  ATTEMPT OF HAWAIIAN PRIEST TO PRAY MORMON ELDER TO DEATH—HIS FAILURE AND HAWAIIAN DISCOMFITURE Praying to death is an old practice among the Hawaiians, that prevailed in former times more than at the present day. How successful it was I am not prepared to say. I know that it proved a failure when an attempt was made to exercise it upon me over thirty years ago. An offense, intentional or unintentional (it made no special difference which) being given, revenge was at once sought to be inflicted upon the offender without the shedding of blood. I suppose success was attained oftener when the party under anathema knew or heard of what was going on against him. The attempt against me was so secretly kept from my knowledge that I knew of no such project against me until the affair was settled in court. The episode developed, in the following way: I had leased a tract of rush, swampy land in Crater Valley, consisting of about fifty acres to a Chinaman for the cultivation of rice. Within the boundaries of this tract was an old "loi" of about a half acre which in former years had been devoted to the growing of kalo roots, from which poi is made. When the Chinamen began work on this loi with their big hoes two native women with native men came with a din and noise such as only Chinamen and Hawaiians can make and drove the Chinamen off. I was in Honolulu at the time. On returning Kupau, a noted lawyer for the konehike, (employed to watch and see that the Chinamen did not trespass upon the land) came to me and informed me of the fiasco, and was anxious to know what could be done to prevent strife. I advised that he muster all the Chinamen he could and divide them into four squads; then place one squad or division at each corner of the land which the natives were contesting for, and have them go to work. If the natives should come and drive them from one corner of the land, let the Chinamen proceed to another corner and take the place of the Chinamen stationed there, who would in turn supplant the next squad until the fourth squad should take the place of those just ousted by the natives, and resume work until they in turn were driven off. In this way the Chinamen could keep alternating all day if necessary. My policy was to limit the contest if possible to the natives and Chinamen, and if litigation had to be resorted to I preferred to defend rather than prosecute. The plan worked, and after half a day of intense noise, the echo of which was wafted through the mountains, the natives planted a suit against me as the "konehike" for ejectment. In connection with the planting of the lawsuit, the two women went and secured the services of a "Kahunapule" —a priest of the ancient order. This priest sacrificed black pigs and chickens and went through with his incantations while he feasted on pork and fowls for three weeks previous to the trial. The last act which the two contesting women were instructed to do before the trial was to express great love and respect for me, but they were to heap anathemas on Kupau, the attorney. They did meet me in a street in the city of Honolulu as I was on my way to the court house. I may here add that the purpose of the kahunapule and the meeting of the two women were not understood by me until after the trial was over and the jury, after being out two hours, came in with a verdict in my favor. During these two hours I sat in the center of the courtroom with my head resting on my hand. In the hall way of the courtroom sat ten or fifteen members of our Church, intensely interested in and anxious as to what the verdict should be. As I refused to go to lunch with the sheriff the natives believed I was praying during the two hours the jury was out, for they knew of the kahunapule though I did not, and they wanted to see which God would prove to be the more powerful. When the jury came in and announced the verdict every Church member gathered around me with expressions of "aloha" far to exceed what the two women had manifested to me on the street, although that was so public I felt ashamed. The two women left the courtroom and repaired to their Kahunapule, moaning and lamenting as they traversed the streets of Honolulu. As the accusers departed my people informed me for the first time of the action of the kahunapule and told how anxiously they had awaited the result. They remarked "we watched you during the two hours the jury were out and believed you were praying to God." At the time of the occurrence of the court proceedings my wife and I were in Honolulu ready to take the next steamer for San Francisco. Thirty-three years have passed since then, and I am still alive, notwithstanding the efforts to pray me to death. H. H. C. [Transcriber's Note: |
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