Douglas Fir | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

“David Douglas was born at Scone, near Perth, in 1799, being the son of John Douglas and Jean Drummond, his wife. His father was a stone mason, possessed of good abilities and a store of general information, rarely surpassed by persons in his sphere of life.”

“His family consisted of three daughters and as many sons, of whom, the subject of this notice was the second. At about three years of age he was sent to a school in the village … At the parish school of Kinnoul, kept by Mr. Wilson, whither he was soon sent, David Douglas evinced a similar preference to fishing and bird-nesting over book leaning …”

“His boyish days were not remarkable for any particular incidents. Like others at his time of life he was lively and active, and never failed of playing his part in the usual sports of the village. A taste for rambling, and much fondness for objects of natural history being, however, very strongly evinced.”

“From his earliest years nothing, it is said, gave Douglas so much delight as conversing about travelers and foreign countries, and the books which pleased him best were Sinbad the Sailor and Robinson Crusoe.”

“In the gardens of the Earl of Mansfield, he served a seven years’ apprenticeship, during which time it is admitted by all who knew him, that no one could he more industrious and anxious to excell than he was …”

“… his whole heart and mind being devoted to the attainment of a thorough knowledge of his business … he acquired the taste for botanical pursuits which he so ardently followed in after life.”

“Having completed the customary term in the ornamental department, he was moved to the forcing and kitchen garden, in the affairs of which he appeared to take as lively an interest as he had previously done in those of the flower garden.”

“Lee’s Introduction to Botany and Don’s Catalogue, his former text books, if they may be so termed, were now laid aside, and Nicol’s Gardener’s Calendar taken in their stead.”

Douglas was recommended “to Joseph Sabine, Esq., the Honorary Secretary of the Horticultural Society, as a botanical collector; and to London he directed his course accordingly in the spring of 1823.”

“His first destination was China, but intelligence having about that time been received of a rupture between the British and Chinese, he was despatched in the latter end of May, to the United States, where he procured many fine plants, including a large number of specimens of various oaks, and greatly increased the society’s collection of fruit trees.” (Sir William Jackson Hooker; Wilson)

“David Douglas has no rival as a collector of Northwest plants. He introduced thousands of them to Europe, some 215 of which were new, and many were named for him. He noted 7,032 in totaling his mileage for the two years of his first expedition, April 1825-April 1827, and another time mentioned adding some 7,000 distinct species of flowering plants to the collection—a plant a mile, it might be said.”

Of note, “He laid in specimens of pinus taxifolia (Douglas fir) with pine cones which were eventually distributed to nurserymen and to fellows of the Horticultural Society to plant on their estates. He even sent samples (two planks 20 feet long) of this durable, tough, straight-grained wood that is unsurpassed in the qualities that render lumber most valuable.”

“It has become on the one hand, the world’s greatest structural timber—the most important tree in the American lumber trade—and on the other, the favorite Christmas tree in millions of homes.”

“Upon his return to London, (1827-1829) Douglas was feted and honored, and made a fellow of several learned societies. He wrote a number of professional papers and was given a “handsome offer” by John Murray for a book of his travels; his portrait was painted by Sir Daniel Macnee and hung at Kew.”

“For a time he enjoyed being a celebrity and the distinguished plant hunter, Mr. David Douglas. One of his great pleasures was to walk about the gardens of the Horticultural Society and see his flourishing seedlings.”

“But Douglas was soon impatient to be back at work, so the summer of 1830 he spent once more botanizing along the Columbia. The Indians these days were surly and becoming more war-like as they realized the white men had come to take their thousand-year-old homeland from them.”

“In December, Douglas went on to California, where he remained for 19 months. But in spite of much travel he had to note, ‘my whole collection this year (1830) in California was about 500 species, a little more or less. This is vexatiously small.’” (Gould; Vassar)

“It was while he was at Monterey that he acquired the title ‘Doctor.’ A boy had been injured, and there was no medical person in the area. Douglas was able to set the boy’s broken arm and so earned the title ‘Doctor.’” (Greenwell)

“In the summer of 1833 he went with a brigade to the Fraser River country and there had a disaster which seriously affected his eyes and his health. He had in mind a trip across Russia, botanizing byway of Sitka, but returning to Fort Vancouver he had an accident.”

“At the Stoney Islands (now Fort George Canyon) on the Fraser, his canoe was dashed to pieces while shooting the rapids. Douglas was in the whirlpool an hour and forty minutes before being washed unconscious onto the rocky shore.”

“He lost everything—notes—specimens and equipment. Sick and discouraged he took a ship via California for Hawaii.” (Gould) “In Hawai‘i, he was called kauka, the Hawaiian word for doctor.” (Greenwell)

“As Douglas recuperated from his rheumatism and eye troubles in Hawaii, he botanized again. In 10 days he had a ‘truly splendid collection’ of some 50 species. The giant ferns especially awakened his admiring comment. In the crater of a volcano he found the Silver Sword plant which is named for him.”

“In his enthusiasm for Hawaii he wrote, ‘One day here is worth a year of common existence.’ It was while waiting for a ship to take him to England that Douglas met the Rev. John Diell. They enjoyed climbing and botanizing together and early in July agreed to meet in Hilo on the Island of Hawaii.”

“The morning of July 12, 1834, he was crossing the north side of Manna Kea, when about six in the morning he appeared at the hut of Ned Gurney who was an English runaway convict from Botany Bay.”

“After breakfast, Douglas walked for about three quarters of an hour along the path. Gurney claimed he had warned Douglas to watch out for three bull pits ahead.”

“It was a native custom to trap the wild long-horned Spanish cattle by digging pits and covering them with brush. Douglas passed safely by the three pits, then retraced his steps to the third pit. When some natives came by later in the morning, they first saw the feet of a man sticking out of a mass of rubbish and stones.”

“A bull was already entrapped in the pit and the angry beast was standing on the chest of the young plant-hunter. … A suspicion of murder became so strong that it was eventually decided to pack the body in salt and take it to Consul Charlton at Honolulu, on Oahu. There was considerable evidence. The horns of the bullock were blunt and could not make such deep gashes.”

“Thus ended 9 years of botanical adventure along the Pacific for David Douglas. His death at 35 is one of the tragedies of botanical history. But in his short span of life, as one scientist wrote …

“‘No other explorer personally made more discoveries, or described more genera or species. No other collector of rare plants ever reaped such a harvest or associated his name with so many economically useful and beautiful plants as David Douglas.’” (Gould; Vassar)

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) from the northeast United States, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Hawaiian Islands. Four young Hawaiians joined the Pioneer Company.

They were, Hopu (Thomas Hopu) ‘ Hopoo’; Kanui (William Kanui) ‘Tennooe’; Humehume (George Prince) ‘Tamoree’ and Honoli‘i (John Honoli‘i) ‘Honoree’.

“The Hawaiian boys who came back with the missionaries … were able to reassure the Hawaiian people as to the friendliness of the relations between America and Hawaii and to serve as guides to the missionaries upon their arrival.” (Kamakau, Ka Nupepa Ku‘oko‘a, Jan 4, 1868; Ruling Chiefs)

Honoli‘i had arrived in Boston in the fall of 1815. He came over in a ship belonging to Messrs. Ropes & Co merchants of Boston. He was taken on board the ship by the consent of his friends, and replaced a sailor, who died before the ship arrived at Hawai‘i. He was curious and wanted to see the world.

“A place was soon found for him at the Rev. Mr. Vaill’s of Guilford, where he began to learn the first rudiments of the English language. Messrs. Ropes & Co., in whose ship he came to this country, not only cheerfully released him for the purpose of being educated, but very generously gave one hundred dollars towards the expense of his education.”

“He was ignorant of our language. And of every species of learning or religion, when he began to study. In about six months he began to read in a broken manner in the Bible. In the mean time, he also learned to write, which cost him but little time or labour. … He is industrious, faithful, and persevering, not only in his studies, but in whatever business he undertakes.” (ABCFM)

Honoli‘I enrolled in the Cornwall school in 1817. His teachers considered him to be mild-mannered and industrious. He was also thought to be “tactful, persevering, and faithful.” (Morris & Benedetto)

Honoli‘i became a valuable Hawaiian language instructor because, having come at a later age (about 19), he still had good command of his native tongue. He also won praise for his considerable vigor and intellect and his discreet and stately deportment. (Kelley)

Back in the Islands, “The king Kaumualii appears exceedingly interested in what he now learns from the bible through the interpretation of Honolii.” (Sybil Bingham)

Then, David Douglas visited the Hawaiian Islands. Douglas first visited in 1830, on his way from England to the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. On this brief visit, he climbed several peaks on O’ahu and was “splendidly” entertained by “Madame Boki”, the wife of the governor.

Douglas left the Columbia region in December of 1830 and traveled to California. He visited Hawai‘i a second time in September of 1832 enroute from Monterey in California to the Columbia River. He was in the Islands for just a few short weeks; he returned to Honolulu in December of 1833.

“I arrived here on the 23rd of December, and after spending Christmas Day with two English ladies, the wife of our Consul, Mr. Charlton, and her sister, I started on the 27th for the island of Hawaii, which I reached on the 2nd of January, 1834.”

“You know I have long had this tour in contemplation, and having spent three winter months in botanizing here, I proceed to give you a short notice of my proceedings.” (Douglas; Greenwell)

When Douglas was exploring Hawai‘i in 1833 and 1834, he knew Honoli‘i and deemed him a friend as well as a guide. Honoli‘i accompanied Douglas on several ascents of Mauna Kea. It is clear the Honoli‘i was still practicing his faith: on one of their trips the Douglas party stopped at Kapapala where Honoli‘i preached at the Sunday service. (Morris & Benedetto)

“Honoli‘i had probably been chosen as a guide because of his command of the English language. He had spent a number of years in America and had returned to Hawai‘i … in 1820. Douglas referred to Honoli‘i as ‘my guide, friend, and interpreter, Honori, an intelligent and well-disposed fellow’”. (Greenwell)

They first made their way up Mauna Kea; Douglas next visited Kilauea crater and ascended Mauna Loa, again traveling with Honoli’i and a large retinue of Hawaiians.

Douglas’s little terrier, Billy, accompanied him on these trips and in all his travels. The botanist once wrote in his journal: “my old terrier, a most faithful and now to judge from his long grey beard, venerable friend, who has guarded me throughout all my journies, and whom, should I live to return”. (Memoir of David Douglas-in Companion to the Botanical Magazine Vol II-1836)

Honoli‘i was not with Douglas when he died on Mauna Kea, in a bullock pit. On July 12, 1834, while exploring the Island; “Douglas, a scientific traveller from Scotland, in the service of the London Horticultural Society, lost his life in the mountains of Hawaii, in a pitfall, being gored and trampled to death by a wild bullock captured there. (Bingham)

“It was a native custom to trap the wild long-horned Spanish cattle by digging pits and covering them with brush. … When some natives came by later in the morning, they first saw the feet of a man sticking out of a mass of rubbish and stones.”

“A bull was already entrapped in the pit and the angry beast was standing on the chest of the young plant-hunter. … Thus ended 9 years of botanical adventure along the Pacific for David Douglas. His death at 35 is one of the tragedies of botanical history. But in his short span of life, as one scientist wrote …”

Honoli‘i died in February 1838. David Douglas was buried in the native churchyard of Kawaiaha‘o Church in Honolulu; Honoli‘i was buried in the cemetery of Ka‘ahumanu Church at Wailuku, Maui.