But some of the chiefs went out and instead of bringing the wounded man into the council took him and twisted the spear-point, pulling it back and forth, until he died.
After Ka-meha-meha returned from his Puna excursion he rested for a time. His adventure was not encouraging. He decided that he could not hasten the plans of the gods. The ancient Hawaiian was very much of a fatalist. So also is the Hawaiian of to-day. What has to be is accepted without rebellion.
Ka-meha-meha realised that he was too weak, both in personal strength and in the number of warriors, to make further effort for the time being. Therefore, he sent his warriors home to cultivate their fields and prepare new war material for future conflicts.
While this preparation was going on, a new element entered into Hawaiian warfare. The white man’s ships and the white man’s weapons were becoming familiar to the great king.
White men were secured to take charge of small cannon, and to drill squads of warriors equipped with the rude firearms of a century ago.
Some of these white leaders and their muskets found their way into the service of almost all the important chiefs throughout the islands.
Ka-meha-meha owned the best harbours and offered the best inducements for trade with the foreigners. He secured the best equipment of arms [[172]]and men. This gave Ka-meha-meha a vast advantage over the antagonistic kings and chiefs of his own and other islands. He had large boats built and armed with small swivel cannon. He had sixteen foreigners in his service. He led his victorious warriors from island to island. In his last campaign it is said his fleet of canoes lined the beach of one of the islands for a distance of four miles.
In a few years his friends saw the prophecy fulfilled. “His cloud was resting on the mountains of all the islands.” He had unified the group under one autocratic government, and had established the Ka-meha-meha dynasty.
By courtesy Paradise of the Pacific