Place Names | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 11, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The King and His Court

“The king and his small court, have for several years resided chiefly at Lahaina, in the island of Maui; but since the end of June, they have been living here (Honolulu); and I understand, this capital is to be their permanent residence.”

“It is desirable that his majesty should not be too far removed from the seat of his government, as his absence subjects his ministers to misrepresentation, and creates delay from the necessity of consulting him on all important measures of administration.”

“I understand that during the recent troubles of his kingdom, and till the ‘fiat’ of her Britannic majesty’s government, upon the questions referred to them, were known, it was his majesty’s wish to keep himself out of the way of unnecessary intrusion, whereby the prestige of his prerogatives might be impaired.”

“There never was, nor could be any wish on the part of his ministers to throw his majesty into the shade by studiously keeping him in retirement. In the existing state of things, it became their duty, in concurrence with the royal wish, to shield their master’s prerogatives from any encroachment that could prejudice them in the eyes of his subjects.”

“Now, his majesty appears on the arena as a member of the family of recognized independent sovereigns, and the ministers are attempting to place his court, and organize his tribunals, upon a footing suited to his altered situation. In all this they only do what is their duty to the king, and what foreign governments will expect them to do.”

“Where everything was to be created de novo, errors are but to be expected; and fault has been found with the code of court etiquette decreed, and with the etiquette observed on the laid festival of the 31st of July,”

“After the explanation rendered, I believe by authority, in the Polynesian of the 31st of July, an intention to avoid any offensive preference becomes manifest; and with a government so young and surrounded by so many embarrassments, in my opinion offence ought not be felt, where no intention to give it can be suspected.”

“On proper application being made previously, the representatives of foreign powers are at all times admitted to a personal interview with the king, for the purpose of submitting to his majesty any case of well-founded grievance which any of their countrymen may have against the government or authorities of the country.”

“In speaking of the court, I cannot well omit making some allusion to the King himself. In all countries the character of the sovereign is to be approached with respect, and in this particular instance I do so in strict accordance with the feeling which I entertain towards the king of these islands.”

“It is not a little remarkable that in a society where there are some few individuals disposed to blame, censure and find fault with everything and everybody, I have never heard a single remark unfavorable to his majesty Kamehameha III.”

“All admit the goodness of his disposition; none profess to doubt the soundness of his intentions; none accuse him of cruelty, tyranny or oppression; and those who have familiar access to him, all concur in ascribing to his majesty much natural talent, and a good deal of acquired information.”

“Amongst those, I am happy to quote my friend Major Low, of the Bengal army, who lately made a tour in these islands, and after presenting to the king an introductory note from HRM’s consul general, experienced from his majesty the utmost kindness, rendered in the most frank, generous and gentlemanly spirit.”

“The Major retired from these islands with the most favorable opinion of his majesty’s character and talent. “

“His majesty of late years has become both the patron and the example of temperance among his subjects; and no one can be more regular in his attendance at church, or more zealous in discouraging the pagan rites, ceremonies and superstitions that formerly prevailed amongst the natives.”

“Kamehameha III is now about thirty two years of age, and though less robust than some of the chiefs, enjoys good health. On the 29 February 1837, he was married to Kalama, now aged twenty-seven years, but by whom he has no offspring.”

“In the event of his having no succession, the crown will devolve upon Alexander Liholiho, whom his majesty has adopted for that purpose. He is a sprightly promising youth, now in his eleventh year.”

“A singular feature in this monarchy is the custom of appointing a female to be premier of the kingdom. This custom seems to have originated in the will of Kamehameha I, which declared the kingdom to belong to his son Liholiho, but that Kaahumanu, (one of his queens,) should be his minister.”

“The present premier is Kekāuluohi, aged forty eight, and apparently much respected by all classes. Her attributes under the constitution are to carry into execution all business which the king wishes to transact – to be his majesty’s special counselor in the great business of the kingdom …”

“… to receive reports of all government property and make it over to the king and to concur with and approve all important business which the king may transact in person.”

“Whatever business in the kingdom she does, is to be considered as executed by the king’s authority—but the king has a veto on her acts, while his own are not binding unless approved of by her.”

“The premier has one son, William Charles Lunalilo, an interesting youth, now in his tenth year, but I presume his sex disqualifies him from being her successor, as Victoria Kamāmalu, now in her sixth year, is the reputed heir to the premiership.”

“I may add here that no pains are spared by Mr. and Mrs. Cook, through proper education and training, to fit these young persons, Alexander and Victoria, for the high functions which they are to be called upon to perform.”

“They are the children of his excellency Kekūanāoʻa, governor of Oahu by Kīna’u or Kaahumanu the second premier.” (Wyllie; The Friend, November 1, 1844)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Kamehameha_III-Kauikeaouli

January 10, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Emil Van Lil

“In September, 1865, the spit of land on the northern or windward side of the island of Molokai was chosen as a suitable site for the establishment of a settlement for the segregation of lepers.”

“The site is probably one of the most suitable and isolated that could have been chosen for such a purpose. It is surrounded on the north, east, and west by the sea, and the base or southern side is placed beneath a steep pali or precipice from 1,800 to 2,000 feet high, which discourages communication with the rest of the island.”

“The first settlement was at Kalawao, on the eastern side of the spit of land. It lies close to the mountains at the rear and is much exposed to the northeast trade winds.”

“Kalaupapa, the more recent and larger settlement, is situated on the plain to the westward, is further removed from the steep cliffs, and is somewhat protected from northeast winds by the crater of Kahukoo.”

“When the board of health first opened the settlement, and for many years afterwards, much difficulty was experienced from the presence of persons who owned parcels of land in this tract and who were called Kamainas or old settlers. They were not subject to the laws governing lepers, and were free to come and go from the settlement at will.”

“The Hawaiian government has secured the property owned by those Kamainas, and they have been removed from the settlement. Molokai is probably the most complete settlement of its kind in the world.”

“It has hospitals, churches, homes for leprous children, male and female, stores, market dispensaries, cottages for leper residents, jail, storehouses, etc. The majority of the lepers live in cottages built by themselves or by the government, and in the settlement there is a total of all buildings of 716.” (Carmichael, Leprosy in the US, December 30, 1898)

“At a distance Kalaupapa looks like a prosperous little town, and in anticipation of the visit of the board of health a large number of the habitants had gathered at the landing place, some on foot and many mounted on horses.”

“Some difficulty was experienced in landing, which was done by open boat, there being no docks or wharves, as there was a strong northerly swell and the surf was somewhat dangerous. In the hands of natives skilled in surfboating this was soon accomplished without accident, and the entire party landed.”

“Here were seen the different churches, Protestant, Catholic, and Mormon, including that built by Father Damien, and the grave of this leper martyr by the church side. The Baldwin Home for leprous boys was then visited, and the hospitals and cottages for the accommodation of lepers in various stages of the disease.” (Carmichael, Public Health Reports, December 30, 1898)

American Protestant missionary H Harvey Hitchcock held a three-day meeting at Kala‘e, on the cliffs above Kalaupapa, in 1838, which was attended by many from the peninsula and the northern valleys. (An out-station of the Kalua‘aha mission was established there around 1840.) In 1839 a Hawai’ian missionary teacher named Kanakaokai was stationed on the peninsula.

Siloama Protestant Church was the first church to be erected at Kalawao Settlement at Kalaupapa, it was originally constructed and dedicated on October 28, 1871 by the Protestant Congregational Church.

Kana‘ana Hou Church (New Canaan church) was a branch of Siloama’s church; it was built in Kalaupapa in 1878 and enlarged in 1890. In 1881, the congregations of Kalawao and Kalaupapa united as Kanaana Hou. Siloama Church was rebuilt in the 1960s.

Belgium-born Joseph De Veuster arrived in Honolulu on March 19, 1864. There he was ordained a Catholic Priest in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on May 31 and took the name of Damien.

Another Belgian, John Emil Van Lil, son of John Francis Van Lil and Marie Teresa, came to the peninsula near the turn of the century. He was a lay Catholic brother assisted at the Baldwin Home.

He later was in “charge of all (animal) stock. Mr. Van Lil is a practical farmer, and enthusiastic in his work and I feel that our dairy and farm matters are in good hands.” (Report of the Superintendent of the Leper Settlement, BOH Annual Report, 1903)

“(A) hog ranch (had previously been started) with one boar and ten sows. We have now over one hundred pigs. but through lack of food am unable to go ahead as fast as we might. As the pork is to be issued to the people in lieu of beef, I do not believe it would be a paying proposition to purchase food from the outside.”

“We have cleared about six acres of land in one of the sheltered valleys and planted four thousand papaia trees; about 50 per cent. of which are coming along nicely.”

“We have also planted about two acres in pumpkins which are also doing well. As papaias and pumpkins make good hog feed combined with the cooked offal from the slaughter house. it is only a question of time until we will have sufficient food for all the hogs we can raise.” (Report of the Superintendent of the Leper Settlement, BOH Annual Report, 1903)

“The general health conditions of the Settlement have been excellent … and I here with wish to express my appreciation to Superintendent McVeigh for his foresight in establishing and maintaining this dairy …”

“… as well as to Mr. Emil Van Lil for his able management of the same; not one of the numerous daily milk orders issued having been dishonored, although some 56 gallons of milk are requisitioned daily.” (Board of Health Annual Report, 1906)

A patient from Lahaina, Elizabeth Kaehukai (Baker) Napoleon, had “married Walter U(w)aia Napoleon on April 26, 1890 and they had 12 children together. Seventeen years later, she and Uaia divorced on Dec. 27, 1907.”

“The divorce decree states, ‘On 11 Nov. 1907, Uaia, without just cause or provocation, turned Elizabeth out of his house, and refused to allow her to re-enter their house. Uaia utterly failed, neglected and refused to provide Elizabeth lodging, clothing, food and other necessities. Uaia also refused to allow their children to see or talk with her.’”

“It is likely that Uaia suspected Elizabeth had early signs of leprosy and this is why he kicked her out of the house. By court order, Elizabeth was allowed visits with her children on Saturdays and Monday from 9 am to 7 pm. On Sept. 22, 1911, she was taken in for suspicion of leprosy. She was sent to Kalaupapa on April 9, 1912.” (NPS)

There, she met and married (October 12, 1914) Van Lil at Kalawao. “Six months later, Van Lil was examined on April 10, 1915 and found to have leprosy. He was 59 years old.” (NPS)

“The huge Belgian dairyman, good Van Lil, of old memory, now a patient, had married another, and the pair lived happily in a vine-hidden cottage near Kalawao, making the most of their remaining time on earth.”

“Beyond a fleeting embarrassment in his vague blue eye, he met us on the Damien Road with the undimmed buoyancy of other years, and our eyes could see no blemish on his face. Probably we were more affected than he, for in the main the victim of leprosy is as optimistic as he of the White Plague.”

“And Emil Van Lil was not the only one whom we saw who had perforce changed his status toward society in the intervening eight years. The little mail-carrier who had led us up out of the Settlement, we found in the Bay View Home, cheerful as of yore, although far gone with the malefic blight.”

“And, auwe! some of the men and women we had known here before as extreme cases still lingered, sightless perhaps, but trying to smile with what was left of their contorted visages, in recognition of our voices.”

“Others, whose closing throats had smothered them, breathed through silver tubes in their windpipes. Strange is this will to persist tenacity of life!” (Charmian London )wife of Jack London), 1917)

“Van Lil died four years after Elizabeth on May 2, 1925. He does not have a marked grave.” (NPS)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

John Emil Van Lil

Kalaupapa Molokai-Bertram

Kalaupapa Dairy-Van Lil in white-NPS

Kalaupapa Dairy-Van Lil center-NPS

Catholic Mission_Church-Bertram

Kalaupapa, Molokai-Bertram

Catholic Mission Church-Bertram

St. Philomena’s Church-Bertram

St. Philomena Church-Bertram

January 8, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Apili

“The valley of Kalihi succeeds to that of Anuana (Nu‘uanu), but is less bold and diversified in its scenery. Human dwellings and cultivated lands are here very few, or scattered thinly over a great extent of, probably, the finest soil in the world.”

“The commencement of the valley is a broad pasture-plain 0 the tall grass waving on every side, and intersected by a footpath, reminding one forcibly of the rural scenes which precede the hay-harvest in England.”

“Kalihi has a pass to the vale of Kolau similar to the pari of Anuana, though more precipitous, and only employed by a few of the islanders who convey fish from Kolau to Honoruru.” (Bennett)

“Kalihi had a shallow seaside area, now the shore of Kalihi Basin, that was, like that of Moanalua, ideal for the building of fishponds …. On the flatlands below the valley there were extensive terraces on both sides of the stream, while along the stream in the lower valley there were numerous areas with small terraces.”

“The interior valley was rough and narrow and not suitable for lo‘i but it would have been good for sweet potatoes, yams, wauke, and bananas, which probably were planted there.” (Handy)

Numerous taro pondfields, or lo‘i, were claimed during the Māhele, particularly along the Kalihi and Niuhelewai Streams, which served as the eastern and western boundaries of Kalihi. However, on the flat of Kaluapuhi where Kalihi Kai meets the ocean, there is no indication of taro lo‘i or fresh water sources. (Cultural Surveys)

There were five fishponds in Kalihi Kai, Ananoho, Auiki, Pāhouiki, Pāhounui and Apili. Apili pond was about 28-acres, with the wall surrounding it about 1,500-feet long.

Apili (“caught, snared, or stuck”) was noted for its awa (milkfish), a fish “which vied with the ‘ama‘ama (mullet) in popularity”. “The fishpond is yet famous for the superior flavor of its fish, particularly the awa, which, eaten raw, is esteemed a rare treat by native epicures.” (Cultural Surveys) (It was near what is now Sand Island Access Road and Hoonee Place.)

In 1828, Queen Kaʻahumanu gave Captain Alexander Adams over 290-acres of land in Kalihi Valley in connection with and in gratitude for his services. The area was called Apili, and included the pond.

Adams was born December 27, 1780; he left Scotland in 1792 to begin a life of working on the sea. This eventually led him to Hawaiʻi, where he arrived in 1811 on the American trading ship the ‘Albatross’ from Boston.

He became an intimate friend and confidential advisor to King Kamehameha I, who entrusted to him the command of the king’s sandalwood fleet. He became the first regular pilot for the port of Honolulu, a position he held for 30-years.

Adams is credited with helping to design the Hawaiian flag – a new flag for Hawaiʻi was needed to avoid confusion by American vessels (prior to that time, Hawaiian vessels flew the British Union Jack.)

After 30 years of piloting, Adams retired in 1853, grew fruit on his land in Kalihi Valley, and was great host to visitors. He also had a home on what was named Adams Lane (in 1850,) a small lane in downtown Honolulu off of Hotel Street named after him (near the Hawaiian Telephone company building.)

Adams married three times, his first was to Sarah “Sally” Davis, daughter of Isaac Davis; two of his wives were the Harbottle sisters (Sarah Harbottle and Charlotte Harbottle,) who were reared by Queen Kaʻahumanu and were favorites at court. According to his personal account, he was the father of 15 children, eight of whom were by his third wife.

The estate in Niu Valley was held by his granddaughter Mary Lucas, who started subdividing it in the 1950s. The area created by the filling of Kupapa Fishpond is now the site of numerous oceanfront homes.

Old Niu Fishpond (Kupapa Fishpond) is part of a tract of 2,446 acres that was once a summer home of Kamehameha I and which later claimed by Alexander Adams under Claim No. 802 filed Feb. 14, 1848, with the land commission at the time of the Great Māhele.

“A favorite place of resort for old residents in those days was Captain Alexander Adams’ residence at Kalihi. Adams was the pioneer par excellence of foreigners then living in the country”.

“Adams had a few acres of land enclosed at the mouth of the Kalihi stream, some three miles from town, where he cultivated grapes, bananas, pine-apples and a variety of vegetables.”

“Here, on holidays (and every Sunday) were wont to gather a number of Adams’ acquaintances, mostly Scotchmen like himself, ‘trusty, drouthy cronies,’ such as Andrew Auld, Jock Russell, James Mahoney, and others.”

“These used regularly to walk out to Adams’ in the cold of the morning and take dinner with him, one of the standing dishes being a soup the principal ingredient of which was ‘Scotch Kail,’ grown by himself.”

“The afternoon was spent under the shade of a large mango tree, one of the first planted on the Islands, where the chairs surrounded a big table covered with bottles and glasses.”

“Here old Adams as mine host was in his glory, and spun yarns and fought his battles o’er – he was with Nelson at Trafalgar – and told what he had said to ‘old Tammy’ (Kamehameha I) and what ‘Tammy’ said to him …”

“… anecdotes of John Young, and of Kaahumanu – who, before her conversion to Christianity must have been a veritable barbarisa – then back again to boyhood’s recollections in ‘Auld Scotia.’”

“The old man’s memory was excellent – like most Scotchmen he was pretty well read – and with a good listener he became eloquent, and had just enough of the old burr in his accent to be interesting.”

“The attentive listeners were generally the new comers, for as to the old hands, who had become familiar with Adams’ stories, they improved the time by getting more or less ‘foul.’” (Sheldon)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Loko Apili-1897 Map over Google Earth

Alexander_Adams-(WC)-1870

Kalihi Valley-Bertram

Kalihi_Valley-Bertram

Flag_of_Hawaii,_as_observed_by_Louis_Choris- 1816-1845

Adams-Auld-Tombstone_Oahu_Cemetery

Sandalwood_export_(representation_this_is_not_in_Hawaii)

January 6, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Rail’s Impact

“The science of transportation, as demonstrated by the railroad and steamboat promoters of this age, has been clearly shown to be the principle upon which the astounding commercial progress of the United States is founded.”

“The vast trans-continental systems, with their ramifications, have carried millions of people from Europe and the Atlantic states into the unbroken west, tapped the treasures of mine, forest and farm, developed a hundred industries where none was known twenty-five years ago, built cities and added to the nation’s wealth a hundred fold.”

“Within the past year Hawaii has started in the footsteps of America by projecting a railroad around the island of Oahu, and actually perfecting, within the period from April 1st, 1889, to January 1st, 1890 …”

“… a well equipped railroad in running order, extending from Honolulu along the southern shore of the island to a temporary terminus at Ewa Court House, a distance of twelve miles.”

“It was five years ago that Mr BF Dillingham advanced the idea of building a steam railroad that should carry freight and passengers, and conduct business on the most improved American methods.”

“A hundred men told him his scheme was infeasible where one offered encouragement. He believed he was right, and so put forth every endeavor to secure a franchise, which was granted to him only after vigorous legislative opposition to the measure.”

“Chief among the ends secured by facilitating the shipment of produce from the interior to the seaboard is the conjunction of ship and car, a principle that Mr. Dillingham had in view when he launched his railroad venture. This project, involving the construction of a wharf from the present railroad terminus at Iwelei to deep water in Honolulu harbor, is being carried out.”

“Only three or four cities in the United States claim this superior arrangement for rapid and economic transfer of freight, and it certainly becomes a progressive movement on the part of Honolulu when our railroad cars bring sugar, bananas and rice from plantations on the northwest side of the island directly to ship’s tackles.”

“Its usefulness will be appreciated when, in 1892, the first crop of Ewa Plantation will, with only a nominal cost of handling, be placed in the hold of out-bound packets.”

“Banana and rice planters along the line of the railroad will not be slow to avail themselves of the shipping advantages provided by the meeting of ship and car. Bananas can be cut from the plant on the morning a vessel sails, and will arrive in the California market in a much better condition than those heretofore transported by horse and mule back from the interior.”

“Hawaiian rice, which commands a higher price in American markets than the South Carolina product, can be placed in San Francisco at a lower figure than formerly.”

“While the banana and rice traffic will be stimulated to a greater extent here than in any other country on the globe, the advantage given to sugar, the staple commodity of the Kingdom, will be heightened to an extraordinary degree.”

“In no other country have we the spectacle of sugar being taken from the mill directly to ship’s tackles. In Manila, Jamaica and Cuba, and even in Louisiana and Mississippi, the process of transportation is slow, laborious and expensive, reducing the profits of the planter to a minimum.”

“Market gardening, dairying and the raising of poultry can be made lucrative to the industrious, while fruit culture, embracing a large variety of products, offers other liberal inducements.”

“Along the line of the railroad there are now 7,500 acres in rice, yielding 10,000 tons annually, and 150 acres in bananas, yielding 100,000 bunches annually, and besides these prolific plantations there are, in close proximity to the several stations, thousands of mellow acres untouched, capable of bearing all the multifarious fruits and flowers of the tropics.”

“Repeated successes in the past give some assurance that the railroad will succeed in this laudable project. … The Oahu Railway & Land Company are nothing if not progressive.”

“It is difficult at this stage of the corporation’s history to convey an idea of what will be accomplished at the close of the year 1890.”

“The projection of branch roads, the importation of locomotives and cars, the improvements around Pearl Harbor and the track laying beyond Ewa are circumstances of the present that indicate preparations for an enormous business.”

“The branches or spurs now under way are, one extending into the Palama suburb, having its terminus at a stone quarry, and the other is a line running along the peninsula at Pearl City.”

“The enterprise shown by the Oahu Railway and Land Company from the very commencement of its great undertaking, and in every branch of its service, is worthy of special note and commendation.”

“Every month witnesses the opening of some new plan, or the completion of some noteworthy object, in which all will be more or less interested.”

“Of what may be termed the Pearl Harbor Section of the Oahu Railway there will be sixteen miles of track from the city to the mill of the Ewa Plantation, located near the shores of the west loch of the lagoon.”

“Of this, twelve miles are completed and in excellent order to Pearl City Depot, improving, however, with each month’s service and use by daily freight and passenger trains, and with the additional ballasting which the road receives from time to time, wherever and whenever wanted.”

“At each station convenient buildings have been erected, with two good depots at Honolulu and Pearl City. A commodious turn-table building has been erected near the Honolulu Depot, where the engines may be housed when not in use, and another smaller one at Pearl City.”

The freight business of the read is increasing with each new enterprise, that is being developed at or near the present western terminus.”

“And it is also a noticeable fact that business along the line of road between Honolulu and Ewa has already received a stimulus that is helping to increase the passenger and freight traffic and to develop the resources of those fertile plains.” (Whitney; Tourist Guide, 1890)

And their attitude/outcome in 1890? … “From what we have learned from all sources we have greater faith than ever in the success of … the Oahu Railway and Land Company”. (Whitney; Tourist Guide, 1890)

Rail about 130 years ago; what about today (you can include SuperFerry in those thoughts, as well)? Back then, private enterprise “came forward at the right time and purchased enough stock and bonds to set the enterprise on foot.” And today …

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

OR&L Railroad Station 1890

OR&L Station

OR&L Alakea Street Honolulu

pulls into the Honolulu Depot to pick up and dispatch passengers. Photo taken in 1890.

OR&L Honolulu Depot-1901

OR&L Honolulu Depot-1914

OR&L_Waianae

Railroad along Pearl Harbor-1890

Train turning into Fort Kamehameha, Oahu, 1923

Waianae Train Station

OR&L Steam Locomotive-Leahi

January 3, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘In Celestial Slums’

“A Health Inspection In Chinatown … Cholera’s Breeding Grounds and Fever’s Spawning-Beds Vile Sights and Smells Abound” as reported in the Hawaiian Star in 1893 …

“This morning a Star reporter accompanied Health Officer McVeigh on his daily trip through Chinatown. The Board of Health has been insisting on the observance of sanitary regulations as laid down in the Code, and of late, has been making raids on Chinese who were not obeying them.”

“‘Now the first place I will take you to is the public washhouse,’ said the officer. ‘Here is the worst cholera breeder there is in this city. Look through the cracks in this floor.’ The reporter looked through and saw a mass of green mud which the tide could not wash away.”

“‘We are expecting to get a new washhouse soon,’ said the officer, ‘but as it is now we are doing the best we can. The Board is looking for ways and means to erect a structure near the new market at the foot of Alakea street. But the way affairs are now only about half the laundrymen use this place as we have no room for any more.’”

“The stench that arises from under and around this washhouse is something terrible and the waters of the Nu‘uanu stream seem to have no effect upon the mass of slops that falls through the floor cracks into it.”

“The next place visited was Leleo Lane, just off King street, near the washhouse. Although the Health officer visits these pest holes every day, it is almost impossible to get the Chinese, (Japanese) and natives who live in them to recognize in the least any necessity for cleanliness.”

“Over sixty eight new cesspools have been built in the last few months and hundreds of ventilator pipes erected where there were none before, but it doesn’t half fill the bill.”

“Decayed poi, the sewage from outhouses and the slops thrown out by inmates have made the places underneath some of these tenements simply unbearable. These places are chiefly owned by Akana, a Chinaman.”

“The next place visited was the notorious ‘Bay View’ resort. This property, until lately overhauled by the health officers, was in a disgusting state. It is under lease to a Chinese procurer named Sam Kow.”

“Kekaulike street is another offshoot from King street and is environed by some of the broken down Chinese tenements, the yards of which smell to heaven.”

“The microbes and bacteria could be caught floating around in the air, while the effluvia was loathsome. These tenements are owned by Low Chung, of the Wing Wo Tai Co.”

“Coming through on Maunakea street the eye, as well as the nose, is assailed by the most loathsome sights and smells. The wash houses and vegetable shops are rivals as to which can emit the foulest odors. This property is owned by JF Colburn.”

“When the officer went into a tenement the other day in this locality, he ran across a trap and opened it and found a cesspool. Lighting a match he threw it into the pool when an explosion took place and blue flames mounted to the roof.”

“There are some exceptions to the rule of poor buildings in this place for ES Cunha is putting up on Maunakea street a one story brick block, with plenty of drains and cesspools, and he thinks it will pay better than the old ramshackle buildings that are around him.”

“Kikihale district was next taken in by the officer. This is the resort of the worst of Honolulu’s submerged classes.”

“Depraved native women without pretention of moral or physical cleanliness are lying about in one-story whitewashed tenements, disputing possession with the mangy curs that flock around them.”

“The outhouses are in the customary Cape Horn condition and the officer warns the occupants to use ‘more lime,’ which he forces them to have continually on hand. Ching Wa of the Sing Chong Co. is the principal owner of tenements in this district.”

“On the corner of Smith and Pauahi streets there are a lot of dives that have got to be watched continually by the officer. They are owned by Ho Sam, a wealthy rice planter at ‘Ewa, and A Aio, a Chinese merchant.”

“The officer was now approaching the sacred precincts of Kaumakapili Church, and quite within its shadow, descending a few steps near Nu‘uanu stream, off Beretania street, he presented to the reporter an opium den in full blast.”

“Officer McVeigh had evidently intended this as his last scene. Here were fully thirty Chinamen and natives sucking away at the demon pipe right in the shadow of Kaumakapili!”

“Near this place, seated on the ground, was an emaciated Chinaman in the last stages of berri berri, swollen beyond recognition.”

“This ended the journey for this day.” (Hawaiian Star, May 27, 1893)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Honolulu-Chinatown-1893