Peter T Young

August 6, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Day 079 – January 9, 1820

January 9, 1820 – We have been gratified today by the exhbition of some of the works of God in the mighty deep, particularly the appearance of several whales, the first we have seen, a shark, and a multitude of porpuses. But the manifestation of divine favor to sinners, the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is still more interesting. This is a favored Sabbath. The comfort and aid of the Spirit seem to have been enjoyed by the covenant people of God, in good measure. The broad and benevolent design of Christ’s kingdom: the certainty of its universal prevalence, and the duty of promoting its interests were set forth in a sermon from John 10, 16 by Brother Thurston. After a tossing boistrous week the Lord of the Sabbath speaks peace to the winds and waves and peace to our souls.
Lat. S. 40. Lon. W. 50 (Thaddeus Journal)

January 9, Sabbath. A calm pleasant day. Divine service on deck- subject chosen from John’s Gospel – 10 Chap., 16 V. A most excellent Missionary sermon by Brother Thurston. (Lucia Ruggles Holman)

Jan. 9. During the gale a great number of sea-fowls were constantly flying about the vessel: of these are several kinds; the most remarkable is the Albatross resembling a goose tho’ much larger: we see great numbers of them every day. I endeavored to catch one the other morning but he broke the line and went off with the hook in his mouth.
I tried a second time and drew one almost into the boat when he tore himself away and left us. broth. 0. has just shot one & the sea being calm we were able to get it. It measures 10 feet from tip to tip. I am now writing with one of its quils which is 18 inches in length. I intend to send one to A. if possible. We see whales every day. they are often close along side and afford, us much diversion with their jumping and spouting. A very large one was seen yesterday half as long as the Thaddeus his head was covered with shell fish. – (Samuel & Nancy Ruggles)

Jan. 9. After experiencing trials and dangers (the week past) we enjoy a pleasant Sabbath. Truly our covenant God is ever mindful of us. His omnipotent arm is outstretched for our deliverance and comfort. From day to day he preserves and sustains us; blesses us with health of body and peace of mind; while we enjoyed the dear delights of friendship, and feel all those tender ties of love and affection, which unite the hearts of brother and sisters. The Lord hath done great things for us, and blessed be his name. Having called us to separate from friends and home, He has comforted us with the promise “Lo I am with you.” Enjoying his presence we shall be happy, though separated from the dearest friend on earth. We are but pilgrims and strangers, who were traveling through this world. Ere long we shall reach that end of our journey and rest in peace. But we need strong faith and confidence in God to carry us in safety on our way, – and in able us to overcome and conquer all our spiritual foes. Trusting in the Lord we will cheerfully proceed, and if permitted, engage in the great work to which he has called us. And at last, may we be so happy as to hear the welcome sentence, “Well done good and faithful servants, enter ye into the joy of your lord.” (Mercy Partridge Whitney Journal)

9. – This has been a good Sabbath to me. Felt some enlargement in prayer at our social meeting this morning. Brother T. preached this evening from the words ‘others sheep have I’ etc. I hope here-after to live a more holy life. Ardent piety in a missionary is indispensable. Several large whales came along side to day. They are hideous looking creatures, some are said to be as long as our ship. (Samuel Whitney Journal)

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August 5, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Makauwahi Cave

The Makauwahi Cave (“fear, break through”) is the small portion of the largest limestone cave found in Hawaii.

It lies on the south coast of the island of Kauai, in the Māhāʻulepū Valley close to Māhāʻulepū Beach, and is important for its paleoecological and archaeological values.

It is reached via a sinkhole and has been described as “…maybe the richest fossil site in the Hawaiian Islands, perhaps in the entire Pacific Island region”.

The pale rock ridge that houses the sinkhole started as a field of sand dunes.

Over time, rainwater seeped through the sand, converting it chemically into limestone rock.

Underground water ate away at the lower parts of the limestone, forming an extensive complex of caves, and finally one large section of cave roof collapsed, creating a feature known as a sinkhole.

The feature is as much as 100 yards long from the entrance to the most distant known cave, and as much as 40 yards wide, but it may contain other caverns whose entrances are buried.

Paleoecological and archaeological excavations of the sediment that has filled the pond in the sinkhole put its age at some 10,000 years.

More importantly, the findings show how the first humans that inhabited Kauai affected the pre-human natural environment.

It is one of only a handful of sites in the world that show such impact.

Before the first Polynesian settlers set foot on Kauai, Hawai‘i was a strange Eden, empty of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, because none had ever made it across the vastness of the Pacific to these remote islands.

The sinkhole contains nearly 10,000-years of sedimentary record; since the discovery of Makauwahi as a fossil site, excavations have found pollen, seeds, invertebrate shells and Polynesian artifacts, as well as thousands of bird and fish bones.

An array of native birds that had evolved in splendid isolation filled every kind of niche.

More than 40 species of extinct native bird fossils have been excavated from Makauwahi, including an odd long-legged owl, which specialized in hunting small forest birds, and a nocturnal duck with shrunken eyes.

Among the bones discovered at Makauwahi were those of one lumbering flightless duck with a heavy bill designed to graze like a tortoise on short, tough grass and vegetation from rocks.

Bones of the endangered Hawaiian hawk and Laysan duck have also been discovered at the sinkhole. Today, these two species survive on single islands distant from Kauai, but the fossil discoveries suggest they were once more widespread throughout Hawaii.

Evidence from a full millennium of human activity chronicles the details of life nearby and its considerable impact on the island environment.

The Makauwahi Cave site provides a rich record of life before and after human arrival, and preserves many artifacts and food remains, including perishable cultural items.

Oral traditions said to extend back as far as the fourteenth century in some cases show good agreement with the archaeological and paleoecological record.

Following European contact, additional environmental impacts, including a drastic increase in erosion and many additional biological invasions, are documented from the site.

Paleoecologist David Burney and his wife Lida Pigott Burney, with help from hundreds of local volunteers, has found 10,000-year-old buried treasure in the Makauwahi Cave and wrote a book on the subject, Back to the Future in the Caves of Kauai, A Scientist’s Adventures in the Dark.

Makauwahi Cave is one of the Points of Interest in the Holo Holo Kōloa Scenic Byway. We assisted Mālama Kōloa and Kōloa Community Association with the preparation of the Corridor Management Plan for the Scenic Byway.

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Makauwahi Sinkhole

An active archeological dig with 10,000 years of preserved fossils found. The entrance requires crouching and head bumping is an initiation injury.

Makauwahi Sinkhole

Makauwahi Sinkhole (TGI)

A view of the open-air cave from the entrance.

Makauwahi Sinkhole (hawaii-edu)

Makauwahi Cave-Image-Map-(cavereserve-org)

Mahaulepu_Heritage_Trail-(7-Makauwahi_Cave)-Map

August 5, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Day 080 – January 10, 1820

January 10, 1820 – no entry. (Thaddeus Journal)

10th. As Mr. Ruggles has mentioned the particulars of our trials during the long and tempestuous gale, which we have recently experienced,’ I shall only add my desire to unite with him in requesting our American friends to bless the Lord in our behalf for his perserving mercy. I did not venture on deck myself until the storm abated, but when I did, it seemed indeed as if the foundations of the great deep were broken up; while peace and serenity prevaded every countenance. –
“The storm is laid the winds retire Obedient to thy will;
The sea that roars at thy command,
At thy command is still.” (Nancy Ruggles)

10th. Three large ships seen yesterday and one this morning supposed, to be the S. sea whalers. We hope to be in sight of the Falkland in 3 or 4 days. We long to get into the Pacific ocean. Capt. B. says we cannot expect, rougher weather in doubling the cape than we have already had. (Samuel Ruggles)

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August 4, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Day 080 – January 10, 1820 – Halfway (in time)

While the missionaries and the crew of the Thaddeus did not know it at the time, this marks the midway point of the voyage of the Thaddeus (in time).

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August 3, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Papa ʻĪʻī

John Papa ʻĪʻī, one of the leading citizens of the Hawaiian kingdom during the nineteenth century, was born at Waipi‘o, Oahu, on August 3, 1800.

At the age of ten John was brought to Honolulu and became an attendant of Kamehameha I and later became a companion and personal attendant to Liholiho (later King Kamehameha II.)

Upon the arrival of the missionaries in Hawai‘i in 1820, John ʻĪʻī was among the first Hawaiians to study reading and writing with the missionaries, studying under the Reverend Hiram Bingham.

As time passed, John ʻĪʻī divided his time between the ruling Kamehamehas and the missionaries, particularly Reverend Bingham. John soon became an assistant to Bingham and a teacher at the latter’s school.

Ultimately, John ʻĪʻī served Kamehameha I, II, III and IV. He also was selected to be kahu of the students (effectively a vice principal) at the Chiefs’ Children’s School in 1840 (effectively serving the next generations of the Kamehameha dynasty.)

By 1841, John ʻĪʻī was general superintendent of O‘ahu schools and was an influential member of the court of Kamehameha III.

In 1842, he was appointed by the king to be a member of the new Treasury Board. This Board was empowered to set up a system of regular and systematic account keeping.

In 1845, as a member of the Privy Council, he was appointed with four other men to the Board of Land Commissioners.

In 1852, as a member of the House of Nobles, he was selected to represent that body in drafting the Constitution of 1852.

John ʻĪʻī’s service in the House of Nobles was from 1841 to 1854 and from 1858 to 1868. He served as a member of the House of Representatives during the session of 1855.

He lived in an old fashioned cottage where the Judiciary building now stands. His home was named “Mililani,” which means exalted or lifted heavenward.

In addition to his duties in the two legislative houses of the kingdom and his service on various governmental commissions, John ʻĪʻī served as a Superior Court judge, as well as on the Supreme Court.

His lifetime spanned many years of the Kamehameha Dynasty, beginning with the autocratic rule of Kamehameha I, extending through the transition period of rule by king and chiefs and continuing into the rule by constitutional monarchy.

He was raised under the kapu system and his life ended with him in service of the Christian ministry.

Mary A. Richards in her “Chiefs’ Childrens’ School” says, “Through the perspective of a century, John ʻĪʻī stands as one of the most remarkable Hawaiians of his time.”

The Reverend Richard Armstrong had this to say about him, “John ʻĪʻī, a man of high intelligence, sterling integrity and great moral worth.”

At nearly seventy years of age, after a life devoted to the furtherance and development of Christianity in Hawai‘i and the development of a democratic form of government, John ʻĪʻī died in May 1870.

With rare insight into the workings of the monarchy as well as the common people, ʻĪʻī did just that, contributing regularly to the Hawaiian language publication Ka Nupepa Ku‘oko‘a from 1866 until his death in 1870.

The articles – first-hand accounts of life under the Kamehameha dynasty and detailed descriptions and observations on cultural practices, events, social interactions and other topics – were collected and translated by Mary Kawena Pukui and Dorothy Barrere in the 1959 publication “Fragments of Hawaiian History,” a standard resource for historians and students. (I have a copy and often refer to this book for information.)

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of a Mission Houses Oʻahu Cemetery Theatre portrayal of John Papa I’i (1800-1870) (portrayed by William Hao:)

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