I02 The Ancient Hawaiian House. 



arm of a man, and after being fastened in the ground are about five feet bigli. The whole number 

 on each side of each of our houses is seven. The tops are excavated to admit a pole about an inch 

 in diameter, which extends horizontally the whole length of the building, and to which the posts are 

 all lashed with strings made from a small but strong vine [ieie?]. 



The rafters are as numerous as the posts, and nearly as large, and are fastened to their tops 

 with strings. The principal strength of the joint arises from an extension of the outside of the post, 

 two or three inches above the larger and inner part, which is received into a corresponding notch 

 made in the end of the rafters. The upper ends of the rafters rest on and are lashed to a ridge pole, 

 supported at each end by a long post reaching from the ground to the peak of the roof. Between 

 the corners and these middle posts there are others parallel to them diminishing in length according 

 to the inclination of the roof. These complete the frame of the building. The next business is to 

 prepare a foundation for the thatch. This is done by lashing small round sticks, at intervals of five 

 or six inches, to the posts of the sides and ends, from the ground to the ridge pole ; to these the 

 thatch of grass is tied by strings made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk. In the best built houses, 

 between the sticks and the grass, there is an inner thatch, or lining, of the leaves of the sugar-cane 

 or banana. 



The sequel mvtst be told, and it is one tliat the small size of the house timbers 



shotild prepare us for. 



Native dwellings are objectionable in many respects. The wind, dust and rain find ready access 

 to ours in every part ; and not only put us to great inconvenience, but often greatly endanger our 

 health. The leaves of the sugar-cane with which they are lined, and the grass and mats forming 

 the floors, are secure and appropriate harbours for the mice, fleas and cockroaches which infest this 

 land, and by which we are greatly annoyed. s'' But were the buildings ever so comfortable for the 

 time being, their frailty would be an objection: the thatch must be frequently rejaired, and the 

 whole house entirely rebuilt every three or five years [p. 240]. 



Of the hoitses of Lahaina, Maui, Stewart writes (p. 1S2) : 



The number of inhabitants is about two thousand five hundred. Their houses are generally 

 not more than eight or ten feet long, six or eight broad, and from four to six feet high ; having one 

 small hole for a door which cannot be entered but by creeping, and is the only opening for the ad- 

 mission of light and air. They make little use of these dwellings, except to protect their food and 

 clothing, and to sleep in during wet and cold weather ; and most generally eat, sleep, and live in the 

 open air, under the shade of a kou, or breadfruit tree. 



Concerning the houses of Honoltilu, then the more fashionable town, he has little 



that is complimentary to say: 



The houses of the chiefs are generally large, for the kind of building, — from forty to sixty feet 

 in length, twenty or twenty-five in breadth, and eighteen or twenty in height to the peak of the 

 roof [p. 137]. [See Fig. 93, p. 109.] 



Of the makaainana or common people as distinct from the chiefs, and composing 

 the bulk of the poptilation he paints a sad-colored but trite picture: 



The greatest wealth they can boast consists of a mat on which to sleep — a few folds of kapa 

 to cover them — one calabash for water, and another for poi — a rude implement or two for the culti- 

 vation of the ground — and the implements used in their simple manufactures. Taro, potatoes, and 



"■ Mosquitoes were not introduced until seven years after this was written. 



[286] 



