The Tomb of Puupehe.CHARACTERS.Makakehau, a chief of Lanai.Puupehe, daughter of a chief of Maui.THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.A LEGEND OF THE ISLAND OF LANAI.Sailing along the lee-shore or southwest coast of Lanai, a huge block of red lava, sixty feet in diameter and eighty or more feet in height, is discerned standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty or sixty fathoms. The sides are precipitous, offering no possible means of ascent, and against it the waves dash in fury, and in the niches of its storm-worn angles the birds of ocean build their nests. Observed from the overhanging bluff of the neighboring shore, on the summit of the lonely column is seen a small enclosure formed by a low but well-defined stone wall. This is known as “The tomb of Puupehe”—the last resting-place of one of the most beautiful of the daughters of Maui, whose body was buried there by her distracted husband and lover, Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai. How the summit was reached by the lover with his precious burden is a mystery, but the wall is still there to show that the ascent was made in some manner, and tradition assumes that it was through the agency of supernatural forces.Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief of Maui, and Makakehau won her, it is related without detail, as the joint prize of love and war. How this could have occurred it is difficult to imagine, since Lanai was always a dependency of Maui in the past, and no direct wars between the two islands are mentioned by tradition. It may therefore be inferred that she was the spoil of some private predatory expedition, and that the efforts of the young warrior to jealously seclude her from the gaze of men were prompted not more by the infatuations of her beauty than the fear that she might be recaptured.However this may have been, they are described in theKanikau, or “Lamentation of Puupehe,” as mutually captive to each other in the bonds of love. The maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown and spotlessbody “shone like the clear sun rising out of Heleakala.” Her flowing hair, bound by wreaths ofpikakiblossoms, streamed forth as she ran “like the surf-crests scudding before the wind,” and the starry eyes of the daughter of Uaua so dazzled the youthful brave that he was called Makakehau, or “Misty Eyes.”Fearing that the radiant beauty of his captive might cause her to be coveted by some of the chiefs of the land, he said to her: “We love each other well. Let us go to the clear waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for thekalaandbonita, and there will I spear the turtle. I will hide you, O light of my heart! in the cave of Malauea. Or we will dwell together in the great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of theuwau, and bake them in thetileaf with the sweetpalaroot. Theoheloberries of the Kuahiwa will refresh us, and we will drink of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of Kaohai, and we will love on till the stars die.”Themelestell of their loves in the Pulou Ravine, where they caught the brightiwibirds and scarletapapani. How sweet were their joys in themaiagroves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so beautiful as themselves! But the misty eyes were soon to be made dimmer by weeping, and dimmer till the drowning brine should shut out their light for ever.Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea, while he went to the mountain to fill thehuawaiwith sweet water. This cavern yawns at the base of the cliff overlooking the rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner space or chamber which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often found seclusion, and baked thehonu, or sea-turtle, for her absent lover.This was the season for thekona, the terrific storm that comes up from the equator, and hurls the billows of ocean with increased violence against the southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands.Makakehau beheld from the rocky springs of Pulou the vanguard of an approachingkona—scuds of rain and thick mist rushing with a howling wind across the round valley of Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with a wild and sudden rush of waters, and destroy the life of his beautiful Puupehe.Every moment was precious. He flung aside his calabashesof water, and at the top of his speed started down the mountain. With mighty and rapid strides he crossed the great valley, where he met the coming storm in its fury. Over the rim he dashed with an agonized heart, and down the ragged slope of thekulato the shore, which the waves were already lashing in a voice of thunder.The sea was up, indeed! The yeasty foam of surging, wind-rent billows whitened the cliffs, and the tempest chorussed the mad anthem of the battling waves. Oh! where should Misty Eyes seek for his love in the blinding storm?A rushing mountain of sea fills the mouth of the cave of Malauea, and the pent air within hurls back the invading torrent with a stubborn roar, blowing outward great streams of spray. It is a savage war of the elements—a battle of the forces of nature well calculated to thrill with pleasure the hearts of strong men. But a lover looking into the seething gulf of the whirlpool—what would be to him the sublime conflict? what to see amid the boiling brine the upturned face and tender body of the idol of his heart?Others might agonize on the brink, but Misty Eyes sprang into the dreadful caldron and snatched his lifeless love from the jaws of an ocean grave.The next day fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped her body in bright, newkapa, and covered it with garlands of fragrantnauu. They prepared it for interment, and were about to place it in the burial ground of Manele; but Makakehau prayed that he might be left alone one night more with his lost love, and the request was not refused.When the women returned the morning following they found neither corpse nor wailing lover. At length, looking toward the rock of Puupehe, they discovered Makakehau at work on the lofty apex of the lone sea-tower. The wondering people of the island watched him with amazement from the neighboring cliffs, but, heedless of their observation, he continued his labors. Some sailed around the base of the column in their canoes, but could discover no means of ascent. Every face of the rock was either perpendicular or overhanging.The conviction then became general—since there seemed to be no other possible explanation—that some sympathizingakua,or spirit, had responded to the prayer of Makakehau, and assisted him in reaching the summit of the tower with the body of his dead bride; and in this form has tradition brought down the touching story.Makakehau finished his labors. He laid his love in a grave prepared by his own hands, placed the last stone upon it, and then stretched out his arms and thus wailed for Puupehe:“Where are you, O Puupehe?Are you in the cave of Malauea?Shall I bring you sweet water,The water of the fountain?Shall I bring theuwau,Thepalaandohelo?Are you baking thehonu?And the red, sweethala?Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?Shall we dip in the gourd together?The bird and the fish are bitter,And the mountain water is sour.I shall drink it no more;I shall drink with Aipuhi,The great shark of Manele.”Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau gazed for a moment upon the grave where were buried the light and hope of his life, and then leaped from the rock into the boiling surge at its base. His body was crushed in the breakers. The witnesses of the sacrifice secured the mangled remains of the dead lover, and interred them with respect in thekupapauof Manele.This is the story told by the old bards of Lanai of the lonely rock of Puupehe, and the still inaccessible summit, with the marks of a grave upon it, attests with reasonable certainty that: themelehas something of a foundation in fact.
The Tomb of Puupehe.CHARACTERS.Makakehau, a chief of Lanai.Puupehe, daughter of a chief of Maui.THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.A LEGEND OF THE ISLAND OF LANAI.Sailing along the lee-shore or southwest coast of Lanai, a huge block of red lava, sixty feet in diameter and eighty or more feet in height, is discerned standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty or sixty fathoms. The sides are precipitous, offering no possible means of ascent, and against it the waves dash in fury, and in the niches of its storm-worn angles the birds of ocean build their nests. Observed from the overhanging bluff of the neighboring shore, on the summit of the lonely column is seen a small enclosure formed by a low but well-defined stone wall. This is known as “The tomb of Puupehe”—the last resting-place of one of the most beautiful of the daughters of Maui, whose body was buried there by her distracted husband and lover, Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai. How the summit was reached by the lover with his precious burden is a mystery, but the wall is still there to show that the ascent was made in some manner, and tradition assumes that it was through the agency of supernatural forces.Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief of Maui, and Makakehau won her, it is related without detail, as the joint prize of love and war. How this could have occurred it is difficult to imagine, since Lanai was always a dependency of Maui in the past, and no direct wars between the two islands are mentioned by tradition. It may therefore be inferred that she was the spoil of some private predatory expedition, and that the efforts of the young warrior to jealously seclude her from the gaze of men were prompted not more by the infatuations of her beauty than the fear that she might be recaptured.However this may have been, they are described in theKanikau, or “Lamentation of Puupehe,” as mutually captive to each other in the bonds of love. The maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown and spotlessbody “shone like the clear sun rising out of Heleakala.” Her flowing hair, bound by wreaths ofpikakiblossoms, streamed forth as she ran “like the surf-crests scudding before the wind,” and the starry eyes of the daughter of Uaua so dazzled the youthful brave that he was called Makakehau, or “Misty Eyes.”Fearing that the radiant beauty of his captive might cause her to be coveted by some of the chiefs of the land, he said to her: “We love each other well. Let us go to the clear waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for thekalaandbonita, and there will I spear the turtle. I will hide you, O light of my heart! in the cave of Malauea. Or we will dwell together in the great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of theuwau, and bake them in thetileaf with the sweetpalaroot. Theoheloberries of the Kuahiwa will refresh us, and we will drink of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of Kaohai, and we will love on till the stars die.”Themelestell of their loves in the Pulou Ravine, where they caught the brightiwibirds and scarletapapani. How sweet were their joys in themaiagroves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so beautiful as themselves! But the misty eyes were soon to be made dimmer by weeping, and dimmer till the drowning brine should shut out their light for ever.Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea, while he went to the mountain to fill thehuawaiwith sweet water. This cavern yawns at the base of the cliff overlooking the rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner space or chamber which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often found seclusion, and baked thehonu, or sea-turtle, for her absent lover.This was the season for thekona, the terrific storm that comes up from the equator, and hurls the billows of ocean with increased violence against the southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands.Makakehau beheld from the rocky springs of Pulou the vanguard of an approachingkona—scuds of rain and thick mist rushing with a howling wind across the round valley of Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with a wild and sudden rush of waters, and destroy the life of his beautiful Puupehe.Every moment was precious. He flung aside his calabashesof water, and at the top of his speed started down the mountain. With mighty and rapid strides he crossed the great valley, where he met the coming storm in its fury. Over the rim he dashed with an agonized heart, and down the ragged slope of thekulato the shore, which the waves were already lashing in a voice of thunder.The sea was up, indeed! The yeasty foam of surging, wind-rent billows whitened the cliffs, and the tempest chorussed the mad anthem of the battling waves. Oh! where should Misty Eyes seek for his love in the blinding storm?A rushing mountain of sea fills the mouth of the cave of Malauea, and the pent air within hurls back the invading torrent with a stubborn roar, blowing outward great streams of spray. It is a savage war of the elements—a battle of the forces of nature well calculated to thrill with pleasure the hearts of strong men. But a lover looking into the seething gulf of the whirlpool—what would be to him the sublime conflict? what to see amid the boiling brine the upturned face and tender body of the idol of his heart?Others might agonize on the brink, but Misty Eyes sprang into the dreadful caldron and snatched his lifeless love from the jaws of an ocean grave.The next day fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped her body in bright, newkapa, and covered it with garlands of fragrantnauu. They prepared it for interment, and were about to place it in the burial ground of Manele; but Makakehau prayed that he might be left alone one night more with his lost love, and the request was not refused.When the women returned the morning following they found neither corpse nor wailing lover. At length, looking toward the rock of Puupehe, they discovered Makakehau at work on the lofty apex of the lone sea-tower. The wondering people of the island watched him with amazement from the neighboring cliffs, but, heedless of their observation, he continued his labors. Some sailed around the base of the column in their canoes, but could discover no means of ascent. Every face of the rock was either perpendicular or overhanging.The conviction then became general—since there seemed to be no other possible explanation—that some sympathizingakua,or spirit, had responded to the prayer of Makakehau, and assisted him in reaching the summit of the tower with the body of his dead bride; and in this form has tradition brought down the touching story.Makakehau finished his labors. He laid his love in a grave prepared by his own hands, placed the last stone upon it, and then stretched out his arms and thus wailed for Puupehe:“Where are you, O Puupehe?Are you in the cave of Malauea?Shall I bring you sweet water,The water of the fountain?Shall I bring theuwau,Thepalaandohelo?Are you baking thehonu?And the red, sweethala?Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?Shall we dip in the gourd together?The bird and the fish are bitter,And the mountain water is sour.I shall drink it no more;I shall drink with Aipuhi,The great shark of Manele.”Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau gazed for a moment upon the grave where were buried the light and hope of his life, and then leaped from the rock into the boiling surge at its base. His body was crushed in the breakers. The witnesses of the sacrifice secured the mangled remains of the dead lover, and interred them with respect in thekupapauof Manele.This is the story told by the old bards of Lanai of the lonely rock of Puupehe, and the still inaccessible summit, with the marks of a grave upon it, attests with reasonable certainty that: themelehas something of a foundation in fact.
The Tomb of Puupehe.CHARACTERS.Makakehau, a chief of Lanai.Puupehe, daughter of a chief of Maui.THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.A LEGEND OF THE ISLAND OF LANAI.Sailing along the lee-shore or southwest coast of Lanai, a huge block of red lava, sixty feet in diameter and eighty or more feet in height, is discerned standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty or sixty fathoms. The sides are precipitous, offering no possible means of ascent, and against it the waves dash in fury, and in the niches of its storm-worn angles the birds of ocean build their nests. Observed from the overhanging bluff of the neighboring shore, on the summit of the lonely column is seen a small enclosure formed by a low but well-defined stone wall. This is known as “The tomb of Puupehe”—the last resting-place of one of the most beautiful of the daughters of Maui, whose body was buried there by her distracted husband and lover, Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai. How the summit was reached by the lover with his precious burden is a mystery, but the wall is still there to show that the ascent was made in some manner, and tradition assumes that it was through the agency of supernatural forces.Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief of Maui, and Makakehau won her, it is related without detail, as the joint prize of love and war. How this could have occurred it is difficult to imagine, since Lanai was always a dependency of Maui in the past, and no direct wars between the two islands are mentioned by tradition. It may therefore be inferred that she was the spoil of some private predatory expedition, and that the efforts of the young warrior to jealously seclude her from the gaze of men were prompted not more by the infatuations of her beauty than the fear that she might be recaptured.However this may have been, they are described in theKanikau, or “Lamentation of Puupehe,” as mutually captive to each other in the bonds of love. The maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown and spotlessbody “shone like the clear sun rising out of Heleakala.” Her flowing hair, bound by wreaths ofpikakiblossoms, streamed forth as she ran “like the surf-crests scudding before the wind,” and the starry eyes of the daughter of Uaua so dazzled the youthful brave that he was called Makakehau, or “Misty Eyes.”Fearing that the radiant beauty of his captive might cause her to be coveted by some of the chiefs of the land, he said to her: “We love each other well. Let us go to the clear waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for thekalaandbonita, and there will I spear the turtle. I will hide you, O light of my heart! in the cave of Malauea. Or we will dwell together in the great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of theuwau, and bake them in thetileaf with the sweetpalaroot. Theoheloberries of the Kuahiwa will refresh us, and we will drink of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of Kaohai, and we will love on till the stars die.”Themelestell of their loves in the Pulou Ravine, where they caught the brightiwibirds and scarletapapani. How sweet were their joys in themaiagroves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so beautiful as themselves! But the misty eyes were soon to be made dimmer by weeping, and dimmer till the drowning brine should shut out their light for ever.Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea, while he went to the mountain to fill thehuawaiwith sweet water. This cavern yawns at the base of the cliff overlooking the rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner space or chamber which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often found seclusion, and baked thehonu, or sea-turtle, for her absent lover.This was the season for thekona, the terrific storm that comes up from the equator, and hurls the billows of ocean with increased violence against the southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands.Makakehau beheld from the rocky springs of Pulou the vanguard of an approachingkona—scuds of rain and thick mist rushing with a howling wind across the round valley of Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with a wild and sudden rush of waters, and destroy the life of his beautiful Puupehe.Every moment was precious. He flung aside his calabashesof water, and at the top of his speed started down the mountain. With mighty and rapid strides he crossed the great valley, where he met the coming storm in its fury. Over the rim he dashed with an agonized heart, and down the ragged slope of thekulato the shore, which the waves were already lashing in a voice of thunder.The sea was up, indeed! The yeasty foam of surging, wind-rent billows whitened the cliffs, and the tempest chorussed the mad anthem of the battling waves. Oh! where should Misty Eyes seek for his love in the blinding storm?A rushing mountain of sea fills the mouth of the cave of Malauea, and the pent air within hurls back the invading torrent with a stubborn roar, blowing outward great streams of spray. It is a savage war of the elements—a battle of the forces of nature well calculated to thrill with pleasure the hearts of strong men. But a lover looking into the seething gulf of the whirlpool—what would be to him the sublime conflict? what to see amid the boiling brine the upturned face and tender body of the idol of his heart?Others might agonize on the brink, but Misty Eyes sprang into the dreadful caldron and snatched his lifeless love from the jaws of an ocean grave.The next day fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped her body in bright, newkapa, and covered it with garlands of fragrantnauu. They prepared it for interment, and were about to place it in the burial ground of Manele; but Makakehau prayed that he might be left alone one night more with his lost love, and the request was not refused.When the women returned the morning following they found neither corpse nor wailing lover. At length, looking toward the rock of Puupehe, they discovered Makakehau at work on the lofty apex of the lone sea-tower. The wondering people of the island watched him with amazement from the neighboring cliffs, but, heedless of their observation, he continued his labors. Some sailed around the base of the column in their canoes, but could discover no means of ascent. Every face of the rock was either perpendicular or overhanging.The conviction then became general—since there seemed to be no other possible explanation—that some sympathizingakua,or spirit, had responded to the prayer of Makakehau, and assisted him in reaching the summit of the tower with the body of his dead bride; and in this form has tradition brought down the touching story.Makakehau finished his labors. He laid his love in a grave prepared by his own hands, placed the last stone upon it, and then stretched out his arms and thus wailed for Puupehe:“Where are you, O Puupehe?Are you in the cave of Malauea?Shall I bring you sweet water,The water of the fountain?Shall I bring theuwau,Thepalaandohelo?Are you baking thehonu?And the red, sweethala?Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?Shall we dip in the gourd together?The bird and the fish are bitter,And the mountain water is sour.I shall drink it no more;I shall drink with Aipuhi,The great shark of Manele.”Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau gazed for a moment upon the grave where were buried the light and hope of his life, and then leaped from the rock into the boiling surge at its base. His body was crushed in the breakers. The witnesses of the sacrifice secured the mangled remains of the dead lover, and interred them with respect in thekupapauof Manele.This is the story told by the old bards of Lanai of the lonely rock of Puupehe, and the still inaccessible summit, with the marks of a grave upon it, attests with reasonable certainty that: themelehas something of a foundation in fact.
CHARACTERS.Makakehau, a chief of Lanai.Puupehe, daughter of a chief of Maui.THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.A LEGEND OF THE ISLAND OF LANAI.Sailing along the lee-shore or southwest coast of Lanai, a huge block of red lava, sixty feet in diameter and eighty or more feet in height, is discerned standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty or sixty fathoms. The sides are precipitous, offering no possible means of ascent, and against it the waves dash in fury, and in the niches of its storm-worn angles the birds of ocean build their nests. Observed from the overhanging bluff of the neighboring shore, on the summit of the lonely column is seen a small enclosure formed by a low but well-defined stone wall. This is known as “The tomb of Puupehe”—the last resting-place of one of the most beautiful of the daughters of Maui, whose body was buried there by her distracted husband and lover, Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai. How the summit was reached by the lover with his precious burden is a mystery, but the wall is still there to show that the ascent was made in some manner, and tradition assumes that it was through the agency of supernatural forces.Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief of Maui, and Makakehau won her, it is related without detail, as the joint prize of love and war. How this could have occurred it is difficult to imagine, since Lanai was always a dependency of Maui in the past, and no direct wars between the two islands are mentioned by tradition. It may therefore be inferred that she was the spoil of some private predatory expedition, and that the efforts of the young warrior to jealously seclude her from the gaze of men were prompted not more by the infatuations of her beauty than the fear that she might be recaptured.However this may have been, they are described in theKanikau, or “Lamentation of Puupehe,” as mutually captive to each other in the bonds of love. The maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown and spotlessbody “shone like the clear sun rising out of Heleakala.” Her flowing hair, bound by wreaths ofpikakiblossoms, streamed forth as she ran “like the surf-crests scudding before the wind,” and the starry eyes of the daughter of Uaua so dazzled the youthful brave that he was called Makakehau, or “Misty Eyes.”Fearing that the radiant beauty of his captive might cause her to be coveted by some of the chiefs of the land, he said to her: “We love each other well. Let us go to the clear waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for thekalaandbonita, and there will I spear the turtle. I will hide you, O light of my heart! in the cave of Malauea. Or we will dwell together in the great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of theuwau, and bake them in thetileaf with the sweetpalaroot. Theoheloberries of the Kuahiwa will refresh us, and we will drink of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of Kaohai, and we will love on till the stars die.”Themelestell of their loves in the Pulou Ravine, where they caught the brightiwibirds and scarletapapani. How sweet were their joys in themaiagroves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so beautiful as themselves! But the misty eyes were soon to be made dimmer by weeping, and dimmer till the drowning brine should shut out their light for ever.Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea, while he went to the mountain to fill thehuawaiwith sweet water. This cavern yawns at the base of the cliff overlooking the rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner space or chamber which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often found seclusion, and baked thehonu, or sea-turtle, for her absent lover.This was the season for thekona, the terrific storm that comes up from the equator, and hurls the billows of ocean with increased violence against the southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands.Makakehau beheld from the rocky springs of Pulou the vanguard of an approachingkona—scuds of rain and thick mist rushing with a howling wind across the round valley of Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with a wild and sudden rush of waters, and destroy the life of his beautiful Puupehe.Every moment was precious. He flung aside his calabashesof water, and at the top of his speed started down the mountain. With mighty and rapid strides he crossed the great valley, where he met the coming storm in its fury. Over the rim he dashed with an agonized heart, and down the ragged slope of thekulato the shore, which the waves were already lashing in a voice of thunder.The sea was up, indeed! The yeasty foam of surging, wind-rent billows whitened the cliffs, and the tempest chorussed the mad anthem of the battling waves. Oh! where should Misty Eyes seek for his love in the blinding storm?A rushing mountain of sea fills the mouth of the cave of Malauea, and the pent air within hurls back the invading torrent with a stubborn roar, blowing outward great streams of spray. It is a savage war of the elements—a battle of the forces of nature well calculated to thrill with pleasure the hearts of strong men. But a lover looking into the seething gulf of the whirlpool—what would be to him the sublime conflict? what to see amid the boiling brine the upturned face and tender body of the idol of his heart?Others might agonize on the brink, but Misty Eyes sprang into the dreadful caldron and snatched his lifeless love from the jaws of an ocean grave.The next day fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped her body in bright, newkapa, and covered it with garlands of fragrantnauu. They prepared it for interment, and were about to place it in the burial ground of Manele; but Makakehau prayed that he might be left alone one night more with his lost love, and the request was not refused.When the women returned the morning following they found neither corpse nor wailing lover. At length, looking toward the rock of Puupehe, they discovered Makakehau at work on the lofty apex of the lone sea-tower. The wondering people of the island watched him with amazement from the neighboring cliffs, but, heedless of their observation, he continued his labors. Some sailed around the base of the column in their canoes, but could discover no means of ascent. Every face of the rock was either perpendicular or overhanging.The conviction then became general—since there seemed to be no other possible explanation—that some sympathizingakua,or spirit, had responded to the prayer of Makakehau, and assisted him in reaching the summit of the tower with the body of his dead bride; and in this form has tradition brought down the touching story.Makakehau finished his labors. He laid his love in a grave prepared by his own hands, placed the last stone upon it, and then stretched out his arms and thus wailed for Puupehe:“Where are you, O Puupehe?Are you in the cave of Malauea?Shall I bring you sweet water,The water of the fountain?Shall I bring theuwau,Thepalaandohelo?Are you baking thehonu?And the red, sweethala?Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?Shall we dip in the gourd together?The bird and the fish are bitter,And the mountain water is sour.I shall drink it no more;I shall drink with Aipuhi,The great shark of Manele.”Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau gazed for a moment upon the grave where were buried the light and hope of his life, and then leaped from the rock into the boiling surge at its base. His body was crushed in the breakers. The witnesses of the sacrifice secured the mangled remains of the dead lover, and interred them with respect in thekupapauof Manele.This is the story told by the old bards of Lanai of the lonely rock of Puupehe, and the still inaccessible summit, with the marks of a grave upon it, attests with reasonable certainty that: themelehas something of a foundation in fact.
CHARACTERS.Makakehau, a chief of Lanai.Puupehe, daughter of a chief of Maui.
THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.A LEGEND OF THE ISLAND OF LANAI.Sailing along the lee-shore or southwest coast of Lanai, a huge block of red lava, sixty feet in diameter and eighty or more feet in height, is discerned standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty or sixty fathoms. The sides are precipitous, offering no possible means of ascent, and against it the waves dash in fury, and in the niches of its storm-worn angles the birds of ocean build their nests. Observed from the overhanging bluff of the neighboring shore, on the summit of the lonely column is seen a small enclosure formed by a low but well-defined stone wall. This is known as “The tomb of Puupehe”—the last resting-place of one of the most beautiful of the daughters of Maui, whose body was buried there by her distracted husband and lover, Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai. How the summit was reached by the lover with his precious burden is a mystery, but the wall is still there to show that the ascent was made in some manner, and tradition assumes that it was through the agency of supernatural forces.Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief of Maui, and Makakehau won her, it is related without detail, as the joint prize of love and war. How this could have occurred it is difficult to imagine, since Lanai was always a dependency of Maui in the past, and no direct wars between the two islands are mentioned by tradition. It may therefore be inferred that she was the spoil of some private predatory expedition, and that the efforts of the young warrior to jealously seclude her from the gaze of men were prompted not more by the infatuations of her beauty than the fear that she might be recaptured.However this may have been, they are described in theKanikau, or “Lamentation of Puupehe,” as mutually captive to each other in the bonds of love. The maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown and spotlessbody “shone like the clear sun rising out of Heleakala.” Her flowing hair, bound by wreaths ofpikakiblossoms, streamed forth as she ran “like the surf-crests scudding before the wind,” and the starry eyes of the daughter of Uaua so dazzled the youthful brave that he was called Makakehau, or “Misty Eyes.”Fearing that the radiant beauty of his captive might cause her to be coveted by some of the chiefs of the land, he said to her: “We love each other well. Let us go to the clear waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for thekalaandbonita, and there will I spear the turtle. I will hide you, O light of my heart! in the cave of Malauea. Or we will dwell together in the great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of theuwau, and bake them in thetileaf with the sweetpalaroot. Theoheloberries of the Kuahiwa will refresh us, and we will drink of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of Kaohai, and we will love on till the stars die.”Themelestell of their loves in the Pulou Ravine, where they caught the brightiwibirds and scarletapapani. How sweet were their joys in themaiagroves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so beautiful as themselves! But the misty eyes were soon to be made dimmer by weeping, and dimmer till the drowning brine should shut out their light for ever.Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea, while he went to the mountain to fill thehuawaiwith sweet water. This cavern yawns at the base of the cliff overlooking the rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner space or chamber which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often found seclusion, and baked thehonu, or sea-turtle, for her absent lover.This was the season for thekona, the terrific storm that comes up from the equator, and hurls the billows of ocean with increased violence against the southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands.Makakehau beheld from the rocky springs of Pulou the vanguard of an approachingkona—scuds of rain and thick mist rushing with a howling wind across the round valley of Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with a wild and sudden rush of waters, and destroy the life of his beautiful Puupehe.Every moment was precious. He flung aside his calabashesof water, and at the top of his speed started down the mountain. With mighty and rapid strides he crossed the great valley, where he met the coming storm in its fury. Over the rim he dashed with an agonized heart, and down the ragged slope of thekulato the shore, which the waves were already lashing in a voice of thunder.The sea was up, indeed! The yeasty foam of surging, wind-rent billows whitened the cliffs, and the tempest chorussed the mad anthem of the battling waves. Oh! where should Misty Eyes seek for his love in the blinding storm?A rushing mountain of sea fills the mouth of the cave of Malauea, and the pent air within hurls back the invading torrent with a stubborn roar, blowing outward great streams of spray. It is a savage war of the elements—a battle of the forces of nature well calculated to thrill with pleasure the hearts of strong men. But a lover looking into the seething gulf of the whirlpool—what would be to him the sublime conflict? what to see amid the boiling brine the upturned face and tender body of the idol of his heart?Others might agonize on the brink, but Misty Eyes sprang into the dreadful caldron and snatched his lifeless love from the jaws of an ocean grave.The next day fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped her body in bright, newkapa, and covered it with garlands of fragrantnauu. They prepared it for interment, and were about to place it in the burial ground of Manele; but Makakehau prayed that he might be left alone one night more with his lost love, and the request was not refused.When the women returned the morning following they found neither corpse nor wailing lover. At length, looking toward the rock of Puupehe, they discovered Makakehau at work on the lofty apex of the lone sea-tower. The wondering people of the island watched him with amazement from the neighboring cliffs, but, heedless of their observation, he continued his labors. Some sailed around the base of the column in their canoes, but could discover no means of ascent. Every face of the rock was either perpendicular or overhanging.The conviction then became general—since there seemed to be no other possible explanation—that some sympathizingakua,or spirit, had responded to the prayer of Makakehau, and assisted him in reaching the summit of the tower with the body of his dead bride; and in this form has tradition brought down the touching story.Makakehau finished his labors. He laid his love in a grave prepared by his own hands, placed the last stone upon it, and then stretched out his arms and thus wailed for Puupehe:“Where are you, O Puupehe?Are you in the cave of Malauea?Shall I bring you sweet water,The water of the fountain?Shall I bring theuwau,Thepalaandohelo?Are you baking thehonu?And the red, sweethala?Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?Shall we dip in the gourd together?The bird and the fish are bitter,And the mountain water is sour.I shall drink it no more;I shall drink with Aipuhi,The great shark of Manele.”Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau gazed for a moment upon the grave where were buried the light and hope of his life, and then leaped from the rock into the boiling surge at its base. His body was crushed in the breakers. The witnesses of the sacrifice secured the mangled remains of the dead lover, and interred them with respect in thekupapauof Manele.This is the story told by the old bards of Lanai of the lonely rock of Puupehe, and the still inaccessible summit, with the marks of a grave upon it, attests with reasonable certainty that: themelehas something of a foundation in fact.
THE TOMB OF PUUPEHE.
A LEGEND OF THE ISLAND OF LANAI.
Sailing along the lee-shore or southwest coast of Lanai, a huge block of red lava, sixty feet in diameter and eighty or more feet in height, is discerned standing out in the sea, and detached from the mainland some fifty or sixty fathoms. The sides are precipitous, offering no possible means of ascent, and against it the waves dash in fury, and in the niches of its storm-worn angles the birds of ocean build their nests. Observed from the overhanging bluff of the neighboring shore, on the summit of the lonely column is seen a small enclosure formed by a low but well-defined stone wall. This is known as “The tomb of Puupehe”—the last resting-place of one of the most beautiful of the daughters of Maui, whose body was buried there by her distracted husband and lover, Makakehau, a warrior of Lanai. How the summit was reached by the lover with his precious burden is a mystery, but the wall is still there to show that the ascent was made in some manner, and tradition assumes that it was through the agency of supernatural forces.
Puupehe was the daughter of Uaua, a petty chief of Maui, and Makakehau won her, it is related without detail, as the joint prize of love and war. How this could have occurred it is difficult to imagine, since Lanai was always a dependency of Maui in the past, and no direct wars between the two islands are mentioned by tradition. It may therefore be inferred that she was the spoil of some private predatory expedition, and that the efforts of the young warrior to jealously seclude her from the gaze of men were prompted not more by the infatuations of her beauty than the fear that she might be recaptured.
However this may have been, they are described in theKanikau, or “Lamentation of Puupehe,” as mutually captive to each other in the bonds of love. The maiden was a sweet flower of Hawaiian beauty. Her glossy brown and spotlessbody “shone like the clear sun rising out of Heleakala.” Her flowing hair, bound by wreaths ofpikakiblossoms, streamed forth as she ran “like the surf-crests scudding before the wind,” and the starry eyes of the daughter of Uaua so dazzled the youthful brave that he was called Makakehau, or “Misty Eyes.”
Fearing that the radiant beauty of his captive might cause her to be coveted by some of the chiefs of the land, he said to her: “We love each other well. Let us go to the clear waters of Kalulu. There we will fish together for thekalaandbonita, and there will I spear the turtle. I will hide you, O light of my heart! in the cave of Malauea. Or we will dwell together in the great ravine of Palawai, where we will eat the young of theuwau, and bake them in thetileaf with the sweetpalaroot. Theoheloberries of the Kuahiwa will refresh us, and we will drink of the cool waters of Maunalei. I will thatch a hut in the thicket of Kaohai, and we will love on till the stars die.”
Themelestell of their loves in the Pulou Ravine, where they caught the brightiwibirds and scarletapapani. How sweet were their joys in themaiagroves of Waiakeakua, where the lovers saw naught so beautiful as themselves! But the misty eyes were soon to be made dimmer by weeping, and dimmer till the drowning brine should shut out their light for ever.
Makakehau left his love one day in the cave of Malauea, while he went to the mountain to fill thehuawaiwith sweet water. This cavern yawns at the base of the cliff overlooking the rock of Puupehe. The sea surges far within, but there is an inner space or chamber which the expert swimmer can reach, and where Puupehe had often found seclusion, and baked thehonu, or sea-turtle, for her absent lover.
This was the season for thekona, the terrific storm that comes up from the equator, and hurls the billows of ocean with increased violence against the southern shores of the Hawaiian Islands.
Makakehau beheld from the rocky springs of Pulou the vanguard of an approachingkona—scuds of rain and thick mist rushing with a howling wind across the round valley of Palawai. He knew the storm would fill the cave with a wild and sudden rush of waters, and destroy the life of his beautiful Puupehe.
Every moment was precious. He flung aside his calabashesof water, and at the top of his speed started down the mountain. With mighty and rapid strides he crossed the great valley, where he met the coming storm in its fury. Over the rim he dashed with an agonized heart, and down the ragged slope of thekulato the shore, which the waves were already lashing in a voice of thunder.
The sea was up, indeed! The yeasty foam of surging, wind-rent billows whitened the cliffs, and the tempest chorussed the mad anthem of the battling waves. Oh! where should Misty Eyes seek for his love in the blinding storm?
A rushing mountain of sea fills the mouth of the cave of Malauea, and the pent air within hurls back the invading torrent with a stubborn roar, blowing outward great streams of spray. It is a savage war of the elements—a battle of the forces of nature well calculated to thrill with pleasure the hearts of strong men. But a lover looking into the seething gulf of the whirlpool—what would be to him the sublime conflict? what to see amid the boiling brine the upturned face and tender body of the idol of his heart?
Others might agonize on the brink, but Misty Eyes sprang into the dreadful caldron and snatched his lifeless love from the jaws of an ocean grave.
The next day fishermen heard the lamentation of Makakehau, and the women of the valley came down and wailed over Puupehe. They wrapped her body in bright, newkapa, and covered it with garlands of fragrantnauu. They prepared it for interment, and were about to place it in the burial ground of Manele; but Makakehau prayed that he might be left alone one night more with his lost love, and the request was not refused.
When the women returned the morning following they found neither corpse nor wailing lover. At length, looking toward the rock of Puupehe, they discovered Makakehau at work on the lofty apex of the lone sea-tower. The wondering people of the island watched him with amazement from the neighboring cliffs, but, heedless of their observation, he continued his labors. Some sailed around the base of the column in their canoes, but could discover no means of ascent. Every face of the rock was either perpendicular or overhanging.
The conviction then became general—since there seemed to be no other possible explanation—that some sympathizingakua,or spirit, had responded to the prayer of Makakehau, and assisted him in reaching the summit of the tower with the body of his dead bride; and in this form has tradition brought down the touching story.
Makakehau finished his labors. He laid his love in a grave prepared by his own hands, placed the last stone upon it, and then stretched out his arms and thus wailed for Puupehe:
“Where are you, O Puupehe?Are you in the cave of Malauea?Shall I bring you sweet water,The water of the fountain?Shall I bring theuwau,Thepalaandohelo?Are you baking thehonu?And the red, sweethala?Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?Shall we dip in the gourd together?The bird and the fish are bitter,And the mountain water is sour.I shall drink it no more;I shall drink with Aipuhi,The great shark of Manele.”
“Where are you, O Puupehe?
Are you in the cave of Malauea?
Shall I bring you sweet water,
The water of the fountain?
Shall I bring theuwau,
Thepalaandohelo?
Are you baking thehonu?
And the red, sweethala?
Shall I pound thekaloof Maui?
Shall we dip in the gourd together?
The bird and the fish are bitter,
And the mountain water is sour.
I shall drink it no more;
I shall drink with Aipuhi,
The great shark of Manele.”
Ceasing his sad wail, Makakehau gazed for a moment upon the grave where were buried the light and hope of his life, and then leaped from the rock into the boiling surge at its base. His body was crushed in the breakers. The witnesses of the sacrifice secured the mangled remains of the dead lover, and interred them with respect in thekupapauof Manele.
This is the story told by the old bards of Lanai of the lonely rock of Puupehe, and the still inaccessible summit, with the marks of a grave upon it, attests with reasonable certainty that: themelehas something of a foundation in fact.