The Devil in Paradise_Captain Putnam in Hawaii by James L. Haley

Author:James L. Haley [Haley, James L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780399171123
Goodreads: 39387731
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published: 2019-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

HONORURU, SANDWICH ISLANDS

MAY 15, 1820

Dearest Harriet,

With fondest greetings, my young friend, your correspondent once again set foot upon land upon the opposite side of the world, after a passage of one day more than five months.

This was six weeks ago, and I take advantage of the departure on the morrow of the brig Viper, William Rea, to write and apprise you of events since our parting. She will be bound home, to Providence, and Capt. Rea has promised to forward this so soon as she drops anchor there.

Oh, Harriet—is not the vastness of God’s creation almost more than the mind can take in? To think, that you are half a year older since I left, and will be another half a year older by the time you read this, and I a year older from today by the time I can read a reply! If these Sandwich Islands were more forsaken, I should feel myself very isolated indeed, but in fact, there are at any time two or three ships in the bay, so there are always new people to meet.

Here in Honoruru I have been given a house, which, and you may wonder at this, was built in the native style, of sheaves of grass stitched together. If the Bible tells us that a house built on sand cannot last, can you imagine a house made of grass? Its advantage, however, lies in its very impermanence. The storms and tempests that occasionally strike these islands, they say, are of such force that even the strongest stone house of New England could not stand against them. Their perfect answer to this is to build houses of such a temporary nature that if one blows away, it can be rebuilt in a day or two.

My nearest neighbor here is a Mr. Marín, a Spanish immigrant who came to these islands many years ago, and has made a place of honor for himself. It seems, he is no less than a wizard in the arts of agriculture. He is beloved of the King for his aptitude in distilling rum and brandy, for which he is made a captain in the royal household. He also brought grapes from Europe and has a small winery, although I cannot attest to its quality. He has introduced fruits new and wonderful to the people here, such as oranges, and a delicately flavored melon called a mangoe. Several years ago he was the first to grow pine apples, a fruit that you know from the carvings on the corner posts of your bed right there in Litchfield, which have come to symbolize hospitality. But my dear, the taste of the real thing is beyond description, and pork roasted slow in its juices will make you imagine the joys of Heaven!

We cannot know how long we are to remain here, for our presence is probationary only. The Queen who holds the most power, whose name is Kahumanu, and her prime minister, who is a mighty and forceful soldier

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