Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance | Page 92

January 15, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Alii Letters – Kapiolani to Ruggles

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

In this letter, Kapiʻolani writes to Reverend Samuel Ruggles and his wife about progress at Kuapehu, Hawaiʻi Island, and her wish for them to visit or write.

The letter is addressed to Keiki ma. Keiki was an affectionate nickname given by the Hawaiians to Rev. Samuel Ruggles. “Keiki mā” refers to Samuel Ruggles and company, in this case, probably his wife, Nancy Wells Ruggles.

In 1822, Naihe and Kapiʻolani (husband and wife) were among the first chiefs to welcome instruction and accept Christianity. Kapiʻolani was the daughter of Keawemauhili, who was the high chief of the district of Hilo (the uncle of Kiwalaʻo.)

“Ka‘awaloa, Kuapehu, January 17, 1840”

“Greetings to the two of you, Reverend and Mrs. Ruggles,”

“Here is a message to you two to tell of the events of these years. The love of the Lord has been great in these years, converting many persons to his church through his love for us.”

“Here too, a church was one of our endeavors. Parts of it are complete and others are not. The intention is, however, to complete it, for our teacher might not find physical comfort in a house that is bad, or might get sick.”

“Listen, all of you, generate some compassion for us, those in need, for the minds of those in the land of ignorance have not matured to know righteousness, but the Lord sees the fruition of some, and others truly strive, so if the Lord sees it, that is good.”

“There is also this: Namakelua is holding school here at Kuapehu. Also, all the chiefs have died; Kinau passed away, Lililiha died, Hoapili Kane has died, Keano is dead.”

“I beseech you two to pray diligently for us so we may all live together in a good place. Thus I abide, yearning to meet together in a good place.”

“Listen, both of you, you should generate love in the hearts of the brethren with my message. An expression of affection is my message to all of the brethren in America.”

“Here is another message for you two, that I have no bundle to send to the two of you, it remains here in Kuapehu. On Sunday, I will go down and come back when that is done.”

“All of you should know that Mr. Forbes and his wife are diligent in the work of the Lord, tender sometimes and forceful at other times.”

“We also have new teachers, Mr. Ives and others, so the Lord has not deserted us here.”

“Also, we have plans we are working on for our livelihood. We have planted sugar cane and the mill is processing, we planted cotton, but it is not certain. We are planting coffee again. The grape vines did not bear much fruit due to improper cultivation.”

“You should write to me again about other good crops to plant so things flourish again here in Kuapehu.”

“Why are you two not writing to me?”

“You should both write. Hale sends regards, Kamuela sends regards, Naihe sends regards, our mother/aunt sends regards.”

“Say, you should sail here again and then return there. There are great efforts that our teacher is striving to do.

“Assisting in the new garden for the school teachers, that is up to the women, and as for the men, there is firewood for the church and other needs within the works of the Lord.”

“Kapiolani Love to all the people”

Here’s a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation:

https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/f792abbfa34f6a37f22ed310477a6d14.pdf

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They arrived in the Islands and anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Mission Houses’ Strategic Plan themes note that the collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in the
• The introduction of Christianity;
• The development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• The promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• The combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine, and
• The evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing).

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Kapiolani – Ruggles Jan 17, 1840-1

Kapiolani – Ruggles Jan 17, 1840-2

Kapiolani – Ruggles Jan 17, 1840-3

January 14, 2018 by Peter T Young 5 Comments

No Treaty, No Annexation … or, No Need

‘No Treaty, No Annexation’ are common buzz words from some arguing that the overthrow of the Hawaiian Constitutional Monarchy on January 17, 1893 was ineffective and the Hawaiian Kingdom still exists.

However, where, specifically, does it say, then and now, that a ‘Treaty’ is required, or the Senate must vote on ‘Annexation’ in a certain way?

Annexation of Hawai‘i to the US was not a hostile takeover, it was something the Republic of Hawai‘i sought.

“There was no ‘conquest’ by force in the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands nor ‘holding as conquered territory;’ they (Republic of Hawai‘i) came to the United States in the same way that Florida did, to wit, by voluntary cession”. (Territorial Supreme Court; Albany Law Journal)

In Hawai‘i, “In 1893, ‘[a] so-called Committee of Safety, a group of professionals and businessmen, with the active assistance of John Stevens, the United States Minister to Hawai‘i, acting with the United States Armed Forces, replaced the [Hawaiian] monarchy with a provisional government.’ ‘That government sought annexation by the United States’ (Newlands Resolution).” (US Supreme Court)

“Then the provisional government grew into the constitutional Republic of Hawai‘i, and we have fully recognized that as the rightful and permanent government of Hawai‘i, and have kept our minister and consul-general at Honolulu and our war ships in that bay to protect them and the Republic….” (Fifty-Fifth Congress, Second Session, Committee on Foreign Relations, March 16, 1898)

“No nation in the world has refused recognition of the Republic of Hawai‘i as the rightful Government, and none of them question its soverign [sic] right to deal with any question that concerns the people of Hawai‘i.” (Fifty-Fifth Congress, Second Session, Committee on Foreign Relations, March 16, 1898)

“Recognized by the powers of the earth, sending and receiving envoys, enforcing respect for the law, and maintaining peace within its island borders, Hawaii sends to the United States, not a commission representing a successful revolution, but the accredited plenipotentiary of a constituted and firmly established sovereign State.”

“… the Republic of Hawai‘i approaches the United States as an equal, and points for its authority to that provision of article 32 of the constitution promulgated July 24, 1894, whereby …”

“The President (of the Republic of Hawai‘i,) with the approval of the cabinet, is hereby expressly authorized and empowered to make a treaty of political or commercial union between the Republic of Hawai‘i and the United States of America, subject to the ratification of the Senate.” (US Secretary of State Sherman, June 15, 1897)

The Hawaiian resolution for ratification of the annexation treaty was unanimously adopted by the Senate of the Republic of Hawai‘i on September 9, 1897.

“There is no provision in the [US] Constitution by which the national government is specifically authorized to acquire territory; and only by a great effort of the imagination can the substantive power to do so be found in the terms of any or all of the enumerated powers.”

“The United States has acquired territory through cession, purchase, conquest, annexation, treaty, and discovery and occupation. These methods are permissible under international law and have been approved by the Supreme Court.”

“The executive and the legislature have performed different roles in the acquisition of territory by each of these means. Unfortunately, the historical practice does not supply a precise explanation of where the Constitution places the power to acquire territory for the United States.” (Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation To Extend the Territorial Sea, October 4, 1988)

“The power of congress to acquire new territory, either by conquest, purchase, or annexation, was much debated at the time of the acquisition of Louisiana from France, in 1803, and in a less degree in connection with the purchase of Florida and of Alaska.”

“It has now come to be recognized and established, rather by precedent and the general acquiescence of the people, than by any strict constitutional justification. In fact, the power cannot be derived from any narrow or technical interpretation of the constitution.”

“But it is necessary to recognize the fact that there is in this country a national sovereignty. That being conceded, it easily follows that the right to acquire territory is incidental to this sovereignty. It is, in effect, a resulting power, growing necessarily out of the aggregate of powers delegated to the national government by the constitution.” (Handbook of American Constitutional Law)

“Territory is acquired by discovery and occupation where no other recognized nation asserts sovereignty over such territory. In contrast, when territory is acquired by treaty, purchase, cession, or conquest, it is acquired from another nation.” (Footnote, Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation To Extend the Territorial Sea, October 4, 1988)

“We have acquired much territory under treaty provisions and by conquest, and in such case the acquisition may be regarded as incidental to the powers mentioned …”

“… but we have also acquired territory by original discovery and appropriation alone. Such is the fact with reference to a large portion of Oregon; and such is peculiarly the fact with reference to certain small islands of the sea— the so-called Guano Islands.” (George Sutherland, Constitutional Power and World Affairs (1919))

Some cite the ‘Apology Resolution’ as evidence of a faulty process; however, as noted below, ”the Apology Resolution did not confer substantive rights or have a substantive legal effect. Thus, the Apology Bill cannot serve to support a fundamental right to nation-building”. (SCWC-29794)

“The State Supreme Court, however, read [this] as a congressional recognition – and preservation – of claims against Hawai‘i. There is no justification for turning an express disclaimer of claims against one sovereign into an affirmative recognition of claims against another.”

The US Supreme Court concluded, “First, ‘whereas’ clauses like those in the Apology Resolution cannot bear the weight that the lower court placed on them. As we recently explained in a different context, ‘where the text of a clause itself indicates that it does not have operative effect, such as ‘whereas’ clauses in federal legislation …, a court has no license to make it do what it was not designed to do.’”

“Second, even if the ‘whereas’ clauses had some legal effect, they did not ‘chang[e] the legal landscape and restructur[e] the rights and obligations of the State.’”

“The Apology Resolution reveals no indication – much less a ‘clear and manifest’ one – that Congress intended to amend or repeal the State’s rights and obligations under Admission Act (or any other federal law); nor does the Apology Resolution reveal any evidence that Congress intended sub silentio to ‘cloud’ the title that the United States held in ‘absolute fee’” and transferred to the State in 1959.”

“Third, the Apology Resolution would raise grave constitutional concerns if it purported to ‘cloud’ Hawaii’s title to its sovereign lands more than three decades after the State’s admission to the Union. We have emphasized that ‘Congress cannot, after statehood, reserve or convey submerged lands that have already been bestowed upon a State.’”

A later Hawaiʻi Supreme Court case noted (in 2014,) “The US Supreme Court reversed this court, holding that the Apology Resolution did not confer substantive rights or have a substantive legal effect. Thus, the Apology Bill cannot serve to support a fundamental right to nation-building”. (SCWC-29794)

It’s interesting to note the Supreme Court’s repeated references to the Republic of Hawai‘i, Annexation, Territory, Newlands Resolution, Admission Act, State, etc.

Commenters, please focus on the question here: Where, specifically, does it say, then and now, that a ‘Treaty’ is required, or the Senate must vote on ‘Annexation’ in a certain way?

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Raising_of_American_flag_at_Iolani_Palace-1898

January 2, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Going Green

ʻŌmaʻomaʻo means green.

Mānoa Valley was a favored spot of the Ali‘i, including Kamehameha I, Chief Boki (Governor of O‘ahu), Haʻalilio (an advisor to King Kamehameha III,) Princess Victoria, Kanaʻina (father of King Lunalilo), Lunalilo, Keʻelikōlani (half-sister of Kamehameha IV) and Queen Lili‘uokalani. The chiefs lived on the west side, the maka‘āinana (commoners) on the east.

Queen Kaʻahumanu lived there; her home was called Pukaʻōmaʻomaʻo (Green Gateway) was situated deep in the valley (lit., green opening; referring to its green painted doors and blinds – It is alternatively referred to as Pukaʻōmaʻo.)

“Her residence is beautifully situated and the selection of the spot quite in taste. The house … stands on the height of a gently swelling knoll, commanding, in front, an open and extensive view of all the rich plantations of the valley …”

“… of the mountain streams meandering through them … of the district of Waititi; and of Diamond Hill, and a considerable part of the plain, with the ocean far beyond.” (Stewart; Sterling & Summers)

It was doubtless the same sort of grass house which was in general use, although probably more spacious and elaborate as befitted a queen. The dimension in one direction was 60 feet. The place name of the area was known as Kahoiwai, or “Returning Waters.”

“Immediately behind the house, and partially flanking it on either side, is a delightful grove of the dark leaved and crimson blossomed ʻŌhia, so thick and so shady … filled with cool and retired walks and natural retreats, and echoing to the cheerful notes of the little songsters, who find security in its shades to build their nests and lay their young.”

“The view of the head of the valley inland, from the clumps and single trees edging this copse, is very rich and beautiful; presenting a circuit of two or three miles delightfully variegated by hill and dale, wood and lawn, and enclosed in a sweep of splendid mountains, one of which in the centre rises to a height of three thousand feet.”

“In one edge of this grove, a few rods from the house, stands a little cottage built by Kaahumanu, for the accommodation of the missionaries who visit her when at this residence. …”

“(It) is very frequently occupied a day or two at a time, by one and another of the families most enervated by the heat and dust, the toil, and various exhausting cares of the establishment at the sea-shore.“ (Stewart; Sterling & Summers)

“Not far makai … High Chief Kalanimōku, had very early allotted to the Mission the use of farm plots thus noted in its journal of June, 1823: “On Monday the 2d, Krimakoo and the king’s mother granted to the brethren three small pieces of land cultivated …”

“… with taro, potatoes, bananas, melons, &c. and containing nineteen bread-fruit trees, from which they may derive no small portion of the fruit and vegetables needed by the family.” (Damon)

Then, in mid-1832, Kaʻahumanu became ill and was taken to her house in Mānoa, where a bed of maile and leaves of ginger was prepared. “Her strength failed daily. She was gentle as a lamb, and treated her attendants with great tenderness. She would say to her waiting women, ‘Do sit down; you are very tired; I make you weary.’” (Bingham)

“The king, his sister, other members of the aliʻi and many retainers had already arrived at Pukaomaomao and had dressed the large grass house for the dying queen’s last homecoming. The walls of the main room had been hung with ropes of sweet maile and decorated with lehua blossoms and great stalks of fragrant mountain ginger.”

“The couch upon which Kaahumanu was to rest had been prepared with loving care. Spread first with sweet-scented maile and ginger leaves, it was then covered with a golden velvet coverlet. At the head and foot stood towering leather kahilis. Over a chair nearby was draped the Kamehameha feather cloak which had been worn by Kaahumanu since the monarch’s death.” (Mellon; Sterling & Summers)

“The slow and solemn tolling of the bell struck on the pained ear as it had never done before in the Sandwich Islands. In other bereavements, after the Gospel took effect, we had not only had the care and promise of our heavenly Father, but a queen-mother remaining, whose force, integrity, and kindness, could be relied on still.”

“But words can but feebly express the emotions that struggled in the bosoms of some who counted themselves mourners in those solemn hours; while memory glanced back through her most singular history, and faith followed her course onward, far into the future.” (Hiram Bingham)

Her death took place at ten minutes past 3 o’clock on the morning of June 5, 1832, “after an illness of about 3 weeks in which she exhibited her unabated attachment to the Christian teachers and reliance on Christ, her Saviour.” (Hiram Bingham)

There is another reference related to Ka‘ahumanu and the color green … “She, and some others, much wish to have bonnets – this is a pleasant circumstance to us. The inquiry has sometimes been made, in our letters, what could be sent as presents that would please these waihines.”

“Indeed, I have hinted to the queen, that perhaps some of the good ladies in America since she was attending to the palapala, would probably send her one.”

“Considering that, I would here request, that if it could easily be done, one, at least, might be sent by an early conveyance. As soon as I can have a green one, I shall present mine where I think it will do the most good”. (Sybil Bingham Journal, October 4, 1822)

It’s not clear if there is a direct association with Ka‘ahumanu and any preference for the color green – if so, then these references are interesting coincidences.

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Reportedly-Kanaʻina was kāhili bearer and attendant to Ka’ahumanu

December 29, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Fawcett Pogue

Maria Kapule Whitney was born October 19, 1820 to the Pioneer Company missionaries/teachers, Samuel and Mercy Whitney.

She was “the first haole girl to be born in the Hawaiian archipelago,” and named for Kauai Chiefess Kapule, wife of Kauai’s King Kaumualiʻi. Maria went to the mainland at the age of six to be educated. She graduated class of 1840 from Mt. Holyoke College.

John Fawcett Pogue son of William and Ruth Pogue, was born in Wilmington, Delaware on December 29, 1814. He graduated from Marietta College, 1840, and Lane Theological Seminary, 1843.

Ordained as a missionary minister on November 6, 1843, he was part of the 11th Company of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, sailing from Boston Harbor on December 4, 1843, arriving in the Islands on July 15, 1844. Maria Kapule Whitney was also part of the 11th Company and served as an educator.

Pogue, an active, eager young associate, first served at Kōloa, Kauai, until July, 1847, then he went to Kealakekua Bay.

John and Maria married on May 29, 1848. (They eventually had four children, Samuel Whitney 1849-1902; Jane Knox 1851-1932; Emily Elizabeth 1853-1910 and William Fawcett 1856-1952.)

Pogue was later assigned to lead Lahainaluna Seminary; he followed prior principals, Rev Lorrin Andrews, Rev Sheldon Dibble, Rev John S Emerson, Rev William P Alexander and Rev Timothy D Hunt. (Alexander)

The school had been established in 1831 by the American Protestant missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

It was dedicated to three major principles: 1) to train native men to become assistant teachers of the Christian religion; 2) to spread sound knowledge of literature and science to elevate the Hawaiian people from their present ignorance of these subjects; and 3) to qualify Hawaiians to be school teachers to their own people.

The school began with one teacher, the Reverend Lorrin Andrews, who was also its principal and a member of its board of directors. Four other ordained ministers made up the board.

The school followed the pattern of education in Head, Heart and Hand, with instruction in secular subjects, religious and moral training and also to teach technical subjects such as printing and methods of agriculture.

Not long after its opening, the school became a boarding school and began to earn a reputation as Hawaii’s most educational institution. It was called the Mission Seminary and one of its important objectives was to train Hawaiians for the ministry. (Joerger)

The pupils of the seminary were the most promising youth from fourteen to twenty years of age who could be selected from the schools of the islands. Tuition was free; but the pupils were obliged to provide their own food, which they did by cultivating a fine tract of taro land.

To the Hawaiian people this institution was a university, completing their education for school-teaching, for law practice and civil service, and for the ministry. (Alexander) Graduates of Lahainaluna began to fill their places in Hawaiian society.

In time the graduates of this one institution made up the Hawaiian Christian ministers, scholars, politicians, lawyers, government officials, and the like, who were directing much of the course of Hawaiian life in the Kingdom.

In 1849 the mission decided that it could no longer support completely Lahainaluna. In that year, the school came under the control of the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom. But the mission still preserved its influence over the curriculum and the selection of teachers.

Moreover, the school began to concentrate on secular subjects and to decrease its training for the ministry. This change was primarily undertaken because other seminaries then existed for the training of Hawaiians for the ministry.

Instead the curriculum continued to teach both academic subjects such as literature and science and theology and practical subjects such as bookkeeping and in the manual arts such as agriculture.

Reverend Pogue spent ten years as the principal of Lahainaluna, after he had spent many previous years there as a teacher. During his administration the main building was destroyed by fire.

And it is to the credit of the school and its standing in the Islands that while the Government provided the main support in money, the community responded with donations for the rebuilding project. Three new and elegant, convenient buildings were completed while the Reverend Pogue was still principal.

In 1865, a further change in the status of the school occurred when it was placed under the direction of the Board of Education. Lahainaluna then became an ordinary, government school. In 1866 Reverend Pogue ended his years as principal of the school. (Joerger)

Pogue then went to Waiohinu (1866-69) then later served as Secretary to the Hawaii Evangelical Association. Rev John F Pogue died suddenly of Bright’s disease (chronic inflammation of the kidneys), December 4, 1877, at Laramie, Wyoming, while on a trip to the US; in 1882 Maria and her family relocated to California. She died in Santa Clara on April 20, 1900.

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Pogue, John Fawcett-1875

December 28, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kona Cattle

“…the meat-eating population has increased, while the areas devoted to grazing and the numbers of cattle have gradually diminished, so that at the present time we are face to face with a situation in which the supply will no longer cover the demand.”

“Formerly (cattle) had wider ranges to rove over and feed upon; they were possessors of the land, and their value consisted chiefly in the labor and hides that they yielded.”

“At that time the plantations, which were of smaller areas than now, were almost wholly worked by bullock labor… In the course of time, and that very recent, the sugar industry has undergone great expansion.”

“The lands, some of which formerly were among the best for meat-making uses, have been absorbed by the plantations, and the cattle have been gradually forced within narrower limits at higher altitudes.” (Walter Maxwell; Thrum 1900)

Let’s look back …

With the arrival of Western ships, new plants and animals soon found their way to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I. When Vancouver landed additional cattle at Kealakekua in 1794, he strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a 10‐year kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.

In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and later turned into a dangerous nuisance. (By 1846, 25,000-wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000-semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans.)

Kamehameha III lifted the kapu in 1830 and the hunting of wild cattle was encouraged. The king hired cattle hunters from overseas to help in the effort; many of these were former convicts from Botany Bay in Australia.

Wild cattle were hunted for consumption, as well as provisioning ships with salt beef, and hides and tallow to the growing whaling fleets replenished their stocks.

In addition, Kamehameha III had vaqueros (Mexican-Spanish cow hands) brought to the islands to teach the Hawaiians, the skills of herding and handling cattle.

“The formalization of ranching operations on Hawai‘i evolved in response to the growing threat of herds of wild cattle and goats to the Hawaiian environment, and the rise and fall of other business interests leading up to the middle 1800s.” (Maly)

The vaqueros found the Hawaiians to be capable students, and by the 1870s, the Hawaiian cowboys came to be known as the “paniola” for the Espanola (Spanish) vaqueros who had been brought to the islands (though today, the Hawaiian cowboy is more commonly called “paniolo”). (Maly)

“The forest areas of the Hawaiian Islands were very considerable, covering the upland plateaus and mountain slopes at altitudes above the lands now devoted to sugar growing and other cultures.”

“Those areas, however, have suffered great reduction, and much of the most valuable forest cover has been devastated and laid bare. The causes given, and to-day seen, of the great destruction that has occurred are the direct removal of forest without any replacement by replanting.”

“Again, in consequence of the wholesale crushing and killing off of forest trees by cattle which have been allowed to traverse the woods and to trample out the brush and undergrowth which protected the roots and trunks of trees, vast breadths of superb forests have dried up, and are now dead and bare.”

“All authorities of the past and of the present agree in ascribing to mountain cattle, which were not confined to ranching areas, but allowed to run wild in the woods, the chief part in the decimation of the forest-covered lands. (Maxwell; Thrum)

“While the visits of the whaleships were confined to a few ports, the effects were felt in many other parts of the kingdom. Much of the domestic produce, such as potatoes, vegetables, beef, pork, fowls, and firewood, that was supplied to the ships was raised in the back country and had to be taken to the ports for sale.”

“The demand for firewood to supply so many ships over so great a period of time must have had an appreciable effect in reducing the forest areas and helping to create a serious problem for later generations.”

“Cattle for beef were, where possible, driven to the ports on the hoof and slaughtered as needed; at times they were led carelessly through the streets, to the annoyance and danger of the peaceful populace.” (Kuykendall)

In the years prior to the Māhele of 1848, nearly all of the cattle (as well as goats and sheep) belonged either to the King, the government, other chiefs close to the King, and a few foreigners who had been granted the right to handle the cattle. By 1851 there were around 20,000 cattle on the island of Hawai‘i, and approximately 12,000 of them were wild. (Maly)

The issuance of land title through the Māhele and Royal Patent Grant program of the Hawaiian Kingdom facilitated the development of large scale ranching activities on Hawai‘i. Every ahupua‘a in the area between Keauhou to Kealakekua (as well as on lands to the north and south) was put into ranching.

Ranchers, such as Samuel Rice, Charles Hall, William Johnson, Henry N. Greenwell, John D. Paris, James Atkins, Preston Cummings, Henry Weeks, George Trousseau and several others, operated in the uplands of Kona. (Maly)

The ranches of this region were generally situated between the 1,500 to 4,500-foot elevation, above the lands that in the same period were being turned over to the cultivation of coffee and other crops.

There were also important mauka-makai trails at various locations in the Keauhou-Kealakekua vicinity (such as Honalo, Kawanui, Lehu‘ula, Honua‘ino, Kalukalu, Onouli, and Ka‘awaloa), where ranchers would drive their cattle to the lowlands for grazing and shipping.

Māhele records also tell us that the native Hawaiian land owners in the same region, kept pigs and goats (and probably cattle and horses) on their own lands at lower elevations as well.

By 1855, the King signed a law requiring all cattle owners on Hawai‘i to register their brands between April 1st to September 30th 1855. On October 16, 1855, SL Austin (secretary to Governor of Hawai‘i), reported to John Young (Minister of the Interior), that 13 individuals had submitted the necessary documentation. (Maly)

For the most part, Kona Ranching operations continued on leased or fee lands by descendants of the earlier ranchers – Greenwell, Johnson, Paris, Wall and Roy.

Most of the ranching was/is in the uplands (areas extending from the Māmalahoa Highway vicinity to around the 4,800-foot elevation).

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