The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1858-02-25
Terriac whirIwind at Lnhaina.

LAHAINA, req. Zlu, 1000.
SIR III is with regret that l have to inform you
of the destruction of property in our town on Satur-
day, February 10Th, and which will be long remem-
bered by the people here. For the last weeA
had the wind from the south, with small showers of
rain, until Thursday, when it fell away calm. On
Friday it began again to blow quite fresh, and on
Saturday morning it set in to rain very hard, so that
it completely flooded the upper and lower parts of the
town, carrying everything with it. About l o'clock,
P. NJ, a tornado, or whirlwind, came from the sea
and destroyed two native houses, damaging the
Kings Palace (now used as the Court House), then
coming up town it swept everything with it until it
came to the Native Church of Rev. D. Baldwin, which
it has made almost a perfect wreck, carrying away
the roof, belfry, sc. 1t will take at least one thou
sand dollars to repair it again. 1t also struck the
house occupied by the q. s. Consul, A. G. Chandler,
Esq, and owned by his Highness Prince Lot Kameha-
meha. taking the roof completely of, and scattering
it in all directions some of the shingles were picked
up over n quarter of a mile from the house Mr..
Chambers loss will be quite heavy, as it will not fall
much short of one thousand dollars. From thence it
destroyed the houses of natives quite up to the noun
tains. The bread fruit and the tutui trees are COM
pletely wrenched off, leaving nothing but the stumps
standing. 1t then changed its course and run along
the edge of the mountain, destroying a house belong
ing to F. A.. Oudinot, Esq, and prostrating banana
trees and grapevine arbors. This makes the second
house that he has lost since the New Year commenced.
1 regret also to inform You that there was a child
killed, and one kanaka whose skin is completely taken
off, just the same as if he was scalded. There are
about 40 houses destroyed, besides the crops of pota-
toes, pumpkins. and bananas, which are entirely
swept away by the food. The Lahainaluna creek
broke through the stone wall on the Kaanapali side,
and swept through Mala, carrying houses and every
thing with it, and had it been any where else than
in this country, many lives would have been lost. 1t
was fortunate it did not break through on the
Lahaina side, as it would have made more destruction.
1 am unable to give you an estimate of the amount Of
property destroyed, but it is considerable.
1t seems that Lahaina is doomed, unless those
whose power it is will step in and use means to stop
it. Every year it is growing worse, with the water
coming down from the mountains and flooding the
town, and it is time we should have some money from
the Treasury to improve our place as well as Honolulu.
I understand they have spent nearly seventy-fve
thousand dollars for the water lots alone in Honolulu.
A few thousand dollars properly laid out here, and the
whole of this water could be turned off. Why shouN
not we have some of our tax money laid out to improve
our town, instead of the whole of it going to improve
Honolulu! Many of the natives have their supersti-
tious ideas about these things. aud say so mething is
the matter, and this is a punishment, and that some
great calamity will happen before the year is ended.
The ship Cincinnati has been at anchor during
the whole of the gale, but sailed to-day for the
Ochotsk. Yesterday Sunday arrived ship Hiber-
mia I'd, eight months out, clean. The French ship
.Manche is laying off and ohs. having slipped her
anchor.
Our wholesalers have been getting whales and
losing them again, and I am afraid they will not do
much, or any of them make their fortunes at that
rate.
1t has been raining very hard over at Waikapu and
Wailuku, and l should not be surprised to hear that
great damage has been done by the floods.
Yours, &c., RovER.