Chapter 21
Early in the last century an old Hawaiian who as a small boy witnessed the affray told Rev. Mr. Paris (as related by his daughter) that if Cook had been the god he pretended to be, the blow would not have hurt him; but when he fell with a loud groan the people knew he was only a man like themselves and, enraged at the deception practiced on them, quickly made an end of him.
HONAUNAU
The wall of the City of Refuge is nearly intact, as is that of the large heiau. Another heiau was destroyed by a tidal wave. The place is now a public park. Stokes, of the Bishop Museum, has done much work here and at Napoopoo. The result of his labors will be published.
KEAUHOU
The "Slide," made here in the time of King Kamehameha I, consists of two stone walls from 50 to 75 feet apart, the space between them being filled with stones to provide a level surface from side to side and to equalize the slope from top to bottom. It begins a mile from the foot of the hill, and its terminus was on a level area near the coast. The lower end is now so displaced and overgrown for a fourth of a mile that it can no longer be traced; the remainder of it is practically intact. The slope is not uniform, being somewhat determined by the natural surface, so that it is steeper in some parts than in others. Near the upper end some short stretches are quite steep, presenting from below the appearance of terraces. In places, flat stones are laid pavement fashion from side to side, or rows of stones which seem to be the tops of walls extend across. These were probably to prevent crawling of the smaller material used as a leveler. The slide, according to an old Hawaiian, was covered with one variety of grass, on which was laid another variety; but he could not say whether the two layers had their stems parallel or crosswise. Kukui-nut oil was used plentifully to act as a binder and to give a slick surface. The "sliders," as well as he could remember the description of them, were like sleds with runners; not flat boards like a toboggan. Small depressions here and there, either basin-shaped or well-shaped, have led to excavations in the hope of finding something; but they are due only to falling-in of tubes, tunnels, or bubbles in the lava.
A somewhat similar but very much smaller slide is said to be on the coast 40 miles south of this one. At present it can be reached only from the shore, making a canoe voyage necessary.
Two ruined and overgrown heiaus are near the water line a mile from the slide. Both are built on bare lava, and at very high tides waves dash over them. Possibly the shore has sunk since they were built. Near by, on the flat lava, covered by every tide, are rock carvings rudely resembling the outlines of human figures. They must be of rather recent origin, as the stone is constantly subject to wear by the shingle. Stokes has copied them.
MOOKINI
At the extreme northwest corner of the island of Hawaii is a heiau in excellent preservation, there being but few fallen stones. The ground around is entirely free of growth except for grass and a few weeds, which may explain its appearance of newness; it has a very modern aspect, though it seems to antedate the discovery. It measures 120 by 275 feet, longest east and west. The east wall is 11 feet high with a narrow terrace from end to end about midway the height. The north wall is 18 feet high. The south wall, which is in a somewhat irregular line, is 5 to 6 feet high. On the outside of the south wall, which forms one side of each, are two inclosures. One, near the east corner, measures 65 feet east and west and 15 feet wide, with its west wall at the edge of an opening which gives access to the interior of the heiau. The wall of this inclosure is 4 feet high. The other inclosure measures 21 feet east and west by 28 feet north and south, the west end flush with the west end of the temple. Its wall is 3 feet high.
The main west wall is 12 feet high. A platform 2 to 4 feet wide, probably a seat or bench, extends along the inside of the south wall. An interior wall 4 feet high, not straight but approximately parallel with the north wall, with a space 10 to 15 feet wide separating them, has one end against the east wall, the other end coming near enough to the west wall to leave only a narrow passageway.
The entire space inside is paved with large stones; on these, as a floor, are several walls whose purpose is not clear; they run in various directions. Near the west end are some small inclosures, also a raised platform in which are 13 "wells," said to be intended to "hold the blood of those offered up as a sacrifice." Possibly the bodies or bones of victims were placed in them, though it is more probable that they held posts or idols.
On the outside, 20 feet from the west wall, is a "sacrifice stone," 6 by 8 feet, averaging 15 inches thick. It is somewhat dished, with a natural depression 12 inches deep.
The heiau is about 200 yards from the ocean. Walls, like fallen fences, extend diagonally from the corners at the west end; the northern one terminates 200 yards away on an outcrop of lava; the southern one has about the same length and ends 50 feet from a similar wall that reaches in a rude semicircle, convex uphill, for 300 yards to the top of a cliff over the ocean. On the opposite side of a small cove within the farther end of this wall is a stone which is known to the natives as the "Shark" or the "Shark God." It is 8½ feet long, 32 inches across at the widest part, averages 14 inches thick, and has somewhat the shape of a coffin with narrowed ends. Lying just on the break of the slope, it inclines slightly down the bank. The end toward the water is carved in a fairly good representation of a turtle's head; on the opposite end are nine artificial cup-like depressions from 1½ to 3 inches in diameter with a depth rather less than half the width; three are on top, three on the end, three on the lower side. Like any long stone supported at the center with the ends free, it gives a metallic note when struck with a knife or other small piece of metal. It is already defaced by curious experimenters, and will probably be broken up some day in search of the "treasure" inside, or to "see where the music comes from."
For nearly a mile south of the heiau, covering the space between the ocean cliff and a line approximately parallel to it a fourth of a mile up the hill, are many inclosures and long walls. Low walls surround spaces 10 to 15 feet across, filled level with earth, which are either house sites or burial places. Some inclosures, still smaller, with no break in the wall, are supposed to be graves; and graves may also be marked by the many small piles of stones. Other stone heaps, some straight, some crescent-shaped, from 10 to 20 feet long, all the curved ones convex to the windward, were wind shelters. Some of them are known to be made by modern hunters as blinds in plover shooting.
In at least two places are long parallel rows of large stones placed singly, 1 foot to 3 feet apart, the rows separated by a space of from 4 to 6 feet. One set has a dozen or more rows.
Inside of one of the inclosures, directly up the hill from the old landing, is a large stone with an artificial depression of 2 gallons capacity. It was intended as a mortar for pounding nuts.
LAUPAHOEHOE
An old lava flow has pushed out into the ocean in a shape somewhat resembling "a leaf floating on the water," which is the meaning of the word. It forms a nearly level area of 12 or 13 acres, only a few feet above tide. Toward the outer end are numerous walls and inclosures, mostly in ruins and overgrown with trees and bushes. Some of them are clearly modern; others are ancient. Near the lighthouse are the remnants of a heiau; only a part of its walls can be traced.
A wall 3 feet high, beginning at a large stone at one corner, incloses a space 26 by 27 feet, outside measurement; the interior is filled with earth and small stones to a level with the top of the walls. At the end toward the ocean, is a platform 20 feet wide, terminating 50 feet from the sea. On this platform is a space 7 by 12 feet, outlined by large rocks. Halfway between the platform and the water is a wall which may be recent.
Near this inclosure is one hexagonal in outline, the walls 2 feet high, and the space inside, 11 by 17 feet, filled with earth to a foot above the top of the wall.
On top of the bluff, 350 feet above tide level, is a heiau the west wall of which was removed in making a deep cut for the railway. The inside dimensions are 70 feet east and west, 115 feet north and south. The interior area, originally irregular, was somewhat leveled, and covered with a pavement of cobblestones which were carried up from the beach, as were many of the large stones in the wall. The pavement has been torn up in cultivating the ground. The wall is from 4 to 6 feet high inside. This is a little more than the original height, as it was repaired and raised for use as a corral. Along the outside of the north wall, at the west end, is a heavy wall which, with the main wall, forms a "well," nearly filled with rocks. There are no supporting platforms outside, but along the north and east walls are revetments reaching halfway up the face. The southeast corner is rounded and braced or buttressed. These forms of support have been noticed in only one other place. There is a house site within, at the northeast corner. On the wall, placed there in adding to its height, were a broken taro pestle and a very dense siliceous rock, of high specific gravity, and filled with olivines. It weighs about 75 pounds. The ends have been chipped off to give it an ellipsoidal form, otherwise the wave-worn surface is unworked, except that one of its larger faces is rubbed smooth, almost polished, by use as a grinding stone, for which purpose it is excellently adapted by reason of its unusual abrasive quality.
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MAUI ISLAND
There are not many aboriginal structures on Maui, but among those which can be found are some of extreme interest on account of their size and complicated arrangement.
KAUPO, OR MOKULAU
A mile and a half from the coast at Kaupo, or Mokulau landing, at the eastern end of the island, are two large heiaus. As it would have required a week's time and a considerable outlay of money to reach them, by reason of the distance and lack of roads, they were not visited.
WAILUKU
At the mouth of the Iao Valley, a mile north of Wailuku, is a sand dune having a nearly level area of about an acre at each end, connected by a curved ridge whose sharp crest is lowered about 20 feet by erosion. On each extremity is a stone inclosure, with several walls on the slopes below them except on the eastern side, toward the ocean. Here a stream has encroached upon the bottom of the dune to such an extent that only a portion of the inclosure nearer town is still remaining, one side and part of each end having fallen into the ravine. The wall along the opposite, or western, side is buried in the sand, only the highest stones still projecting. From the north wall a facing of large stones extending down the surface of the dune for a vertical distance of 15 feet has prevented erosion by the winds. No protection was necessary below this point as the action of rain water on the lime from disintegrated coral rock contained in the deposit has caused the sand to "set" or harden.
The other heiau, at the north end of the dune, is apparently unfinished. None of it has disappeared, but the plan is difficult to make out. At its northern end is a protecting layer of stones reaching 25 to 30 feet down the slope, in three separate terraces. Similar terraces are on the slope below the southern end of the east wall. Here and there within the structure are well-like spaces filled with stones. The purpose of these is unknown. Stones of varying sizes, mostly small, within the walls indicate a pavement or floor, but the dense growth of lantana brush and the accumulated sand preclude any careful examination or accurate description of these remains.
WAIHEE
Southward from the mouth of the Waihee Valley, 5 miles north of Wailuku, is a range of sand dunes from 200 to 300 feet high, extending for half a mile or more in a wide curve, with the concave side facing the ocean. The level space thus bounded is about a fourth of a mile in its greatest width and contains 50 or 60 acres. Approximately parallel with the windings of the shore line, at an average distance of 200 feet from it, is a strong stone wall, built at an unknown date but prior to the advent of the whites. The plain purpose of this wall was to protect from high tides the low land lying behind it and reaching nearly to the foot of the dunes. This area is now cultivated in a variety of crops, mainly rice. Formerly it was a great taro patch of a Hawaiian settlement. A modern flume, which follows closely the line of an ancient ditch, brings down the necessary water from Waihee Creek.
In front of the wall a space of 5 or 6 acres is covered with a stone pavement on which are the walls of old houses and inclosures. They are protected on the seaward side by thousands of cubic yards of water-worn stones, piled up like a revetment or riprap, which terminate abruptly at the southern end but extend to the mouth of the creek at the north. The dunes show many angular rocks of the same general material, in their lower portion, so they all probably belong to a spur or projection from the mountain, washed clean at the front by waves, and covered at the rear by the dunes. Some of the stones along the water front were rolled by tides and wave-currents from the débris carried down by the creek from the mountains. At high tides waves surmount this natural breakwater, but spread out over the level pavement and sink between the stones, so that dwellers upon the site were not disturbed by their action.
At its northern extremity the high wall connects with a rear corner of an extensive heiau, which was either never completed or has been partially demolished. The unfinished appearance of this, as of all similar remains, is explained by the natives as being due to the interrupted efforts at their construction by "the little people" (fairies), thousands of whom took part in the work. They must complete their task in one night; at the first gleam of dawn they must instantly disappear, leaving their work as it was at the moment, and could never gather at that spot again.
The highest part of the heiau wall still upright is about 10 feet; but some of the stones within, promiscuously heaped, are 2 to 3 feet higher. The structure is about 100 by 250 feet, longest on the line from water to hill. A cross wall, possibly somewhat modified in recent times, divides it into two unequal parts, the seaward portion being nearly square and 5 feet higher than the part at the rear. On the latter are small inclosures of stone, the space within them paved with gravel. If of the same age as the remainder of the structure they may have been for priestly seclusion or preparation, though they may be houses of later natives who took advantage of the foundation made by their ancestors.
Measurements or clear descriptions of these remains are not possible, owing to overgrowth. A satisfactory study, to distinguish between ancient and modern parts, or between undisturbed stones and those not in their original position, would require careful survey with transit and level after the brush is cleared away; and this must be followed up with considerable excavation as well as removal of loose rock; all of which would demand the labor of a dozen men for three months. Even at that, there is no certainty that definite knowledge would be gained; but it is not to be had in any other way.
BURIAL PLACES
Near the top of a remnant of a crater rising from the shore line of the ocean, 11 miles from Wailuku on the road to Kahakuloa, is a stone wall built on the leeward slope, the only place on which it could be constructed, as much the larger part of the crater has been blown out into the sea. Between the wall and the summit are at least a dozen stone-covered graves; possibly there are others not seen, as much of the brush is impenetrable. Some of them are sunken; others appear quite recent.
Many such graves are found on the dunes. They are all modern, some of them still surrounded by the original wooden fences.
IN THE IAO VALLEY
The deepest valley on Maui is that of the Iao River. The sides, nearly vertical in places, have an elevation of about 3,000 feet. About 2 miles above the town of Wailuku, well within the mountain, are walls made of stones of varying sizes up to half a ton or more. They extend over several acres of land and their structure is quite complicated. Mostly, they are borders of taro patches, though some of them mark house sites or garden inclosures. One wall, supporting a terrace, is 8 to 10 feet high and contains very heavy stones.
Near the head of the Iao Valley there are fully 40 acres of taro beds. A trail formerly led from this spot to the south shore of the island, near Lahaina. It can not now be traced, being obliterated by slides.
Residents of Wailuku say these places were in use only 50 or 60 years ago.
Many evidences of former occupation have been destroyed in operating the extensive sugar plantations.
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KAUAI ISLAND
There seems to be less evidence of Hawaiian occupancy on Kauai than on any other of the five principal islands. Comparatively few heiaus are reported. Some of those which were in existence when the whites came have been destroyed or defaced to such a degree in establishing sugar plantations that their original form is uncertain; while others are so covered with vegetation, either natural or due to cultivation, that nothing definite can be ascertained as to their size or structure.
The site which might be considered as possessing the greatest interest is an aboriginal quarry and workshop where material for stone implements was obtained and shaped into desired forms. There can be no doubt as to the existence of such a place; but no one now knows its location, unless it be some of the older Hawaiians, who, however, profess entire ignorance in regard to it. Mr. William H. Rice, of Lihue, once induced some natives to conduct him to the spot. He believes that if he alone had gone his guides would have fulfilled their promise; but unfortunately several other men joined him, and the natives, either suspicious of their intentions, or not wishing the premises to become publicly known, pursued a devious and wearisome journey through the jungle, crossing gulches and clambering up and down cliffs until the white men were thoroughly bewildered and exhausted; then announced that they "couldn't find it," and led the party home.
LIHUE
At Niumahu, 2 miles from Lihue, on the road leading south and west from the harbor of Nawiliwili, is a fish pond known as Alakoka. It is a short distance above the mouth of the river, where the little valley widens in a half-moon shape, the stream flowing close to the bluff on the right. The bottom land on the other side is so low as to be swampy. Along the river bank on this side is a heavy wall of stone and earth, reaching the higher land at each end, thus forming a pond of 15 or 20 acres in which the ancient Hawaiians kept their surplus catch of fish. The wall has been raised and strengthened by its present owner, a Chinese, who raises ducks instead of fish.
WAILUA
Near the mouth of the Wailua River, 6 miles from Lihue, is the former abode of the royal family. The place is so overgrown, except in the few cultivated spots, that no examination of it can be made. No traces of the residences are apparent, although the stone boundary walls of the grounds are still standing. The site of the royal cemetery is set aside as public property. There is nothing now to indicate that any interments were ever made in it. The "Birthstone," on or by which all prospective heirs to the throne must be born in order to insure their right to the succession, still lies in the brush near the foot of a little cliff. In case of a dispute among the claimants to the throne this stone had the power, by some means of which the knowledge has now been lost, to determine which, if any, of the contestants was entitled to possession.
The "Sacrifice Stone," also, is in its original place, being so large that it can not be easily removed. Formerly this had a grass roof over it, supported by high poles. When the victim's life was extinct his body was suspended to a rafter or crossbeam at the top of the structure and left there until the flesh had decayed. The bones were then interred on top of the bluff in the rear. It is said that the corpses of chiefs and others of high rank were wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until the flesh fell away. The skeletons were then buried.
A mile from the mouth of the Wailua River, on a narrow plateau between it and a small tributary, the summit level being about 200 feet above the water, is a heiau in fairly good condition. It is one of the large structures of its kind, but is so overgrown that measurements or close description are not possible. It is supposed to be the one which was sacred to the devotions of the highest priesthood. The common people were not allowed to venture near it, and even the king could not visit it without special permission involving the most complicated ceremonies. It has passed into possession of the county and will be restored as nearly as can be to its pristine state and thus preserved.
On a mass of loose rocks, resulting from disintegration of an old lava flow, projecting into the ocean half a mile east from the mouth of the Wailua River, and near the race track, is a heiau of irregular construction. The extreme measurements are 80 feet north and south by 200 feet east and west. The wall on the side toward the sea is higher and wider along the central half than it is nearer the ends. Small inclosures, bounded by single rows of stones, probably mark the sites of houses for priests and attendants. Along the inner side of the wall next to the water are four depressions, remains of partially filled well-like or cistern-like excavations; similar hollows, obscured by brush, are also next to the inner foot of the opposite wall. A large rock in the form of a triangular prism, standing upright, with one end firmly imbedded in the ground, was no doubt a "god" of some kind; it has a slight hollow or "cup" pecked in the flat top. There are several irregular rows of stones outside of the inclosure. Dense growth prevents the examination necessary for a closer description.
DUNE BURIALS
Four miles east of Lihue a spur of the plantation railway was run into the dunes to procure sand for making fills. In the course of this work human bones were found, the remains of one individual in one spot and of at least two others not far away. None of these bones seemed to have been long underground. Search in the vicinity, over bare spots among the ridges whose upper portions have been carried away by the winds, revealed indications of burials in at least six other places. Such bones as were found were decayed or in fragments. Among them was part of the skull of a very young infant. A quantity of cooking stones, some coral rasps or files, and a much weathered fragment of a wooden bowl, denoted that camps had been made on the dunes. As the beach is smooth, firm, and extensive, providing an excellent place for landing canoes or dragging seines, these remains probably pertain to parties or families who maintained fishing camps here.