STRANGE FANCIES OF THE NATIVES.

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the raw flesh of men: they had seen fire and smoke about their mouths from cigars, and they reported them, therefore, to be Fire-gods-gods of the Volcano. They told in an exaggerated manner of the whiteness of their skin, the brightness of their eyes, their garments rough and strange, their heads horned like the moon, and their speech all unintelligible gibberish-" A hikapalale, hikapalale—hioluai, oalakai.”

The fire, they said, burns at their mouths like Pelethe Volcano. They have doors in their sides for property; openings going far down into their bodies, where they thrust their hands, and draw knives, and iron, and beads, and cloth, and nails, and every thing else, for their bodies are full of treasure. Then a warrior by the name of Kapupuu, hearing of the great quantity of iron about the ships, (which they had learned the value of by what had occasionally drifted ashore in strange pieces of wood,) at once said, "I will go and seize the iron, for plunder is my business." He boldly went, according to his boast, but while in the act of purloining was shot. Then the cluster of canoes with him fled, and reported that Kapupuu was slain by a fire-ball, a pu from the volcano-the pu being the only instrument like a gun which they were acquainted with.

The succeeding night there was a discharge of cannon from on board the ships, and a display of fire-works that filled up the measure of wonder and dread in the minds of those rude barbarians. Unable to believe any thing else than that the new-comers were supernatural beings, they called the Captain Lono, that being the name of

a fabled god of theirs who had gone into a foreign land, and now they supposed had come back.

It was a tabu-week with them, when canoes were ordinarily forbidden from being on the sea, and it was death to be seen in one at such a time. But when they saw Lono's moku there-the moving island of their god-they were not afraid to use their canoes, because their god had come to them, and his ship must be a heiau, a temple. When they observed the seamen calking the sides of the vessels, they called them Mokualii's company, Mokualii being the god of canoemakers. Those who had fire at their mouths they denominated Lono-pele-poe, or Lono's volcano-company.

But every wonder has its day and its end, and familiarity with the haöle, as they called the strangers, at length began to breed dislike, if not contempt, on the part of the eager natives. They found the foreigners to be like themselves in lusts and covetousness, if superior in power. At length the unwarranted act of the great Lono in breaking down the wooden fence of their sacred morai, or heiau, and loading his boats with it, in order to supply his ships with wood, provoked their indignation beyond the power of their superstitious dread of the gods to restrain.

Thefts, reprisals, insults, and bloodshed followed quick upon one another, until a deep, uncontrollable resentment was kindled among the natives. But Captain Cook--for he was the Lono, even according to the narrative of Ledyard, one of his men, who landed with him on the morning of his death, and was near him

HOMAGE PAID TO CAPTAIN COOK.

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during the fatal contest-blinded by some fatal cause, could not perceive it, or, too self-confident, would not regard it.

There is an historical work of much value written in the Hawaiian tongue, a few years ago, by some of the early adult pupils of the Seminary at Lahaina-luna, and called Ka Moolelo Hawaii. Its materials were derived from old men then living, and the accounts they gave were afterwards compared and corrected by their teacher, Rev. Sheldon Dibble, until a valuable authentic volume grew therefrom. The authors of this say, that owing to their conviction that Lono (Captain Cook) was a god, the people generally paid him divine honors. They offered him hogs, food, kapa, (native cloth,) and other articles, as they were accustomed to bestow them on their deities, not expecting any thing in exchange. The priests approached him with prostrations, and cast their red kapa over his shoulders; then receding a little, they presented hogs, and a variety of other offerings, with long addresses rapidly enunciated, which were a repetition of their prayers and religious homage.

"If on any occasion he went inland, the mass of the people fled through fear, while all who remained fell down and worshipped him. He was led into the houses and temples of the gods, and worshipped there also; and all this adoration was received without remonstrance, as in the case of Herod. Wherefore, some, perhaps, may think for this cause, and for another already mentioned, he was smitten of God, and died.”

These were the circumstances of that melancholy event, as gathered from the Moolelo Hawaii, and the Life of Ledyard: In a contest that ensued after the demolition of the morai by Captain Cook, the stealing of one of the ship's boats, and the killing of a chief in a canoe, by a shot from one of the ships, the Captain imprudently struck a high chief with his sword. Upon this the chief, Kalaimano-Kahoowaha, seized him instinctively with his powerful grasp in order to hold him, but with no idea of taking his life, Lono being, in his view, a god that could not die. But when he struggled to free himself, and groaned as he was about to fall, the chief cried, "He groans, he is not a god,” and instantly slew him.

The fight then became general, in which many of the natives were killed and some of the Captain's guard. In the end the savages were routed and fled inland, taking with them the bodies of the fallen Navigator, and four of his companions. The king there presented the body of the captain in sacrifice to the gods, and after that ceremony was performed, they proceeded to remove the flesh from the bones in order to preserve them. The flesh was consumed by fire; the heart was eaten by some children who had mistaken it for the heart of a dog. Their names were Kupa, Mohoole, and Kaiwikokoole, one of whom was living only a few years ago. Some of the bones of the dead were afterwards returned to the ship, and the rest preserved by the priests, and worshipped.

Ledyard's account of the same transactions is this:

THE NARRATIVE OF LEDYARD.

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"Cook, perceiving the people determined to oppose his designs, and that he should not succeed without further bloodshed, ordered the lieutenant of marines, Mr. Phillips, to withdraw his men and get them into the boats, which were then lying ready to receive them. This was effected by the sergeant; but the instant they began to retreat Cook was hit with a stone, and perceiving the man who threw it, he shot him dead. This occasioned the guard to face about and fire, and then the attack became general. Cook and Mr. Phillips were together, a few paces in the rear of the guard, and perceiving a general fire without orders, quitted Teraiobu, and ran to the shore to put a stop to it; but not being able to make themselves heard, and being close pressed upon by the chiefs, they joined the guard, who fired as they retreated.

"Cook having at length reached the margin of the water, between the fire of the boats, waved with his hat for them to cease firing and come in; and while he was doing this, a chief from behind stabbed him with one of our iron daggers, just under the shoulder-blade, and it passed quite through his body. Cook fell with his face in the water, and immediately expired. Mr. Phillips not being able any longer to use his fusee, drew his sword, and engaging the chief whom he saw kill Cook, soon dispatched him.

"His guard, in the mean time, were all killed but two, and they had plunged into the water and were swimming to the boats. He stood thus for some time the butt of all their force, and being as complete in the use of