. The belief that all forms of disease were caused by evil spirits, and their fear of being "prayed to death" (anaana), kept the people in a state of abject fear.
There is too much reason to believe that during several centuries preceding the discovery of the Islands they had been deteriorating in many respects. As the historian Fornander has stated:
"It was an era of strife, dynastic ambitions, internal and external wars on each Island, with all their deteriorating consequences of anarchy, depopulation, social and intellectual degradation, loss of liberty, loss of knowledge, loss of arts."
DISCOVERY OF THE ISLANDS.
It seems to be almost certain that one Juan Gaetano, a Spanish navigator, saw Hawaii in 1555 A. D. A group of islands, the largest of which was called La Mesa, was laid down in the old Spanish charts in the same latitude as the Hawaiian Islands, but 10 degrees too far east.On the eighteenth of January, 1778, Captain Cook, the great navigator, while sailing due north from the Society Islands, discovered the Islands of Oahu and Kauai. The next day he landed at Waimea, Kauai, where he held friendly intercourse with the natives, and afterwards laid in supplies at Niihau. He finally sailed for Alaska, Feb. 2d. The Hawaiians looked upon him as an incarnation of the god Lono, and upon his crew as supernatural beings. Returning from the Arctic the following winter, he anchored in Kealakekua bay, January 17th, 1779. 65 Here he received divine honors and was loaded with munificent presents of the best that the islands could produce. By his rash and arbitrary conduct, however, he involved himself in an affray with the natives, in which he was killed on February 14th, 1779.
The spot where he fell is now marked by an appropriate monument.
EARLY TRADERS.
For seven years after the death of Captain Cook no foreign vessel ventured to touch at the Islands. After that time many of the vessels engaged in the fur trade on the northwest coast of America called at the Islands for supplies on their way to Canton or ran down here to spend the winter. Waimea, Kauai, and Kealakekua bay were the two harbors most frequented by them. Fire arms, powder and shot were the articles most in demand among the natives.THE RISE OF KAMEHAMEHA.
At the death of Kalaniopuu, Moi, of Hawaii, in 1782, a civil war broke out, which rent the Island into three petty sovereignties, which were presently reduced to two.The districts of Kohala and Kona were held by Kamehameha, a nephew of the late king, while the other districts were loyal to his son, Keoua. After a sanguinary war lasting nine years (during which Kamehameha had ravaged West Maui and conquered the district of Hamakua), he became master of the whole of the Island of Hawaii by the assassination of his rival, Keoua, at Kawaihae, in 1791.
VISITS OF VANCOUVER.
The name of Capt. George Vancouver is still cherished as that of a wise and generous benefactor to these Islands. During his 66 survey of the northwest coast of America in 1792-1794, he made three visits to the Islands. He uniformly refused to sell fire arms or ammunition to the chiefs, but gave them useful plants and seeds, and presented Kamehameha with the first cattle and sheep ever landed in the Islands. On the 25th of February, 1794, Kamehameha and his chiefs voluntarily placed Hawaii under the protection of Great Britain, in token of which the British flag was hoisted on shore at Kealakekua.CONQUEST OF OAHU.
After the death of Kahekili, the sovereign of the leeward Islands, in 1794, a civil war broke out between his brother Kaeo and his son Kalanikupule, in which the former was killed. Soon after Kalanikupule treacherously massacred Captains Brown and Gordon, who had assisted him in the late war, and seized their vessels in the harbor of Honolulu.Having put his guns and ammunition on board, he proposed to sail immediately for Hawaii, in company with a fleet of war canoes, to attack Kamehameha. But the English sailors who had been reserved to navigate the two vessels, suddenly rose at midnight, recaptured them, and sailed for Hawaii, where they informed Kamehameha of all that had occurred.
Kamehameha saw that his opportunity had now come, and lost no time in mustering all the war canoes and fighting men of Hawaii.
After overrunning West Maui and touching at Molokai, he landed in Waialea bay, Oahu, in the latter part of April, 1795. There he spent a few days in organizing his army before marching up the valley of Nuuanu, where Kalanikupule had prepared to make his last stand. The Oahu warriors were soon routed and pursued up the valley. Some of the fugitives were hemmed in and driven over the "Pali," or precipice, at the head of Nuuanu, a little north of the present road.
This victory made Kamehameha master of all the Islands 67 except Kauai and Niihau. With the exception of a short insurrection in Hawaii, there was peace during the rest of his reign.
DECREASE OF POPULATION.
The decrease of the population during this period must have been very rapid. Vancouver in 1792, Broughton in 1796, and Trumbull in 1801, were strongly impressed with the misery of the common people and their rapid decrease in numbers. This was partly the result of wars, but was still more due to the diseases and vices introduced by foreigners. In the summer of 1804 a pestilence, supposed to have been the cholera, carried off half of the population of Oahu. Botany Bay convicts had introduced the art of distilling liquor before the year 1800, and drunkenness had become very prevalent.THE SANDAL-WOOD TRADE.
During the first quarter of the present century the sandal-wood trade was at its height. This wood was in great request at Canton, where it was sold for incense and the manufacture of fancy articles. It was purchased by the picul of 133-1/2 pounds, the price varying from eight to ten dollars for the picul. This wood, while it lasted, was a mine of wealth for the chiefs, by means of which they were enabled to buy fire arms, liquor, boats and schooners, as well as silks and other Chinese goods, for which they paid exorbitant prices.THE CESSION OF KAUAI.
In March, 1810, Kaumualii, the last King of Kauai, visited Honolulu in the ship Albatross, Capt. Nathan Winship, in order to have an interview with Kamehameha. It was then arranged between the two chiefs that Kaumualii should continue to hold his Island in fief of Kamehameha during his life-time, on condition of paying tribute.RUSSIAN AGGRESSIONS.
During the year 1815 a Dr. Scheffer was sent to the Islands by Baranoff, the Russian Governor of Alaska. He built a fort at Waimea, for Kaumualii, on which the Russian colors were displayed, and urged him to place himself under the protection of Russia. On hearing of this, Kamehameha sent a large force to Honolulu, where a substantial fort was built during the year 1816. He also sent orders to Kaumualii to expel Dr. Scheffer, which was done.DEATH OF KAMEHAMEHA.
Kamehameha I. died on May 8th, 1819, at Kailua, Hawaii. His work was done. He had consolidated the group under a strong government, put an end to feudal anarchy and petty wars, and thus prepared the way for civilization and Christianity.ABOLITION OF IDOLATRY.
In accordance with his will, his eldest son, Liholiho, was installed as king, with the title of Kamehameha II., and Kaahumanu, his favorite queen, as premier, to exercise equal powers with the young prince, whose dissolute and reckless character is well known.Their first important act was the abolition of the tabu system, which took place at a great feast held at Kailua in October, 1819, at which men and women ate together in public for the first time. This was followed by the general burning of idols and temples throughout the group.
Kekuaokalani, a cousin of Liholiho, put himself at the head of the adherents of the ancient faith, but was defeated and slain in the battle of Kuamoo, fought about December 20th, 1819.
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