The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-08-03

EXPEDITION To WAKE IsLAND.-The slcop Hoku-
leis, Capt Weed, which sailed hence for Wake Island,
the place Of the wreck of the Li6siie, arrived on
Monday, after an absence Of eighty days. The party
secured two hundred and forty-seyen TASKS Of quick
silver from the wreck. The owners of the Hokuhsis,
MeSsrs. D.. and I. Foster, and Capt Ginett, are very
reticent as 10 any thing connected with the cruise,
and our reporter was compelled to make his inquiries
Of the natives who accompanied the expedition as
divers, and To whose exertions the success Of the en-
terprise Is due. The day after the arrival of the
sloop at the island, 4 brig, which had been seen from
the sloop the day before, anne in. and, without an
choring sent q boat to communicate. She proved TO
be a vessel from Hongkong, owned and commanded
by the former mate Of the Li6eiie, and was on the
same errand with the sloOp. She was well armed,
having four broadside guns, plenty of rifles, pistols,
etc, and a crew Of about thirty men. OF course,
resistance TO such a force was out of the question.
The master of the brig, however, with singular mag
nanimity under the circumstances, proposed to the
party in the sloop to go on shares and work together.
This plan was very readily accepted, and so the Ha-
waiians, instead of being driven away, as they might
very reasonably have expected, were permitted to
share in the valuable spoils. The captain of the
brig, ex-mate Of the Li5eLe, was very particular in
his injunctions to the sloop's party, not to reveal the
iaAaS VI lc Sc PiOpbt4s W SUaiu gain III
interference from insurance companies We have
ascertained however, that she was formerly the whal-
ing brig -4iohe, out of this port, and that she was
sold to parties in China, rs an opium trader. The
briggs divers were natives of the Caroline Islands,
who have the reputation of being the best and most
enduring divers in the Pacific, but the Hawaiians on
board of the sloop far excelled them in skill and
endurance. One old fellow, who rejoices in the rather
appropriate name of :. The Shark q grey headed,
grey bearded, awkward looking, slow motioned kama
ka, proved to be the best diver of all, going down
deeper, stopping longer, and coming up dryer than
anybody else. The business Of diving at Wake ISL
and is peculiarly hazardous to life and limbs. The
depth of water where the wreck lies, is not over three
feet, the bottom having broken up, leaving her rest
ing on her ribs, while the breakers make a clean
breach through her. Behind and underneath the
wreck are the TASKS of quicksilver, and buried in the
sand, or hid away in some of the recesses of the
coral reef, there We; remains & large amount of specie,
in bags or boxes. 1t is said that the Hokuicle party
will in a few days start again for Wake Island in a
suitable vessel, to secure the remainder of the quick
silver, of which there are yet about a hundred TASKS
remaining ON the reef. We wish them the best of
luck, and trust that when they return again they
viii be less chary of information than at present.
The DECOR ATIoNs-Thed decorations of the Order
of Kamehameha were received by the Woodland,
and were distributed to the several members by His
Majesty the King. at the Palace, on Tuesday last.
They are said To be gotten up in beautiful and
costly style, especially that for a "Knight Com
mander,'' the rank held by our worthy townsman
and Superintendent of Public Water Works, Col.
Prendergast. The undress uniform of the Order, we
observe, is a r~osette, worn ON the left breast. COM
posed of eirlt stfIDeS of the traditional red. white
and blue. -
MAsoNIc.-The usual monthly meeting of Hawai-
ian Lodge No. u. F. x A. NJ, will be held at their
Monday evening next. Visiting brethren are invited
., o+-anI