The ancient Hawaiians were not savages, in the proper sense of the term, but barbarians of a promising type. When we consider that they occupied the most isolated position in the world, and that they were destitute of metals and of beasts of burden, as well as of the cereal grains, cotton, flax and wool, we must admit that they had made a creditable degree of progress towards civilization. Like the other Polynesians, they had not invented the art of making pottery, or the use of the loom for weaving. Their cutting tools were made of stone, sharks' teeth or bamboo. Their axes were made of hard, fine grained lava, chiefly found on the mountain summits. Their principal implement for cultivating the soil was simply a stick of hard wood, either pointed or shaped into a flat blade at the end. With these rude tools they cut and framed the timbers for their houses, which were oblong with long sides and steep roofs, and were thatched with _pili_ grass, ferns or _hala_ leaves. In the building as well as in the management of canoes they were unsurpassed. For containers they used a large gourd (_cucurbita maxima_, which was not found elsewhere in the Pacific), and also cut out circular dishes of wood as truly as if they had been turned in a lathe. For clothing they beat out the inner bark of the paper mulberry and of some other trees, until it resembled thick flexible paper, when it was called _kapa_ or _tapa_. For insignia of rank, they made splendid feather cloaks, and feather helmets, which were worn only by chiefs. For lights they used the oily nuts of the _kukui_ or candle-nut tree. For food they chiefly depended upon the tuberous roots of the _taro_ plant (_Colocasia antiquorum_), but sweet potatoes were cultivated in the dry districts, and yams in Kauai and Niihau. They also cultivated bananas and sugar cane and the _awa_ or _kava_ plant for its narcotic properties. Fishing was carried on with great ingenuity and skill. Extensive fish ponds were built along the coasts, which must have cost immense labor. Their food was cooked then, as now, by steaming it in an _imu_ or underground oven with heated stones. Fire was produced by friction, viz., by rubbing a hard, pointed stick in a groove made in a piece of softer wood, until the little heap of fine powder collected at the end of the groove took fire. There was no circulating medium which served the purpose of money, and all trade was conducted by barter. CIVIL POLITY. The civil polity of the ancient Hawaiians was far more despotic than that of any other Polynesian tribe. The community was divided into three classes, namely: 1. The nobility or _Alii_ (N. Z. _Ariki_), comprising the kings and chiefs of various grades of rank. 2. The priests, _Kahuna_ (N. Z. _Tahunga_), including priests, sorcerers and doctors. 3. The common people, _Makaainana_, or laboring class.