A Heathen Nation Evangelized. History of the Sandwich Islands Mission

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1872 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XXVI. CHURCH AND HOUSE BUILDING. Church building, at native expense, made constant church progress on the Islands, though generally derdlfflcu"-1" under very great difficulties. At Kohala, ties on Hawaii, the people, in their effort to pro cure a new and more commodious house of worship, had to bring the timber six or eight miles from the mountains. The wood was hard and tough, axes were scarce, and there were few facilities for keeping them sharp. After the timber had been cut and hewn, from eighty to a hundred and fifty persons of both sexes laid hold of a long rope, made fast to one of the timbers, and a day was required to drag it up and down the precipitous ravines and through woods and brush, to the ground set apart for the building. Oxen could have done nothing were they obtainable, because of the ravines. The fondness of the people of Kohala for the orFondness for dinances of the sanctuary, was very strikworehip. ingly manifested. The district is subject at certain seasons to continued and violent winds and rains; and females, young and old, used frequently to come several miles in the rain, over precipices and ravines, to the place of worship, with a single scanty garment of brown cotton, and that garment, as well as their hair and entire persons, completely drenched. The author well reAT KEALAKEKUA AND KANEOHE. 221 members his surprise at finding this same church filled with people one Sabbath morning in 1863, notwithstanding a furious rain-storm, in which they had travelled with great discomfort from their homes. Had they had umbrellas, they could hardly have carried -them in so great a tempest. The laborious efforts of the native churches to procure convenient houses for worship, At Keala_ were further illustrated at...