D LI, ~23 'A6.1; 4 iA.~:I - SQ VS I-4 A1 '-r y / ~; ~ AS{ ii U T IHE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: THEIR PROGRESS AND CONDITION UNDER MISSIONARY LABORS. BY RUFUS ANDERSON, D. D., FOREiGN SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. BOSTON: G O U L D A N D L I NCOLN, 59 WASHINGOTON STREET. NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY. CINCINNATI: GEO. S. BLANCHARD. 1864. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by GOULD AND LINCOLN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. STEREOTYPED AT THE Boston Stereotype Foundry, No. 4 Spring Lane. TO THE PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE, THE SECRETARIES, AND TREASURER, OF THE ~inciea ~$arbof ~nun~io~r~for fortign u jisionz, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED BY THEIR COLLEAGUE AND FELLOW-LABORER. 0 PREFACE. WHEN the author had prepared the " MEMORIAL VOLUME" of the Board's First Half Century, three years ago, the belief was expressed that it was among the closing labors of his somewhat protracted official life. He little thought, then, that it would become his duty to visit the Sandwich (or Hawaiian) Islands, and, as a consequence, to prepare another volume for publication. But " it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Fourteen thousand miles are soon traversed in these days of steam; and the Island-visit, - in a fine climate, among beloved missionaries, and in close contact with the native Christians, - though laborious, was a source of constant pleasure. It was an opportunity for "fellowship in the gospel" such as earth seldom affords. On his return home he was naturally expected to prepare a report of his mission. There was not time, however, before the Annual Meeting of the Board, for drawing up anything like an extended report; and the deficiency was 1* (5) vi PREFACE. then supplied, as far as it could be, by a verbal statement to the meeting. Afterwards, on resuming the preparation of his report, he soon found reason to believe, that a suitable memorial of the Lord's work on those Islands required a wider and freer range of statement than was befitting a document of that nature. Referring the matter to the Prudential Committee, he was advised to give himself the latitude of a volume, and was left to take his own course in its preparation. The work is written throughout with reference to a single object-THAT OF SHOWING WHAT GOD HAS BEEN PLEASED TO DO ON THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF HIS SON AND THE LABORS OF HIS MISSIONARY SERVANTS. The author has presented the case just as it appeared to him, after a forty years' correspondence with the missionaries, and after a sojourn of four months upon the Islands, all the while in the most confidential intercourse with those best acquainted with their religious condition. And he has fortified his own statements with such other testimony as seemed necessary to insure to them the confidence of the Christian community. It was a thing of course that, to one on a mission of this nature, the best side of the Hawaiian people would every PREFACE. vii where be presented. For the most part, the author's intercourse was necessarily with church-members, and with the best portion of them. This was in harmony with one of the grand objects of his visit, which was to ascertain the nature and the extent of Christianity upon the Islands. With a similar object in view, he could not have had better opportunities, within the same period of time, in London, or even in New York or Philadelphia. The compression of the materials into a volume of moderate size required double the labor that was expected to be necessary, and also the sacrifice of much that seemed important to the life and spirit of the narrative. For more ample details in the early history of the Islands and of the mission, the reader will need to resort to works frequently referred to in this volume. The preliminary historical sketch, occupying the first six chapters, is thought to be all that is needful to introduce the reader to the Islands in their present state. The next six chapters, describing the tour, were written with the leading object of the visit constantly in view. They will serve as a further introduction to the' ten subsequent chapters, on the social, civil, religious, and ecclesiastical condition and prospects of the people. The chapter on the " Reformed Catho viii PREFACE. lic Mission" has been prepared with care; and that mission will receive, it is hoped, the attention, both in this country and in England, which it demands as an uncourteous and alarming innovation in the working of Protestant missions. What is said of the apprehended dangers on those Islands, will enable God's people more deeply to symlpathize with those veteran soldiers of the cross, who have resolved to lay their bones among the trophies of their spiritual contests and victories. The concluding chapters will have a practical value to the increasing number of Christian people who are interested in the development of the missionary enterprise. It will be seen that the Hawaiian mission is treated as an experiment; and should it be thought to have been on a small scale, it will be remembered, that experiments are usually made thus, and that they are not the less satisfactory and decisive on that account. Nor are the results on the Hawaiian Islands wanting in real magnitude. If those Islands contained no huge ancient fortresses, like those of Asiatic paganism, to be overthrown, the mission found there a social demoralization and decay almost beyond a parallel, tending to the speedy destruction of the entire people. Its labors have effected a signal triumph, through the grace of PREFACE. ix God; and it now only remains to be seen whether that infant community of Protestant Christians will be able to withstand the onset to be made upon it by the extreme ritualistic portion of the Church of England. If such a conflict is to be, we shall doubtless have the sympathies and prayers, if nothing more, of that large evangelical portion of the English Church which so liberally sustains one of the most honorable and efficient of the great Missionary Societies. It was deemed the author's duty to apprise the churches of the existence and nature of this evil, lest they should not become seasonably aware of the danger. The adjustments that have been made, regarding the mission as in some important sense a completed work, will be viewed with that forbearance which is due to first and untried measures on a national scale. Should any of them be found ill adapted to the end in view, they may still be useful, leading to the discovery of " a more excellent way." There must surely be some method, in the great process of the world's conversion, for setting nations, converted from heathenism, free from dependence on the older churches of Christendom, when they shall have come sufficiently under gospel influences. X PREFACE. The author thankfully acknowledges his obligations to the Rev. Isaac R. Worcester, editor of the Board's monthly publication, for his valuable criticisms, extended through the volume. The same acknowledgment is due to several members of the Prudential Committee, in respect to some of the more important chapters. He would gladly have delayed the publication longer, in order that the work might be made more deserving of public interest; but that could not be. Prepared amid unceasing interruptions, it is sent forth in obedience to what seemed a positive duty, and with the hope that it will be received by the friends and supporters of missions as a seasonable and truthful memorial of one of the most remarkable among the spiritual revolutions which the Church of Christ has been permitted to record. MISSIONARY HOUSE, BOSTON, September, 1864. CONTENTS. I. PRELIMINARY HISTORY. CHAPTER I. THE ISLANDS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. Their Discovery.-Name of the Group. —Names of the Islands.-Importance of their Position. - Superficial Contents. - Origin. - Climate. - Vancouver. - Early Decline of Population. - Prevalence of Infanticide.- Origin of the People. - Population in 1820.- Productions. - Resort of Ships. - Moral Inefficacy of Civilization. - Character of Kamehameha. - His alleged Cession of Hawaii to Great Britain. - Conquest of the Islands. - Division of the Lands. - Government. - Wives and Children. - Death and Obsequies. - Accession of Liholiho. - Destruction of the Tabu and Idols. - Motives to this. - Consequent Civil War. 25 CHAPTER II. THE ISLANDS AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. Occurrences leading to a Mission.- The Mission. - First Intelligence of the Change at the Islands.- Reception of the Mission.- Establishments at Kailua, at Honolulu, and on Kauai. - Interesting School at Kailua. - (11) 4 xii CONTENTS. Reducing the Language to Writing. - Unfriendly Foreign Influence. - Unexpectedly counteracted. - Arrival of Mr. Ellis. - Further Destruction of Idols. - Notice of several. - School of Chiefs. — The Farmer returns Home. - First Reinforcement. - The King's Letter tothe Captain.- Keopuolani, the Queen-Mother. - Liholiho's Visit to England. - Farewell Address of Kamamalu, his Queen. -Their Sickness and Death in London.-Charge received by Survivors from the English Sovereign.Character of Liholiho. -The Visit not inauspicious to the Islands.Christian Influence of Kaahumanu.-Kapiolani's Visit to Kilauea.Lord Byron's Visit to the Islands. - Great Religious Change in the Government.-Church and State not connected. —Vast Congregation at Kawaihae. - Great Meeting-houses. - Dedication of one at Kailua. - Schools. - Testimony of Mr. John Young. - Origin of the Roman Catholic Mission.- Outrages by Foreign Seamen.- Death of Kalanimoku. - Death and Character of Kaahumanu. - Accession of Kamehameha III. - His Opinion of the Strength of the Christian Institutions. — The several Reenforcements of the Mission.- Summary View......... 45 CHAPTER III. THE ISLANDS TO THE TIME OF THEIR CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY. Testimony of Governor Kekuanaoa as to the Former State of the Islands. - The Government ask for Teachers in Secular Matters. - The Signers. - Like Request from the Mission. — Why not complied with. - Aid from Missionaries indispensable to the Government. -Civil Government necessary for the Safety of the Church.- School for young Chiefs.- Testimony of Hon. Robert Crichton Wyllie. - Early Influences of the Holy Spirit. - Increased Vigor in Prosecuting the Mission.- Reason for it.The Great Awakening, and its Results. - On the Admission of Converts to the Church............................. 73 CONTENTS. xiii CHAPTER IV. THE ISLANDS REGARDED AS CHRISTIANIZED. Reasons for adducing Testimony. - THAT OF THE MISSIONARIES in 1848. - The Witnesses. - Former Nature of the Government. - Contrast of the former and present Character and Condition of the People. - Schools and Education. - Progress in Civilization. - TESTIMONY IN 1860 OF MR. RICHARD H. DANA. - What the Missionaries have done. - What they are. - Schools and Education. - How the Missionaries were regarded by foreign Visitors and Residents. - Struggle between Good and Evil. - Influence of Missionaries on the Government. - How the Nation has been preserved. - Safety of the Traveller. - Prevalent Influence of Religion. - Estimate of the Missionaries...................... 91 CHAPTER V. MEASURES CONSEQUENT UPON THE CONVERSION OF THE ISLANDS. True Idea of a Mission. - Its Application to the Hawaiian Islands. - New Measures adopted. - These partly successful. - Difficulties encountered. - The great Difficulty. - Light from an unexpected Quarter. - New Problem.- The Resort for its Solution...........1..... 107 CHAPTER VI. VOYAGE TO THE ISLANDS, AND A WEEK AT THE METROPOLIS. Question of Duty.- Companions of the Voyage, —Railroad across the Isthmus. -A magnificent Coast. -From San Francisco to the Islands. 2 xiv CONTENTS. - Honolulu. -Introduction to the Queen. - The Officers of Government. - Governor Kekuanaoa.- Favorable Impression of Social Life in the Capital. -Introduction to the Native Christian Community..... 115 II. TOUR OF THE ISLANDS. CHAPTER VII. HAWAII. The Propeller Kilauea. - Approach to Hawaii. - The King and Queen. - First Landing.- The Northern Coast.- Magnificent Scenery of Hilo.Welcome Reception. —The Memorable Past.-A Christian Congregation.-Visit to the great Volcano. —A Baptism.- Religion in Rural Districts. - The Hilo Station. - Boarding Schools. - District of Kau. - Missionary Station at Waiohinu. - Interesting Services at the Church.Historical Review. —The Children instead of the Fathers...... 127 CHAPTER VIII. HAWAII. Fatiguing Ride. - Vast Lava Deposits. - Family Scene. - Enter Kona.Pleasant Sojourn.- Kealakekua Bay.- Home of Kapiolani and Naihe. - Their Christian Labors.- Results. - Their Farewell to Mr. Stewart. — Their Death. - The Station. - City of Refuge. - Last Battle for the Idols. - Fiery Cataract. - Home of Obookiah. - Christian Congregation. - Monthly Concert Contribution. — Scenes on the Way to Kailua. - Lands owned by Foreigners. - The First Station. - Interesting Anniversary CONTENTS. XV and Sabbath. - The People coming to Church. - Female Equestrians. - Meeting the Lunas. - Church Edifice and Congregation. - Horses tied in the Fields.- Celebration of the Lord's Supper.......... 142 CHAPTER IX. HAWAII. Landing at Kohala. - Mr. Bond's Opinion of his Church. - Congregation on a Rainy Day. - Over the Mountains of Kohala to Waimea. - Desolated Fields and Villages. - Former Games and Sports. — Cause of their Decline. - Effect of radiated Heat. - Fine View of Mauna Kea. - Mauna Loa, and the Eruption of 1859. -Enthusiastic Meeting. - Address by Timotea. —Original Hymn by Liana.- Version by Mr. Bingham.Native Customs. - Mr. Bond's District. - District of Mr. Lyons. - Estimate of his Field. - Kawaihae and the Great Heiau. - Incident in the Life of Timotea........................ 159 CHAPTER X. MAUI. Wailuku. -Historic Facts.- Soil and Productions. - Meeting-houses.Sabbath Congregation.- Native Address.- Station of Mr. Green in East Maui. - Mountain Scenery. - Field of branching Coral. - Lahaina. - Church-building. - Lord's Supper. - Historical. - The Queen-Mother Keopuolani.- Beautiful Instance of filial Love in the King. —The Queen's Baptism.- Crisis made by her Death.- Native College at Lahainaluna. - Made over to the Government. - Native Clergymen from the Graduates. - Commencement. - Alumni. - Dinner. - Schools at Lahaina. - Hana. - Molokai. - Monthly Concert. - Steam Sugar Mill.Roman Catholics............................ 176 xvi CON TEN TS. CHAPTER XI. OAHU. Social Intercourse. - Mr. Corwin and the Foreign Church. - Mr. Damon, Seamen's Chaplain. - President Mills and Mrs. Mills.- A Native Judge. - Honolulu. - First Church. — Second Church. — Interesting Ordination.-Rev. Hiram Bingham.- Levi Chamberlain.- Royal Cemetery.Oahu College. - Tour of the Island. - Ewa. - Waialua. - Journey along the Northern and Eastern Shore. - Sugar Plantations. - Lassoing. - Kaneohe. —The Pali. - Unexpected Danger.............. 192 CHAPTER XII. KAUAI. The Voyage. - The Island. - Waioli. - Congregation in a Kukui Grove. - Beautiful Plantation at Hanalei. - Fertility of the District. - Touching Incident. - Hospitality. - Governor Kanoa. - Koloa. - Fearful Deluge. — Vaimea. - Old Jonah. - Island of Niihou. - Return to Honolulu. - Delicate Testimonial............... 213 III. PEOPLE OF THE ISLANDS. CHAPTER XIII. THEIR SOCIAL AND CIVIL CONDITION. Aim of the Mission. - Improved Social Condition of the People. - Relations of Missionaries to a Barbarous Government. - Declaration of the Mission. - No Improper Influence. - Mr. Richards the chosen Counsellor of the Government. - Magna Charta. - Constitution. - Code of Laws. - Christian Tone of the Constitution. - Laws at first necessarily imperfect. - Exemplary Punishment. - Revision of the Statutes. - The CONTENTS. XV l National Religion. - The Religion free.-The Christian Sabbath. - Churches and Parsonages.- Days of Fasting and Thanksgiving. - Structure of the Government................... 229 CHAPTER XIV. INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. INDUSTRY: Arable Land. - Scarcity of Labor. - Coolies. - Cane Lands. - Taro and Rice Lands. - Capacity for sustaining Population. - Sugar Plantations and their Product. - Coffee. - Wool. - Cotton. - Oranges. - Hawaiians and Labor.- What is needed. - COMMERCE: Amount of Trade. - Merchant Vessels. - Whalers. - Coasting Fleet. - Conditions of National Prosperity...................... 246 CHAPTER XV. SCHOOLS AND LITERATURE. SCHOOLS: The first Pupils Adults. - Their Number. - Teachers.- Readers. - Cheapness of Instruction. - The Youth brought into the Schools. - Their Number. -Schools for Teachers. -Government assumes the Support of the Common Schools.-Tabular View of Government Schools.Their Cost. — School for the Chiefs. - The Government and High Schools. - Oahu College. - LITERATURE: Hawaiian Language. - Its Alphabet. - Amount of Printing. - Works in the Language. - Contemplated Progress. - Susceptibility of the People to be influenced by their Literature................................. 254 CHAPTER XVI. DECLINE OF POPULATION. How far Civilization is responsible for the Decline. - Statement. - Sources of Information. - The Climate and Diseases of the Islands. - Small 2* xviii CON TEN TS. Number of Children. -Causes of the Decline.- These in Operation before the Gospel came. - Singular Effect of destructive Epidemics. - Influence of the Gospel........................ 269 CHAPTER XVII. CHARACTER OF THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES. Rule of Judging. - Church of Corinth. - Church in Madagascar. - Church in India. - Whence unfavorable Views. - Civilized and Uncivilized Piety. - Favorable View of Piety at the Islands. - Contrast of Past and Present.- More easy for the Fallen to rise again.- Another Reference to the Corinthian Church. -Extreme Debasement of the Heathen World. — Cheering Fact in the Hawaiian Ministry. - Comparative View. - Family Prayer. - Morning Prayer-meetings. - Confidence in Prayer. - Addresses. - The People clothed. - How best interested. - Interesting Audiences. - The " Aloha." - Church-building. - Statistics of the Hawaiian Churches. - Benevolence. - Paganism no longer known... 279 IV. ECCLESIASTICAL DEVELOPMENT. CHAPTER XVIII. ECCLESIASTICAL DEVELOPMENT PREVIOUS TO 1863. Business transacted at first by the Mission as an organized Body. - An Association formed for Ecclesiastical Matters.- Much other Business.The Native Churches a Development of the Mission Church. - Association reorganized, and all Business transferred to it. - How Ecclesiastical Government came to be exercised by the Missionary Body. - Difficulties CONTENTS. xix in the Way of a Change. — The Time for a Change come. — The Ends to be secured............................... 307 CHAPTER XIX. THE RELIGIOUS CONVOCATION AND ITS RESULTS. Organization of the Body. - The Topics under Discussion. - Great Unanimity. - The Results. - Native Churches and Pastors. — Ecclesiastical Control no longer with the Missionary. — Native Pastors and Laymen to come into all Ecclesiastical and Charitable Bodies. - Deliberations to be in the Native Language. - Education of the Native Ministry. - Female Boarding Schools. - The Press. - Home Missions. - Children of Missionaries.- Older Missionaries no longer supported by Native Churches. - Reorganization of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association. - Formation of a Hawaiian Board. - Correspondence to be maintained with the American Board. - The Responsibilities of the American Board to be transferred to the Hawaiian Board. - Micronesia Mission. - The Grand Result. -A Glorious Triumph of the Gospel. -A Protestant Christian Nation.- Well governed. — The late King. - Letter to him....... 315 V. OTHER MISSIONS. CHAPTER XX. THE REFORMED CATHOLIC MISSION. Name of the Mission.- Reason for the present Statement. - Such a Mission not originally requested by the King.- Official Letters. —Letter from Mr. Ellis. —Letter to Archbishop Sumner. —The Archbishop's Reply. - Bishop of London. - Opposition to the Measure. - Government XX CONTENTS. License. - Consecration of Bishop Staley. - Statement of the Bishops. — Results.-Letter of the Dean of Winlsor. - Desirableness of an Episcopal Presbyter at llonolhlu. — Arrival of the Mission at tile Islands. - High-church Stand taken by it. - Blaptism of the Young Prince. -Difference in-Doctrinal and Practic;l Iteligious Views. - On Confirmation. -Dr. Staley's two printed Sermons. — Leading Features of the Religion he is to propagate on the Islands.-The People hard to be interested.-The Worship too showy for them.-Public IDiscourtesy towards the Protestant Clergy at the Royal Funeral. - Influence of the New Mission in the Hlawaiian Government.-Popular Unrest.- The Question for the American Board.- The Reformed Catholic Mission an Invasion in the Hour of Victory. - Another similar Movement in the Church of England. —Extracts from a Speech of the Earl of Shaftesbury............................... 331 CHAPTER XXI. ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSION. —THE MORMONS. Origin of the Roman Catholic Mission. - Claim made by the Government. -The First Missionaries sent away. - The American Missionaries not accessory to this.-WWhy they were sent away. -Protestant Missionaries opposed to Persecution. - British Consul and Irish Priest. - Violence of a French Naval Officer. - Oppressive Exactions. - Their Effect. - Present State of the Mission. -Defective Statistics. — Scantiness of Materials for a History of Romish Missions.- This true of their Mission on the Hawaiian Islands. - The Success and Comparative Power of Romish Missions over-estimated. - Dr. Venn's Work on the Life of Xavier a Corrective.- THE MORMONS............... 360 CONTENTS. Xxi VI. THE PRESENT POSITION. CHAPTER XXII. APPREHENDED DANGERS. In Respect to the Missionaries.- Their Children.- The Native Ministry. - From the Complex Nature of the Protestant Community. - Of Decline in the Native Churches.- From Changes in the Industrial Pursuits.From Invasions by Adverse Sects. - The Ground of Hope....... 373 CHAPTER XXIII. PRACTICAL LESSONS. Supernatural Power involved in the Success of the Mission. - On Conflicting Testimonies concerning the Mission.- The Gospel precedes Civilization.-The Encouragement to be given to Native Effort.- Missions to be brought to a Seasonable Close.-The Native Pastorate.-Female Education. —The English Language.................. 381 CHAPTER XXIV. CONCLUSION. The Mission an Experiment in Foreign Missions.- Its Value enhanced by the Difficulties overcome. —Not dependent on Future Events. -Present Relations of the Hawaiian Protestant Community. - The Responsibilities. —What the Island Churches will most need.-Missionaries, as a body, not given to Exaggeration.- Why they are not.- No safer or more profitable Investment than in the Foreign Missionary Enterprise. -The Churches entreated never to forget this Portion of Christ's Kingdom................................ 396 xxii CONTENTS. APPENDICES. Portions of the Introductory Address delivered at the Convocation in Honolulu.- The Address to the Children of the Missionaries, with their Response.- An Account of the Organization of the Board of tie Hawaiian Evangelical Association.- The Address of the Associ itiou to the Foreign Secretary of the American Board. - The Action of the 'rudential Committee and of the Board on the Secretary's Report.-Extracts from Bishop Staley's Sermons...................... 408 ilat nf Slltstratinnu. I. KAMEHAMEHA III.............. Facing Title-page. Page II. MAP OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.................. 24 III. RELATIONS OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS............. 27 IV. TIE POISON-GOD.......................... 55 V. WAR-GOD TAIRI......................... 56 VI. GREAT IDOL AT THE MISSIONARY HOUSE............ 57 VII. LONG............................... 58 VIII. KEKAULUOHI........................... 79 IX. STONE CHURCH AT IONOLULU................. 119 X. OUTLINE VIEW OF HAWAII FROXM THE EASTWARD........ 128 XI. NATIVE GRASS HOUSE...................... 137 XII. KEALAKEKUA BAY..................... 147 XIII. NATIVE WOMAN ON HORSEBACK................. 157 XIV. HARBOR OF HONOLULU...................... 195 XV. CONGREGATION IN A KUKUI GROVE............... 215 XVI. NATIVE CONGREGATION IN 1823.................. 295 I i Ii I i I I 4,YA K - IF Iti I, flWAIA JJL- I& 18b3.2~ILyAl' ~ 11D5 L X tII I I.X I 4 Mi A I I I K A 11 A I ill-".\ I N 1111211' ) -1 Ix',,, 7, IT X U' A II 4 77 4 4 ~ A 7 #" it',, 1. I i Ii I i I I 4,YA K - IF Iti I, flWAIA JJL- I& 18b3.2~ILyAl' ~ 11D5 L X tII I I.X I 4 Mi A I I I K A 11 A I ill-".\ I N 1111211' ) -1 Ix',,, 7, IT X U' A II 4 77 4 4 ~ A 7 #" it',, 1. PRELIMINARY HISTORY. (23) I~SOV1ETY 1 N EWlZ -.A L AM:) CNALAAno )SA~ PRELIMINARY HISTORY. CHAPTER I. THE ISLANDS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. Their Discovery.-Name of the Group.-Names of the Islands.Importance of their Position.- Superficial Contents.- Origin. - Climate. -Vancouver. - Early Decline of Population. -Prevalence of Infanticide. - Origin of the People. - Population in 1820.- Productions. - Resort of Ships. - Moral Inefficacy of Civilization. - Character of Kamehameha. - His alleged Cession of Hawaii to Great Britain. -Conquest of the Islands. -Division of the Lands.Government. - Wives and Children. - Death and Obsequies. - Accession of Liholiho. - Destruction of the Tabu and Idols. -Motives to this.- Consequent Civil War. THE SANDWICH ISLANDS were so named by Captain James Cook, their discoverer, in 1778; but that name is nowhere recognized in the constitution and laws of the islands. The group is there called the HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, and this is the name used by the inhabitants. The islands are ten in number, and stretch from the south-east towards the north-west, in the following order: HA-WAI-, -I, M, MO-LO-KI-NI, KA-HU-LA-WE, LA-NAI, MO-LO-KAI, O-A-HU, IAU-AI, NI-I-HAU, and 3 (25) 26 THE IIA AIIAN ISLANDS. KAU-LA. They are situated between 18~ 50' and 22~ 20' north latitude, and 154~ 53' and 160~ 15' west longitude from Greenwich. Their distance from Panama is 4800 miles; from San Francisco, 2100; from Japan, 3400. They lie midway between the western terminus of the Panama Railroad and China, and nearly on the straight line between the two. Their distance from Australia is but little more than it is from China. The four largest and most important islands are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai.1 The length, breadth, and superficial contents of the group 1 The following directions for pronouncing some of the principal names will be helpful to the reader:Ha-wai-i, pronounced as Ha-wye-e. O-a-hu, Kau-ai, Kai-lu-a, Ke-a-la-ke-ku-a, Mau-i, Wai-a-ke-a, Wai-pi-o, Ki-lau-e-a, Mou-na-Lo-a, Mou-na-Ke-a, Ka-a-wa-lo-a, Ka-me-ha-me-ha, Li-ho-li-ho, Ka-a-hu-ma-nu, Ke-o-pu-o-la-ni, Ku-a-ki-ni, Bo-ki, Li-li-ha, " O-ah-hoo. ",' Kow-i, or Kow-eye. " " Ky-loo-ah. ", Kay-ah-lah-kay-koo-ah. " " Mow-e. W" " ye-ah-kay-ah. " " Wye-pe-o. " " Ke-low-A-ah. " "I Mow-nah-lo-ah. " " Mow-nah-kay-ah. " " Kah-ah-wah-lo-ah. " " Kah-me-hah-me-hah. " " Lee-ho-lee-ho. "( " Kah-ah-hoo-mah-noo. (( Kay-o-poo-o-lah-ne. "4 " Koo-ah-ke-ne.,t " Bo-ke. " " Le-le-hah. BEFORE TIE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 27 are thus stated by the Rev. William Ellis, in his interesting Narrative of performed in 1823: - a Tour through Hawaii, Hawaii, Maui,. Kahulawe, Lanai,. Molokai,. Oahu,. Kauai, Niihau, Length... 97. ~. 48. 11... 17. ~. 40. 46. ~. 33 ~. 20 Breadth... 78. *. 29... 8. 9. 7.. 23. 28 7. Square Miles.. 4000. 600. 60. 100. 170. 520. 520. 80 Kaula, } Molokini, little more than barren rocks. The group contains six thousand square miles. The circumference of Hawaii is about three hundred miles; that of Oahu is nearly one hundred. The whole group had a volcanic origin. Reefs of coral are found on some parts of the coast, though to a much smaller extent than in some of the southern groups. It is by one of these coral reefs that the fine harbor of Honolulu is formed. The trade winds strike the eastern side of the islands, and there it frequently rains: on the mountains there are rains almost daily; but on the leeward side they are infrequent. On the rainy side of Hawaii a large number of perennial streams fall into the sea, sometimes forming lofty and beautiful cascades. It is along the windward side of the islands that disintegration is most advanced, 28 THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. and the soil most abundant and fertile; and it is there that the sugar plantations are now being multiplied. Forests abound in the mountains. The islands all lie within the range of the trade winds, which blow with great regularity nine months in the year. Where mountains obstruct their course, there are regular land and sea breezes. Occasionally a prolonged gale comes from the south, called a Souther, or " Kona." There was none between February and July, 1863, and they are said to have been of rare occurrence for the few years past. When this wind begins to blow, it drives the miasma arising from the lagoons south-east of Honolulu back upon the land, infesting the town with its unpleasant odor. The natives call it the " sick wind." Much of the-weather at all seasons is, however, delightful; the sky cloudless, the atmosphere clear and bracing. Nothing can exceed the soft brilliancy of the moonlight nights. Thunder-storms are rare, and light in their nature. No hurricanes have been known.' The general temperature of the islands approaches near the point regarded by physiologists as most conducive to health and longevity. Mr. Ellis gives the following tabular view of a meteorological journal kept by the missionaries fiom August, 1821, to July, 1822,-probably at Honolulu; the thermometer being noted at 8 A. M., 3 P. M., and 8 P. M.2 1 Jarvis's History of the Hawaiian Islands, p. 13. 2 Journal, p. 7. cr'17 11 Pe Months. August, 1821,. September,. October... November,... December,.. January, 1822, February, March, April,.. May, June,.. July.... Greatest Heat. 88~ 87 86 82 80 80 77 78 81 81 84 84 Least Heat. 740 74 73 71 62 59 61 66 62 72 71 74 59 Range. 14~ 13 13 11 18 21 16 12 19 9 13 10 29 General Range. 75 to 85~ 76-84 76-83 75-80 70-78 68-76 68-75 71-75 72-78 75-80 76-81 76-83 Mean Temperature. 79~ 78 78 76 72 70 71 72 73 76 78 78 General Course of Wind. N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. N. & N.E. Variable. N.E. N.E. Variable. N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. General State of the Weather. Clear; rain but once. Rained on five days. Clear; rain but once. Clear; rain but once. Clear; rain twice. Rain 1 day; 7 others cloudy. Rain 4 days; 10 others cloudy. Rain 5 days; 8 others cloudy. Rain 5 days; 12 others cloudy. Rain 4 days; 3 others cloudy. Cloudy 6 days. * CO Result for the year, 88 70-83 75 Rain 5 days; 7 others cloudy. Rain on 40 days; generally clear at other times. 30. THE IHAWAIIAN ISLANDS. By ascending the mountains any desirable degree of temperature may be attained. The melancholy fate of Captain Cook, who was slain at Kealakehua Bay, on Hawaii, in a tumult of the natives, February, 1779, deterred vessels from touching at the islands until 1786, when Captains Dixon and Portlock, on a trading voyage to the North-west Coast for furs and sea-otter skins, stopped for refreshments at the Island of Oahu. About the same time La Perouse visited the Island of Maui. Thenceforward vessels in the fur trade came frequently to the islands. In opposition to the settled policy of Kamehameha, a vessel was seized and plundered by the natives on the western shore of-Hawaii, and the crew all murdered, except Isaac Davis and John Young, both of whom were taken under the patronage of the king, and afterwards became influential in the nation. Vancouver, being sent by the English government on a voyage of discovery, spent several months of the years 1792, 1793, and 1794 at the islands, and was treated in the most friendly manner by Kamehameha,' then king of the western part of Hawaii, and by the people. Goats, sheep, cattle, which now abound, were first introduced by him from California. Vancouver had accompanied Captain Cook, and now saw painful evidence of depopulation I The name is made up by a reduplication of the word meha (lonely, or solitary), with the definite article Ka prefixed, which is a part of the name. - Ellis. BEFORE TIlE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 31 since the time of his first visit -the effect of the desolating wars which marked the early part of Kamehameha's reign, together with the awful prevalence of infanticide, and the augmented destructiveness of intemperate and licentious habits among the people. According to Mr. Ellis, infanticide must have been among the principal causes. He says, - writing forty years ago, -"It prevails throughout all the islands, and, with the exception of the higher class of chiefs, is, as far as we could learn, practised by all ranks of the people. However numerous the children among the lower orders, parents seldom rear more than two or three, and many spare only one. All the others are destroyed, sometimes shortly after birth, generally during their first year. The means by which it is accomplished, though numerous, it would be improper to describe. Kuakini, the governor of the island, in a conversation I had with him at Kailua, enumerated many different methods, several of which frequently prove fatal to the mother also. Sometimes they strangle their children, but more frequently bury them alive. It is painful to think of the numbers thus murdered. All the information we have been able to obtain, and the facts that have come to our knowledge in the neighborhood where we resided, afford every reason to believe that, from the prevalence of infanticide, two thirds of the children perished. We have been told by some of the chiefs, on whose word we can depend, that they have known 32 THE HA JAIIAN ISLANDS. parents to murder three or four infants where they have spared one." "The principal motive," he continues, "with the greater part of those who practise it, is idleness; and the reason most frequently assigned, even by the parents themselves, for the murder of their children, is the trouble of bringing them up. In general they are of a changeable disposition, fond of a wandering manner of life, and find their childreni a restraint, preventing them, in some degree, from following their roving inclinations. Like other savage nations, they are averse to any more labor than is absolutely necessary. Hence they consider their children a burden, and are unwilling to cultivate a little more ground, or undertake the small additional labor necessary to the support of their offspring during the helpless periods of infancy and childhood. In some cases, when the child has been sickly, and the parents have grown tired of nursing and attending it, they have been known, in order to avoid further attendance and care, to bury it at once; and we have been credibly informed that children have been buried alive merely because of the irritation they have manifested. On these occasions, when the child has cried more than the parents, particularly the mother, could patiently bear, instead of clasping the little sufferer to her bosom, and soothing by caresses the pains which, though unable to tell them, it has probably felt, she has, to free herself from this annoy BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARTES. ance, stopped its cries by thrusting a piece of tapa into its mouth, and digging a hole in the floor of the house, perhaps within a few yards of her bed and the spot where she took her daily meals, has relentlessly buried, in the untimely grave, her helpless babe." 1 The most probable supposition in respect to the origin of the islanders is, that they came from the Malay coast. Their features and color are the same with the Malays, and there are said to be many words nearly the same in the languages of the two people. The Hawaiian nation is supposed to have a considerable antiquity. From time immemorial there have been persons appointed by the government to preserve unimpaired the genealogy of their kings, and this genealogy embraces the names of more than seventy. The population of the islands, in 1778, was estimated by the discoverer at 400,000. There is reason to regard this estimate as somewhat excessive; but a traveller, forty years after that time, found traces everywhere of deserted villages, and df enclosures, once under cultivation, then lying waste. The mission believed the population to be from 130,000 to 150,000 at the time of their arrival; that of Hawaii being 85,000, according to the estimate of Mr. Ellis and his companions during their tour around that island. Mr. Ellis is the best authority as to the productions 1 Ellis's Tour, p. 298. 34 TiIE iA TTWAIIAN ISLAN4 rDS: — of the islands at the commencement of the mission. The only quadrupeds, at the time of the discovery, were a small species of hog with a long head and small, erect ears, the dog, a small lizard, and an animal in size between the mouse and rat. Hogs sometimes ran wild on the mountains; otherwise there were no ferocious animals; and the only poisonous reptile was a small centipede. As early as 1823 there were extensive herds of cattle at large on Hawaii, and on most of the islands were flocks of goats, and a few horses and sheep. These were all brought, originally, from the adjacent continent of America. Horses, cattle, and goats were found to thrive well; but it was necessary to pasture sheep on the hills and mountain sides, it being too warm for them near the shore. Birds were not often seen near the sea, excepting such as were aquatic, and a species of owl that preyed upon mice; but they were numerous in the mountains. Several kinds were remarkably beautiful, and amlonlg them a small paroquet, of a glossy purple, and a species of red, yellow and green woodpecker, with whose feathers the idols were dressed, and the helmets and handsome cloaks of the chiefs were ornamented. The notes of a brown and yellow speckled bird were exceedingly sweet. But the feathered tribes were not generally distinguished for beauty of plumage or richness of song. Wild geese were found in the mountains, and ducks near the lagoons BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 35 or ponds. Of fish there were several varieties, and the inhabitants procured a tolerable supply. The king and chiefs were owners of artificial ponds, with an entrance from the sea, so constructed that the young fish could enter, but soon became too large to escape. Here excellent mullet were raised, and caught by the hand, the native wading in for that purpose. The islanders subsisted chiefly on the roots of the arum esculentum, which they called taro, and which they manufactured into poi. This is the taro baked, pounded, mixed with water to the consistency of paste, and allowed to ferment. They also used the sweet potato, which grows to a large size, but is not so sweet as the kind raised in New Jersey. The principal indigenous fruits were the bread-fruit, cocoanut, banana, ohilo (a berry), ohia (a juicy red apple of poor flavor), arrowroot, strawberry, and raspberry. Oranges, limes, citrons, grapes, pine-apples, papaw-apples, cucumbers, and watermelons had then been introduced; and beans, onions, pumpkins, and cabbages had been added to the vegetables. Sugarcane was indigenous, and grew to a large size, though not then much cultivated.1 After Vancouver's departure, the vessels which resorted to the islands were generally traders from the United States in quest of sandal-wood. This was Ellis's Tour, Eng. ed., p. 8. 3n o6 THt E HI4 I FAIIAir ISLAANDS. conveyed, in large quantities, and as long as it lasted, to China, where much of it was burned as incense in the worship of idols. Afterwards whalers, when they began to frequent the North Pacific, and to pursue the sperm whale along the coast of Japan, found it convenient to refit their ships, and obtain their refreshments, at the Hawaiian Islands. * From the discovery of these islands to the arrival of the missionaries was a period of forty years; equalling the time which has since elapsed. The number of visitors, on the whole, must have been very great. But, excepting a few suggestions to the king by Vancouver, which speak well for his character, there is no trace of any religious instruction whatever having been imparted by the visitors to the natives. Among all the thousands, not one was a herald of the gospel; and, had the islands been left to those influences alone, it is probable that nothing more of the nation would now have been remaining than miserable remnants, inhabiting the more secluded districts. Ardent spirits and fire-arms were the chief articles of trade, and the main influence was to foster intemperance and an infamous dissipation, which hurried the unwary people to the grave. Kamehameha was a remarkable man, with perhaps " as good a claim to the title of "great" as an Alexander or a Napoleon. He was wounded by one of the guns fired at the time Captain Cook was killed. Though endowed with physical strength, mental BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 37 energy, and a majestic carriage, his deportment was mild, and he was frank, cheerful, and generous. "In self-defence, more than from a warlike spirit, he was drawn into a series of battles, first with the chiefs of his own island, and then with the chiefs of the other islands; all of which were victorious, and eventuated in subjecting the whole group of islands to his sovereign control." 1 It Was his policy to protect trade; and Young and Davis were taken into his confidence, and rendered him important service. Both rose to be chiefs of rank, and the granddaughter of the latter became the wife of Kamehameha IV., and was queen at the time of my visit. The king appreciated the character of Vancouver, and the repeated visits of that eminent navigator exerted a good influence upon him, as well as upon the future history of the islands. Vancouver refused to purchase supplies by means of arms and ammunition; and it was then that attention was first turned towards sandal-wood as an article of export. He effected a reconciliation between Kamehameha and Kaahumanu, his favorite wife, from whom he had been estranged on account of a suspicion as to her faithfulness. Jarvis says that "tears and a warm embrace ensued; but, before leaving, the queen persuaded the captain to induce her husband to promise, upon her return, to forego beating her." It has been asserted by English writers, 1 Dibble's History, 1839, p. 58. 4 / 38 THE HA WAIIAN ISLANDS. even by Mr. Ellis, that Kamehameha, through Vancouver, ceded Hawaii to the British sovereign. Doubtless that officer received some such impression from his interpreter; but the assertion rests on no sufficient evidence. Mr. Dibble, who had great opportunities to learn the truth, and took much pains to draw his facts from native sources, declares that what the king said to Vancouver was this: " Return to Great Britain, and request her king to protect our country." Mr. Dibble's History was published at the Sandwich Islands, in the year 1843, and he makes the following statement in respect to the declaration of Kamehameha: "It was not his intention to surrender wholly, but to obtain protection. And even if it should be maintained that Kamehameha intended to surrender his government to the entire control of Great Britain, the surrender would be a matter of little importance; for Kamehameha had at that time little to give away. Kahekili was then king of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Oahu; and his brother Kaeo was king of Kauai. The possessions of Kamehaineha were on Hawaii alone, and consisted of the districts of Kona, Kohala, and Hamakua, which he had recently confirmed by conquest. He was often at war with the hostile chiefs of the other districts of Hawaii, Hilo, Puna, and Kau, and succeeded in making them tributary; but he did not acquire undisputed possession of those districts until he had subdued the Leeward Islands, a period several years BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 39 after the visit of Vancouver." 1 Mr. Jarvis, who also wrote and published his History at the islands, says the natives declared protection from the English sovereign to be the only thing they requested, and that the chiefs who made speeches on the occasion, "as if apprehensive of yielding more than they intended, expressly reserved to themselves the right of sovereignty, and the entire regulation of their domestic concerns."2 This question, however, except as one of historic truth, has now, probably, no practical importance. The harbor of Honolulu was discovered in 1794. Two years later the conquest of all the islands, save Kauai, was completed by Kamehameha; and that island submitted to his authority in 1809. The king proceeded on the maxim that all the lands were his, and he apportioned them among his followers according to their rank and deserts; which he did on the feudal tenure of rendering military service and a proportion of the revenues. Heirs were to inherit; though this depended on the will of the sovereign, whose authority was absolute. For a despotism, rising out of anarchy and desolating wars, in the absence of education and of Christianity, the government was remarkable, during the last years of that monarch, for the peace, security, and order that were prevalent. " Kamehameha permitted no crimes 1^ Dibble's History, 1843, p. 48. 2 Jatrvis's Iistory, p. 89. 40 THE ItA jVAAIIAY IS'LANDS. except his own, when his interests were not too deeply involved. To consider actions sanctioned by their customs from time immemorial a blot upon his character, would be unjust, however arbitrary they might appear to those whose lot has been placed in a land of freedom. They were merciful in comparison with what the islanders had undergone. No penalty could reach an individual screened by the favor of his chief, and the favorites of Kamehameha enjoyed the exemption common to successful courtiers." 1 Kaahumanu and Keopuolani, two of the king's wives, have both an honored place in the religious history of the Hawaiian Islands. There will be occasion to speak of them hereafter. The former was his favorite, and bore him a daughter in 1809. But the latter was of higher rank, indeed the highest in the kingdom, and therefore her children were the heirs to the throne. Liholiho, the eldest, was born in 1797, Kauikeaouli in 1814, and Nahienaena, a daughter, about two years later. Kamehaineha I. died at Kailua, Hawaii, on the 8th of May, 1819, at the age of sixty-six, only a few months before a Christian mission embarked at Boston to convey the gospel to him and to his people. Although he had strenuously adhered to the religion of his people, he would not permit human sacrifices 1 Jarvis's History, p. 95. BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONRARIES. 41 to be offered, when he was sick, for his recovery, as was customary in such cases; and, in lieu of such victims at his obsequies, three hundred dogs were sacrificed. But there were the customary wailings throughout the islands. According to usage, the people shaved their heads, burned themselves, knocked out their front teeth, broke through all restraint, and practised all manner of crime, as if it were a virtue. All ages, both sexes gave scope to the vilest passions, in self-torture, robbery, licentiousness, and murder.1 Liholiho succeeded to the kingdom, and recognized Kaahumanu as his premier. Indeed, the will of her husband made her a sharer in the government, and she remained so during her life. There soon followed an event which has scarcely a parallel in history, giving an affirmative answer to the inquiry of the prophet, "Hath a nation changed her gods?" The tabu system of restrictions and prohibitions was inseparable from the national idolatry. "They extended to sacred days, sacred places, sacred persons, and sacred things; and the least failure to observe them was punished with death. A prohibition, which weighed heavily as any other, was that in regard to eating, and was the first to be violated. A husband could on no occasion eat with his wife, except on penalty of death. Women were prohibited, on the same pen' Dibble's History, p. 85. 4* 42 THE HA IT4 IAN ISLANDS. alty, from eating many of the choicest kinds of meat, fruit, and fish. These prohibitions extended to female chiefs as well as to women of low rank. Many of the highest chiefs of the nation were females; and they, especially, felt burdened and uneasy. They did not fear being killed by the priests, for they were chiefs; but the priests, all along, had made them believe that, if they violated any prohibition, they would be destroyed by the gods. This they began to doubt, for they saw foreigners living with impunity without any such observances. Besides, - a fact which shows the power of God to bring good out of evil, - ardent spirits had been introduced among them; and they often, when partially intoxicated, trampled heedlessly on the prohibitions of their idolatrous system, and yet were not destroyed by the gods. The awful dread, therefore, which formerly existed, had in a measure subsided; and, when no longer restrained by fear, the female chiefs were quite ready to throw off the burdens so long imposed upon them. Keopuolani, the mother of the king, first violated the system, by eating with her youngest son. Other chiefs, when they saw no evil follow, were inclined to imitate her example. But the king was slow to yield. At length, however, he gave his assent; and then the work was done. The chiefs, as a body, trampled on all the unpleasant restraints which had been imposed upon them by their system of idolatry. Inl doing this, they were aware that they BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 43 threw off all allegiance to their gods, and treated them with open contempt. They saw that they took the stand of open revolt. They immediately gave orders to the people that the tabu system should be disregarded, the idols committed to the flames, and the sacred temples demolished."' "The high priest, Hewahewa, having resigned his office, was the first to apply the torch. Without his cooperation the attempt to destroy the old system would have been ineffectual. Numbers of his profession, joining in the enthusiasm, followed his example. Kaumualii having given his sanction, idolatry was forever abolished by law, and the smoke of heathen sanctuaries arose from Hawaii to Kauai. All the islands, uniting in a jubilee at their deliverance, presented the spectacle of a nation without a religion." 2 But civil war was the immediate consequence. A principal chief rose, with a portion of the people, in rebellion. A battle was fought on the western shore of Hawaii, and the God of battles gave victory on the side of these great innovations. The rebellious chief was killed, and the whole mass of the people then went on, with renewed zeal, destroying the sacred enclosures and idols. Liholiho seems to have had no higher aim in these remarkable proceedings than to be freed from restraint Dibble's History, 1839, p. 64. I Jarvi8'8 History, p. 109. 44 TIE HlA AIIAN ISLANDS. upon his habits of dissipation; and it is thought that Kaahumanu, the strong-minded dowager queen, favored the changes in order to remove unreasonable disabilities from her sex. No religious motive seems to have had influence with any of them, and the result was to leave the nation so far without any religion as to be really in a less favorable state for self-preservation than it was before. But an unseen Power, though they knew it not, was preparing them for the speedy introduction of a better religion. CHAPTER II. THE ISLANDS AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. Occurrences leading to a Mission.- The Mission.- First Intelligence of the Change at the Islands. - Reception of the Mission. - Establishments at Kailua, at Honolulu, and on Kauai. -Interesting School at Kailua. - Reducing the Language to Writing. - Unfriendly Foreign Influence. - Unexpectedly.counteracted. - Arrival of Mr. Ellis.-Further Destruction of Idols.-Notice of several.- School of Chiefs.-The Farmer returns Home.-First Reenforcement.King's Letter to the Captain. - Keopuolani, the Queen Mother. - Liholiho's Visit to England. - Farewell Address of Kamamalu, his Queen. — Their Sickness and Death in London.- Charge received by Survivors from the English Sovereign.- Character of Liholiho. - The Visit not inauspicious to the Islands. —Christian Influence of Kaahumanu.- Kapiolani's Visit to Kilauea.- Lord Byron's Visit to the Islands.- Great Religious Change in the Government. - Church and State not connected. - Vast Congregation at Kawaihae.- Great Meeting-houses. - Dedication of one at Kailua. - Schools. -Testimony of Mr. John Young. —Origin of the Roman Catholic Mission. - Outrages by Foreign Seamen.- Death of Kalanimoku. - Death and Character of Kaahumanu. - Accession of Kamehameha III. —His Opinion of the Strength of the Christian Institutions.- The several Reenforcements of the Mission.- Summary View. FOR ten years, and more, there had been a train of providential occurrences in the United States tending directly to the sending of a mission to the Hawaiian Islands. It will be interesting to glance the eye along this line of events. (45) 46 TIHE HA VWAIIAN ISLANDS. While standing on the eastern shore of Kealakekua Bay, opposite to where Cook was killed, my attention was directed to a small ruined heiau, or heathen temple, with a cocoa-nut tree rising high above it. I was told it was there that Obookiah was trained by his uncle, a pagan priest, to the practice of idolatry, and that the tree was planted by him. This was more than fifty years ago, for Obookiah was brought to the United States, in the year 1808, by a shipmaster of New Haven. He was an intelligent youth, and learning that a long row of buildings on the public square in New Haven formed a college where young men of America acquired knowledge, he was one day found sitting on the doorsteps of one of those buildings, weeping because the treasures of knowledge were open to others, but were not open to him. Mr. Edwin W. Dwight, who saw him thus, had compassion on him, and became his religious teacher, and the means of his conversion. This antedates the mission to the Islands by more than ten years. Next we find Samuel John Mills writing to Gordon Hall from New Haven, on the 20th of December, 1809, in view of this case, and suggesting a mission to the Sandwich Islands. The institution of the Foreign Mission School at Cornwall, Connecticut, in 1817, by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, for the instruction of these and other youths from heathen lands, came next in the order of events. Mr. Dwight, the friend of Obookiah, was its first AFTER TtE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 47 teacher. Five of the ten earliest pupils were natives of the Hawaiian Islands. Obookiah died while a member of this school, on the 17th of February, 1818, at the age of twenty-six; and the published account of his life and death awakened great interest among the churches in behalf of his people. Then'* came the offer of a young man named Hiram Bingham, a student in the Andover Seminary, to go as a missionary to those Islands. And he finds a worthy associate in Asa Thurston, a classmate at the Seminary, and a graduate of Yale College, of whom the college traditions speak as one of the most athletic of her sons. These favored men have both been spared to the present time. The next step brings us to the 15th of October, 1819, to a public meeting in Park-street Church, in Boston, where we find Messrs. Bingham and Thurston, now ordained ministers of the gospel, and their wives; with Thomas Holman, a physician, Samuel Whitney and Samuel Ruggles, teachers, Elisha Loomis, printer, and Daniel Chamberlain, a farmer, and their wives; and Thomas Hopu, William Kanui (Tenooe), and Johh Honuri (Honoore), three Hawaiian young men from the Cornwall School; about to be organized as a mission to the Sandwich Islands. Dr. Worcester, the first Corresponding Secretary of the Board, was there, and so was Mr. Evarts, its first Treasurer — names once familiar in all our churches, and still affectionately remembered. 48 THIE IA WAIIAN ISLANDS. A great assembly listened to the eloquent instructions of the Secretary, and gave many tokens of a thrilling interest.' 1 Since the above was written, I have seen the following notice of Tenooe in The Friend of February 5, 1864, published monthly at Honolulu, and edited by the Rev. Mr. Damon, the excellent Seamen's Chaplain in that city. Tenooe was in San Francisco when I passed through it on my return from the Islands, and I heard a good report of him from Mr. Rowell. It seems he went back to his native isles, and finished his course there. The Queen's Hospital is at Honolulu. " Died at Queen's Hospital, January 15, 1864, William Kanui, aged about sixty-six years. The early life of the deceased was so intimately connected with the effort to establish Christianity upon the Sandwich Islands, that it merits more than a passing notice. He was born on the Island of Oahu, about the close of the last century. His father, belonging to the party of a defeated chief, fled with his son to Waimea, Kauai. While there, an American merchant vessel, commanded by Captain Brintnel, touched for supplies. The vessel had previously touched at Kealakekua, and whilst here the master took on board two young men, whose subsequent history was remarkable. They were Obookiah and Thomas Hopu. At Waimea they were joined by William Kanui. These three youths Captain Brintnel took to America. Soon after their arrival, they attracted the attention of the friends of foreign missions, and when the Mission School was opened at Cornwall, Connecticut, they were received as pupils, with another Hawaiian, George Kamaulii, son of the king or governor of Kauai. Obookiah died in America, but the three others came out inethe brig Thaddeus, with the first company of missionaries. " Kanui, or Tenooe, as his name was originally written, early fell under the censure of the church, but was subsequently restored. In 1848, when the gold excitement arose, he went to California, where he remained until about four months ago. He was successful in gold digging, but lost alli or about $6000, by the failure of a mercantile house in San Francisco. During the last few years he has labored in San Francisco, and was connected with the Bethel Church of that AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 49 The company embarked at Boston on the 23d of October, 1819, in the brig Thaddeus, Captain Blanchard, expecting a protracted and perilous conflict with pagan rites, human sacrifices, and bloody altars; for, in the then infrequency of communication with those distant regions, no intimation* whatever had been received of the wonderful changes that had been occurring at the Islands. The first tidings the missionaries had of them were on reaching the coast of Hawaii, on the 31st of March. Then they heard, with wonder and gratitude, that the idols and altars of superstition had been overthrown throughout the Islands, and the tabu and priesthood abolished. These were great events, and no wonder their hopes were raised. But they found, on reaching Kailua, on the 4th of April, where Liholiho, the son and successor of Kamehameha, then was, that the old religion city, under the charge of the Rev. M. Rowell. Much more might be written respecting his career, but for the present we would merely add, that he departed this life leaving the most substantial and gratifying evidence that he was prepared to die.[ His views were remarkably clear and satisfactory. Christ was his only hope, and heaven the only desire of his heart. It was peculiarly gratifying to sit by his bedside and hear him recount the 'wonderful ways' in which God had led him. He cherished a most lively sense of gratitude towards all those kind friends in America who provided for his education when a poor heathen stranger in a foreign land. The names of Cornelius, Mills, Beecher, Daggett, Prentice, Griffin, and others, were frequently upon his lips, and often mentioned with a glow of grateful emotion.") Thomas Hopu is understood to have maintained his Christian course to the end of life. 5 50 THE IHAWAIIAN ISLANDS. had not been abandoned from any desire for a new one. The king was a polygamist, as were many of the chiefs; and seeing the missionaries each with but one wife, he objected that if he received them he would be allowed but one. He had some apprehensions, moreover, awakened doubtless by foreign residents, lest an American mission might have an injurious effect on his political relations. The missionaries made explanations. The old high priest, Hewahewa, favored them. The king dined with them on board the ship, going with only a malo, or narrow girdle around his waist, a green silken scarf thrown over his shoulders, a string of beads around his neck, and a feather wreath on his head. In this scanty attire he was introduced to the first company of white women he ever saw. His mother, Keopuolani, is said to have advised him to allow the missionaries to stay. After twelve days, consent was obtained to their residing on the islands one year, part of them at Kailua, and the rest at Honolulu. On the 12th of April, 1820, Mr. and Mrs. Thurston, and Dr. and Mrs. Holman, took up their abode at the former place;-both families for a time occupying one small thatched hut, which had been assigned them by the king. It was only three feet and a half high at the foot of the rafters, and was without floor, or ceiling, or windows, or furniture, in the midst of a noisy, filthy, heathen village. The members of the mission destined to Honolulu AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 51 arrived there on the 14th of April. The village then contained three or four thousand people, living in wretched huts. Nor were the household accommodations of the missionaries much better there than they were at Kailua. The brig which brought them from Boston was too small and crowded to carry furniture, nor was there a chair to be bought anywhere on the Islands. Mr. Bingham, and Mr. Chamberlain, the farmer, remained at the future capital, while Messrs. Whitney and Ruggles went to reside at Waimea, on Kauai; and Mr. Loomis, the printer, not yet having work in his department, repaired to Kawaihae, on Hawaii, a day's journey to the north of Kailua, to instruct Kalanimoku, one of the most influential of the chiefs, and his wife, with a class of favorite youths whom he wished to have instructed. Confiding in Providence, they thus allowed themselves to be widely dispersed; but no evil befell any of them. At Kailua, Mr. Thurston had for pupils the king, his brother Kauikeaouli (afterwards the well known Kamehameha III.), then only five years old, Kaamalu and Kinau, two of the king's wives, and Kuakini, soon after governor of Hawaii; and among other lads John Ii, since one of the judges of the Supreme Court. It was not long before this whole company removed to Honolulu, and Mr. and Mrs. Thurston deemed it prudent to accompany them, and to remain at that place for a time. After two years, such progress had been made in 52 THE HA WAIIAN ISLANDS. reducing the language to writing, that Mr. Loomis was able to put his printing-press to use. Twelve letters in all -five vowels and seven consonantsexpressed every sound in the pure Hawaiian; each letter had but one sound, and every syllable ended with a vowel. This rendered it easy for the natives to read and write; and it is one great reason why so large a portion of the people made such rapid progress in reading and writing. As soon as the king and chiefs had come to Honolulu, unfriendly foreigners began to stigmatize the missionaries as political emissaries under fair pretences, and advised that they be sent away. So much jealousy was at length awakened among the more credulous chiefs, that the missionaries, not knowing how to allay it, were apprehensive of the consequences. Two things in particular were asserted: first, that the English missionaries at the Society Islands had taken away the lands from the people, reducing them to slavery, and that the Americans, if suffered to proceed, would do the same thing; and secondly, that the presence of American missionaries was offensive to their protector, the king of England, and he might be expected to give proofs of his anger. The latter assertion was of course made by English residents. Both were singularly met, in the ordinary course of divine Providence. Vancouver, thirty years before, had encouraged Kamehameha I. to expect a vessel to be sent him by AFTER THlE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 53 the king of Great Britain. It is not known why this promise was so long forgotten. But at last the colonial government of New South Wales was directed to send to the Hawaiian king a small schooner, called the Prince Regent. This vessel was placed under the care of Captain Kent of the Mermaid, and touched at the Society Islands while Messrs. Tyerman and Bennett, two English gentlemen of respectability, were there as a deputation from the London Missionary Society to their missions in those seas. As the captain was to touch at the Marquesas Islands, he offered to take thither two Society Islands chiefs, as missionaries; and finally it was resolved that the gentlemen of the deputation, and also the Rev. William Ellis, a respected English missionary, since well known to the religious world, should accompany them. Contrary to their plans, Captain Kent concluded to visit the Sandwich Islands first; and so they all arrived at Honolulu in the spring of 1822, where they were gladly received by the mission and by the rulers. Immediately the missionary chiefs from the Society Islands held conferences with Liholiho and his chiefs, and described the character, labors, and influence of the missionaries among their own people. The English gentlemen also gave assurance of the favorable disposition of the English monarch; and thus the impositions of the foreigners were thoroughly exposed. These good effects were rendered permanent by the prolonged residence of 5* 54 THE HA WAIIAN ISLANDS. Mr. Ellis and of the Taheitians at the Hawaiian Islands, in compliance with a request from the chiefs. And such was the affinity of the Taheitian and Hawaiian languages, that Mr. Ellis was able to preach with facility to the Hawaiians within two months after his arrival. Mr. Bingham states in his History,' that, some time in 1822, Kaahumanu made the tour of Hawaii with a large retinue. She had not then given any attention to the alphabet, nor seriously listened to the gospel; yet she made it an object to search out and destroy the idols, that had been concealed in the "holes of the rocks" and in "caves of the earth." More than a hundred images were then committed to the flames. Among these is said to have been one of Kalaipahoa, the poison-god, which belonged to Kamehameha I. This was a famous idol, of wood, of the middle size, curiously carved; and none was so much dreaded by the people, except the deities supposed to preside over the volcanoes. All who were thought to have died of poison were said to have been slain by this god. The very wood of which the image was made was believed to be poisonous; but this may have been a fiction of the chiefs. Mr. Ellis was unable to procure a sight of this idol, though assured that it existed,- " not indeed in one compact image, as it was divided into several parts on 1 History, p. 162. AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 55 the death of Kamehameha, and distributed among the principal chiefs." 1 Such was the prevailing opinion at that time, but it appears not to have been well founded. There was a smaller image of the same god, made of a hard, yellow wood, such as was usually employed in making idols. This was allowed to remain at THE POISON-GOD. Molokai, the home of Kalaipahoa; the original being always carried about by Kamehameha, and placed, it is said, under his pillow at night. This idol was sent, many years since, to the cabinet at the Missionary House-a small, ugly-looking figure, labelled "The poison-god," with a hole in his back for the ' Ellis's Tour, p. 61. 5,( THIE HA 1-AIIHAN ISLANDS. poison. An engraving is here given. Its arms are extended, with spread fingers, its head covered with a sort of woolly hair, its mouth once evidently armed with teeth. About the same time, one of the national war-gods was received, such as were carried by the priest near HE AWAR-GOD TAIRI. the person of the king in the wars of pagan times. The image is about two feet high, made of wickerwork, and covered with red feathers, with a hideous mouth, and rows of dogs' teeth, the eyes of motherof-pearl, and a helmet on the head, on which there 57 AFTER TIlE ARRIVAL OF 3I,'SIO:NA RIES. probablly was once a crest of human hair. An graved likeness is given, but of course without red feathers. Mr. Ellis calls its name Tairi.1 1rom some unknown cause, the monuments relics of idolatry in the sacred depository of bones of departed kings and princes, called enthe and the the GrTENAT IDOL AT THE MIISSIONARY HOUSE. " Toutse of Keave," adjoining Honaunau, on the western shore of Hawaii, were spared amid the general destruction of heiaus and idols in the sum I Tour through HIawaii, p. 127. 58 TIHE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. mer of 1819; but subsequently the images appear all to have been carried away as curiosities, being on the sea-shore, and easy of access. At the time of Mr. Ellis's visit (1823), twelve frightful representatives of their former deities formed a semicircle, "in grim array, as if perpetual guardians of the 'mighty dead' reposing in the house adjoining." One of the idols from this place, as there is good reason to believe, found its way, many years since, to Boston, and into the Missionary Cabinet. It is six feet and a half high. It is a singular fact that it was found necessary to enclose the idol in a glass case, after it came to the Missionary House, to prevent visitors from chipping off small pieces as mementos. It is represented on the preceding page. The most popular and remarkable of all the idol gods of Hawaii was the one least pretentious in appearance. This was the god "Lono," of which Cook was regarded as an impersonation. How it came to be preserved is not known, and years passed before it could be obtained for the Cabinet. It is simply a pole of LoNo. hard wood, somewhat more than ten feet long, with a small head at one end; probably made in this form to be carried into battle. AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 59 There are some other Hawaiian idols in the Mlissionary Cabinet, but no intelligent account can be given of them. In August, Mr. Ellis prepared several hymns in the native language, which gave increased interest to the public worship. The language was found favorable to confessions, petitions, and to poetic ascriptions of praise and adoration.' Kapiolani and her husband Naihe, afterwards so efficient in the introduction of the gospel into southern Hawaii, were now at Honolulu, learning to read and write. At the beginning of the year 1823, twenty-four chiefs, the males and females being about equal in number, were among the pupils. In this year the missionary farmer, finding the time not come for the successful introduction of agricultural industry among the people, returned to the United States. In the spring, the mission received its first reinforcement, consisting of William Richards, Charles Samuel Stewart, and Artemas Bishop, ordained missionaries, Joseph Goodrich and James Ely, licensed preachers, Abraham Blatchley, physician, and their wives, and Levi Chamberlain, superintendent of secular concerns. The king showed the change there had been in his own views and feelings since the arrival of the first company, by the following note to the captain of the ship, which had brought the new missionaries: 1 Bingham's History, p. 163. 60 THE HA WAIIAN ISLANADS. " Captain Clasby: Love to you. This is my communication to you. You have done well in bringing hither the new teachers. You shall pay nothing on account of the harbor, - nothing at all. Grateful affection to you.' LIIIOLIHO IOLANI." Keopuolani, the king's mother, being about to remove to Lahaina, on the Island of Maui, and desiring to have missionaries accompany her, Messrs. Richards and Stewart were assigned to that post. As they had not yet learned to speak the Hawaiian language, Taua, a Taheitean teacher, was associated with them, and became a sort of family chaplain to the venerable queen. Of her I shall have occasion to say more when speaking of my visit to Lahaina. She died on the 16th of September, 1823, but not till she had given credible evidence of piety, and received baptism from Mr. Ellis. Daughter of a race of kings, wife of a king, and mother of two kings, she was the first person baptized on the Islands; so that in her the island-church may be said to have had its first visible existence. In the days of heathenism her person was regarded as peculiarly sacred. There were times when no one might see her, and when she walked abroad at the close of day, -her Bingham's History, p. 189. "E Captain Clasby: Aloha oe. Eia ka'u wahi olelo ia oe. Maikaz no oe i kou h]aawi ana mai i na kumu hou. Aole oe e uku i ka awa, - aole akahi. Aloha ino oe." AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 61 usual time, -whoever saw her fell prostrate to the earth. She was scarcely more distinguished by her rank than by the amiableness of her temper, and the mildness of her behavior. When drawing towards the close of life, she gave a charge that the customary heathen abominations should not be practised at her death. Her charge was respected, and the decline of those customs may be said to date from that day. In the autumn of this year the king Liholiho came to the rash conclusion to make a visit to England and the United States. What were his reasons, or whether he had any, was never certainly known. He was impulsive, and probably was led to the measure by a restless desire to see the world. He went in an English whale-ship, the L'Aigle, taking with him his favorite wife, Kamamalu, with Boki and Kekuanaoa. The chiefs desired Mr. Ellis to accompany him, but the captain would not consent. The king and queen were destined never to see their native isles again, and the farewell address of Kamamalu is very striking. Standing on the stone quay,-tall, portly, queen-like, - the daughter of Kamehameha exclaimed,