56 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



and alisdlutc iViulalisni. The king 2nade his head chiefs his principal bene- 

 Hciaries. Tlic.w in turn, established a grade of lessei" chiefs or landlords, who 

 gathered under them the common people as tenants at will. The lands being 

 divided, those who held the land owed every service and obedience to the chief- 

 tain landlords. On these landlords the king relied for men, labor, munitions 

 and materials to carry out his plans and fight his battles. 



T.\.\ES. 



This system was so (itt'ensive that it is said that the laborer did not receive 

 one-third the returns due liim for liis toil; the lion's share of evei-ything, even 

 in this simple .system, went to the over-lords, in the form of a tax. There was 

 first, tiie royal tax that was collected by each grade paying to its superiors until 

 the whole tax, which consisted of such articles as hogs, dogs, fish, fowl, potatoes, 

 yams. taro. olona, feathers, and such articles of manufacture as calabashes, 

 nets, mats, tapas and canoes, was collected. In addition to the foregoing, the 

 people were subject to sjiecial taxes at any time, and labor taxes at all times, 

 when they were called u|)on to build walls, repair fish ponds, cultivate the chief's 

 taro ponds, or construct or repair the temiilcs. 



Besides all these, and other means of taxing the people, there were customs 

 which made it necessary to make extraordinary presents to the king, especially 

 when that dignitary was travelinu'. with tlie iienalty that if enough presents 

 were not brought, plunder and rapine was the con.sequenee. With this hasty 

 review of .some of the more general and especially interesting or .striking pecu- 

 liarities of the Hawaiian people, as a branch of the Polynesian race, that are of 

 importance as salient characteristics when we wish to r-onipare them and their 

 natural human history v.nth that of other races of manUin<l, we can now pass to a 

 brief review of their arts, occupations, ornanu-nts. weapons, tools and kindred 

 sub.jeets in which they made use oi the materials with which nature surrounded 

 them. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE HAWAIIAN IIO'JSE: ITS FURNISIIIX(iS AND HOrSEHOLD 

 UTENSILS. 



The houses of the common people were little more than single-room straw- 

 thatched hov'els, supported upon a crude frame-work of poles, the structure 

 in many instances being scarcely sufficient to shelter the family. On the other 



(Dtritcription of Plate Continued from Opposite Page.) 

 woven over a wooden umeke or a gourd-calabash, a fine Niihau [makaloa] mat, a .sled fpajia 

 holua I for coasting on the grass on steep hills and two spears; in 2 are a number of small 

 objects including gourd water bottle [huewai], small idol, canoe model, bowling stones | ulu- 

 maika], Hawaiian brick shaped pillows [uUma], gourd hula drum fpahu hula], three large 

 and several small umekes, fans, a feather malo or waistband and a large and small kahili ; in 

 3 the old Hawaiian keeper fkahu] is surrounded by numerous objects of native manufacture, 

 including poi pounders [pohaku kni poi], kukui nut and feather leis, the famous skirt fpa-u] 

 of 0-0 feathers (made for the sister of Kamehameha III. and last used over the coffin of 

 Kalakaua) and two large and two small kahilis; in i are three large umekes in nets |koko], 

 a carrying stick [auamo], a gourd fish line container [poho aho], several choice umckc^s, rare 

 tapas, kukui nut leis and a small kahili. 



