region, Hiiaka had observed from time to time a ghostly object flitting across the plain within hearing distance and in a direction parallel to their course. Though this spirit was not visible to ordinary mortal eye, Hiiaka recognized it as the second soul of Ole-pau, the very chief to whom the people of the fishing village had bid her make her appeal for food. Hiiaka, putting two and two together, very naturally came to the conclusion that this vagrant kino wailua was, in the last resort, responsible for this denial of hospitality to herself and her companion. Acting on this conclusion, Hiiaka made a captive of the vagrant soul and determined to hold it as a hostage for the satisfaction of her reasonable demands.
On coming within speaking distance of the house where lived the woman Wai-hinano, who ostentatiously played the part of kahu and chief adviser to Ole-pau, Hiiaka made known her wish, concluding her appeal with ominous threats against the life of the king, in case her demands were not met:
- ↑ Po'ipo'i. Po'i uhane, soul catching, was one of the tricks of Hawaiian black art and sorcery.
- ↑ There seems to be a disagreement in the different versions as to who is the king with whom Hiiaka is now contending, whether Ole-pau or Ka-ula-hea. For historical reasons I deem it to be Ole-pau, unless, indeed, the two names represent the same person.
- ↑ Kau, offered, literally put upon the altar.
- ↑ Lohelohe. By some inadvertence, this word was wrongly written as kohekohe, and I was cudgelling my wits and searching heaven and earth, and all the dictionaries, to learn the meaning of this artifact, this false thing. After having vainly inquired of more than a score of Hawaiians, one man, wiser than the rest, suggested that it should be lohelohe, not kohekohe, meaning underdone, or half-baked dog. The word-fit was perfect; the puzzle was solved.
- ↑ Kanaloa, a name given to Kaho'olawe, the island that faces East Maui, lying opposite to Lahaina, and acts as a sort of buffer against the blasts of the south wind, allusion to which is made, as I believe, in the word A-a, in the same line.
- ↑ Ele. Some critics claim that ka and ele properly form one word (kaele), meaning overturned. The grammatical construction of the sentence forbids this claim, and favors the interpretation I have given it. The figure is that of a canoe whose black body has turned turtle.
