Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Wreck of the George N Wilcox

She was built in Scotland for H Hackfeld Co of Honolulu in 1892; she was named “George N Wilcox,” for the Grove Farm Plantation owner.

“George N Wilcox” had already completed one successful voyage when it sailed from Middleborough, England on May 10, 1894, bound for Honolulu around Cape Horn. (Soboleski)

Let’s look back …

On September 26, 1849, sea captain Heinrich (Henry) Hackfeld arrived in Honolulu with his wife, Marie, her 16-year-old brother Johann Carl Pflueger and a nephew BF Ehlers.

Having purchased an assorted cargo at Hamburg, Germany, Hackfeld opened a general merchandise business (dry goods, crockery, hardware and stationery,) wholesale, as well as retail store on Queen Street.

As business grew its shipping interest, manufacturing and jobbing lines developed a web of commercial relationships with Europe, England and the eastern seaboard. Hackfeld outfitted several whalers and engaged in the trans-shipment trade.

George Norton Wilcox (known as GN,) the second son of eight boys, born in Hilo August 15, 1839 to missionary parents, Abner and Lucy Wilcox, took over the lease for Grove Farm sugar operation on Kaua‘i and quickly became its sole owner.

GN Wilcox was not only a plantation owner; he was also an engineer, statesman, businessman and a world traveler. More importantly, he was also a philanthropist and humanist, who left an extensive legacy of endowments and public donations.

Back to the boat …

The bark George N Wilcox “left Middleborough on the 10th of last May for Honolulu, laden with 1000 tons of coal and about 1200 tons of general merchandise. In the latter portion of the cargo were tons of Christmas goods”. (Morning Call, September 30, 1894)

“The NW point of Molokai, within forty miles of Honolulu, is proving to be a place to be avoided. A heavy sea lolls in there from the northeast, and a strong current draws around the point.”

“On the afternoon of the 18th (September, 1894,) Captain Wolters of the line new iron bark GN Wilcox, 130 days out from Middleborough hove to in that part of Oahu Channel to wait for morning before rounding Dimond Head.” (The Friend, October 1, 1894)

“The vessel was off the coast of Molokai and going along under close sails. Captain Wolters was on deck and ordered the sails reefed, as he did not care to reach port until the following morning.” (Morning Call, September 30, 1894)

“In going about, the current set him ashore, and the valuable ship and cargo were suddenly wrecked at five o’clock beneath the precipice of that coast. The crew were compelled to take to the boats in haste, before the breakers swept over them.” (The Friend, October 1, 1894)

“Ten miles south-southeast from Molokai light house, firmly imbedded on the sharp high jutting rocks of Lae o ka Ilio Point, one of the most dangerous portions of the Hawaiian coast …

“… behind the tall sheltering lava cliffs on the windward side of the Island of Molokai and directly at the entrance of Kaiwi channel lies the wreck of the fine, new, steel German bark George N Wilcox.”

“Heavily listed to port, and with her snowy sails lashed into hundreds of strips, flying and flashing in every direction, and heavy angry seas washing her decks from stem to stern …”

“… the wrecked vessel a pitiable sight indeed, at once a menacing, though expensive monument to gross carelessness on the part of some or else the victim of a luckless fate. (Hawaiian Star, September 20, 1894)

“Considerable quantities of wreckage from the GN Wilcox are reported to have stranded along the windward shores of Oahu. Many valuable cases have been saved which floated out of the wreck. Parties who bought the wreck and cargo for $1,200 are making a good profit out of it. The vessel is fast breaking up.” (The Friend, October 1894)

“Captain Wolters has been sailing to the islands since 1871 and this is the first ship he has ever lost. He is considered the commodore of Hackfeld & Co’s fleet and is a man in whom the company has every confidence.”

“The first ship he ever brought out was the Elsie Wylie. Since that time he has had command of the old CR Bishop and the H Hackfeld. A few years ago he gave up going to sea for some time and superintended the building of the company’s ships.”

“When the Wilcox was completed, a little over two years ago, he was given the command of her and took her to the islands on her maiden voyage.”

The crew “corroborated the details of the wreck as given, and say that Captain Wolters did all that man could do to save the fine vessel of which he was commander.” (Morning Call, September 30, 1894)

The machinery and railroad material were salvaged, but, according to Rex Hitchcock who was deputy-sheriff of the island at that time, the Hawaiians disposed of most of the Rhine wine. (Cooke)

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George N Wilcox-Morning Call-Sept 30 1894
George N Wilcox-Morning Call-Sept 30 1894

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Peleleu

“Where the sunbeams had slept placidly on an unbroken surface of azure, they were now reflected hither and thither by the black sides of canoes, the flashing of outriggers, the sheen of polished metal, the scarlet and yellow of innumerable feather cloaks …”

“… the glittering of oars amid the spray-rain, the gleaming of dusky bodies, and the forward leap of the high prows, whose painted eyes seemed to glow with the fire of life.”

“And in advance was the famous double war canoe Peleleu, the rowers straining at the oars, and the kahili-bearers and warriors standing around the mighty chief who was destined to make Hawaii a nation”

“On they came, nearing the flat beach of Waikiki, where unless Kalanikapule opposed, they could enter the coral reef and land without impediment.”

“But Kalanikapule chose to meet his rival in the heart of the country among the palis, rather than on the level ground; so, though from Leahi you could have seen the moving of dark masses of men among the forests of the southern side of the island, there was no sign on the beach of opposition to the landing of the Hawaiian troops.” (Gowen)

“Since koa is indigenous plant, i.e. one ‘native’ to Hawaii , it grew ‘wild’ in large forest, and Hawaiians did not propagate it. … The prime importance of koa was in the making of canoes, not only the single kinds, kaukahi, but even double kinds, kaulua, which consisted of two canoes lashed together in a special way.”

“Before making a canoe, the Hawaiians employed a kahuna, or priest, to offer prayers and sacrifices to Ku, the long-bearded god of canoe makers, that the work should be successful. Then the kahuna aided the men in selecting a suitable tree in the forest. … The part made from the koa trunk was the wa‘a.”  (Krauss)

Waʻa Peleleu, or simply Peleleu, were long canoes or long voyages were usually 50 feet long, but some were 100 and even 150 feet long. Such canoes were 1 to 2 feet wide and carved from a single log.  (Krauss)

Canoes evolved to meet new demands; the sail had become the primary power mode – those also evolved.  “In the early 1790s the watch aboard a foreign ship sailing off O‘ahu saw a vessel approaching which, by the cut of its sails, appeared to be European.”

“But as it drew near and passed by it was seen to be a Hawaiian canoe with sails cut to European shape. This was the fore-and-aft spritsail.  It was a simple modification, changing the ancient triangular sail to a four-sided shape.”

“Also, from the base of the mast the foot of the sail ran horizontally aft to the clew (bottom trailing edge) where the sheet (controlling line) connected to it. In larger canoes the foot was laced to a boom. This rig quickly became the standard for most Hawaiian sailing canoes.”

“On some of the largest double canoes a sail of about the same shape was used, not with a sprit, but gaff-rigged, the head (top of the sail) laced to a spar which was raised or lowered by halyards, and the entire foot of the sail laced to a boom.” (Herb Kane)

“Kamehameha’s drive to bring all the islands under the rule of Hawai’i Island required much more than the hit and run raids of earlier disputes.”

“Keeping armies in the field required great numbers of huge canoes, not only for invasion but also for keeping the army supplied, which meant canoes capable of returning to Hawai‘i Island, sailed (not paddled) short-handed and against the prevailing wind, for supplies and reinforcements.”

The peleleu class war canoes were invented for that purpose. “These were sailing vessels with deep hulls, some armed with swivel guns, carrying fore-and-aft sail rigs, either as spritsails or gaff-rigged and capable of sailing upwind.” (Herb Kane)

“The peleleu were a fleet of very large war-canoes which Kamehameha I had made from koa trees felled in the forests back of Hilo, Hawaii. Their construction was begun about the year 1796.”

“In spite of the fact that the Hawaiian historian, Malo, speaks of the peleleu with a certain pride and enthusiasm, they are to be regarded rather as monstrosities, not belonging fully to the Hawaiian on whose soil they were made, nor to the white men who, no doubt, lent a hand and had a voice in their making and planning.” (Malo)

“So great was the size of these canoes and such their depth from the gunwale down, that flooring had to be made on which the paddlemen might stand, or rest their feet while sitting on the usual paddlers’ seats.” (Emerson in Mills)

“They were excellent craft and carried a great deal of freight. The after part of these crafts were similar in construction to an ordinary vessel (i. e. was decked over).”

“It was principally by means of such craft as these that Kamehameha succeeded in transporting his forces to Oahu when he went to take possession of that part of his dominion when he was making his conquests.” (Malo)

“The large, wide and deep peleleu canoes, however, quickly became obsolete.  In comparison with standard double canoes, they were unwieldly, labor intensive, and impractical for common use”. (Mills)

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Kamokuʻakulikuli

Coral doesn’t grow in fresh water.  So, where a stream enters a coastal area, there is typically no coral growth at that point – and, as the freshwater runs out into the ocean, a coral-less channel is created.

In its natural state, thanks to Nuʻuanu Stream, Honolulu Harbor originally was a deep embayment formed by the outflow of Nuʻuanu Stream creating an opening in the shallow coral reef along the south shore of Oʻahu.

Honolulu Harbor (it was earlier known as Kuloloia) was entered by the first foreigner, Captain William Brown of the English ship Butterworth, in 1794.

They called the harbor “Fair Haven” which may be a rough translation of the Hawaiian name Honolulu (it was also sometimes called Brown’s Harbor.)  The name Honolulu (meaning “sheltered bay” – with numerous variations in spelling) soon came into use.

More sailors came.  Captain William Sumner arrived in the Islands in 1807.  Arriving first at Kaua‘i, Sumner jumped-ship and lived amongst the Hawaiians there.  Kaumuali‘i was the king of Kaua‘i at the time, and when he saw Sumner, he was entranced by this youth, and took him as a “keiki hoʻokama” (adopted him.)

In the Islands, Kamehameha I, who had been living at Waikiki, moved his Royal Residence to Pākākā at Honolulu Harbor in 1809. Sumner served as one of the captains on ships in this fleet.

Some foreigners, like Sumner who sailed ships for Kamehameha, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III,) were awarded land grants for their services.

In 1819, Kamehameha I gave land to Sumner for services rendered.  This site was at the corner of today’s Hotel and Punchbowl Streets (near where the present Barracks are at ʻIolani Palace.)

Sumner was also awarded “… a fishery of the 647-Diamond Head acres of the reef lying between the Kalihi and Honolulu Harbor Channels.  The area carried the Hawaiian name of Kaholaloa (Koholaloa, Kahololoa, Kaholoa.)  The Ewa portion of this reef was designated Mokauea.”

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships, the Balena out of New Bedford, and the Equator, out of Nantucket, became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands.

Rich whaling waters were discovered near Japan and soon hundreds of ships headed for the area.   The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between America and Japan brought many whaling ships to the Islands.

With increased whalers to the Islands, so did disease.  A law was passed noting, “All vessels having had contagious diseases on board … on arrival at Sandwich Islands, or at any port hereof, shall be entirely at the direction of the Board of Health … all vessels quarantined … shall keep constantly flying, during the day, a yellow flag at the main top.”  (Quarantine Laws, May 29, 1839)

The first efforts to deepen Honolulu Harbor were made in the 1840s. The idea to use the dredged material, composed of sand and crushed coral, to fill in low-lying lands was quickly adopted.   Some of the material was deposited on the fringing reef.

“In the year 1849 … the land of Kahololoa, was confirmed to William Sumner by Land Commission Award No, 153 … The title to these lands passed to JI Dowsett and John K Sumner, and from them to the Dowsett Company, Limited, and the Oahu Railway & Land Company.”

In 1872, the small island off Iwilei – “Kamokuʻakulikuli” – became the site of a quarantine station used to handle the influx of immigrant laborers drawn to the islands’ developing sugar plantations. The site is described as “little more than a raised platform of sand and pilings to house the station, with walkways leading to the harbor edge wharf, where a concrete sea wall had been constructed” and as “a low, swampy area on a reef in the harbor”.

Improvements were made.   “Looking seaward from the prison I noticed a building which had been erected upon the reef, and on enquiry found it to be a Quarantine Station. … (it was) used occasionally as a temporary accommodation for immigrants.”

Then, the arrival “of a vessel bringing twenty-five Chinese passengers, among whose crew small-pox had broken out, demonstrated the foresight of the Government in erecting this commodious building…”  (Bowser, 1880-1881; Maly)

More came.  “Over seven hundred Chinese immigrants, mostly men, who came here on the steamer Septima on the 13th of last month, were placed in quarantine on their arrival, on account of the existence of small pox among them. For nine days they were detained on board of the ship in the harbor, until the quarters were prepared for them on the quarantine island.”

“Those ill with small-pox were removed from among the others as soon as the disease appeared, and finally when about twenty days had passed since the last case had been removed the Board of Health allowed them to go as fast as they found employment; or as they found responsible persons who would become responsible to the Board of Immigration that they would not become vagrants or a charge on the community for their support.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, March 23, 1881)

By 1888, Kamokuʻākulikuli Island had been expanded and was known as “Quarantine Island.”  If vessels arrived at the harbor after 15 days at sea and contagious disease was aboard, quarantine and disinfecting procedures were required at Quarantine Island.  (Cultural Surveys)

“Upon annexation of the islands the United States took possession of Quarantine Island in the belief that the title to that land had been vested in the Hawaiian government. (Dowsett and OR&L filed suit.)”

In a compromise, “in 1902 the (Oʻahu Railway & Land Company) and the Dowsett Company turned over to the federal government 550-acres of what is now Quarantine Island and adjacent ground, and for themselves kept only 82-acres.  (They also retained wharfage privileges and rights to access the channel/harbor.)”  (Honolulu Star Bulleting, June 16, 1914)

Quarantine Island became the largest United States quarantine station of the period, accommodating 2,255-individuals.  This facility included two hospitals and a crematorium.  (Cultural Surveys)

Dredged materials from improvements to Honolulu harbor had enlarged Quarantine Island again and by 1906 the island was encircled by a seawall and was 38-acres.  By 1908 the Quarantine Station consisted of Quarantine Island and the reclaimed land of the Quarantine wharf (with a causeway connecting the two.)

On February 15, 1910, Honolulu Harbor Light station was built and the beacon went into service. Soon, with added filling and subsequent connection of the two emergent islands on the reef, the resulting single island took the name Sand Island.

In 1916, Sand Island Military Reservation was established on the reclaimed land of the quarantine station. Subsequent episodes of harbor improvements resulted in enlarging the island and, by 1925 the reef around Sand Island had been removed and the island was completely surrounded by water.  (Dye)

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and declaration of martial law on December 7, 1941, military authorities immediately rounded up Japanese and placed them in internment camps.  Those arrested on Oʻahu were initially crowded into the Honolulu Immigration Station pending a hearing or a short boat ride to Sand Island.

In May 1942, military authorities turned the quarantine station into the Sand Island Detention Center, complete with 10-foot-tall fences.  Other internment facilities were constructed in the Islands and on the continent.  By the end of the war, an estimated 1,440-people were detained or interned in Hawai’i at one of five locations on O’ahu, the Big Island, Maui and Kaua’i.

During the early-1940s, Sand Island became the headquarters of the Army Port and Service Command and in the early 1940s the island was further enlarged with fill materials from the dredging of the seaplane runway.  (Dye)

In 1959, the Department of the Army transferred Sand Island to the Territory of Hawaiʻi, and in 1963 ownership was transferred to the State of Hawaiʻi.  (Star Bulletin, March 12, 1991)  The island was once home to the Jaycee’s 50th State Fair.

Initial vehicular access was via a causeway; in April 1962, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the Lt John R Slattery Bridge (Slattery was the first Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District Engineer in 1905.) The two-lane bascule bridge (draw bridge) originally could be raised and lowered to allow boat traffic to pass underneath.

In the late-1980s, though, the state permanently sealed the metal bridge and built a new concrete bridge alongside, creating four lanes to accommodate the growing commercial traffic on and off the island.

Several other names have been associated with Sand Island. Lot Kamehameha (Kamehameha V) gave the name Mauliola to the island in reference to the island’s use as a quarantine station. (Star Bulletin, April 28, 1969)  Older names for the island were Kamokuʻākulikuli or Kahaka‘aulana. Rainbow Island and ʻĀnuenue were names used in the 1970s. (Dye)

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William Edward Young

John and Eleanor Young had a family of five children: Annie Edith Young was born December 28, 1868 (in San Francisco), then in San Diego, Herbert Gray Young, on March 21, 1870; William Edward Young, on April 24, 1875; John Alexander ‘Jack’ Young, on January 2 1882; and Edgar Nelson Young, on July 21, 1885.

John’s father was a chair and cabinetmaker, and John followed in his father’s footsteps.  The family supplemented their income with produce from their garden; John often took the older boys fishing mackerel and bottom fish in San Diego Bay.

Eleanor Young developed rheumatoid arthritis when she was in her early forties.  She died on February 16, 1894 at age forty-five, leaving minor children Jack, 12, and Edgar, 10, and granddaughter Belle, 8.

John Young suffered from tuberculosis in the 1890s. After Eleanor died, he traveled extensively trying in vain to find a more suitable climate. He finally returned to San Diego. There, he died September 13, 1896 at age fifty-seven.

John Young’s sons, Herb and Will had a business in the summers of 1898 and 1899 at Catalina Island (the Island was then owned by the Banning Brothers).

They set up a concession to provide sightseeing excursion boats circling the Island and fishing for the tourists. They also got permission to take tourists out in glass-bottomed boats to view the fish and undersea creatures. It was a very successful venture.

Will was a good storyteller and kept the tourists amused, while Herb went diving under the boat and excited the fish. Once he found a hammerhead shark with a lot of curiosity. Herb played with the shark and put on a good show for the viewers who thought he might be in mortal danger. The glass-bottomed boat trips became very popular.

Then Herb and Will saw opportunity for business in Honolulu. Herb thought it looked good and persuaded Will to join him there in December. In January 1900, Herb and Will started Young Brothers.

They purchased a small launch, the Billy, and made a business running lines for the ships, delivering foodstuffs to the crews, and ferrying passengers. They were joined in October by their younger brother, John Alexander ‘Jack’ Young, who was then eighteen years old.

From their first days in Honolulu, the Young brothers were fascinated by the big sharks that infested the waters just outside the harbor where the garbage was dumped.

While the three brothers were involved in their daily harbor activities, they came to befriend boat captains, passengers and interested bystanders who were fascinated by tales of sharks, and more particularly whether they attacked humans.

This led to a small side-business in shark hunting that quickly earned William the nickname ‘Sharkey Bill.’ Fishing parties would he formed from among hotel guests, who were taken out on the Billy for a day of shark fishing.

“[W]e got the contract for towing garbage out and dumping it daily. But despite the numbers of horses ashore, only once in a while was a carcass available for our uses.”

“We had our best opportunity to study the sharks as they fought over the floating body, literally going into frenzies with snapping jaws and lashing tails, whipping the water white with foam.” (William Young)

“Little by little we began to suspect that there might be profit in our old friend the shark. Passengers and visitors were very curious about the tigers of the sea and often became rabid partisans, as they do to this day, over the question of whether sharks attack and eat human beings.”

“What would have been rather gruesome stories, save for the fact that they were matched by many in our own daily experience, were recounted to make or discredit a point.”

“Our opinions were sought, but we could not say for sure, never having actually seen a shark devour a man. But we could and did offer to take anyone shark fishing who wanted to go, and many went.”

“Our method was always the same, except when circumstances beyond our control arose, to which we had to adapt our [shark] hunting …”

“It was great sport to take a small party of fishermen out, and using a carcass for bait, attract sharks close enough to catch or kill.”

“But it does not attack at once. A shark is above all cautious, for all his curiosity. He swims around the carcass, sniffing and sizing up the situation.”

“He comes close to the boat and sticks up one cold, expressionless eye, and winks at us in his ghostly way. Then, once more he returns to the alluring meal spread so invitingly before him. He cannot seem to make up his mind. Finally he disappears.”

“Gone? Wait a bit and see. In twenty minutes or half an hour he is back, this time with four or five of his friends whom he has informed of the free meal that he found. They circle about, hungrily. … What is the matter, don’t they want it? Have patience, this is their custom.”

On February 27, 1904, Herbert Young caught a monster gray shark off Ewa in the harbor. Measuring fourteen feet long, it was the largest shark ever seen there. When opened, the stomach contained the remains of three big pigs and a quantity of horse flesh.

The body of one of the pigs was nearly intact and had apparently been just gulped down whole. The shark could easily have swallowed a man.

It was put on display at the Navy wharf. Then it was skinned by Fish Inspector Berndt and, after preparation, the skin was sent off to the fish commission as an outstanding specimen of gray shark.

On another adventure, “Professor PM Stewart who occupies one of the chairs of language in Cambridge University, England, has had an experience during his visit to Honolulu that probably never came to him before. He went shark fishing.”

“On Friday he caught a shark. His wife who has attracted much attention in this city on account of being a very tall striking looking blonde with very ultra English appearance, accompanied him and to catch the first shark.”

“He hooked one shark yesterday morning and drew the shark close to the boat and then started to dispatch the sea wolf with a spade.  The weapon was bent and then Professor Stewart took a hatchet to strike the monster. In his excitement the professor struck the line with the hatchet cutting the line and allowing the shark to escape.”

“Later in the day a second shark was caught near the bell buoy. This time the shark was dispatched without cutting the line and was towed in shore. The shark measured about 14 feet in length and was of the man eating variety.”

The boys “have hit on a new scheme for shark fishing. They are able now to take the sharks with a hook and line instead of harpooning them as was done formerly. Some very successful expeditious have been taken out by tile young men.”  (Hawaiian Star, June 2, 1906)

Shark jaws would sell for $5 apiece and were prized as souvenirs for mounting and display by members of the party, while the fins were taken away to be made into soup by the many Chinese who frequented the wharves.

On March 19, 1904, the Waikiki Aquarium opened.  “The land and the building at Waikiki were donated by prominent citizens, and the traction company had the job of maintenance.”

[William]I applied for the position of manager, having previously caught and tended many fish with Herb for the Aquarium at Catalina. My application was accepted, and so for a year I herded fish. I not only nursed, fed and attended to their wants, but also, with the help of a native fisherman, caught all the specimens exhibited in the building.”

“Many were caught within a stone-throw of the building wall. There were big ones, little ones, brilliantly colored tropical fish, squid, shark and surgeon fish, which carries the sheathed spine near his tail for a weapon.” (William Young)  He also continued to help run Young Brothers until the demands of Young Brothers compelled him to return full time.

William decided to make a little extra money by harpooning a large shark to show at the County Fair, held in Honolulu each September.

The Elks Club was in charge of the amusement concession, so for a booth rental of $60, William set up a display of a shark packed in ice and charged ten cents a look. By the end of the week, he had collected $1,500.

Herbert sold his interest in the Young Brothers business and went to the mainland to look for work as a diver.  Jack Young and Will Young incorporated the business in 1913 as Young Bros. Ltd; Will no longer took an active part in the business.

In the years that followed incorporation, it was necessary for the Young Brothers’ fleet to continue growing in order to meet the needs of business that paralleled the expanding territorial economy.

Will preferred to pursue his fascination with sharks and eventually left the islands for good in 1921 to become a well-known international shark hunter.

“A business proposition that looked promising came along about this time, but it meant that I would leave Honolulu for New York to be gone an indefinite time. Nothing of a business nature held me in Hawaii, and so I made arrangements to sail aboard the President Harrison.”

“I went aboard just as I had boarded all the big ships for so many years in the harbor, but this time there would be no hurried climb over the side to the towboat as the vessel swung out the channel. Once she had warped out of the dock, I was aboard for good, headed for the States and a new future.”

“Good-bye to Honolulu! A passenger at my elbow sighed and said, ‘I hate to go,’ which, I realized, summed up my case, but inadequately.”

William left Young Brothers in the hands of Jack, the last founding member of the company to remain in Hawai‘i. (Lots of information here is from William Young’s book Shark Shark, Young Brothers: 100 Years of Service, and a Young family background and genealogy.)

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Orteric

A century after Captain James Cook’s arrival in Hawaiʻi, sugar plantations started to dominate the landscape.  What encouraged the development of plantations in Hawaiʻi?

For one, the gold rush and settlement of California opened a lucrative market.  Likewise, the Civil War virtually shut down Louisiana sugar production during the 1860s, enabling Hawai‘i to compete with elevated prices for sugar.

In addition, the Treaty of Reciprocity-1875 between the US and the Kingdom of Hawai‘i eliminated the major trade barrier to Hawai‘i’s closest and major market.  Through the treaty, the US gained Pearl Harbor and Hawai‘i’s sugar planters received duty-free entry into US markets.

However, a shortage of laborers to work in the growing (in size and number) sugar plantations became a challenge.  The only answer was imported labor.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

There were three big waves of workforce immigration: Chinese – 1852; Japanese – 1885 and Filipinos – 1905.  Several smaller, but substantial, migrations also occurred: Portuguese – 1877; Norwegians – 1880; Germans – 1881; Puerto Ricans – 1900; Koreans – 1902 and Spanish – 1907.

Reasons why people left their homeland to come work in the Hawai‘i sugar plantations varied: some were looking for opportunity and a better life; some were looking for work (there was economic turmoil in their homeland); some left because of political strife … some thought they could make/save some money and return.

An often-overlooked issue with the emigration of these foreign workers to the Islands was the means of getting there.  Many sugar workers came in groups.  One such (and not necessarily the norm) was the sailing of the Orteric.

Of British registry, “The Orteric is a large vessel, fitted with accommodations for about twenty cabin passengers. And is a large cargo carrier, being able to accommodate 10,000 tons dead weight. She can steam twelve to thirteen knots an hour and has 3000 indicated horsepower.”

“She belongs to the Weir line and is on her maiden voyage, having been launched at Greenock, England, on January 28, 1911.  She will probably join other Weir liners, which operate between Seattle and Orient ports.”

“She has a length of 460 feet and is fifty seven feet breadth. … The Orteric sailed from London on February 16 [1911] and at Oporto picked up a batch of immigrants, taking on 305 there. At Lisbon 260 people were taken on, and at Gibraltar 960 Spaniards were sent on the vessel.”

“‘They appear to be a fine lot of people,’ said Secretary of the Territory Mott-Smith, when he went among them.  Dr Victor Clark head of the territorial immigration board agreed with him. The doctor stated that the Portuguese came from agricultural districts back of Lisbon, while the Spanish came from the districts of Seville land mountain districts.” (Hawaiian Gazette, April 14, 1911)

“The immigrants are decidedly glad that their journey has ended.  ‘Vive la Republique’ shouted one husky looking Spaniard, as he fairly leaped from the gangway of the steamer to the wharf.”

“He shouted so that the shed resounded with his exultation.  He leaped as he sped through the shed and when he reached the open air and felt the soil of Hawaii under his feet he waved his hat.” (Hawaiian Gazette, April 14, 1911)

But the arrival was about the only good news about their voyage to Hawai‘i.

“Death stalked among the fifteen hundred Spanish and Portuguese Immigrants aboard the British immigrant steamer Orteric, which arrived yesterday after its long voyage from Spain and Portugal. Fifty eight deaths were recorded among the children during the voyage.”

“Measles was the cause as entered on the ships log and in all but one instance the bodies were consigned to the sea for burial but the federal quarantine officers detected evidences of scarlet fever …”

“… and the territorial board of health, which looked after the body of the child who died just as the steamer was about to enter the harbor announced last evening that death was due to scarlet fever and the immigrants were ordered sent to quarantine Island.” (Hawaiian Gazette, April 14, 1911)

“[A] Portuguese middle aged and carrying heavy bundles ran down the gangway his eyes almost glittering as he ran through the shed knocking his countrymen right and left shouting: ‘Away from that jail away from that jail!’”

“He turned a look of disgust upon the ship and it is little wonder he wished to leave it for death and filth had full sway upon the vessel for nearly fifty days.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, April 14, 1911)

“Upon the arrival of the vessel at Honolulu an inspection thereof was made by the customs officers under the direction of the Collector of the Port, who thereafter rendered a report to the Collector of the Port, wherein they found that the master of the vessel, James F. Findlay, had violated the … Passenger Act of Aug. 2, 1882”. (US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, July 12, 1915))

The Passenger Act was implemented to address reforms to passenger conditions on board ships and set minimum standards for berths, light and ventilation, food, hospitals, discipline and cleanliness and reporting requirements upon entering US ports.

“Owing to the great number of deaths, the grand jury, which was in session at the time, went on board and made an exhaustive examination of the vessel.”

“On the lower deck on which passengers were berthed neither latrines nor conveniences were provided for the passengers, in many instances empty meat cans being used; all of the latrines were on the upper deck and could be used only by passengers able or willing to climb there, and they were flushed but twice a day.”

“No proper method was adopted to protect the vessel against the filthy conditions which were thus necessarily created; the decks were not washed and the filth apparently was permitted to remain, in alternate layers of filth, sawdust and disinfectants …”

“… the result was an almost intolerable stench which filled the dark and poorly ventilated compartments and existed even up to the day when the vessel was examined by the grand jury. No conveniences were originally provided for the use of children and such as were provided were improvised after the vessel commenced her voyage, and were wholly unfit from all standpoints.”

“Although the vessel crossed the equator twice on the voyage, no bathrooms were provided, and up to within a few weeks of the completion of the voyage the only way in which a bath of any kind could be taken was in the public washroom.”

“No attempt appears to have been made to muster the passengers on deck when weather permitted as required by law; or to air or clean the bedding during the entire voyage, and when the vessel arrived at Honolulu it became necessary to burn all the mattresses.”

“The grand jury stated that no opportunities were afforded the passengers for keeping clean and that it is to be wondered no more deaths occurred than actually took place.” (American Marine Engineer, Jan 1912)

“Charged with the worst case of neglect of steerage passengers on record under the Passenger Act of 1882, the owners of the British steamer Orteric have been fined $7,960 by Acting Secretary Cable of the Department of Commerce and Labor.”

“Among her 1,242 passengers there were in the eight weeks of her voyage fifty-eight deaths, being children; the births numbered fourteen; the sexes were not properly segregated during the larger part of the time …”

“… the ventilation of the ship was inadequate and greately increased the mortality rate; the hospital facilities were and without proper equipment, while the sanitary conditions of the vessel were almost beyond belief.”

“Acting Secretary Cable, after giving ample opportunity for the ship’s agent to make a defense, directed today that the full penalties be imposed.” (New Mexico Review, Dec 14, 1911)

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