# LXXIII explained — Roughing It

> Chapter companion for Roughing It by Mark Twain.

## What happens

The narrator hires a Kanaka to canoe to the ancient ruins at Honaunau, describing the native canoe, the journey, and the sights including coral, porpoises, and surf-bathing. They visit the City of Refuge, a vast stone enclosure with a history of sanctuary for criminals and rebels, and see a petrified lava cascade and tunnels.

## Themes in this chapter

### Colonialism and Cultural Change

The narrator reflects on the ancient Hawaiian customs and the mystery of the ruins, highlighting the contrast between native traditions and Western perspectives.

### Humor and Exaggeration

The narrator humorously describes the giant chief and the implausible tradition of Queen Kaahumanu hiding under a rock.

### Work and Labor

The narrator notes the chief's oversight of his subjects' work and the engineering skill evident in the paved road.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Describes the canoe trip and the ruins.

### Kaahumanu

Mentioned in a tradition about hiding under a rock.

### Kamehameha

Possibly planned and built the paved road.

## Key lines

> Within this enclosure, in early times, have been three rude temples, each two hundred and ten feet long by one hundred wide, and thirteen high.

Inside the walls were three simple temples, each 210 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 13 feet tall.

_Describes the dimensions of the temples within the City of Refuge._

> The same old fourteen-footer brought it down from the mountain, merely for fun (he had his own notions about fun), and propped it up as we find it now and as others may find it a century hence, for it would take a score of horses to budge it from its position.

The legendary fourteen-foot-tall chief moved the seven-ton rock from the mountain for amusement, and it remains in place, immovable by many horses.

_Exaggerated tale about the giant chief moving a massive rock._

> But these Kanakas will lie, and this statement is one of their ablest efforts—for Kaahumanu was six feet high—she was bulky—she was built like an ox—and she could no more have squeezed herself under that rock than she could have passed between the cylinders of a sugar mill.

The narrator dismisses the story of Queen Kaahumanu hiding under the rock as a lie, noting her large size made it impossible.

_Skeptical commentary on a local tradition._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters/lxxiii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/roughing_it_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters