 Chapter 3 of The Legends and Myths of Hawaii. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by King David Kalakau, Hawaiian Legends, Introduction Part 3. Ancient Hawaiian Government Previous to the 11th century, the several habitable islands of the Hawaiian group were governed by one or more independent chiefs, as already stated. After the migratory influx of that period, however, and the settlement on the islands of a number of war-like southern chiefs and their followers, the independent chiefs began to unite for mutual protection. This involved the necessity of a supreme head, which was usually found in the chief conceded to be the most powerful, and thus Ali Nuis, Mois and Kings sprang into existence. So far as tradition extends, however, certain lines, such as the Mawiki, Pili and Palmakua families, were always considered to be of supreme blood. They came to the islands as chiefs of distinguished lineage, and so remained. Gradually the powers of the Mois and ruling chiefs were enlarged, until at length they claimed almost everything. Then the chiefs held their possessions in thief to the Moi, and forfeited them by rebellion. In time the king became absolute master of the most of the soil over which he ruled, and assumed taboo rights which rendered his person sacred and his prerogatives more secure. All he acquired by conquest was his, and by partitioning the lands among his titled friends he secured the support necessary to his maintenance in power. Certain lands were inalienable, both in chiefly families and the priesthood. They were made so by early sovereign decrees which continued to be respected, but with each succeeding king important land changes usually occurred. Although the king maintained fishponds and cultivated lands of his own, he was largely supported by his subject chiefs. They were expected to contribute to him whatever was demanded, either of food, raiment, houses, canoes, weapons or labour, and in turn they took such portions of their products of their tenants as their necessities required. The Ili was the smallest political division, next above it was the Ahapua, which paid a nominal or special tax of one hog monthly to the king. Next the Okhana embracing several Ahapuas, and finally the Moku or district or island. The labour and classes possessed no realty of their own, nor could they anywhere escape the claim or jurisdiction of a chief or landlord. They owed military and other personal service to their respective chiefs, and the chiefs owed theirs to the king. If required all were expected to respond to a call to the field, fully armed and prepared for battle. Cased rules of dress, ornamentation and social forms were rigidly enforced, the entire people were divided into four general classes. First the Ali, or chiefly families of various grades and prerogatives. Second the Kahunas embracing priests, prophets, doctors, diviners and astrologers. Third the Kanakawali or free private citizens, and fourth the Kawa Maoli or slaves either captured in war or born of slave parents. The laws were few and simple, and the most of them referred to the rights and prerogatives of the king, priesthood and nobility. Property disputes of the masses were settled by their chiefs, and other grievances were in most instances left to private redress, which frequently and very naturally resulted in prolonged and fatal family feuds, and in the end requiring chiefly and sometimes royal intervention. This, in brief and very general terms, was the prevailing character of the government and land tenure throughout the several islands of the group until after the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, and the relinquishment by the crown of its ancient and sovereign rights in the soil. The leading chiefs and High Priesthood claimed a lineage distinct from that of the masses and traced their ancestry back to Kumu Honua, the Polynesium Adam. The Ikku Pao, a sacred class of the Supreme Priesthood, assumed to be the direct descendants from the Godhead, while the Ikku Nu were a collateral branch of the sacred and royal strain and possessed only temporal powers. It was thus that one of the families of the Hawaiian Priesthood in charge of the verbal genealogical records exalted itself in sanctity above the political rulers. Proud of their lineage to guard against imposture and keep their blood uncorrupted, the chiefs allowed their claims to family distinction to be passed upon by a college of heraldry established by an early Moi of Maui. Reciting their genealogies before the college composed of alias of accepted rank and receiving the recognition of the council, chiefs were then regarded as members of the grade of Acha-Alii or chiefs of admitted and irrevocable rank. The chiefs inherited their titles and taboo privileges quite as frequently through the rank of one parent as of the other. As Hawaiian women of distinction usually have more than one husband and the chiefs were seldom content with a single wife, the difficulty of determining the rights and ranks of their children was by no means easy, but the averment of the mother was generally accepted as conclusive and sufficient evidence in that regard. For political purposes marriage alliances were common between the royal and chiefly families of the several islands and thus in time the superior nobility of the entire group became connected by ties of blood. The political or principal wife of a king or distinguished chief was usually of a rank equal to that of her husband and their marriage was proclaimed by heralds and celebrated with befitting ceremonies. Otherwise were taken by simple agreement and without ceremony or public announcement. Very much in the same manner the masses entered into their marriage unions. With the latter however, polygamy was not common. When husband and wife separated as they frequently did each was at liberty to select another partner. The political wife of a chief was called Wahini Huau the others Haya Wahini or concubine. In the royal families to serve purposes of state father and daughter, brother and sister and uncle and niece frequently united as man and wife. The children of such unions were esteemed of the highest rank and, strange to say, no mental or physical deterioration seemed to result from these incestuous relations. For all through the past the moys and nobles of the group were noted for their gigantic proportions. There were five or more grades of chiefs connected with the royal lines. First in order and the most sacred was the Ali'i Ni'alpio the offspring of a prince with his own sister next the Ali'i Pio the offspring of a prince with his own niece next the Ali'i Naha the offspring of a prince or king with his own daughter next the Ali'i Wohu the offspring of either of the foregoing with another chiefly branch and next the low Ali'i chiefs of royal blood any of these might be either male or female. To these grades of chiefs distinct personal taboos or prerogatives were attached such as the Tabu Moe Tabu Wela Tabu Hoanu and Tabu Wohi these taboos could be given or bequeathed to others by their possessors but could not be multiplied by transmission. The meleis or ancestral chance of a family passed in succession to the legal representatives and became exclusively theirs but the government taboos and household gods of the king were subject to his disposal as he willed either at his death or before it. The child of a tabu chief born of a mother of lower rank could not, according to custom, assume the tabu privileges of his father although in some instances in the past they were made to inure to such offspring notably in the case of Umi, king of Hawaii. Before an Ali'i Naupio clothed with the supreme function of the Tabu Moe all with the exception of tabu chiefs were compelled to prostrate themselves. When he appeared or was approaching his rank was announced by an attendant and all not exempt from the homage were required to drop with their faces to the earth. The exemptions were the Ali'i Pio, the Ali'i Naha, the Ali'i Wohi and the low Ali'i they and they alone were permitted to stand in the presence of a Niaupio chief. The Ali'i Pio was also a sacred chief so much so that he conversed with others only in the night time and on chiefesses of that rank the sun was not allowed to shine. The kings lived in affluence in large mansions of wood or stone in the midst of walled grounds adorned with fruit and shade trees and other attractive forms of vegetation. The grounds also contained many other small buildings for the accommodation of guests, retainers, attendants, servants and guards. They were attended by their high priests civil and military advisors and a retinue of favourite chiefs and spent their time when not employed in war or affairs of state in indolent and dignified repose. The personal attendants of an ancient Hawaiian king were all of noble blood and each had his specified duty. They were known as Kahu Ali or Guardians of the Person of the King. They consisted of Iwikuamu or Rubber of the Person the Ipukuha or Spitumbera the Pa Kahili or Kahilibera the Kaipu'u or Sleep Watcher and the Aipu'u Puu'u or Steward. Other inferior chiefs called Pu'u Ku with messengers, spies, executioners, prophets, astrologers, poets, historians, musicians and dancers were among his retainers. Connected with the palace was an apartment used as a Hayao or Chapel which was sometimes in charge of the high priest. During festival seasons brilliant feasts, tournaments and hula and musical entertainments were given in the royal grounds and the court was splendid in displays of flowers, feathers and other gaudy trappings. The king not unfrequently took part in the manly games and exercises of the chiefs and sometimes complimented the hula dancers and musicians by joining in their performances. To render the kings and higher nobility still more exclusive they had a court language which was understood only by themselves and which was changed in part from time to time as its expressions found interpretation beyond the royal circle. Some portions of this court language have been preserved. All implements of war or industry known to early Hawaiians were made either of wood, stone or bone as the islands are destitute of metals. But with these rude helps they laid up hewn stone walls felled trees made canoes and barges manufactured cloths and cordage fashioned weapons constructed dwellings and temples roads and fishponds for soil. They had axes, adzes and hammers of stone spades of wood, knives of flint and ivory needles of thorn and bone and spears and daggers of hardened wood. They wove mats for sails and other purposes and from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree beat out a fine thing cloth called kapa which they ornamented with colours and figures. Their food was the flesh of swine, dogs and fowls fish and almost everything living in the sea taro, sweet potatoes and jams and fruits, berries and edible seaweed of various kinds. Poi the favourite food of all classes was a slightly fermented paste made of cooked and pounded taro a large bulbous root in taste resembling an Indian turnip. They made a stupefying beverage by chewing the awa root and from the sweet root of the tea plant fermented an intoxicating drink. The soft parts of the sugar cane were eaten but with the exception of the manufacture of a beer called Uiyuya no other use seems to have been made of it. Their food, wrapped in tea leaves was usually cooked in heated and covered pits in the earth. Their household vessels were shells gourd kalabashes of various shapes and sizes and platters and other containers made of wood. The dress of the ancient Hawaiian was scant, simple and cool. The principal and generally the only garment of the male was the maro a narrow cloth fastened around the loins. To this was sometimes added among the masses a kihai or cloth thrown loosely over the shoulders. The females wore a pow or skirt of invariably five thicknesses of kappa fastened around the waist and extending to the knees. When the weather was cool a short mantel was sometimes added. Ordinarily the heads of both sexes were without coverings and in rare instances they were kamas or sandals of tea or pandanus leaves. With the maro which was common to the males of all rants the king on state occasions wore the royal marmo a mantel reaching to the ankles a maid of the yellow feathers of a little sea bird called the marmo. When it is mentioned that but a single yellow feather is found under each wing of the marmo and that tens of thousands perhaps entered into the fabrication of a single mantel some idea of the value of such a garment may be gathered. A few of these royal cloaks one of which was worn by King Kalakaua during the ceremonies of his late coronation. Pure yellow was the royal color the shorter capes or mantels of the chiefs were of yellow feathers mixed with red the color of the priests and gods was red. The ornaments of the nobility consisted of head dresses of feathers pala ores or charms of bone suspended from the neck necklaces and bracelets of shells teeth and other materials many of them were tattooed on the face, thighs and breasts but the practice was not universal. Flowers were in general use as ornaments and at feasts festivals and other gatherings garlands of fragrant leaves and blossoms crowned the heads and encircled the necks of all. This is among the beautiful customs still retained by the Hawaiians. The dwellings of the masses were constructed of upright posts planted in the ground with crossbeams and drafters and roofs and sides of woven twigs and branches thatched with leaves. The houses of the nobility were larger stronger and more pretentious and were frequently surrounded by broad verandas. It was accustomed to locate dwellings so that the main entrance would face the east the home of Kani the opposite entrance looked towards Kahiki the land from which Waakea came. The homes of well conditioned Hawaiians consisted of no less than six separate dwellings or apartments. First the Hayao or idle house Second the Moa or eating house of the males which females were not allowed to enter Third the Hale Noa the house of the women which men could not enter Fourth the Hale Aina or eating house of the wife Fifth the Kua or wife's working house The sixth the Hale Apea or retiring house or nursery of the wife The poorer classes followed these regulations so far as their means would admit but screens usually took the place of separate dwellings or definite apartments. When war was declared or invasion threatened messengers called Luna Pays were dispatched by the king to his subject chiefs who promptly responded in warriors canoes or whatever else was demanded. A regular line of battle consisted of a centre and right and left wings and marked military genius was sometimes displayed in the handling of armies. Sea battles where hundreds sometimes thousands of war canoes met in hostile shock were common and usually resulted in great loss of life. Truces and terms of peace were ordinarily respected but few prisoners were spared except for sacrifice. The weapons of the islanders were spears about 20 feet in length javelins, war clubs stone axes, rude halberds knives, daggers and slings. The slings were made either of cocoa fibre or human hair. The stone's throne were sometimes a pound or more in weight and were delivered with great force and accuracy. The spears were sometimes thrown while the javelins were reserved for closer encounter. Shields were unknown. Hostile missiles were either dodged caught in the hands or dexterously warded. The chiefs frequently wore feather helmets in battle but the person was without protection. The athletic sports and games of the people were numerous. The particular pastimes consisted in part of contests in running, jumping boxing, wrestling swimming, diving canoe racing and surf riding. Rolling round stone discs and throwing darts along a prepared channel was a favourite sport but the most exciting was the Halua Contest in which two or more might engage. On long, light and narrow sledges the contestants lying prone pushed down along the steep declivities the victory being with the one who first reached the bottom. The goddess Pele enjoyed the game and frequently engaged in it but she was a dangerous contestant on being beaten by Kahavari, a chief of Puna she drove him from the district with a stream of lava. Sham battles and spear and stone throwing were also popular exercises. Among the indoor games were Konani, Kīlū Pūne hēne hēne Pūni pīki and Hiwa. Konani resembled the English game of drafts. Pūne hēne consisted of the adroit hiding by one of the players of a small object under one of several mats in the midst of the party of contestants and the designation of its place of concealment by the others. Kīlū was again somewhat similar accompanied by singing. Pūni pīki was something like the game of Fox and Geese and Hiwa was played on a board with four squares. These were the most ancient of Hawaiian household games. The musical instruments of the islanders were few and simple. They consisted of pāhūs or drums of various sizes the ohe or bamboo flute the hokio a rude clarinet a nasal flageolet and a reed instrument played by the aid of the voice. To these were added on special occasions castanets and dry goods containing pebbles which were used to mark the time of chance and other music. They had many varieties of dances or hūlas all of which were more or less graceful and a few of which were coarse and licentious. Bands of hūla dances male and female were among the retainers of the moys and prominent chiefs and their services were required on every festive occasion. The morning customs of the people were peculiar. For days they wailed and feasted together over a dead relative or friend frequently knocking out one or more teeth, shaving portions of their heads and beards and tearing their flesh and clothes but their wildest displays of grief were on the death of the kings and governing chiefs. During a royal morning season which sometimes continued for weeks the people indulged in an unrestrained satanalia of recklessness and licence. Every law was openly violated every conceivable crime committed the excuse was and the authorities were compelled to accept it that grief had temporarily unseated the popular reason and they were not responsible for their misdemeanours. The masses buried their dead or deposited the bodies in caves but the bones of the kings were otherwise disposed of. There were royal burial places one at Honaunau on the island of Hawaii and another called Iau on Maui and the tombs of many of the ancient moi and ruling chiefs were in one or the other of those sacred spots but they probably contained but few royal bones in the fear that the bones of the mois and distinguished chiefs might fall into the hands of their enemies and be used for fish hooks, arrow points for shooting mice and other debasing purposes they were usually destroyed or hidden. Some were way hidden thrown into the sea and others after the flesh had been removed from them and burned were secreted in mountain caves. The hearts of the kings of the island of Hawaii were frequently thrown into the crater of Kilauea as an offering to Pele. The bones of the first Kamehameha were so well secreted in some cave in Kona that they have not yet been found. And the bones of Kuali a celebrated Oahu and King of the 17th century were reduced to powder mingled with poi and the funeral feast fed to a hundred unsuspecting chiefs. The ancient Hawaiians divided the year into 12 months of 30 days each. The days of the month were named not numbered. As this gave but 360 days to their year they added and gave to their god Lono in feasting and festivity the number of days required to complete the sidereal year which was regulated by the rising of the Pleiades. The new year began with the winter solstice they also reckoned by lunar months in the regulation of their monthly feasts. The year was divided into two seasons the rainy and the dry and the day into three general parts morning, noon and night the first, middle and after parts of the night were also designated. As elsewhere mentioned they had names for the five principal planets which were called the Wandering Stars and for a number of heavenly groups and constellations. It was this knowledge of the heavens that enabled them to navigate the ocean in their frail canoes. In counting the Hawaiians reckoned by fours and their multiples their highest expressed number was 400,000 more than that was indefinite. After what has been written it was seemed scarcely necessary to mention that the Hawaiians were not cannibals their legends refer to two or three instances of cannibalism on the islands but the man-eaters were natives of some other group and did not long survive. The Hawaii of today with this somewhat extended reference to the past of the Hawaiian islands and their people it is deemed that a brief allusion to their presence political, social, industrial and commercial condition will not be out of place. The legends presented leave the simple but warlike islanders standing naked but not ashamed in the light of civilisation suddenly flashed upon them from across the seas. In the darkness behind them are legends and spears in the light before them are history and law. Let us see what the years since have done for them. The Hawaiian government of today is a mild constitutional monarchy the ruling family claiming dissent from the most ancient and respected of the chiefly blood of Hawaii. The departments of the government are legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative assembly which meets every two years consists of representatives chosen by the people nobles named by the sovereign and crown ministers they act in a single body choosing their presiding officer by ballot and their proceedings are held jointly in the English and Hawaiian languages and in both are their laws and their readings published. As the elective franchise is confined to native and naturalised citizens the most of the representatives chosen by the people are natives all of whom are more or less educated and many of whom are graceful and eloquent debaters. White representatives have accepted sympathy with the natives are occasionally elected and a majority of the nobles and ministers are white men. English common law is the basis of their statutes and their civil and criminal codes are not unlike our own. The legislature fixes taxes excise and customs charges and provides by appropriation for all public expenditure the representatives are paid small salaries and the legislature is formally convened and prorogued by the king in person. Although the present sovereign was elected by the legislature for the reason heretofore mentioned the naming of a successor is left to the occupant of the throne. The king is provided at public expense with a palace and royal guard and appropriations of money amounting to perhaps $40,000 yearly. He has also some additional income from what are known as crown lands. The two sisters of the king and the daughter of one of them received from the treasury $1,500 yearly. The king entertains liberally is generous with his friends and attendants and probably finds his income no more than sufficient to meet his wants from year to year. His advisors are four ministers of saint and a privy council. The ministry is composed of a minister of foreign affairs who ranks as premier minister of finance minister of interior and attorney general. The privy council is composed of 30 or 40 leading citizens appointed by the crown. In certain matters they have original and exclusive powers. They are convened in council from time to time but receive no compensation. The most of the privy councillors are white men and embrace almost every nationality. The majority of the ministers of state are usually white men of ability and their salaries are $6,000 per annum each. The judiciary is composed of a supreme court of three members one of whom is chief justice and chancellor. Circuit courts hold in different districts and minor magistrates courts in localities where they are required. The supreme and circuit judges are all white men and but few magistrates are natives. The salaries of the superior judges are respectable and the most of them are men of ability. The laws as a rule are intelligently administered and promptly executed and life and property are amply protected. Public schools are numerous throughout the islands and are largely attended by native children. A considerable proportion of the adult natives are able to read and write their own language and a number of native newspapers and periodicals are sustained. The English press of Honolulu, the only point of publication, is respectable in ability and enterprise. Leprosy was brought to the islands by the Chinese about 40 years ago and has become a dangerous and loathsome scourge. Leprosa seldom encountered however as they are removed whenever discovered to the island of Molokai where they are humanely cared for by the government. It is a cureless but painless affliction and is doubtless contagious under certain conditions. Nine tenths or more of the lepers are either natives or Chinese and the whole number amounts to perhaps 1200. It is not thought that the malady is increasing and it is hoped that a careful segregation of the afflicted will in time eradicate the disease from the group. The commerce of the islands is largely in the hands of foreigners and the sugar plantations are almost exclusively under their control. There are but few native merchants the large dealers being Americans Germans, English and French while the smaller traders are generally Portuguese and Chinese. There are native lawyers clerks, mechanics magistrates and policemen but the most of the race who are compelled to labour for their support find employment as farm and plantation labourers stevedores sailors, coachmen, boatmen fishermen, gardeners, boat peddlers, waiters, soldiers and house servants in all of which capacities they are genuinely industrious, cheerful and honest. The products of the islands for export are sugar, molasses, rice, bananas, fungus hides and wool of an aggregate approximate value of 8 million dollars annually. The principal product however is sugar amounting to perhaps 100,000 pounds yearly. Nine tenths of the exports of the group find a market in the United States and four fifths or more of the imports in value are from the Great Republic. The receipts and expenditures of the government are a little less than 1,500,000 dollars annually derived principally from customs duties and direct taxation. The population of the islands is a little more than 80,000 of which about 45,000 are natives. The Americans, English Germans, Norwegians and French number perhaps 10,000 and Chinese Japanese and Portuguese from the Azores constitute the most of the remainder. The postal facilities of the islands are ample and reliable. Inter-island steamers of which there are many convey the mail throughout the group at regular intervals and the San Franciscan and Australian steamers afford a punctual and trustworthy service with the rest of the world. The islands have a postal money order system reaching within and beyond their boundaries and are connected with the universal postal union. Over 20,000 of the inhabitants of the group are centered in Honolulu the capital of the kingdom and its beautiful and dreamy suburb of Waikiki. The business portions of the city with their macadamized and lighted streets and blocks of brick and stone buildings have a thrifty and permanent appearance while the eastern suburbs approaching the hills with a gentle ascent abound in charming residences, inboured in palms. Small mountain streams run through the city and afford an abundant supply of sweet water which is further augmented by a number of flowing artesian wells with a temperature ranging from 70 to 90 degrees Honolulu with its substantial churches and public buildings its air of affluence and dreamy quiet is a delightful place of residence to those who enjoy the heat and languor of the tropics. In the midst of these evidences of prosperity and advancement it is but too apparent that the natives are steadily decreasing in numbers and gradually losing their hold on the fair land of their fathers. Within a century they have dwindled from 400,000 healthy and happy children of nature without care and without want to a little more than a tenth of that number of landless, hopeless victims to the greed and vices of civilization. They are slowly sinking under the restraints and burdens of their surroundings and will in time succumb to social and political conditions foreign to their natures and poisonous to their blood. Year by year their footprints will grow more dim along the sands of their reef sheltered shores and fainter and fainter will come their simple songs from the shadows of the palms until finally their voices will be heard no more forever and then if not before add no human effort can shape it otherwise the Hawaiian islands with the echoes of their songs and the sweets of their green fields will pass into the political as they are now firmly within the commercial system of the great American Republic. February 1887 End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of the Legends and Myths of Hawaii This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Gloria Keave March 2018 The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by King David Kalakaua Chapter 4 Hina The Helen of Hawaii Characters Hakalani Leo a chief of Hawaii Hina, wife of Hakalani Leo Uli a sorceress mother of Hina Nihau Ankana sons of Hina Kama'ua'ua King of Molokai Keolo'eva and Kaopepe sons of Kama'ua'ua Nuakea, wife of Keolo'eva Moi brother of Nuakea Hina The Helen of Hawaii a story of Hawaiian chivalry Chapter 1 The story of the Iliad is a dramatic record of the love and hate wrong and revenge courage and custom passion and superstition of mythical Greece and embraces in a single brilliant recital events which the historic bards of other lands lacking the genius of Homer have sent down the centuries in fragments. Every nature has been substantially the same in all ages, differing only in the aridore of its passions and appetites as affected by the zone of its habitat and its peculiar physical surroundings. Hence almost every nation barbarous and civilized has had its Helen and its Troy its Paris and its Agamemnon its Hector and its demigods and Hawaii is not an exception. The wrath of no dusky Achilles is made the thesis of the story of the Hawaiian abduction but in other respects the Greek and Polynesian legends closely resemble each other in their general outlines. The story of Hina the Hawaiian Helen and Kaopepe the Paris of the legend takes us back to the 12th century near the close of the second and final era of migration from Tahiti, Samoa and perhaps other islands of Polynesia a period which added very considerably to the population of the group and gave to it many new chiefs a number of new customs and a few new gods. That the tale may be better understood by the reader who may not be conversant with the legendary history of the Hawaiian islands it will be necessary to refer briefly to the political and social condition of the group at that time. Notwithstanding the many sharply drawn and wonderfully preserved historic legends of the Hawaiians the early settlement of the little archipelago is shrouded in mystery. The best testimony however warrants the assumption that the islands were first discovered and occupied by a people who had drifted from southern Asia to the islands of the Pacific in the first or second century of the Christian era and by migratory stages from the Fijis to Samoa and thence to Tahiti had reached the Hawaiian group in about AD 550. The first discovery was doubtless the result of accident but those who made it were able to find their way back to the place from which they started either Tahiti or Samoa and in due time return with documented numbers bearing with them to their new home pigs, fowls, dogs and the seeds of such fruits and vegetables as they had found to be wanting there. The little colony grew and prospered and for nearly 500 years had no communication with or knowledge of the world beyond. At the end of that time their geographical traditions had grown so faint that they spoke only Tahiti, a place very far away from which their ancestors came. First landing on the large island of Hawaii they had spread over the eight habitable divisions of the group. The people were ruled by district chiefs in fife to a supreme head on some of the islands and on others independent and the lines dividing the masses from the nobility were less strictly drawn than during the centuries succeeding. Wars were frequent between neighboring chiefs and popular increase was slow but the taboos of the chiefs and priests were not oppressive and the people claimed and exercised a degree of personal independence unknown to them after the 11th century. In about AD 1025 or perhaps a little earlier the people of the group were suddenly aroused from their long dream of six centuries by the arrival of a large party of adventurers from Tahiti. Their chief was Nanama'ua. Their language resembled that of the Hawaiians and their customs and religions were not greatly at variance. They were therefore recieved with kindness and in a few years their influence began to be felt throughout the group. They landed at Kohala Hawaii and Nanama'ua soon succeeded in establishing himself there as an influential chief. His son secured possessions on Maui and Oahu and on the later island one of them, Nanaka'oko instituted the sacred place called Kukaniloko in the district of Ewa where it was the desire of future chiefs that their sons should be born. Even Kamehameha I as late as 1797 sought to remove his queen Hithir before the birth of Liholiho but the illness of the royal mother prevented. This became the sacred birthplace of princes as Iao in Wailuku valley on the island of Maui became their tabu spot of interment. It was at Kukaniloko the Kapava the son of Nanaka'oko was born. His principal seat of power was probably on Hawaii. Although he retained possessions on Maui and Oahu it was during his life that the celebrated chief and priest Pa'au made his appearance in the group. He came from one of the southern islands with a small party bringing with him new gods and new modes of worship and to him the subsequent high priest of Hawaii traced their sacerdotal line even down to Hevaheva who in 1819 was the first to apply the torch to the temples in which his ancestors had so long worshiped. Pa'au was a statesman and warrior as well as a priest. But he preferred spiritual to temporal authority and when Kapava died and was buried at Iao leaving his possessions without a competent ruler and his subjects in a state bordering upon anarchy. Pa'au did not assume the chief of his agency as he manifestly might have done but dispatched messengers if indeed he did not go himself to the land of his birth to invite to Hawaii a chief capable of restoring order. Such a leader was found in Pilikaiakai of Samoa who migrated to Hawaii with a goodly number of retainers and was promptly established in the vacant sovereignty until Pa'au continued in the position of high priest. Pili extended his authority over the six districts of Hawaii but beyond Kohala and the northern part of the island the recognition of his sovereignty was merely nominal and internal wars and revolts were frequent. The next arrivals of note from the southern islands were the two Paomakua families one of which settled in Oahu and Kawa'i and the other in Hawaii and Maui whether as a word by conflicting traditions they arrived contemporaneously or two or three generations apart is a question in no wise pertinent to our story. The legend is connected with the Hawaii branch alone and the order of their coming need not therefore be here discussed. The Paomakua family which became so influential in Hawaii arrived during the early part of the reign of Pili in about AD 1090 a large party accompanied the family and they brought with them their gods, priests astrologers and prophets they first landed in secured possessions in Maui but the sons and other relatives of Paomakua were brave and ambitious and soon by conquest and marriage secured in almost sovereign footing both in Maui and Hawaii. One of the nephews of Paomakua, Hakalani Leo who was the son of Kuhia Ilani as an entering wedge to further acquisitions became in some manner possessed of a strip of land along the coast in the district of Hilo Hawaii. It was a large estate and the owner availed himself of every opportunity to extend its boundaries and increase the number of his dependence. His wife was the beautiful Hina of Hawaiian Song and daughter of the Cirrus Uli who had migrated from Tahiti with some one of the several expeditions of that period possibly with the Paomakua family although tradition does not so stay. At that time Kama'ua'ua, a powerful chief of the ancient native line of Nana'ula held sway over the island of Molokai he proudly traced back his ancestry to the first migration in the sixth century and regarded with a version and well founded alarm the new migratory tide which for years passed had been casting upon the shores of the islands a flood of alien adventurers whose warlike and aggressive chiefs were steadily possessing themselves of the fairest portions of the group. He had sought to form a league of native chiefs against these dangerous encroachments but the wily invaders with new gods to all the masses and new customs and new traditions to charm the native nobility had through intermarriage and strategy rather than force become the virtual rulers of Hawaii, Maui O'ahu and Kauai and he had abandoned all hope of seeing them supplanted Molokai alone remained exclusively under native control and its resolute old chief had from their infancy instilled into his sons a hatred of the southern spoilers and a resolution to resist their aggressions to the bitter end The eldest of the sons of Kama'u'ahu'a was Kaopepe he was a warlike youth well skilled in arms and mighty in strength and courage and so profound was his detestation of the alien chiefs that he resolved to devote his life to such warfare as he might be able to make upon them and their subjects with this view he relinquished his right of succession to his first brother Ke'ol'o'eva and gathering around him a band of warriors partaking of his desperation and courage established a stronghold on the promontory of Ha'opu on the north side of the island between Belakunu and Waikolo at that point and for some miles on each side of it the mountains hug the ocean so closely as to leave nothing between them and the surf beaten shores but a succession of steep narrow and rugged promontories jutting out into the sea and separated from each other by gorge-like and gloomy little valleys gashing the hills and like dragons forever swallowing and ejecting the waves that ventured too near their rocky jaws One of the most rugged of these promontories was Ha'opu It was a natural fortress precipitously fronting the sea with a height of 500 feet or more and flanked on the right and left by almost perpendicular declivities rising from narrow gulches choked with vegetation and sweetening the sea with rivulets of fresh water dashing down from the mountains seamed by their sources It was connected with the range of mountains back of it by a narrow and rising ridge at a point something less than a mile inland where opposite branches of the two flanking gulches approached each other closely was contracted to a neck of not more than 50 paces in width The summit of the point of budding the ocean was a comparatively level plateau or rather series of three connecting terraces embracing in all an area of nearly a hundred acres surrounded on three sides by almost perpendicular walls and accessible on the fourth only by a narrow and easily defended ridge extending to the mountains little engineering skill was required to render the place well-nigh impregnable Setting himself earnestly to the task, Kaopepe soon transformed the promontory of Haopu into one of the strongest fortresses in all the group He surrounded the plateau with massive stone walls overlooking the declivities and across the narrow neck leading to the mountains raised a rocky barrier 10 feet in thickness and 20 feet in height around which aggression from without was rendered impregnable by the excavation of precipices leading to and in vertical line width the ends of the wall Instead of a gate, a subterranean passageway led under the wall the inside entrance being covered in times of danger with a huge flat stone resting on rollers although the passage was rough and in unfavorable weather attended with danger canoes could enter the mouths of both gulches and be hauled up beyond the reach of the waves and beyond the reach of enemies as well for above the entrances and completely commanding them frowned the broad battlements of Haopu from which might be hurled hundreds of tons of rocks and other destructive missiles with ingenuity and great labor narrow footpaths were cut leading from the middle terrace to both gulches some distance above their openings and affording a means of entering and leaving the fortress by water these paths connected with a terrace through narrow passageways under the walls and a single arm could defend them against a host within the walls buildings were erected capable of accommodating in an emergency two or three a thousand warriors and on the lower terrace occupied by Kaopepe in his household including his confidential friends and captains a small heiau overlooked the sea with a priest and two or three assistants in charge mountain paths led from the fortress Tukkalaupapa and other destructive parts of the island and as fish could be taken in abundance and Kaopepe and many of his followers controlled taro and other lands in the valleys beyond it was seldom that the stronghold was short of food even when forging expeditions to the neighboring islands failed the services of the courageous alone were accepted by Kaopepe and it was a wild and daring warfare that the little band waged for years against the chiefs and their subjects they could put afloat a hundred war canoes and their operations although usually confined to Oahu, Maui and Hawaii sometimes in a spirit of bravado extended to Kaua'i leaving their retreat they hovered near the coast selected for pillage until after dark and then landed and mercilessly used the torch and spear this part of their work was quickly done when they fill the canoes with a choices plunder they could find or of which they were most in need and before daylight made sale for Haupu women were sometimes the booty coveted by the buccaneers and during their raids many a screaming beauty was seized and born to their stronghold on Molokai where in most instances she was so kindly treated that she soon lost all desire to be liberated occasionally they were followed if the winds were unfavorable to their retreat by hastily equipped fleets of canoes if they allowed themselves to be overtaken it was for the amusement of driving back their pursuers but as a rule they escaped without pursuit or punishment leaving their victims in ignorance a like of the source and motive of the assault a prominent chief of Oahu whose territory had been ravaged by Kaupepe traced the retiring fleet of the plunders to the coast of Molokai when it suddenly disappeared he landed and paid his respects to the venerable Kama'ua'ua then Erkala'u Papa and craved his assistance in discovering and punishing the spoilers who must have found shelters somewhere on the island the old chief smiled grimly as he replied it is not necessary to search for your enemies you will find them at Haupu near the ocean they are probably waiting for you they do not disturb me or my people if they have wronged you, land and punished them you have my permission the Oahu chief offered his thanks and departed he made a partial reconnaissance of Haupu ascertained that it was defended by but a few hundred warriors and shortly after returned with a large fleet of canoes and retained possession of the place arriving off the entrance to the gulches and discovering a number of war canoes drawn up on their steep banks he opened the campaign by ordering their seizure sixty canoes filled with warriors rode the surf into the gulches where they were met by avalanches of rocks from the walls of the fortress which dashed the most of them in pieces the chief was startled and horrified and believing the gods were raining rocks upon his fleet he rescued such of his warriors as were able to reach him from the wrecked canoes and hastily departed for Oahu not again to return it is said that Kama'ua'ua watched this assault upon Haupu from the hills back of the fortress and in token of his pleasure at the result sent to Kaupepe a feather cloak and gave him the privilege of taking fish for his warriors from one of the largest of the royal ponds on the island he also quietly presented him with a barge then which there were few larger in the group it would accommodate more than a hundred warriors and their equipments and was intended for long and rough voyages these barges were constructed of planks strongly corded together over a frame and cocked and pitched they were sometimes ten or more feet in width and were partially or wholly decked over with a depth of hold of six or eight feet it was in vessels of this class and in large double canoes of equal or greater burden that distant voyages were made to and from the Hawaiian islands during the migratory periods of the past while the single and double canoes of smaller dimensions hollowed from the trunks of single trees were used in warfare, fishing and in general inter-island communication after the final suspension of intercourse in the 12th century between the Hawaiian and society islands the possible result of the disappearance of a guiding line of small islands and atolls dotting the ocean-ed intervals between the two groups the barges referred to gradually went out of use with the abandonment of voyages to distant islands and were almost unknown to the Hawaiians as early as one or two centuries ago their spread of sail was very considerable but oars were also used and the mariner shaped his course by the sun and the stars and was guided to land by the flights of birds drifting wood and currents of which he knew the direction some of the double canoes with which the barges were supplanted were scarcely less capacious and sea-worthy than the barges themselves they were hollowed from the trunks of gigantic pines that had drifted to the islands from the northern coast of America and when one was found years sometimes elapsed before wind and current provided a proper mate one of the single trunk double canoes of Kamehameha the first was 108 feet in length and both single and double canoes of from 50 to 80 feet in length were quite common during his reign when the native forests abounded in growths much larger than can now be found but the native trees never furnished bodies for the larger sizes of canoes they were the gifts of the waves and were not unfrequently credited to the favor of the gods Kaopepe was delighted with the present of the barge it gave him one of the largest vessels in all the eight Hawaiian seas and rendered him especially formidable in sea encounters he painted the sails red in the hull to the waterline and from the mast had flung a saucy pen into the breeze surmounted by a kahili which might have been mistaken for von Trump's broom had it been seen a few centuries later in northern seas he provided a large crew of oarsmen and made a more secure landing for it in one of the openings near the fortress with this substantial addition to his fleet Kaopepe enlarged the scope of his depredations and his red sails were known in fear on the neighboring coasts of Oahu and Maui Haopu was filled with a spoil of his expeditions and the return of the successful raiding party was usually celebrated with a season of feasting, singing, dancing and other boisterous merriment nor were the gods forgotten frequent festivals were given to Kane, Ku and Lono and Moa Alii, the shark god of Molokai the god of the fisherman and mariner was always the earliest to be remembered a huge image of this deity overlooked the ocean from the north wall of the Heiau of Haopu and lays of fresh flowers adorned its shoulders whenever a dangerous expedition departed or returned on one occasion this god had guided Kaopepe to Haopu during a dark and rainy night and on another had capsized a number of Oahu and Wurkenous that had adroitly separated him from his fleet in Baylolo Channel at that period the islands were generally ruled by virtually independent district chiefs they recognized a supreme head or Alii Nui but were absolute lords of their several territories and wars between them were frequent but they were wars of plunder rather than of conquest and sometimes continued in a desultory way until both parties were impoverished when their chiefs and priests met and arranged terms of peace but Kaopepe was inspired by a motive higher than that of mere plunder he hated the southern chiefs and their successors and his assaults were confined exclusively to the territories over which they ruled his sole aim was to inflict injury upon them and the spoils of his expeditions were distributed among his followers brave, generous and sagacious he was almost worshipped by his people and treason with them was a thing unthought of it was indeed a wild and reckless life that Kaopepe and his daring associates led but it lacked neither excitement abroad nor amusement at home on the upper terrace a Kahua Channel had been cut along which they rolled the Maika and threw the blunted dart they played Konane, Puhenehene and Punipeki and at surf riding possessed experts of both sexes who might have traveled far without finding their equals the people of the island were friendly but the dashing buccaneers and the fairest damsels became their wives some of them living with their husbands at Haupu and others with their relatives in the valleys Section 2 we will now return to Hina or Ho'oho as she was sometimes called the beautiful wife of Hakalani Leo nephew of Baumakua of Hawaii Hakalani Leo had acquired his possessions in Hilo partly through the influence of his own family and partly through his marriage with the sister of a consequential district chief later in life he had seen and become enamored with Hina the daughter of Uli and prevailed upon her to become his wife the marriage was not acceptable to Uli the position and family connections of Hakalani Leo were sufficiently inviting but Uli, who dealt in sorcery and magic saw disaster in the proposed union and advised her daughter against it after much persuasion however her consent was obtained but she gave it with this injunction since you will have it so take her Hakalani Leo but guard her well for I can see that someday the winds will snatch her from you and you will behold her not again for many years be it even as you say replied Hakalani Leo I will take the hazard we do not well to reject a treasure because per chance it may be stolen Hina shall be my wife and thus it was that Hina became the wife of the nephew of Baumakua Hina the most beautiful maiden in all Hawaii Hina whose eyes were like stars and whose hair fell in waves below the fringes of her bow Hina whose name has come down to us through the centuries garland with song and for years she lived happily with Hakalani Leo who loved her above all others lived with him until she became the mother of two sons Kanna and Nihau and then the winds snatched her away from her husband just as Uli had predicted six years before but the winds that bore her hence filled the sails of the great barge of Kaopepe the chief of Haupu had heard of her great beauty and resolved to see with his own eyes what the barge had exalted in song traveling over land from Puna in disguise he reached her home in Hilo and saw that the poets had done her no more than justice she was beautiful indeed and the wife of one to whose blood he had vowed undyne enmity returning to Puna where his barge lay in waiting for him he hovered around the coast of Hilo for some days watching for an opportunity to seize the woman whose charms had enraptured him at last it came after sunset when the moon was shining Hina repaired to the beach with her women to bathe a signal was given it is thought by the first wife of Hakala Nihileo and not long after a light but heavily manned canoe dashed through the surf and shot in among the bathers the women screamed and started for the shore suddenly a man leaped from the canoe into the water there was a brief struggle a stifled scream, a sharp word of command any moment later Kaopepe was again in the canoe with a nude and frantic Hina in his arms the boatmen knew their business knew the necessity of quick work and without a word the canoe was turned and driven through the surf like an arrow the barge, with a man at every oar and the sails ready to hoist was lying a short distance out at sea a speck of light guided the boatmen and the barge was soon reached all were hastily transferred to it the sails were spread, the men bent to their oars the canoe was taken in tow and while the alarm drum was sounding and fires were appearing on shore Hina, wrapped in folds of soft copper sat sobbing in one of the apartments of the barge and was being swiftly borne by wind and oar toward the fortress of Haopu the return to Haopu occupied a little more than two days during that time Hina had mourned continually and partaken of no food Kaopepe had treated her with respect and kindness but she was bewildered with a shock of her abduction and begged to be either killed or returned to her children the party landed a little before daylight the sea was rough but the moon shone brightly and the passage into the mouth of one of the gulches was made without accident in the arms of Kaopepe Hina was borne up the rockhewn path to the fortress and placed in apartments on the lower terrace provided with every comfort and luxury known to the nobility of the islands at that period they had been especially prepared for her reception and women were in attendance to wait upon her and see that she wanted for nothing except her liberty the large private room of the three communicating apartments the one designed for her personal occupation was a model of barbaric taste and comfort and to its adornment many of the exposed districts of Oahu and Maui had unwillingly contributed its walls were tapestryed with finely woven and brilliantly colored mattings dropping from festoons of shells and underlapping a carpet of hardier material covering the level ground floor the beams of the ceiling were also studded with shells and godly stained on one side of the room was a slightly raised platform thickly strewn with dry seagrass and covered with many folds of kapa this was the Kapa Maui or sleeping couch opposite was a kapa covered lounge extending along the entire side of the room in the middle of the apartment were spread several thicknesses of mats which served alike for eating and lounging purposes light was admitted through two small openings immediately under the eaves and from the door when its heavy curtains were looped aside on a rose shells in a corner of the room there were calabashes and other curious drinking vessels as well as numerous ornaments of shells ivory and feathers and in huge calabashes under them were stores a female attire of every description then in use in fact nothing seemed to be wanting and in spite of her grief Hina could scarcely repress a feeling of delight as she was shown into the apartment and the kukui torches displayed its luxurious appointments declining food Hina dismissed her attendance and throwing herself on the Kapa Maui was soon folded in the soft mantle of sleep and carried back in dreams to the home from which she had been ravished the room was dark and she slept for many hours awaking she could not for a moment recollect where she was but gradually the events of the preceding three days came to her and she appreciated that she was a prisoner in the hands of Kao Pepe of whose name and exploits she was not ignorant and that repining would secure her neither liberation nor kind treatment therefore with the sagacity to be expected of the daughter of Uli and not without a certain feeling of pride as she reflected that her beauty had inspired Kao Pepe to abduct her she admitted her attendance attired herself becomingly partook heartily of a breakfast of fish, poi, potatoes, and fruits and then sent word to Kao Pepe that she would be pleased to see him Kao Pepe expected a storm of tears and reproaches as he entered the room but was agreeably disappointed Hina rose, bowed, and waited for him to speak What can I do for you? inquired Kao Pepe in a kindly tone while a just perceptible smile of triumph swept across his handsome face Liberate me, replied Hina promptly You are free to go anywhere within the walls of Haopu returned Kao Pepe, moving his arms around as if they embraced the whole world Return me to my children, said Hina and at thought of them her eyes flashed with earnestness Impossible was the firm reply Then kill me, exclaimed Hina Did you ever see me before I had the pleasure of embracing you in the water on the coast of Hilo? inquired the chief evasively No, replied Hina curtly Well, I saw you before that time, continued Kao Pepe saw you in your house, saw you among the palms saw you by the waters I made a journey overland from Puna to see you to see the wife of my enemy, the most beautiful woman in Hawaii Hina was but a woman and of a race and time when the promptings of the heart were not fettered by rigid rules of propriety Kao Pepe was the handsome and distinguished son of a king and his words of praise were not unpleasant to her He therefore bent her eyes to the floor and remained silent while he added Hina would think little of the man who would risk his life to possess himself of such a woman and then kill or cast her off as not worth the keeping You are like no other woman, I am like no other man Such companionship has the approval of the gods and you will leave Haopu only when its walls shall have been battered down and Kao Pepe lies dead among the ruins To this terrible declaration Hina could offer no reply The fierceness of this prince of the old line of Nonaula this enemy of her people, this scourge of the southern chiefs alike charmed and frightened her and with her hands to her face she sank upon the lounge of Kapa beside which she had been standing The chief regarded her for a moment perhaps with a feeling of pity Then placing his hand upon her shoulder he softly said You will not be unhappy in Haopu Will the bird sing that is covered with a kalabash? replied Hina, raising her eyes I am your prisoner Not more my prisoner than I am yours rejoined the chief gallantly Therefore as fellow prisoners let us make the best of walls that shout out no sunshine and of gates that are a bar only against intrusion How brave and yet how gentle mused Hina as Kao Pepe feeling that he had said enough turned and left the room How strangely pleasant are his words in voice No one ever spoke so to me before I could have listened longer After that Hina harkened for the footsteps of Kao Pepe and lived to forget that she was a prisoner in the fortress of Haopu His love gently wooed her thoughts from the past and made sweet the bondage which he shared with her End of Chapter 4 Part 1 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Gloria Keave April 2018 The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by King David Kalakaua Part 3 The sudden disappearance of Hina created a profound excitement among the people of that part of the coast of Hilo from which she had been abducted The women who had been permitted to escape ran screaming to the house of Hakala Nileo with her tale of woe and soon for miles around the country was in arms When questioned all they could tell was that a canoe filled with armed men suddenly dashed through the surf and their mistress was seized and borne out to sea This was all they knew Canoes were suddenly equipped and sent in pursuit but they returned before mourning with the report that nothing had been seen of the abductors Messengers were dispatched to the co-settlements of Hamakua, Hilo and Puna but they brought no intelligence of the missing woman Uli was consulted but her divinations failed for the reason as she informed the unhappy husband that the powers that had warned her against the marriage of her daughter and foreshadowed the result could not be prevailed upon to impart any information that would interfere with the fulfillment of the prophecy Uli therefore sat down in gloom to await the developments of time and Hakala Nileo started on a systematic search through the group for his lost wife After visiting every district and almost every village on Hawaii he proceeded with a small party of attendants to Maui and thence to Molokai, Oahu, Kawaii and Niihau and back to Lanai and Kaho'olave but no trace of Hina could be discovered He was well received by the various chiefs and assistance was freely offered and sometimes accepted but all search was in vain and he returned his heart into Hawaii after an absence of more than two years but his first search was not his last during the fifteen years that followed he made frequent voyages to the different islands on the same errand and always with the same result He offered sacrifices in the temples made pledges to the gods and consulted every Ka'ula of note of whom he had knowledge but his offerings and promises failed to secure the assistance of the unseen powers and the Kilos and astrologers could gather nothing of importance to him from their observations Meantime Kana and Niihau, the sons of Hina grew to manhood and prepared to continue the search for their mother which Hakala Nileo had at last abandoned as hopeless Again and again had their grandmother told them the story of the abduction of Hina and as often had they vowed to devote their lives to a solution of the mystery of her fate it was vouchsafe to Uli to see that her daughter lived but beyond that her charms and incantations were fruitless but when the beards of her grandsons began to grow they felt that the time was approaching when Hina's hiding place would be discovered and she inspired them to become proficient in the use of arms in the arts of war and to their assistance she brought the instruction of supernatural powers Niihau became endowed not only with great personal strength and courage but with unerring instincts of strategy and all the accomplishments of a successful military leader Tukana were giving powers of a different nature he could contract his body to the compass of an insect and expand or extend it almost indefinitely but he was permitted to do neither except in cases of imminent personal peril as the faculty was rarely imparted to mortals and in this instance was accorded by Kana Loa without the knowledge of the powers to which that deity was subject Finally after a season of long and patient inquiry it was developed to Uuli that her daughter was secreted in the fortress of Haupu and could be recovered only by force as she had long been the wife of Kaupepe and would not be surrendered peacefully Hakala Niihau regarded the development with distrust for while at Kala Upapa on the island of Molokai less than three years before word was brought to him from Kaupepe offering to open the fortress of Haupu to his inspection hence when his son set about raising a large force to attack that stronghold he gave them every assistance in his power but declined to accompany the expedition Before noting with greater detail the war-like preparations of Hina's sons let us refer briefly to the changes which the years leading them to manhood had brought to others connected with the events of this legend Hina had been a not unhappy captive at Haupu for nearly seventeen years during which Kaupepe had continued his desultory assaults upon the usurping chiefs of the neighboring islands his name had become known throughout the entire group and several combined attacks upon Haupu had been repulsed the last by land led by a distinguished Maui chief with a slaughter so great that the adjoining gulches were choked with a slain the venerable Kama'u'ua'ua had passed away leaving the government of Molokai to his son Keoloeva who had married Nuaqe'a daughter of the powerful chief Ka'u'nui of O'ahu and sister of Lakona of the strain of Maveke Maui another of Nuaqe'a's brothers had joined Kaupepe at Haupu and became not only his steadfast friend and advisor but his Ka'ula or prophet as well Pa'u'maku'a had died at a very old age and was buried at I'au leaving his titles, melees and possessions to his son Ha'u'u but the change did not seem to affect the holdings of Ha'ula Nileo in Hilo although it brought to his son some support in their subsequent war with Ka'u'pepe Ha'u'u was a haughty but war-like chief and refused to recognize the titles of many of the native nobles and to permanently degrade them he founded the A'ha Ali'i or College of Chiefs which embraced the blue blooded of the entire group and remained in vogue as late as the beginning of the present century to be recognized by this College of Heraldery it was necessary for every chief to name his descendant from an ancestor of unquestioned nobility and when his rank was thus formally established no circumstance of war or peace could deprive him of it there were gradations of rank and taboo within the A'ha Ali'i and all received the respect to which their rank entitled them without regard to their worldly condition no chief could claim a higher grade than the source from which he sprang nor could he achieve it although through marriage with a chiefess of higher rank he might advance his children to the grade of the mother the A'ha Ali'i had a language which was not understood by the common people and which was changed whenever it became known to the Maka'i Nanna and it was their right on all occasions to wear the insignia of their rank the feather wreath, lehulu, the feather cape, A'ha Ula and the ivory clasp, Palawa and their canoes might be painted red and bare a penin the royal color was yellow although Ka'upepe was of the undoubted blood of Nanna Ula and would not have been denied admission to the A'ha Ali'i he treated with contempt the institution of nobility founded by Ha'u declaring that the blood of the founder himself was ennobled only through the thefts of his low-born grandfather this was doubtless correct but Ka'upepe's hatred of the southern invaders would not allow him to be just even to their ancestors such was the condition of affairs when the sons of Hina began to prepare for their expedition against Ha'upu they sent emissaries to O'ahu and Maui and were promised substantial cooperation by the leading chiefs of those islands the most of whom had suffered from the raids of the scourge of Molokai they collected a mighty fleet of canoes and a force of 6,000 warriors as many more were promised from O'ahu and Maui which, were Ka'upepe's permission obtained would be landed at Molokai to operate in conjunction with the army from Hawaii as an attack on Ha'upu from the seaside was not considered practicable even with the overwhelming force that was being organized against it the messengers were dispatched to Molokai to prevail upon Keoloeva to permit a portion of the United armies to land on the south side of the island and assault the fortress from the mountain his sympathies were with his brother and he hesitated but when he learned of the formidable force organizing for the reduction of Ha'upu he appreciated that he was unable to successfully oppose the movement and with the assurance that his subjects would be neither disturbed nor despoiled of their property during the conflict and that the invading armies would be withdrawn from the island at the end of the campaign against Ha'upu he consented to the landing had he known the real motive of the assault he would have advised his brother to surrender his fair prisoner and save both from possible ruin but conceiving that Ka'upepe's deportations had become unendurable and that the chiefs of the great islands had at length united to crush him for his own safety he felt compelled to leave him to his fate this resolution accorded with the advice of Ka'upepe many days before his faithful Ka'ula had told him of the approaching invasion of a combination of chiefs against him and the doubtful result of the struggle and before the messengers reached his brother he had gone to and advised him to offer no opposition to the landing of his enemies on the island opposition would be useless, argued Ka'upepe for my enemies are coming in great force I have slain them and blasted their lands and single-handed will meet the consequences do not embroil yourself with me but save to our blood the possessions of our fathers perhaps you are right but why not abandon Ha'upu and save yourself if you are not able to hold it never exclaimed Ka'upepe for more than twenty years its walls have stood between me and my enemies and I will not desert them now I have a thousand brave men who will triumph or die with me should Ha'upu be taken go and count the corpses around its walls and you will not blush to see how a son of Gama'ua'ua died so let the will of the gods be done replied the brother but we may not meet again true return Ka'upepe with a strange smile true my good brother for my sepulcher at Ha'upu needs ornamenting before the mourners come in my name take anything required for your defense still holding the hand of his brother as if reluctant to part with him my heart if not my arm will be with you we shall be well prepared were the words of Ka'upepe at parting and before he reached the top of the Pali on his return to Ha'upu the messengers from Hawaii landed at Kalaupapa with this concession from Ka'upepe the arrangements for the campaign were speedily made the main body of the united forces was to concentrate at Ka'unakakai on the north side of the island and move under the supreme leadership of Nihau while a large detachment embracing the best seamen of the several quotas was to blockade the sea entrances to Ha'upu destroy the canoes of the fortress to prevent escape or sucker and cooperate generally with the land forces this dangerous service was entrusted to the command of Ka'unak at the appointed time the Hawaiian army set sail for Molokai in a fleet of over 1200 canoes many of them double and carrying a large supply of provisions the assistance of the gods had been invoked with many sacrifices and the omens had been favorable in one of the large double canoes was Uli her form was bent with age and her hair white as foam covered her shoulders like a mantle in youth she was noted for her stateliness and beauty but age and care had destroyed all traces of her early comeliness and her wrinkled face and black eyes glistening through the rifts of her long white hair gave her the appearance of one who dealt with things to be feared she was surrounded with charms and images and before her on a stoneboard at heart of earth burned a continual fire into which she had intervals through gums and oily mixtures emitting clouds of incense her canoe followed that of the sons of Hinna with their priest and war god and red penin at the mast head and as the fleet swept out into the ocean with thousands of oars in the waves and thousands of spears in the air Uli rose to her feet and began a wild war chant which was taken up by the following hosts and born far over the waters the day following a number of expeditions left various openings on the coast of Oahu and Maui none of them approaching the Hawaiian army in strength but together adding an aggregate of 900 canoes of all sizes and about 4,000 warriors to the invading force all of them reached the landing of Kauna Kakai on the day appointed for their arrival Ihoe found himself in command of 10,000 warriors and over 2,000 canoes no such number of spears was ever before seen mast on Molokai but the people had been assured that they would not be injured either in person or property so long as they remained peaceful and the terms of the agreement with Keoloeva were faithfully observed among the invaders the people found many friends and relatives for intercourse between the islands at that time was free and frequent and although their sympathies were with Kaopepe they soon came to regard the projected capture of Haupu as a great game of Konane played by agreement between two champions during which the spectators were to remain silent and make no suggestions the tents of the chiefs around which were encamped the respective followers extended along the shore for more than two miles while the beach for a greater distance was fringe with canoes many of the larger painted red and bearing gaudy penance of stout kappa as plundering had been forbidden provisions of dried fish, potatoes, coconuts, taro and light pigs and fowls had been brought in considerable quantities in extra canoes but as the duration of the campaign could only be surmised rolls of kappa and matting, shell wreaths, ivory, feather capes, kalabashes mechanical tools, ornaments and extra arms were also brought to be fairly exchanged from time to time for such supplies as might be wanted Part 4 Everything being in readiness for an advance upon the stronghold of Kaopepe a war council of the assembled chiefs was called among them were several who were well informed concerning the approaches to Haupu and the main features of the campaign were arranged without discussion signals and other means of communication between the two divisions having been agreed upon the next morning a detachment of 2,000 men occupying 500 canoes under the command of Kanna moved around the island to blockade the entrances to Haupu and immediately after the main army leaving a strong reserve to guard the canoes and look after supplies broke camp and took up its line of march across the island to the mountains back of the fortress the trails were rough but at sunrise the next morning the land division stretched along the summit of the hills two miles back of Haupu looked down and saw the fleet of Kanna drawn like a broad black line across the ocean entrances to the doomed stronghold meantime Kaopepe had not been idle every movement of the enemy had been watched and when word came to him that the shores of Kauna Kakai were so crowded with warriors that the number could not be told he grimly answered then will our spears be less likely to miss the walls of the fortress had been strengthened and replenished with missiles large quantities of provisions had been secured and sheds of ample space were finally erected for the collection of rainwater should communication be interrupted with the streams in the gulches below before the enemy had reached positions completely cutting off retreat from the fortress Kaopepe had called his warriors together and thus addressed them warriors and friends for all indeed are warriors and friends in Haupu for years you have shared in the dangers of Kaopepe and have never disobeyed him listen now to his words and heed them well a mighty army is about to surround Haupu by land and sea it already blackens the shores of Kauna Kakai and will soon be thundering at our gates the fight will be long and desperate and may end in defeat and death to the most or all of us I cannot order cannot even ask you to face such peril for my sake the gates are open let all leave with my good will whose lives are precious to them let your axe answer at once for the enemy is approaching and no time can be lost for a moment not a warrior of a thousand present moved all stood staring at their chief and wondering that he should doubt then a confused hum of voices rising louder and louder swelled into a united shout of close the gates and Kaopepe was answered and a braver answer was never given then that which came from the stout hearts and unblanched lips of the thousand fearless defenders of Haupu the gates were closed with not a single warrior missing and the fortress was soon environed with its enemies halting his army on the summit of the mountains overlooking Haupu Nihau dispatched a messenger to the fortress with the signal of peace to ascertain with certainty whether Hina was a prisoner there and if so to demand the surrender of the captive the messenger returned in safety bearing this message from Kaopepe Hina is within the walls of Haupu come with arms in your hands and take her communication was established with a fleet in front of Haupu and Kana was advised to enter the gulches in force the next morning destroy the canoes of the fortress and maintain a footing there if possible while a strong division of the land forces would move down and draw attention to the rear defenses by taking a position within attacking distance in pursuance of this plan early next morning Nihau dispatched a formidable force down the mountain in the rear of Haupu with orders to menace but not to assault the defenses arriving near the walls a little skirmishing ensued when the detachment took a position beyond the reach of the slingers and began the construction of a stone wall across the ridge meantime Kana's fleet of canoes which had been hovering nearer and nearer the walls of Haupu since daylight with a wild battle cry from the warriors crowding them suddenly dashed through the surf and partially succeeded in affecting a landing in one of the gulches flanking the fortress so rapid had been the movement and so thoroughly had the attention of the besiege been engrossed with a diversion from the mountains that a division of the assaulting party managed to reach the canoes of the fortress and another to secure a lodgement among the rocks on the opposite side of the gulch before meeting with serious opposition the score or two of warriors left to guard the canoes of the fortress were quickly overpowered and slaughtered and then the work of destruction began with loose rocks and heavy stone hammers the canoes were being hastily broken in pieces including the great war barge of Kaopepe when from the walls above the destroyers was precipitated a bill-wildering and murderous avalanche of rocks of all sizes and heavy sections of tree trunks as the missiles rolled and bounded down the steep declivity sweeping head at almost the same moment for 200 yards or more in length the ground trembled as within earthquake and the gorge was filled with a dense cloud of dust the thunder of the avalanche ceased and in the awful silence that succeeded Kaopepe at the head of 200 warriors dashed down the narrow path leading from the middle terrace to finish the dreadful work with spear, knife and battle axe the sight was appalling even to the chief of Haupu the gulch was choked with the bodies of the dine and the dead panic-stricken those posted on the opposite hillside had abandoned their only place of safety and perished in large numbers in attempting to reach the canoes the few left alive and able to retreat were wildly struggling to escape seaward from the gulch in such canoes of their wrecked fleet as would still float or by plunging desperately into the surf with exultant shouts Kaopepe and his warriors sprang over their dead and dying enemies and swept down upon the unarmed and escaping remnant of the invaders although a considerable reserve of canoes came to the rescue from without protected from assault from above by the presence of Kaopepe and his party the most of the fugitives would have been cut off but for the extraordinary efforts of Ghana who led the attacking party but miraculously escaped unhurt in the surf in the deep entrance to the gulch everywhere he moved around with his head and shoulders above the water he assisted the canoes through the breakers rescued exhausted and drowning swimmers and from the bottom of the ocean reached down and gathered huge rocks which he hurled at intervals at Kaopepe's warriors to keep them in check these wonderful exploits awed the attacking party and greater still was their astonishment when they saw the strange being finally walk through the deep waters erect and with his head and breast exposed and step into a canoe quite half a mile from the shore turning to his warriors with these words Kaopepe answered their looks of inquiry he is Kanna I have heard of him I am glad he escaped Kanna returned with his shattered fleet and still worstly shattered army to Kaunakakai as the most of his canoes had been destroyed Kaopepe was unable to follow the retreating enemy to sea but hearing the shouts of conflict above at once mounted with his warriors to the fortress to assist in repelling an attack on the rear wall which had been hastily begun to save if possible the sea party from destruction with Kaopepe at the front the assault was quickly repulsed the enemy retiring and confusion behind the lines of defense from which the advance had been made the wounded in the galt were dispatched six of the least injured being reserved for sacrifice and the night following the fortress of Kaopepe was ablaze with savage joy as the first fruits of the victories of the day the six wounded prisoners were slain with clubs and laid upon the altar of the hei iao as offerings to the gods and chance of defiance were sent through the night air to the discomfited enemy beyond the walls these disasters did not dishearten the hei iao the canoes of the fortress had been destroyed and that was something of a compensation for the loss of nearly 2,000 of his best warriors and a considerable part of his fleet plans for further assault from the sea were abandoned and a regular siege with a final entrance by the rear wall was suggested and in the end agreed to by the chiefs in council lines of pickets were accordingly stationed along the summits of the mountains flanking the fortress in order to prevent the entrance into it of reinforcements or supplies and the main body of the attacking force was moved down and placed in positions within slinging distance of the rear wall this was not done without loss for the wall was manned with expert slingers but in less than a week the besiegers had advanced their main line of wooden defences within a hundred paces of the real bulwark of the fortress and were daily gaining ground this move of a line of assault and defense was a device as ingenious as it was effective timbers 20 feet in length or corresponding with the height of the wall were firmly corded together side by side until they stretched across the narrow summit leading to the fortress to the top of each fourth or fifth timber was lashed a movable brace 30 feet in length and then the wooden wall was raised into the air nearly erect and securely held in that position by its line of supporting braces it was a formidable looking structure against it the missiles of the besieged fell harmless and behind it the besiegers worked in safety section by section and foot by foot this moving line of timber was advanced until the warriors on the wall could almost touch it with their spears several desperate sorties to destroy or prostrate it had been made but nothing beyond the cutting of a few of the lower fastenings had been achieved and the defenders of Haopu with tightened grasp of their weapons grimly awaited the final assault which they felt would not long be delayed day after day night after night they watched but the wooden wall did not move and they could only guess at what was going on behind it finally a night of inky darkness came a night as dark as the farthest confines of bowl bringing with it a storm of wind and rain in the midst of the storm the wooden wall began to move but so noiselessly that the advance was not perceived by the fortress sentinels midnight came and went the storm continued and nearer and nearer to the wall of stone was crowded the wall of timber just as coming day began to streak the east the bases of the two walls came together the backward inclination of both leaving them a few feet apart at their tops hundreds of men then laid hold of the braces and in a moment the wooden wall was shoved over and stayed against the other the alarm was given within and warriors from all parts of the enclosure sprang toward the menaced wall but the movement of their enemies was not less prompt up the braces they swarmed in such numbers that the few who had succeeded in reaching the top of the wall from within were hurled from it and after them poured a cataract of spears against which the opposing force was powerless the huge stone was rolled back the gate was opened and soon the upper terrace was cleared and 5,000 warriors led by Nihei in person were sweeping down to complete their work of slaughter but their victory was not to be cheaply purchased they had slain two or three hundred on the wall and around the gate the rice has many more under the desperate leadership of Gaopepe were stretched like a wall across the middle terrace with a resolution to contest every pace of the ground with their lives they might have escaped perhaps down the path leading from that terrace to the gulches but they preferred to die as they had for years lived in defense of Haopu down the terrace swept the victorious horde in the grey dawn of the morning Niheiho vainly tried to hold his warriors in check for he knew the main body of the fortress force was still before him and would have advance with prudence but the voices of the leaders were drowned in the battle shouts of the surging throng which in a few minutes struck Gaopepe's wall of spears and battle axes and rolled back like a storm wave broken against the front of Haopu but the check was only momentary for immediately behind the shattered column was a forest of advancing spears and with a wild tumult of shouts and clashing weapons the entire force was precipitated upon Gaopepe's thin but resolute lines of defense the slaughter was frightful but the unequal conflict could have but one result Gaopepe and the fifty or less of his followers left standing were crowded fighting step by step into the lower terrace and thence to the Heiao and finally to the temple as a last place of defense there the struggle was brief the roof of the temple was fired and as Gaopepe and the last of his devoted bands sprang from the blazing building to die at the throats of their enemies they were struck down with their javelins in the air a spear penetrated the breast of Gaopepe as a last act he poised his Ihe to hurl at a helmeted chief who had just struggled to the front the chief was Nihei by his dress or face which bore a resemblance to the features of Hina Gaopepe must have recognized him he looked but his arm did not move not for your sake but for hers exclaimed the dine warrior dropping his weapon to the earth and falling lifeless beside it not one of the defenders of Gaopepe escaped but more than one half of Nihei's army perished in the various assaults upon the fortress Hina was found uninjured and while there was great joy to her in the embrace of her sons and aged mother she wept over the death of Gaopepe who with his love had made light her long imprisonment the body of Gaopepe was given to Keoloeva for interment as were also the remains of Moe who was among the last to fall the walls of Gaopepe were leveled never to be raised again and Hina returned to her husband in Hilo after a separation of nearly 18 years thus bringing to a close one of the most romantic legends of early Hawaiian chivalry End of Hina the Helen of Hawaii