Nothing whatever is known about this place—its story is a secret that will never be revealed. The oldest natives make no pretense10 of being possessed11 of its history. They say these bones were here when they were children. They were here when their grandfathers were children—but how they came here, they can only conjecture12. Many people believe this spot to be an ancient battle-ground, and it is usual to call it so; and they believe that these skeletons have lain for ages just where their proprietors13 fell in the great fight. Other people believe that Kamehameha I. fought his first battle here. On this point, I have heard a story, which may have been taken from one of the numerous books which have been written concerning these islands—I do not know where the narrator got it. He said that when Kamehameha (who was at first merely a subordinate chief on the island of Hawaii), landed here, he brought a large army with him, and encamped at Waikiki. The Oahuans marched against him, and so confident were they of success that they readily acceded14 to a demand of their priests that they should draw a line where these bones now lie, and take an oath that, if forced to retreat at all, they would never retreat beyond this boundary. The priests told them that death and everlasting15 punishment would overtake any who violated the oath, and the march was resumed. Kamehameha drove them back step by step; the priests fought in the front rank and exhorted16 them both by voice and inspiriting example to remember their oath—to die, if need be, but never cross the fatal line. The struggle was manfully maintained, but at last the chief priest fell, pierced to the heart with a spear, and the unlucky omen17 fell like a blight18 upon the brave souls at his back; with a triumphant19 shout the invaders20 pressed forward—the line was crossed—the offended gods deserted21 the despairing army, and, accepting the doom22 their perjury23 had brought upon them, they broke and fled over the plain where Honolulu stands now—up the beautiful Nuuanu Valley—paused a moment, hemmed24 in by precipitous mountains on either hand and the frightful25 precipice26 of the Pari in front, and then were driven over—a sheer plunge27 of six hundred feet!
The story is pretty enough, but Mr. Jarves’ excellent history says the Oahuans were intrenched in Nuuanu Valley; that Kamehameha ousted28 them, routed them, pursued them up the valley and drove them over the precipice. He makes no mention of our bone-yard at all in his book.
Impressed by the profound silence and repose29 that rested over the beautiful landscape, and being, as usual, in the rear, I gave voice to my thoughts. I said:
“What a picture is here slumbering30 in the solemn glory of the moon! How strong the rugged outlines of the dead volcano stand out against the clear sky! What a snowy fringe marks the bursting of the surf over the long, curved reef! How calmly the dim city sleeps yonder in the plain! How soft the shadows lie upon the stately mountains that border the dream-haunted Mauoa Valley! What a grand pyramid of billowy clouds towers above the storied Pari! How the grim warriors31 of the past seem flocking in ghostly squadrons to their ancient battlefield again—how the wails32 of the dying well up from the—”
At this point the horse called Oahu sat down in the sand. Sat down to listen, I suppose. Never mind what he heard, I stopped apostrophising and convinced him that I was not a man to allow contempt of Court on the part of a horse. I broke the back-bone of a Chief over his rump and set out to join the cavalcade33 again.
Very considerably34 fagged out we arrived in town at 9 o’clock at night, myself in the lead—for when my horse finally came to understand that he was homeward bound and hadn’t far to go, he turned his attention strictly35 to business.
This is a good time to drop in a paragraph of information. There is no regular livery stable in Honolulu, or, indeed, in any part of the Kingdom of Hawaii; therefore unless you are acquainted with wealthy residents (who all have good horses), you must hire animals of the wretchedest description from the Kanakas. (i.e. natives.) Any horse you hire, even though it be from a white man, is not often of much account, because it will be brought in for you from some ranch36, and has necessarily been leading a hard life. If the Kanakas who have been caring for him (inveterate riders they are) have not ridden him half to death every day themselves, you can depend upon it they have been doing the same thing by proxy37, by clandestinely38 hiring him out. At least, so I am informed. The result is, that no horse has a chance to eat, drink, rest, recuperate39, or look well or feel well, and so strangers go about the Islands mounted as I was to-day.
In hiring a horse from a Kanaka, you must have all your eyes about you, because you can rest satisfied that you are dealing40 with a shrewd unprincipled rascal41. You may leave your door open and your trunk unlocked as long as you please, and he will not meddle42 with your property; he has no important vices43 and no inclination44 to commit robbery on a large scale; but if he can get ahead of you in the horse business, he will take a genuine delight in doing it. This traits is characteristic of horse jockeys, the world over, is it not? He will overcharge you if he can; he will hire you a fine-looking horse at night (anybody’s—may be the King’s, if the royal steed be in convenient view), and bring you the mate to my Oahu in the morning, and contend that it is the same animal. If you make trouble, he will get out by saying it was not himself who made the bargain with you, but his brother, “who went out in the country this morning.” They have always got a “brother” to shift the responsibility upon. A victim said to one of these fellows one day:
“But I know I hired the horse of you, because I noticed that scar on your cheek.”
The reply was not bad: “Oh, yes—yes—my brother all same—we twins!”
A friend of mine, J. Smith, hired a horse yesterday, the Kanaka warranting him to be in excellent condition.
Smith had a saddle and blanket of his own, and he ordered the Kanaka to put these on the horse. The Kanaka protested that he was perfectly45 willing to trust the gentleman with the saddle that was already on the animal, but Smith refused to use it. The change was made; then Smith noticed that the Kanaka had only changed the saddles, and had left the original blanket on the horse; he said he forgot to change the blankets, and so, to cut the bother short, Smith mounted and rode away. The horse went lame46 a mile from town, and afterward got to cutting up some extraordinary capers47. Smith got down and took off the saddle, but the blanket stuck fast to the horse—glued to a procession of raw places. The Kanaka’s mysterious conduct stood explained.
Another friend of mine bought a pretty good horse from a native, a day or two ago, after a tolerably thorough examination of the animal. He discovered today that the horse was as blind as a bat, in one eye. He meant to have examined that eye, and came home with a general notion that he had done it; but he remembers now that every time he made the attempt his attention was called to something else by his victimizer.
One more instance, and then I will pass to something else. I am informed that when a certain Mr. L., a visiting stranger, was here, he bought a pair of very respectable-looking match horses from a native. They were in a little stable with a partition through the middle of it—one horse in each apartment. Mr. L. examined one of them critically through a window (the Kanaka’s “brother” having gone to the country with the key), and then went around the house and examined the other through a window on the other side. He said it was the neatest match he had ever seen, and paid for the horses on the spot. Whereupon the Kanaka departed to join his brother in the country. The fellow had shamefully48 swindled L. There was only one “match” horse, and he had examined his starboard side through one window and his port side through another! I decline to believe this story, but I give it because it is worth something as a fanciful illustration of a fixed49 fact—namely, that the Kanaka horse- jockey is fertile in invention and elastic50 in conscience.
You can buy a pretty good horse for forty or fifty dollars, and a good enough horse for all practical purposes for two dollars and a half. I estimate “Oahu” to be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty-five cents. A good deal better animal than he is was sold here day before yesterday for a dollar and seventy-five cents, and sold again to-day for two dollars and twenty-five cents; Williams bought a handsome and lively little pony51 yesterday for ten dollars; and about the best common horse on the island (and he is a really good one) sold yesterday, with Mexican saddle and bridle52, for seventy dollars—a horse which is well and widely known, and greatly respected for his speed, good disposition53 and everlasting bottom.
You give your horse a little grain once a day; it comes from San Francisco, and is worth about two cents a pound; and you give him as much hay as he wants; it is cut and brought to the market by natives, and is not very good it is baled into long, round bundles, about the size of a large man; one of them is stuck by the middle on each end of a six foot pole, and the Kanaka shoulders the pole and walks about the streets between the upright bales in search of customers. These hay bales, thus carried, have a general resemblance to a colossal54 capital ’H.’
The hay-bundles cost twenty-five cents apiece, and one will last a horse about a day. You can get a horse for a song, a week’s hay for another song, and you can turn your animal loose among the luxuriant grass in your neighbor’s broad front yard without a song at all—you do it at midnight, and stable the beast again before morning. You have been at no expense thus far, but when you come to buy a saddle and bridle they will cost you from twenty to thirty-five dollars. You can hire a horse, saddle and bridle at from seven to ten dollars a week, and the owner will take care of them at his own expense.
It is time to close this day’s record—bed time. As I prepare for sleep, a rich voice rises out of the still night, and, far as this ocean rock is toward the ends of the earth, I recognize a familiar home air. But the words seem somewhat out of joint55:
“Waikiki lantoni oe Kaa hooly hooly wawhoo.”
Translated, that means “When we were marching through Georgia.”
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1
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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5
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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6
bleached
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| 漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的 | |
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7
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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8
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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9
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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10
pretense
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| n.矫饰，做作，借口 | |
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11
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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12
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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13
proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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14
acceded
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| v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职 | |
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15
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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16
exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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18
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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19
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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20
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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21
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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22
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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23
perjury
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| n.伪证；伪证罪 | |
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24
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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25
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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26
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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27
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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28
ousted
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| 驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
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29
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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30
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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31
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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32
wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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33
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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34
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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36
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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37
proxy
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| n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人 | |
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38
clandestinely
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| adv.秘密地，暗中地 | |
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39
recuperate
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| v.恢复 | |
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40
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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41
rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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42
meddle
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| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
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43
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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44
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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45
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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46
lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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47
capers
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| n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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49
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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50
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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51
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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52
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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53
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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54
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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55
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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