Hawaii | Page 358 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 8, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

A Side of Kamehameha

“By immortalizing Kamehameha to mythical proportions we have also idealized his standards of leadership and conduct, his pono, as the measure of leadership in the Native Hawaiian community …”

“Unlike aliʻi before him, Kamehameha forges a new way of governance that might meet the challenges enabling his people to survive in a greater world, but one based in continuity with traditions”.

“The success of that formulation has challenges each generation since his time to uphold or surpass it, until there comes another who will remake it in a way never done before, Until that time his pono endures.” (Chun)

“This idealization, and now myth, of Kamehameha is still very pervasive and may take on further epic and popular proportions”. (Chun)

“However, it would be clear to anyone who thought about it that Kamehameha was only human, and it is not hard, if we look a bit closer at the accounts of his life, to discover his frailties and faults. One of the younger wives of Kamehameha (Kalākua) informed Hiram Bingham of his abusive nature.” (Chun)

“Kalākua, the late governess of Maui, who gave me much of Kamehameha’s domestic history, says of him, ‘He kanaka pepehi no ia; aole mea e ana ai kona inaina. He was a man of violence, – nothing would pacify his wrath.’”

“She said she was once beaten by him, with a stone, upon her head, till she bled profusely, when in circumstances demanding his kindest indulgence and care, as a husband.”

Bingham later noted, “His admirers speak freely of a peculiar edict which he put forth, and which gives a striking view of the state of society, that if any man should have illicit intercourse with Kaʻahumanu, however high his rank might be, he should be put to death.”

“But the severe and bloody penalty, the pointed specification, the jealousy, watchfulness, and partial love of the king, and the queen’s love of influence, power, and reputation, and her attachment to her husband, all proved ineffectual as a safeguard, without moral principle or the fear of God.” (Bingham)

“Kaʻahumanu was a woman of the chiefly stature and of celebrated beauty … her husband (Kamehameha) cherished her exceedingly. He had the indelicacy to frame and publish an especial law declaring death against the man who should approach her, and yet no penalty against herself.”

“And in 1809, after thirty-four years of marriage, and when she must have been nearing fifty … Kanihonui, was found to be her lover, and paid the penalty of life”. (Stevenson)

Kanihonui was a handsome 19-year old. Reportedly, Kaʻahumanu had seduced the boy while she was intoxicated; in addition, the boy was the son of Kamehameha’s half-sister – and, Kamehameha and Kaʻahumanu raised him.

“Naihe and other chiefs who feared their sovereign’s frown, and knew not how soon they might feel its force, at his command, put their hands to the work of strangling Kanihonui, one of their compeers, who was alleged to have exposed himself to the action of that despotic edict.” (Bingham)

Kanihonui was put to death at Papaʻenaʻena Heiau on Leʻahi (Diamond Head) for committing adultery with Kaʻahumanu.

“Kamehameha used a similar strategy of imposing fear upon a population during his war campaigns. It was this fear held by the commoners of the raiding parties of Kamehameha that led to his near death in Puna at the hands of the fishermen there.” (Chun)

Kamakau notes, “… Kamehameha and Ka-hakuʻi paddled to Papaʻi and on to Keaʻau in Puna where some men and women were fishing, and a little child sat on the back of one of the men.”

“Seeing them about to go away, Kamehameha leaped from his canoe intending to catch and kill the men, but they all escaped with the women except two men who stayed to protect the man with the child. During the struggle Kamehameha caught his foot in a crevice of the rock and was stuck fast; and the fishermen beat him over the head with a paddle.”

“Had it not been that one of the men was hampered with the child and their ignorance that this was Kamehameha with whom they were struggling, Kamehameha would have been killed that day. This quarrel was named Ka-lele-iki, and from the striking of Kamehameha’s head with a paddle came the law of Mamala-hoe (Broken paddle) for Kamehameha.” (Kamakau)

“An English resident, who enjoyed his confidence as fully and long as any foreigner, says, he has seen (Kamehameha) beat Kaahumanu with severity for the simple offence of speaking of a young man as ‘handsome.’”

“Captain Douglass speaks of his violent temper and rashness, judging that ‘those about him feared rather than loved him;’ and says, ‘Conceiving himself affronted, one day, by the chiefs who were on board, he kicked them all by turns, without mercy, and without resistance.’”

“His energy, ambition, and success, which gained admirers among natives and strangers; his liberal attention to public vessels, after the establishment of his power …”

“… his readiness to meet the views of foreigners in the pursuit of mercantile gains and low pleasures, under his protection, secured for him a higher reputation than his conduct and disposition would justify, when tried by the laws of morality.”

“When multitudes in the nation who regarded him as an invader, tyrant, and oppressor, had perished before him, it was natural that those who escaped death, and were afterwards protected, should learn to respect and obey him …”

“… and that those whom he led to victory and to enlarged possessions, should highly honor him as a good chief, compared with predecessors and contemporaries, though there was much to be censured in his temper, his principles and his policy.” (Bingham) Kamehameha died May 8, 1819.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Young_King_Kamehameha-(HerbKane)

May 6, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

A Missionary Son’s View of Hawaiian Poetry

“To come near to the life of a people, to touch the ebb and flow of its human tides, we must consider the intangible utterances in which that people voiced its thoughts, its emotions, its aspirations.”

“Definitions of poetry have often suffered from being too narrow, from being based too much on the form and too little on the spirit. To attempt the impossible, we may define poetry as that species of emotional composition which finds expression in rhythmical form and in language warmed arid lighted by the imagination.”

“The study of Hawaiian poetry is surrounded with much difficulty, even when pursued by one who has an extensive knowledge of the Hawaiian language. Even under the lead of a competent guide, the task of digging out the meaning of an old Hawaiian mele is no light undertaking.”

“In the first place, to catch this literary guide, this kaka-olelo, and then to yoke him in to the required task, is an effort that requires all the wisdom and diplomacy at one’s command. Such people in these days are both scarce and unwilling.”

“The causes which make it difficult for us to understand the poetry of the Hawaiians are to be found both in the genius of the Polynesian language and in the stage of intellectual development at which the Polynesian had arrived.”

“The study of a language cannot be separated from the study of the mind and genius of the people for whom it is the organ of expression.”

“The phonic elements of the Hawaiian language are few in number and elementary in character; yet they show the marks of
great age, and the attenuation of long use. It is as if one should find the toys and playthings of children, with but slight modifications, doing duty in the hands of mature men as the instruments for accomplishing the serious tasks of life.”

“In the Hawaiian language every syllable ends in a vowel, and no two consonants are uttered without the interposition of a vowel sound. A slight calculation based on these data shows us that the Hawaiian speech does not contain more than seventy-six syllables.”

“To take another step, if we classify words, and more properly nouns, according to the three different stages of evolution through which they pass …”

“… first as the reflex expression of emotions, second as images, mental pictures, and third as the mere signs of ideas, we shall find that few nouns of the Hawaiian language have gone beyond the second stage, i. e., the word calls up a living picture in the mind.”

“The results that flowed from this condition were many and far-reaching, affecting not only the poetry, but the prose speech of daily life; so that it is often hard to draw the line and say where prose ends and poetry begins. From this, it follows, as might be expected, that Hawaiian poetry is highly figurative.”

“The very fact of its poverty in abstract terms compels a resort to the language of the senses, with the result that the stronger figures of speech, metaphor, hyperbole, and personification, are the ones most often used. It is not abstract beauty that is sung, but the thing beautiful.”

“We find a language full of pictures, a graphic speech, in which things visible and ponderable are brought directly before us for sight and touch. Does a lover wish to celebrate the charms of his mistress, he goes straight to nature and ascribes to the dear one of his heart all the perfections he finds in wildwood, lake and mountain …”

“… hers the blush of morning, the warmth of noonday, the perfume of sweet vine and flower, the gentle voice of the breeze; or rather the very things themselves are hyperbolized as the parts of her being.”

“Hawaiian poetry … is a dialect marked by laconic directness and wonderful power. In this old poetry we see the language in its naked strength”.

“The childlike character of the language has another influence on the poetry; it gives to its utterances a double meaning. This is a feature that causes no little embarrassment, by making it doubtful whether the primary and obvious meaning is the one intended, or some deeper hidden casket of thought is hinted at.”

“One strong and admirable feature of Hawaiian poetry is its direct attack. The poet wastes no time in beating about the bush, but strikes at once into the heart of his subject.”

“The mele, which is the generic designation of all varieties of Hawaiian poetry, was primarily lyric, intended for cantillation, often with instrumental accompaniment to punctuate the time.”

“This fact alone would make it probable that all Hawaiian poetry was constructed on rhythmical principles. It is not always easy to recognize the rhythm of Hawaiian poetry by the mere study of its written form.”

“When recited, that is, cantillated, the mele throbs with a tremulous rhythm of its own, but when reduced to writing, the same words unskilfully uttered seem to have lost the spirit of song, and to have staled like champagne poured over night.”

“On hearing the kumu-hula, the hula-master, cantillate a mele, it becomes evident that by an indefinable tone or accent, by a manipulation of his voice, he constantly introduces unwritten elements, garlands the verbal framework of the composition with certain slurring tones, grace-notes, which serve to complete the rhythm.”

“It is as when the mason fills in with rubble and small stones the spaces that remain when the large blocks have been placed in position, or as when the decorator twines about the rough frame the wreaths and wildwood filagree that serve to complete the design and make the structure an artistic appeal to the emotions.”

“The genius of the Polynesian language, and especially its Hawaiian branch, is highly favorable to this end within its own range, for it has a most delicate feeling for accent and for sound values, especially for vowel-values.”

“Terminal rhyme was not a device employed in Hawaiian poetry, and for good reason. In a language like the Hawaiian, with its ever recurring syllable endings in a, e, i, o and u …”

“… it would have been a carrying of coals to Newcastle to have set forth such commonplace wares. But there were other tone-color devices of which they availed themselves.”

“A common device was to repeat a word or part of a word that had occurred in a previous verse – a carrying over, as it were, of the poetical leaven from one verse to another. The object seems to have been to produce a pleasant surprise by reintroducing a word with a change of meaning. The repeated word is sometimes doubled in form, thus enhancing the effect.”

“In some of the meles there is a marked tendency to break up the composition into short parts, distichs, triplets, quatrains, and the like, each part at times forming a whole by itself. The result is a disjointing of the meaning, a loosening of the logical relation of one part with another.”

“No doubt the manner of their composition, and the fact that the authorship of many of the poems was shared by several bards working in conjunction, had its influence in preventing unity of conception and breaking the flow of thought, thus giving to the composition rather the character of a mosaic or string of beads than of a form cast in one mould or forged at one heat.”

“There were many varieties of mele. … The pule, prayer, took generally the poetical form. The prayers of the primitive ones are to be understood only by viewing things from their standpoint.”

“Being altogether a religious people, and not yet having risen above the conception that the universe is ruled by many deities, it followed that religion was compartmented …”

“… so that it can almost be said there was a department for war, for the piping times of peace, for pestilence, for the health of the king, for drought, for the change from one season to another, for birth, for death, for land, for sea, for wind and storm, for earthquakes …”

“… for the canoe-maker, for the bird-catcher and for the hula. This last was a happy cult, in which there were no groaning victims, no human sacrifices, in which fear and the sense of impending doom gave way to joy and light-heartedness; yet shackled with the bonds of tabu, hedged in with the conventional constraints of tradition.

“It had in it the genuine spirit of worship and supplication; it was illumined with the flame of sacrifice and propitiation ; it kept alive the sense of dependence on a higher power. However little it may interest us in and of itself, it cannot fail to command the respect of every earnest and tolerant mind.”

“But of most of the songs it may be said that love, now decorous, now wanton, sometimes outspoken, often concealed from the object of affection, or hidden in a tangle of metaphor; jealousy and intrigue; idyllic peace and content; domestic felicity, or heart-ache …”

“… the mere joy of existence ; delight in the fresh beauty of the physical world – these form the main recurring themes of which the bards of Hawaii ever delighted to treat.”

“There is, of course, a sprinkling of that class of poets and poetasters who delight in ribald jests and buffoonery; but this class forms only a small, though by no means unimportant, part of the whole, and serves the useful function of reminding us that human nature rejoices in the same vagaries of fancy in all ages, and that ‘One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.’”

“The hula meant very much to the Hawaiian. It included in itself so large a part of what was to him the best of life’s dole; it was such a unique and significant attempt on his part to realize his dreams and aspirations …”

“… that one cannot wonder that it came to include in itself much of the best and choicest thought and uttered emotion of the Hawaiian people. It stood to them in place of lecture hall, theatre, opera, library.” (All here is from Nathaniel Bright Emerson.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Danse_des_femmes_dans_les_iles_Sandwich._Dess._et_lith._par_Choris._Lith._de_Langlume-1816

May 5, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

E Nihi ka Helena i ka Uka o Puna

Walk carefully in the uplands of Puna (Kumupaʻa)

Walking in the mauka regions of Puna can be extremely hazardous because of the numerous lava cracks hidden by vegetation in the forest (some with over 30-feet vertical drops and 30+ feet wide).

Sometimes, when walking in the mauka forests of Puna, there is abundant uluhe fern; you effectively walk ‘on’ uluhe, not ‘through’ it. You could find yourself walking over the edge of a crack, before you know it.

Local residents have reported numerous incidents in which individuals and dogs have fallen into the lava cracks and suffered serious injury. In addition, in the event of an emergency, there is no cellular phone service, and difficulty of emergency rescue, etc.

It is not just cracks from old flows that are a problem. Starting in June 27, 2014, lava from the Puʻu ʻŌʻō vent had been over-running Wao Kele o Puna.

We must also be cognizant of the ongoing eruption; the flow that headed to Pāhoa ran through Wao Kele o Puna. While the flow is not causing problems in Pāhoa at this time, outbreaks recently covered portions of Wao Kele o Puna.

The flow has since been redirected makai of the vent and not affecting Wao Kele o Puna. (Information in this section is from the USGS website, searched December 27, 2016)

Kīlauea’s ongoing Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption, which began in January 1983, ranks as the most voluminous outpouring of lava from the volcano’s East Rift Zone in the past five centuries.

By December 2012, flows had covered 125.5 km2 (48.4 mi2) with about 4 km3 (1 mi3) of lava, and had added 202 hectares (500 acres) of new land to Kīlauea’s southeastern shore. Lava flows had also destroyed 214 structures, and resurfaced 14.3 km (8.9 mi) of highway, burying them with as much as 35 m (115 ft) of lava.

The eruption can be roughly divided in to five time periods. From 1983 to 1986, a series of short-lived lava fountains built a cinder-and-spatter cone later named Puʻu ʻŌʻō.

In 1986, the eruption shifted 3 km (1.8 mi) northeastward along Kīlauea’s east rift zone, where a nearly continuous outpouring of lava built a broad shield, Kupaianaha, and sent flows to the coast for more than five years.

In 1992, the eruption moved back uprift and new vents opened on the southwestern flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Over the next 15 years, nearly continuous effusion of lava from these vents sent flows to the ocean, mainly within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The most significant change during the 1992–2007 interval was a brief uprift fissure eruption and the corresponding collapse of Puʻu ʻŌʻō’s west flank in January 1997.

In June 2007, an hours-long, unwitnessed eruption uprift of Puʻu ʻŌʻō led to renewed collapse within the cone and a brief hiatus in activity.

When the eruption resumed in July 2007, new vents opened between Puʻu ʻŌʻō and Kupaianaha, sending flows to Kīlauea’s southeastern coast until early 2011.

This activity was terminated by another short-lived eruption uprift of Puʻu ʻŌʻō in March 2011. Activity at Puʻu ʻŌʻō then resumed with a brief breakout from the western flank of the cone in August 2011, followed by the opening of a new, persistent vent on Puʻu ʻŌʻō’s northeast flank in September 2011. Flows from this latter vent remained active on Kīlauea’s southeastern flank as of December 2012.

On June 27, 2014, new vents opened on the northeast flank of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone that fed a narrow lava flow to the east-northeast.

On August 18, the flow entered a ground crack, traveled underground for several days, then resurfaced to form a small lava pad. The sequence was repeated twice more over the following days with lava entering other cracks and reappearing farther downslope.

In this way, the flow had advanced approximately 8.2-miles from the vent, or to within 0.8-miles of the eastern boundary of the Wao Kele o Puna Forest Reserve, by the afternoon of September 3, 2014.

Lava emerged from the last crack on September 6, 2014, forming a surface flow that initially moved to the north, then to the northeast, at a rate of 1,300-ft/day). This flow advanced downslope before stalling in Pāhoa on October 30 about 170-yards from Pāhoa Village Road. Breakouts upslope continued to widen the flow within the Wao Kele o Puna property.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō continues to erupt, but the lava flow from it has stopped running through Wao Kele o Puna, but remains as a reminder of the risks associated with the nearby Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption. The present volcanic activity in the uplands of Puna remind us of the message and warnings of the ‘Ōlelo No‘eau.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Upland Puna Crack

PuuOo-eruption-flow-USGS

PuuOo eruption-flow

Lava_Flow-Former_Geothermal_Site-BigIslandVideoNews

Puu_Oo_Eruption-06-30-15-USGS

Leilani Estate fissure-eruption-flow on roadway

Leilani Estate fissure-eruption on roadway

USGS Mapping of Rift Zone-fissures in Leilani Estates-05-04-18

May 4, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Captain Cole

Fur traders and merchant ships crossing the Pacific needed to replenish food supplies and water. The maritime fur trade focused on acquiring furs of sea otters, seals and other animals from the Pacific Northwest Coast and Alaska.

The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and the United States.

Needing supplies in their journey, the traders soon realized they could economically barter for provisions in Hawai‘i; for instance any type of iron, a common nail, chisel or knife, could fetch far more fresh fruit meat and water than a large sum of money would in other ports.

A triangular trade network emerged linking the Pacific Northwest coast, China and the Hawaiian Islands to Britain and the United States (especially New England).

Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was a fur trading company that started in Canada in 1670; its first century of operation found HBC firmly focused in a few forts and posts around the shores of James and Hudson Bays, Central Canada.

As early as 1811, HBC had already hired twelve Hawaiians on three year contracts to work for them in the Pacific Northwest. By 1824, HBC employed thirty-five Hawaiians west of the Rocky Mountains.

“(Y)oung Hawaiian males left Hawai’i as workers on whaling ships and traveled to China, Europe, Mexico, and the U.S. mainland. In addition, many ventured into the Pacific Northwest territory, worked in the fur trade, and ended up settling in those areas.” (pbs-org)

Ships sailed from London around Cape Horn around South America and then to forts and posts along the Pacific Coast via the Hawaiian Islands. Trappers crossing overland faced a journey of 2,000 miles that took three months.

On January 21, 1829 the Hudson’s Bay Company schooner ‘Cadboro’ arrived at Honolulu from Fort Vancouver with a small shipment of poles and sawn lumber. Another goal of the trip was to recruit Hawaiians for HBC operations on the Northwest Coast.

One such recruit who later came from the Islands to work with the HBC was ‘Captain Cole’. Cole entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company at O‘ahu in 1840.

On the continent, ‘Captain Cole’ was witness to a killing.

“Just after midnight on April 21, 1842, John McLoughlin, Jr – the chief trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Stikine (situated at what is now Wrangell on the Alaska panhandle), in the northwest corner of the territory that would later become British Columbia – was shot to death by his own men.”

“The men were known to have disliked McLoughlin and some had threatened to kill him, but the company’s governor, Sir George Simpson, relied on their accounts of the incident to conclude that the murder was a matter of self-defense”.

They claimed it was “their only means of stopping the violent rampage of their drunk and abusive leader. Sir George Simpson, the HBC’s Overseas Governor, took the men of Stikine at their word, and the Company closed the book on the matter.” (Komar)

It is estimated that by 1844 between 300 and 400 Hawaiians were in HBC service in the Pacific Northwest, both in vessels and at posts.

Journal entries in early 1848 identify Cole as “Captian Cole,” but in later entries for 1848 and 1849 he is simply referred to as “Cole.” He was posted to Fort Stikine in the Columbia District as a ‘midman,’ middleman, from 1841-1843.

Cole continued in service to the HBC until November 23, 1844, when he returned to Honolulu. He re-enlisted in 1847, serving as a laborer at Fort Victoria (1847-1849) and Fort Rupert (1849-1850), where he died of tuberculosis on March 12, 1850. (Fort Victoria Journal)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Stikine, Alaska

May 3, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Humehume Goes Home

King Kaumuali‘i of Kauai decided to send his son Humehume (George Prince) to America, at least, in part, to receive a formal education. Kaumuali‘i provided Captain Rowan of the Hazard with, reportedly, about $7,000 to $8,000, an amount the king felt sufficient to cover the cost of his son’s passage and the expenses of his education.

George was about six years old when he boarded the Hazard that ultimately sailed into Providence, Rhode Island on June 30, 1805 after a year-and-a-half at sea. Over the next few years he made his way to Worcester, Massachusetts.

Humehume eventually enlisted in the US Navy and was wounded during the War of 1812. After the war ended, he was again thrown upon the world and without any means of obtaining a livelihood, or any one to care for him, ragged, dirty, and in want, he was again enlisted, and employed as a servant to the purser of the Navy Yard in Charlestown.

Humehume was “discovered” and taken under the wing of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). He was sent, along with Henry Ōpūkaha’ia and other Hawaiian youths, to be educated at the Foreign Mission School at Cornwall, Connecticut. (Warne)

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of the American Protestant missionaries set sail on the Thaddeus for Hawai‘i – (two Ordained Preachers, Hiram & Sybil Bingham and Asa and Lucy Thurston; two Teachers, Samuel & Mercy Whitney and Samuel & Mary Ruggles; a Doctor, Thomas & Lucia Holman; a Printer, Elisha & Maria Loomis; and a Farmer, Daniel Chamberlain (and his family.)

With the missionaries were four Hawaiian students from the Foreign Mission School, Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoliʻi and Humehume (son of Kauaʻi’s King Kaumuali‘i.) They arrived in Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

After the Thaddeus departed, George remained in Kailua-Kona and took Betty Davis, the half-Hawaiian daughter of Isaac Davis, as his wife, or his “rib” as he described her. In a short time they rejoined the missionary party in Honolulu. (Spoehr)

Then, Ruggles and Whitney took Humehume home to Kauai. The following are extracts from the Journal of Mr and Mrs. Ruggles related to the initial days there.

“May 2 (1820). To-day brother Whitney and myself have been called to leave our dear little number at Woahoo, to accompany George P. Tamoree (Humehume) to his native Isle, and to the bosom of his Father.”

“It was trying to us to part from our brethren and sisters, and especially from the dear companions of our bosom, not knowing when an opportunity will offer for us to return, as vessels rarely sail from Atooi (Kauai) to the Windward Isles.”

“But if duly has called us to the separation, we trust that a gracious God will, in his own time, return us again to the embraces of our friends, and permit us to rejoice together in his goodness. We have a fine breeze, which wo expect will take us to Atooi in 24 hours.”

“May 3. Made Atooi at day-light this morning. Like all the other islands, its first appearance was rude and mountainous; but, on approaching nearer, beautiful plains and fruitful vallies present themselves to view, looking almost like the cultivated fields of America, while large groves of cocoanuts and bananas wave their tops, as if to welcome us to their shores.”

“At 11 o’clock came to anchor at Wimai (Waimea) opposite the fort. A canoe came off to us, with several of the king’s men, one of whom could speak English. George had kept himself concealed in the cabin, until we told him that one of his father’s favourite men was on board, and we thought best that his arrival should be made known to him.”

“We then introduced him to the young prince ; he embraced him and kissed him, and then without saying a word, turned round and immediately went on deck, and into his canoe, telling his companions they must go on shore, for their young master had come. A salute of 21 guns was soon fired from the brig, and returned from the fort.”

“Brother Whitney, George, and myself, made preparations and went on shore; on account of the surf, we were obliged to land half a mile west of the king’s house. We were there met by a crowd of natives who would have obstructed our way entirely, had there not been men appointed to clear a passage for us, which they did by beating them off with clubs.”

“When we arrived at the house, Tamoree (Kaumuali‘i) and his Queen were reclining on a sofa; as soon as George entered the door, his father arose, clasped him in his arms, and pressed his nose to his son’s, after the manner of the country; both were unable to speak for some time. The scene was truly affecting, and I know not when I have wept more freely.”

“When they had become a little more, composed, Tamoree spoke, and said his heart was so joyful that he could not talk much till to-morrow; but discovering brother W. and myself, who had tilt then remained almost unnoticed, he inquired who we were. George then introduced us to him as his friends, who had come from America to accompany him home.”

“The old gentleman then embraced us in the same manner as he had done his son, frequently putting his nose to ours, and calling us his hicahe or friends.”

“A supper was soon provided for us, consisting of a couple of hogs, baked whole, after the American manner, several fowls and a dog, cooked after the style of the Island, together with potatoes, tarro, bananas, cocoanuts, and watermelons, brandy, gin, wines, &c.”

“The table was set in good style, and our supper was indeed excellent. A new house was assigned for brother W. and myself during our stay on the Island, a few rods from the king’s, and several men to attend upon us.”

“We shall now retire to rest, after looking up to God with thanks, giving for mercies already received, and humbly praying that a blessing may attend our visit to these heathen. Perhaps it will be the first christian prayer that was ever offered to God on this Island.

“May 4. This morning early, I went to the king’s house, and was met at the door by himself and the queen, who took me by each arm, led me in and seated me between them upon the sofa; and after having several times put their noses, to mine, the king inquired if it was true that I had lived with Hoomehoome (the real name of George) in America …”

“… and eat with him, and slept with him, saying his son had told him many things that he could not fully understand, and that I had been his friend a long time, and would stay here and instruct his people to read. “

“told him it was true, and that the good people of America who loved his son, and loved him and his people, had sent several men and women to instruct his people to read and work as they do in America.”

“When I told him this, he, with his wife, broke out in one voice, ‘miti, miti, nove loah aloha America;’ that is, ‘good, good, very great love for America;’ and then burst into tears. After a short time, he asked me how long I would be willing to stay and teach his island.”

“I told him I wished to spend my life here, and die here. He then embraced me again, and said, ‘kacke vo’u oe, mahkooah oe o-ou wihena o ou mahkooah oe,’ that is, ‘you my son, I you father, my wife you mother.’ I endeavoured to tell him something about God, but the subject was entirely new to him, and he could understand but little.”

“10th. This morning Tamoree sent for me — said his interpreter was going away to be gone several days, and he wished to say a few things to me before he went.”

“I want to know, says he, if you love Hoomehoome, if you love me, if you like to stay here and learn my people, I assured him that I loved his son and him and I wished to spend my life in doing them good, and not only I but Mr. Whitney, and all who came with us wished the same.”

“Hoomehoome tell me so, says he; he then shed tears freely and said, I love Hoomehoome; I love him very much more than my other children. I thought he was dead; I cry many times because I think he was dead.”

“Some Captains tell me he live in America, but I not believe; I say no, he dead, he no come back. But he live, he come again; my heart very glad. I want my son to help me; he speaks English, and can do my business.”

“But he is young; young men are sometimes wild they want advice. I want you stay here and help Hoomehoome, and when vessels come, you and Hoomehoome go on board and trade, so I make you chief.”

“I told him I wished not to be a chief, neither could I do any of his public business, but was willing to advise his son and assist him in every thing consistent with the object for which we came to his Island. He expressed some surprise when I told him I wished not to be a chief, but when I explained to him what we wished to do ; he appeared satisfied and pleased.”

“This afternoon the king sent to me and requested that I would come and read to him in his bible. I read the first chapter of Genesis and explained to him what I read as well as I could.”

“He listened with strict attention, frequently asking pertinent questions, and said I can’t understand it all; I want to know it ; you must learn my language fast, and then tell me all – No white man before, ever read to me and talk like you.” (Ruggles Journal)

Kapule, King Kaumuali‘i’s wife, dictated a letter to Mercy Ruggles’ mother – it was written down verbatim, and copied by herself in a plain legible manner.

“Dear Friend, Atooi, July 28, 1820”

“I am glad your daughter come here, I shall be her mother now, and she be my daughter. I be good to her; give her tappa; give her mat; give her plenty eat.”

“By and by your daughter speak Owhyhee; then she learn me how to read, and write, and sew; and talk of that Great Akooah, which the good people in America love.”

“I begin spell little: read come very hard, like stone. You very good, send your daughter great way to teach the heathen. I am very glad I can write you a short letter, and tell you that I be good to your daughter.”

“I send you my aloha, and tell you I am Your Friend, Charlotte Tapoolee, Queen of Atooi”.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

George_Prince_Kaumualii-Morse-1816