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July 27, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kou and Kuloloia

Early on, Waikiki was the Royal Center; Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided. Aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

Waikiki had better surfing, greater proximity to the ocean for deep sea fishing, inland pools suitable for fishponds, a smooth, sandy plain for houses, and many channels through the reef leading to sandy shores, so convenient for beaching canoes.

At Honolulu, for canoe landings, Honolulu Harbor was limited; according Levi Chamberlain in the first half of the nineteenth century, the area in what is now Pier 12 “was the only place where the natives could bring in their canoes.” (Stokes)

But the Western sailing ships that started calling at Hawai‘i had too deep of drafts to maneuver into Waikiki. In 1794, Honolulu Harbor, also known as Kuloloia, was entered by the first foreigner, Captain William Brown of the British schooner Jackal, accompanied by Captain Gordon in the sloop tender Prince Lee Boo.

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.)

In 1809, Kamehameha I, who had been living at Waikiki, moved his Royal Residence to Pākākā at Honolulu Harbor. (Today, the site is generally at the open space now called Walker Park at the corner of Queen and Fort streets (ʻEwa side of the former Amfac Center, now the Topa Financial Plaza, near the fountain.))

A large yam field (what is now much of the core of downtown Honolulu – what is now bounded by King, Nuʻuanu, Beretania and Alakea Streets) was planted to provide visiting ships with an easily-stored food supply for their voyages (supplying ships with food and water was a growing part of the Islands’ economy.)

John Whitman noted in his journal (1813-1815,) “… Honoruru is the most fertile district on the Island. It extends about two miles from the Harbour where it is divided into two valleys by a ridge of high land. The district is highly cultivated and abounds in all the productions of these Islands.”

“The village consists of a number of huts of different sizes scattered along the front of the Harbour without regularity and the natives have lost much of the generous hospitality and simplicity that characterize those situated more remotely from this busy scene.”

Whitman goes on to note, “… everything necessary for the subsistence and comfort of man is found in the (Nuʻuanu) valley, watered by a rivulet it produces the best taro in great abundance, the ridge dividing the taro patches are covered with sugar cane.”

“The high ground yields sweet potatoes and yams and all the other productions of the Island are found in the various situations and soils adapted to their nature.”

“One of the finest ‘Ulu-maika’ places on the islands was the one belonging to Kou (what is now downtown Honolulu.) This was a hard, smooth track about twelve feet wide extending from the corner on Merchant and Fort Streets … along the sea ward side of Merchant Street to the place beyond Nuʻuanu Avenue … Kamehameha I is recorded as having used this maika track.” (Westervelt)

In 1815, Kamehameha I granted Russian representatives permission to build a storehouse near Honolulu Harbor. But, instead, directed by the German adventurer Georg Schaffer (1779-1836,) they began building a fort and raised the Russian flag.

When Kamehameha discovered the Russians were building a fort he sent several chiefs (including Kalanimōku and John Young (his advisor,)) to remove the Russians from Oʻahu by force, if necessary.

The partially built blockhouse at Honolulu was finished by Hawaiians under the direction of John Young, and mounted guns protected the fort. Its original purpose was to protect Honolulu by keeping enemy or otherwise undesirable ships out. But, it was also used to keep things in (it also served as a prison.)

By 1830, the fort had 40 guns of various calibers (6, 8, 12 and probably a few 32 pounders) mounted on the parapets. Fort Kekuanohu literally means ‘the back of the scorpion fish,’ as in ‘thorny back,’ because of the rising guns on the walls. In 1838 there were 52 guns reported.

Fort Street is named after this fort; it is one of the oldest streets in Honolulu. Today, the site of the old fort is the open space called Walker Park, a small park at the corner of Queen and Fort streets (also fronting Ala Moana/Nimitz.)

Tradewinds blow from the Northeast; the channel into Honolulu Harbor has a northeasterly alignment. Early ships calling to Honolulu were powered only by sails. The entrance to the harbor was narrow and lined on either side with reefs. Ships don’t sail into the wind. Given all of this, Honolulu Harbor was difficult to enter.

In the late-18th and early 19th centuries most vessels sailing through the North Pacific stopped for supplies at the Hawaiian Islands. Boats either anchored off-shore, or they were pulled, towed or tracked into the harbor (this was done with canoes; or, it meant men and/or oxen pulled them in.)

The harbor’s narrow entrance and channel were always a problem for vessels entering. The small inter-island schooners could negotiate it without help, but the larger foreign vessels were towed in – first by their own boats and later by double-canoes.

This might take eight double canoes with 16-20 men each, working in the pre-dawn calm when winds and currents were slow. Otherwise you had to contend with tradewinds blowing out of the harbor.

In 1816, Richards Street alignment was the straight path and served as the inland tow-path for Governor Kekūanāo‘a’s ox-team as it drew the larger vessels up the narrow channel into the harbor.

The ox team waited on the eastern point of the harbor entrance until connected by a towline with the vessel anchored in the deep water outside. The towline necessarily was very long because the shoal water extended outward for quite a distance.

When all was ready, the team walked along the channel reef but, as such towing must be in straight line, on reaching the beach the cattle could only proceed straight inland until the long towline had drawn the vessel right into the basin. (Clark)

A few years after, in 1825, the first pier in the harbor was improvised by sinking a ship’s hull near the present Pier 12 site. As Honolulu developed and grew, lots of changes happened, including along its waterfront. What is now known as Queen Street used to be the water’s edge.

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.

In 1845, Commander Charles Wilkes criticized the city of Honolulu by saying: “The streets, if so they may be called, have no regularity as to width, and are ankle‐deep in light dust and sand … and in some places, offensive sink‐holes strike the senses, in which are seen wallowing some old and corpulent hogs.”

“The boundaries of the old town may be said to have been, on the makai side, the waters of the harbor; on the mauka side, Beretania street; on the Waikiki side, the barren and dusty plain, and on the Ewa side, the Nuʻuanu stream. There were few, if any, residences other than the straw houses of the natives mauka of Beretania street.”

It wasn’t until 1850 that streets received official names. On August 30, 1850, the Privy Council first officially named Honolulu’s streets; there were 35‐streets that received official names that day (29 were in Downtown Honolulu, the others nearby.)

At the time, the water’s edge was in the vicinity of what we now call Queen Street. Back in those days, that road was generally called ‘Makai,’ ‘Water’ or Ali‘i Wahine.’ (Gilman)

‘Broadway’ was the main street (we now call it King Street;) it was the widest and longest ‐ about 2‐3 miles long from the river (Nuʻuanu River on the west) out to the “plains” (toward Mānoa.) (It was also referred to as ‘Ali‘i and ‘Chapel,’ ‘Halepule,’ ‘Church’ (due to Kawaiahaʻo fronting it.)

To date, 17 of those original names have survived the passage of time: Queen, Richards, School, Smith, Victoria, Young, Mauna Kea, Merchant, Mission, Nuʻuanu, Punchbowl, Beretania, Fort, Hotel, Kīnaʻu, King and Marin. (Gilman)

Some of the earlier-named streets that are no longer in use include, Garden, Crooked Lane, Printers Lane, French Place, Palace, Stone House, Eden House and Kaʻahumanu.

In 1854 the first steam tug was used to pull sail-powered ships into dock against the prevailing tradewinds. Captain Jacob Brown was captain of the towing tug “Pele.” The “Pele” was the first steam tug used in Hawaiʻi (screw tug with thirty-horse power.)

in 1857, the fort was dismantled; its massive 12-foot walls were torn apart and used to fill the harbor to accommodate an expanding downtown.

To replace the prison that was once in the fort, in 1856-57 a new prison was built at Iwilei. (It was where the Salvation Army building is on Nimitz – it’s the old Love’s Bakery building.) The new custom-house was completed in 1860. The water-works were much enlarged, and a system of pipes laid down in 1861.

Between 1857 and 1870, the coral block walls of the dismantled Fort edged and filled about 22-acres of reef and tideland, forming the “Esplanade” or “Ainahou,” between Fort and Merchant Streets (where Aloha Tower is now located.) At that time, the harbor was dredged to a depth from 20 to 25-feet took place.

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Honolulu Harbor-Ships pulled by canoes-Henry Walker-1843
Honolulu Harbor-Ships pulled by canoes-Henry Walker-1843
Port_of_Honolulu-1816-1817
Port_of_Honolulu-1816-1817
'Port_of_Honolulu'_by_Louis_Choris-1816
‘Port_of_Honolulu’_by_Louis_Choris-1816
Battle_of_Honolulu-Dolphin-(Massey)-1826
Battle_of_Honolulu-Dolphin-(Massey)-1826
'Honolulu_Beach'-would_later_become_the_area_from_Pier_5_to_Fort_Armstrong-Burgess-(SagaOfTheSandwichIslands)-mid-1850s
‘Honolulu_Beach’-would_later_become_the_area_from_Pier_5_to_Fort_Armstrong-Burgess-(SagaOfTheSandwichIslands)-mid-1850s
Honolulu_Harbor_(taken_from_prison_in_Iwilei)
Honolulu_Harbor_(taken_from_prison_in_Iwilei)
Honolulu_Map-(1810)-over_GoogleEarth
Honolulu_Map-(1810)-over_GoogleEarth
Honolulu_Map-(1847)-over_GoogleEarth
Honolulu_Map-(1847)-over_GoogleEarth

Filed Under: Economy, General, Hawaiian Traditions, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Hawaii, Honolulu, Oahu, Kou, Honolulu Harbor, Kuloloia

July 23, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Reviving Outrigger Canoe Racing

Outrigger Canoe Club fielded its first outrigger canoe racing crew in 1908 in a race in Honolulu Harbor. There were a few canoe races in the 1910s and 1920s, most often held in Waikiki, in conjunction with surfing contests. (OCC)

The improvement to a road project in West Hawai‘i was catalyst to revival of outrigger canoe racing in Hawai‘i.

The Territorial government sought to improve the 39-mile Waimea to Kona roadway in the 1930s.

EE Black, a contractor, built the road from Kailua-Kona to what is now the start of the Saddle Road. He used the first bulldozer in the history of the islands to do so. (Thurston)

“The formal opening of the new belt road on the island of Hawaii, July 22, 1933, was an important occasion, attended by the Governor and his party from Honolulu and many excursionists.” (The Friend, July 1933)

Having just finished the road, Black approached Outrigger Canoe Club President Lorrin Thurston and asked what he could do to show his appreciation to his employees and the people of Kona for their patience during the road work. (Thurston)

Black “made a good many dollars on that road and he wanted to do something in return for the people of Kona. So, knowing that I knew something about the district, he came to me …”

“… I suggested perhaps we should have the rebirth of the canoe races and he put up $3,000, I think, in the way of expenses and we carried the ball from there, which was very interesting.” (Thurston)

Thurston “talked with Dad Center and suggested that perhaps we might start canoe racing again. And he encouraged me.” (Thurston)

“They organized canoe crews from Kailua, Honaunau and Miloli‘i to compete against crews from O‘ahu: Hui Nalu, Outrigger and Queen’s Surf.”

Thurston “went to Kona and interested Julian Yates, Louis Macfarlane and Eugene Kaupiko in holding a canoe race.”

One of the problems involved in holding the race in Kona was how to get the many paddlers from O‘ahu to Kona.

“I didn’t have the money to pay for their steamship fares and there were no planes,” Thurston explained. “We finally worked out a proposition with the US Coast Guard who were able to bring the paddlers over in daylight hours – not spending any night on board …” (OCC)

“To make a long story short, (Thurston) raised enough money to buy medals for all the races. Princess Kawananakoa was one of the principal donors.”

“… and we were able to get facilities to house the boys at the home of the Reverend Shannon Walker and a pavilion of the YMCA at Keauhou. The local boys stayed in their own homes.” (OCC)

“The Inter Island Steamship Company ran a special excursion of the Waialeale for spectators to view the races. There were four or five official boats of the U.S. Navy, two from Australia, and probably 15 yachts. After the races, everyone gathered at the Kona Inn for dancing and a luau.” (OCC)

“There were five races and OCC won three. The crews raced in Napo‘opo‘o. This was the first race that featured canoe racing only.” Races were also held in 1934 and 1935. (OCC)

It was also the start of modern canoe racing for Outrigger women. Mariechen Wehselau Jackson, Hawaii’s first female Olympic Gold Medalist (1924 in swimming), sailed on the Waialeale as an “excursionist” to see the races along with Ruth Scudder Gillmar, Oma Haley, and Ann Barkey Cook. On other boats were Ginger Joyce and Dot Ruttmann Lambert. (OCC)

“Prior to going up,” Jackson relates, “Dad Center had said to me, ‘Now, Squeaky, why don’t you get a crew together because then you can race against the women up in Kona.’”

“We started out to the starting line and I steered the canoe just as straight as could be, very nicely. We flirted with the Coast Guard who were the officials, at the starting line.”

“We waited and waited and finally the other crew came along. And they were elderly women, all white long hair, and they were wearing muumuu and the top of the canoe was just about three or four inches from the water. They were large women.” (Jackson; OCC)

“We went out fast, and when I looked again, I had to shake my head. I couldn’t believe it. We were going around in a circle. Then we headed right for the judges’ boat and we had to yell to the judges to get out of our way.”

“I couldn’t handle that canoe. We mowed down a couple of flags. We went all over the place. And the other crew won, but by just a very, very little. If we had gone straight we would have won. The Hawaiian women won the gold medals from Princess Kawananakoa fair and square.” (Jackson; OCC)

In 1936 interisland paddling moved to Honolulu Harbor with the Honaunau crews sweeping the events. The interisland races ceased at the onset of World War II. However, Outrigger, Hui Nalu and Waikiki Surf Club and several other clubs raced occasionally in Waikiki. (OCC)

“EE Black was really the one that made the thing possible because he had finished a contract to rebuild the road from Huehue Ranch to Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a and on to what is now the start of the Saddle Road.” (Thurston)

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Canoe_Race-(HerbKane)
Canoe_Race-(HerbKane)

Filed Under: Economy, General, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Canoe, Lorrin Thurston, Napoopoo, EE Black, Outrigger Canoe

July 17, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hale Pili o Nā Mikanele

The Second Company of American Protestant missionaries to Hawai‘i left on the Thames from New Haven Connecticut and arrived at Honolulu on April 27, 1823. (The Hawaiians called the missionaries mikanele.)

The members of the first reinforcement were critical in the expansion of the Mission, important relationships with the royal family and, through the efforts of missionary William Richards, the development of a Hawaiian constitutional government.

William & Clarissa Richards and Charles & Harriet Stewart (and their dear friend Betsey Stockton) were assigned a hale pili (thatched homes) on Missionary Row.

“While in America my imagination had often portrayed scenes of the future – the humble cot on missionary ground, and all its appurtenances fancy had dressed in fairy colours …”

“… She had twined around her happy dwelling many romantic sweets, and scattered with a lavish hand the beauties of natural scenery. You will ask if the picture exists in real life. I answer no. I find nothing (of) this kind; but I do find what is infinitely more valuable.” (Charissa Richards Journal, May 1, 1823; Leineweber, Mission Houses)

Despite her initial disillusionment, Clarissa looked with pleasure on her new accommodations. “If our cottage has not all that elegant simplicity about it that I had fancied, it is far more comfortable within.”

“Her husband, William Richards was a little more direct, ‘We are living in houses built by the heathen and presented to us.” Within a grouping of six grass houses were “two … put up for our accommodation before our arrival.” (Leineweber, Mission Houses)

Levi Chamberlain (another member of the 2nd Company, noted, “Monday July 28 (1823.) The wind has been excessively strong today, rendering it very uncomfortable to go abroad, and indeed uncomfortable to be at home from the necessity of having the windows & doors of our houses shut to keep out the dust.”

“Mrs. Loomis, & Mrs. Bishop, & Mr. & Mrs. Ely were obliged to leave their thatched houses & come into the wood house to avoid the dust. which came into their houses in such abundance thay they could not remain with comfort.” (Levi Chamberlain Journal)

“The Hawaiian mode of building habitations was, in a measure, ingenious, and when their work was carefully executed, it was adapted to the taste of a dark, rude tribe, subsisting on roots, fish, and fruits, but by no means sufficient to meet their necessities, even in their mild climate.” (Hiram Bingham)

“(The frame of) the building assumes the appearance of a huge, rude bird cage. It is then covered with the leaf of the ki, pandanus, sugarcane, or more commonly (as in the case of the habitations for us) with grass bound on in small bundles, side by side, one tier overlapping another, like shingles.”

“A house thus thatched assumes the appearance of a long hay stack without, and a cage in a hay mow within. The area or ground within, is raised a little with earth, to prevent the influx of water, and spread with grass and mats, answering usually instead of floors, tables, chairs, sofas, and beds.”

“Such was the habitation of the Hawaiian, – the monarch, chief, and landlord, the farmer, fisherman, and cloth-beating widow, – a tent of poles and thatch-a rude attic, of one apartment on the ground-a shelter for the father, mother, larger and smaller children, friends and servants.” (Hiram Bingham)

Most Hawaiian family hale compounds had several special-purpose hale. This collection was called a kauhale. The household complex was the center of the Native Hawaiian family and household production of the necessities of life. Men and women’s activities took place in different areas. (Leineweber)

Missionary Row was Diamond Head side of the present wood frame building at Mission Houses – it fronted along what is now King Street.

The proposed Richard’s hale pili will be reproduction of a hale that Boki ordered built for the new missionaries arriving as the Second Company in 1823. The hale represents a bridge between cultures and represents support given to the missionaries by the host culture, and the cooperative relationship that existed between the chiefs and the missionaries.

Clarissa Richards dimensioned her house with “one room – 22 feet long and 12 feet wide” with a height of “12 feet from the ground to the ridge pole. … (It) had three windows, or rather holes cut through the thatching with close wooden shutters.” The door was “too small to admit a person walking in without stooping.” (Betsey Stockton)

The interior of each of the houses was one large room with no floors, but the “ground spread with mats.” Most of the furniture in each of the houses had arrived with the individual family in the reinforcement.

Clarissa Richards described the sleeping accommodation in her house, “Mats are fastened over and at the sides of our bed, except the front, which has a tappa curtain.” The rest of the furniture in the Richards’ House consisted of “a bed, two chairs, (one without a back,) a dozen trunks and boxes, and a couple of barrels.” Four large square trunks made a table. (Leineweber)

“Mr. R’s writing desk and the beautiful workbox presented by my beloved Cordelia. Over this table hangs a small looking glass – and on the other table (at) the other side of the window are arranged a few choice books, most of them testimonials of affection from absent friends.” (Clarissa Richards; Leineweber)

When William Richards and Charles Stewart left for Lahaina with Keōpūolani, Maria Loomis moved into one of the vacated houses. “Employed today in assisting Mrs Loomis to remove the furniture of her room into the thatched house recently occupied by Mr. Richards.”

In 1831 with Lorrin Andrews, Richards helped to build the high school at Lahainaluna on the slopes above Lahaina. In 1838 the king asked him to become a political adviser; he resigned his position with the mission and spent his time urging the improvement of the political system.

Richards was instrumental in helping to transform Hawai‘i into a modern constitutional state with a bill of rights (1839) and a constitution (1840). In 1842, he went abroad with Timoteo Haʻalilio as a diplomat seeking British, French and US acknowledgment of Hawaiian independence.

William Richards later became the Minister of Public Instruction in 1846 and worked with the legislature to make education a legal mandate.

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives is in the process of reconstructing the Richards hale pili. The Hale Pili o na Mikanele is a non-traditional hale, as many activities took place here and missionaries did not separate gender activities into different buildings.

The reconstructed hale pili will not use pili grass for the covering; instead a fire-retardant thatch panel will be used (it is situated next to the oldest wood frame house in the Islands.)

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L2R Ellis, Richards & Stewart-Stockton; Frame House-Kawaiahao
L2R Ellis, Richards & Stewart-Stockton; Frame House-Kawaiahao
Missionary Row-Chamberlain-Oct 11, 1820-TheFriend Oct 1925
Missionary Row-Chamberlain-Oct 11, 1820-TheFriend Oct 1925
Hale Pili o na Mikanele-Richards Hale-Section
Hale Pili o na Mikanele-Richards Hale-Section
Hale Pili o na Mikanele-Richards Hale-Location
Hale Pili o na Mikanele-Richards Hale-Location
Hale Pili o na Mikanele-Richards Hale-Floor Plan
Hale Pili o na Mikanele-Richards Hale-Floor Plan

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, William Richards, Hale Pili

July 16, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

When Was Hawai‘i Settled?

Various European explorers, traders, missionaries, and others – from Captain James Cook onwards – speculated about where the ancestors of the Hawaiians and other Polynesians came from, and about when they had made their migrations into and across the Pacific.

But the first to systematically compile a large body of empirical data relevant to these questions, and to lay out a formal argument and theory, was Abraham Fornander, primarily in his classic An Account of the Polynesian Race (1878–1885), but also in a posthumously published summary.

Fornander was not an archaeologist; he did not draw upon the material record of ancient sites or artifacts. Fornander, who became fluent in Hawaiian, regarded the Hawaiian traditions as historical accounts of real individuals.

He also realized that these accounts could be placed into a relative chronology using the genealogies of the chiefly lines which he also collected and analyzed. Fornander estimated Hawaiian settlement at around AD 450. Later, Emory, analyzing linguistics, proposed a date of around AD 1150.

Professional anthropology incorporating archaeology took hold in Polynesia in the early 20th century. Early on, archaeology lacked any direct methods for dating Polynesian sites or artifacts, and was largely relegated to the mapping of surface architecture. Oral traditions, along with detailed ethnographic comparisons, were the main sources for historical reconstruction.

Evidence for human settlement of an island or archipelago can come from two different sources: (1) direct artifactual evidence from human settlements such as sand dune occupations or rockshelters; and …

(2) indirect evidence in the form of proxy signals of anthropogenic disturbance, such as increases in charcoal fluxes in lake or swamp sediments, rapid changes in pollen frequencies in these sediments, or the appearance plants and animals that live near or benefit from association with humans (such as weeds, insects or rats.)

The invention of radiocarbon dating helped to spark a boom in Polynesian and Pacific archaeology. In the 1940s, Professor Willard F Libby and his associates developed radiocarbon dating – a method to measure the age of organic materials.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1960 was awarded to Libby “for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science”.

For radiocarbon dating to be possible, the material must once have been part of a living organism. This means that things like stone, metal and pottery cannot usually be directly dated by this means unless there is some organic material embedded or left as a residue.

Radiocarbon dating depended upon the discovery cosmic rays, which constantly bombard Earth and turn some carbon atoms in living tissue into radioactive isotope carbon-14. (University of Chicago)

The radiocarbon date tells us when the organism was alive (not when the material was used.) The dating process is always designed to try to extract the carbon from a sample which is most representative of the original organism.

The radiocarbon formed in the upper atmosphere is mostly in the form of carbon dioxide. This is taken up by plants through photosynthesis. Plant eating animals (herbivores and omnivores) get their carbon by eating plants. All animals in the food chain, including carnivores, get their carbon indirectly from plant material, even if it is by eating animals which themselves eat plants.

Once an organism dies the carbon is no longer replaced. Because the radiocarbon is radioactive, it will slowly decay away. There will usually be a loss of stable carbon too but the proportion of radiocarbon to stable carbon will reduce. (University of Chicago and University of Oxford)

Over the following decades, radiocarbon dating technology and techniques improved. While significant improvements were made, but the greatest advance came in 1977 with Richard A Muller’s use of accelerator mass spectrometry (atoms are converted into a beam of fast moving ions. The mass of these ions is then measured by the application of magnetic and electric fields.)

Equally important to the refinements in laboratory methods was the realization by archaeologists that they needed to pay close attention to the kinds of samples they submitted for dating.

This was especially the case for wood charcoal, perhaps the most commonly dated material from Polynesian sites. In the early years of radiocarbon dating, when the crude laboratory methods required large sample sizes, there was a tendency to select the largest pieces of charcoal.

The entire contents of hearths or earth ovens (often including tens or even hundreds of individual charcoal fragments) were often submitted in bulk to the dating laboratory.

The problem was that such samples in many cases included old growth timber, which had an ‘in built’ age that was potentially much older than the time at which the wood was actually burnt in the hearth or oven.

The date returned by the radiocarbon lab may have been an accurate indication of the age of the timber, but not of the ‘target date’ of human use of the site.

The most important step in developing new protocols for radiocarbon sample selection was the taxonomic identification of wood charcoal based on anatomical characteristics by comparison to a reference collection of known woody plant species for the particular region or island.

So, what does the updated technology and techniques show as the time of Hawaiian settlement in the Islands?

Dating of a number of key Eastern Polynesian sites, using AMS radiocarbon methods on better controlled (identified) samples has lent considerable support that the central archipelagoes of Eastern Polynesia did not begin to be settled until after AD 800 or later.

The ‘proxy’ paleo-environmental evidence for human presence in Hawai‘i, which for now comes almost exclusively from O‘ahu and Kauai Islands, leaves no doubt that human activities were creating significant disturbances on both of these islands by AD 1200. This then sets an upper bound on Polynesian settlement. The earliest dates on human introduced rat bones on O‘ahu are consistent with Polynesian arrival around AD 1000.

Re-dating of the site at Bellows, Waimānalo, O‘ahu puts the occupation of that small area at between AD 1040–1219. Obviously, this range falls closely between the lower and upper bounds indicated by the Eastern Polynesian chronologies and the paleo-environmental evidence.

Based on what we know now, it is suggested here that initial Polynesian discovery and settlement of the Hawaiian Islands occurred between approximately AD 1000 and 1200. (The bulk of the information here is from Kirch.)

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Ancient-Voyaging-Canoe-Herb_Kane
Ancient-Voyaging-Canoe-Herb_Kane

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Hawaii, Settlement, Voyaging

June 30, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Canoeing Nāpali in 1845

“The full moon was flooding with its light the grand mountains, the valley and the bay. Not a sound broke the stillness save the gentle splashing of the waves as they broke on the beach. A short walk brought me to the house where the crew of my canoe were sleeping.”

“At was with some difficulty that I roused them up, and got them to move along. … After a delay of an hour and a half, we shoved off through the surf and directed our course toward Waimea.”

“A light breeze sprang up, and the houses and beach of Hanalei were soon lost in the distance. The coast which we were passing was too dim for us to distinguish objects on shore, but as I had ridden past it shortly before, I did not particularly regret this.”

“The sun was just rising when we reached the point where the great Palis or precipices begin. These precipices are one of the grandest wonders of the Islands, but the danger of examining them on the passage deters many persons from visiting them.”

“There are those who will travel by land sixty miles around rather than sail these fifteen by canoe, and I was warned not to try. But with me curiosity was stronger than caution.”

“I must confess that when we passed the last landing, and were fairly entering on the dangerous part, I felt a little timid, for if any accident should happen, there was no help for us. The rocks rose perpendicularly from the water without any landing place, and if upset, the only hope would be the chance of being picked up by some passing canoe.”

“In fact a canoe making the passage was capsized a few days before and her cargo lost. The natives, however, are so expert that they have little or no fear at such times; the canoe was soon righted, and the man’s escape with his life was considered hardly worth talking about.”

“We had not sailed far along the pali, when we came near sharing a similar fate. By some careless maneuver of the natives, the out-rigger, which serves to balance the canoe, rose clear out of the water. In a moment more, if all hands had not thrown their weight on that side, we should have been in the sea. …”

“As the canoe passed on, the cliffs grew more and more lofty. The sea was smooth and there being no wind, our passage was pleasant, giving us an opportunity to examine the varying appearances of the pali. The sea was dashing up against the base of the precipice, and roaring through the caves, which have been worn by the constant action of the waves.”

“The summit of the mountain took the most wild and fantastic shapes. Sometimes sharp spires shot up hundreds of feet, and again a rounded battlement would present its front like a turreted citadel of feudal days, and then a deep valley but a few rods wide might be seen, shut in by steep walls.”

“It is no wonder that the natives give credence to the wild legends which are connected with various points of this range.”

“A few of these I will relate as they were repeated to me, while we sailed along, and served to beguile the tediousness of the voyage. As the canoe was passing a rock that seemed blackened by volcanic fires, the captain gave orders to stop, and to paddle close in to the rocks.”

“As we drew near, he pointed out an arch large enough to admit a small canoe. The water within, being confined, was agitated so that I did not care to venture in, but went near enough to see that it was a kind of volcanic chimney.”

“Its inner walls showed the effects of the mighty fires, and from an aperture on the top of the bluff, the light came straggling down, giving the place a weird look.”

“The tradition is that Pele came to these Islands from some foreign land, that Kauai was the first island that she visited, and that she landed at the very spot that I have just described. She tried the foundations of the Island, to ascertain if there was a sufficient quantity of food to be obtained, and this pit or chimney is the place where she descended.”

“She commenced her operations, but soon found that the water was in too close proximity for her convenience. For she and old Neptune were deadly enemies, and in their contests exhibited the fiercest rage, to the destruction of all who might be involved in it. Not liking this situation, she moved on from island to island, till she finally settled on Hawaii.”

“In another place two small, upright rocks are called “the children,” who, it is said, wandered up to the heights, and there perished from thirst, were deified, and became objects of worship.”

“When we had passed about two-thirds of the pali we came to a little bay making in between two arms or points of land, on the shore of which we noticed several canoes, and a few miserable huts.”

“As the morning was well advanced, I consented that the men should land to refresh themselves with rest and food, and while they were doing this I strolled around to see the place. It would answer well for a place of detention, for there is no visible way of ingress or egress except by water, and yet there is a way for those who have sufficient nerve to brave the danger.”

“As we came along, I had noticed a sort of ladder placed against the face of the cliff, for the purpose of reaching the heights above. A native presented himself as a guide, and I let him lead the way. Starting off, I had no doubt that I was going to ascend the ladder at once, but I had taken but a few steps before I found myself halting and reconnoitering.”

“The way which had appeared so easy, now showed itself full of danger. The path has been excavated by the natives with their rude tools, from the face of an overhanging cliff. It is not a level, but is formed like a gouge turned edgewise, so that one’s hold is very precarious.”

“It is also too low to dmit of any other than a stooping posture, and I was obliged to shuffle along with the utmost caution. My guide seemed quite at home, as he stood upright outside of me, with his body projecting beyond the surface of the cliff, and encouraged me on.”

“I had taken off my shoes, and by degrees had worked myself two-thirds past, when I rested for a survey. There I was, my chief support a little projecting stone, not sufficient to afford a hold for my whole foot, and my hands clinging with a death grasp to the rock, and in this situation overhanging a gulf, that was foaming and boiling, as the surf broke over the rocks some sixty or seventy feet below me, and which would have proved my death place, if I had made the least mistake or slip.”

“I had strong curiosity to go forward, but discretion prevailed, and I returned. I was then told that few white men had gone as far as I had, and that none had ever passed up the ladder. Taking a less dangerous standpoint, I took occasion to examine the ladder. It is made of trunks of two cocoanut trees, one of which stands against the cliff, and the other out from it, like planting the side of a ladder against a house.”

“The outer stick is well secured with ropes, and is the only means of communication between above and below. The natives pass up by it, even with a load, as unconcerned as if passing by the best bridge. It is surprising to see even the children pass it free and unconcerned, as if on level ground. I can only wonder that there is not an accident every day.”

“A few rods back from the beach rise the cliffs, in some places perpendicular for 500 feet, forming an amphitheater. Along the base on one side are ranged the houses, which form a striking contrast with the black mass of rock rising behind them.”

“All their food comes from above, where it is said there is a fine valley (Nualolo,) which the feet of white men have never profaned. Here, shut out from all intruders, they live in peace and happiness, such as it is—pleasure today—borrow no thought for tomorrow.”

“When His Majesty passes around the island, he stops here for a part or the whole of the night, to see an exhibition of fire works, got up for his entertainment. It consists in throwing light poles, which have been set on fire, from a lofty peak (Kamaile) overlooking the sea. If skillfully thrown, they will go along distance, making a pretty show. The natives sometimes take a large bird, and set it off with some burning substance attached to it.”

“This little bay is the gathering place for canoes passing between Waimea and Hanalei, as well as for those that go over to the island of Niihau, which can be seen here at a distance of about 25 miles.”

“Having spent about an hour at this place, we again took our seats in the canoe, and continued our voyage towards Waimea. Our company was now increased to four canoes, ours being the largest, and there was something of a contest as to which should lead, but I believe that when so inclined, we could distance the others. The three other canoes were bound for Niihau. “

“One of them was quite small, containing only three persons, a man and two women, who handled their paddles like professional rowers.”

“The top of the canoe was covered with mats firmly secured, with openings left just large enough to admit their bodies, but at best it was a slight affair to stand the rough seas in the channel.”

“As we were passing by a very high bank, I noticed the figure of a native sketched upon it. This was very distinct, its limbs, its brown skin and a white cloth wrapped around its loins, and reminded me of rocks found at home, which had been marked by the Indians. I was quite surprised when a shrill whistle and a beckoning movement of one arm dispelled the illusion. It was a young native who was standing against the face of the rock, watching us.”

“After paddling five or six hours, including stops, we passed the further extremity of the Palis in safety, and the whole appearance of the land immediately changed—from lofty and fantastic peaks and precipices to a barren, uninteresting sand beach, on which we tried to land for water, but found the surf too heavy. … “

“Meanwhile there was not a breath of wind, the sun was pouring down his scorching rays, and the sea like a mirror reflected them with blinding intensity. The men, however, seemed perfectly indifferent as to the length of the voyage.”

“For an hour we had a most disagreeable sail along a monotonous sand flat. At last we came in sight of the cocoanut trees near Waimea, and I urged the men, but in vain. Suddenly a strong wind arose.”

“The sea was soon running very high and covered with white-caps, and every few minutes it broke over us, half filling the canoe. … It having become dangerous to proceed, I ordered that the canoe should be beached, which was done with difficulty and danger, but we were safe. Waimea was nine miles away, and the distance had to be walked.

“About 4 o’clock p. m. I arrived, tired and hungry, at the hospitable residence of Rev. S. Whitney, the missionary of this station, where a most cordial welcome, a good bath and a warm supper did much to refresh me.”

“I had been twelve hours in the canoe, where I could neither lie down nor sit up with any degree of comfort, and as I had expected to be at Waimea to breakfast, I had not brought any food with me except a few dry crackers.”

“Besides, after the wind rose and particularly in getting ashore, I was wet through. But after a good night’s rest I rose quite refreshed. After breakfast Mr. Whitney showed me his vineyard, which is the best on this island.”

“The first plants were introduced by the Russians.” (The information here is completely from an account made by Gorham D Gilman, canoeing across the Nāpali Coast of Kauai, August 19, 1845.)

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Na-Pali-Coast-Kauai

Filed Under: Place Names, General, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Kauai, Na Pali, Napali

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