Peter T Young

April 6, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mak-oo-wi-he-na

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) “decided to establish a school in this country to train the natives of non-European races to become missionaries to their own peoples.”

“It was set up in (Cornwall) because of the salubrious climate, the remoteness from city allurements, the excellent character of the townspeople, the persuasion of the pastor .. and the donations of Cornwall citizens.”

“In the ten years of its existence about one hundred students attended, including forty-three American Indians, thirteen Americans (white), and twenty Hawaiians; the rest mainly other natives of the Pacific, including two Chinese.”

“Support for the school was widespread, coming not only from the inhabitants of Cornwall, but from sympathetic donors elsewhere in Connecticut—and from Massachusetts and New York as well. Those who could not give cash gave clothing and provisions; in addition, the students worked at nearby farms to help support themselves.” (Mitchell quoted by Schutz)

A notable student there was ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia, who noted, “Our school is going on very regularly, and the scholars are making some progress in their studies. One of the members is become new born in Christ since he has been here, and I trust there is no small degree of happiness. He is now rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God”. (‘Ōpūkaha‘ia Memoirs)

“While, on the one hand, there were instances of a conscientious application to study and to all the means of moral and religious improvement, it was cause of regret, on the other, that some of the beneficiaries were indolent and inattentive to the regulations of the institution.”

“As to the studies, which have been pursued, they have been extremely various, according to the previous advantages and proficiency of the learners.”

“Reading, writing, English grammar, geography, history, rhetoric, geometry, surveying, navigation, natural philosophy, and the Latin and Greek languages have been taught …”

“… and as but few were pursuing the same studies, at the same time, the labor of instruction has ever been much greater than, in other circumstances, it would have been. (Report of the ABCFM, 16th Annual Meeting, 1825)

One student, referenced as Mak-oo-wi-he-na from Owhyee (the Island of Hawai‘i), was referred to as David Brainerd (named for the famous early missionary to the Native American Indians, David Brainerd).

“In tracing events connected with (his) life … we are led gratefully to adore that Providence, which brought him from his native heathen country to this land of gospel light. When he engaged as a sailor to come to this land, his object was worldly gratification.”

“Totally ignorant of the unseen hand that directed his course, and of the immense mercy designed for him, in the eternal purpose of God, he landed in New-York in 1819.”

“From thence he went to Boston. There, meeting religious people who manifested special friendship for him, he by their assistance went to West-Brookfield, Mass. to be instructed.”

“Here it pleased the Saviour, as is believed, to manifest himself unto his soul. From Brookfield he came to the Foreign Mission School, in the summer of 1822, retaining still his religious feelings. In Aug. 1823, he was received into the church in Cornwall, and baptized by the name of David Brainerd.”

“He has been studious, and diligent in duty, his deportment amiable, and his life such as becomes the followers of Christ. He felt much for his countrymen, and expressed desires that he might communicate the gospel to them.”

“His teachers and the friends of missions, indulged a hope that his pious desires might, in due time be gratified. But infinite Wisdom has not thus ordained. In the course of last Winter, he was arrested by disease which proved to be the consumption (tuberculosis).”

“He submitted calmly, and interceded with God for his country. His mind was serene in expectation of death, and his christian hope remained steadfast to the end. While on the bed of languishment, he, like Obookiah, prayed and conversed upon religion with those around him.”

“On the day of his death he took affectionate leave of his companions, and resigned his spirit into the hands of his Saviour.” (The Guardian & Monitor, June 1825) Mak-oo-wi-he-na – David Brainard – died April 6, 1825.

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Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School

April 5, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kaleleakeʻanae

Nuʻuanu Valley is romantic ground!
Here every knoll and dingle hath its talc.
Woven from legends stark of lonely swale
And Pali steep! Aye, long ago, to sound
Of savage warfare waged by Chiefs renowned.
Th’ historic Vale was scarred with bloody trail.
E’en now the bent ear hears the wild death-wail
Of warriors, in the winds which still rebound
The cliffs along: or, in the depths the eye
Doth catch the twinkling of spry Epas’ feet
Where, ‘neath the trailing clouds which not half hide
The tropic moon, they dance in circles nigh
To sound of falling waters—requiem meet,
Where mouldering heroes dim for aye abide!
(Johnstone; Thrum)

The battle was the last stand of Kalanikūpule and 9,000-warriors of O‘ahu against Kamehameha and his invading army of 12,000-warriors from Hawai‘i. (Dukas)

Kamehameha’s fleet landed at Waikiki where it covered the beaches from Waiʻalae to Waikiki. Kalanikūpule and his chiefs were stationed at strategic points in Nuʻuanu at Kanoneakapueo, Kahapaʻakai, Luakaha, Kawananakoa, Kaukahoku, Kapaʻeli, Kaumuʻohena, and Puʻiwa (where the fighting began.) (Kamakau)

Outnumbered and outgunned, the O‘ahu defenders were already weakened by the Battle of ‘Aiea (Kukiʻiahu) and a failed attempt to seize two well-armed foreign merchant vessels. (Dukas)

The landings were unopposed, and Kamehameha’s forces had four days to gather food and scout out enemy positions. The army began to move west and first clashed with Kalanikūpule’s men near Punchbowl Crater.

Both armies used traditional Hawaiian weapons, augmented with Western firearms. Kamehameha, however, used European-style flanking tactics and sited cannons on the Papakōlea ridgeline, routing similar positions held by Kalanikūpule’s cannoneers. (James)

“Kalanikūpule’s men were also supplied with these foreign weapons, however, not as well because they had lost those foreign weapons on board Captain Brown’s ships which the foreigners had taken at that time Kalanikūpule had first thought of attacking Kamehameha.” …

“In the beginning of this battle, the female aliʻi on Kamehameha’s side used their muskets, firing their bullets amongst the warriors on Kalanikūpule’s side.”

“Those on Kamehameha’s side were better skilled with the muskets, and perhaps these warriors furnished with the foreign weapons were electrified (ho‘ouwila ‘ia paha) by seeing the fearlessness of these aliʻi wahine.” (Desha)

Just a little above the Queen Emma’s property was a decisive point of the battle. There a well-directed shot from John Young’s cannon brought death to the restless and ambitious Kaʻiana; Kaʻiana had landed with Kamehameha but defected to the side of Kalanikupule.

With his death, Kalanikūpule’s forces scattered – some to the hills and valleys beyond, and drove the rest to a swift destruction over the famous pali. (Thrum)

Kamehameha’s cannon’s rained fire down on Kalanikūpule’s forces, which disorganized under the assault from above. From that point on, it was a running fight, a desperate rear-guard action as Oʻahu’s defenders were herded up Nuʻuanu Valley.

A number of them did escape. Some went up Pacific Heights, but primarily they went up Alewa and over into Kalihi and escaped to Aiea and through there.

Others went up over the pali or went up to Kalihi and then went over into Kāne’ohe. A lot of them went down the old trails on the pali. (Pacific Worlds)

But the actions of some gave the battle another name …

The name of the Battle of Nuʻuanu is also referred to as Kaleleakeʻanae, which means “the leaping of the mullet fish.” With their backs to the sheer cliff of the Nuʻuanu Pali, many chose to fall to their deaths than submit to Kamehameha.

In 1897, while improving the Pali road, workers found an estimated 800-skulls along with other bones, at the foot of the precipice. They believed these to be the remains of Oʻahu warriors defeated by Kamehameha a hundred years earlier. (Island Call, October 1953; Mitchell)

Kalanikūpule survived the battle, but was later captured and sacrificed by Kamehameha at the Diamond Head heiau of Papaʻenaʻena. (Dukas)

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Pali-Battle_of_Nuuanu-(HerbKane)

Kamehameha_Waikiki_Landing-(HerbKane)

The Battle of Nuuanu-Kalelekaanae-(RobJames)-Map

April 4, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1930s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1930s – sugar production peaks, Pan-Am Clipper service begins, Hickam Airfield is constructed, ‘Aloha Shirt’ is trademarked and Doris Duke builds Shangri La. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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Timeline-1930s

April 2, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hauoli Kamanao Church

La ʻelima o Pepeluali (pēpē lua lī)
Waimaka helele (heʻe nei) i ke alanui
Paiki puʻolo paʻa i ka lima
(Maika pu olo aʻa ika lima)
Waimaka helele ʻi i ke alanui!
(Ae maka hele heʻe nui ike alanui

Hui:
Penei pepe ʻalala nei
(He nei pepe alaʻa nei)
He huʻi maʻeʻele kou nui kino
(Eʻu ima e hele kou lui kino)

Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
He mele he inoa no Miloliʻi
(E mele he noe no Milolʻ`i)

The fifth day of February
Tears fell along the roadway
(Tears scattered in the street)
Bags and bundles held tightly
Tears fell along the roadway

Chorus:
The babies cry
(You there Baby Crying here)
Numbing to the body
(Your whole body will ache with chills)

Tell the refrain
(The refrain is told)
A name song for Miloliʻi
(A song, a name song for Miloliʻi)

“John D. Paris came to Hawaii in 1841 as a missionary. He was not originally supposed to come to Hawai‘i. He was on his way to the Oregon territory.”

“But the boat they were on brought some of the missionaries who were to join the mission here in Hawai‘i. They were going to drop them off, then proceed on to Oregon.”

“But they’d had an uprising in the Oregon territory, and the mission there was massacred and all the people were killed. So, with the unrest in the territory at that time, they prevailed upon him to stay in Hawaii, which he did.”

“And he was assigned to Ka‘u. He established the church – the Congregational church – there in Ka’u, and he stayed there until 1849.”

“At this time, his first wife had died, and he had two daughters. So, he felt, for the well-being of the daughters, he should go back to the United States. And he did.”

“However, while he was back there, he met a person that he had known, another woman, a Mary Carpenter. He was married to her. And then, they started back to Hawaii in 1851.”

“When he arrived here in the mission, they said the field in South Kona had deteriorated and they had nobody really there. So, they prevailed upon him to take the assignment in South Kona, which he did.”

“He was very active here. He built nine churches throughout Kona, mostly in South Kona, the first of which is the old church Kahikolu above Napo‘opo‘o”. (Billy Paris)

Another Paris church was at Miloli‘i.

“At Miloli‘i. We have some good people & some of whom we stand in doubt. A few living epistles known & read of all men — some whose light shines more dimly & through many clouds & others whose light is darkness…” (Paris, 1855; Maly) Paris built the Hau‘oli Kamana‘o Church.

The Miloli‘i community lies in the shadow of its most dominant geologic feature, the vast southwest slope of the 13,000-foot Mauna Loa volcano. Eruptive lava flows from Mauna Loa have continually influenced the area.

Since 1832, the volcano has erupted forty times. Eight flows have traversed the slopes into North and South Kona, and four reached the ocean (1859, 1919, 1926, and 1950). (PaaPonoMilolii)

Hawai‘i also has a long history of damaging tsunami. The earliest record of a tsunami is April 12, 1819, when a wave from Chile reached a height of 2-meters somewhere along the west coast of the Island of Hawai‘i. Since then, 112 tsunamis have been observed in Hawaii; 16 of these have resulted in significant damage. (World Data Center A; NAS)

On March 27, 1868, whaling ships at Kawaihae on the west coast of Hawaiʻi observed dense clouds of smoke rising from Mauna Loa’s crater, Mokuʻāweoweo, to a height of several miles and reflecting the bright light from the lava pit.

Slight shocks were felt at Kona on the west coast and Kaʻū on the flanks of the volcano. n the 28th, lava broke out on the southwest flank and created a 15-mile flow to the sea. Over 300 strong shocks were felt at Kaʻū and 50 to 60 were felt at Kona.

“Thursday, April 2d (1868,) at a few minutes past four, pm, the big earthquake occurred, which caused the ground around Kilauea to rock like a ship at sea.”

“At that moment, there commenced fearful detonations in the crater, large quantities of lava were thrown up to a great height; portions of the wall tumbled in. This extraordinary commotion, accompanied with unearthly noise and ceaseless swaying of the ground continued from that day till Sunday night, April 5th”. (Hawaiian Gazette, May 6, 1868)

A magnitude of 7 ¾ was estimated for this earthquake (by Augustine Furumoto in his February 1966 article on the Seismicity of Hawaii in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America) based on the extent of intensity reports. (Instrumental recordings, the usual basis for computing magnitudes, were not available at this early date.)

A tsunami struck the coast from Hilo to South Cape, being most destructive at Keauhou, Puna and Honuʻapo; a 10-foot-high wave carried wreckage inland 800-feet. Not a house survived at Honuʻapo. A stone church and other buildings were destroyed at Punaluʻu. Maximum wave heights were 65 feet, the highest observed on Hawaiʻi to date.

The Hauʻoli Kamana’o Church was pushed about 300 yards inland by the rushing sea, with little or no damage. The original location of the church is now underwater.

Written and oral history about and from Miloliʻi confirm there was no loss of life, missing children were led to safety in caves and rescued 5 days later. (Huapala)

Villagers later moved the church to its present-day site using palm trunks to roll it into place. Although other areas were destroyed, somehow Milolii was spared the misery experienced elsewhere.

The kupuna from other South Kona communities joined the village in thanksgiving, which lasted several days. The story of that day has become immortalized in the mele Lā ʻElima, sung by Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole and others but composed by Miloliiʻs Elizabeth Kuahuia (suggesting the day was February 5.) (PaaPonoMilolii)

La ʻElima sung by Diane Aki, music by Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3kIsPWllbM

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Hauoli_Kamanao_Church-HMCS_1926

Hauoli_Kamanao_Church-PaaPonoMilolii

Milolii PaaPonoMilolii

Milolii-PaaPonoMilolii

April 1, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Aztec

June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary’s throne, and his wife, Sophie, were visiting Sarajevo; Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated the couple. A month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

Within days, other countries got into the fray, including, Germany, Russia, France and United Kingdom; US President Woodrow Wilson announced the US would remain neutral.

After the German sinking of the British passenger ship Lusitania in May 1915 (which killed 1,201 people, including 128 Americans,) Wilson sent a strongly worded warning to Germany. After attempts to broker peace, then sinking of the American cargo ship Housatonic, Wilson broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

With German submarine warfare continuing unabated, the final straw came on April 1, 1917, when the armed merchant ship Aztec was sunk off the northwest coast of France by U-boat 46 under the command of Leo Hillebrand. The Aztec was on its way from New York to Le Havre, France with a cargo of timber, copper, steel, chemicals and machinery.

All twenty eight members of the crew were killed, including Boatswain’s Mate First Class John I Eopolucci, a Naval Armed Guard – the first US Navy sailor killed in action in World War I. The attack on the Aztec was the final straw and led to America’s intervention into World War I.

“There are five Hawaiian boys thought to have been killed along with 16 Americans when the American steamer the Aztec was sunk.”

“This ship was sunk outside of the seas of France by the German submarine without being given prior time for the captain and his sailors to prepare themselves on the previous Sabbath.”

“Amongst the Americans who are thought to have died are some sailors of the navy which the government placed aboard the ship ….”

“These are the first sailors of the navy to become victims of the Prussians as they attacked without giving time for them to distance themselves from the calamity of the sea placed upon them, and it is believed that Germany is at fault for breaking the pact with America by Germany starting its massacre with its submarines.”

The Hawaiian boys killed on the Aztec by the Germans were: Julian R Macomber, Honolulu; Charles Pinapolo, Honolulu; Ekila Kaoki, Hawai‘i Island; Tato Davis, Hawai‘i Island and HK Price, Hawai‘i Island.

“When (Charles G) Macomber, the father of Julian Macomber, one of the Hawaiian boys whose bones were left at sea, heard the news, the father said:”

“‘My dear son as an American sailor, and a Hawaiian sailor, died a desirable death and I am happy. My son returned the other month in July of last year …’

“‘… and I told him that if he returned to the Atlantic coast, his life would be in danger, but he said that he was an American sailor so he was not frightened to go someplace, because he will only die once, and that he will die sometime. He was not going to be scared by Germany; I am a Hawaiian and an American sailor.’”

“This father repeated that he was happy to hear this news, but not over the death of his son.” (Aloha Aina, April 6, 1917)

On April 2, 1917, President Wilson appeared before Congress to deliver his historic war message and asked for a declaration of war against Germany.

Then as Congress convened, two more ships were sunk, the large freighter Missourian and the schooner Marguerite, with no casualties aboard either ship. On April 6, 1917, after twenty-nine months of official neutrality, the US declared war on Germany, formally entering World War I.

Support grew for an event to mourn the loss of Hawaiʻi’s first war dead. In a memorial service for the five, held April 22, 1917, “The dead were eulogized as heroes who lost their lives while maintaining the right of the principle that the seas are free to all. About a pavilion platform that was decorated with the Star Spangled Banner and the flag of Hawaiʻi … more than 2000 gathered …”

“That the Hawaiians died in the service of their country in upholding American right of legitimate commerce at sea was emphasized by the presence on the platform of the heads of the military and naval service in Hawaiʻi, and there was a solemn martial atmosphere to the gathering to remind even casual spectators that this was a memorial service in war time.” (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 23, 1917)

“Senator HL Desha speaking in Hawaiian delivered an oration appropriate to the occasion. He spoke of the five brave men who died doing their duty and declared that for all we know on this earth, these men might have sacrificed their lives for the peace of the whole world.” (Hawaiian Gazette, April 24, 1917)

“An incident of unusual interest took place just prior to the reception. Colonel ʻIaukea had told Lili‘uokalani of the sinking of the Aztec, resulting in the death of five Hawaiian sailors, and asked her if on that account she would like to raise the American flag over her home.”

“She replied, most emphatically: ‘Yes. Have you a flag?’ When he said, ‘No’ an army officer who happened to be present offered to procure one. On its arrival the Queen went into the yard to watch the ceremony of raising the Stars and Stripes for the first time over Washington Place.” (Kihapi‘ilani; Ola o Hawaii, June 21, 1917)

“For the first time in its long and picturesque history, Washington Place, home of Queen Liliʻuokalani, was decorated today with an American flag.”

“It was the occasion of the visit of the legislators to pay their respects to the aged queen and in view of the extraordinary crisis in international affairs and the prospect of patriotic war action by congress …”

“… the queen allowed the flag to be flown in honor of the government which years ago was responsible for her loss of a monarchy.” (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 3, 1917) (Reportedly, the American flag continued to fly over Washington Place.)

Lorrin Andrews delivered an oration on what the American flag represents, “There is a Flag floating over this building which symbolizes to all of us that which we hold most dear.”

“It was conceived in a struggle for liberty against oppression. It presided over the birth of the greatest republic that the world has ever seen, and it has always represented honor, freedom and justice.” (Hawaiian Gazette, April 24, 1917)

Liliʻuokalani continued to occupy Washington Place until her death later that year (November 11, 1917.)

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