The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-04-29

| and friends, could nave ties tuned to her many
acts of kindness. Nor was she forgotten by
the lodge, from which she received a com
munication, under seal, thanking her fol
her unremitting care and attention tC
| Brother Watson. Mr. and Mrs. Carter were
the parents Of Brother J. o. Carter, ?. e..
who for many years has been a jealous aud
| valued member Of Excelsior Lodge. His
| respected father has been dead many years,
but his kind-hearted mother still lives, sur
rounded by her children and grandchildren.
to whom we fervently hope she may long be
spared.
At the time Excelsior Lodge was insti-
tuted, Honolulu presented a very different
appearance from what it does to-day. The
! the town was then composed, mostly, of
| grass houses and a few adobe buildings.
Even the stores, where the merchants trans
| acted large business, with but few excep-
| tons were of the same material. There
were few coral stone buildings, and also
some wooden ones. Nearly all the fences
were adobe. But the exact figures will give
| you better idea of the town at that time.
| There were 1915 dwelling houses, of which
40 were stone, Sc part stone and part adobe,
40 wood, 345 adobe, and 875 grass. There
were 40 stores, of which Is were stone, 10
wood and Is adobe. These, with but few
exceptions, were plain, unpretending build
lngs. What a contrast to the city as it now
stands, with it's fine blocks of stores, and
Its handsome residences scattered thickly
from Kapalama to the Makii plains and
for long distance up the Euuanu Valley.
But few landmarks are left of the old I'M
pretending town.
The foreign population of the old town
was $50, including 81 ladies and ia children.
OF the ladies, 40 were American, 10 English,
and l Danish. Our first lodge room was in
an adobe house with a grass roof, in the
premises on Hotel street, known as Adams
yard. 1t had verandah around it, where
the Ortside Guardian had to keep constant
watch on all sides while the lodge was in
session. AS the building was but one story,
it would not have been safe to have allowed
him to come inside. You can readily
imagine that on rough and stormy nights
the surroundings of the Outside Guardian
were not as comfortable and cheerful as they
are at present.
In 1847, we removed to another adobe
house, near the corner of Hotel and Alakea
streets, not far from the spot where the old
Royal Hawaiian theater afterwards stood.
In 1848, news reached Honolulu of the
discovery of gold in California, which
caused quite an excitement here, as it did
elsewhere. Preparations were at once made
for departure, and a general stampede fol-
lowed. Every available little craft was at
once fitted for the voyage, and left here
crowded with passengers, nearly all of whom
were foreigners. There was such general
exodus that Honolulu was nearly depleted
of its foreign population. Of course most of
our members were borne along with the
crowd, and we had but very few left. Our
meetings were soon confined to a mere cor
poral's guard. For many months there was
no quorum, and we could transact no bust
ness; but we still continued to meet to-
gether on Tuesday evenings, to talk over our
prospects, and to ascertain if a ny brother
needed our aid or sympathy. As our funds
were low, with no prospect of an immediate
increase. we found it necessary to reduce our
expenses and give up our rooms At that
time Brother II. n. Crabbe was United
States Naval Storekeeper, and occupied the
two story stone building near the corner of
Fort and Merchant streets, and in which
Messrs. Ed. Hoffschlaeger & Co. for a long
time did an extensive business. In our
difficulty Brother Crabbe came to our aid
and at his kind Invitation we removed all
our paraphernalia to his premises. This was
in the latter part of 184S and we remained
there nearly year, during all which time
we continued our informal Tuesday evening
meetings. The old building, like most of
the brethren who then met within its walls,
has passed away. It was removed about
two years ago, to make room for the present
Campbell Block.
In 1849, the tide of travel began to turn,
and the foreign population was again on the
increase. Our brothers were gradually re-
and we determined to again start
the lodge on it's work of usefulness, as soon
as we should find it possible to do so. In
October Of that year, We removed to an adobe |
building that stood back from the street, |
on the lot on Hotel street near Nuuanu
street, on which one of the Mclean build |
ings now stands. We remained there only !
a few months, and had to leave in a hurry.
1t was very rainy season, and one stormy |
night the whole of one side of the house fell |
out, leaving the interior exposed to the gaze
of the public and the ravages of the storm.
But it was our last experience in adobe !
halls.
few rods from our dilapidated lodge |
room stood two story wooden building, |
belonging to Brother R. A. S. Wood and |
myself. 1t was "a by 40 feet, with rooted |
verandahs to the upper story, running the
length Of the building, both front and back, |
and with a stairway to each outside the |
building. The upper story comprised a |
a parlor about 23x24, and two comforta bic |
bedrooms, besides a small store room at the !
end of the back verandah. To these rooms |
we at once removed all our lodge property, |
and in a short time we were ready to go |
on with our lodge work as usual. The par |
Tor we transformed into lodge room, and |
the bedrooms into ante-rooms. There we !
were more comfortably and pleasantly es- !
tablished than we had been Heretofore, and |
there we remained for more than five years. |
Before rehearsing the events of those FIVE |
years, allow me to again refer to the visit of |
Brother Alex. Frazer.