Febuuauy 9, 1883. 



SCIJENCE. 



awaj-, raised it to the lieight of the observa- 

 tory, aud carried it against the cast-iron 

 colamn through whicli pass the connections 

 between the top and the registering apparatns ; 

 destroying the same, aud preventing further 

 observation of the auemometer. Manila was 

 in the centre of tlie greatest violence ; at a 

 short distance from the city, the barometer 

 stood 3| tenths higher. 



Effects. — -The tj'phoon was the most severe 

 that has visited the islands for flfty j-ears. 

 Houses were unroofed, vessels driven ashore, 

 whole villages prostrated, trees torn up by 

 the roots ; metal plates, tiles, timbers, and 

 heavy weights were carried to great heights 

 and distances. Millions of property- were de- 

 stroyed in the city and its suburbs ; the grow- 

 ing cane aud hemp in the provinces were 

 seriousl}- damaged , thousands of people are 

 houseless and penniless, and general distress 

 and business prostration are tlie result. The 

 raiu saturated everj- thing that the wind ex- 

 posed ; what was left, more or less injured, 

 was further ruined by another t3-phoon of al- 

 most equal violence, which occurred Nov. 5. 

 Samuel Kneisland. 



CAPTAIN C. E. BUTTON ON THE 

 HAWAIIANS. 



Captain Ddtton of the United-States Army has 

 just returned from a sojourn of seven months on the 

 Hawaiian Islands, where he went for the purpose of 

 studying the volcanic phenomena. Although most 

 of his time was necessarily devoted to geological 

 investigation, he yet found time to collect a large 

 mass of ethnological data, which he presented in a 

 most interesting foiTa at a meeting of tlie Anthro- 

 pological society of Washington, held Jan. 2. 



He said that in color the inhabitants are of a 

 bronze shade about midway between the color of the 

 North-American Indian and the Malaj'an. The gen- 

 eral features, however, are very unlike those of our 

 Indians, and partake in part of the character of the 

 European and in part of that of the African tribes, 

 though more strongly of the former. In stature the 

 Hawaiians are large, and equal the Anglo-Saxon race. 

 There are, however, two broadly marked social castes, 

 and these differ physically almost as widely as they 

 do socially. The ruling class are lighter in color, 

 and larger in stature, being usually above six feet in 

 height, and sometimes reaching six feet seven inches. 

 They also tend to obesity, and are readily distin- 

 guishable fi-ora the lower classes in numerous other 

 ways. The Hawaiian Islanders belong to the finer 

 and better of the two great races of men which 

 about equally share the Polynesian Islands. They 

 were never cannibals, and notliiiig offends them more 

 than the charge of having eaten Captain Cook. 



Many facts point to the East-Indian Archipelago 

 as the portion of the globe from which these people 

 originally came ; and among these evidences are 

 their possession, when first seen by Europeans, of the 

 dog, the pig, and the domestic fowl, none of which 

 could have come from America. Their language 

 aUies them very closely to certain Boruean tribes, 



and partictdarly to the Dyaks. This affinity is espe- 

 cially obsei-vable in their numerals. 



Their legendary lore, wliicli is amazingly rich, also 

 belongs to the East-Indian type, and even partakes 

 in a striking manner of the character of that of 

 India, Western Asia, and Egypt. Their mytli relat- 

 ing to the creation of woman is identical with that 

 in Genesis, and may have been borrowed from the 

 early missionaries; but against this view is the re- 

 markable fact that it appears in an archaic form of 

 their language which only the priesthood can fully 

 understand. The present king Kalakaua is much 

 interested in the ethnology of his people, and believes 

 in their American origin, — a belief which the 

 speaker did not share. 



The population of the Hawaiian Islands is dense, 

 and every thing points to the conclusion that this 

 has been the case for a very long period. The arable 

 lands ai-e confined to belts around the islands extend- 

 ing inward from six to twelve miles to the beds of 

 lava or steep sides of the mountains. These lands 

 are divided uj) into very small lots by means of stone 

 walls. 



The state of society is by no means low or savage. 

 Society is well organized according to a rigid system. 

 This system very closely resembles the feudal system 

 of European history, having all the classes which 

 cliaracterized that system. Prior to the consolida- 

 tion of all the governments of the islands by Kame- 

 hameha I., in the early part of this century, there 

 existed on each island a number of indei^endent king- 

 doms. The kings were the proprietors of all lands, 

 which they parcelled out to subordinate chiefs, whose 

 tenure was strictly analogous to enfiefment, with this 

 exception, that, in addition to homage and military 

 service, tribute was also exacted of them. The latter 

 subdivided their fiefs among their retainers on simi- 

 lar conditions, and these turned tliem over to the 

 lowest, or working classes, to cultivate; whicli latter 

 were the true villeins, who were merely tenants at 

 will. Still this latter form of tenure was tlie most 

 permanent; since the chiefs were liable to be changed 

 by military reverses and royal displeasure, while the 

 villeins remained, as in Europe, practically adscripti 

 glebae. The priesthood was almost always found 

 supporting the king. This class maintained, down 

 to the reign of Kamehameha II., the most despotic 

 sway over the people, and chiefly through the prin- 

 ciple involved in the terrible word tabu. The funda- 

 mental idea underlying this term is divine prohibition, 

 and the penalty for the breaking of a tabu was always 

 death. The people submitted to this in the firm be- 

 lief that death in some form was certain to follow 

 such offences; and that, if man did not inflict it, 

 the gods surely would. Tabus were either perma- 

 nent, recurrent, or merely temporary and arbitrary. 

 Among the permanently tabued acts was that of the 

 sexes eating together. Special tabus were prescribed 

 by the king, with the advice of the priesthood. 



The speaker went on to describe in detail the mode 

 of subdividing the land for agricultural purposes, 

 the skill displayed in irrigation, the jirincipal prod- 

 ucts of the soil, the leading articles of food and 

 how they are prepared, the character of the houses, 

 the manufacture of tappa-cloth and of mats out of 

 the screw pine, the culinary utensils and dishes 

 used; the implements manufactured and the mate- 

 rials yielded by the country for these purposes ; the 

 modes of fishing; the kind of dress worn ; the elab- 

 orate robes, cloal^s, helmets, etc., made for the kings, 

 of yellow and red feathers ; and the use of nuts as 

 candles. He further treated of the military tactics 

 of the Hawaiians, and the arms employed ; of their 



