. The paradise of the Pacific: the Hawaiian Islands [electronic resource] . t, and Pili, a warlike chief, and Hawaii passedunder the sovereignty of these two. Intercoursewas maintained with the southern islands for onehundred and fifty years according to all accounts,an unusually active period, filled with romanticadventures, wild conquests, and perilous voyagesat sea. Isolated and environed by water, dependent toa considerable extent upon the fruits of the seafor their hving, the inhabitants of the Pacific islandsnaturally partook of a maritime character. TheHawaiian was in his true element w
. The paradise of the Pacific: the Hawaiian Islands [electronic resource] . t, and Pili, a warlike chief, and Hawaii passedunder the sovereignty of these two. Intercoursewas maintained with the southern islands for onehundred and fifty years according to all accounts,an unusually active period, filled with romanticadventures, wild conquests, and perilous voyagesat sea. Isolated and environed by water, dependent toa considerable extent upon the fruits of the seafor their hving, the inhabitants of the Pacific islandsnaturally partook of a maritime character. TheHawaiian was in his true element when disportingin the tide, or daring the dangers of old oceanin his craft with its curved prow and clumsy-looking outrigger. The building of their seagoing craft, with thetools the mechanic had to use, required no smallamount of time, skill, and perseverance. Thus thebuilder of a canoe became a person of great impor-tance, and the launching of his craft an eventcelebrated with a feast and the sacrifice of ahuman life. There were several classes, as well as sizes and ■I. A PICTURESQUE PEOPLE. 27 shapes of ^ The prmcipal chiefs had boatsfrom fifty to seventy-five feet in lengthy two feetin widths and from three to four feet in sterns were often raised to fifteen or twentyfeet in height^ and ornamented with crude carv-ings of grotesque figures. The size and decora-tions were supposed to indicate the rank anddignity of the chief. Next to these were the sacred craft of thepriests, their ornaments set off with houses were built on these, containmg theimage of some god, usually in the shape of a bird,and many coloured feathers decked the place. Herethe prayers for the welfare of the little fleet wereoffered, and offerings made to Lono, the god of thewaters. Not inferior in size, though less ornamented, were the stoutly built war canoes. With these the sterns were made lower and covered so as to afford protection from the darts and missiles of the ene
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