The next morning the old men saw Kaleihokuu, and said to him, "Here we have come to become acquainted with your foster-son. May it please the gods that he be like that fine young fellow who entertained us at your house! Our bones would revive."—"Ah, indeed," replied Kaleihokuu; "he who has so well received you is my keiki hanai. I left him at the house on purpose to perform for you the duties of hospitality." The two old men, rejoiced at what they learned, told the priest and his adopted son the ill treatment they had received at the court of Hakau. No more was needed to kindle a war at once.
At the head of a considerable troop of people attached to the service of Kaleihokuu, Umi went by forced marches to Waipio, and the next day Hakau had ceased to reign. He had been slain by the very hand of the vigorous foster-son of the priest.
THE REIGN OF UMI.
Umi ruled in place of Hakau. His two aikane, Koi and Omakamau, had joined him, and resided at his court. Piimaiwaa of Hilo was his most valiant warrior. Ia ia ka mama kakaua—to him belonged the bâton of war, a figurative expression denoting the general-in-chief. Pakaa was one of the favorites of Umi, and Lono was his kahuna.
While Umi reigned over the eastern shores of the island, one of his cousins, Keliiokaloa, ruled the western coast, and held his court at Kailua. It was under the reign of this prince, about two centuries before the voyage of Captain Cook, that a ship was wrecked near Keei, in the district of Kona, not far from the place where the celebrated English navigator met his death in 1779. It was about 1570[[C]] that men of the white race first landed in the archipelago. One man and one woman escaped from the wreck, and reached land near Kealakeakua. Coming to the shore, these unfortunates prostrated themselves on the lava, with their faces to the earth, whence comes the name Kulou, a bowing down, which the place which witnessed this scene still bears. The shipwrecked persons soon conformed to the customs of the natives, who pretend that there exists to our day a family of chiefs descended from these two whites. The Princess Lohea, daughter of Liliha,[[16]] still living, is considered of this origin. Keliiokaloa, who reigned over the coast where this memorable event took place, was a wicked prince, who delighted in wantonly felling cocoa-nut trees and laying waste cultivated lands. His ravages induced Umi to declare war against him.
He took the field at the head of his army, accompanied by his famous warrior, Piimaiwaa; his friends, Koi and Omakamau; his favorite, Pakaa; and Lono, his Kahuna. He turned the flanks of Mauna Kea, and advancing between this mountain and Hualalai, in the direction of Mauna Loa, arrived at the great central plateau of the island, intending to make a descent upon Kailua. Keliiokaloa did not wait for him. Placing himself at the head of his warriors, he marched to meet Umi. The two armies met on the high plain bounded by the colossi of Hawaii, at the place which is called Ahua a Umi.
Two men of the slave race, called Laepuni, famous warriors of Keliiokaloa, fought with a superhuman courage, and Umi was about to fall under their blows, when Piimaiwaa, coming to his rescue, caused the victory to incline to his side. Although history is silent, it is probable that the king of Kailua perished in the battle.
This victory completely rid Umi of his last rival; he reigned henceforth as sole ruler of Hawaii; and to transmit to posterity the remembrance of this remarkable battle, he caused to be erected on the battle-field, by the people of the six provinces, Hilo, Hamakua, Kohala, Kona, Ka'u, and Puna, a singular monument, composed of six polyhedral piles of ancient lava collected in the vicinity. A seventh pyramid was raised by his nobles and officers. In the centre of these enormous piles of stone he built a temple, whose remains are still sufficiently perfect to enable one to restore the entire plan. The whole of this vast monument is called, after the name of its builder, the Heaps of Umi—Ahua Umi.
Umi built another temple at the foot of Pohaku Hanalei, on the coast of Kona, called Ahua Hanalei. A third temple was also erected by him on the flank of Mauna Kea, in the direction of Hilo, at the place called Puukeekee. Traces of a temple built by the same king may also be recognized at Mauna Halepohaha, where are found the ruins of Umi's houses covered with a large block of lava.[[17]]
They give Umi the name of King of the Mountains. Tradition declares that he retired to the centre of the island, through love for his people, and these are the reasons which explain the seclusion to which he devoted himself. It was a received custom in Hawaiian antiquity that the numerous attendants of the chiefs, when traversing a plantation, should break down the cocoa-nuts, lay waste the fields, and commit all sorts of havoc prejudicial to the interests of proprietors or cultivators. To avoid a sort of scourge which followed the royal steps, Umi made his abode in the mountains, in order that the robberies of his attendants might no longer cause the tears of the people to flow. In his retreat Umi lived, with his retainers, upon the tribute in kind which his subjects brought him from all parts of the coast. In time of famine, his servants went through the forest and collected the hapuu, a nourishing fern which then took the place of poi.