--- title: The Annihilation of Keoua’s Army — Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology) · full text with trees description: The Annihilation of Keoua’s Army, «Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology)» by W. D. Westervelt: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: Almost exactly thirty-four years before Kapiolani defied the worship of the fire-goddess Pele, Keoua, a high chief, --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/21/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mytholo…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/) / The Annihilation of Keoua’s Army # The Annihilation of Keoua’s Army The Annihilation of Keoua’s Army of «Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology)» by W. D. Westervelt: the whole text, 60 sentences and 1357 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. Almost exactly thirty-four years before Kapiolani defied the worship of the fire-goddess Pele, Keoua, a high chief, lost a large part of his army near the volcano Kilauea.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") This was in November, 1790.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") Ka-lani-opuu had been king over the island Hawaii.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") When he died in 1782, he left the kingdom to his son Kiwalao, giving the second place to his nephew Kamehameha.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") War soon arose between the cousins.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") Kamehameha defeated and killed the young king.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") Kiwalao’s half-brother Keoua escaped to his district Ka-u, on the southwestern side of the island.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") His uncle Keawe-mau-hili escaped to his district Hilo on the southeastern side.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") For some years the three factions practically let each other alone, although there was desultory fighting.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the high chief of Hilo accepted Kamehameha as his king and sent his sons to aid Kamehameha in conquering the island Maui.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") Keoua was angry with his uncle Keawe-mau-hili.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") He attacked Hilo, killed his uncle and ravaged Kamehameha’s lands along the northeastern side of the island.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") Kamehameha quickly returned from Maui and made an immediate attack on his enemy, who had taken possession of a fertile highland plain called Waimea.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") From this method of forcing unexpected battle came the Hawaiian saying, “The spear seeks Waimea like the wind.”[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") Keoua was defeated and driven through forests along the eastern side of Mauna Kea (The white mountain) to Hilo.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") Then Kamehameha sent warriors around the western side of the island to attack Keoua’s home district.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") Meanwhile, after a sea fight in which he defeated the chiefs of the islands Maui and Oahu, he set his people to building a great temple chiefly for his war-god Ka-ili.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") This was the last noted temple built on all the islands.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Keoua heard of the attack on his home, therefore he gave the fish-ponds and fertile lands of Hilo to some of his chiefs and hastened to cross the island with his army by way of a path near the volcano Kilauea.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") He divided his warriors into three parties, taking charge of the first in person.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") They passed the crater at a time of great volcanic activity.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") A native writer, probably Kamakau, in the native newspaper Kuokoa, 1867, describes the destruction of the central part of this army by an awful explosion from Kilauea.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") He said: “Thus was it done.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") Sand, ashes, and stones grew up from the pit into a very high column of fire, standing straight up.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") The mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were below it.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") The people even from Ka-wai-hae \[a seaport on the opposite side of the mountains\] saw this wonderful column with fire glowing and blazing to its very top.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") When this column became great it blew all to pieces into sand and ashes and great stones, which for some days continued to fall around the sides of Kilauea.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") Men, women, and children were killed.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") Mona, one of the army, who saw all this but who escaped, said that one of the chiefesses was ill and some hundreds of the army had delayed their journey to guard her and so escaped this death.”[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") Dibble, the first among the missionaries to prepare a history of the islands, gave the following description of the event:[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") “Keoua’s path led by the great volcano of Kilauea.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") There they encamped.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") In the night a terrific eruption took place, throwing out flame, cinders, and even heavy stones to a great distance and accompanied from above with intense lightning and heavy thunder.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") In the morning Keoua and his companions were afraid to proceed and spent the day in trying to appease the goddess of the volcano, whom they supposed they had offended the day before by rolling stones into the crater.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") But on the second night and on the third night also there were similar eruptions.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") On the third day they ventured to proceed on their way, but had not advanced far before a more terrible and destructive eruption than any before took place; an account of which, taken from the lips of those who were part of the company and present in the scene, may not be an unwelcome digression.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") ‘The army of Keoua set out on their way in three different companies.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") The company in advance had not proceeded far before the ground began to shake and rock beneath their feet and it became quite impossible to stand.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") Soon a dense cloud of darkness was seen to rise out of the crater, and almost at the same instant the electrical effect upon the air was so great that the thunder began to roar in the heavens and the lightning to flash.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") It continued to ascend and spread abroad until the whole region was enveloped and the light of day was entirely excluded.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") The darkness was the more terrific, being made visible by an awful glare from streams of red and blue light variously combined that issued from the pit below, and being lit up at intervals by the intense flashes of lightning from above.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") Soon followed an immense volume of sand and cinders which were thrown in high heaven and came down in a destructive shower for many miles around.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") Some few persons of the forward company were burned to death by the sand and cinders and others were seriously injured.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") All experienced a suffocating sensation upon the lungs and hastened on with all possible speed.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") ‘The rear body, which was nearest the volcano at the time of the eruption, seemed to suffer the least injury, and after the earthquake and shower of sand had passed over, hastened forward to escape the dangers which threatened them, and rejoicing in mutual congratulations that they had been preserved in the midst of such imminent peril.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") ‘But what was their surprise and consternation when, on coming up with their comrades of the centre party, they discovered them all to have become corpses.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") Some were lying down, and others sitting upright clasping with dying grasp their wives and children and joining noses (their form of expressing affection) as in the act of taking a final leave.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") So much like life they looked that they at first supposed them merely at rest, and it was not until they had come up to them and handled them that they could detect their mistake.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") Of the whole party, including women and children, not one of them survived to relate the catastrophe that had befallen their comrades.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") The only living being they found was a solitary hog, in company with one of the families which had been so suddenly bereft of life.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") In those perilous circumstances, the surviving party did not even stay to bewail their fate, but, leaving their deceased companions as they found them, hurried on and overtook the company in advance at the place of their encampment.’[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") “Keoua and his followers, of whom the narrator of this scene were a part, retreated in the direction they had come.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") On their return, they found their deceased friends as they had left them, entire and exhibiting no other marks of decay than a sunken hollowness in their eyes; the rest of their bodies was in a state of entire preservation.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") They were never buried, and their bones lay bleaching in the sun and rain for many years.”[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") A blast of sulphurous gas, a shower of heated embers, or a volume of heated steam would sufficiently account for this sudden death.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") Some of the narrators who saw the corpses affirm that, though in no place deeply burnt, yet they were thoroughly scorched.”[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") Keoua’s prophets ascribed this blow from the gods to their high chief’s dislike of Hilo and gift to sub-chiefs of the fish-ponds, which were considered the favorite food-producers for offerings to Hiiaka, the youngest member of the Pele family.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") Kamehameha’s prophets said that this eruption was the favor of the gods on his temple building.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") The people said it was proof that Pele had taken Kamehameha under her especial protection and would always watch over his interests and make him the chief ruler.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") XIX[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [Pili and Noho](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/20/) - next →: [Destruction of Kamehameha’s Fish-ponds](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/22/) - ↑ back to [Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/)