Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kawaihae Harbor

Kawaihae is also generally referenced as Pelekane, which means ‘British,’ possibly named after the Young and the Davis families who lived there (when Isaac Davis (born in Pembrokeshire, Wales) died in 1810, his friend and co-advisor to Kamehameha, John Young (an Englishman born in Liverpool,) looked after Davis’ children.)

The vicinity around what is now Kawaihae Harbor (“the water of wrath”) has been the scene of many important events, from the killing of Kamehameha’s rival and cousin, Keōua in 1791, to interactions with foreign visitors, including Captain George Vancouver of Great Britain, Otto von Kotzebue of Russia, and dignitaries from France, the United States and other nations.

Kamehameha had a house here.  Following his death in 1819 and the succession of Liholiho to rule as Kamehameha II, Kawaihae served as the initial Royal Center for Liholiho, who sought consolidation of his forces and consecration of his leadership role, there.  (Kelly)

When the Pioneer Company of the American Protestant missionaries arrived the next year, they first stopped at Kawaihae; this is where the missionaries first learned that the kapu system had been abolished and heiau were destroyed.

Kawaihae’s position as the center of inter-island trade and transport on northwest Hawai‘i is detailed in a description published in the Merchant’s Magazine and Commercial Review in 1858:

“Kawaihae is a small village in the bay of the same name in the western shore of Hawaii…It derives its importance from being the port of the rich and extensive grazing uplands of Waimea, one of the finest agricultural districts of the islands, which has not yet developed its full resources.”

“Forty or fifty whale ships have annually visited this port for the last few years, to procure salted beefs and Irish potatoes, which are considered the finest produced in the islands.“

Features of the village in 1861 were described by Charles de Varigny, the secretary of the French Consulate in Honolulu (who later served Kamehameha V as finance minister and minister of foreign affairs.)

Varigny observed how much of the village was given over to its commercial functions: “The village consists chiefly of a single large wooden structure which serves as a country store and warehouse for the products of the district. Around the shop are clustered several makeshift buildings providing annexes for further storage.”

“A small wharf serves for the departure and landing of travelers. At a short distance from shore floats an old stripped-down vessel, its melancholy hull balancing at anchor and providing storage for products arriving from Honolulu.” (pacificworlds)

Over time, Kawaihae and Waimea (up the hill) developed a synergistic relationship.  The area was a canoe landing area, whether for commerce or combat.  (This is where Maui’s chief Kamalālāwalu landed in his assault against Lonoikamakahiki’s Hawaiʻi forces (Lono won.))  But Kawaihae’s presence was really focused on commerce as a landing site.

A 1914 map of Kawaihae Village shows a concentration of development along the shoreline; the uplands of the Kawaihae region remained undeveloped pasture land.

During WWII war years (1941-1945,) Kawaihae’s role as the shipping outlet for Waimea was intensified.  Troops were shipped in and out through Kawaihae. At the southern end of the bay, in Kawaihae 2, amphibious landing exercises were conducted and military emplacements were set up in the area of Puʻukohola Heiau.

The war in the Pacific had been over less than a year when on April 1, 1946, an earthquake off the Aleutian Islands caused a tsunami that devastated the Hawaiian Islands.  Although no lives were lost at Kawaihae, its effects wiped out commercial fishing activity there and it was reported that the tsunami “…was the beginning of the end for the Kawaihae Fishing Village. People left.”  (Cultural Surveys)

The old landing had been destroyed in the 1946 tsunami and the one built in 1937 had proven unsafe in high seas. By the 1950s, the need for improved harbor facilities at Kawaihae was apparent.

The Kawaihae Deep-Draft Harbor project was authorized by the US Congress in 1950; to be constructed were: “an entrance channel 400 feet wide, approximately 2,900 feet long, and 40 feet deep; a harbor basin 1,250 feet square and 35 feet deep; and a breakwater with a maximum crest elevation 13 feet above low water and approximately 4,400 feet long, of which 3,200 feet would be protected with heavy stone revetment.”

The harbor was created by dredging part of an extensive coral reef which extended 4,000-feet seaward and ran along the shore more than a mile south of Kawaihae town; the reclaimed reef area created a coral flat peninsula that extends approximately 1,000-feet makai (seaward) of the piers across the natural reef, forming a beach along the south harbor boundary and terminating at the outer breakwater.

The harbor’s construction was hailed as an “economic shot in the arm,” for sugar planters in the Kohala region of the island would no longer had to ship their crops overland to Hilo or to Kailua-Kona. The harbor would serve military needs as well. The Army was about to acquire a 100,000-acre training site nearby and could unload supplies at Kawaihae Harbor.  (Cultural Surveys)

At the completion of construction in 1959 (officially dedicated on October 5, 1959,) the Kawaihae facilities included an inter-island terminal, mooring areas, and a large harbor basin with a wide entrance channel.  Harbor modifications in 1973 widened the entrance channel and enlarged the basin (a little over 71-acres.)

The South Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor entrance channel and 850-foot West breakwater was constructed as part of Operation Tugboat and completed in December 1970.  As part of Project Tugboat, the Army used conventional high explosives to blast an 830-foot entrance channel, 120-feet wide/12-feet deep and a 200 by 200-foot turning basin.

(“Project Tugboat” was conducted by the Army’s Nuclear Cratering Group; perhaps because of this, some suggest nuclear explosives were used to clear the small boat harbor.  However, twelve 10-ton charges of an aluminized ammonium nitrate slurry explosives (placed 36-feet deep and 100 to 120-feet apart) were used; they were meant to simulate the yield of a nuclear explosion, but were not radioactive.)

After years of delay, it was recently announced that a project to improve the eastern portion of Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor is moving forward.  Among the improvements are a 445-foot long floating dock, as well as a 47-foot-long access ramp, gangway and 25 berthing stalls. Later a paved access road and new water system is planned.

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Waialua

During ancient times, various land divisions were used to divide and identify areas of control. Islands were divided into moku (districts;) moku were divided into ahupuaʻa. The Island of Oʻahu had six moku: Kona, Koʻolaupoko, Koʻolauloa, Waiʻanae, ʻEwa and Waialua.

The moku of Waialua is a large area of approximately 78-square miles and includes fourteen ahupuaʻa and stretches from Kaʻena Point to Kāpaeloa (just before Waimea.) With its extensive cultivated fields of kalo (taro,) it was considered the ‘poi bowl’ of the island. (Alameida)

Hiʻiaka, the sister of the goddess Pele, during her journey through the Koʻolau, coming from Kahuku, climbs a rocky bluff, listens to pounding surf and admires the beauty of Waialua … and chants (KSBE, Cultural Surveys:)

ʻO Waialua, kai leo nui:
Ua lono ka uka o Līhuʻe;
Ke wā la Wahiawā, e,
Kuli wale, kuli wale i ka leo;
He leo no ke kai, e.
O Waialua, laʻi eha, e!
Eha ka malino lalo o Wai-alua.

Waialua, place where the sea is loud
Heard in the uplands of Lihue,
The voice that reaches to Wahiawa
A voice that is deafening to the ears,
The voice of the ocean.
Waialua, filled with tranquility
That pass serenely over Waialua below.

The meaning of Waialua has several derivations; in one version Waialua is named after the aliʻi Waia. He was the son of Hāloa and Hinamauouluʻai and grandson of Wākea. Waia was not a very good chief and they were ashamed of his government (the word ‘lua’ means two.) Thus Waialua meant doubly disgrace as the name Waia has come to mean “disgraceful behavior.”

Other sources refer to ‘lua’ as referring to two rivers that flow into Kaiaka Bay (Anahulu and Helemano-Poamoho-Kaukonahua.) Gilbert Mathison a visitor in 1822 wrote in his journal that Waialua was named after the two rivers. (Kaukonahua is the longest river in the islands – it runs 33-miles from its source.) (Alameida)

When Captain Cook first spotted the Islands in January 1778, “The ship was first sighted from Waialua and Waiʻanae sailing for the north. It anchored at night at Waimea, Kauaʻi, that place being nearest at hand.” (Kamakau)

Later, after Cook’s death at Kealakekua, on Hawaiʻi Island, the remaining crew of the ship Resolution, with Clerke in command, sailed toward Oʻahu during the afternoon of Wednesday, February 24, 1779. On Saturday, the northeastern end of the island of Oʻahu came into view.

Sailing around Kahuku, the ship entered Waimea Bay (adjoining Waialua,) Clerke remarked, “I stood into a Bay to the (Westward) of this point the Eastern Shore of which was far the most beautifull Country we have yet seen among these Isles, here was a fine expanse of Low Land bounteously cloath’d with Verdure, on which were situate many large Villages and extensive plantations; at the Water side it terminated in a fine sloping, sand Beach.”

James King, later commander of the ship Discovery after August 1779, also wrote that this northernt end of Oʻahu “was by far the most beautiful country of any in the Group. … the Valleys look’d exceedingly pleasant … charmed with the narrow border full of villages, & the Moderate hills that rose behind them. ….” (Alameida)

In 1813, Waialua was described by John Whitman, an early visitor noted a similar description, “…a large district on the NE extremity of the island, embracing a large quantity of taro land, many excellent fishing grounds and several large fish ponds one of which deserves particular notice for its size and the labour bestowed in building the wall which encloses it.” (Cultural Surveys)

He described the fishpond (ʻUkoʻa) as “about one mile in length and extends from the southern part of a small bay to a point of land jutting out about one mile into the sea.” This certainly indicated that its size supported a large population. Whitman continued, “Walking over the wall we passed several gates of strong wicker work through which the water had free passage. Here we observed thousands of fish some of which were apparently three feet long.”

Later (1826,) Levi Chamberlain noted, “The whole district of Waialua is spread out before the eye with its cluster of settlements, straggling houses, scattering trees, cultivated plats & growing in broad perspectives the wide extending ocean tossing its restless waves and throwing in its white foaming billows fringing the shores all along the whole extent of the district.” (Cultural Surveys)

“The scenery on the other hand is no less beautiful and grand, the mountains are seen rising with various elevations, some piercing the clouds which envelope their summits, some covered with wood, others green with shrubs and grass, among the ridges are seen deep ravines, prominent fronts, inaccessible cliffs, weather beaten moss covered steeps.” (Chamberlain, 1826)

In addition, Waialua was a favorite place for leisure by the aliʻi of Oʻahu. Kaʻahumanu visited Waialua with Hiram Bingham during the time that the conversion to Christianity was the primary mission of the American missionaries. Kamehameha III visited a number of times and Liliʻuokalani had a summer home in Haleʻiwa (the present Liliʻuokalani Church was named for her.)

In 1832, missionary Ephraim Walter Clark reported to the Reverend Rufus Anderson, secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), that, “Waialua on the eastern part of the island is a populous region. A mission can be located at a central point in this vicinity, (and) by preaching at different places that are within 5 or 6 miles of each other & of easy access, (we) would probably have 3,000 or 4,000 bearers (followers.)”

The central plateau of the island falls primarily within the Waianae district, with the northern area of Oʻahu in Waialua district and the southern area in Ewa district.

A significant portion of the central plateau is under Army jurisdiction: Schofield Barracks (headquarters and training areas), Wheeler Army Airfield, Helemano Military Reservation, Kipapa and Waikakalaua Ammunition Storage sites and Kunia Field Station.

In ancient times, the central plateau, particularly the area called Līhuʻe on the southwestern part of the plateau, was a center of island political power. Even after the royal center had shifted to Waikīkī during the time of chief Maʻilikūkahi, this central area continued to play a role in chiefly activities, especially at Kūkaniloko (“to anchor the cry from within.”)

The Kūkaniloko Birthstones site (situated in Waialua) is one of the most significant cultural sites on O‘ahu. It was one of two places in Hawai‘i specifically designated for the birth of high-ranking children; the other site was Holoholokū at Wailua on Kauaʻi.

Beginning with the birth of Kapawa, Kūkaniloko became recognized as the royal birthsite on Oʻahu. A child born in the presence of the chiefs was called “he aliʻi” (a chief), “he akua” (a god), “he wela” (a blaze of heat.) The births of at least 4 renown chiefs of O‘ahu are recorded at Kūkaniloko – La‘a (ca. 1420,) Māʻilikūkahi (ca. 1520,) Kalanimanuia (ca. 1600) and Kākuhihewa (ca. 1640).

This place was so highly viewed that, even in later times, Kamehameha I, in 1797, previous to the birth of his son and successor, Liholiho (Kamehameha II,) made arrangements to have his birth take place at Kūkaniloko; but the illness of Queen Keōpūolani prevented that (Liholiho was born in Hilo.)

The image shows the moku of Waialua, indicating the different ahupuaʻa within the moku.

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Wailaua-moku-ahupuaa-GoogleEarth

by Peter T Young 5 Comments

James Wight

James Wight was born in India in 1814 of Scotch-Irish parentage; he received liberal education at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated in 1836.

At 22 years of age, he went to Australian with the intention of practicing his profession as physician, but his interest was for business pursuits.  After thirteen years practicing medicine, there he abandoned the profession and migrated to Hawaiʻi.  (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)

Wight, with the initial intent to go to the gold fields of California, came to Hawaiʻi in 1850 with his wife (Jane Tompkins Wight – formerly of Cape Colony, South Africa, now called Cape of Good Hope.)

On August 2, 1850, they went from Honolulu to Kawaihae and from there to Mahukona in an open boat.

While attempting to land ashore at Mahukona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, the small boat was ship wrecked during a storm.  Their 13-month old daughter Ada Wight drowned during the tragedy.

Once ashore, Dr. Wight was made aware of white parishioners living close by. He made the decision to venture out and get help for his ailing family.  (Restarick)

They were given a grass house and there during the night, Jane Wight gave birth to a child while the dead one lay in the room.  (The Wights had 13 children, six of whom died before they were grown.)

The Wights were persuaded to stay in Hawaiʻi; he became an influential community leader, serving as postmaster, circuit judge (1852-1863,) representative to the territorial government (1886) and a member of the house of noble (1886-87.)  In the House, he was noted for his independent stand and those were trying times.

He enjoyed remarkably good health during his long life and Dr. Wight’s home was noted for its hospitality. His word was his bond and during his long residence he was seldom involved in litigation. Of the thousands who have been in his employ, all speak of him as a generous though firm employer.

Although he had no inclination to practice medicine, he was always ready to assist any sufferer needing the services of a physician.    (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)

He had initially established a store with a pharmacy and carried on business until 1884, when he sold it to SG Wilder.  Wight then turned his business interest to land investments and Hawaiʻi’s emerging sugar and cattle industries.

He became interested in sugar when the Kohala Plantation was started and paid quite an interest in that concern. He established the Hālawa Plantation and conducted it for a number of years.    (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)

Wight bought Puakea and built the first animal mill on the Island to process sugar and began raising cattle.  (Wight’s daughter Clara and her husband Howard Rattenbury Bryant continued the cultivation of sugar cane at Puakea until 1930 when the last crop was milled and the operation closed.)  Parker Ranch later leased the Puakea lands from the Estate and finally purchased the ranch in 1944.

Wight was reportedly one of the first to import orchids from England and ironwood trees from Australia.  Mrs. Wight owned the first carriage seen in Kohala. It had a single seat with a perch forward for the driver.

In approximately 1860, the family purchased a large parcel of land that looked out over the ocean on which to build their homestead.

They built a home, Greenbank, on 22-acres in Kohala; it was once a showcase home and social center of the Kohala district for many years.  (The property is reportedly haunted; a stone shark god idol at the property was later given to Bishop Museum.)

Several buildings were added to the estate, including additional residence, caretaker quarters and a carriage house for his buggy. Later years would include a greenhouse adjacent to the main house where some of the first botanical species in the state were grown.

Dr. James Wight passed away on the morning of September 2, 1905 at Kohala; he was the oldest and one of the most respected of the foreign settlers in that district.

He had been closely identified with the progress of the islands for more than fifty-five years.  (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)  (Lots of images and information here from greenbankhawaii.)

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Kapalilua

“Kona … had three marked areas – Kekaha in the north [from around Honokōhau to Keahualono, the Kona-Kohala Boundary], central Kona, and [Kapalilua] in the south [from Honokua and south to Manukā].” (Cordy)

In Kekaha (a shortened version of Kekaha-wai-‘ole o nā Kona” (waterless Kekaha of the Kona district) in the northern portion of Kona (Maly)) “the lands are increasingly more arid”.

“[T]he central portions [of Kona] had arid shorelines with shallow soil in pockets amidst rocky outcrops and bare lava flows … High rainfall was present ca. 1-2 miles inland, and here soil was thicker … Farther above were the ‘ōhia forests”.

“South of central Kona are the [Kapalilua] lands … These lands are subject to frequent lava flows from Mauna Loa … High cliffs are common along the [Kapalilua] coast.”  (Cordy)  Desha states that “Kapalilua was a land of starvation.”

“Over the period of several centuries, areas with the richest natural resources became populated and perhaps crowded … the population began expanding to the kona (leeward side) and more remote regions of the island.”

“In Kona, communities were initially established along sheltered bays with access to fresh water and rich marine fisheries. The primary ‘chiefly’ centers of Kona were established at several locations – these being in the Kailua (Kaiakeakua) vicinity, Kahalu‘u-Keauhou, Ka‘awaloa-Kealakekua, and at Hōnaunau.”

“Smaller outlying communities were established further south, in the region traditionally known as Kapalilua, at areas such as Kauhakō-Ho‘okena, Ka‘ohe, Pāpā, Miloli‘i, Kalihi, Honomalino, and Kapu‘a, with even smaller communities at areas in between the large kulana kauhale (village communities).” (Maly)

“In the time of intensive native cultivation, South Kona was planted in zones determined by rainfall and moisture. Near the dry seacoast potatoes were grown in quantity, and coconuts where sand or soil among the lava near the shore favored their growth.”

“Up to 1,000 feet grew small bananas which rarely fruited, and poor cane; from 1,000 to 3,000 feet, they prospered increasingly. From approximately 1,000 to 2,000 feet, breadfruit flourished.”

“Taro was planted dry from an altitude of 1,000 to 3,000 feet. An old method of planting taro in Kona, described to us by Lakalo at Ho‘okena, was to plant the cuttings in the lower, warmer zone where they would start to grow quickly …”

“… and then to transplant them to the higher forest zone where soil was rich and deep and where moisture was ample for their second period of growth, in which their corms are said to have developed to an average of 25 pounds each.” (Handy, Handy & Pukui)

Ellis, part of Captain Cook’s crew verifies the mauka planting, “After ascending part of the hill, which was covered in every direction with plantations of sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, tarrow, plantains, and breadfruit trees, which were by far the largest they had seen, they arrived at a spot of land entirely uncultivated, and overrun with long grass and ferns.”

“At some distance from this were four or five small huts, the habitations of a few poor people, whose business appeared to be to cultivate several plantations of tarrow that probably belonged to some of the arees or principal people.”

“They had nothing to dispose of, but two small fowls, a few roots of tarrow, and a small quantity of poey as they called it, which was a kind of pudding made of potatoes, mashed up with water, and constitutes the principal part of the food of the lower class  of people.”

“The soil in this part was light, and of a different kind to that below. Having purchased the fowls and tarrow, they left the huts, and proceeded to the wood, which was about two miles distant, through a considerable tract of waste ground, entirely over-run with long grass, ferns, and the dracaena terminalis …”

“… the foot-path was sometimes pretty good, but in general stony, though not in so great a degree as the lower parts: these stones were evidently the production of the volcano. …”

“As they proceeded, they arrived at a long tract of wild plantain-trees, . which far exceed the cultivated ones in size; they produce fruit like them, but it never arrives at perfection. The path now became very dirty and slippery, the soil being a ruff yellow clay, interspersed with large stones.”

“They saw a variety of trees, one species of which was very tall and large, and its leaves greatly resembled those of the spice-trees of Vandiemen’s Land [Tasmania]; this is the wood of which the natives make their canoes. …”

“The next morning was fixed upon for their return to the ships; but they took a different route to their former one, proceeding nearly in a WNW direction, through innumerable plantations of the paper mulberry-tree, bread-fruit, and plantain-trees, which formed an extensive garden, and rendered the houses which were situated there delightfully pleasant.” (Ellis)

In comparing central Kona to Kapalilua, missionary William Ellis notes, “The northern part, including Kairua, Kearake’kua and Honaunau, contains a dense population, and the sides of the mountain are cultivated to a considerable extent …”

“… but the south part presents a most inhospitable aspect.  Its population is thin, consisting principally of fishermen, who cultivate but little land, and that at the distance of from five to seven miles from the shore.” (Ellis)

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Kepuwahaʻulaʻula

“(S)everal islands were ruled by independent kings, who were frequently at war with each other, but more often with their own subjects. As one chief acquired sufficient strength, he disputed the title of the reigning prince.”

“If successful, his chance of permanent power was quite as precarious as that of his predecessor. In some instances the title established by force of arms remained in the same family for several generations, disturbed, however, by frequent rebellions … war being a chief occupation …”  (Jarves)

At the period of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānai and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

“At that time Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokai, and the queen of Kauai was disposed to assist him in these enterprises. The occupation of the Hāna district of Maui by the kings of Hawaiʻi had been the cause of many stubborn conflicts between the chivalry of the two islands.”  (Kalākaua)

Following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, the Hawaiʻi Island kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.  Dissatisfied with subsequent redistricting of the lands by district chiefs, civil war ensued between Kīwalaʻō’s forces and the various chiefs under the leadership of Kamehameha.

In the first major skirmish, in the battle of Mokuʻōhai (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 at Keʻei, south of Kealakekua Bay on the Island of Hawaiʻi,) Kiwalaʻo was killed.

With the death of his cousin Kiwalaʻo, the victory made Kamehameha chief of the districts of Kona, Kohala and Hāmākua, while Keōua, the brother of Kiwalaʻo, held Kaʻū and Puna, and Keawemauhili declared himself independent of both in Hilo.  (Kalākaua)

Back on Maui, Kahekili prepared for an invasion against Oʻahu and Kahahana.  He landed at Waikīkī in the beginning of 1783.  Kahekili, dividing his forces in three columns, marched from Waikīkī by Pūowaina (Punchbowl,) Pauoa and Kapena to battle Kahahana and his forces.

Kahahana’s army was routed, and he and his wife fled to the mountains.  For nearly two years or more they wandered over the mountains, secretly aided, fed and clothed by his supporters.  Kahekili’s warriors finally found and killed Kahahana.

In 1790, Kamehameha moved to take Maui – heading first to Hāna.  Hearing this, Kahekili sent Kalanikūpule back to Maui with a number of chiefs (Kahekili remaining on O‘ahu to maintain order of his newly conquered kingdom.)

Helping Kamehameha were foreigners, John Young and Isaac Davis.  John Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, had been stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790.  Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons.

Isaac Davis arrived in Hawaii in 1790 as the sole survivor of the massacre of the crew of The Fair American.  Davis also brought western military knowledge; Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his battles.

Kahekili’s brother, Kamehamehanui (uncle to Kamehameha I,) lost Hāna, which was isolated from the rest of Maui.  Kamehameha then landed at Kahului and marched on to Wailuku, where Kalanikūpule waited for him.

The ensuing battle was one of the hardest contested on Hawaiian record.  The battle started in Wailuku and then headed up ‘l̄ao Valley – the Maui defenders being continually driven farther up the valley.

Kamehameha’s superiority in the number and use of the newly acquired weapons and canon (called Lopaka) from the ‘Fair American’ (used for the first time in battle, with the assistance from Young and Davis) finally won the decisive battle at ‘Īao Valley.

The Maui troops were completely annihilated, and it is said that the corpses of the slain were so many as to choke up the waters of the stream of ‘l̄ao – one of the names of the battle was “Kepaniwai” (the damming of the waters.)

Maui Island was conquered and its fighting force was destroyed – Kalanikūpule and some other chiefs escaped over the mountain at the back of the valley and made their way to Molokai, then to O‘ahu.  With Kalanikūpule was Kalola, daughter of King Kekaulike, sister to Kahekili and aunt of Kalanikūpule.  Kalola was also grandmother to Keōpūolani.

Kamehameha followed Kalola to Molokai and made a “request that she (Kalola) should confide her daughters and granddaughter to his care and protection. To which Kalola is said to have replied, ‘When I am dead, my daughters and granddaughter shall be yours.’” (Fornander)

Kamehameha camped on Molokai until Kalola died.  This “capture” of the women by Kamehameha, a conquering chief taking the widow and female relatives of his defeated rival, was politically important.  Taking Keōpūolani as his new wife, Kamehameha returned to Hawaiʻi Island.

The abrupt departure of Kamehameha and his fleet from Molokai and his return to Hawaiʻi took a great weight off the mind of Kahekili, and plans of vengeance occupied his thoughts and brightened his vision in the immediate future. He was doubtless encouraged by Kāʻeokūlani, who by this time had obtained the supremacy of Kauai, and who urged his brother to avenge the defeat of Kalanikūpule.  (Fornander)

Negotiations and preparations having been perfected between the Kauai and Oʻahu sovereigns during the winter months of 1790-91, Kāʻeokūlani left Kauai with a well-equipped fleet of war canoes, accompanied by a foreign gunner Mare Amara and arrived at Oʻahu in the spring of 1791.  (Fornander)

Kahekili decided that no better time could be chosen to attack Kamehameha.  The chiefs had massed their forces on Maui. Here Kāʻeokūlani, took the leadership role.  After a little rest, the Kauai fleet swept across the channel and passed down the eastern side of Hawaiʻi.  They ransacked villages along the way.  Finally Kamehameha’s canoes and ships caught up with them off Waimanu, not far from Waipiʻo.

In former years a naval battle meant the clash of canoe against canoe.  This battle was different.

Unlike the prior battle at ʻĪao, here both sides had modern firearms and people who knew how to use them (this battle was the first in Hawaiʻi that saw both sides have foreign gunners, Mare Amara with Kahekili, and Isaac Davis and John Young with Kamehameha.)

The people on the bluffs saw the red flashes of the guns and noted the increasing noise of the artillery until they could no longer hear the voices of men. As the clouds of smoke crept over the sea the battle became, in the view of the watchers, a fight between red mouthed guns, and they shouted one to another the news of the progress of the conflict according to the predominance of flashing muskets and cannon.

It was soon seen that the invaders were being defeated. The man who had the best arms and the best gunners won the victory.  The Kauai and Oʻahu Chiefs fled with their scattered fleets to Maui.

Kamehameha soon followed them, and during the next three years, step by step, passed over the islands until the kingdom was his.  (Westervelt)

The battle was so fierce that it was called Kepuwahaʻulaʻula (the Battle of the Red-Mouthed Gun.)  The image depicting the battle is artwork by Herb Kane (Kamehameha is in the Fair American.)

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