The Hawaiian Archipelago - Six Months Among The Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, And Volcanoes Of The Sandwich Islands By Isabella L. Bird
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The Remaining Daughter Is
Married To A Norwegian Gentleman, Who Owns And Resides On The Next
Property.
So the family is together, and the property is large
enough to give scope to the grandchildren as they require it.
They are thoroughly Hawaiianised. The young people all speak
Hawaiian as easily as English, and the three young men, who are
superb young fellows, about six feet high, not only emulate the
natives in feats of horsemanship, such as throwing the lasso, and
picking up a coin while going at full gallop, but are surf-board
riders, an art which it has been said to be impossible for
foreigners to acquire.
The natives on Niihau and in this part of Kauai, call Mrs. - -
"Mama." Their rent seems to consist in giving one or more days'
service in a month, so it is a revival of the old feudality. In
order to patronise native labour, my hosts dispense with a Chinese,
and employ a native cook, and native women come in and profess to do
some of the housework, but it is a very troublesome arrangement, and
ends in the ladies doing all the finer cooking, and superintending
the coarser, setting the table, trimming the lamps, cutting out and
"fixing" all the needlework, besides planning the indoor and outdoor
work which the natives are supposed to do. Having related their
proficiency in domestic duties, I must add that they are splendid
horsewomen, one of them an excellent shot, and the other has enough
practical knowledge of seamanship, as well as navigation, to enable
her to take a ship round the world! It is a busy life, owing to the
large number of natives daily employed, and the necessity of looking
after the native lunas, or overseers. Dr. Smith at Koloa, twenty-
two miles off, is the only doctor on the island, and the natives
resort to this house in great numbers for advice and medicine in
their many ailments. It is much such a life as people lead at
Raasay, Applecross, or some other remote Highland place, only that
people who come to visit here, unless they ride twenty-two miles,
must come to the coast in the Jenny instead of being conveyed by one
of David Hutcheson's luxurious steamers. If the Clansman were "put
on," probably the great house would not contain the strangers who
would arrive!
We were sitting in the library one morning when Mr. M., of Timaru,
N.Z., rode up with an introduction, and was of course cordially
welcomed. He goes on to England, where you will doubtless cross-
question him concerning my statements. During his visit a large
party of us made a delightful expedition to the Hanapepe Falls, one
of the "lions" of Kauai. It is often considered too "rough" for
ladies, and when Mrs. - - and I said we were going, I saw Mr. M.
look as if he thought we should be a dependent nuisance; I was
amused afterwards with his surprise at Mrs. - -'s courageous
horsemanship, and at his obvious confusion as to whether he should
help us, which question he wisely decided in the negative.
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