Prominent People | Page 57 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

December 6, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bully Hayes

Among all the rough men who made life hideous on the seas the figure of an American skipper stands pre-eminent – Captain “Bully” Hayes, who never knew fear. (Hawaiian Star, November 11, 1911)

Born in 1827 in Cuyahoga County, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, his father is said to have kept either a tavern or an ordinary grog-shop. There is no direct word of his boyhood, but there is ground for the assumption that he grew up as a reckless desperado. (Johnstone, Thrum)

The Honolulu Advertiser of September 24th, 1859 gives an interesting, history of the “Consummate Scoundrel.” About the year 1852, he was “unfortunate as to mistake a few horses belonging to a neighbor for his own, and sold them accordingly, pocketing the cash.” Unfortunately again for the world, he escaped prison by a flaw in the indictment and fled from danger.

The young Hayes received his education at Norfolk, Virginia, and later was appointed to a cadetship in the US Revenue Service, where he served with honor and promotion.

Subsequently, he resigned and became Captain of one of the Great Lake steamers, but afterwards – about the year 1854 or 1855 – he joined the US Navy, where he is reported to have served with credit under Admiral Farragut.

It has been alleged he was a man of aliases, however, these seem to be limited to “Captain Henry Hayes,” “Captain William H Hayes,” and “Captain W. H. Hayston,” as he was called throughout the South Pacific and officially announced in the reports of the British Admiralty for the years 1874-1875.

His well-known nicknames were “Bully” Hayes and “Bully”‘ Hayston. (Johnstone, Thrum)

His first venture in crimes on the seas was typical of much to follow. On a trip to San Francisco, he had so hypnotized a fellow-passenger (it seems he was a gentleman of means ready for an investment) that he agreed to establish Hayes’ “wife” (who afterwards remained there) in the liquor business, which, it seems, was quite to her taste.

But to leave his “wife” in a convenient establishment at a port of return was only a part of his plan. In the end, his scheme was brought to fulfillment by the friendly capitalist fitting out a ship for the China trade; it was not long afterwards that the bark sailed away with Hayes as Master, which was the last the owner ever saw of his ship. (Johnstone, Thrum)

He would often employ the ploy of ordering and having items delivered to his ship in port. The merchant came aboard on sailing-day for his money; he was politely received.

Then, the ship would cast off and while sailing out of the harbor, Hayes would note, ”But you see, Sir, it is inconvenient that I should pay you now. I shall return shortly and settle the account, but at this moment I am going to sea, so you must either return at once in your boat, or sail with me.”

It was near the middle-1850s when Captain Hayes first appeared in the Pacific; he arrived in Honolulu in 1858: over six feet in height, big, bearded, and blond, with a soft voice and a persuasive smile – 240-pounds of intriguing manner and sly scheming. (Gessler)

“(H)e and his first officer were put ashore at Honolulu from the ship Orestes. He was at that time accompanied by his wife, who was lately living with his children on the Navigator islands. In all his travels he was accompanied by women, whom he picked up and dropped as the fancy took him.” (Evening Bulletin, October 7, 1895)

“Since Bully Hayes touched here first in the fifties … he will be remembered by the oldest residents only. Yet there was that in the man and his acts which is worth preserving, and this brief record of his early career in the North Pacific seems due to the life and memory of the urbanest scoundrel that ever sailed a sea on evil deeds intent.” (Johnstone, Thrum)

“Eventually he commenced his career as a trader among the South Sea Islands. After raiding and robbing stations for a couple of years, Bully Hayes was arrested by the British Consul at Upolu … he readily won the hearts of men and officers, who began to believe that he was a most worthy and much injured man.”

“Within three days he was not only set free, but supplied with all he required for another sea trip, upon which he left with the best wishes of the captain and officers.” (Evening Bulletin, October 7, 1895)

“Of all the hard lives a man ever lived in the South Sea and I’ve been sailor, whaler and trader among the best of ’em – “blackbirding” was the worst. A man had good times ashore and the like of that, but when he worked he carried his life in his hands. It was so aboard ship as well as when he went ashore after labor recruits.”

“I don’t know who gave that business the name of “recruiting,” for we know it to be almost always downright kidnapping that generally ended in slavery. No wonder the natives resisted every recruiting crew that landed.” (Hawaiian Gazette, January 9, 1917)

Blackbirding is the recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as laborers. The practice occurred between 1842 and 1904. Those ‘blackbirded’ were from the indigenous populations of nearby Pacific islands.

Hayes had ship after ship, but title for each was often questionable. Over the years, he traveled the Pacific Ocean between California, Hawaiʻi, Australia, New Zealand and the Caroline Islands and would cause islanders to hide in fear of being kidnapped and shipped off to be a laborer on some distant plantation.

“Merciless to those who opposed him, he had bursts of generosity unknown to his rivals. He recognized that the invasion of the South Sea kingdom by the missionaries meant the coming of law and order, which, in turn, meant the death of his reign of violence.”

“So he strove to thwart the proselyting band, and until his end in the late-70s, with the Pacific as his shroud, he successfully combated the missionaries.” (Hawaiian Star, November 11, 1911)

“After a half century of notoriety in the Pacific, during which the voice of the investigator has ever been raised against him in condemnation, “Bully”, Hayes has at least one old acquaintance who paints him lens black than most. This is Captain Callaghan”. (Hawaiian Gazette, January 9, 1917)

“Bully Hayes was not as bad as nearly every one says he was,” said Captain Callaghan yesterday. ‘He dealt squarely with men until he was cheated and when he was he became a very bad customer indeed.’” (Hawaiian Gazette, January 9, 1917)

Hayes was a fascinating companion, who sang in fine voice the songs of the German classical composers, was an accomplished performer on piano and violin, and spoke at least four languages (besides various Polynesian dialects) with much fluency. (Johnstone, Thrum)

Hayes received a fatal stab (or shot) in the heart from one of his crew (the ship’s cook Peter Radeck or Dutch Pete, responding to threat’s from Hayes) and died on March 31, 1877 in Hawaiʻi at just 47 years old. (Evening Bulletin, October 7, 1895)

Hayes (and glimpses of his story) was later portrayed by actor Tommy Lee Jones in the 1983 film, “Nate & Hayes”.

November 29, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kalaniana‘ole v Lili‘uokalani

On the November 30, 1915, Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole, on his own behalf filed a bill in equity averring mental weakness on the part of Queen Lili‘uokalani. (Hawaii Supreme Court)

“In his petition to set aside the queen’s trust deed, Kūhiō claims that Lili‘uokalani, who was seventy-seven years old last September, is a widow without issue and that by virtue of a royal proclamation of February 10, 1883, issued by ‘His Majesty Kalākaua, then King of the Hawaiian Islands …’”

“‘… the said Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole was created a prince, with succession to the throne, and that since the death of his brother, Prince David Kawānanakoa, on the second day of June, 1908, the said prince had been next in succession to said queen and the heir preemptive.’”

“The trust deed which Kūhiō would have broken by action of court was signed by Queen Lili‘uokalani on December 2, 1909 and Kūhiō claims that, although at that time he was in Honolulu, he was kept away from the queen so that she could not consult with him as to the terms of the trust deed.” (Hawaiian Gazette, December 17, 1915)

The queen and her representatives fought the claims … “Queen Liliuokalani will oppose the suit institutes in her name, in the circuit court here on November 30, last, by delegates J. K. Kalaniana‘ole, as her next friend and in his name, to break the trust in which the queen’s property is held. In other words, Queen Lili‘uokalani wishes the trust to continue.” (Hawaiian Gazette, December 17, 1915)

The case made it to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court and noted, the matter relates to “the execution by the Queen of a certain deed of trust, on the 2d day of December, 1909, under which the said Iaukea and Dominis were among the beneficiaries, and certain subsequently executed instruments purporting to confirm and supplement the trust deed.” (Supreme Court)

“The Queen then applied to this court for a writ of prohibition to restrain the circuit judge from taking any further steps in the case until after making an inquiry into and determining the question of her present mental capacity. (The Supreme) court held that the presumption of competency prevailed in favor of the Queen”. (Supreme Court)

The Supreme court also found, “We think it is clear, therefore, that Kalaniana‘ole, as sole complainant, may not maintain the suit since he has no interest in the subject-matter.” The queen won the case.

An interesting side note to the queen’s legal matters relate to the role and relationship she had with WO Smith.

William Owen Smith, born at Kōloa, Kauai to missionary parents, was educated at Rev David Dole’s school at Kōloa, later attending Punahou School in Honolulu; Smith left school to go to work on a sugar plantation for three years to learn the sugar industry, working in the boiling house in winter and in the fields in summer.

Smith was Sheriff of Kauai for two years and Maui for two years. He later became a lawyer and state legislator.

During the revolutionary period, Smith was one of the thirteen members of the Committee of Safety that overthrew the rule of Queen Liliʻuokalani (January 17, 1893) and established the Provisional Government.

He then served on the executive council of the Provisional Government and was sent to Washington DC when the proposed Organic Act for the Government of Hawaiʻi was pending before Congress.

When not filling public office, Mr. Smith had been engaged in private law practice and was affiliated with various law firms during his long career.

Smith and his firm wrote the will for Princess Pauahi Bishop that created the Bishop Estate. As a result of this, Pauahi recommended to Queen Liliʻuokalani that he write her will for the Liliʻuokalani Trust (which he did.)

As a result, Liliʻuokalani and Smith became lifelong friends; he defended her in court, winning the suit brought against her by Prince Jonah Kūhiō. (KHS)

Speaking of his relationship with the Queen, Smith said, “One of the gratifying experiences of my life was that after the trying period which led up to the overthrow of the monarchy and the withdrawal of Queen Liliʻuokalani, the Queen sent for me to prepare a will and deed of trust of her property and appointed me one of her trustees”. (Nellist)

Smith was also a trustee of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate from 1884-1886 and 1897-1929, the Lunalilo Estate, the Alexander Young Estate and the Children’s Hospital.

On April 24, 1873, while serving as Sheriff on Maui, WO Smith planted Lāhainā’s Indian Banyan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lāhainā.

Today, shading almost an acre of the surrounding park and reaching upward to a height of 60 feet, this banyan tree is reportedly the largest in the US.

Its aerial roots grow into thick trunks when they reach the ground, supporting the tree’s large canopy. There are 16 major trunks in addition to the original trunk in the center.

Back to the land that Kūhiō made claim to, it helped to form the Lili‘uokalani Trust, “a private operating foundation founded in 1909, for the benefit of orphan and destitute children with preference given to Native Hawaiian children.

“A diversified portfolio of real estate, marketable securities and private investments provides the resources to support mission-related programs and activities.” (Lili‘uokalani Trust)

Author Evelyn Cook noted in a newspaper interview related to the book she wrote about WO Smith’s father, ‘100 Years of Healing: The Legacy of a Kauai Missionary Doctor’, “Today, the prince is worshipped, and WO Smith is vilified. But who is the hero and villain? People don’t know their own history.” (Command)

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Kalanianaole, Jonah Kuhio, 1871-1922-PP-97-2-010

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Queen Liliuokalani in a black dress Hawaiian Monarchy Hawaii

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November 22, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Jack London

John Griffith London (born John Griffith Chaney; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was raised in Oakland, California, by his spiritualist mother and his stepfather, whose surname, London, he took.

At age 14 he quit school to escape poverty and gain adventure. He explored San Francisco Bay in his sloop, alternately stealing oysters or working for the government fish patrol.

He went to Japan as a sailor and saw much of the United States as a hobo riding freight trains and as a member of Charles T. Kelly’s industrial army (one of the many protest armies of the unemployed, like Coxey’s Army, that was born of the financial panic of 1893). London saw depression conditions, was jailed for vagrancy, and in 1894 became a militant socialist.

London studied magazines and then set himself a daily schedule of producing sonnets, ballads, jokes, anecdotes, adventure stories, or horror stories, steadily increasing his output.

The optimism and energy with which he attacked his task are best conveyed in his autobiographical novel Martin Eden (1909). Within two years, stories of his Alaskan adventures began to win acceptance for their fresh subject matter and virile force.

His first book, The Son of the Wolf: Tales of the Far North (1900), a collection of short stories that he had previously published in magazines, gained a wide audience.

Jack and Charmian Kittredge were married in Chicago on November 19, 1905. The London’s settled in Glen Ellen, California at Wake Robin Lodge and began to purchase land on Sonoma Mountain to build their future dream home, the Wolf House.

During the remainder of his life, London wrote and published steadily, completing some 50 books of fiction and nonfiction in 17 years. Although he became the highest-paid writer in the United States at that time, his earnings never matched his expenditures, and he was never freed of the urgency of writing for money. (Britannica)

London spent much of the last year of his life in Hawai‘i. He and his wife Charmian arrived in the winter of 1915–16 and stayed through late July.

London loved Hawai‘i. “The New York dweller must wait till summer for the Adirondacks, till winter for the Florida beach. But in Hawaii, say on the island of Oahu, the Honolulu dweller can decide each day what climate and what season he desires to spend the day in.” (Cosmopolitan, October 16, 1916)

It was the Londons’ second trip to the islands; their original visit in 1907 was the initial leg of their famous two-year voyage on his sailboat, the Snark. During that first trip, Jack fell in love not only with the locale but also its people.

In addition to travel essays, London wrote thirteen stories set in Hawaii, which were collected in two volumes, House of Pride (1912) and the posthumously published On the Makaloa Mat (1919).

One of these tales, “The Water Baby,” was the last story London completed, on October 2, 1916, and it is unlike anything he had previously written.

There is little in the way of action or adventure or human struggle; instead, the narrator John Lakana nurses a hangover while taking part in a largely one-sided conversation with Kohokumu, an old Hawaiian fisherman, whose very name (kumu) suggests a teacher or foundation.

(Lakana was the name given to London by Hawaiians, although, Charmian wrote in her journal, “how London can be transmuted into Lakana is as much a mystery as the mutation of [their friend] Thurston into Kakina.”) (Library of America)

“At any rate, my pleased partner struts as Lakana Kanaka (kanaka means literally man), while meekly I respond to Lakana Wahine.” (Charmian London)

London’s last trip to Hawai‘i lasted eight months during which time he met the Olympiad swimmer and Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole, Queen Lili‘uokalani and others, before returning to his Glen Ellen ranch in July 1916.

In the last two years of his life, he endured bouts of dysentery, gastric disorders and rheumatism. He and his wife made two extended recuperative trips to Hawaii, but London died on Beauty Ranch on November 22, 1916 at the age of 40.

He is buried at The 1,400-acre Jack London State Historic Park lies in the heart of Sonoma Valley wine country, some 60 miles north of San Francisco in Glen Ellen, California.

Originally, the land was the site of Jack London’s Beauty Ranch, where the author earnestly pursued his interests in scientific farming and animal husbandry.

“I ride out of my beautiful ranch,” London wrote. “Between my legs is a beautiful horse. The air is wine. The grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame. Across Sonoma Mountain wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun smolders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I am alive.” (Smithsonian)

There is a museum in ‘The House of Happy Walls’ which Charmian built where you will find park information, exhibits and a small sales area. A nearby trail leads to Jack London’s grave and to the remains of ‘Wolf House,’ London’s dream house which was destroyed by fire in 1913. (CA Parks)

November 15, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

OR&L – The Early Years

“The science of transportation, as demonstrated by the railroad and steamboat promoters of this age, has been clearly shown to be the principle upon which the astounding commercial progress of the United States is founded.”

“The vast trans-continental systems, with their ramifications, have carried millions of people from Europe and the Atlantic states into the unbroken west, tapped the treasures of mine, forest and farm, developed a hundred industries where none was known twenty-five years ago, built cities and added to the nation’s wealth a hundred fold.”

“Within the past year Hawaii has started in the footsteps of America by projecting a railroad around the island of Oahu, and actually perfecting, within the period from April 1st, 1889, to January 1st, 1890, a well equipped railroad in running order, extending from Honolulu along the southern shore of the island to a temporary terminus at Ewa Court House, a distance of twelve miles.”

“It was five years ago that Mr. B. F. Dillingham advanced the idea of building a steam railroad that should carry freight and passengers, and conduct business on the most improved American methods.”

“A hundred men told him his scheme was infeasible where one offered encouragement. He believed he was right, and so put forth every endeavor to secure a franchise, which was granted to him only after vigorous legislative opposition to the measure.”

“The incorporation of the Oahu Railway & Land Company with a capital stock of $700,000 was the next step in the venture, but not an easy one by any means, as home capitalists were timid at that time, and few would believe that the soil of Oahu was worth developing to the extent of Mr. Dillingham’s plans.”

“A small number of gentlemen, notable among whom was Hon. Mark P. Robinson, came forward at the right time and purchased enough stock and bonds to set the enterprise on foot.”

“With all the disadvantages that remoteness from the manufacturing centers of America offered, Mr. Dillingham undertook the contract of building and equipping the railroad. Rails were ordered in Germany, locomotives and cars in America, and ties in the home market; rights of way were amicably secured, surveyors defined the line of road, and grading commenced.”

“The work was prosecuted with the utmost speed consistent with stability and safety, and there was hardly a day’s delay from the time grading commenced, in the spring of 1889, till September 4th following, when the first steam passenger train, loaded with excursionists, left the Honolulu terminus, and covered a distance of half a mile.”

“It was the initial train, and the day was Mr. Dillingham’s birthday, a period he had designated when he secured his franchise, exactly twelve months before, as the natal day of steam passenger traffic on Oahu. The little excursion was a success, as far as it went.”

“On November 16th, His Majesty’s birthday, the formal opening of the road took place. Trains ran to Halawa and back all day, carrying the public free.”

“Following this event, which marked a significant epoch in the commercial history of this Kingdom, the Oahu Railway & Land Company opened the doors of their commodious offices in the King Street depot for business.”

“Simultaneous with the commencement of business was the acquisition, by the OR&L Co, of a fifty-year lease of the Honouliuli and Kahuku Rancho’s 60,000 acres, and the purchase of 10,000 head of cattle running thereon.”

This vast area, hitherto utilized as a stock range, is, under the manipulation of the railroad people, becoming one of the garden spots of the Kingdom.”

“Two new corporations of sugar planters, the Ewa plantation and Kahuku plantation-capitalized at $500,000 each, have each secured from the railroad leases of from 5,000 to 10,000 acres for sugar cultivation. Cane is now growing on a part of the lands.”

“These two great agricultural enterprises, the direct outgrowth of the railroad movement, confer valuable pecuniary benefits on the business men and mechanics of Honolulu.”

“Artesian wells, yielding a bounteous flow of water, supply the means of irrigation, and make possible in that section of the island what almost every one but the promoter of the railroad formerly believed to be impossible-the culture of sugar cane on a large scale.”

“This abundance of water, which is obtained by the mere sinking of wells, has stimulated other agricultural pursuits on the railroad’s lands.”

“Ever since the day traffic was begun, the railroad people have been pushing forward in their good mission of banding the island with iron rails.”

“The quiet precincts of Pearl Harbor were first invaded by the locomotive in December, 1889, and in the following month Ewa Court House was reached.”

“Graders and track layers are still marching on. Pearl Harbor signifies something more than a mere body of water. It is a series of picturesque lochs, connected with the sea, but sufficiently protected from the encroachments of the breakers to render its waters calm and placid, whereby boating, bathing, and fishing may be enjoyed in all the fulness of those pastimes.”

“The new town of Pearl City, another offspring of our railroad enterprise, rests on one of the loveliest slopes of Pearl Harbor’s borders.”

“A handsome depot and several residences built in new styles of architecture present a decidedly attractive appearance. The town is bisected by a wide boulevard, from either side of which extend well graded avenues. Pearl City will afford pleasant homes for those who desire recreation after the day’s toils in Honolulu.”

“Another prominent feature of Pearl Harbor’s improvements is a pavilion, seventy feet square, built by the railroad company. This is designed for the accommodation of picnic parties, and, being embowered by a grove of choice tropical trees, furnishes the sylvan environment so essential to the pleasure of the conventional picnic.”

“Chief among the ends secured by facilitating the shipment of produce from the interior to the seaboard is the conjunction of ship and car, a principle that Mr. Dillingham had in view when he launched his railroad venture.”

“This project, involving the construction of a wharf from the present railroad terminus at Iwilei to deep water in Honolulu harbor, is being carried out.”

“Only three or four cities in the United States claim this superior arrangement for rapid and economic transfer of freight, and it certainly becomes a progressive movement on the part of Honolulu when our railroad cars bring sugar, bananas and rice from plantations on the northwest side of the island directly to ship’s tackles.”

“The wharf now being built is 200 feet long and sixty feet wide. The piles are tornado proof, and the whole structure is put up with an eye to strength and durability. Its usefulness will be appreciated when, in 1892, the first crop of Ewa Plantation will, with only a nominal cost of handling, be placed in the hold of out-bound packets.”

“The company are reclaiming in the vicinity of the wharf thirty acres of tideland, which will prove very valuable water frontage.”

“Banana and rice planters along the line of the railroad will not be slow to avail themselves of the shipping advantages provided by the meeting of ship and car.”

“Bananas can be cut from the plant on the morning a vessel sails, and will arrive in the California market in a much better condition than those heretofore transported by horse and mule back from the interior.”

“Hawaiian rice, which commands a higher price in American markets than the South Carolina product, can be placed in San Francisco at a lower figure than formerly.”

“While the banana and rice traffic will be stimulated to a greater extent here than in any other country on the globe, the advantage given to sugar, the staple commodity of the Kingdom, will be heightened to an extraordinary degree.”

“In no other country have we the spectacle of sugar being taken from the hnill directly to ship’s tackles. In Manila, Jamaica and Cuba, and even in Louisiana and Mississippi, the process of transportation is slow, laborious and expensive, reducing the profits of the planter to a minimum.”

“The Oahu Railway & Land Company are nothing if not progressive. It is difficult at this stage of the corporation’s history to convey an idea of what will be accomplished at the close of the year 1890.”

“The projection of branch roads, the importation of locomotives and cars, the improvements around Pearl Harbor and the track laying beyond Ewa are circumstances of the present that indicate preparations for an enormous business.”

“The branches or spurs now under way are, one extending into the Palama suburb, having its terminus at a stone quarry, and the other is a line running along the peninsula at Pearl City.” (Whitney; Tourist Guide, 1890)

November 14, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sun Mei

Most of the attention is placed on his famous brother, however several historians feel that without the fostering and support, the younger brother would not have succeeded in his endeavor.

The older brother, born in 1854, was named Sun Dezhang, he was also known as Sun Ahmi and Sun Mei (we’ll use the latter for the rest of the story.)

The younger brother, born in 1866, was known as Tai Cheong, Tai Chu, Sun Wen and Sun Deming (we’ll use the Cantonese pronunciation of the name he was given at baptism (in 1884) – pronounced Yat-sen.)

Gold was discovered in 1849 in western American state of California. The Chinese called USA the “Flowery Flag Country.” Thousands of Chinese immigrants had been flocking into California. By 1855, there were 40,000-Chinese or one-sixth of state’s population in the California.

The Sun’s two uncles, Sun Xue-cheng and Sun Guancheng, had gone earlier to seek their fortune in the California goldfields. Xuecheng died at sea near Shanghai in 1864 and Guancheng died in 1867 at 39 in California. (Zanella)

Despite their untimely deaths, the attraction of a better life was kept alive for the Sun brothers by their uncles’ mothers who told stories of their sons while living in the Sun household.

At 17, following his father’s urging, Sun Mei went off to Hawaiʻi – to escape from the local poverty and poor agrarian conditions of his home. Another of his uncles had a business in Honolulu and he took Sun Mei back to Hawaiʻi with him in 1871. (Zanella)

Sun Mei began a career as a hired vegetable gardener. Before the end of the year, he went into business for himself by leasing land at ʻEwa, Oʻahu. He cleared the land and planted rice. He began to prosper after a short period of time and opened a store on Nuʻuanu Street in Chinatown.

Then, he returned to China to find a bride. While there, he recruited over a hundred men to work in Hawaiʻi’s new sugar plantations (at the time, the growing sugar plantations needed field labor.)

He moved to Maui and went from labor broker to shop owner, in 1881 opened a grocery store in Kahului (“De Chong Long” (named after his son,) dealt in real estate, then established a ranch in Kamaole, where he was as skilled at riding and roping as any man on the mountain. (Maui Magazine)

Some called him the “Maui King” and the “King of Kula,” partly for his larger-than-life persona and partly for the size of his cattle ranch – it spread all the way from Polipoli Forest to the shoreline at Kihei. (Wood)

Sun Mei was one of the wealthiest Chinese in Hawaiʻi during his time (at the turn of the century.) He had owned almost 100-properties on Oʻahu and Maui.

He arranged for his younger brother to join him; in 1879, then 13 years of age, Yat-sen journeyed to Hawaiʻi to join his older brother. The younger Sun entered ʻIolani at age 14. (ʻIolani)

In Sun Yat-Sen’s four years in Hawaiʻi (1879-1883), he is said to have attended three Christian educational institutions: ʻIolani College, St. Louis College and Oʻahu College (Punahou School.)

Shortly after, Yat-sen left Hawaiʻi and returned to China to initiate his revolutionary activities in earnest. The funding of the First Canton Uprising mainly came from the Chinese in Hawaiʻi, including his brother (that uprising effort failed.)

On another visit to Hawaiʻi (in 1903,) Sun reorganized the Hsing Chung Hui into Chung Hua Ke Min Jun (The Chinese Revolutionary Army) in Hilo. After reorganization, the group spread all over China and rallied all the revolutionists under its wings.

From 1894 to 1911, Yat-sen traveled around the globe advocating revolution and soliciting funds for the cause. At first, he concentrated on China, but his continued need for money forced him elsewhere. Southeast Asia, Japan, Hawaii, Canada, the United States, and Europe all became familiar during his endless quest. (Damon)

Through the years, Sun Mei eventually sold all of his properties and businesses to support his brother’s revolution. Sun Mei sold his ranch in 1908; now the land belongs to the Haleakala Ranch Company, which uses the land to breed cattle.

Sun Mei returned to his ancestral village. Later he built a house and lived in Kowloon across from Hong Kong. His house became a place where the revolutionists met. Sun Mei had given his whole fortune to his younger brother’s revolution.

Eventually (in 1911,) Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Government and established the Republic of China. In 1912, Sun Yat-sen was elected the first President of the Republic of China.