Fish-Poisoning in the Hazvaiian Islands 221 



two miles to the south, arrangements were made for a temporary 

 revival of the destructive ancient practice. 



Four men were despatched to gather auhuhu, and after an 

 ahsence of three hours they returned with four bundles containing 

 in all 128 plants. The plants were in flower and fruit and were 

 complete, having been pulled up by the roots ; they ranged in 

 height from 1>^ to 2]/. feet. (See Plates XVII A and XIX B.) 



At low tide, the men went to the shore, taking with them the 

 auhuhn, two dip nets, a small seine, two sticks, and a sack. The 

 sticks were not for driving out the fish from crannies — the poison 

 did that ; they were a means of defense against eels, which were 

 greatly feared. The men had prepared themselves for sea fishing, 

 but knowing the difficulty of photographing objects in the waves, 

 the native foreman directed them to a pool called Kekuai'o, in 

 which, it was said, many large fish had been taken. This pool was 

 irregularly oval in shape, with a surface measurement of 22 by 26 

 feet. The depth varied from 1 to 3 feet. At low tide the waves 

 lapped in at one corner, but at high tide they swept strongly 

 through the pool. There were three small rocks standing up in 

 the pool and many crevices in its sides. When first examined, it 

 seemed without fish, except for ohna', which are to be seen in all 

 the tidal pools. The only interference by the writer in what fol- 

 lowed (except for the necessary pauses for photographing) was to 

 remind the men that grass had not been brought for the packages. 

 The men set to work on a level portion of the lava flow, 20 feet 

 distant from the pool. The Inmdles were thrown down, untied, 

 and pounded as they lay (Plate XVII A). The pounders were 

 rough stones, averaging 15 pounds in weight, selected without 

 especial care. Each luan proceeded with his work according to his 

 own idea, one of the two older men beginning at the blossom end 

 of the bundle and the other at the roots. After ten minutes, all 

 the leaves, seed-pods, and twigs were broken ofl:" and the bark of 

 the stems was loosened. The bark was then rapidly and cleanly 

 peeled from the stems and roots, and the wood was discarded 



^ Young of the inanini (Hepatus sandvicensis) , called ohua until about 

 aVo inches in length. The Hawaiians daily catch great quantities with dip 

 nets for food. 



[5] 



