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A STRANGE STORY FROM HAWAII.

In’ some,notes, on “Scenes in Hawaii,” contributed to the Toronto IFeek by Minnie Forsyth Grant, the following passage occurs 11 ‘ Tho Native superstition is very great, as no donbt all aboriginal superstition must be.; but there is one thing which—one must say so from per- ■ sonal experience on our own part—is most extraordinary, and I. can imagine that , some of my readers will scarcely credit what I have to tell. As the death of a high chief approaches; a swarm of tiny rod fish invariably come about the harbour of. Honolulu or his birthplace. At no other time do they appear. During our stay in tho islands the three last great chiefs of the lino of Kamohameha died, and each time, just before their death, did the swarm of fish come, reddening the waters till they looked like blood. The first to die was Princess Ruth (Keelikolani), a woman of enormous stature and extraordinary plainness of appearance. She had been ill for sometime, and had been under the influence of her Native kahunas, or praying doctors, to such au extent that she made a journey to the foot of Manu Loa, intending to bo carried up tho mountain to sacrifice white chickens and pigs to the burning lake, thereby hoping to appease the wrath of tho Goddess Pole, who is supposed even yet to be the presiding deity of the volcano. On arriving at the mountain, however, it was found that Her Royal Highness’s enormous bulk quite precluded the hope of getting hemp herself; so she was obliged to have the sacrifice made by proxy, sending some of her numerous retinue to perform the rites; but of no avail, as some time later she died. Mrs Bishop was the next to follow. I.forget her native name, which was a very long one. She was a halfwhite, but on her mother’s side was a direct descendant of Kamehameha I. She was a very handsome woman, and of great wealth, holding large properties in the islands. She had married a Mr Bishop, an Englishman and a banker. Their homo in Honolulu was a very beautiful one, with lovely gardens, and ; the house itself a perfect museum of Hawaiian curiosities. Mrs Bishop’s death was almost unexpected, but. the deadly swarm of red fish came into the harbour, again the herald of disaster. The last death was indeed a grievous calamity for with Queen Emma expired the last of her race; she was the la-t lineal descendant of Kamohameha L, her own sou dying at an early age. Queen Emma was adored by the Natives, and she might well be, for she made herself .almost poor by her constant charities amongst them ; and she supported many of them entirely herself. She also had a lovely hou-e and grounds in Honolulu, but spent most of her time at a country home down by Pearl River, some miles east of the towu. The Queen was a sweet faced woman, with a low musical voice and a great dignity of manner. Shu died very suddenly—indeed, without warning almost—and this time the red fish made their appearance at Hilo on Hawaii, where much of Queen Emma’s early youth was spent.”

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18870827.2.28.4

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2361, 27 August 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

Word count
Tapeke kupu
537

A STRANGE STORY FROM HAWAII. Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2361, 27 August 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

A STRANGE STORY FROM HAWAII. Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2361, 27 August 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

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