CHAPTER III.

The Swamping of the Canoes.—They Return and Land on Molokai.—The King Is Given Dry Kapa and Malo, as Also Awa and Food.—Delayed by the Storm, the Party Is Provided With Food.—After Four Months, They Prepare to Embark.

The double canoe of Keawenuiaumi was swamped as well as all the others, not one was saved. The people suffered a terrible cold and many of their things were lost; the food, the fish and meat, their apparel and everything else. At this, the king wept in his agony and suffered severely from cold, he then said: “This is the very reason why I am in search of my servant Pakaa, because you are not equal to the occasion; you are without knowledge and do not know how to tell the future. My buttocks were never wet when Pakaa was my sailing master; but since I have taken you, they have become wet.”

When Pakaa saw that the wind and the storm was in its fury, he said to the boy: “Cover up the wind calabash, for your master may perish, as he is indeed cold.” Kuapakaa then placed the cover on the calabash, Laamaomao, and the calm came immediately and the canoes of the king were saved.

After the canoes had been righted, the king gave his orders to all the canoes, saying: “Let us return, perchance the boy’s canoe is still floating where we left it. Should he invite us to land we must obey.”

After giving his orders the several canoes turned about and all returned, without maintaining their order, for each was anxious to get to the place where Kuapakaa was floating. In this return, the canoe of Keawenuiaumi being the swiftest, was the first to arrive at the place where Kuapakaa was waiting, while the others were strung out behind.

When Kuapakaa saw the king’s canoe, he said to Pakaa: “Here comes the double canoe of my master, Keawenuiaumi.” Pakaa said to the boy: “When your master arrives and should show a willingness to land, say to him that you wish to go in ahead a little ways and wait for him, for the passage way is crooked.” By this Pakaa was anxious to keep the canoe of Keawenuiaumi behind them, for his men being stronger, they would be able to get to the landing first and in that way Pakaa would be recognized, so Pakaa thought out a way to get out of the difficulty, and made believe that the way in was crooked. As the canoe of Keawenuiaumi was drawing near, Kuapakaa again chanted, saying:

Gently! Gently! Comes the wind, the rain; the isle is in darkness, The master is on the edge of disaster. The rain drove, the canoe rolled, The sea is raging, the moi leap. The inwards are retreating, the waves are being fed, The burden is cast away. They look about in doubt for love of the children, They weep for the love of the wife. The seat is unsafe, insecure. The dog barks at the sea, It bites at the prow of the canoe. The old companion is become strained, The new companion is become separated, The comradeship of the priest is also parted, He goes alone, he shudders, He twists, he shivers, The hairs on the temple are wet, Ye stubborn sailors of the ocean, ’Tis the first cold day for the king. Say, Keawenuiaumi, come ashore.

Keawenuiaumi made reply: “Yes, I will come ashore for your very words have come true. I was willing to land, but these fellows were so learned. I thought they were indeed learned, but I have found that they are not.” Kuapakaa said: “There, you have faced disaster. Come ashore at the boy’s landing.” The king then expressed his willingness to land. Kuapakaa then said to the king: “Say, listen to me; we will go in first and when I beckon to you, you may come, because the passage way is crooked, and furthermore the proper time for making a landing is past. Had you consented to make land at my first invitation, we would have had no trouble; for at that time the tide was low and the coral exposed; but now the tide is high, so that the coral is covered deep, and we will miss our bearings if we go in together.” To this, Keawenuiaumi gave his consent, saying: “That is well.”

Pakaa and his son therefore entered the passageway first, and when they stopped they beckoned to the king’s canoe as well as the others to come in. This zigzag was continued until they were almost in, when Pakaa said to the boy: “Say, let us paddle in; you must exert all your strength, that we may land before the others.” With this the two worked with all their might and made land before the others. Pakaa then jumped ashore and ran into the house reserved for the preparation of food, thinking that in this house he would be safe, for such houses were never entered by kings. When Pakaa jumped from the canoe, Lapakahoe saw and thought he recognized Pakaa by the limp he made while running, for his legs had been injured; but he was not certain, believing that Pakaa was in Kaula.

Late that afternoon, all the canoes made land, including the canoe of Keawenuiaumi, who still sat on the platform and had not come ashore, for the reason that he did not have any clothes, and no loin cloth, all having been wet and the spare ones had all been lost at sea. When Kuapakaa saw his master sitting there naked on the canoe, he returned to the house and told his father of what he had seen. When Pakaa heard this, he took out a loin cloth and gave it to Kuapakaa, saying to the boy: “You take this loin cloth and give it to your master, and the loin cloth that is wet, you bring it here, for you are privileged to wear his loin cloth and he yours.” [120]

Kuapakaa therefore took up the loin cloth and returned to Keawenuiaumi. When he came to the king’s presence he said: “Here is my loin cloth, you can use it and let me take your wet one.” Keawenuiaumi reached out for the loin cloth and looked at it, and saw that it looked like his own, the kind he used to wear when Pakaa had charge. At seeing this, Keawenuiaumi said: “Say, this loin cloth looks just like my own.” Kuapakaa replied: “This is my own loin cloth, but you being the king, I give it to you.” Kuapakaa then took the wet one and returned to Pakaa, who said to him: “Hang up your master’s loin cloth over the door way, so that the people will not try to enter this house. You can enter it and can go out, because all the sacred things belonging to your master are free to you. When the king’s stewards come for food you can hand it to them from the inside of this house, while they stand outside.” This was cunning of Pakaa. [121]

When Kuapakaa looked and saw that Keawenuiaumi was sitting without any covering, he took pity on him and so told Pakaa about it. When Pakaa heard this he took out a kapa from the wind calabash, Laamaomao and handed it to Kuapakaa, saying: “You take this and give it to your master. If he should say that it looks like his, you tell him, that this is your own kapa made by your mother.” The name given to such kapas was “ouholowai of Laa.” [122] They were very sweet, having been scented with the fragrant shrubs and vines of Laa and Puna, called the olapa, the kupaoa, the mokihana, the apiipii and others.

When Kuapakaa came to the presence of the king with the kapa and handed it to Keawenuiaumi, Keawenuiaumi took it and spread it out. As he did this he caught the sweet scent of the olapa. He then inquired of the boy: “Where did you get this kapa?” The boy replied: “It belongs here in Molokai.” Keawenuiaumi said: “There are no kapas in other places like those of Hawaii; and they are not common with other chiefs. I am the only one who possesses such things. I believe this is my kapa. It must be that Pakaa is here.” “It was my mother that made this kapa for my own use, for my mother is a chiefess of Molokai and kapas are scented on this island, and it has been kept for my own use. The name given my kapa is wailau. [123] That is the best and most fragrant kapa in this place, like what you call the ouholowai of Laa; they smell the same.” This satisfied the king.

That evening the chiefs came together with their men and as they were sitting quite close to the king, the king said: “If Pakaa was here, of an evening like this, he would have my awa ready with two fresh hinalea. [124] I would drink the awa and as its effects come over me, I would feel like a newly made net, nice and snug, all night. How I do miss Pakaa.”

When Kuapakaa heard this he returned to his father, Pakaa, and said: “My master is in want of some awa, and he has expressed his affection for you and showed that he still remembers you.” When Pakaa heard this, he took down the awa cup, the awa dish, the grass used for straining awa, the piece of awa and two portions of awa already prepared and said to the boy: “You take these to your master and show them to him. If he should ask you to prepare the awa for him, give your consent. Then you turn to one side where it is dark, leave the piece that is not prepared, take up the portions that are ready, strain them into the cup. He will compliment you for being very quick, for I was ever ready with these things when I was with him. After you have strained the awa into the cup, hand the cup to your master, then run as fast as you can to the pool where we keep the hinalea and catch two for your master, for he would want the fish to take away the bitter taste of the awa from his mouth.”

When Kuapakaa came to the presence of Keawenuiaumi, he said: “Here is my awa for you.” The king looked and saw that it was quite a large piece, so he said: “You had better prepare it for me.” Kuapakaa then turned into a dark corner, took the portions already prepared, strained the same and handed the cup to the king. The boy then ran for the fish, the two hinalea, and shortly after he returned with them to the king.

Because of these things performed by the boy, Keawenuiaumi complimented him for being quick and for carrying himself like a person who has always lived with kings, and for conducting himself so well. The king then drank up the awa and as the effects of it stole over him, combined with the weariness of a hard and eventful day, he fell into a deep sleep.

Upon seeing this, Kuapakaa decided to uncover the wind calabash, Laamaomao, and to keep it uncovered, so that the winds would continue to blow and the storm hold for days; and in this way keep the king with him. So Kuapakaa uncovered Laamaomao, and the storm kept up day after day; and by it the expedition for the search was postponed. Because of this storm Keawenuiaumi and his men were forced to wait for the abating of the storm until one month went by, when their food which had been brought from Hawaii was exhausted. At this, the chiefs went before Keawenuiaumi and told him of their trouble, that they had run out of food. When Keawenuiaumi heard this he sent a man to go and ask of the boy, if he had any food. Said the king: “If he has any food, tell him that we are without any.”

When the man came before Kuapakaa he told him what Keawenuiaumi had said to him. When Kuapakaa heard this, he said: “There is food; but you must go back to the king and tell him the food is up in the uplands. Tell him there are six chiefs here and I have six small patches. Furthermore, if you should go for food, don’t take the big potatoes only and leave the small ones; for if you do so you will not get another chance to go up there for food.” With this the messenger returned to the presence of Keawenuiaumi and reported to him of what the boy had said. When Keawenuiaumi heard this he ordered his men and the chiefs to go up for food.

When they came to the uplands, where the potatoes were growing they saw that there were six large patches, each of very great extent, and were so long that the other ends could not be seen. The men then said to themselves: “How wonderful! The boy said there were six small patches, but here there are six very large patches.” The men then began to dig up the potatoes, and after they had dug up enough, they collected the potatoes and in obedience to the boy’s order, they took the large ones as well as the small ones and returned with the potatoes to the beach, lighted the ovens, and after the potatoes were cooked, they sat down and ate their fill.

After this Kuapakaa came to them and said: “I want you to take the large potatoes for your own use and keep the small ones for me.” “Why, no, not so; you must have some of the large ones, too, because the potatoes are yours.” “No,” said Kuapakaa, “you take the large ones and save the small ones for me. But I want you to do this: peel the skin and then set out the potatoes to dry.” [125] The people then asked Kuapakaa: “What do you intend doing with the food, boy?” Kuapakaa replied: “I am doing this, because I know you will eat up those potato patches and the bad weather of this land generally comes about this time, when the sea will be rough, which will keep you here for some time, for there are three bad months yet to come; Makalii, Kaelo and Kaulua. [126] In the month of Olana, [127] it is possible that fine weather will come, then you people will be able to get away. By that time my potatoes will all be consumed by you, but by doing this, saving and drying out the small potatoes, I will not be without food and will not be hungry, for I shall then live on the small potatoes which I ask you to keep for me. With this food I will be supplied during the time of planting and care of a new crop.” This talk by Kuapakaa, although true, was intended to deceive them, for Kuapakaa well knew that Keawenuiaumi was going to urge that he go along with him in the search for Pakaa, when good weather once more prevailed. The men, in obedience to this order, faithfully kept all the small potatoes after every cooking day.

When Keawenuiaumi left Hawaii on this expedition, he left word with the chiefs and the common people that he would take up a month in the search for Pakaa. He was, however, mistaken in this, for he was in Molokai for four months. In this prolonged absence the people of Hawaii began to mourn for their king, believing that he was dead. After staying in Molokai for four months, the followers of Keawenuiaumi began to think of their wives, children and parents, and there was a general feeling amongst them that they abandon the search for Pakaa and return to Hawaii.

At the expiration of the four months, during which bad weather was to prevail as predicted by Kuapakaa, he closed the wind calabash of Laamaomao, and good weather was once more experienced. He then said to the people: “This is Olana, the pleasant month, then come Welo and Ikiikii (May and June), the period of time when the fisherman’s fish line is always wet. These months are the pleasant months, and hence the fisherman’s line is never dry, because they go out fishing every day.” He then said to the chiefs and men: “Bind the lashings of the canoes, for I have kept you for four months because of the bad weather; now that good weather has come, you must return home.” When the chiefs heard this, they made ready their canoes, renewed the lashings, and pushed the canoes out into the sea and moored them, for the expedition of kings is ever alert. Very late that evening, when it was almost midnight, Kuapakaa called out in a chant, as follows:

Arise! Arise! Arise! The night is spent, the night is spent. All tiredness, soreness and weariness have vanished; Also darkness that prevents the sailing of canoes. Arise! Arise! Arise! Hikiliimakaounulau [128] is up, The star at the end of the land. Arise, make a move! Arise, make a move!

Upon hearing this, the chiefs said: “How strange! it is not yet anywheres near daylight, but the boy is calling us to sail off. This is only in the early evening.”