Hawaii | Page 251 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 3, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Fort Armstrong

Fort Armstrong was located at Honolulu and was built on fill over Kaʻākaukukui reef in 1907 to protect Honolulu Harbor. It had one named Battery, and was spread over an area of 64.34 acres (6 acres being upland and the balance submerged lands.)

Kaʻākaukukui (the right (or north) light – and also called ‘Ākaukukui) was an original name for Kakaʻako.

Marshland, reef, salt pans and traditional fish ponds existed in this area. The entire shoreline was a coral wasteland bordered by mudflats. According to an 1885 survey map, the ‘ili of Kaʻākaukukui was awarded by land court to Victoria Kamāmalu; Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop inherited the land and it later became part of the Kamehameha Schools.

In 1898, the property was transferred to the United States by the Republic of Hawaiʻi under the joint resolution of annexation and, to protect the mouth of Honolulu Harbor, the US Army filled a submerged coral reef on the ‘Ewa side of Ka’ākaukukui for a gun emplacement.

In January 1905, President Teddy Roosevelt instructed Secretary of War William H Taft to convene the National Coast Defense Board (Taft Board) “to consider and report upon the coast defenses of the United States and the insular possessions (including Hawai‘i.)”

In 1906 the Taft Board recommended a system of Coast Artillery batteries to protect Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. Between 1909-1921, the Hawaiian Coast Artillery Command had its headquarters at Fort Ruger and defenses included artillery regiments stationed at …

… Fort Armstrong, Fort Barrette, Fort DeRussy, Diamond Head, Fort Kamehameha, Kuwa‘aohe Military Reservation (Fort Hase – later known as Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi) and Fort Weaver.

The District was renamed Headquarters Coast Defenses of Oʻahu sometime between 1911 and 1913. Following World War I and until the end of World War II, additional coastal batteries were constructed throughout the Island.

Fort Armstrong, built in 1907, was named for Brigadier General Samuel C Armstrong. His father, Reverend Richard Armstrong (1805-1860,) had arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1832 and later replaced Hiram Bingham as pastor at Kawaiahaʻo Church (1840-1843.) In 1848, Armstrong (the father) left the mission and became Hawaiʻi’s minister of public education.

Armstrong (the son – namesake of the Fort) was born January 30, 1839 in Maui, Hawaii, the sixth of ten children. He attended Punahou School and later volunteered to serve in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

At the end of the war, Armstrong established the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute – now known as Hampton University – in Hampton, Virginia in 1868. Perhaps the best student of Armstrong’s Hampton-style education was Booker T Washington. Samuel Chapman Armstrong died at the Hampton Institute on May 11, 1893, and is buried in the Hampton University Cemetery.

The original garrison at Fort Armstrong was the 1st Coast Artillery Company, followed by the 104th Mine Co. operating the harbor mines. Also stationed there was the 185th Coast Artillery Company.

They lived in tents for quite a long time; then temporary barracks were built – wooden structures that were continually occupied since January, 1914. Buildings are constructed of 1 x 12 rough boards, with tar-paper roofs.

The facility later had a barracks, 4 officers’ quarters, 3 noncommissioned officers’ quarters, administration building and post exchange, guardhouse, fire apparatus house, quartermaster storehouse, gymnasium and related infrastructure; the standard strength was 109 men.

Battery Tiernon at Fort Armstrong was armed with two pedestal mounted 3-inch Guns from 1911 to 1943.

The first service practice ever held at Battery Tiernon, using the 3-inch guns, was August 30, 1913. “Two 10-by-24 foot material targets were towed from right to left, facing the field of fire from a position at the B.C. station. … only one target was fired upon, viz: Four shots by the first manning detail and then four shots by the second manning detail. This was due to the fact that when the left target had almost reached the inner allowable limit of range at which practice may be held (1,500-yards) the right target was just beginning to be obscured by a dredge working in the outer channel.”

The Army mission in Hawaiʻi was defined in 1920 as “the defense of Pearl Harbor Naval Base against damage from naval or aerial bombardment or by enemy sympathizers and attack by enemy expeditionary force or forces, supported or unsupported by an enemy fleet or fleets.”

Fort Armstrong continued under the Coast Artillery program until September 15, 1922.

It was reserved for military purposes by a series of Executive Orders in 1930 and was described as the Fort Armstrong Military Reservation.

The present seawall was constructed 500-feet out from the original shoreline in 1948, and the area was backfilled. The Army Corps of Engineers took over the post in 1949. Kakaʻako Park was created over the landfill area.

On December 13, 1951, because the site was no longer needed by the military and was needed by the Territory of Hawaiʻi for harbor improvements, President Truman transferred the land to the Territory of Hawaiʻi.

Today, the site includes Piers 1 and 2 and has container and general cargo berths, warehouses, sheds, open paved storage areas for container back up and marshaling and Foreign Trade Zone No. 9. The area also contains the US Immigration Station, the Department of Health Building, and the Ala Moana Pumping Station (all historic buildings.)

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January 2, 2020 by Peter T Young 4 Comments

Did The Mongoose Idea Work?

OK – in reading this, remember, this discussion is not in defense of the mongoose – nor whether the importation was a good idea.

Rather, it is addressing the age-old urban legend about the apparent conflicting activity habits of each. I repeatedly hear that mongoose don’t kill rats – primarily because their activity times are different.

Contrary to the diurnal (behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night)/nocturnal (behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day) conflict between the mongoose and rat – and apparent loss of the predator-prey relationship – reporting at the time of the introduction of the mongoose state sugar producers saw a marked reduction in the pesky rats in their plantations.

Pacific Sugar Mill on the Hāmākua Coast had the distinction of introducing the first mongoose into Hawaiʻi. In 1883, WH Purvis imported them from India and Africa for rat control on the plantation.

Later, Joseph Marsden (‘Mongoose Joe,’) former Commissioner of Agriculture, is credited with expanding the import. “He brought the little animal from Jamaica, where it had the reputation of a good rat exterminator”. (Hawaiian Gazette, March 16, 1906)

“At that time there were considerable portions of our cane fields that were so badly damaged by rats that they were not worth harvesting and now rat eaten cane is almost unknown.” (HA Baldwin – Maui News, August 5, 1921)

“The ravages of rats in the cane fields of Hāmākua previous to the introduction of the mongoose were so alarming as to cause fears that cane culture would have to be abandoned. As soon as a cane field was planted it seemed to be a new breeding ground for the rats, which appeared to exist by the hundreds of thousands.” (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1898)

“The next importation was by the Hilo planters, who in 1883 sent Mr. Jonathan Tucker to Jamaica in the West Indies to procure mongoose for them. Mr. Tucker returned with 72 mongoose in good condition, which were liberated in the cane fields in Hilo. They soon increased in numbers, and the ravages of the rats correspondingly diminished.” (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1898)

“The planters of Hāmākua, hearing of the good work done by the mongoose in Hilo, decided to import some on their own account (in 1885.”) (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1898)

“Many people feel that the mongoose has failed as an enemy of the rat, but the records, both in Hawaiʻi and Jamaica, indicate that the rats have been reduced to an appreciable extent by the mongoose.” (Maui News, August 12, 1921)

“Evidence in favor of the mongoose may be seen today in Kauaʻi. The mongoose has not been introduced on that island, and the rat menace is in general more serious there than it is with the other islands of Hawaiʻi.” (The Garden Island, August 23, 1921)

In less than two years after the importation of the mongoose, the rats were so diminished that it was and is now a rare thing to see a stick of cane that is eaten, and the plantations have so extended their plantations that they now grind nearly all the year, giving employment to double and treble the number of hands with a corresponding benefit to the trade of Honolulu. (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1895)

“When they set the mongoose to work he soon cleaned the cane fields of mice and then went for the rats which speedily met a similar fate. Having exterminated all those he next went for eggs next for chickens and then he went for the henroosts and fowls.” (The Independent, April 25, 1898)

“There is no doubt that the mongoose has saved the planters of Hāmākua thousands of dollars. In former years it was no uncommon thing to see one-fourth and even one-half of the cane left on the fields, the rats having rendered that portion unfit for grinding by eating the stalks near the ground.” (The Garden Island, August 23, 1921)

“The drawback to the Mongoose is that he does not confine his menu to rats but varies it with all kinds of barnyard fowl and eggs and also ground-nesting game birds form a good part of his dietary. Another regrettable thing about him is that he is very fond of our field lizards or skinks which have an important part to play in the ‘balance of nature.’” (HA Baldwin – Maui News, August 5, 1921)

“These lizards feed on ticks among other things and since the advent of the Mongoose and the consequent scarcity of lizards ticks have become a bothersome pest to stock raisers. Ticks, however, in sufficient quantities are said to be deadly to the Mongoose and to keep him down in numbers.” (HA Baldwin – Maui News, August 5, 1921)

“The lizard is the natural enemy of bugs and insects including mosquitoes, as he lives on nothing else and never in any way harms plant life. When I first came to the Kona district in 1886, the country was well stocked with lizards and all kinds of fruits were growing in pro fusion.” (Coerper – Maui News, April 15, 1905)

“Kitchen gardens contained cabbages, tomatoes and all other varieties of vegetables which were free from insect pests; and while the leaf hopper could be found in the canefields he was kept so well in check by the lizard that he never caused any trouble.” (Coerper – Maui News, April 15, 1905)

“But later on when the mongoose came, he commenced a campaign of destruction on the lizard with the result that the lizard decreased and the pests increased to such an extent that today almost nothing can be raised in the district and fruit trees that used to bear a heavy crop of fruit are now barren and pest ridden.” (Coerper – Maui News, April 15, 1905)

OK, again, before anyone goes off on the consequence to native birds, etc, remember the context of this summary –it’s about whether mongoose rid rats from the cane fields.

I prepared this because, until looking closer into it, I, too, believed that because of the diurnal/nocturnal relationship, they never saw each other. However, based on the reports back then, from the sugar planters’ perspective, it worked; damage due to rats gnawing at the sugar was reduced to a level of nominal impact.

Unfortunately, like many other bad decisions that were made before adequate analysis of unintended consequences, the mongoose is negatively impacting many other areas in our Islands … and, except for some remnant operations, sugar (and its problems with rats) is effectively gone.

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December 30, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ali‘i Gifts to the Missionaries

In pre-contact Hawaiian culture, cooking was done by men, men and women ate in separate hale, and certain “male” foods were forbidden to women. Everything was based upon the ‘ai kapu (eating or food kapu). The ‘ai kapu ended in November of 1819 when King Kamehameha II ate with Ka‘ahumanu and Keōpūolani and let them eat forbidden foods ‘ai noa, free eating, and the kapu came to an end.

Like New England though, there was a gendered division of labor in pre-contact Hawai‘i. The labor of clearing fields and digging up the land was done by men, while the actual planting of plants was usually done by women.

Hawaiian food crops included: sweet potato, kalo, bananas, sugar cane, ‘awa, yam (uhi), arrowroot (pia) coconut, breadfruit (ulu), mountain apple, and bitter gourds. Other plants that Hawaiians cultivated were ‘ie and olona for fiber and cordage, wauke for making kapa, and many other plants and vegetables. The staple food was kalo. Kalo was made into poi and pa‘i ‘ai. It was also baked, roasted, and fried. Other foods included luau leaf, chicken, pig, and dog. (Smola)

The missionaries had to adapt to a new diet; for the most part, the missionaries had a very Hawaiian diet. Fish (i‘a), taro (kalo), poi, pigs (pua‘a), chickens (moa), bananas (mai‘a), sweet potatoes (‘uala) were regular parts of the missionary diet. (HMCS)

In addition, the missionary diet included: melons, squashes, cabbages, cucumbers, green corn, beans, fresh pork, goat, goat’s milk, bread, rice, mountain apples, bananas, pineapples, butter, wine, plus spices such as cinnamon and allspice, beef, and fish. Also, the missionaries ate New England foods shipped to them: dried apple rings, sea biscuits, salted beef and pork, and things made from wheat flour. (Smola)

Some food came from the missionaries buying food with money, from trading or bartering items like cloth and books, and from agricultural land given to the mission. The items of New England food that they got came by supply shipments from the ABCFM usually brought out in whale ships or merchant ships that were already headed to Hawai‘i or were brought here to be planted once the missionaries landed. (HMCS)

Much of the food came in the form of gifts from the ali‘i. According to the account books, these gifts of food from the ali‘i occurred virtually daily for over 10 years. (HMCS)

This meticulous listing of ‘Donations’ (as Chamberlain labeled his list in his account book), shows the regular interactions between the ali‘i and the missionaries – as well as the constant conveyance of gifts. Click to see the attachment that shows a later listing of food and other donations to the mission.

Notable names on the prior and following listing include, Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III), Ka‘ahumanu and Kalanimōku (noted as Karaimoku in the account books). You can also see here that others contributed, as did Captain Osborne (10-gallons of cider on November 24, 1825).

“(T)he missionaries described a seemingly endless bounty of provisions. The gifts were undeniably generous; their quantity and abundance attested to this.”

“In the first weeks and months after their arrival, missionaries received a host of gifts, ranging from fruit to potatoes and sugar cane to an ‘elegant’ fly brush. The gifts that ali‘i provided to American missionaries during the initial stages of contact suggest the political and diplomatic savvy developed in the decades leading up to the missionaries’ arrival.”

“(G)ift giving and generosity appeared as a means by which ali‘i might engage in a display of mana – that is, divine power. In the extension of gifts, Hawaiian royalty provided not just for the needs of their guests but, in the process, simultaneously created a debt between themselves and the missionaries while enhancing their own status.” The missionaries developed a reciprocal gift-giving relationship.

“(M)issionaries were well aware of the ways in which the gift of clothing might allow them to begin in earnest the process of transforming and converting the Hawaiian people. Additionally, they hoped to win the favor of the Hawaiian people through the strategic placement of things”.

“(A)s the mission period progressed (the) missionaries developed a close association with ali‘i …“The relationships constituted around gift giving and exchange created a necessary favorable link between American missionaries and ali‘i in this period.” (Thigpen)

Check out the Mission Account Books for yourself; click HERE.

Click HERE for more information on Gifts from the Ali‘i.

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Portion of Depository Book-Gifts-Donations

Portion of Depository-Book-Gifts-Donations

December 29, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Did The Early Hawaiians Have Iron?

Hawaiian stone tools came in a variety of shapes and sizes, and likewise served a variety of needs. They were traditionally used to scrape, chop, carve, chisel, gouge, perforate and strip.

Stone tools for food-related uses include the poi pounder (used to crush taro and pounded into poi) and mortars & pestles (mortar bowls and stick-shaped pestles crushed seaweed, nuts, leaves and other products used for food, dyes and medicines.)

Other stone tools eased work, such as adzes (smaller ones to slice like a knife; larger ones to carve wood for canoes or idols, as well as to fell trees, dig, scrape, chip or strip.)

Stone tools also assisted in fishing; stone components were used in lures to catch many types of fish and squid. In addition to use in making weapons, stone tools were shaped into clubs, axes, sling stones and other lethal weapons.

We are generally aware of the extensive use and nature of stone tools that the Hawaiians had and used. But, did they also have and use iron tools – if so, how did they get them?

It turns out iron knives were found in the hands of Hawaiians on Kauaʻi on Captain Cook’s first visit in 1778. Iron, crafted into various shapes, was observed on other islands, as well.

Cook noted that the people he met on Kauaʻi were not “acquainted with our commodities, except iron; which however, it was plain, they had … in some quantity, brought to them at some distant period. … They asked for it by the name of hamaite.”

It is interesting to note that a Spanish word for iron ore is “Hematitas”. … Hmmm.

Journals and other accounts by Cook and his officers aboard the Discovery and Resolution, note they observed five pieces of iron.

Of these, the two iron skewers or daggers seen at Maui are believed to have been ship spike nails that they reshaped.

A third piece was a dagger made from a ship’s bolt which was floated in wreckage to Kauaʻi about October, 1778.

Cook’s vessels were at Kauai only a few days in January 1778. When they returned thirteen months later, Samwell and Edgar observed that the Hawaiians had made a dagger from an iron bolt which had been drifted ashore with wreckage five months before.

Edgar remarked: “It was very well beat out into the form of their own wooden daggers.” The Hawaiian wooden dagger, as then described, was pointed at one end and, at the other, perforated for a cord for attachment to the wrist. (Stokes)

Edgar continued: “we saw a great many daggers beat out of our long spike nails we left here last year.” (Stokes)

Crew journals also note two knives, which have subsequently been identified as Japanese. One was a fish knife, always carried on Japanese sampans; the other was a fish and vegetable knife, generally carried on sampans.

Captain Clerke’s record (Jan. 23, 1778) notes, “This morning one of the midshipmen purchased of the natives a piece of iron lashed into a handle for a cutting instrument; it seems to me a piece of the blade of a cutlass; it has by no means the appearance of a modern acquisition; it looks to have been a good deal used and long in its present state; the midshipman … demanded of the man where he got it; the Indian pointed away to the SE ward, where he says there is an island called Tai, from whence it came.” (Stokes)

On the second visit of the ships (1779), Ms. W Bayly ascertained that all the iron seen in the hands of the Kauaʻi natives had floated ashore in wreckage, a statement which Edgar also made on his second visit after a close enquiry of one of the chiefs.

Referring back to the midshipman’s information, it may be noted that there is no island named Tai to the south-east of Waimea, Kauai, where the matter was discussed, and since tai (kai) is the term for “sea” and the current sweeps up to Waimea from the south-east, it therefore appears that the implement was floated in, from the sea.

It turns out that among practically all the Polynesians, as recorded by the European voyagers, iron was immediately recognized and was by far the most desired commodity which the foreigners could supply.

When Cook returned to Hawaiʻi the ships were supplied with fresh provisions which were paid for mainly with iron, much of it in the form of iron daggers made by the ships’ blacksmiths on the pattern of the wooden pāhoa used by the Hawaiians.

The natives were permitted to watch the ships’ blacksmiths at work and from their observations gained information of practical value about the working of iron. (Kuykendall)

This apparent widespread knowledge of iron might imply a common and ancient Polynesian acquaintance with the metal.

A fair conclusion would be that the Hawaiians (and probably all other Polynesians) were not iron smelters, and their acquaintance with iron was limited to the finished material made by other people.

So, it appears evident, before Cook’s contact with the islands, the Hawaiian already had, used and wanted more iron – to make tools and weapons (principally to shape into knives.)

In answering the obvious follow-up question – Where did it come from? – we need simply recall our existing apprehension of the recent and coming debris from the Japan tsunami, as well as the ongoing volunteer activity by thousands across the State clearing our shorelines of marine debris.

As noted in historic records, examination of the flotsam on the windward beaches of the islands reveals principally logs from the north-west coast of America and floats from Japan.

After comparing and considering the possibilities in 1778, it is probable that floating pieces of shipwrecks and other marine debris, from Japan and elsewhere, were the more likely sources of the iron.

While the early Hawaiians benefitted from iron materials, as part of the marine debris floating onto the Islands, the matter of marine debris, beyond that associated with the Japan tsunami, is an ongoing concern in Hawaiʻi. (Most of the information here is from a report prepared by John FG Stokes – Hawaiian Historical Society.)

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December 28, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani

Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani (‘the observant cover of the heavens’) was a demigod who had come to Hawaiʻi from (Kahiki) Tahiti with the fire goddess Pele and her followers.

When the followers made their home at Kahana, Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani was sent to the ridge as a watchman to protect the valley – he was turned to stone.

While Hi‘iaka the goddess (Pele’s younger sister) was returning to meet with Pele, as she approached Kualoa, she came upon a mo‘o (dragon) who tried to stop her.

Hi‘iaka crushed the evil mo‘o and left a piece of his tail as a landmark – Mokoli‘i at Kualoa (his body became the foothills below the steep Kualoa cliffs (‘long back’.))

Today, because of the obvious shape of the island, many generally refer to Mokoli‘i island as “Chinaman’s Hat.”

Moving up the coast, Hi‘iaka came upon Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani. Ka‘uhi looked down “with eye-sockets moist with the dripping dew from heaven.”

He wished to go with Hi‘iaka. He asked her to free him and when she refused, the tried to tear himself loose and rose to a crouching position.

Today, this rock formation is called “Crouching Lion.”

(Note that ancient Hawaiians never had any Lions, or cats for that matter; the context of what you see is not the same as what they saw – today’s reference is based on modern interpretations of the stone formation.)

Just below the rock formation is the former home of George F. Larsen, a Honolulu contractor who emigrated from Norway; the main structure was a family residence in the mid-1920s.

George and Agnes had six children.

George Jr. became the first Chief of Police on Maui in 1939. Stanley rose to the ranks of 3 star general after attending West Point; he fought in the Pacific during World War II. Young Agnes was well known in the 1930s and 1940s as a ceramicist and sculptor.

The house was at first to be their weekend retreat. Later, they lived there full time and the kids commuted over the Pali to Punahou each day.

Mr. and Mrs. Larsen slept upstairs in a bedroom, while everyone else used the Hawaiian style hikie‘e (a large couch – literally translates to ‘upon your bed’) placed around the great room below.

The construction had 12-by-12 timbers, used for the exterior and interior – the massive logs used in the framework were floated to Kahana Bay (‘cutting or turning point’) – the practice of putting the logs in salt water was used to help discourage termite infestation.

In 1937, the home was sold and in the 1940s it became a Roadside Inn.

In 1952, the landmark property in Ka‘a‘awa (‘the wrasse fish’) opened as a restaurant by John Lind (father to Ka‘a‘awa resident, Ian Lind,) back in 1952.

John Lind was in the hotel and restaurant supply business and saw the building and site as a great round-the-island stopover restaurant.

It changed hands after that.

Like many others, while traveling along the Koʻolauloa coast, we often stopped at the Crouching Lion Inn for a meal – and always paused or looked out the window every time we passed “Crouching Lion” (Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani) as we drove by.

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The Crouching Lion Inn Kaaawa