| Show britten WOW for this paper TRAVELS LETTER NO VI LAIX LAIK OAHU HAWAIIAN ISLANDS may ast 1895 thursday may aoth alter after attending to some writing and business matters in honolulu brother edwin C dibble hitched up the mule team which elder matthew noall had brought over from late laie and took brother noall and famil family and myself out for a ride this was alie the american decoration day which is observed here the same as in in the united states I 1 was surprised to see so many stars and stripes floating from business b anti ami private residences but was reminded that nearly everything in the hawaiian nation is patterned after american institutions and that the new government is in such close sympathy with the united states that a visitor were he to judge from the spirit and influence surrounding him might easily imagine himself on uncle sams domain on my arrival at honolulu yesterday I 1 was somewhat disappointed at the appearance pe arance of the place but as I 1 traveled up and down its principal streets I 1 liked it better and better the neat dozy cozy residence of the more wealthy citizens surrounded by fine tropical orchards the extensive parks respectable business blocks government buildings well paved streets and roads can not fail to make a favorable lavo rable impression upon the stranger the ap bearance pe arance oi of honolulu and vicinity as viewed from the sea is deceptive as to size and extent owing to the dense shrubbery growing along the seashore from diamond head on the sout southeast to the schools on the northwest a distance of six miles it is after the visitor lands and begins to observe the leading features of the city and the novelty of everything around him that he is struck with the ine great change from american or european scenery A wealth of tropical foliage with is brilliant colors and the dwellings with their broad verandas shaded with vines covered with flowers attract at wherever where verone one goes there are also stately royal palms whose trunks are as smooth and rou d as if they had beep been turned on a lathe and carrying in their tops mammoth leaves twenty and thirty feet long and ot of pro port onate width the beautiful alga roba coba graceful leaves fir palms pepper and eucalyptus trees and many other kinds of beautiful shade trees are seen on every hand the fruit bearing trew trees are even more numerous most of them have been imported irom from mexico south america and the east and west indies among them are date and coco palms chiri moyas and mountain apples mangoes manghes man goes bananas and pomegranates tamarinds tama rinds and bread fruit the rose apple producing a delicious truit fruit of the taste and fragrance of the roselthe ro sethe avogardo ian ted from south america and many others among the great variety of flowers which pleases the eye are magnificent oleanders fu bias chias geraniums and morning glories which generally speaking loi for size and luxuriance lux urance eclipse anything 01 oll ol the kind in thie the united states the present number of inhabitants in f honolulu is about made up 0 about natives and halt half while 6 about 4 chinese 2000 japanese and the remainder americans and europeans the chinese occupy one section of the city and the portuguese another but the bulk of the population live intermixed this mixture ot of i aces there has never been much exhibition of race prejudices or as is shown by their free commercial and social intercourse the english language is predominant and strangers familiar with it will find no difficulty in getting along either on the streets or in the stores all the newspapers published on the hawaiian islaias are published at huno hono ulu there are ten or twelve periodicals published in english some ot of these are daily others weekly and monthly four or five papers are published shed in the hawaiian and two iwo each in clinese Cn inese japanese a and portuguese the harboe of honolulu was discovered by the captain of a trading vessel november alsi 1794 who named it fairhaven Fairba ven and in the hawaiian language has the same meaning though small it is perfectly sate safe in all kinus ot of weather being completely landlocked its ent entrance nince is through the coral reef which surrounds the islands and is deep enough to admit the largest ships afloat in the ocean honolulu is the capital of the hawaiian islands Isi ands and the only town of commercial importance in the group the business part ot of the cily is situated near the harbor fort street being the principal thoroughfare the p private avate residences most of which stand in their own gardens extend two miles up the historical valley two m miles les toward the town of waikiki and two miles westward since june 1846 when the ship brooklyn en route from new boik to california with a company of about two hundred saints on board touched at honolulu the place was figured some what prominently in the history of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints the two hundred and fifty missionaries who have been sent from the headquarters of the church to labor on the hawaiian islands have all landed at and departed depart td from honolulu excepting those who have not yet returned return td most of the elders en route for the other islands ot of the pacitia the society Is lands excepted as welt weir as new Z zealand a land australia and india have at honolulu on their way out and back nearly all the elders who are appointed to labor on the different islan s of the hawaiian group sail from and arrive at honolulu as they are assigned to their i respective fields ot of labor from time to time it is also the common post office address tor for ail our missionaries la laboring buring on the hawaiian islands on the arrival of mails from america all letters and papers addressed to the missionaries find their way to box honolulu where the president ot of the honolulu branch receives them and redirects all mail matter to those ot of the eders E ders who are laboring outside of honolulu he always being posted in regard to their whereabouts this is done right at the post office without bein being obliged to pay extra local postage post agiL there rg ber berc C has been a branch of the church in honolulu lulu since 1853 and at the present time it it is the largest r t ranch in the mission containing as it does about members elder edwin C dibble is president the branch hrs has a fine meeting house erected in 1888 under the of eder E matthew noall the main building is a frame structure feet with a well proportioned tower on the east erd end it stands on punchbowl Punch bowl street about a mile from the harbor adjoining it is the mission arys cottage with four rooms on the main floor which has been the temporary home of many an elder in past years and may do service as such for many years to come in our drive today we visited the beautiful suburban town Waikiki where we called on an old faithful member of the church called folika cheis the president of the relief society in waikiki and during her long experience in the church she has made the acquaintance Uain tance of many of the elders from aion zion who have labored as miss un these islands she mentioned a number of them but seemed particularly interested in president joseph F smith who was among those who have visited her in her home she lives in a native hut with thatched root roof but owns a comfortable for table lumber dwelling standing near by the interior of which she keeps very tidy and clean the walls are covered with photographs of elders and other saints we also the kapiolani park lying on the seashore and extending out to the diamond point and returning we drove to the top of punch bowl hill from which a fine view is obtained of honolulu and harbor also of the country bordt bordering fring on the noted pearl pear harbor westward as well as to ward the interior of the island the saints in honolulu are generally poor and since the overthrow of the monarchy a great number ot of them refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the new government have been thrown out of employment nearly all the natives seem to be opposed in their beart sito the dethronement of the queen and look upon the whole affair as a treacherous scheme concocted concoct td by the hie missionaries and other white adventures who have grown rich on theeb pense of the hawaiian people in many instances they look hopefully to the united states government tor for justice and think thick that their queen will shortly be restored to the throne add aad the present temporary government be forced to vacate in her favor though everything is quite and ad peace reigns supreme at present it is evident that the troubles are not yet over nor is is the die dissatisfaction by any means confined to the natives but many influential people among the whites those particularly who failed to bee bec me officeholders office ottice holders under the new government are not in sympathy with the administration our brethren here are taking no part whatever in political af affairs lairs but they have in many instances suffered under the suspicion that they were in in sympathy with the other white people who pretend great friendship for the natives but who in reality are their secret enemies on this account whole branches of the church have actually withered away or died spiritually and the elders laboring on the respective tive islands have had experiences in his connection different terent dif to anything had by their predecessors in the ministry there are numerous instances where natives matie have resurrected their belief in their ancient gods at least in part thinking that by this means they may may obtain their rights and have their own government re dished an effort it is being made so I 1 am told on the part of the present government and its friends to convince the world that thai the hawaiian people are in full accord with the new government and that the opposition is is confined to a few sort heads head sonly only but I 1 am fully convinced through information which I 1 have already obtained from the most reliable sources that this is a mistake the natives generally speaking are opposed to the change of governments government and though many of them were not io in close sympathy pathy with the queen prior to her dethronement thron ement they condemned in the strongest terms the which they think was practised practiced in connection with the overthrow of the friday may aist I 1 paid a visit to the government beddings bud dings in Honolulu when I 1 had a pleasant interview with honor able sanford B dole the president oi of the hawaiian republic he is a tall stately gentleman of military hearing and pleasant address he wears an extra long beard which has given occa sion ion to numerous jokes on the part oi 01 his political opponents in my interview with him he declared himself a friend of the mormons cormons Mor mons and having visited the laie plantation on several occasions soca he knew our people to be oi 01 a practical and industrious disposition and wished us success he only objected to one thing he said in connection with our practices and that was war vur our inducing the natives to emigrate to utah and then after their arrival there neglect to care for them and thereby put the hawaiian government to the expense of paying their trans port tion back I 1 assured him that it il wy apy ot of the natives had been persuaded to go to ulah against their will I 1 was not aware of it and so far as neglecting them alter their aniva I 1 know t this h is to be a tact fact that abat no other class of emigrants had been cared for by the smuts saints uke the hawaiian people in the first place the ciurca charca lias has bought a large tract of land on the island of oahu bahu at an gri original ginAl cost of something like 14 applaud aud this land had tor for thirty years jen ben worked as a 4 plantation and stock ranch by missionary labors in the inter at ot of the hawaiian people and a lc lew w years year sago ago also alfo a ranch was bought by lip be church in utah fur for the special bene fit ol of those natives who had emigrated to the headquarters of the church and had bad ever since bince been conducted in the r interest under the direction of competent men who had bad labored as missionaries on the islands and knew how to we care for the hawaiians Hawa Hawaii nans ans if after all thib special care and outlay ot ol means in their behalf some of them get diseati fied and wanted to return to th their e ir native islands it must be fur for other causes it certainly was not on account of any neglect on the part pan of the church or its representatives to care lor for them the president seemed pleased with my ex pia nation and expressed a desire to converse with our presiding elder on the islands as I 1 suggested he could obtain irom from him lull particulars particular of our missionary operations here better than irom from me who had just arrived I 1 at iao i ao 30 p m I 1 left honolulu with a mule team in company with president matthew noall his wife and three children bound for laie thirty two mi es distant the ride up the beautiful valley was very in in le cresting resting and after traveling six miles from honolulu we found ourselves on the top of the so called palli which is a precipice 1200 feet high with mountains on either side reaching a height of over 3 feet the view from the top of the palli looking northward is grand beyond description the ocean can be seen also in looking southward the road leading down the palli is cut out in the face of the solid mountain most of the way and is very less than half a mile the traveler drops down over a thousand feet both wheels of our vehicle were tied in mak aug the descent and all hands walked down including the mules having reached the f foot oot of the mountain the bourney was continued in a northwesterly direction along the coast passing through a number of native vi flages and one sugar plantation in three of 0 these villages and datiana Ka tiana there are bunches branches of the church alter after a romantic ride part ol of the way traveling on the sands of the sea shore we arrived at laie about midnight in my travels today and ride in and around honolulu yesterday my attention was continually drawn to new features never before having visited a country within the limits of the tropics I 1 had the pleasure for the first time in my lile life to see sugar cane fields rice fields kalo patches cocoanut coco anut groves banana groves palm trees breadfruit bread fruit trees mango trees etc etc not to mention tropical jungles and the many varieties of shub bery dry flowers and grasses which are not met with in in a colder climate but perhaps the most interesting and kug ng feature of all is the pi peculiar culiar volcanic nic formation of the country itself the almost lar mountains terminate in ridges so sharp and narrow that it would seemingly be impossible for any one to walk along them even in single file were it possible to climb to the top the mountains cover most of the island the fertile land suitable for cultivation being very limited limbed ANDREW JENSON |
