CHAPTER II
A GLIMPSE OF HONOLULU
By the time the reefs of Oahu were in sight, the Corners had becomeso well acquainted with Mrs. Beaumont that they felt that they wouldhave a friend at court when they should finally reach Honolulu. Thefour stood on deck together watching for the first glimpse of thecoral reefs, Koko Point, and Diamond Head, then the city itself at thefoot of the mountains. Finally they passed on to the harbor inside thereefs and beheld the tropical scene they had pictured. There were thepalms, the rich dense foliage, and, at the moment the vessel touchedthe wharf, there were the smiling natives with wreaths around hats andnecks, waving hands, and shouting, "_Aloha!_" So was Honolulu reached.
As Nan had warned them it was quite like an American city, and asthey were driven to the hotel which Mrs. Beaumont had recommended,they could scarce believe themselves upon one of those SandwichIslands associated with naked savages and Captain Cook, in one's earlyrecollections of geography.
"I do hope," remarked Nan as they entered their rooms, "that we shallnot find any centipedes or scorpions in our beds."
"Horrors!" cried Mary Lee. "How you do take the edge off ourenthusiasm, Nan."
"Well, there are such things, and I, for one, mean to be careful."
"We shall all be careful," said her aunt, "but I don't believe inletting that mar our pleasure. Mrs. Beaumont says one rarely seesthose creatures, though of course they do exist. Some of them are notso poisonous as we are led to suppose, and one soon recovers from thesting. Now, girls, don't let us waste our time in discussing centipedesand tarantula, for we must make the most of our time. I have ordereda carriage for a drive to the Pali, which, I am told, is the favoriteone. We can take the shore line next, Waikiki, it is called, and thenwe can see the surf-riding and all that."
"Such lovely, queer names," commented Nan.
"Such queer looking people," said Mary Lee as they started forth,looking eagerly to the left and right that they might observe anythingworth their while.
"Why do those women all wear those awful Mother Hubbard lookingfrocks?" said Nan. "While they were adopting a costume, couldn't somecivilized person have suggested something more artistic? Poor things,I think it was a shame to condemn them to wear anything so ugly. Whenthere were Japan and China to give them models of picturesque kimonos,it seems almost a crime for them to adopt these hopelessly ugly things."
"Now Nan is off," laughed Mary Lee. "You touch her in her tenderestspot when you offend her artistic or musical taste."
"Speaking of music," said Nan, not at all offended, "I want to hearthe song of the fishermen. Mrs. Beaumont says it is very weird andinteresting."
"And I want to go to a _luau_," Mary Lee declared.
"I think that may be possible," Miss Helen said, "for Mrs. Beaumont haspromised to be on the lookout for any festivity which might interest usand will let us know."
"She was a true discovery," Nan went on. "I am so glad she happened tobe on board our steamer. Those wreaths that the natives wear aroundtheir hats and necks they call _leis_. Isn't it a pretty fashion?"
"The flowers are really wonderful," said Mary Lee, "but oh, suchcommonplace looking shops, with canned things on the shelves just as athome. In such a summery, balmy climate I should think they could raisealmost anything."
"So they could, but they don't," her aunt told her. "Everything almost,in the way of fruit particularly, is brought from the coast. Sugaris the great crop here. There are some coffee plantations, and riceis raised. Pineapples and bananas receive some attention, but thepossibilities for cultivating other things seem to be unconsideredexcept by a very few."
"The natives eat _poi_," said Nan. "It must be horrid stuff from thedescription of it. It is made from a tough root something like a sweetpotato. They mash it, or grind it up, mix it with water into a sortof paste, and sometimes they let it ferment before they dish it up ina calabash. Then the family sits around to eat this appetizing dishwith their fingers. Mary Lee, how should you like to dine out withsome of the Hawaiian gentry and be asked to join in a dip into theall-sufficing calabash with dried tentacles of an octopus as a daintyaccompaniment?"
"Ugh!" Mary Lee looked disgusted.
Yet the next day when Mrs. Beaumont appeared to bear them all off to a_luau_ they were all quite as eager to go as if they had not discussed_poi_ to its disadvantage.
"_Luau_ is the Hawaiian name for feast," Mrs. Beaumont explained. "Thepresence of guests will turn nearly any dinner into a _luau_. We aregoing a little out of town so that you may see one in its primitivemethod of serving."
"Shall we have to eat anything that is set before us?" asked Mary Leeanxiously.
"Oh, no, but I am sure you will find enough to satisfy you among thethings you can eat. There will be fish steamed in _ti_ leaves, andprobably pork roasted in an oven built underground. And I am sure youwill like a green cocoanut eaten out of the shell."
"But tea leaves," said Nan--"I should think they would give fish aqueer flavor."
"Not t-e-a, but t-i," Mrs. Beaumont explained. "The _ti_ plant is usedfor many things. It makes a convenient wrapping for one's ordinarymarketing, and takes the place of paper in more than one instance."
The girls were very curious to see what the _luau_ would be like, andwere charmed to find that the feast was to be served from a mat spreadupon the ground. The mat was finely braided and was adorned with aprofusion of flowers. At each place were laid _leis_ of carnations,begonias, bourga invilleas, or some unfamiliar flowers; only roses andviolets were conspicuous by their absence.
Mrs. Beaumont and her guests were welcomed with low salaams by thosewho were native Hawaiians, though the company was a mixed one, asthe feast was attended by some of the officers and their wives morein a spirit of policy or curiosity than because of strictly socialrelations. The girls discovered that Mrs. Beaumont was quite right inher advice about the fish and pork which they found delicious. Theytried the _poi_, but barely tasted it. There was a very possible saladmade from the alligator pear, and the green cocoanuts were indeed adelicacy which they could enjoy. It was not appetizing to watch theeaters of _poi_ wrap the sticky mass around their fingers beforeputting it into their mouths, and one or two glances were entirelysufficient. Knives and forks were provided for the principal guests,and indeed for any who preferred, but some still clung to the simplerand earlier manner of eating with their fingers.
Later on came a visit to the shore to see the surf-riding, lessindulged in than formerly since clothes have become an impediment, yetinteresting enough. Here, too, they heard the wild and melancholy songof the fishermen which Nan tried to jot down as a hint to her musicalmemory in days to come. A sightseeing tour about town was planned forthe next day when they were to see the various buildings, the Executivemansion, once the palace, the Museum where, indeed, were the feathercloaks and other interesting exhibits of primitive days, the PunahouCollege, and, what to the Corners was the most interesting of all, theLunalilo Home for aged natives.
"When I see those low salaams, I know I am in the Orient," said Nan."Did you notice that old fellow actually prostrate himself?"
"They are a very gentle, biddable people, if they are lazy," remarkedMary Lee, "and they say they are strictly honest."
"I think that is because of the old system of _tabu_," Nan made theremark. "You were not allowed to take anything that belonged to achief, for it was a matter of life and death, and even to allow yourshadow to fall across the path of one of those mighty beings meant 'offwith his head' or some similar order. I know what I shall do when I amqueen of these islands; I shall _tabu_ Mother Hubbards. Look at thatfat old monstrosity; isn't she a sight?"
"There are quantities of Chinese and Japanese," said Mary Lee, notingthe various persons who passed them.
"It seems to me one sees more of them than of the natives."
"I believe they do outnumber the natives," Miss Helen remarked, "forthey form the principal class of laborers. The Chinese, more than theJapanese, have become shopkeepe
rs, and own a larger proportion of realestate, so no wonder we see so many of them."
"Are you all very tired?" asked Nan suddenly.
"I must confess that I am," Miss Helen told her.
"And I shall be mighty glad to get to my room," Mary Lee put in. "Whydo you ask, Nan?"
"Because I am wild to take a ride on those King Street cars. Mrs.Beaumont says that nobody of the better class does ride on them, andthat is the very reason I want to go."
"Oh, Nan, I wouldn't," objected her sister.
"Why not? Nobody knows me, and I shall probably see sights undreamedof. Come along, Mary Lee."
"No, indeed, I don't want to get mixed up with lepers and filthy scumof the earth."
"Nonsense! There couldn't be any lepers, for they keep a very strictwatch and hustle them off to Molokai as soon as one is discovered."
"Mrs. Beaumont saw one; she told me so."
"Oh, Mary Lee, did she really?"
"Yes, she was buying something in one of the Chinese shops at the timeof the Chinese New Year, and this creature was begging outside whenshe came out. She says she shall never forget the sight, and thatsometimes their friends hide them so the officers cannot find them."
"Well, they will not hide them on a King Street car, that's certain,"retorted Nan. "If neither of you will go with me, I shall go by myself."
Finding her determined, Miss Helen and Mary Lee went on to their hotelwhile Nan boarded the car she had selected. It was about an hour beforeshe rejoined them. "Well, how was it?" asked Mary Lee as her sistercame in.
"It was great larks," was the answer. "You missed it, you two properpinks of propriety."
"Come in and tell us, Nan," called Miss Helen from the next room.
Nan laid aside her hat and came to her aunt, sitting on the side ofthe bed while she related her experiences. "It was perfectly decentand respectable," she declared, "and the route is a beautiful one. Amost polite Chinese person of the male persuasion took my car fare todeposit, handed me my change with an entrancing bow and then," shelaughed at the recollection, "neatly abstracted his own nickel from hisear and put that in, too."
"From his ear?" Miss Helen exclaimed.
"She is just jollying us, Aunt Helen," said Mary Lee.
"Indeed I am not," declared Nan, "and, what is more, he had stowed awayanother nickel, for his return fare, in his other ear; I saw as I cameout. For my part I think it is a lovely idea, and I believe I shalladopt it in future, particularly when I must get on one of those evilinventions, a pay-as-you-enter car. One day in New York I dropped asmany as three car fares in trying to get a nickel into the box. It wasa rainy day; I had my umbrella and a small traveling bag to carry, sohow in the world I could be expected to grasp the situation I have beenwondering ever since. No, the ear is the place, a simple and effectiveway of solving a very difficult problem."
"What else did you see?" queried Miss Helen.
"I saw a bland, urbane native lady, gowned in a pink Mother Hubbard--Ihave learned that the native name for these horrors is _holuku_--well,she wore one. She carried a basket of fish, principally alive, for onethat looked like a goldfish almost jumped into my lap. When she leftthe car I noticed that the Chinaman next me began to jerk his foot ina most remarkable manner. He attempted to get up, but somehow couldn'tseem to manage it. The woman was going one way; the car the other; butfinally another passenger stopped the car after some unintelligiblewords to the motorman and I discovered that the woman's hook and linehad caught in the Chinaman's shoe. The woman was dragging away, allunconsciously, for she had caught a fish which she didn't intend tofry. It was very funny, but I was the only one in the car who laughed;the rest were far too polite."
"Well, Nan, it is just like you to have had such an experience," saidher aunt.
"If I were going to stay in Honolulu for any length of time," returnedNan, "I think I should like to take a ride in the King Street carsevery day. What are we going to do to-morrow?"
"We are to have tea in Mrs. Beaumont's little grass house--you know sheowns one--and she thinks there is to be an auction."
"Calabashes!" cried Nan. "Good! I have set my heart on one, but I amnot going to pay more than ten dollars for it."
"I am afraid you will be disappointed then," her aunt told her, "forthey run up as high as fifty dollars and over, I am told."
"Well, we shall see," said Nan. "Of course I can't spend all my sparecash on calabashes or I will have none left for Japan where I expect tobe tempted beyond my powers of resistance."
"We are to dine at Mrs. Beaumont's this evening, so you'd better bethinking of dressing," Mary Lee warned her.
"And no doubt we must look our best for there will be some fascinatingyoung officers there, I believe. Isn't it fortunate that our steamerchairs happened to be next Mrs. Beaumont's? She has been perfectlylovely to us all, and we have seen twice as much as if we had tried totrot around alone."
They were not disappointed in their evening's entertainment whichbrought them in contact with some of the ladies, as well as the men, ofthe garrison, and gave them an opportunity of learning many interestingthings. The evening ended in a surprise when a band of natives cameto serenade, bringing their rude musical instruments and giving songstypical of these islands of the South Seas.
The calabashes were the great interest of the next day when an auctionsale of a small private collection was held. Mrs. Beaumont, who waswise on the subject of the antique wooden ware, went with them, and toher great satisfaction Nan did secure an excellent specimen for theprice she had set.
"You see," said Mrs. Beaumont, "as there is no metal on these HawaiianIslands, the best substitute known to the natives was the _Koa_ woodwhich has an exceedingly fine grain and is susceptible of a very highpolish. Wherever a calabash was decorated by carving, it had to be doneeither with a stone implement or with one made of sharks' teeth, andthough these carvings are crude they are really very interesting andadd to the value of the calabash. There are very few of the very oldones left now as they have been bought up by collectors. The nativesuse those made of cocoanut shells or of small gourds, as you may havenoticed."
Nan bore away her calabash in triumph, stopping at a little place tohave it polished by a man who was noted for doing such work well. Hers,while not large, was rather unique as it had a division in the middleso that two kinds of food could be served at once in it.
There were more walks and drives, and even a visit to one of theneighboring islands. The pretty little Japanese tea-houses, which theycame upon frequently in their drives, the girls absolutely refused topatronize. "We want to save everything Japanese till we get to Japan,"they declared. "There is quite enough novelty in that which is strictlyHawaiian."
"And more than enough that is strictly American, if one is looking fornovelty," remarked Miss Helen. "Who would suppose that in these SouthSea Isles one would find severe-looking New England houses, electriclights, electric cars, telephones and all the rest of American modernimprovements?"
"Including Mother Hubbards," Nan put in. "I am glad they have leftsomething typical of the old times. I suppose the little grass houseswere unhealthy places, but how picturesque they are."
They had the opportunity of observing one of these primitive housesmore closely that very afternoon when Mrs. Beaumont gave them tea inthe small hut which she retained as a curiosity. It was quite a gaylittle company which gathered there, young officers, bright girls andcharming, elderly, soldier-like military men who, the girls maintained,were more entertaining than the younger ones.
At last came word that the steamer for Japan would arrive the next day,and so there was a repacking of trunks, a stowing away of souvenirs anda final farewell to those who had helped to make the stay at Honoluluso pleasant and profitable. Then early the following morning the threetravelers boarded the steamer for a still longer journey to Japan.
But they were not allowed to go off without being speeded on theirway by their new friends who came bearing _leis_ in such number thattheir hat
s, their necks, their waists were adorned with garlands asthe vessel slowly moved out. When the last "_Aloha!_" had died uponthe air, they had moved outside the reefs, and finally when Oahu waslost to view, upon the waters they cast their wreaths that they mightbe borne back to land, a silent message to the friends they had leftbehind. Such is the pretty custom in these southern seas.
CHAPTER IIIFIRST IMPRESSIONS]