Ko'or-ru rne LepEn I 245

on hy Nataitiuiti basimssmanJack Coney and boarded uith

6 Iacb
thaf.ami$ oftbe Rn John Lydgdte. Hedrouefron Llbtc to
Ilatahi n board a sndmt bach n Honolula. His dian
u-At,,Vala/Sanbor.n of Hanahi, and. the tan mm discussed
dcnih ofthc l{obha stur!. ,,.
I,qndan biographm oacrhohcd his lfutu.iviritin ofrtiot
ehwdohgies of thc famous Amtican autbori lifr. During
ttrj,rcscartb onThe Kaua'i Movie Bookl discwatdan articb
about:London aisiting ldzua'i, Subsequent research dag up
nn$:tnforrya:tion on hii shart suy. Throagh an inquiry on
tln.Iqama, I hcatcd Jach London Society presid4nt Jeanne
Reemzan. Reestnaa and Earh l^abor subseqaantll traael.ed to
lat&t- Kqra'i to4d4.tbc chaptcr a Lonfunls sary,.
'

)oqv.
""t1Yff#3;:* Brcausr wE aRE sick thcy take away our liberty.
We havc obeyed dre law' lUTe_ havo done no wrong. And
yettheywould pur us in prison, Molokai is a prison. That
yo,!lknos'. Niuli, t}ere, his sisterwas sent ro Molotai scven
ycars ago. He has not seeR her:singa Nor will he ever see

inn Pcarl hgr. She must say.there unril she dies, This is,not her will.
wffi,qlonfun and his wifc, Chanuin, saihd
It,,is nor,Ni'tdit will. It is thewill of the white men who
ffiWk thc spring of I 907 aboard thcir TachtThe Snark'
ffi *ripoi;tl * thc long nil that bqh in oahknd rule.the land. And who are these white men?
"Ve know. \[e harrcitfrom our hthers and ourfatheri
Aiilp-in, EabttSwts theson ofVaimcadeptty shaif
by
fathers. They cene like lamb;, rp..ki";Lf.fy. \Ugell might
Louis Snk Thc clh Snk uas shot and hiM'in lQkhu
thgy sp,eak softly, for we were many and sffong, a,nd alt
Vollq b thc lcgnfury Vaimca paniolo lfuluihooht+ tbc
the islands were ouis. As I say, they spoke softly. They
nan Lonfun! snr1l(oohu the Lcper b bascd on. Habnt
Snta apparattty tild tht tnry n Lndon daing their wlagc. !r,gre,of, nro kinds. The onc kind asked our permission,
our:grecious permissioni to prcach to us rhe word of God.
Koolau the Leper frst appcarcd in 1909 in thc
The other kind asked our perrnission, our gracious
tnagazincPeafic Monthly, atd bccamc Londonl bat knoant
permission,,b trade with us..That was the.beginning.
xoiT ofHauai'i arta the pablicationalThe Horse of Pride,
Today dl the islands are theira, all,the land, all the camle-
a colhction of his Hawai'i storics.
cvery.thing is theirs. They that preached the wond of God
Lonhn uisitcd l{atu'i in May 1915 as a gwst of 4
and theythatpreached theword ofRum have foregathered
congrcssional party nuing thc ishnd He mio7cd a\nu put
246 I AKeul't Rrrurn .
and become great chiefs. They lhrc like kingp in houses
manyroorns,with multinrdes ofservants'to care for them.
Theywho had nothinghave orerything, and ifyou, or I,
or any lGnaka be hungry dreysn€er and say;''Wbll, why
dont you work? There are the planatiotts.' '
Koolau paused. He raised one hand, andwith gnarled
and nvisted fingers l.ifted up the blezingwreath ofhibiscus
that crowned his black hair. The moonlight bathed the
scene in silver. It was a night of peace; tho"gh thoie who
sat about him and listened hrd all the seeming ofbattle-
wrecks. Their facs were leonine. Here a space yawhed in
a face where should have been a nose, end theie an arrn
stump showed wherc'a hand had roted off. They were
men and women beyond the pde, the thirq'of thcm, for
upon them had been placed the mark of the beast
They sat, flower-garlanded, in the perfumed,
luminous night, and their lips made uncouth noises and
their throats rasped apprornl ofKoolau's speech. They were
creatures who ortce had been rnen and l,romen. But they
were m€n and women no longer. They were fnonsters-
in face and form grotesque caricatutes of ever.ythirig
human: They were'hideously maimed and distoned, and
had the seeming of creatures that had been racked in
millenniums of hell. Their hands, when they possessed
thern, were lilce haqpy.claws. Their hces,were thc misfits
and slips, crushed and bruised by,sorne rnad,god'at plry
in the machinery of life. Here and there were'fsatures
which the mad god had smeared halfawa/, and one woman
wept scalding tears from nvin pits of honor, vrher€ her
€yes once had been Sdme.were in pain'and,groaned ftom
their chests. Others coughed, making sounds'tike the
tearing of tissue. Tws were idiots, more like hugc apes
marred in the rnaking, until el'en an ape wefe an angpl.
They mon'ed and gibbered in the moonlight, undir,cron'ns
Ko'oleunreki'en I247
ofdrooprng; golden blossoms. One, whose bloatedcarlobe
of
fupped like a fan upon his shoulder, eaught up a gorgeous
flower of orange and scadet and with it decorated the
inons:trous ear that flip-.flapped with his €reer rnoyemenr.
..,,, ,Aod ovir these things lGolau lrlas king. And rhis was
'
hil.kingdom--a flower-throalcd gorge, with beeding cliffi
and.cngs' frgrnwhich floated thc blaaings ofwild goets.
Ort.three sides the giim wdls rose, festooned in fantastic
draperics of, tropic vcgetation, and pierced by cave
bntmr-rces-the rock'' lairs of Koolgu's subjects. On the
founh side the earth ftll away into a tremendous abyss,
and; far-below could be seen thesummits of lesser peaks
aod.cr*gs, at whose bases foamed and rumbled ttrc Pacific
surgp. In fineweather a boat could land on the roclry beach
thatnukcd thc,enmrnce of lQldau V,dley,,but the weather
rntlct bbveryfine. And a cool-headed,rnountaineer might
climhi &om the beach.to the,head of XGldau Vdleyi to
this po.clat among thp pcals whcre Koolau nrled; but such
arrhountai,neer mu$ bb very coo[, of head, ]and ,he must
knpw the wild'goat trails :rs wcll. The rnarvel was .that the
&ass ofhuman wreckage that constituted Koolaub, people
shoUld harae been able to,drag itshclpless misery over t6e
giddy goat trails to this inaccessible spot.
:,. ' "Brdthers," Koolau began.
'ii; But.one of the rnowing apclike uavesri€s.emitted a
wild shriek ofmadncss; and l(oolau waited while,the shrill
cechinnadon was tossed back and fonh among the rock''
qdl. s andcchoed disantly throtrghrg" pulseless night.
, . "B.rothers,,is it not strange? Otrs was the land, and
bghold, the land is not ours. Whar did these preacl.rers'of
the wo d of God and the word of Rum give us for the
land? Flave you received one dollar, as rnuch as one dollar,
any one of,;rou, for the land? Yct it is theirs, and in returR
they tell us we can go to work on the hnd, their land, and
24a I AKeuelRt^orr
that whatwe produce by our toil shd'l betheirs. Yet in the
old days we did not have to work. .Also whcn we ar€'sich
they take aw:ry our freedotn."'
"'Who brought the sickncss; Koolau?" demandcd
Kiloliana, a lean and wiry rnan with a'tace so like a latrghing
faun's that one might expect to see the clorrcn hoofs under
him: Theywere cloven, hwas true, but'the.cleangeswere
great ulcers and livid putrefactions. Yet this whs Kiloliana,
the most daring climber of drern dl, the man who knew
every goat tail and who had led Koolau and his wretchcd
followers into the recesses of'IGldau;,
"Ay, well questioned,'r Koolau answered. 'lBecause
we would not work'the milcs of sugarcanc .where once
our horses pastured drelbrought the Chinese'slanes from
ovcrseas. And with'thetn came the'Chincse sicknesp
that,which we suffer frorn and because ,of which thcy
would imprison us on Molokai. We were born on'Keuai;
We have bcen to the other islands, some here and'some
there, to Oahu; to Maui, to Hawaiir,to Honolulu. Yet
dweys did we come back.to Kauai. Vhy did we cotne
baclc? Thcre must be a reason. Becausc we lovcll(auai.
'We
were born'hcre. Hire we have-[ived. And here shall
we die-unless-unless-there be weak hcarts amongst
us. Such we do not want. Theyrst* 6.,for Molokai. And'
if there be such, let them not remein. Tomortow the
soldiers land on the shoie; Irct the weak hearts go down
to thern, Theywill b€'sent swiftl1' to Molokri. Ai'for'us;
we shall stay and fighu But knon'thet we will not die.
We have rifles. You ,know'.the narrow trails where men
must crcep, one by one. I, alone,'Koolau, who was once
coorboyon Niihau, can hotd the trxil agaiqst a thortsand
" morr€ni for thcywere men and wolncn once rnorc. The
men. Here is Kapahei., who was once * judge over men
and a man with honor, but who is now a hunted rat, lilrc
you and me. Hear him. He is wise."
Ko'onurne LEprn : 219
,
, . IQpahei arose. Once he had been a judge, He had
gone to college at."Punahou. He had sat at meal with
lords
and,chieft and thc higlr representatives of alien porilers
urho ptotected.the intercsts of uaders and missionaries.
Sueh hadbecn l(apahei But no-w, as Koolau had said, he
rllasra hunted ftrt, a cr€:rnrre outsid€ the law, sunk so deep.
in.the mire of human horror that he was above the law as
rvcllas:beneath it. His Acewas featureless, save for gaping
orificcs and for the lidless eyes that burned undcr hairl,ess
brorvs.
*L€t
,' us not rnake uouble," he began. "We,ask to h
left done. But if thcy do not leave us alone, then is the
trouble theirsi and,the penalry. My fingen er€ gone, as you
sce;' Fie hdd up his stumps of han& that all might see.
'!Yct hal'c I the joint of one thumb left, and it can pull a
,glg€pr as,firmlyasdid its lostneighbonin the old dq's.,\fe
lwe l(eui-lrrus live here; or die,here, but do not let 116,g0
to'thc prison of Molokai. The sickness,is not ours. Ve have
not sinned. [he men who preached the word of God and
the word ofRum brought the sickness with the.coolie slavcs
who wd.rlc the stolen land. I have been a
iudge. I knorv the
larr':and the justicc, an I say to you it is unjust to srel a
imanis land, to makc that man sick with the,Chinese sicknes,
and thJn to put that man in prison for life."
:rlife is short,,end the days arc filld wirh paiq"
said
Koolau. 'll*t us drink and dancc and be happy as we can.?
' , : , From one of
the rocky lairs calabashes were produced
and passed. around. The cdabashes were filledwith the
fierce distillation of the root of the ti plant; and as the
liquid fire coursed through them and mou$ted to thpir
hrains,,thcy forgot ,that they had once been mcn and
who wcpt scalding tears from open eye-pits w,ap
indeedawoman apulscwith li.fe as she plucked the strinp
25O I AKrur\Ruorr
of an ukulele and lifted her voice in a barbaric love-call
such as might have come frorn thp dark forest depths of
the primwal world. The air tingled with her cry softly
imperious and seductive. Upon a mat, tirning his rhythm
to the nroman's song, Kiloliana. danced. It was
unmistakable. Love danced in dl.his movements, xod,
next, dancing with'hirn oo the rnat, was a woman whose
heavy hips and generous breast gave the lie to her disease-
corroded Face. It was a dance of the living dead, for in
their disintegrating bodies life still loved and longed. Ever
the woman whose.sightless eyes ran scalding tearschanted
her love-cry, ever the dancers daneed of love in the vrarm
night, and er/er the calabashes went around till in,all their
brains were maggots crawling of memory and desire. And
with the wom'an on the mat danced aslender maid whose
face was beautiful and unmarred, but whose nvisted arms
that rose end fell marked the disease's r:rvage. And,the two
idiots;'gib'bering and mouthing strange' noises, danced
apart, grotesque, fantastic, travestying love as they
themselves had been trevestied by life.
But the wornan's love-cry broke midway, the
cdabashes were lowered, and the dancers .easid,,"s dl
gazed into the abps ebove the se4 where a rockct flared
like a wan phantom through the rnoonlit,air.
"It is thesoldiers," said Kooleu.. "Tornorron'therewill
be fighting. It is wcll to sleep and,be prepared."
The lepers obeyed, crawling aw:ry ro thcir lairs in the
cliff, until only Koolau remained, Sitting motisnless in
the moonlight, his.rifle ecross his,knees, as he gazcd far
down to the boats,landing on the beach.
The far.head of Kalalau Vrllry had been,well chosen
as a refuge. Except Kiloliana, who lcnew back uailsup the
precipitous walls, no rnan would winto rlre gorge save biy
advancing across a knife-edgcd ridge. This passage was a
Ko,or.eu nlB Irprn I 2rl
hundred yards.in length. At best, ir was a sqrnt nnelve
inches wide. On either side yawned the abps.
A slip, and
to right or left the rnan would fall to his death. Bui on.e
atross.he would'find himself in an eanhly paradise. A sea
ofvegeation lavcd the landscape, pouring its green billows
from wall to wdl, dripping from the clifflipsin great vine
rnasses, and flinging a spray of ferns and air plants into
the multitudinous crevices.-During the many.months of
IGolau's rule, he and his followers had,fought.with this
vegeable sea. The choking jungle; with itsriot ofblossoms,
had been driven back from the bananas, oranges, and
mangCIes that,grew wild. In litde clearings grew the wild
erro\nJrooq on stone tefieces, filledwith soil scrapings,,were
the aro patches and rhe melons; and in wery open space
where the sunshine penetrated werc papala trees bundined
with thoir golden fruit
' , Koolau,had been
driven to this refuge from the lower
*lLy by the beach..And ifhewere dr,ivenfrom ir in turn,
he*ne$n of,gorges :unong the jumbled p6aks of.the inner
fastnesses where he could lead his subjects and live. And
norv he,lay with his rifle beside him, peering down through
a tanglbd screen offoliage at the soldiers,on the beach. He
noted that they had,large guns with thcm, from which
the sLnshine flashed as from mirrors. The knife-.dged
qassage.lay directly before him. Crawling uErad dong
the trail that led to it he could see tiny specks ofrnen He
kitq" th.y wcr€:not the soldiers, but the ,police. When
thcyAiled; then the .soldiers would enter dre geme.
He affectionately rubbed a nvisted hand along his
rifle barrel and made sure that,the sights were elean. He
hadJearned to shoot as a wild-cattle hunter on.Niihau,
and on that island his skill as a markeman wes unforgotten.
,q's the toiling specks of men grew: nearer and larger, he
estirnated the ,range, judged the deflection of.tle
"rina
252 t AKar^t RrrDEr
that swept at right angles across the line of fire, and
calculated the chances of overshootingmarl<s thatwere so
fu below his lerrcl. But he did not shoot' Not until thcy
reached the beginning of the Passage did he make his
presence known. He did not disclose himself,'but spoke
from the thickct.
"'What do you want?" he dernanded
"r$flewant Koolau, the leperrr ansn'ered the menwho
led the native policc, himsclf a blue-epd Amcrican'
"You must go back," I(oolau said. " :
He knew the rnan, a deputy sherrff, fol it uns by hirn
that he had been haried out of Niihau; xeioss Kauai, to
trktatau Vdlcy, and out of the rnlley to thc gorge:
"'Who areyou?" the sheriffasked.
"I am Koolau,'the leper,? was the rcply.
"Then come out. Ve want you; Dead or dive, there
is a thousand'dolhrs on your head. Youeinnot escape'"
Koolau ln"ghd doud in the thiclcet'
"Cohe o,.rt"'th. sheriff commandcd, and was
anwvered by silence.
He conferred with the police, and Koolau saw that
they- were preparing to rush him.
"Kooliu,i the sheriff called- "Kbolau, I am cqming
across to get you."
"Then look,first and well about )'ou at thc sun and
sea end slqyi foritwill be thc last timeyou"behold them'n
lThat:'s all right, Koolau,'the sheriffsaid soothingly'
"I know you're a dead shot. But you woht shoot me' I
have neircr done you any'wtong.'
Koolau grunted in the thicket.
' "Ilsay, you know, I've nener done you any'wrong'
the sheriff persisted.
have, I?'r
"You do me wrong when you trf to Put rne'in ptison;o
was the rcply. 'And 1,ou do me wrong when you try fur
Ko'or-eurrplrprr I 253
the thousand dollars on my head. If you will live, sray
where you are."
"I:ve got to come across and get you. I'm sorry. But
it
is my duty."
.' "You will diebefore you get across."
The sheriffwas no coward. Yet was,he undecided. He
gazed into the gulf on either side, and ran his eyes along
the knife,edge he must travel. Then he made up his mind.
."Koolaur" he cdled.
But the thicket remained silent.
' "Koolau, dont shoot. I am coming."
The sheriff turned, gave some orders to the police,
then sarted. on his,perilous way. He adnanced slowly. It
was like walking a tight rope. FIe had nothing to lean
upon but the air. The lara rock crumbled under his feet,
and on either side the dislodged fragments pitched
dorvnnnrd through the,depdrs. The sun blazed upon him,
md his face was wet with sweat. Still he advanced, until
the hdfway. point uas reached.
"Stop!" Koolau commanded from the thicket. "One
mbre step and I shoot."
The sheriff hdted, swayrng for bdance as he stood
poised above the void. His face was pde, but his eyes were
deternined. He licked his dry lips before he spoke.
"Koolau, you wont shoor rne. I know you wont."
, He started once more. The bullet whirled him hdf
about. On his facewas an expression ofquerulous surprise
as,he reeled to the fall. He tried to save himself by ttuowing
his body across the, knife-edge; but at that morncnt he
knewdeath.,The next mornent the knife-edgewas vacanr.
Then came the rush, five policemen, in single file, with
superb srcadiness, nrnning dong the knife-edge. At the
same instant the rest ofthe posse opened fire on the thicket.
It was madness. Five times Koolau,pulled the triger, so
254 I AK,rudl RreoPn
rapidly that his'shots constituted a ratde. Changing his
position and crouching low under the bullee that were
biting and singing through the bushes, he peered out' Four
of the police had followed the sheriff, The fifth fay ecros
the knife:edge, still alive. On the farther side, no longer
firing, w€re the surviving police. On the naked rock there
rffas no hope for them. Before they could clamber down
Koolau could have picked off'the last men.'But he did
not fire and,.after a conference, one of.them'took off a
white undershirt and waved it as.a flag.'Followed by
another, he advanced along the knife-edge to their
wounded,comrade. Koolau gave no sign, but watched
them slowly withdraw'and becorne specks as they
descended into the lower vdley.
Two hours la.ter, from another thicket, Koolau
watched a bodl' of policc tr)ang to make the ascent from
the opposite side of thc valley. He saw the wildgoats'flee
before them as they climbed higher and'higheriundlh6
doubted his judgment and sent for Kiloliana,rrho'crawled
in beside him.
"No, there is no way," said Kiloliana.
"The goats?" Koolau questioned.
"They corne over from the next valley, but they cannot
pass to this. There is no,way. Those men are not wiser
than goats, They may fall to their deaths. Let'us'watch."
" Side,by side they lay among the moiningglories' with
the,yellow blossoms of the hau droppingupon drem'fttrm
ovcrhead, watching the rnorcs'of mcn rcil upunrd, till the
thing happened, and three ofthenn, slipping rolling, sliding
dashed'over a clifflip and fell sheerhdf a thousand feet.
Kiloliana chuckled:
:\(e will be bothered no more"' he said.
.ltThey have war guns," Koolatrmade answer. 'The
soldieis have not yet spoken;
Ko.or.au*elei,nn I2r5
their,rockdensaslecp. I(oolau, his ri.fle
on his,knees, nLU
al*d ,*" a"".
and,ready, dqzed in the.cntrag.. .,Iri,
,Th1laid widl thc nvisled:arm,lay below in the thicket
and kept watch on,rhe knife-edie passage. Suddenly
Kool4u was _qtartled, wide awake by the sound qf
an
grplosion,on the beach. The noctinsant
the,atmosphere
was incrcdibly'rent asunder. The te*ible sound frighrened
him. It was as if all the gods had caught,h..n"jop. oi
theskyin thcirhands andwere rippingn apan:rs a,wornan
nps apert a sheet of cotton cloth. But it was such an
irnmense-ripping, growing swiftly nearer. Koolau
Sl*od
apprehensively, as,if expecting to see the thinj..Then
3p
high upon the cliffoverhead the shell burst in a fountain
o,f;black srnoke. The rock was. chattered, thc fragments
falling,to thc foot of the cliff
, Koolau passed his hand ecross,his sweary brow. Hc
rrap terribly shaken. He had no grperience with shellfire,
and this\,eas more drgadful
$an anything he had imagined.
. ,"One,"said Kapahei, suddenly U.ttrinting hilnself
to keep counr.
A second and a third shell flew screaming over
the
top of ,the- wall,. ,bursting beyond view.-Kapahei
mcthoUi,callykept rhcsouo..th" i.p.r, crowded into the
epen spqceb,efore the,eavss. Atfirst theywere ftighrened,
but as the ghells cootinued their flight overhead lhe
bper
f-olkbecame re4gured and began to admire the,p..oa".
The two idiots shrieked with,deligbt,
irrancing wild antics
as each air-tormenting shell went by. Koolau
began to
confidence.. No, damagc was being -dorr..
_
Ucc.oyr -hi1
Evide-ndy- they could not aim such large missiles
at such
long range with the precisiqn of a rifle.
;,,, Butachange c41ne overthe situation. The she[s bcgan
to ftll shon; Oos bunt below ig the thicket
by the k",lA_

bG I AKrue'tRgorr
lay there on
edge. Koolau remembered the maid yho
*"lt"h, and down to see. The smolie was still rising
'an when'he crawled in' He was astounded'
from the bushes
The branches were splintered and broken;'Where the girl
had lain was a hole in the ground. The girl hersdfuns
in
shattered ftagments. The shell had burst right on her'
First peering out to make sure no soldicrs were
attemptint the passage, Koolau stafted back on the run
for the caves: All the time the shells were moening'
whining, screaming by, and the rnlleywas nrmblinq *d
,err"rb"Lting with the orplosion. fu hc came in sight of
the caves, he-saw the two idion cavtirtlngabout, clutching
each otheds hands with their stumps of frngers' Evcn as lie
ran, Koolau saw a sPout of black smoke rise from the
ground, dear to the idioa. They were flung apart bodily
by th" orplosion. One lay motioriless' but'thc other yas
dragging.himself by his hands toward the cave' His legs
aaiita out'helplessly behind hi.m, while thc blood rras
pouring frorn hit body He seemed bathid in blood, arid
as he crawled he cried'like a little dog. The rest of the
lepers, with thc orception of Kapahei, \ad fled into the
cirves.
*Eighteen," he.added'
"Seventeen," said Kapahei.
This last shell had faitly entcred into sne of the caves'
The erplosion cairsed all the caves to cmpty' But fiqorir the
p"ni".rlnt cave no one emerged. KooLu lttpt i" thfo]l+
ih. pong.rrt, acrid smoke. Fouf bodies, filghtfully
m"ngled, lalrabout. One of thern was'the sighdess woman
whose tears'till now had never c€ased'
Outside, Koolau found his people in a parric and,
already beginning to clirnb the goat trail'drat led'tiut
of
the gorge and on amongthe jumb'led herghn'and **ry:
ThJtntJrnnd"d idiot, whining feebly and dragginghimself
along on the ground by his hands, was 'trying to follow'
Ko'ouurHelEprn I2iT
But at first pitch of the w:ll ,his hclplessness overcarne
the.
hirn and he fell back. .
"It trould be better to kill hirn," said Koolau to
Kapahei, who still sat in the sarne place.
"lirenty-two,l' Kapahei ansrrered: '1Yes, it would be
awise thing to ldll him. Twenqy.three-Fyent)'-four.",
The idiot whined sharply when he saw the rifle lwcled
' at hirn l6olau hesitated, then lowered the gun.
"It is a hard thing to do," he said.
' "Yoq.are a fool; men{-sixr.twenty.sev€nr" said
IGpahci. "I*t me showyou.'l
' He arose an4 with a hoy fragment of rock in his
hand, approached the wounded thing. As he lifted his
a$nto,smik€, ashell,burstfrrll upon him, relievinghim of
the necosity of the act and at thc same dme putting en
end to his count.
,- I(oirlau was alone in tlre gorge. He watched the last
of hispeople drag their crippled bod.ies ovcr the brow of
the height and dis*ppear. Thcn he turned and went dqv/n
to thc thicketwhcre the maid had becn killed. The shellfuc
still continued, but he rernained; for far below he could
sce the soldiers climbing up. A shell burst nventy feet away.
Flarteninghimselfinto the eanh, he heard the rushof the
@nents aborrc his body. Ashower ofhau blossoms raincd
upon.him. He lifted hiq head to peer down the.trail, and
sighed. He was very rnuch afraid. Bulles from riflcs would
not havc worried him, br,rt this shell fire was abominable.
Eech time a shell shricked by he shivered and crouchpd;
butcach timehe lifted his hcad again to watch the trail.
' At last the shells ceased. This,'he'reasoned, was
because the soldiers were drawing near.,They crept dong
the trail in single file, and he tried,to count thcm until
he lost track At rate, therc.were a hundred or so of
""y
them*all come after,IGolau the lep€r; He felt a fleeting
 258 I AKeue'l Rreorr'
Ko.orAUTlrELEpEr. I 2ilg
'S7ith war guns and rifles;;police and
prod of pride. in his hands. Though his f.lesh
burned and he smelled it,
soldiers, they came for him, and he was only one man' a there was.no sensadon.
crippled wreck of a man at that. They offered a thousand He lay in th1 thicket, smiling until
. he remembered
, dollars f.or him, dead or dive. In dl'his life he had nsver the.war guns.Wthout doubr rh.y"*JJ of,.,,'..,.io,,Til
possessed that much money. The thought was a bitter again, and this time upon thc
nery thicket;from which he
one. Kapahei had been right. He, Koolau, had done no had inflicted e.,tT*.". Scarcely
wrong. Because the haoles wanted,labor with which to
i"fi;;;;';;
posi.tion- to a nook b"hini",-.U,t outll, of tlie wall where
work the stolen land,, they had brought in the Chinese he had noted that no shells fell, than
rhe bombard"ment
coolies, andwith them had come the sickness. And now, rccommenced. He counted the shells.
Sixty more were
because he had caught the sickness, he was rwbrth a throrrn into,the gorge before the war guns
*^"a. The tiny
thousand dpllars-but not to himself; It was his worthless area $ras pitted with their explosions
clrGlss; rotten with disease or dead from a,bursting shell,
until it ,.u*"i
rSqossib.le that any cre:rnrJ could harrc $rrvived, So
the
that was worth all that tnoney. soldien thought, for, under the bumingafternoon
sun,rhey
\7hen the soldiers reached the knife-edged passege; climbed the goat t1ail rS"".And agai" the
knifc-edgei
he was prornpted to warn tl'rem. But his'gaze fell'upon the p*Ige *r dipputed, and again rhey fell back to *r. d"l.
body of the murdered maid, and he kept silent.Ifrhen six For nvo days longcr Koolau held the passage,
though
had venturcd on the knife-edge, heopcncd fire. Nor did the soldierc contented themselves with flinging she[s inlo
hc cease when the knife-edge was bare, He emptied his his retreat. Then P,ahau, a leper boy, .arne rolg[1.
top of
magazine,'.reloaded;,and. bmptied it again. FIe kept,on the wdl at the back of th" jorg. aod shouted
' dorpn to
shobting. All hiswrongs wcre.blazing inhis brfi,n, and he Kiloliana hunting-go"ats
!1g1;that that they might eat,
was in a fury of vengeance, All down the goat trail dre had,been killed by a fali, th"t the women were
soldiers were firing, and though they lay flat and sotrght frightened and kncw not what"rrd
to shelter thernselves in the shdlow inequdities of,the
to do. I(oolau
"cil"d
;;
boy.down and left liirn wirh a sp:ue gun with;il;
surface, theywere orposed marks to him. Bullets whistled grrat& thc passage.
and thudded about him, and an occasional ricochet sarr,g ' . Koolau found his people disheanened. The majority
sharply through the'air. One bullct ploughed a cr€ase of them were.too helpless to forag€ food foruh"*r.l"o
through his scalp,'and: a,second burned across his shouldcr under such forbidding.cir,cums*"Jr,
and all were r"*rlrrg:
blade without breaking the skin. .' He selected,two $rolnen and.arnan r+ho
were not too far
It was a massacre, in which one'maR did the killing. gonewi,th ttre d.isease; and sent thern back
to the gorgg to
The soldiers b.gan to retreat, helping dong their wounded. bung up food and mats. The resthe cheered
andconsoled
As Koolau picked thern offhe became aware of the'smell until evcn the.weakest took a hand in building.rough
of burnt rneat. 'He glernced about him at first, and then shelters for themselves.
discovered that it was his own hands. Thc heat of the rifle But thosi he had dispatched for food
did not return,
wCI doing it.Thclcproryhad'destroyed most of the nerves and he started baclc for the gorge. As
he came
"",
."
,fr.
 I AKeurl Rgorr
260
brow sf the wall, hdf a dozen ri{les caclced' A bullet tore
through the flcshy part of his shoulder, and his cheekwas
*t by n rliner of rock where e second bullet smashed against
A. iiff. In the moment that this happcned; andhe lcapcd
back, he saw'that the gorgc was dirrc with soldiers; His
own people had betrapd him. The shellfue had beentoo
terrible, and they had prefened thc prison of Molokai'
Koolau dropped'back and unslung onc of his ho7
cartridge bela. Lyingamongthe rocks, he dkvwedthehead
and shoulden of the ffrst soldier to lise clearly into view
before pulling thc rigger. Twice this happeried; and then,
after som. delay, in place of a hcad and shoulders a white
flag was thrust above the edge oFthe wall.
"WlEt do youwant?'f he demanded.
"I wcnt you, if you are Koolau the leper," came the
answer.
'Koolau brgotwhere'he was, forgot werything, as he
lay and marvellid at the strange persistence of these haoles
wlo would have their will though the slqy fell in' Aye,
thcy would have theit will over all men'and'dl things,
wen though they died in getting it. Hc could not but
admire them, too, what of that will in thern'that'was
stronger than life and that bent dl thingt to their bidding'
Hewas convinced of the hopclessness ofhh struggle'There
was no gainsaying that terrible will of the haoles' Though
hc'killed a thousand, pt would thcy rise like the sands of
thc sea and comb upon him;'ever fiore and morc' They
nerrer knew when they were'beaten; That *as'their hult
and their virnre. It was where his own kind lacked' He
could sec, now, how the handful of the preachers of God
and the prelchers of Rum had conqtrercd thc land' Itwas
because- \
{'Well, what have you got to say? \Tillvotr come
ine?"
Ko'or.lu rns LEpEn I 261
': It was the voice.of thc invisible man under the white
flag, There he was, like any haole, driving straight torrard
the end determined.
. "kt us ralh" said lGolau.
Thc man's head and shoulders arose, rhen his whole
body. He was a smboth.ftced, blue,eyed youngster of
nn'cnty-five, slender and nacy in his captaint ,rrrifor-.
F'Ic adranced until hdted, then seated hirnself a dozen
feetarnay.
"You are a brave man," said Koolau wonderingly. ,,I
could kill you like fly."
"
,t'No, you couldntr" was t{re ansrer.
"\[h.y not?"
. "B€cause you are a man, I(oolau, though a bad one.
I
knowyour story. You kill fairly."
Koolau grunted, but was.secredy pleased.
'Vhat have you done with my people?', he demanded.
"The,boy, the nro women, and the,man?"
'*Thry gave.thernselves up, as I hav,e now come for
you to do."
Kodlau laughed incedulously.
!'I am e fiee rnanr" he announced. "I
' have done no
I""ng. All I ask is to be lcft alone. I harrc lived free, and I
shdl die free. I will nwer give m1rcelf up."
i "Then your people are wiser than you," answered the
young capain. "Look-they are cciming now."
' Koolau,turned end watched the remnant ofhis band
apryrroach. Groaning and sighing; a ghastly procession,
itdragged its wretchedness past. It was given to Koolau
to taste a dceper bitrerness, for they hurled,irnprecations
hnd insults'at him as thcywent by;,and the panting hag
w-hobrought up the rear hdted and with skinny, h;py-
claws cxtended, shaking her snarling,deathi head from
with
side to side, she laid'a curse upon him. One by one drey
262 I AKeur't Rqorn
dropped over the lip edge and surrendered to the hiding
soldiers.
"You can go nor$" said Koolau to.the capain' "I
will never give myself up- That is my last word. Good-
by."
The captain slipped over,the cliffto his soldiers. The
neft moment and without a'flag of truce" he hoisted his
hat on his scabbard, and Koolau's bullet tore through it.
That afternoon they shelled him out frorn the beach, and
.as he retreated into the h,igh inaccessible pockets beyond,
the soldiers followed him.
For six weela they htrnted him from pocket to pocket,
over the volcanic peaks and along thc gqat trails. \9hen
he hid in the lintana jungle, they furmed,lincs of beateis,
and through lantana iungle and guarn scrub they drove
him like a rabbitu, But ever he tu,rned and doubled and
eluded. There wxs no,Gor'r€ring hirn.llThen pressed too
closely, his sure rifle held them back and they carried their
wounded dorvn the goat trails to the beach. There were
times when they did the shooting as his broun body
showed for a moment through the underbrush. Once, five
of them caught hirn on an orposed goet rail between
pockets. They emptied their rifles at him as he lirnped
and climbed along his dizry wry. |rfterward they found
bloodstains and knew th". 56 v3s:rYounded, At the end
ofsixweelc theygave up. The,soldiers and policc renrrned
to Honolulu, and lGlalau Valley'was lcft to,hirn for his
own, though headhunters ventured aftcr him from time
to time and to,their own undoing.
. Two pars later, and for the last time, Koslau crawled
into a thicket and lay down arnong the d'leaves and wild
grnger blossoms. hp had lived, andGec he was dn"g.
'Freb
A slight drizzleof rain began to fall;,and he'drew a raggcd
blanket about the distoned wreck of his lirnbs. His body
Ko.orzru nre Lem [ 263
was covered wirh an oilskin coar. Across his
chest he laid
his Mauser rifle, lin$ering affectionatcly for a moment
ro
wipe the darnpness from the barrel. The hand with
which
he wiped had no fingers left upon it with which
to pull
the trigger.
He closed his eyes, for, from the weakness in his body
and the fu2ry urmoil in his brain, he knew that.his end
wes near. Like a wild animal he had crept into hiding.to
die. Half conscious, aimle$s andwandering, he lived b-ack
in his life to his early manhood on Niihau. As life faded
and the drip of the rain grew dim in his ears, it seemed to
:him that he was once, more in the thick of the horse-
bredleing with raw colts rearing and bucking under him,
his stirrups tied togsther beneath, or charging madly about
r,the'breakiirg cori.al
andidriving the helping cowboys over
,thp.qalo, The nercr instant, a$d with seeming naruralness,
he found himself'pursuing qhg wild bulls Jf ,n.
Fftures, roping'them and leading them down "pf*J to the
vaflqzs. Again thisweatand dust ofthe brandingpen stung
hir .yo and bit his nostrils.
, All his lusty, whole-bodigd youth was his, until the
sharp pangp of impending dissolution brought him back.
$e lifted his monstroui hands "ttd gar.d at them in
{,vonder- But how? Vhy? \7hy should the wholeness of
thagwildyouth ofhis change to this?llen he remembered,
44d once agpin, and for a moment, he was Koolau, the
Ieper. His eyelids flumered wearily down and the drip of
,$1 *i" o*ed in his ears. A prolonged trembling r.i up
in hisrbody. Tfrip, too, ceased. He hdf lifted his,head, but
,it.fell back. Then his Eyes opened, and did not close. His
Jast thought was of his Mauser, and he presse{ it against
his chest, wirh his folded,,fingerless hands.
:-
EEE