Gone on the Path of No Return
("Ua Hala I Ke Ala Hoi Ole Mai", Nupepa Kuokoa, June 19, 1924)
Mr. Solomon Hanohano,1 greetings:—Please be so kind as to provide space in your treasured lei2 to inform the many acquaintances, friends and family from where the sun rises at Kumukahi to the sun's nadir in the embrace of Lehua that Moku Smythe departed on the path of no return on April 22, 1924, and left a heavy burden for us to mourn on this side of the black river of death.
What unremitting grief for you! My cousin3 who patiently endured numerous hardships—the blazing sun, the rain, the wind—to seek a better life. Dear young cousin!4
Where are you, Brother Moku? Perhaps you are in Kahului in the bustle of town.
He left behind a widow, children and many other family members to mourn him in this world.
What boundless sorrow we feel for you! My cousin of the merry feasts in Ulupalakua.5 Where are you, my joyous companion when the ranch owners held feasts? You have gone far enough. Your children are here looking for you.
What heartache. Vanished, gone forever.
After much crying and great pain, the merciless hand of the son of man reached out and took his breath of life. It appears this powerful one, filled with cruelty for you, shortened your days.6 What sorrow for my dear cousin who has passed away!
My dear cousin was a father who cared for his family. You were never cold-hearted.
He has traversed on to the path of no return. My cousin is in the sleep of summer, the sleep of winter.7 Nothing can disturb his slumber. He is at rest.
Beloved one in Puna, with its fragrant forest surroundings, proud home of so many, your father has passed away!
Where did we go wrong8 such that you would abandon us?
O Ulupalakua, in the shade of the pines, where is your dear child? Perhaps with Niolopua.9 How tragic for this to happen to a parent.
Alas for my dear cousin who has gone for good. You have gone alone to that desolate place. Return. Return so that we may partake of your love.
O cousin, where are you, companion of the days of youth and adulthood? My young cousin10 reaches out, seeking you in vain. My poor young cousin who has lost a provider. There is no father in that home.
Your friends are here looking for you. There is unending affection for you, father of my dear young cousin, now in a companionless home. Alas for my deceased cousin!
O Ikua Purdy,11 where is Buffalo Bill?12 It is now for me to take care of these kin in the sweltering sun, the rain and the wind, who must seek out the material necessities for a home without a provider. There is no Buffalo Bill. He has passed on to the road of no return.
Come back, Buffalo. You have seen enough of that desolate place. My dear cousin who can no longer speak to us, others flaunted their full plates before you, but you never complained. You were content to eat what little you received.
My dear deceased cousin was a gracious person with an open heart who treated the common man to the upper class as family.
We will meet with you again, because it is a path all must take.
O Puu Mahoe, waving goodbye, where is Moku? O Kanaio, where the wind hurts the skin, where is Moku? He has passed away. We will no longer see him here.
O Kaupo, where the rain makes one hide behind rock walls, where is your beloved child? Perhaps with the love-snatching wind.13 What grief for my dear cousin who has gone forever.
He is mourned greatly by his friends, his bosses and his entire family.
We give our thanks to those who donated the beautiful bouquets for the deceased, as well as to you, Uncle Kawaakoa14 for your eulogy.
With immense gratitude to you, Editor, and my eternal regards to the youths of your printing press.15
Mournfully,
MISS IRENE KINA,
And family.
Ulupalakua Ranch, May 29, 1924.
A Eulogy for My Departed Husband
("He Hoalohaloha No Kuu Kane Heleloa",16 Nupepa Kuokoa, June 26, 1924)
Mr. Sol Hanohano, greetings:—Please publish in available space of your paper to inform family and friends of my dear husband that he has passed away.
My dear husband who has left me, his wife, was an open-hearted man and welcoming. He treated all like family. What unceasing sorrow for my husband!
My dear husband has left me and our children behind to mourn for him. How my heart hurts for my companion, my husband!
My beloved husband who has passed away was born in Nuu, Kaupo. He was born April 23, 1894.
He took his last breath of life on April 22 and so was 30 years old when he passed away. What unending grief I have for you!
My husband who left me, his wife, was well-known and loved by all. He is going to a merciful place where the cold and rain will not follow.
He was a longtime cowboy for Raymond Ranch17 until the time he passed away.
We were joined in the covenant of marriage in 1910, and we spent 15 happy years living together in this world. Now my husband has gone alone on the path from which there is no return. What grief!
Sickness wasted away the body of my beloved husband for a long time until he took his own life.18 What sorrow I feel for the rash action of my husband!
I grieve for my dear husband who has left this life, a happy, fun-loving man. What sorrow in my heart!
I will stop here with these acknowledgements:
I express my gratitude to those who gave bouquets to adorn my beloved. My thanks also to the editor of the Kuokoa.
Sorrowfully,
MRS. MOKUIKE SMYTHE19
- Editor of the Nupepa Kuokoa.
- The newspaper.
- The writer alternates between the terms kane and cousin to refer to the deceased. In this translation, kane has been translated as cousin for clarity.
- The cousin referred to in this sentence appears to be a child of the deceased and is the Hawaiian word pokii in the article.
- The deceased was a cowboy for the ranch in Ulupalakua.
- The exact meaning of the preceding two sentences is unclear. The death record identifies the cause of death as self-inflected knife wounds of the neck. Perhaps the sentences here allude to the deceased being lured into suicide by evil spirits.
- A common poetic saying for death. See entry No. 2168 in the book “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings“.
- Here, the writer uses the Hawaiian word hala creatively. In this sentence, it means to go astray. In the previous sentence, the fragrance of the Puna forests was commonly held to come from the hala tree (Pandanus tectorius). See entry No. 2749 in “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau”.
- The god of sleep.
- Here and the next sentence, the writer is again referring to the child of the deceased.
- Purdy was foreman of Ulupalakua Ranch during this time.
- The writer appears to be comparing the deceased to the famous frontiersman.
- A poetic reference to Kipahulu. See entry No. 1463 in “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau”.
- John William Kawaakoa, most likely.
- The typesetters.
- An alternate translation of this article is available at nupepa-hawaii.com.
- From 1900 to 1922, what is now known as Ulupalakua Ranch was named Raymond Ranch, for owner Dr. James M. Raymond.
- The death record identifies the cause of death as self-inflected knife wounds of the neck.
- Mokuike here is corrected from the typo “Mokukike” in the original article.
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