74 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



to evaporate ; the other, by impounding the sea water in small shallow ponds 

 and collecting the residue as the water evaporated. Salt Lake, on Oahu, also was 

 an important source of supply. 



The foregoing w^ere the principal productive occupations that consumed 

 the four to six hours a day that the ancient Hawaii ans devoted to labor. It is, 

 however, not to be presumed that these were the only pursuits in Avhieh they 

 could engage. Certain districts and settlements became famous for their peculiar 

 wares and products. Occasional fairs or markets were held at which the pro- 

 ducts and articles of manufacture of one district were exchanged for those of 

 another, and a crude sort of barter was thus in vogue by which, recognizing 

 the importance of specialized skill, or by utilizing special natural advantages, 

 the wants and necessities were supplied, so that food, clothing, ornaments, uten- 

 sils and tools might be had by all. 



CHAPTER VII. 



TOOLS, BIPLE^IENTS, ARTS AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE HA- 



WAIIANS. 



The Hawaiians at the time of their discovery by white men were still in the 

 stone age. The absence of iron, copper or any of the metals in a workable form 

 was a serious handicap to their development. Stone, bone and wood w^ere the ma- 

 terials at their disposal, and from them they were forced to construct such tools 

 as they could devise. 



Implements of Stone, Bone and Shell. 



Of the simpler tools made use of by the natives, none was of more value 

 and importance than was the stone adz. It w^as formerly in general use 

 throughout the whole group, as it was throughout the most of Polynesia. In 

 Hawaii adzes were made in various shapes, weights and sizes, for various pur- 

 poses, but the principle Avas the same in all and consisted in the securing of a 

 cutting or bruising edge of stone that might be held in a convenient form 

 for use as a hand tool. 



The hardest, most compact clinkstone lava was selected for the liit by the 

 ancient adz maker. The rough stone was patiently worked into form by chip- 

 ping, splitting and grinding. When at last the proper shape was secured, the 

 bit was bound to the handle, (usually made from a branch of the ban tree), by 

 means of a cord made of cocoanut or olona fiber. 



In certain cases, the bit was used without the addition of a handle. For 

 heavy work, as the felling of trees, the shaping of canoes, or the framing of 

 the house timbers, large adzes were recpiired, and there are some in existence 

 that weigh several pounds. For more exacting work, as in carving their hideous 

 idols, or finishing and mending the umekes, fine chisels were needed, and ex- 

 amples are extant that are, in effect, carving sets in which simple forms of 



