The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1862-02-20
Great Excitement!
Rumored discovery of Gold on Oahu!

Our city was thrown into a state of intense
excitement on Monday by the reported discovery
of gold at Koolau ON the windward side of this
island. The story of the discovery-for we mus
make a story of it's this On Sunday even
ing, Messrs. YonHolt and Varigny were riding in
from Koolau, when they overlook a man return
ing to Honolulu on foot, whom they accosted,
and who proved to be Mr.. Lehman. Mr.. L. said
that he had Just made a discovery of great i'm
portance, and was fastening in to communicate
it to the authorities, but declined to state what
it was. Further inquiries, however, elected the
fact that he had made a discovery of gold, for
which he had been prospecting for some time
past.
The party FASTENED on, and in order to make
sure, had the rock and s~crapings assayed by Mr..
Kopka, a practical goldsmith, Messrs. Drs. Hill
brand and Smith also assisting in the operation,
which resulted in obtaining a mall quantity of
genuine gold ore, of the value of perhaps twenty
five cents. OF the genuineness of this ore, there is
no mistake, for it was exposed to the public, but
the question get unsettled, and about which there
is considerable doubt, is, where did the gold
me from? The scrapings consisted of black
ava sand, the debris of our lava rock, with fine
particles of gold in it.
The result Of the assay being known, the news
spread like wili-fre among the natives and foreign
ers. The party above referred to, Immediately took
measures to make further search, and having provided
blasting utensils, proceeded to Kahaluu, the place
where the reported discovery was made. Kahaluu is
a ravine near Kaneohe, about 16 miles from Honolulu.
Before their arrival, rumor with her thousand
tongues had preceded them, and the natives
of that neighborhood were wild with excitement.
Among other rumnrs IL was raportai fbot a Iaroa
force was coming, consisting of 500 men armed.
This excited the people still more, and they rose up
en- masse. two foreigners being armed, and a posse
of about sixty natives remained on guard, TO pre-
vent the place being taken possession of. When
the party of three arrived, they were peremp-
refused admission and warned off. They ex-
for some time before they could succeed in
permission to make their experiments.
Considering the reports of Importance, il true, we
an agent to the scene on Tuesday. Quite
\ number of foreigners also went over the pail during
hat day. Along the road natives were focking thith-
IT. and nothing was heard from them but "gula,"
= gula." Some Of them declared that as yet it was
ound only in small pieces, the size of a pea, but they
Expected yet to find Jumps the size of a mans head.
approaching the locality, the evidences of excitement
native ~hurrying here and there on horse
'ack, some carrying COS, some shovels, some picks,
III ready. to pitch m from all accounts, at least
thousand must have visited the ravine during the
rat day. When our reporter arrived, operations
in progress for blasting. bu; the rock was so
hard that il was found difficult to drill it sufi-
iently deep to get a blast.
Meanwhile. all was breathless anxiety among the
who were digging, s~craping. picking, and
Limiting up the precipices, here and there, sweating
Ike railroad lsbOrers. Small fakes Of glistening
lica and iron pyrites we're found among the rocks,
nd these were carefully tied mp by the lucky native
in the corners of their haudkerchiefs, and
ensured as if they were the simon pure {. Frazer
the Salmon river never produced a more veritabls
Did feper than this Koolau gold excitement.
1t was late in the afternoon of the 18th before a
was had, which succeeded in breaking up the
ok, but not in throwing out any gold Jumps. The .