Part 46

A mile from the mouth of the Wailua River, on a narrow plateau between it and a small tributary, the summit level being about 200 feet above the water, is a heiau in fairly good condition. It is one of the large structures of its kind, but is so overgrown that measurements or close description are not possible. It is supposed to be the one which was sacred to the devotions of the highest priesthood. The common people were not allowed to venture near it, and even the king could not visit it without special permission involving the most complicated ceremonies. It has passed into possession of the county and will be restored as nearly as can be to its pristine state and thus preserved.

On a mass of loose rocks, resulting from disintegration of an old lava flow, projecting into the ocean half a mile east from the mouth of the Wailua River, and near the race track, is a heiau of irregular construction. The extreme measurements are 80 feet north and south by 200 feet east and west. The wall on the side toward the sea is higher and wider along the central half than it is nearer the ends. Small inclosures, bounded by single rows of stones, probably mark the sites of houses for priests and attendants. Along the inner side of the wall next to the water are four depressions, remains of partially filled well-like or cistern-like excavations; similar hollows, obscured by brush, are also next to the inner foot of the opposite wall. A large rock in the form of a triangular prism, standing upright, with one end firmly imbedded in the ground, was no doubt a "god" of some kind; it has a slight hollow or "cup" pecked in the flat top. There are several irregular rows of stones outside of the inclosure. Dense growth prevents the examination necessary for a closer description.

DUNE BURIALS

Four miles east of Lihue a spur of the plantation railway was run into the dunes to procure sand for making fills. In the course of this work human bones were found, the remains of one individual in one spot and of at least two others not far away. None of these bones seemed to have been long underground. Search in the vicinity, over bare spots among the ridges whose upper portions have been carried away by the winds, revealed indications of burials in at least six other places. Such bones as were found were decayed or in fragments. Among them was part of the skull of a very young infant. A quantity of cooking stones, some coral rasps or files, and a much weathered fragment of a wooden bowl, denoted that camps had been made on the dunes. As the beach is smooth, firm, and extensive, providing an excellent place for landing canoes or dragging seines, these remains probably pertain to parties or families who maintained fishing camps here.

At the mouth of the Wailua River, on the east side, was a "City of Refuge." It is now partially destroyed, many of the stones having been taken away to make a fill in the road. It was rectangular in form, 360 feet east and west, 60 feet north and south, made of large stones, some of them weighing a ton or even more. The eastern portion of the interior is artificially made a foot higher than the western. The structure is 300 feet from the water. Midway down the gentle slope in front, opposite the western end, is a slightly crooked row, 100 feet long, of very large stones. A similar row is near the water on the side between the inclosure and the river.

WAIMEA

There were formerly several heiaus within a few miles of Waimea. Some of them have been destroyed by cultivation, while others are difficult to find and impossible to examine in the cane fields or dense brush.

At the east foot of a rocky peak 13 miles by road from Waimea, at an elevation of more than 3,600 feet, is a small heiau almost on the brink of the canyon. Within the walls it is 30 feet across each way. On the south line are three large stones in line, one at each corner, the third about midway between them. No doubt their position determined the location of the structure. It stands on a slight slope. The west wall is 2 feet high inside, the earth having washed down level with its top outside. The north wall is a foot higher than the floor at the west end, and is completely buried at the east, as are the south and west walls along their entire length except for a protruding stone here and there. In fact, the whole interior seems to have received a heavy deposit of earth, carried in from the outside by wind and rain. All these features give an appearance of antiquity to the ruin.

Directly below it, well toward the bottom of the canyon, which is said to be 3,000 feet deep, is a long, narrow, curved ridge with rounded top and almost vertical sides. The upper part, apparently an old lava flow, is darker in color than the surrounding precipices, its surface checkered and seamed by weathering and erosion, so that it has an almost startling resemblance to a huge serpent crawling out of the side of the mountain and, with head laid flat on the extreme point of the cliff, watching something in the stream bed a thousand feet below. If the old Hawaiians had been familiar with ophidians, as were the American Indians, this "Snake God" would no doubt have held high rank among their divinities.

CONCLUSIONS

As intimated above, much additional information regarding antiquities in the Hawaiian Islands can be found in publications of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. Descriptions, with illustrations, of a number of heiaus are given by Mr. Thrum in the "Hawaiian Annual" for 1906 to 1910, inclusive; and his forthcoming volume will completely cover this branch of archeology. The Bishop Museum has undertaken to make a complete survey and report of all the ancient remains, while Dr. Brigham has almost finished for publication an exhaustive treatise which will include all his observations and deductions along the same lines. With these tasks ended, there will be nothing for anyone else to do, except to take measures for the restoration and care of the principal structures.

All the aboriginal remains on the islands are the work of the present Hawaiian race. When the earliest of these people came here they found the islands without inhabitants. There are no evidences of any prehistoric population nor any indications whatever of underground remains. Consequently, so far as can be ascertained, excavations would not result in the discovery of any prehistoric objects or of anything essentially different from what can be seen on the surface or found slightly covered by very recent natural accumulation. At the same time, all the remains are well worthy of study and preservation. These conclusions meet the full approval and indorsement of both Mr. Thrum and Dr. Brigham.

INDEX

Page.

ACCOUNT'S CAVES 131

ADAIR, quoted on construction of houses 170

ADZES-- chert, from Miller's Cave 79 stone, in Molokai 177

AKERS POST OFFICE, cave in vicinity of 18

ALABAMA, explorations in 133-150

ALABASTER-- from Wyandotte Cave 108-109 See Stalagmite; Travertine.

ALFORD'S CAVE 140

ALLEN, VALENTINE, acknowledgment to 29

ALTARS, SUPPOSED SACRIFICIAL, origin of 172 See SACRIFICIAL STONES.

ALTON, house mounds near 161

ANIMALS-- bones of, found in cave 33 of Molokai 176

ANTLER, OBJECTS OF, from Sell Cave 48

ARKANSAS COUNTY, ARK., excavation of mound in 170

ARKLOW CAVE 125