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October 31, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Kūlou

Hawaiian chronology counts by generations, neither by reigns nor by years. In computing long genealogies, thirty years to a generation is approximately correct. (Fornander)

When ʻUmi died he was succeeded as Mōʻī of Hawaiʻi by his oldest son, Kealiʻiokaloa; he is remembered as an unpopular king, and the only event of note connected with his reign is the arrival on the coast of Kona of some shipwrecked white people.

Arrival of the shipwrecked foreigners – white people – took place between the years 1521-1530 AD. (Fornander)

“In the time of Kealiʻiokaloa, king of Hawaii and son of ʻUmi, arrived a vessel at Hawaii. Konalihoa was the name of the vessel, and Kukanaloa was the name of the foreigner (white man) who commanded, or to whom belonged the vessel. His sister was also with him on the vessel.”

“As they were sailing along, approaching the land, the vessel struck at the pali of Keʻei and was broken to pieces by the surf, and the foreigner and his sister swam ashore and were saved, but the greater part of the crew perished perhaps; that is not well ascertained.”

“And when they arrived ashore they prostrated themselves on the beach, uncertain perhaps on account of their being strangers, and of the different kind of people whom they saw there, and being very fearful perhaps.”

“A long time they remained prostrated on the shore, and hence the place was called Kūlou, and is so called to this day. The white rock there is called Pohakukea, and the cliff above ‘Mauna-kapu,’ or Sacred Mountain, for there the Spaniards are said to have worshipped.”

“And when evening came the people of the place took them to a house and entertained them, asking them if they were acquainted with the food set before them, to which they replied that they were; and afterwards, when breadfruit, ohis and bananas were shown them, they expressed a great desire to have them.”

“The strangers cohabitated with the Hawaiians and has children with they became ancestors of some of the Hawaiian people, and also of some of the chiefs”

They were known as Lala kea, meaning white branch of the tree. To the Hawaiians the white man was termed kekea, while haole meant any foreigner, irrespective of color. (Fornander; Taylor)

In Burney’s ‘Discoveries in the South Seas,’ on October 31, 1527, three vessels left a port called Zivat Lanejo, said by Galvaom to be situated lat. 20° N. on the coast of New Spain, for the Moluccas or Spice Islands.

The vessels were called the ‘Florida,’ with fifty men, the ‘St. Iago,’ with forty-five men, and the ‘Espiritu Santo,’ with fifteen men. They carried thirty pieces of cannon and a quantity of merchandise, and they were under the command of Don Alvaro de Saavedra.

These vessels sailed in company, and when they had accomplished 1000 leagues from port, they were overtaken by a severe storm, during which they were separated. The two smaller vessels were never afterwards heard of, and Saavedra pursued the voyage alone in the ‘Florida,’ touching at the Ladrone Islands. (Fornander)

“It seems certain that a foreign vessel which was wrecked about this time on the Kona coast of Hawaii must have been one of Saavedra’s missing ships.” (Alexander; Westervelt)

From this ship a white man and woman escaped. After reaching the beach they knelt for a long time in prayer. The Hawaiians, watching them, waited until they rose, and received welcome.

The place was at once named ‘Kūlou’ (kneeling.) Through all the succeeding years the name kept the story of the wrecked white chiefs before the Hawaiian people.

The Hawaiians received their white visitors as honored guests, and permitted them to marry into noted chief-families. In the Hawaiian legends the man and woman are called brother and sister. The man was named Kukanaloa. (Westervelt)

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Kulou_Beach-Palemano_Point-Keei-Kulou-noted
Kulou_Beach-Palemano_Point-Keei-Kulou-noted
Kealakakua Bay-DAGS_2094-portion-noting_Kulou
Kealakakua Bay-DAGS_2094-portion-noting_Kulou
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Spanish_Galleon-past-Puna-(HerbKane)
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Pacific_Chart_of_the_Spanish_Galleon-(Rumsey)-islands_noted

Filed Under: Place Names, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Keei, Kulou, Hawaii, Spanish

October 27, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Aiʻenui

“The foreigners came to these resorts to find women”. (Kamakau)

“It had been the custom, from time immemorial, on the death of any great chief, especially of the king, for the people to give themselves up to universal licentiousness; – to the indiscriminate prostitution of females; – to theft and robbery; – to revenge and murder.”

“The first stand against these heathenish practices, was made by Keōpūolani, the first native convert, herself a chief woman of the highest distinction, who, in expectation of her own death, strictly charged her children and attendants to have her funeral conducted upon Christian principles.” (ABCFM Annual Report)

In the early nineteenth century, makaʻāinana women flocked to the European ships and port towns in large numbers to partake in the lucrative trade in sexual services. This was one of the few ways that makaʻāinana could acquire foreign goods since the aliʻi controlled other forms of trade. (Merry)

Many Hawaiian women boarded the ships coming to port here. They did not think that such associations were wrong … The husbands and parents, not knowing that it would bring trouble, permitted such association for foreign men because of the desire for clothing, mirrors, scissors, knives, iron hoops from which to form fishhooks and nails. (ʻIʻi; Merry)

The first attempt to change the sexual behavior of Hawaiian women was an attack on prostitution with European seamen. This endeavor earned the missionaries the undying hostility of the small but growing mercantile community and the visiting shipping community while failing to eliminate the sex trade. (Merry)

“One of the few chiefs who opposed the missionaries and their preaching, Boki fought against Kaʻahumanu’s new laws that prohibited the practice of the old religion”. (Kanahele)

In December, 1827, drafted by Kaʻahumanu and scrutinized for Christian propriety by Hiram Bingham, the crimes proscribed were murder, theft, adultery, prostitution, gambling, and the sale of alcoholic spirits. Boki opposed actively the passage of any such laws.

“Boki’s obstructionism may be traced to the fact that he had something of a vested interest in all but the first two of the offensive activities.” (Daws)

“The latter prohibition especially aggrieved (Boki) because drinking was one of his pleasures and he himself owned and operated several grog shops in Honolulu.” (Kanahele)

“(H)e speculated in local and foreign trade, sugar-making, tavern-keeping, and commercialised prostitution. None of these businesses except the last was profitable.” (Daws)

“By 1828, he had become openly allied to the two chief elements of antagonism to the regent and the missionaries.”

“The leading one of these elements was the combination of lewd and intemperate whites, headed by the British and American consuls, in order to break down the new laws against prostitution and drunkenness.” (Missionary Herald, 1905)

“Boki … became the friend of … foreigners and they would ply him with liquor and when he was intoxicated give him goods on credit.”

“Thus he would buy whole bolts of cloth and boxes of dry goods and present them to the chiefs and favorites among his followers, and these flattered him and called him a generous chief.”

“In this way he became even more heavily indebted to the foreigners for goods than the King (himself, through his) purchases.” (Kamakau)

For a time, Kamehameha I lived at Pulaholaho (later called Charlton Square,) later high chief Boki, built a store through which to sell/trade sandalwood near Pakaka, where Liholiho also built a larger wooden building. (Maly)

“Boki also established several stores in Honolulu where cloth was sold, ‘Deep-in-debt’ (Aiʻenui) they were called because of his heavy debts.”

“At Pakaka was a large wooden building belonging to Liholiho. Boki’s was a smaller building which had been moved and was called ‘Little-scrotum’ (Pulaholaho.)”

“The foreigners, finding Boki friendly and obliging, proposed a more profitable way of making money, and both Boki and Manuia erected buildings for the sale of liquor, Boki’s called Polelewa and Manuia’s Hau‘eka.” Boki’s place was also called the Blonde Hotel.

“Since Liholiho’s sailing to England, lawlessness had been prohibited, but with these saloons and others opened by the foreigners doing business, the old vices appeared and in a form worse than ever.”

“Polelewa became a place where noisy swine gathered. Drunkenness and licentious indulgence became common at night …. The foreigners came to these resorts to find women”.

“In 1826 the cultivation of sugar was begun in Manoa valley by an Englishman. Boki and Kekuanao‘a were interested in this project and it was perhaps the first cane cultivated to any extent in Hawaii. “

“When the foreigner gave it up Boki bought the field and placed Kinopu in charge. A mill was set up in Honolulu in a lot near where Sumner (Keolaloa) was living.” (Kamakau)

Boki incurred large debts and, in 1829, attempted to cover them by assembling a group of followers and set out for a newly discovered island with sandalwood in the New Hebrides. Boki fitted out two ships, the Kamehameha and the Becket, put on board some five hundred of his followers, and sailed south.

Just prior to Boki’s sailing in search of sandalwood, the lands of Kapunahou and Kukuluaeʻo were transferred to Hiram Bingham for the purpose of establishing a school, later to be known as Oʻahu College (now, Punahou School.)

These lands had first been given to Kameʻeiamoku, a faithful chief serving under Kamehameha, following Kamehameha’s conquest of Oʻahu in 1795. At Kameʻeiamoku’s death in 1802, the land transferred to his son Hoapili, who resided there from 1804 to 1811. Hoapili passed the property to his daughter Kuini Liliha (Boki’s wife.)

Sworn testimony before the Land Commission in 1849, and that body’s ultimate decision, noted that the “land was given by Governor Boki about the year 1829 to Hiram Bingham for the use of the Sandwich Islands Mission.”

The decision was made over the objection from Liliha; however Hoapili confirmed the gift. It was considered to be a gift from Kaʻahumanu, Kuhina Nui or Queen Regent at that time.

Boki and two hundred and fifty of his men apparently died at sea.

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Boki-WC

Filed Under: Economy, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Pulaholaho, Boki, Liliha, Aienui, Boki House, Polelewa, Hawaii, Kameeiamoku, Punahou, Prostitution

October 25, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Churchill

“Among the many tales of shipwreck on the Pacific few are more thrilling than that of the rescue of the captain and crew of the schooner Churchill on French Frigate shoals”. (Star-bulletin, October 31, 1917)

Whoa … let’s look back.

In 1850, Captain Asa Meade Simpson, a Maine shipbuilder, came west, drawn by the California Gold Rush. In 1855, he arrived at the “north bend” of the Coos Bay estuary, Oregon. Recognizing the value of the region’s coal and timber, he set up a sawmill; the businesses expanded and turned out a variety of wood products, from fruit boxes to fancy doors.

He also established a shipyard (the first in Oregon) and hired master craftsmen to build ships that would carry lumber products worldwide. Simpson’s son, Louis Jerome (LJ) Simpson, arrived in North Bend in 1899. He purchased the adjacent undeveloped town site of Yarrow, which he merged with his father’s land in 1903 to create the City of North Bend.

From 1859 to 1903, at this location he would have 56 ‘world class’ tall ships built for the growing lumber empire. (Tall Ships SFO) Large wooden schooners were the economic mainstay of American shipping between the Civil War period and World War I. They were the sailing workhorses of the Pacific. (NOAA)

One of them was the Churchill.

Launched on March 4, 1900, the 178-foot, 600-ton four-masted schooner Churchill was built by the Simpson Lumber Co for their own account. Later, the Churchill was owned by Charles Nelson & Co of San Francisco.

Then, the fateful voyage.

“The Churchill left Port Angeles on May 27 with a cargo of lumber for Sydney. After discharging at Sydney the vessel proceeded to Tongata, where a cargo of about 800 tons of copra was placed aboard. Her destination from there was Seattle.”

(Copra is the dried meat of the coconut. Coconut oil is extracted from it and has made copra an important agricultural commodity. Also coconut cake is extracted mainly used as feed for livestock.)

On board the Churchill were Captain Charles Granzow, his two sons Carl (age 7) and Loftus (age 14,) and nine other crew members (Chief Officer: Henry Anderson, Second Officer: Fred Wilson, Carpenter John Wessick, Seamen: A. Anderson, William Miller, Daniel Pinzoin, Pedro Romos, Sterling Jones and Hugo Munch.)

“Capt. Granzow has been master of the schooner Churchill for the past three or four years. She has called at Honolulu on infrequent voyages, but been chiefly in the lumber trade between the Northwest and Australia.”

“The Churchill was 27 days out from Nukualofa, Tongata, when she drifted upon a reef of the French Frigate shoals. This was after winds had carried her westward from her course and following a calm of several days. ‘Currents after that was the only reason for the wreck,’ declared Mate Anderson”.

Fortunately for them, some folks from the Islands were nearby fishing from the Makaiwa.

“The power sampan Makaiwa left Honolulu on Monday, October 22. In the party were Harold W Rice; Lieutenant KE Ferris, USN, formerly captain of the Kestrel; Arthur Rice, HL Tucker and the captain and crew of the sampan, as follows: William Feuerpeil, crew captain; Johnny Vasconcellos, chief engineer; Manuel Deponte, second engineer; Levi Faunfata, a Samoan seaman.”

“Arthur Rice, who had intended only to fish as far as Kauai and leave the party there, carried out his plan, so he was not with the sampan when it turned westward from the Hawaiian group. The party had fished on the way to Kauai and also after starting for Bird Island.”

Rice and the rest of the party “were bound for the Western Islands on a fishing trip when they sighted the Churchill … slowly pounding to pieces.”

“Captain Granzow told the Honolulans that the night before, that is the night of October 25, the schooner had struck the big reef about 9 o’clock. The vessel seemed to come off after striking, but then went on again and pounded heavily all night.”

“The Churchill was sighted in acute distress on the morning of Friday, October 26, by the fishermen and the sampan immediately went to her rescue. … Had it not been for the timely arrival of the sampan at French Frigate shoals, Captain Granzow and his men believe they would surely have perished by fire, water or sharks.” (Star Bulletin, October 30, 1917)

“That he was true to all the traditions of the sea is the tale told of Capt Charles Granzow, master of the wrecked schooner Churchill, by the members of his crew.”

“Unable or unwilling to relate their own experiences these sailors of the destroyed schooner tell how Capt. Granzow elected to remain aboard the doomed vessel while the only remaining hope of surviving the wreck was made by five others in a small lifeboat.”

“But while Capt. Granzow with other volunteers remained aboard the vessel as the water rose about her hulk he ordered his two sons into the lifeboat which he placed in command of his first mate, Henry Anderson, while they attempted a landing on the only promontory not washed by the ocean’s waves.” (All were saved)

In October of 2005, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division reported a potential shipwreck site to NOAA’s Maritime Heritage Program after spotting anchors and scattered rigging at French Frigate Shoals.

In 2007, a team of NOAA maritime archaeologists were able to begin to investigate the site. The 2007 survey uncovered clues that may help solve the mystery of the unidentified shipwreck. Diagnostic artifacts at the site, anchors, rigging, pumps and deck equipment, all correspond to the Churchill’s size and construction.

In August of 2008, a team of NOAA maritime archaeologists returned to the site to complete documentation and interpretation of the shipwreck site. (Lots of information here is from NOAA, Oregon Historical Society and Star Bulletin, October 30 and 31, 1917)

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Churchill-NOAA
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Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, French Frigate Shoals, Shipwreck, Churchill, Hawaii, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

October 22, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

John Palmer

“Strictly speaking, there is no harbor at this island.”

“The anchorage is merely a roadstead, which is on the south side of it, and protects the shipping from the northerly gales, which are the most prevalent. In case of a sou’easter, however, ships must put to sea or be driven on the reef. We found about seventy sail at anchor, about sixty-five of them American whalemen.”

“The town of Lahaina is beautifully situated on the level land skirting the sea, and extends along the shore a distance of two miles. Back from the shore it reaches to the foot of the mountains, thus lying hemmed in, as it were, by the sea in front and the mountains in the rear.”

“The reef extends the whole length of the town, about forty rods from shore, and, but for a small opening or break in it, boats would be unable to land.”

“Seamen are obliged to be clear of the beach at drumbeat – eight o’clock in the evening. No person is allowed to remain on shore over night, unless furnished with a proper pass by the captain of the port …”

“… any one found on the beach, or in the town, with no pass, after the proper time, is marched to the calaboose, where he is kept in confinement till morning, and then muleted in a pretty round sum for breaking the laws. This is generally paid by the captain, and afterward, with pretty good interest, deducted from Jack’s pay.” (Jones, 1861)

Some didn’t like, nor follow, all of the rules …

“The main circumstances as related by eye-witnesses were as follows: The crew of the English whale ship John Palmer, Capt. Clark, enticed several base women on board.”

“Hoapili, the governor of the island, demanded of the captain that they should be delivered up to him according to the law of the nation. The Captain evaded and ridiculed the demand.”

“One day when the captain was on shore, the governor detained him and his boat, insisting that his demand should be complied with. The Captain sent orders, by the boats of other ships, to his men on board, to fire upon the town if he should not be released in an hour.”

“The excitement became very great and some foreigners who had formerly been favourable to the mission were gained over to take part in it.”

“He (Clark) soon, however, promised that if the Governor would release him, the women should be sent on shore.” (Dibble)

In October, 1827, an assault was made at Lahaina by the crew of the ‘John Palmer’ … the crew had opened fire on the village with a nine-pound gun, aiming five shots at Mr Richards’s house, which, however, did little damage.

Hoapili received the backing of Richards and other missionaries. As the guns of the whaler fired, the women took refuge in the cellar. No one was killed.

“The next morning, he sailed for Oahu, and as might be expected of such a man, without fulfilling his promise.” (Dibble)

A few days after this affair, December 8th, 1827, the first written laws were published against murder, theft, adultery, rum-selling, and gambling. (Alexander)

Likewise, the Lahaina Fort, originally built of mud and sand to protect the town from riotous sailors when Lahaina was used as an anchorage for the North Pacific whaling fleet, was reinforced and coral blocks added to the walls and canons, salvaged from foreign ships, were added to the armament.

“Immediately in front of the landing is a large fort, built of coral rock, yet not very formidable in its appearance. The black guns which peer over the dingy walls are of small calibre, and not capable of doing much execution. The site is a most excellent one, as the whole shipping lies within its range.” (Jones)

The old fort was demolished in 1854 and the coral blocks used in other construction projects in Lahaina. After the fort was demolished, a courthouse was built on the site. A portion of the old Lahaina Fort was reconstructed in 1964.

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Two cannon balls fired at the home of Rev. William Richards in Lahaina-HSA-PP-37-2-007
Two cannon balls fired at the home of Rev. William Richards in Lahaina-HSA-PP-37-2-007
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Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna
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Outer wall, Old Prison (Hale Paʻahao), Lahaina Historic District, Lahaina, Hawaii, built 1830s.
Outer wall, Old Prison (Hale Paʻahao), Lahaina Historic District, Lahaina, Hawaii, built 1830s.
Old Lahaina Fort plaque
Old Lahaina Fort plaque

Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, Economy, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Hawaii, Maui, William Richards, Lahaina Roadstead, Lahaina, John Palmer

September 10, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

US Marine Hospital

“Lāhainā (anciently called Lele, from the short stay of Chiefs there) is pleasantly located on the western shore of West Maui … It may be considered as the second port of the Hawaiian Islands, as, next to Honolulu, it is most generally frequented by the whaling fleet which touch at the islands in the spring and fall for recruits and refreshments.”

“This town was selected by Kamehameha III and his chiefs to lie the seat of government of the group … It has two churches, a hospital, a “palace,” which from the anchorage looms up and appears a stately building … There are three ship chandlery stores, some fifteen retail stores, and three practicing physicians.”  (The Friend, April 30, 1857)

“As near as we can ascertain, the first whale ships that visited these islands and touched at this port were the “Bellina,’ Capt, Gardner, and (unknown) Capt. Worth, which was some where about 1819.”

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between the continent and Japan whaling grounds brought many whaling ships to the Islands.  Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Several hundred whaling ships might call in season, each with 20 to 30 men aboard and each desiring to resupply with enough food for another tour ‘on Japan,’ ‘on the Northwest’ or into the Arctic.   (Thrum)

Between the 1820s and the 1860s, the Lāhainā Roadstead was the principal anchorage of the American Pacific whaling fleet.  During that time, up to 1,500 sailors at a time were on the streets of the small town.

One reason why so many whalers preferred Lāhainā to other ports was that by anchoring in a roadstead from half a mile to a mile from shore they could control their crews better than when in a harbor.

“To whale ships no port at the islands offers better facilities for all their business (with the exception of heavy repairs) than does Lāhainā.  As it is on this island, and but a short distance that the extensive potato fields are located that have furnished an almost inexhaustible supply … and fine herds of cattle …”    (The Friend, April 30, 1857)

About this same time (1831,) Joaquin Armas came to Islands from Mexico (California) to catch cattle for Kamehameha III.  His later reward for years of service to the King was several parcels of land, including a site in Lāhainā.  (Pyle)

It is suggested that in 1833 Kamehameha III commissioned the construction of a two-story stone building on a property left to Armas, about a mile from the central core of Lāhainā, to serve as a store and inn to cater to visiting sailors.  (Lāhainā Restoration Foundation)

During Armas’ occupation, on January 24, 1841, the first Catholic mass on Maui was celebrated in the house.  (Bergin)  Armas left the Islands in 1844.

On February 4, 1844, Milo Calkin was appointed US Vice Commercial Agent for the port of Lāhainā by William Hooper, acting United States Commercial Agent.  One of his duties was to arrange for medical care for sick sailors.

In the beginning, sick and destitute sailors were being boarded out at some private establishment and being given medical care by a physician hired by the Agent.  Calkin soon requested the ability to contract for a hospital to attend to the growing numbers.  (HABS)

By August 1844, the US Marine Hospital was opened on the Armas site.  Back then, the hospital business was divided into three major sections. The Commercial Agent (Calkin was the first) was responsible for recommending seamen to the hospital, keeping necessary papers and books, and handling the financial transactions.

A physician of the hospital (the first in Lāhainā was Dr Charles Winslow) had a contract with the US States Government which guaranteed him exclusive treatment of American seamen at US expense.

The third person involved in the hospital management was the purveyor (the first at Lāhainā was John Munn,) supplying food, clothing, shelter, maid service, laundry service and assorted other necessities.  All of these services were charged to the US government.  (Pyle)

The hospital (sometimes referred to as the ‘Seamen’s Hospital’) continued until 1862.  A couple things caused it to close – (1) demand was dwindling (in 1859, an oil well was discovered and developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania; within a few years this new type of oil replaced whale oil for lamps and many other uses – spelling the end of the whaling industry) and (2) a festering scandal surfaced accusing misuse of government funds.

Part of the scandal started with some questions about the exorbitant amounts charged by Dr Winslow.  Winslow evidently made his fortune in Lāhainā and left.  In a November 19, 1847 letter (Rev Baldwin to EB Robinson, “…. tomorrow morning they (Winslow) embark … for the U. States. Dr. W. came out four years since from Nantucket—has had the Seamenʻs hospital here and other practices who have probably yielded him $20,000 or more, and now feels rich enough to go home.”

Calkin was not only Commercial Agent, he was a successful ship chandler; however, he abruptly dissolved his business in February, 1846 and departed from Hawaiʻi in November of that same year.  “It seems unlikely that Calkin was actually involved in the fraud, but he must have known about it.”  (Pyle)

After Charles Bunker of Massachusetts arrived as US consul to Lāhainā in 1850 (which had recently been elevated to a Consulate from an Agent) costs at the consulate skyrocketed. By 1852, officials at the Treasury Department had become suspicious. The costs to care for seamen at Lāhainā were nearly double per person than those in Honolulu.  (US Archives)

The situation continued for a few more years, but when the total amount spent for the hospitals in Honolulu, Lāhainā and Hilo reached more than $150,000 per year, an investigation was demanded by the Treasury Department.

US Commissioner in Hawaii, James W Borden, investigated the workings of the United States hospital and consular system in Honolulu, Lāhainā and Hilo.

In part, Borden reported, “A careful examination of the evidence will, I believe, satisfy you that the Physician as well as the Purveyor, in this respect, and also in that of obtaining from the seamen blank receipts, have been engaged in defrauding the Government, and I have therefore no hesitation in recommending the removal of them both …” (Borden, April 27, 1860; US Archives)

“It is a notorious fact that … many of our citizens deprecated the system which has been so long pursued by the consuls in the expenditures of the fund so wisely appropriated by Congress for the relief of sick and disabled American seamen, and the exaction of illegal fees and unjust charges from the seamen…”  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 28, 1861)

“The testimony disclosed the long mooted fact, that the consulates of Honolulu and Lāhainā have a large patronage and that therefore the temptation to illegal practices is consequently very great; that the offices of physician and purveyor, highly lucrative positions …”

“…they possessed power to embarrass the operations of the merchants and shipmasters … therefore, the corrupt and unwarranted practices of the consuls has been heretofore winked at by them…”  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 28, 1861)

The US Marine Hospital (Seamen’s Hospital) in Lāhainā officially closed on September 10, 1862.

In 1865 the Anglican sisters founded St. Cross School for Girls at the Marine Hospital premises, at first leasing the property and finally purchasing it in 1872. The Sisterhood opened a similar school – St Andrew’s Priory – on May 30, 1867.  The Lāhainā school continued to operate until 1877.

After the school closed, the building was used for many years as a vicarage for the Anglican ministers and was later exchanged with Bishop Estate for another piece of property in 1909.  (HABS)  It has also been used as a private home and a meeting room for civic groups. Today, the property is leased for business use.  (Lāhainā Restoration Foundation)

The image shows the US Marine Hospital (Seamen’s Hospital.) (National Library Of Medicine)  In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks, Economy, Military Tagged With: Hawaii, Whaling, Maui, Lahaina, Lahaina Historic District, Lahaina Historic Trail, Lele, Marine Hospital

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