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December 20, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Convoy Nurses

The SS President Coolidge was completed in 1931 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co, Newport News, Va. She was 615 feet 6 inches in length, had a beam of 81 feet 3 inches, and a draft of 28 feet 2 inches.

In 1941, as war time activities increased, the US War Department began to use the President Coolidge for occasional voyages to Honolulu and Manila. She also helped evacuate Americans from Hong Kong when Japanese-British relations became strained in 1940.

She was later called upon to assist in the evacuations of many people from Asia as the Japanese aggression increased. In June 1941, the Coolidge went into service with the American Army as a transport ship for reinforcing garrisons in the Pacific. A few months later the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. (Henry Nelson, Master of the Coolidge)

At the time of attack, the Coolidge was halfway between the Orient and Hawai‘i. She was the last American vessel to leave the Philippine Islands; she arrived at Honolulu after a perilous trip with hundreds of evacuees, including women, children, missionaries, government officials, businessmen, Army and Navy officers, and many Chinese aviation cadets.

Upon reaching Honolulu, this world cruise ship was placed immediately at the disposal of military officials. Her already overcrowded deck spaces were jammed with hundreds more, waiting to leave the Islands. (Margaret Logan; HNA)

Nineteen US Navy ships, including 8 battleships were destroyed or damaged; the attack killed 2,403 US personnel, including 68 civilians, and the wounded numbered 1,178.

The first casualties arrived at the Pearl Harbor hospital within ten minutes after the first attack, and by 0900 they were coming into the hospital in a steady stream. Casualties were distributed to the main operating suite or to any one of the twelve wards where empty beds were available.

A receiving ward would have caused a ‘hopeless bottleneck,’ and was not used. Although an effort was made to send acute surgical cases to the surgical wards and fracture cases to the orthopedic wards every ward received a variety of cases. (navy-mil)

The leading causes of casualties were burns, compound fractures, flesh wounds (gunshots, shell, and shrapnel) and penetrating abdominal wounds. Sixty percent of all casualties at Pearl Harbor were burn cases caused by burning fuel oil and/or flash burns. Most burns were extensive (up to 80 percent,) and mainly first and second degree. (National WWII Museum)

“The command decided that patients who would need more than 3 months treatment should be transferred. Some were very bad and probably should not have been moved.” (Lieutenant Ruth Erickson, Nurse Corps, Navy)

“(T)he Hawaii Chapter of the American Red Cross requested the Nursing Service Bureau to obtain the services of seventeen nurses to leave on a ship for a port.”

“This call came at 11:30 am. At 1:00 pm seventeen nurses, in uniform, with bags hurriedly packed, leaving families, Christmas trees and packages, were at the Mabel Smyth building.” (American Journal of Nursing, April, 1942)

“Eleven days after the Japanese Navy’s torpedoes and bombs blasted ships and airfields at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, the first small convoy was formed at Honolulu to begin the evacuation of the wounded.”

“About 200 of the more critically burned and fractured survivors were placed aboard two ships under the care of Red Cross and US Navy nurses.” (Margaret Logan; HNA)

“This convoy, composed of the American President Lines’ luxury liner, President Coolidge, the US Army transport, General Scott, and two escort destroyers, steamed out of the entrance channel … and headed for San Francisco.” (Margaret Logan; HNA)

Three Navy nurses and a number of corpsmen from the hospital were assigned to the SS Coolidge. “Eight volunteer nurses from the Queens Hospital in Honolulu were attached to the Army transport at the next pier, USAT (US Army transport) Scott, a smaller ship.” (Lieutenant Ruth Erickson, Nurse Corps, Navy)

“(W)e left in the late afternoon of the 19th. There were 8 or 10 ships in the convoy. It was quite chilly the next day; I later learned that we had gone fairly far north instead of directly across.”

“The rumors were rampant that a submarine was seen out this porthole in some other direction. I never get seasick and enjoy a bit of heavy seas, but this was different! Ventilation was limited by reason of sealed ports and only added to gastric misery. I was squared about very soon.”

“The night before we got into port, we lost a patient, an older man, perhaps a chief. He had been badly burned, He was losing intravenous fluids faster than they could be replaced. Our destination became San Francisco with 124 patients and one deceased.”

“We arrived at 8 am on Christmas Day! Two ferries were waiting there for us with cots aboard and ambulances from the naval hospital at Mare Island and nearby civilian hospitals. The Red Cross was a cheerful sight with donuts and coffee.”

“Our arrival was kept very quiet. Heretofore, all ship’s movements were published in the daily paper but since the war had started, this had ceased. I don’t recall that other ships in the convoy came in with us except for the Scott. We and the Scott were the only ships to enter the port. The convoy probably slipped away.”

“The patients were very happy to be home and so were we all. The ambulances went on ahead to Mare Island. By the time we had everyone settled on the two ferries, it was close to noon.”

“We arrived at Mare Island at 4:30 pm and helped get the patients into the respective wards.” (Lieutenant Ruth Erickson, NC, USN) In the following weeks, more wounded were convoyed to the mainland.

The Army Nurse Corps listed fewer than 1,000 nurses on its rolls on the day of the attack; 82 Army nurses were stationed in Hawai‘i serving at three Army medical facilities. (army-mil)

Navy Medicine was represented at Pearl Harbor by a naval hospital, a partially assembled mobile hospital and the USS Solace, the Navy’s newest hospital ship at the time. (DODlive-mil))

The Red Cross called the Nursing Service Bureau in Honolulu for volunteer nurses for the Hospital Ship and the Navy Hospital. Every call received was filled.

“During the three weeks following the attack, our nurses gave two-hundred and fifty-eight days of volunteer service 101-days by members of the Bureau and 157-days by non-members, who were nurses from the local hospitals on their days off, service wives and nurses who have been inactive for years.”

“Their cooperation and readiness to serve in this emergency is commendable. The following week, the Red Cross called us for 33 nurses to accompany the evacuee patients to the mainland. 19 returned and 14 remained on the Coast, they were mostly service wives, who were to be evacuated.”

“39 of our nurses are in the civilian Defense Units; 14 called into active service. (12 Army and 2 Navy) All nurses who accompanied the evacuees to the Mainland were paid by the American Red Cross.” (Margaret R. Rasmussen, RN, Director, Nursing Service Bureau)

Captain Hayden later wrote to Rasmussen noting, “I want to express to you a somewhat belated but sincere appreciation of the fine work done … since the air raid of December 7 by the nurses from your Registry.”

“The way in which they volunteered and their performance of duty showed them to be true followers of Florence Nightingale. I want to assure you and them …”

“… that their work here was deeply appreciated by all and especially by the patients who, without their services, could not have received the attention they did.” (Captain R Hayden to Margaret Rasmussen, Nursing Service Bureau, January 3, 1942)

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Wounded-Nurse on Solace (hospital ship - date-location unknown)
Wounded-Nurse on Solace (hospital ship – date-location unknown)
Burned and injured patients aboard USS Solace following the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941
Burned and injured patients aboard USS Solace following the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941
coolidge-advertisement
coolidge-advertisement
Infographic-Pearl_Harbor_by_the_Numbers
Infographic-Pearl_Harbor_by_the_Numbers

Filed Under: General, Military, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, December 7, Solace, Nurses

December 17, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Wright Brothers

On December 14, 1903, the brothers tossed a coin to decide the flying order. Wilbur won the coin toss, but when he oversteered with the elevator after leaving the launching rail, the flyer climbed too steeply, stalled and dove into the sand. Three days later, they were ready for the second attempt.

At 10:35 am, December 17, 1903, Orville was at the controls. The flyer moved down the rail and with a total airspeed of 34 mph (27-mph headwind, the groundspeed was 6.8 mph,) Orville kept the plane aloft until it hit the sand about 120 feet from the rail – the first controlled and sustained power flight.

The brothers took turns flying three more times that day, getting a feel for the controls and increasing their distance with each flight. Wilbur’s second flight – the fourth and last of the day – was an impressive 852 feet in 59 seconds. (NPS)

Wait … this isn’t about those Wright Brothers. This is about the Wrights and some of the generations of respective brothers who were in the islands at about this same time.

Thomas and Jane (Wilson) Wright were from Durham, England. They had eight children: John Thomas, Mary Jane, William Wilson, Thomas, Isabell, Henry, Elizabeth (Polly,) and George Henry.

While the parents never left England, some of the siblings moved to New Zealand and then to Honolulu. Some siblings stayed in New Zealand. The youngest son, George Henry went to San Francisco.

The elder Wright was a blacksmith, a trade followed for more than 150 years by members of the family. In the early 1880s, at least three of the boys (Thomas, William Wilson and Henry) came to the Islands.

It was a time before the automobile; folks rode horseback or were carried in a horse or mule drawn carriage, trolley or omnibus (the automobile didn’t make it to the Islands until 1890.)

Until the mid-1800s, Hawaiʻi overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed traditional trails. To get around people walked, or rode horses or used personal carts/buggies.

It wasn’t until 1868, that horse-drawn carts became the first public transit service in the Hawaiian Islands, operated by the Pioneer Omnibus Line.

In 1888, the animal-powered tramcar service of Hawaiian Tramways ran track from downtown to Waikīkī. In 1900, the Tramway was taken over by the Honolulu Rapid Transit & Land Co (HRT.)

Before the introduction of automobiles, carriage makers’ shops had the place in the community now held by garages and repair shops.

The brothers set up respective carriage and blacksmithing facilities in Honolulu – Thomas and Henry formed Wright Brothers and William Wilson and his son formed WW Wright and Son (and Honolulu Carriage Manufactory.)

Thomas and his wife Elizabeth built a home in Waikiki in about 1890. Unfortunate and tragic events shortly followed with the death of their 10-year-old son Gladstone (due to a rockfall while on a Sunday school hike in Mānoa) and shortly thereafter, the death of their 7-year-old daughter Cicely (due to unknown disease.)

Thomas and Elizabeth then started making their home available as a bathhouse and called it Wright’s Villa. Just as “sea bathing” was gaining popularity on the American and European continents, private bathhouses, like Wright’s Villa, began to appear in Waikīkī. (White) They added dining and overnight accommodations.

Then, “Wright’s Villa has been rechristened and will henceforth be known as the ‘Waikīkī Inn.’ … It is conducted under the same management. You can have the same bathing on the best beach in the Islands, the same excellent dinner and if you are so inclined enjoy a bottle of claret while dining.” (Evening Bulletin, October 14, 1899)

Thomas and Elizabeth Wright left the Islands in 1899 and returned to Staindrop, England, never to return to the Islands (although they were constantly reminded of the Islands; they named their England home ‘Honolulu House.’)

Brother William Wilson (WW,) after being associated with the Wesson Foundry in England, went to Australia and, before coming to Honolulu, was employed for three years by the government railroad.

In the Islands, WW was first employed by CC Coleman, blacksmith; WW became associated with SM Whitman and JM Rose, carriage builders, later purchasing Mr Rose’s interest in the firm and consolidating it with the Hawaiian Carriage Co., remaining as a member of the firm until he established WW Wright & Son.

King Kalākaua, a personal friend of WW, was one of his patrons. When the Kaimiloa was being fitted for its historic but unsuccessful expedition to gain possession of Samoa for Hawai‘i, Mr. Wright had the contract for all iron work on the vessel.

Another son of WW was George Frederick Wright. George was born in Honolulu, April 23, 1881 and attended the old Fort Street School and graduated from Honolulu High School (McKinley) with the class of 1898.

Rather than follow the family tradition of blacksmithing, George became a professional surveyor, establishing himself as one of the foremost surveyors of the Territory through his direction of important surveys and other engineering works.

He entered the government survey department in June, 1898, and remained in public work until 1909, when he started business for himself. Among the larger commissions undertaken by the firm in recent years were surveys of the Parker Ranch property, on the Island of Hawai‘i and of the Island of Lanai, completed in 1925, as well as Pioneer Mill on Maui.

George later became the fifth person to serve as Mayor of Honolulu (starting in 1931.) He died in office in 1938 while traveling aboard the SS Mariposa. (Krauss) (Mayor Wright Housing in Kalihi was named after him.) (Lots of information here is from Nellist.)

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Wright Bros side-by-side Ads - 1890
Wright Bros side-by-side Ads – 1890
William Wilson Wright Carriage-King Street
William Wilson Wright Carriage-King Street
Wright Bros-WW Wright and Son-Evening Bulletin, Sep_8,_1890s
Wright Bros-WW Wright and Son-Evening Bulletin, Sep_8,_1890s
Triangle Store-WW Wright-PPWD-8-7-018-1890
Triangle Store-WW Wright-PPWD-8-7-018-1890
Downtown and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 02 -Map-1899
Downtown and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 02 -Map-1899
Downtown and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 04 -Map-1899
Downtown and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 04 -Map-1899
Downtown and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 06 -Map-1899
Downtown and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 06 -Map-1899
Wright Brothers-First FLight, Dec 17, 1903
Wright Brothers-First FLight, Dec 17, 1903

Filed Under: Economy, General, Prominent People Tagged With: Kalakaua, Wright's Villa, King Kalakaua, Hawaiian Tramways, Gladstone Wright, Gladstone, Honolulu Rapid Transit, Waikiki Inn, Wright Brothers, George Frederick Wright, Hawaii, William Wilson Wright

December 16, 2016 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

George Douglas Freeth, Jr

In 1889, the Redondo pier in California was a wharf at the foot of Emerald Street, designed to handle the enormous lumber trade from the Pacific Northwest. Two additional wharfs were added in 1895 and 1903.

Traffic into the port was so busy that ships had to wait their turn for a spot at one of the piers, as Santa Fe rail cars transported the cargo inland as fast as possible. (RedondoPier)

However, Redondo’s popularity began a slow decline when San Pedro Harbor started to take shape in 1899. By 1912, the Pacific Steamship Company stopped calling at Redondo altogether. (Megowan)

In 1907, real estate entrepreneurs Abott Kinney and Henry Huntington were heavily promoting their respective coastal resorts. Kinney had the lead, having dedicated his “Venice of America” (Venice Beach) on July 4, 1905. Henry Huntington, in June 1907, was putting the final touches on his own elaborate beach resort in Redondo Beach. (Verge)

At about that time, 19-year old, hapa-haole, George Douglas Freeth Jr, met up with Jack London and Alexander Hume Ford riding the waves at Waikiki. “I saw him tearing in on the back of (the wave,) standing upright on his board, carelessly poised”. The “young god bronzed with sunburn” gave London a surf lesson. (London)

“The whole method of surf riding and surf fighting, I learned, is one of non-resistance. Dodge the blow that is struck at you. Dive through the wave that is trying to slap you in the face. … Never be rigid. Relax.”

“The man who wants to learn surf riding must be a strong swimmer, and he must be used to going under the water. After that, fair strength and common sense are all that is required.” (London)

Around 1905, Freeth was the first – or among the first – to reintroduce angling across the wave as opposed to heading straight for shore. (Encyclopedia of Surfing)

“In 1907, (Freeth) left Hawaiʻi for the Golden State with letters in hand from Ford, Jack London and the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee. His objective was to ‘give exhibitions of Hawaiian water sports to the people of that section.’” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser; Laderman)

The July 3, 1907 Pacific Commercial Advertiser announced Freeth’s departure from his native Hawaiʻi with a page 1 headline that read, “George Freeth Off To Coast – Will Illustrate Hawaiian Surfboarding to People in California.”

“The aquatic skills that had enamored London, Ford and the Hawaiʻi Promotion Committee were the same skills Freeth brought with him to California, where he found work for two of the major developers of the period, Abbot Kinney and Henry Huntington.” (Laderman)

Within six months of his arrival, Freeth was commuting between the two seaside communities aboard Huntington’s Pacific Electric Railway. At Huntington’s Redondo resort, Freeth performed his surfing act twice a day under the billing, “The Hawaiian Wonder.”

Freeth lived in Redondo Beach where he worked as a swim instructor/lifeguard at Huntington’s “Plunge,” which from afar looked more like a royal palace than a public swimming pool. With over 1,000-dressing rooms and three heated pools, the Redondo Plunge could hold as many as 2,000- swimmers at one time. (Verge)

“At Venice Beach, Freeth went to work training Kinney’s Venice Lifesaving Crew. Freeth taught the crew to become one with the water. Rip currents, for example, were not to be fought against, but instead used by the rescue swimmer to speed to the victim in distress – a method that is still employed today.”

“So grateful were members of the Venice Lifesaving crew that on the occasion of his 24th birthday, they surprised him with a gold watch and a card that read in part – ‘Mr. George Freeth, King of the Surf Board, Captain of the Venice Basketball team, First Lieutenant of Venice Volunteer Life Saving Corps, and leader in Aquatic Sports and General Good Fellowship, is reliable, sober, industrious.’”

“’We, his comrades and citizens of Venice, extend our best wishes and a watch, that he may continue to keep abreast of the time to the century mark at least.’” (Verge)

On December 16, 1908, Freeth’s water safety skills were put to a test. That day, a tremendous winter squall suddenly descended upon Santa Monica Bay. Gale force winds and high surf trapped several Japanese fishing boats off the Venice Pier.

For the next 2 ½-hours, Freeth braved gale force winds, pounding surf, and a frigid ocean temperature to save single-handedly the lives of seven men. The Venice Lifesaving Corpsmen launched their boat to assist Freeth. More were saved.

As a result of these collected statements and the first-hand news accounts of the rescue, a special act of Congress dated June 25, 1910, awarded Freeth the nation’s highest civilian honor: the Congressional Gold Medal.

In 1915, lured away by the prospects of a better income and the chance to promote Hawaii and the sport of surfing, he joined the San Diego Yacht Club as a lifeguard/swim coach. Unfortunately, the club suffered from financial problems and Freeth was let go; a sympathetic club member then found Freeth a job at a sporting goods store in downtown San Diego.

On a warm spring day in May 1918, 13 swimmers drowned together in a massive rip current. Ocean Beach officials who hadn’t thought it necessary to have lifeguards saw their beach resort community empty as tourists stayed away.

Twelve days later the legendary lifeguard and surfer was in charge of the beach. There, Freeth performed on his surfboard, trained youngsters to work as lifeguards, and to the delight of everyone, not a single swimmer drowned.

Sadly, the flu pandemic of 1918-19 was sweeping through San Diego. Worldwide, 20 million people died from the flu in four months, as many as were killed in all of World War I. Rather than the young and the old, the victims were mostly healthy and middle aged. Among the stricken was Freeth. (Verge)

Freeth is credited as being the “First great waterman of the modern era” – Swimmer, diver, boatman, fisherman, outrigger canoeist, sailor, first professional lifeguard in California, Congressional Gold Medal for bravery, founded lifesaving service in California and introduced waterpolo to California. (UCSB)

George Douglas Freeth, Jr was born on Oʻahu on November 9, 1883; he died of the flu in San Diego on April 7, 1919 at the age of 35.

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George_Freeth-(WC)-1910
George_Freeth-(WC)-1910
George_Freeth-encyclopediaofsurfing
George_Freeth-encyclopediaofsurfing
George_Freeth-californiasurfmuseum
George_Freeth-californiasurfmuseum
Freeth_rowing (L)
Freeth_rowing (L)
Historic Huntington - surfing - George Freeth - LA Herald Dec 17 1908
Historic Huntington – surfing – George Freeth – LA Herald Dec 17 1908
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1961
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1961
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1971
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1971
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1981
HuntingtonBeachArialShot1981
aerial_redondo_1920
aerial_redondo_1920
Redondo_Beach-Plunge_1908
Redondo_Beach-Plunge_1908
Redondo-inside_plunge
Redondo-inside_plunge
George Freeth Plaque
George Freeth Plaque
Bronze Bust of George Freeth
Bronze Bust of George Freeth

Filed Under: General, Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Venice Beach, Hawaii, Waikiki, Surfing, Surf, George Douglas Freeth Jr, Congressional Gold Medal, Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach

December 12, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

400 hogs or O‘ahu and Kauai

It’s not clear if the deal was 400-hogs or “the whole right & property of the Islands Woahoo (O‘ahu) & Atooi (Kauai.)”

Whatever the agreement, Kalanikūpule was able to overcome attacks by Kā’eo and held O‘ahu (which he later lost to Kamehameha.)

Let’s look back …

In 1791, Kahekili, King of Oahu, Molokai and Maui, was on Maui with his brother Kāʻeokūlani (Kā‘eo,) King of Kauai, preparing to resist the threatened invasion of Maui by Kamehameha of Hawai‘i. (Cartwright)

Kahekili agreed with Kā’eo that after his death Kā’eo was to be regent of Maui and Molokai while Kalanikūpule, the son and heir of Kahekili, was to be King of Maui, Molokai, and Oahu, but was to reside on O‘ahu and allow Kā’eo to govern Maui and Molokai for him.

Fast forward to 1793 and Captain Brown … he was a British trader, “one of that numerous group of commercial adventurers who flocked into the north Pacific Ocean in the wake of Cook, drawn thither by the chance discovery, as one result of the last expedition led by that great navigator, of the possibilities of wealth in the fur trade between China and the coast of America.” (Kuykendall)

Brown’s three-vessel trading squadron included the ‘Butterworth’ (under Captain Brown,) ‘Prince Lee Boo’ (under Captain Sharp) and the ‘Jackal’ (under the command of Captain Alexander Stewart.)

At Maui Captain Brown seems to have entered into some sort of a politico-commercial agreement with Kahekili. Brown “had left the Isld, only a fortnight before we arrived had given them a number of Muskets, a very large quantity of Powder, and two pieces of Cannon (4 pounders)”. (Boit)

However, for these weapons, Boit says that Kahekili had “given to him the whole right & property of the Islands Woahoo (O‘ahu) & Atooi (Kauai)”. Later, Kamakau notes Kalanikūpule bargained for Brown’s assistance for “four hundred hogs”.

In July 1794, Kahekili died and, according to the prior arrangement, Kalanikūpule took control of O‘ahu and Kā‘eo ruled over Maui and Kauai.

Kā‘eo, who was residing on Maui, decided to return to Kauai. On the way he stopped with a considerable force on the northeast coast of O‘ahu, across the mountains from Waikiki, the capitol of the island.

Some fighting took place between his followers and those of Kalanikūpule, but this trouble was settled by a personal conference between the two chiefs, and Kaeo continued on around the island to Waianae, the usual point of departure for Kauai.

While resting here Kā‘eo learned of a plot among his warriors directed against himself. In this emergency he resorted to a measure not infrequently used by more civilized generals. He proposed an immediate attack on Kalanikūpule and the conquest of O‘ahu.

The plot collapsed and his followers rallied about him with enthusiasm, augmented in numbers by several bands of disaffected Oahuans. The advance toward Waikiki was begun at once and within a few days the two armies were in contact west of Honolulu. (Kuykendall)

Kalanikūpule at once engaged Captain Brown to aid him in this war (in return for four hundred hogs.) A battle was fought on the plains of Puʻunahawele in which some foreigners were killed by Mare Amara. Kalanikūpule was forced to retreat. Six days later, another battle was fought in which Kāʻeo was again victorious.

On December 12, 1794, a great battle was fought; Kalanikūpule himself with the main army held the middle ground between ʻAiea and the taro patches; Captain Brown’s men were in boats guarding the shoreline.

Thus surrounded, Kāʻeo with six of his men escaped into a ravine below ʻAiea and might have disappeared there had not the red of his feather cloak been seen from the boats at sea and their shots drawn the attention of those on land. Hemmed in from above, Kāʻeo was killed. (Kamakau)

After the victory of Kalanikūpule, a victory won by the aid of Captain Brown (and possibly also by the aid of Captain Kendrick (who was also at Honolulu on the Lady Washington,)) a salute was fired from the ships in the harbor.

One of the saluting guns on the Jackal was, through an oversight, loaded with round and grape shot, and this shot passed through the Lady Washington, killing Captain Kendrick and several of his crew.

The body of Kendrick was taken on shore for burial and the natives, who had never seen anything of the kind before, thought the prayer and burial service were “an act of sorcery to procure the death of Captain Brown.” (Kuykendall)

Toward the end of December a plot was formed among the natives for the seizure of the two vessels (Jackal and Prince Lee Boo.) On the first day of January, 1795, the plan was put into execution.

A large number of hogs having been brought to the shore for the ships, the English sailors were employed on the beach salting the pork and preparing it for shipment. Several of the crew with an officer had been sent for salt to a place some distance away.

The Englishmen being thus scattered and the vessels almost deserted, except for the two captains, who remained on board.

“Capt. Brown was walking the poop, by himself, when one of ye Savages gets up on the poop, & made a pass at the Good old Captain with an Iron dagger, which he fend’d of, & seizd a Swivell worm & drove the fellow of, he was soon followed by a number more which the captain likewise beat of …”

“… but at last he was overpower’d by numbers, & receiv’d a fatal stab in the back of the neck and was pitch’d from the poop on to the main deck where he soon expir’d, & so by there savage artfulness they got possession of both Vessells without the loss of a man on there side, in the mean time they had seiz’d the Boats & People that where on shore”. (Boit; Kuykendall)

Being in possession of the two ships, with a large quantity of arms and ammunition, Kalanikupule and his advisers conceived this to be an opportune moment for striking a decisive blow at Kamehameha.

The surviving members of the crews were compelled, under guard, to fit the vessels for sea, and when all was ready the king and his chiefs went on board and the ships were warped out of Fairhaven harbor and anchored in Waikiki bay.

The next day Mr. Bonallack, mate of the Prince Lee Boo, and Mr. Lamport, mate of the Jackal, agreed upon a plan for retaking the vessels that night. It was a desperate venture but the attempt was entirely successful, the natives on board being killed or driven off, with the exception of the king, queen, and three or four of their personal attendants.

The ships immediately put to sea, but at daybreak they again came near the shore and, after placing the king and queen in a canoe with one attendant, made all sail for the island of Hawaii, and from there, after procuring supplies, took their departure for Canton.

Within less than five months after the death of Captain Brown, Kamehameha over-ran Maui and Molokai, defeated Kalanikūpule in the great battle of Nuʻuanu, and became ruler of all the islands except Kauai. (Kuykendall)

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Dessin_du_Machault_(1791)-Frigate comparable to Butterworth
Dessin_du_Machault_(1791)-Frigate comparable to Butterworth
Sealing_camp,_Cape_Horn,_Jackal_and_Prince_Lee_Boo
Sealing_camp,_Cape_Horn,_Jackal_and_Prince_Lee_Boo
Prince_Lee_Boo-_c.1792
Prince_Lee_Boo-_c.1792
Dessin_du_Machault_(1791)-Frigate comparable to Butterworth

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People Tagged With: Kahekili, Kalanikupule, Kaeo, John Kendrick, Captain Brown, Butterworth, Prince Lee Boo, Jackal, Hawaii, Kamehameha

December 11, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Tea Party

“(T)o this interesting group we should have been happy to have introduced you, or any of our Christian friends ; and I doubt not you would have been highly gratified with the interview. … twenty-one chiefs of the Sandwich islands mingling in friendly, courteous and Christian conversation with seven of the mission family …”

“Listen, and you will not only hear the expressions of gratitude to us and to God for the privileges they now enjoy, but you will hear these old warriors lamenting that their former kings, their fathers, and their companions in arms, had been slain in battle, or carried off by the hand of time, before the blessed gospel of Christ had been proclaimed on these benighted shores.”

“Your heart would have glowed with devout gratitude to God for the evidence that, while our simple food was passing round the social circle for their present gratification, the minds of some of these children of pagans enjoyed a feast of better things; and your thoughts, no doubt, like ours, would have glanced at a happier meeting of the friends of God in the world of glory.”

“When our thanks were returned at the close of our humble repast, though you might not have been familiar with the language, you would have lifted up your heart in thankfulness for what had already appeared as the fruits of your efforts here, and for the prospect of still greater things than these.” (Bingham, December 15, 1827)

Let’s look back …

“On Tuesday of last week (December 11, 1827,) Mrs. Bingham & Mrs. Richards, undertook to make a ‘tea party’ to bring all the chiefs in the place & the members of the mission family together to join in a friendly & social cup of tea, to shew Christian kindness & civility to our Sandwich Island neighbors and to promote kind feelings among the chiefs themselves now assembled from the different Islands.”

“The two sisters with their native domestics spent most of today in preparing biscuit, cakes &c. & making such arrangements as seemed to them desirable.”

“We sent out our billets in due form in the morning to the king & Kaahumanu, and all the chiefs of the first & second rank and to some others connected with them by marriage. As soon as Kaahumanu received her invitation she sent over a supply of good white sugar for the occasion.”

“You would have seen the regent, once the haughty Kaahumanu, now condescending, and kind, and grateful to the Christian teachers; with her two royal sisters, Kalākua and Piʻia, all members of the church, bearing the Christian names of Elizabeth, Maria and Lydia …”

“… and all endeavoring, as we believe, to copy the virtues of those Scripture characters, exerting a great influence over the people in favor of reformation, and rejoicing in the mercy of God in giving them the gospel.”

“You would have seen the pleasing youths, the king (Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III) and his sister (Nahiʻenaʻena,) rising rapidly to maturity, both possessing vivacity, and exhibiting kindness towards us …”

“… the latter a member of our church, and a great comfort to the serious party, and the former as far advanced in the rudiments of learning as most of our native teachers, and, we believe, disposed to aid decidedly the cause of the mission.”

“You would have seen Kuakini, the governor of Hawai‘i, dignified, sociable and friendly, who has built a church at Kailua, which probably cost as many days’ work as any church in America, and who has for some time been diligently assisting in translating the Gospels, and in teaching a class in the rudiments of arithmetic. He has recently advised Kaahumanu to have laws established, written and published.”

“Naihe you would have met, a decided friend, of similar rank, and his wife, Kapiʻolani, who, perhaps, is second to none in improved manners and Christian character.”

“You would have seen the solid Hoapiri, of the same rank, the governor of Maui, recently propounded to the church, the most fearless of all in resisting foreign encroachments, and foremost of all to suppress the vices which derive so much support from abroad.”

“Another of the old phalanx of Tamehameha would have attracted your notice—Kaikioeva, now governor of Tauai, who seems desirous to be instructed and to promote our cause; and his wife, Keaweamahi, also, who, as you know, is a respected member of our church, admitted at Tauai.”

“You would have seen, also, the late queen of Tauai, Deborah Kapule, and her husband. Simeon Kaiu, whom we regard as promising Christians. They recently presented their infant son to the Lord in baptism, whom they called Josiah Taumuarii, out of respect to the characters of those two men.”

“You would have seen Kekāuluohi, Kīnaʻu and Kekauōnohi, the three surviving women who were, on our arrival, wives of Rihoriho. The former has, for five years, lived regularly with another husband, gives evidence of piety, and was, last sabbath, propounded for admission to our church.”

“Kīnaʻu, who has recently married Kekūanāoʻa, who accompanied the king to England, now appears friendly, but not pious; her husband, whom you would also have seen, is like her in those respects, and is commander of a small standing force, of two or three hundred men, at this place.”

“Kekauōnohi has, for about four years, lived single, appears to be a cordial and decided friend of the mission, and is now talked of as a suitable wife for the young king. There is little disparity in their age and rank.”

“Three interesting young chiefs, Laʻanui, Keli‘iahonui and Kanaʻina, of pleasing manners and hopeful piety, would also have engaged your attention among the happy guests. Laʻanui, the husband of Piʻia, or Lydia Namahana, by his correct behavior for more than five years, has given us much satisfaction.”

“He is, you know, a member of our church. He is a good assistant in the work of translation. We consult him, and others of his standing, with more advantage than any of the youths who have been instructed in foreign schools.”

“Keli‘iahonui, the son of Taumuarii, you doubtless know, is also a member of the church, and exerts, we hope, a good influence. He travelled round Hawaii, a year ago, exhorting the people to obey the word of God and the voice of the chiefs. He has had an oversight of several schools, and been employed considerably, and with success, in teaching. He lives single, keeps a regular diary, and is foremost of his countrymen in the art of singing in our mode.”

“Kanaʻina, the husband of Kekāuluohi, often assists in conducting conference meetings, and is very desirous to be admitted to the church. Though we hope to admit him before a great while, yet we think some longer trial advisable.”

“Joseph Leleiōhoku, the sprightly little son of Karaimoku, the late regent, and Kamanele, the young daughter of governor Kuakini, were also present.”

“We might have invited nearly as large a number of others of the third and fourth grade of chiefs, who exhibit similar marks of improvement, and who appear to be truly friendly to the cause of the gospel, and whose presence would have added to your pleasure, had we room and means and strength to accommodate so many at one time.”

“But look, for a few moments, at the present group: twenty-one chiefs of the Sandwich islands mingling in friendly, courteous and Christian conversation with seven of the mission family, whom you have employed among them.”

“Contemplate their former and their present habits, their former and their present hopes. They have laid aside their vices and excesses, and their love of noise and war.” (This entire post is portions of a December 15, 1827 letter written by Hiram Bingham.)

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Mission_Houses,_Honolulu,_ca._1837._Drawn_by_Wheeler_and_engraved_by-Kalama
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Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings, Economy, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Prominent People Tagged With: Sybil Bingham, Namahana, Kekauonohi, Missionaries, Kinau, Laanui, Kaikioewa, Kekauluohi, Keliiahonui, Kaahumanu, Kalakua, Kamanele, Kauikeaouli, Clarissa Richards, Kamehameha III, Piia, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, Kanaina, Hawaii, William Richards, Kapule, Kuakini, Nahienaena, Kaiu, Kapiolani, Hoapili, Naihe, Hiram Bingham, Leleiohoku, Keaweamahi

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