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December 15, 2025 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kīkā Kila

There are three conflicting claims attributing the invention of the steel guitar to three different people: James Hoa, Gabriel Davion and Joseph Kekuku. Of this trio, Kekuku has been the most commonly mentioned as inventor of the steel guitar – and the evidence is impressive. (Kanahele)

Likewise, there are three stories as to how Kekuku started the steel guitar phenomenon: (1) walking along a road, a rusty bolt accidentally vibrated one of the strings, (2) rather than a road, he was walking along the railroad tracks, he picked up a bolt and slid it across the strings and (3) he was playing his hair comb wrapped in tissue paper like a harmonica, with his guitar in his lap, he dropped the comb on the strings causing them to vibrate.

The latter was on the Kamehameha Schools website, where he was student at the time … come to your own conclusion – most credit Kekuku as being the originator.

Kekuku was then inspired to substitute the back of his knife for his comb. Later, in the school shop, Kekuku developed the smooth, steel playing bar used today, and raised the guitar frets so that the bar would glide easily across the strings. He also switched from gut to wire strings for more sustained notes, and designed individual finger picks for the opposing hand. (Hawaiian Music Museum)

Joseph Kekukuʻupena-kanaʻiaupunio Kamehameha Āpuakēhau (Keeper of the nets that surround the kingdom of Kamehameha) (Joseph Kekuku) is credited for inventing the Kīkā Kila, the steel guitar.

In 1993, Joseph Kekuku was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame with full honors as the inventor of the Hawaiian steel guitar. In 1995, he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.

Kekuku was born (in 1874 or 1875) in Lāʻie at Koʻolauloa on the windward side of Oʻahu, one of a large family of Joseph Kekukupena Āpuakēhau and Miliama Kaopua. At 15, he and his cousin, Sam Nainoa, left for boarding school at Kamehameha Schools in Kalihi.

In 1889, while attending the Kamehameha School for Boys, Kekuku accidentally discovered the sound of the steel guitar. He then performed in school concerts.

That sound has been described as, “”The most beautiful and soothing of all music is brought to us from the South Seas islands of the Pacific and to many the instrumental and vocal music of Hawaiians is by far the sweetest.” (Dover Historical Society)

Kamehameha notes Kekuku was in the class of 1894; in 1904, the left for the American continent performing in vaudeville theaters from coast to coast. His group was ‘Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet’ and were sponsored by a management group called ‘The Affiliated.’

In 1909, Seattle was the host city of a world’s fair – the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P.) The A-Y-P Exposition featured Joseph Kekuku who apparently intrigued enough fair attendees that he was swamped with requests to give lessons and as a result Kekuku reportedly stuck around town for a while to provide locals with steeling lessons.

In time, Kekuku relocated to Los Angeles where he helped the Hawaiian craze expand, performing and taking on students, one of whom – Myrtle Stumpf – went on to produce the first-ever tutorial course, a 68-page classic booklet titled: the Original Hawaiian Method for Steel Guitar. (Blecha)

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 provided another showcase and fueled the Hawaiian Music craze across the country. The Hawaiian Pavilion was built; there were Hawaiian shows several times a day.

Joseph Kekuku was a guest artist. The impact of this expo was phenomenal. It was followed by an instant boom in Hawaiian recordings (which outsold all other pop music recordings), Hollywood movies with Hawaiian themes, formation of new Hawaiian musical groups, and demand for instruction on steel guitar. (Bocchino)

“Mr Kekuku has appeared in the one hundred and twenty-five largest cities of America. Over one million people have heard him play. It is not uncommon for Mr Kekuku to play five encore numbers for each regular selection presented. His audiences seem never to tire of the beautiful music.” (Promotional Brochure)

“Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet, bringing with them a breath of the Paradise Isles will be the main feature of the closing day (at Chautauqua, Lompoc Opera House.) The honey-sweetness and soft witchery of the languorous music of the Hawaiians curl around the heart of the listener like the invisible tendrils of a dream.”

“The key to this irresistible whispering hum-like effect in stringed music is in the hands of Joseph Kekuku of Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet, premier Hawaiian players and singers of the original Toots Paka, Alisky and Bird of Paradise Companies.”

“Mr, Kekuku is the originator of the celebrated steel method of guitar playing, the most bewitching note yet sounded in instrumental music. The members of Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet are: Joseph Kekuku, steel method guitar; Henry Aaka, basso, harpguitar; Alfred Weila, baritone, ukulele; Gaby Kalau, tenor, guitar, taropatch.” (Lompoc Journal, May 19, 1916)

Kekuku later joined the Bird of Paradise show that toured Europe from 1919 to 1927 (he was probably the first to play steel guitar on that continent.)

“Like the New York Times columnist who admired the ‘scenic beauty’ of The Bird of Paradise, most critics appreciated the production’s impressive staging. The inclusion of native Hawaiian musicians proved equally critical to the show’s success, and their music became a key selling point.”

“Enthusiastic reviewers of the musicians and the music of The Bird of Paradise commended ‘the native musicians who make the haunting musical interpolations of their own land’ and drew attention to the distinctive ‘threnody of the ukulele and the haunting, yearning cry of steel pressed against the strings of the guitar.” (Garrett)

He returned to the United States at the age of 53 and first settled in Chicago; around 1930, he left Chicago and visited Dover, New Jersey (he later moved to Dover – he was often referred to as “The Hawaiian.”) (Bocchino)

On January 16, 1932 at the age of 58 Joseph Kekuku died in Morristown of a brain hemorrhage; he is buried in the Orchard Street Cemetery, Dover, New Jersey.

December 14, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

DUKW (Duck)

“Auto that sails the seas and boat that runs on land”

“An Alaskan expedition to study explosive Mount Katwain in 1927 furnished Dr (Thomas Augustus) Jaggar with the motive for developing an amphibious motor car.”

“After several months of experimentation, he completed his pioneer water bug and dubbed it ‘Ohiki,’ which is Hawaiian for sand crab.” (Popular Mechanics)

“In preparation for this expedition, the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory machine shop built a wooden amphibious boat around a ‘low-geared small motor car with balloon tires,’ that Jaggar had used over tundra and beach of the Alaskan Peninsula in 1927.”

“Inlets, rivers, and rocks were obstacles that made Jaggar mentally design modifications of the car into a ‘car-skiff.’”

Jaggar invented the first practical wheeled amphibian. (Popular Mechanics)

“She first took to the sea at Ninoʻole Cove in the Kaʻū District, and she quickly revealed the need for additional work.” (USGS)

“Several hundred skeptical spectators witnessed the formal launching January 17, 1928, at Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Many wagers were lost as the Ohiki lumbered off the highway and trundled along the beach into the water.”

After modifications (freeboard raised, length slightly increased, paddle-wheels enlarged, a winch and cable mounted in bow, 5-horsepower outboard motor added,) an extended trip was made along the west coast of the Island of Hawaii to make beach and sea tests.

Lorrin Thurston went along as a passenger and publicity man; Mrs Jaggar served as stewardess. The car with the boat body excited all the roadside children of Kona with delight. (USGS)

“Dr. Jaggar’s initial amphibian was a skiff 21-feet long with a beam of five feet four inches, mounted on an elongated Ford chassis … just forward and mounted through the sides of the boat was a Ruckstall axle to which sidewheel paddles were attached … the front wheels were disked and served as rudders.” (Popular Mechanics)

“Jaggar’s Ohiki made a speed of about 4 mi/h in water with the combined power of paddle wheels and outboard motor… It made more than 20 mi/h over highways.” (USGS)

He later created another amphibian, the Honukai (sea turtle;) it was a twin-screw steel amphibian, built in Chicago by the Powell Mobile-Boat Corp.

In 1928, when the National Geographic Society joined with the USGS to sponsor an expedition with Jaggar in charge to map, photograph, and survey in the Aleutians around Pavlof Volcano, the Society supplied an amphibious boat.

In the 400-miles along the coast of Alaska, from Shumagin Islands to King Cove, the expedition did not even have to pump up the tires. (USGS)

The Honukai’s numerous excessively low gears even enabled them to drive up to the snowline and bring out the heavy fur and bones of a bear that Jaggar had shot on the snowy volcano, Mount Dana. Jaggar brought the Honukai back to Hawaii with him and based it in Kona. (Popular Mechanics)

“As a result of his experiences and design work with the Ohiki and the Honukai, Jaggar was later able to help the US Army with the design of amphibious vehicles for World War II, and he received in 1945 the Franklin L Burr Prize of the National Geographic Society for this work.” (USGS)

In 1942, the Army, faced with challenges in landing troops and supplies, modified a 1 ½ ton GMC truck – it was called the DUKW (D = built in 1942; U = amphibious 2½ ton truck; K = front wheel drive and W = rear wheel drive.) (Army Transportation Museum)

Today, we simply call these vehicles ‘Ducks.’

Jaggar was considered grandfather of the ‘Duck,’ which has played a prominent part in amphibious landings both in the European and South Pacific theaters of war. (Mount Caramel, February 27, 1945)

(Lorrin Thurston and George Lycurgus were instrumental in getting the volcano recognized as Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. In 1912, Jaggar moved to Kilauea to start the observatory, studying volcanoes.)

(On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the country’s 13th National Park into existence – Hawaiʻi National Park (later (1961) split into Haleakalā National Park and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.)

December 13, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Henry Martyn Whitney

Henry Martyn Whitney was the son of the Rev. Samuel and Mercy Whitney, a teacher and mechanic of New Haven, Connecticut, who was a member of the Pioneer Company of missionaries that arrived in Honolulu on the brig Thaddeus in 1820. (His sister, Maria Pogue, was the first white girl born in the Hawaiian Islands.

Whitney was born at Waimea, Kauai, on June 5, 1824; as a very young boy, he left Hawaii to get his education on the continent, staying with relatives in New England. At an early age, he learned the printing trade and practiced his trade on the continent.

Then the opportunity arrived to return to the Islands; Whitney married Catherine Olivia March (1821–1896) in June 1849, and travelled via Panama to San Francisco. He met Dr Garret Parmele Judd who was then travelling abroad with the two young princes who later became the King Kamehameha IV & V.

Judd wanted a practical man to take charge of the Polynesian, the government’s paper; several editors had left the paper to join the Gold Rush in California – Whitney joined the Polynesian.

Hawaiʻi opened a post office in Honolulu and Whitney was appointed Postmaster of Honolulu (December 22, 1850;) the location of the new post office was at the office of The Polynesian.

When Whitney was postmaster, he conceived and produced Hawaiʻi’s first stamps, issued in 1851 (the stamps are now called “Hawaiian Missionaries,’ all printed locally by letterpress at the Government Printing Office.

Whitney later left the Polynesian and started his own newspaper, the Pacific Commercial Advertiser (forerunner of Honolulu Advertiser – first issue July 2, 1856.)

“The whalemen desired an American paper and the white residents wanted one which was not run ‘by authority.’ Whitney gave such a paper to them calling it the Pacific Commercial Advertiser.” (The Independent, August 18, 1904)

“Early in the fifties the writer of this article was strongly urged to publish an independent paper, free from government control. This finally resulted in the establishment of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser; named after the well known New York Advertiser, with which the writer had been connected.” (Whitney, Hawaiian Gazette, August 19, 1904)

“He got from New York a Washington hand press … which had a capacity of only 600 papers an hour and this had to be propelled by hand power. The first number of the paper was a little four page five column sheet. It was weekly.” (The Independent, August 18, 1904)

In its first two and a half months, on its last page, The Pacific Commercial Advertiser ran a Hawaiian-language section, “Ka Hoku Loa o Hawaii” (The Morning Star of Hawaiʻi.) Whitney was fluent in Hawaiian and wrote most of the Hawaiian-language page’s content under his Hawaiianized name, ‘Heneri M Wini.’

In an earlier issue, Whitney wrote in Hawaiian, ‘Aloha, o you close friends living in the towns, the country, the valleys and beaches from Hawaii to Kauai. Great aloha to you. Behold today there is opening the dawn of the Morning Star of Hawaii, to be a torch illuminating your home …’

Whitney did say that the Hawaiian-language page might not survive long. After it ran for 2 ½- months, on September 25, 1856, Whitney announced that he would discontinue the Hawaiian-language page because the newspaper needed space for foreigners when whaling ships arrive in Hawaii. After 5-years, Whitney would publish an entire Hawaiian-language newspaper, Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. (Digital Newspaper Project)

“In 1850 the Polynesian – a weekly owned by the government – was the principal paper here, though there several other small weekly and monthly papers issued, the only one among them that has survived to this date being The Friend, which is really the oldest publication here.”

“The paper had not been established two months before the young publisher had fought and won out of court his first libel suit, in which RG Wylie, Minister of the Interior, was the complainant.” (The Independent, August 18, 1904)

During the Civil War in the US, the cost of cotton rose to “an almost fabulous price.” Whitney received a “quantity of Sea Island cotton seed and distributed the seed widely, at the same time agreeing to purchase all of the seed cotton produced at a good price. For a time the industry flourished.”

“Whitney had set up a number of foot-power gins for removing the seed preparatory to shipping the lint to Boston. The quality of the fiber was considered very fine, and realized upwards of $1.00 in currency per pound. … The customs records show that the largest shipments of cotton made in a single year amounted to a little over 22,000 pounds; this was in 1866.”

“With the decline in prices, the production fell off gradually, until in 1874, the last shipment, amounting to about 2000 pounds, was made.” (Hawaiian Almanac)

Whitney sold the Advertiser in 1870 to Black & Auld, but took charge of it in 1878 and did finally give up his connection with it until 1896. He also (1885) took the editorship of the Planters’ Monthly.

Whitney was also editor and publisher of the Hawaiian Gazette (1873-1878.) In the mid-1870s, the paper turned decidedly anti-monarchy when the views of King Kalākaua and those of the local oligarchy–a powerful contingent of pro-American, pro-annexation sugar interests–began to diverge. (Chronicling America)

Besides the Postmaster General position (1850-1856,) Whitney served in the House of Representatives (1855) and the Privy Council (1873-1891.) Whitney died August 17, 1904 in Honolulu.

December 12, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

About 250 Years Ago … John Kendrick – American Patriot Who Died in Honolulu

Sea Captain John Kendrick was born in 1740 in Cape Cod; he followed his father and went to sea by the time he was fourteen.

Kendrick fought in the French & Indian War in 1762. Like most Cape Codders of the time, he served for only eight months and did not re-enlist.

Family tradition holds that on the rainy night of December 16, 1773, John Kendrick had taken part in the Boston Tea Party band that boarded two East India Company ships at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

Kendrick later fought in the American Revolutionary War and commanded three different ships, the Fanny, Count D’Estaing and Marianne.

After the victorious Revolution, an economic depression had settled across the new nation.

The US needed to turn to trade to raise the necessary funding and shipping was a critical component of early commerce.

Kendrick and Robert Gray were selected to lead an expedition to establish new trade with China, settle an outpost on territory claimed by the Spanish and find the legendary Northwest Passage.

In September 1787, Kendrick in the Columbia and Gray in the Lady Washington, along with fifty other men – sailors and tradesmen alike – set sail from Boston.

They became the first citizens of the new nation to sail into the Pacific and lay eyes on the lush and resource-rich Northwest Coast of North America.

The maritime fur trade focused on acquiring furs of sea otters, seals and other animals from the Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaska. The furs were to be mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain and other Chinese goods that were sold in the US.

Trading ships crossing the Pacific needed to replenish food supplies and water; traders realized they could get these in Hawai‘i.

Within ten years after Captain Cook’s 1778 contact with Hawai‘i, the islands became a favorite port of call in the trade with China.

Kendrick provisioned in Hawai‘i a number of times and is also credited for initiating the sandalwood (‘iliahi) trade there (Hawai‘i’s first commercial export).

Sandalwood became a source of wealth in the islands, trade in Hawaiian sandalwood began as early as the 1790s; by 1805 it had become an important export item.

Unfortunately, the harvesting of the trees was not sustainably managed (they cut whatever they could, they didn’t replant) and over-harvesting of ‘iliahi took place. By 1830, the trade in sandalwood had completely collapsed.

On December 3, 1794, Kendrick returned to Fair Haven (Honolulu Harbor) Hawaiʻi aboard the Lady Washington; a war was waging between Kalanikupule and his half-brother Kaʻeokulani (Kaʻeo.)

Also in Honolulu were British Captain William Brown (the first credited with entering Honolulu Harbor) in general command of the Jackall and the Prince Lee Boo, Captain Gordon.

Kalanikupule sought and obtained assistance from Captain Brown. Brown furnished guns and ammunition, and, as Kaeo continued to advance, the mate of the Jackall, George Lamport, and eight sailors from the English ships volunteered to fight for the Oahu king.”

“In the final battle, between Kalauao and Aiea, the Englishmen were stationed in boats along the shore inside the eastern arm of what is now called Pearl Harbor. Kalanikupule gained a decisive victory and Kaeo was killed.” (Kuykendall)

On December 12, 1794, to celebrate the victory, Kendrick’s brig fired a thirteen-gun salute. (The tradition of rendering a salute by cannon originated in the 14th century as firearms and cannons came into use. Since these early devices contained only one projectile, discharging them rendered them harmless.)

Brown answered with a round of fire. Unfortunately, one of the saluting guns on Brown’s ship was loaded with shot, killing Kendrick.

“Kendrick was buried at the place where Captain Derby was interred in 1802 and Isaac Davis in 1810.” “[T]he chiefs designated a place for the burial of a foreigner in 1794 [so] it is likely that other foreigners who died in Honolulu would be interred in the same locations.” (Restarick)

On December 12, 2022, the Hawai‘i State Organization of the Daughters of the American Revolution installed a memorial plaque in honor of Captain John Kendrick. It was placed at a spot that would have been about the shoreline when Kendrick was killed.

Click the links below for general summaries that helps explain it – the file ending with ‘SAR–RT’ is a formatting used by the Sons of the American Revolution for presentations by its members under its Revolutionary Times program:

Click to access John-Kendrick-American-Revolutionary-War-Patriot.pdf

Click to access John-Kendrick-–-American-Patriot-Who-Died-in-Honolulu-SAR-RT.pdf

December 11, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lot Kapuāiwa

December 11, 1830, Lot Kapuāiwa was born. His mother was Kīnaʻu, the daughter of Kamehameha I (she became the Kuhina nui, in 1832.) His father was Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, a descendent of the Chiefs of the Island of Oʻahu (he was governor of Oʻahu, as well as a member of the House of Nobles and the Privy Council.)

Lot Kapuāiwa was hānai to Chief Hoapili of Lāhainā and Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena. (Kapuāiwa means mysterious kapu (taboo) or sacred one protected by supernatural powers.)

He was 9-years-old when he entered the Chiefs’ Children’s School. The aliʻi wanted their children trained in Western, as well as Hawaiian traditions and Kamehameha III asked missionaries Amos and Juliette Cooke to teach the young royals.

In 1849, Lot and Alexander Liholiho (his brother) began their year-long trip to the United States and Europe. When he returned he was appointed a member of the House of Nobles and began government service.

He ascended to the throne as Kamehameha V on November 30, 1863, on the death of his brother. “He was a master in the beginning, & at the middle, & to the end. The Parliament was the “figure-head,” & it never was much else in his time. … He hated Parliaments, as being a rasping & useless incumbrance upon a king, but he allowed them to exist because as an obstruction they were more ornamental than rival.” (Twain)

“He surrounded himself with an obsequious royal Cabinet of American & other foreigners, & he dictated his measures to them &, through them, to his Parliament; & the latter institution opposed them respectfully, not to say apologetically, & passed them.” (Twain)

Kamehameha V modeled his leadership after that of his grandfather, Kamehameha I, believing that it was the right and duty of the chiefs to lead the common people. He refused to support the Constitution of 1852. By supporting the controversial Constitution of 1864, he expected to regain some of the powers lost by previous kings. (ksbe)

“He was not a fool. He was a wise sovereign; he had seen something of the world; he was educated & accomplished, & he tried hard to do well for his people, & succeeded. There was no rival nonsense about him; he dressed plainly, poked about Honolulu, night or day, on his old horse, unattended; he was popular, greatly respected, & even beloved.” (Twain)

In 1865, a bill to repeal the law making it a penal offense to sell or give intoxicating liquor to native Hawaiians was brought before the legislature. Strongly supported by some, Kamehameha surprised the supporters saying, “I will never sign the death warrant of my people.” The measure was defeated in the second reading. (Alexander)

Kamehameha V founded the Royal Order of Kamehameha on April 11, 1865 in commemoration of his grandfather, Kamehameha I. The stated purpose of the order was “to cultivate and develop, among our subjects, the feelings of honour and loyalty to our dynasty and its institutions and … to confer honorary distinctions upon such of our subjects and foreigners as have rendered, or may hereafter render to our dynasty and people, important services.” (Royal Order)

Hansen’s Disease was rapidly spreading on Oʻahu. In response, the legislature passed “An Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865, which King Kamehameha V approved. This law provided for setting apart land for an establishment for the isolation and seclusion of leprous persons who were thought capable of spreading the disease. The first shipment of lepers landed at Kalaupapa January 6, 1866, the beginning of segregation and banishment of lepers to the leper settlement.

By 1866, the need for a new courthouse government building in the Hawaiian Kingdom was apparent. The legislature appropriated funds towards a new palace and a new government building. Delays ensued. Plans for a new palace were postponed, but the new courthouse moved forward. On February 19, 1872, Kamehameha V laid the cornerstone for Aliʻiolani Hale (now home to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.)

King Kamehameha V encouraged the revival of native practices. On Maui, a group of eight Hawaiians founded the ʻAhahui Laʻau Lapaʻau. In 1868, the Legislature established a Hawaiian Board of Health to license kahuna laʻau lapaʻau. Kahuna practices including lomilomi massage and laʻau kahea healing remained legal for the next twenty years. (princeton-edu)

Later, his summer home in Moanalua Gardens became the home of the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, the largest non-competitive hula event in Hawai‘i. It honors Lot Kapuāiwa who helped to revive hula by staging pāʻina (parties) at his summer home. (Save the date, July 19, 2014, for the 37th annual event at Moanalua Gardens.)

The Kamehameha V Post Office (built in 1871, one of the oldest remaining public buildings in Hawaiʻi, and so named because it was built at the direction of Kamehameha V) was the first post office building in Hawaiʻi. For many years, it also housed the publishing and printing office of the Hawaiian Gazette and other small companies and organizations needing office space. (NPS)

December 11, Lot Kapuāiwa celebrated the first Kamehameha Day in 1871 as a day to honor his grandfather; the first celebration fell on Lot’s birthday. Because the weather was better in the summer, the decision was made to move the Kamehameha I celebration six months from the King Kamehameha V’s birthday (so it was moved to June 11 – the date has no direct significance to Kamehameha I.) The 1896 legislature declared it a national holiday. (Kamehameha Day continues to be celebrated on June 11.)

He had a law passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1872 that funded and authorized the acquisition of the hotel on the corner of Hotel Street and Richards Street by the Hawaiian government, which he named the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. (The “Pink Palace” in Waikīkī was a different/subsequent Royal Hawaiian, built in 1927.)

Bernice Pauahi was betrothed to Lot Kapuāiwa; but when Mr Charles R Bishop pressed his suit, Pauahi “smiled on him, and they were married. It was a happy marriage.” (Liliʻuokalani) Lot Kapuāiwa never married.

“On the 10th (of December, 1872,) (Liliʻuokalani and her husband) were summoned to the palace to attend the dying monarch; one by one other chiefs of the Hawaiian people, with a few of their trusted retainers, also arrived to be present at the final scene; we spent that night watching in silence near the king’s bedside. The disease was pronounced by the medical men to be dropsy on the chest (hydrothorax, accumulation of fluid in the chest.”) (Liliʻuokalani)

“Although nearing the end, the mind of the king was still clear; and his thoughts, like our own, were evidently on the selection of a future ruler for the island kingdom, for, turning to Mrs. Bishop, he asked her to assume the reins of government and become queen at his death.” She declined. “… he relapsed into unconsciousness, and passed away without having named his successor to the throne.” (Liliʻuokalani) (Lunalilo was shortly after elected King of Hawaiʻi.)

December 11, 1872, Lot Kapuāiwa died; it was his 42 birthday.