THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, March 29, 1849. History of the Sandwich Islanders continued from our last.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 7, 29 March 1849, Page 2

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, March 29, 1849. History of the Sandwich Islanders continued from our last.

The Sandwich, or, to speak more correctly, the Hawaiian Islands, like those of New Zealand. are of voleanic formation. The meaning of the word voleanic is that thecoiiiitiy.to whhhit is applied, 13 one that lias been formed by internal fire: such (ires causing hot spring*, burning mountains, and earthquake?,— throwing up islands in the middle of the sen, and frequently stopping up or changing the.course of rivers. There are numerous volcanoes in the Hawaiian islands; hut most of them are extinct, that is to cay they have .eased, like Mount Eden, to burn. The largest volcano, in an active state, in the known world, is on the island of Hawaii, where the mountains are of an exceeding great height, towering to the sky like the beautiful hill at Taranaki. The immense height of these mountains intercepts the clouds causing them to break in rain and moisten their sides, which are therefore clothed with the most luxuriant vegetation to windward, whi'st the lee side, on the contrary, is frequently par> lied and barren from drought The general soil of the islands is poor, and is much filter for grazing than for cultivation, although industry mid ability can compel it to produce good crops. Nature yields but little. The islanders have, therefore,"nlways been obliged to labour hard and to exercise much ingenuity in raising their crops. The pi innpal article of food is called Kalo, and is represented as one of the most delicious of vegetables. The vegetables of Europe have been introduced and cultivated to a considerable extent. The high grounds of the island of Maui produce good potatoes, of a great size,—the largest weighing between three and four pounds. Wheat of good quality grows wild in the same place, and two crops in the year can be raised. They want, however, the mills to grind it. Sugar, coffee, and tobacco are produced. Dogs, swine, rats, and domestic fowls are natives of the counirv. These, with the exception of wi'd fowl, aTurded the only kinds of animal food, until cattle, goats, sheep, and oilier domestic animals had been brought by the Europeans. Horses are plentiful but very high in their price. Those which are imp rted from California sell for twenty and forty pounds eai'h. The stock of cattle which are the descendants of ill- so introduced by the gnat English navigator Vancouver, has greatly iucicasi d, and are to be. found wild on the priuuipa' i- lands. Their hides, ta low and fles'i, form a productive revenue for the government, and constitute a valuable source of export, which tends greatly to enrich the islands and to attract the ships of other nations to their shores. Law<> are framed to prevent their destruction, and it is only upon certain conditions they ate permitted to be hunted. The annual increase is great. It is said that, with care, they will double their number every two years. Wild goats are numerous, and their skins nre also an important article of commerce. The foreign breed of dogs has increased to such an extent as to be a great evil. They roam the mountains in herds destroying the young calves and kids, and are even dangerous to man. Many men have had narrow escapes from their jaws, and one native being beset by a pack of them jn a forest was torn to pieces and devoured. Wild hogs are common and grow to a great size. The boars are daugeroui, and to be avoided. The climate is delightfully healthy, and possesses a remarkable evenness ..f temperature, There are no sudden changes from rain to fair, from calm to storm. On the contrary so nearly does the fineness of one day resemble that of another that the language has no word to signify ■weather. Remarkable changes, Gticii as a tempest or a 'ong period of rain are so rare that they attract notice if not surprise.

Contagious disonses nre scarcely known, excepting those that proceed from the 3kin. These prevail very generally owing to the iilthy habits of the people, and the had description of food they. eat. You see, good fiiends, that you Maorics are not the only dirty people in the worlil; but you, also, sec that where the people are fJHhv, and where thev will eat rotten and unwholesome victuals, that they are tormented with painful and disgusting skin diseases, ami that they die early and untimely deaths. He advised. Desist from foul feeding-leave your blankets for your beds only. Wash and cleanse your persons. Uuild your houses with Urge doors and windows so that the wind may circulate through them ami blow away the offensive sme'ls which are so injurious to health and and s.ich a reproach (ovouaiim intelligent people. The small pox has raged in the more Southerly islands of these seas ; hut notwithstanding the traffin with them, it has n-ver reached the Hawaiian Group. Vaccination is very generally practised. The general diseases, when compared with those of other countries are few and of a milder form. We must therefore trace the rapid decline of the native population to other eau>es t'mn to the effects of climate, which is so hci'thv to strangers, and particularly to children, that it is to be doubted if there is a more salubrious spot anywhere to be found. Thotiuth is that the prevailing diseases of the natives are greatly owing to their [ wretched manner of living,—damp habitations, insufficient clothing, poverty, and nu improper disregard of life:—but sin-e the introduction of European customs, the had litiiiitsofthe natives are disappearing befo r e the improvements of their friendsdisease is thus every year becoming less fatal, and will it is to be hoped, ere long, be ijreatly .subdued. We trust, men of New Zealand, that you, like the Sandwich Is'anders, will take a pride and a pleasure in copying the customs of the Europeans who have settled amongst you. We are, indeed, deeply anxious for your welfare. We cannot look upon >on, a (ine, manly,noble, rate as you arc, and know that you are rapidly perilling by diseases which, if not of your own causing, you are at least the means of greatly aggravating, without endeavouring by our own example, by declaring to you the truth, by prayers and by entreaties to turn you to a way of life, such as will relieve you from the diseases which destroy you, and preserve you to be the friends and brothers, of the stranger. Consider our words ; we come not to buy your lam's alone. We wou'd bring you the health, the peace, and the comfort which the wise and tin! prudent of us are so anxious to secure for ourselves. He wise. Why should vou indulge in lilthy food, wherefore abide in filthier dwellings but to die ? Earthquakes occur mostly in the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Shocks nre frequent, but not sufficiently strong to be very destructive. Trees are thrown down, rocks arcsplit, and other trifling injuries are sustained. At Hilo, n seaport on the north side of the island of Hawaii, from forty to fifty shocks were felt within eight days in November IU3B. Twelve distinct ones were counted in oneirght. Tor two Jays and nights, the earth was in a state <<f continual ngitation, the plants and flowers trembling like frightened animals. In some cases the motion was up and down like that of a flap pitching at her anchors, i and attended by noises and sensations similar to those produced by heavy waves striking j against her sides, and some degree of sickness was felt. At other times the motion was side- j lung, easy, and undulating, and not accompanied by any sound. In April, 1841, several more -htjfcks were felt at the same place, one of which was very severe. The houses wore ' violently shaken, and if they had not been 1 constructed of yielding materials would have ' been thrown down. The plastering was i cracked and shattered cups and saucers and ] oilier crockery "are destroyed, milk was iliniwn from the pans, stone walls were cast ; down, and a great deal of damage was done. Earthquakes, g'-uerdly, cause a frightfu 1 commotion in ihn bays and harbours of a country in which they take place. We nre about lo give you u terrible account ot the j swelling of the sea amongst the Sandwich Islands. On the evening of the 7th of November 1837, the waters at Honolulu were fearfully a'itnted.- At 5 o'clock the sea had been observed to go out with unusual rapidity, so much so, that it caused great alarm among the foreigners who were afraid that it would return with a foicc like that of a great wave i which a hundred years before had hurst u/mn and destroyed a towu.of South America, called

Callao. Numbers of the natives, however, followed the sea, shouting nml frolicking, picking up the fish ii hud lift dry, nnd making great sport. But there were others who wore sadly terrified, and the dismal cry that they uttered in the slillne-s of llie night, penetrated far into the country. The reefs of rock» were Jell quite dry. The fish died. The vessels nut in. the deepest water grounded ; hut the sr-a quickly returned, and in twenty eight minutes reached the ordinary height of the highest tide'. It then fell, and rose again, continuing to do so throughout thai night nnd the fi>rcn»on of next da'v. At many ol the islands the same occurrence was remarked, hut it was at Hilo,on the north *" side of the island of Hawaii, wher« it caused tin- h ss of much property and many lives. The villag; w.is crowded with people who had collected to attend a rcligh'us meeting. At half |>a*t six o'clock the sea retired at the rate of five miles an hour, leaving a large part of the harbour dry, and reducing the depth of water mother places Irani thirty feet to nine loen and t.venty. The wondering multitude, in their simplicity, eagerly rii.-hed to the lie.trli to witness this extraordinary sight: hut quickly an enormous wave came roaiing to« ardi thrm at a s|ieed of seven or ei;>ht miles an hour, and, r sing twenty feet above high water niatk, dashed upon the shore with n stunning noise, resembling a heavy crash of thunder. The people were buried in its flood, houses, canoes, animals, property of all kind?, Wrre mingled in one common ruin.— Crii sof distress filled the air. Those in the water were struggling foi their live 3 niuid the wreck of houses, and cntanuled among floating timber, while their friends and their relations vfho had escaped the torrent were loudly bewailing their situation. The wave which had rushed inland, had in its way dashed over the deck of an linglish wha'er at anchor in the Hay. As soon as the crew recovered from the shuck, they lowered their boats and through their exertions many lives were saved. Not a canoe had escaped, and numbers of the people stunned and insensible, were floating rapidly to sea. The destruction of property was universal; even the food, which had been harvested was swept nway. In two villages alone, sixty »ix houses were destroyed and eleven lives lost. Other portions of the coast suffered in a like manner. No shocks of earthquake, or any trembling of the earth hid been felt, but the volcano, or burning mountain of Kilnuea was seen to vomit forth fire with the greatest fury the night before. In some places the fires had been extinguished, but they burst fo'lh in others with violent and terrible explosions. Having given you, wo hope, some idea of the islands, their productions, their climate,. diseases, nnd local peculiarities, "e shall in our next nnd future paper* proceed to .show you how their inhabitants have became a wealthy and independent peop'c.