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Besides these, they employed the sling, and their stones were very destructive. The slings were made of human hair plaited, or the elastic fibres of the cocoanuthusk; the stones they employed were about the size of a hen's egg, generally ponderous pieces of compact lava, from the bed of a stream or the sea-beach, where they had been worn smooth by the action of the

water.

They had no shields or weapons of defence, except the javelin, which they used in warding off those that might be thrown at them; they were very expert in avoiding a stone, if they saw it thrown, and the spear men excelled in parrying the thrusts of their enemies' spears. The warriors seldom went to battle with any other dress than a maro, or narrów girdle round their loins. Some, however, wore a quantity of cloth bound round their head, which was called ahupoonui, and the chiefs were frequently dressed in their war-cloaks and helmets. The cloaks, though they gave the wearers an imposing appearance, must have proved an encumbrance, without affording much protection. Some of the helmets were made of close wickerwork, exactly fitted the head, and were ornamented along the crown. But those worn by the high chiefs only, and called mahiori, though not more useful, were peculiarly beautiful. They were made in the form of the Grecian helmet, with towering crest, and were thickly covered with the glossy red and yellow feathers of a small paroquet found in the mountains (with whose feathers the war-cloaks were also ornamented), and though they did not appear adapted to defend the head, any more than the cloaks were to guard the body, they increased the effect of the towering height and martial air of the chiefs, whose stature was generally above that of the common people. The long cloaks, reaching to the knees, or even to the ankles, were worn only by the king and principal chiefs. The royal colour was yellow, and no one besides the king was allowed to wear a cloak made entirely of yellow feathers. Those of the other chiefs were of red and yellow rhomboidal figures, intermingled or disposed in alternate lines, with sometimes a section of dark purple or glossy black. Tippets were manufactured of the same materials, and worn by the inferior chiefs or some of the principal warriors, whose rank did not entitle them to wear the cloak.

In addition to the helmet and cloak, the high chiefs occasionally wore a paraoa, or other ornament, like a breastplate, suspended from the neck by finely braided strings of human hair.

The diviners were consulted immediately before they engaged; they slew their victims, noticed also the face of the heavens, the passage of clouds over the sun, the appearance of the rainbow; and if they augured well, the principal war-god was brought out in the front of the whole army, and placed near the king. The priest then addressed a prayer to the gods, urged them to exercise their power, and prove themselves, in the ensuing engagement, mightier than the gods of their enemies; promising, at the same time, hecatombs of victims in the event of victory. The king, or commander-in-chief, now addressed the assembled warriors; and, if they were to attack, gave the signal for the hoouta, or onset, and they rushed to hui, or mix in fight.

The national war-god was elevated above the ranks, and carried by the priest near the person of the king, or commander-in-chief. Nor was this the only idol borne to the battle: other chiefs of rank had their wargods carried near them by their priest; and if the king or chief was killed or taken, the god himself was usually captured also. The presence of their deities inspired' the warriors with courage, who supposed their influence essential to victory. A description of Tairi has already been given, and he may be taken as a sample; the image was four or five feet high, the upper part wickerwork, covered with red feathers, the face a hideous form, the mouth armed with triple rows of dog's or shark's teeth, the eyes of mother-of-pearl, the head crowned with a helmet, the crest sometimes formed of long tresses of human hair. We have often conversed with Hevaheva, the priest of Tamehameha's wargod, and though there is nothing naturally repulsive in his countenance, we have been told, that, in the battle, he often distorted his face into every frightful form, and uttered most terrific and appalling yells, which were supposed to proceed from the god he bore or attended.

At times the whole army, except the reserve, engaged at once, but their battles were most commonly a succession of skirmishes, or partial engagements. The hooparau, single combat, was not unusual A haughty

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and boastful warrior would advance beyond the line of his companions, and toho, or aa (insult), in opprobrious terms, his enemies. A warrior from their army would hasten to meet him, and the encounter was continued till one was disabled or slain. We do not know whether, like the Grecian heroes, these combatants ad, dressed each other before engaging in the mortal strife, as did their neighbours in the southern seas.

Their battles were with confused noise, and boastful shouts. The first that either party slew they called erehua; frequently the victor jumped upon the expiring body, or, spurning it contemptuously, dedicated its spirit to his gods. He then cut or tore off the hair from the top of the forehead, and elevating it in the air, shouted aloud, He oho, a frontlet; and if it was a chief or warrior of note he had slain, his name was added. He oho! He oho! was reiterated through the ranks of the victor, while he despoiled the fallen warrior of his ornaments, and then dragged the heana, slain body, to the king, or the priest, who, in a short address, offered the victim to his god. The first offering they called urukoko, increasing blood. The second slain was called makawai, face of water, and the third herua-oni, sand-dug. They were all likewise brought, and offered to the gods on the field.

On some occasions, both parties discontinued the contest, as if by mutual consent, from despair of victory, or an evil omen revealed by the diviners. Such a battle was called rukurua, both beaten. This, however, was a rare occurrence; they generally fought till one of the armies was vanquished. When routed in the field, some fled to the pahu tabu, sacred enclosure, called also puhonua, or place of refuge; others repaired to their pari or fortress; and when these were distant, or the way to them intercepted, they all fled to the mountains, whither they were pursued by the victors for weeks, and even months afterward. When discovered, they were cruelly massacred on the spot, or brought down to the king and chiefs. When led to the king's presence, they usually prostrated themselves before him, and exclaimed, "E make paha, e ora paha-i runa te aro? i raro te aro?" To die perhaps, to live perhaps,→ upwards the face? or downwards the face? If the king did not speak, or said, "The face down," it was sentence of death, and some one in attendance either VOL. IV.-F

despatched the poor captive in his presence, or led him away to be slaughtered. But if the king said, "Upwards the face," they were spared, though perhaps spared only to be slaves, or to be sacrificed when the priests should require human victims. The persons of the captives were the property of the victors, and their lives entirely at their disposal. A chief taken in the field, or during the retreat, was sometimes spared, and allowed to return to his home.

The victors usually buried their dead; but the bodies of the slain, belonging to the vanquished, were generally left unburied on the field, and were devoured by hogs and dogs, or suffered to rot. Small heaps of stones were afterward piled over their bones, or on the spot where they had fallen, probably as trophies of victory.

When the king or any chief of high rank was known to be humane, or any of the vanquished had formerly been on terms of friendship with him, avoiding carefully the warriors, an individual, risking his life on the conqueror's clemency, would lie in wait for him in his walks, and, prostrating himself in his path, supplicate his compassion, or rush into his house, and throw himself on the ground before him. Though any one might have killed him while on his way thither, none dare touch him within the king's enclosure, without his orders. When the king did not speak, or directed the fugitive to be carried from his presence, which was very unusual, he was taken out and slain. Generally the prince spoke to the individual who had thus thrown himself into his power; and if he did but speak, or only recognise him, he was secure. He might either join the retinue of the sovereign, or return to his own house. No one would molest him, as he was under maru, shade, or screening protection, of the king.

When the vanquished were completely routed, or nearly cut off, their country was hoopahora, portioned out, by the conqueror, among the chiefs and warriors who had been his companions in the war by whom it was settled. The wives and children of those whom they had defeated were frequently made slaves, and attached to the soil for its cultivation, and, together with the captives, treated with great cruelty. But when there had been a great loss on both sides, or one party wished for peace, an ambassador, with a young plantaintree, and a green branch of the ti-plant, was sent with

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proposals for peace. When these were agreed to, they all repaired to the temple. There a pig was slain, its blood caught in a vessel, and afterward poured on the ground, probably to signify that thus it should be done to those who broke the treaty. A wreath of mairi, a sweet-scented plant, was then woven by the leading chiefs of both parties, and deposited in the temple. Peace was ratified, feasting, dances, and public games followed. The warriors returned to their lands, and the king's heralds were sent round his districts, to announce ua pau ka kaua, ended is the war.

The introduction of firearms, which so soon followed the discovery of the Sandwich Islands, increased the passion for conquest and plunder in the minds of the proud and turbulent chiefs by whom they were governed; and although the recent introduction and partial reception of Christianity has not induced them to discontinue the practice of war, it has already altered its ferocious and exterminating character, and the principles of clemency inculcated in the gospel have been most strikingly exemplified in the humane conduct of the chiefs by whom it has been embraced.*

There is every reason to hope that Christianity, when generally received, will subdue their restless and ambitious spirits; and under its influence they may be expected to delight in the cultivation of the useful arts of peace.

CHAPTER VII.

Burying-place of the ancient Hawaiian kings-Account of the puhonua, or city of refuge, at Honaunau-Population of this part of the coast-Advantages of Honaunau for a missionary station-Lodging at KeokeaAncient cataract of lava, and irregular vaulted avenue-Journey along the shore-Mourning ceremonies and customs at the death of the chiefs.

EVER since Saturday last, I had suffered violent pain, probably induced by the bad water we had been obliged to drink since leaving Kairua; and shortly after passing over the battle-ground, I found myself too ill to walk

* After a late civil war in Tauai, when the captives were brought before Karaimoku, the chief against whom they had rebelled, he dismissed many of them with spelling-books, and directed them to go home, and dwell in peace, cultivate their lands, learn to read and write, and worship the true God.

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