The weekly tribune., 1893-05-19
TALES FROM HAWAII.
A NAVY OFFICER FROM THE SAND
WICH ISLANDS TALKS.
King Kamehameha III and His Dislike of
an American Lieutenant - Cultivating
the Good Nature. of the Hawaiian Peo-
ple-Yarns About Other Kings.


y the Good Nature. of the Hawaiian Peo
s ple-Yarns About Other Kings.
Am officer of tie navy who recentlr
y returned from a cruise of the Pacifi,
: squadron, and who spent many months
4 cruising among the Sandwich Islands, re
D lates al interesting story in connection
D with the convivial habits Of some of tn,
a monarchs of that kingdom. He says tina
the navy department, at the request o.
, the state department, has been specific
In its instructions since the civil wal
that commanding officers and other Of
ficers of the navy should as far as pos
sible cultivate the most friendly acquaint
ance with the Hawaiian people. He
went on to say:
There was a time when it was an
parent that the people of those islands
had not any desire to have friendly in.
tercourse with American navy officers.
That was when Lieutenant Qater Rear
AdmiraD William Reynolds was naval
storekeeper at Honolulu in 1857 and staid
there two or three years. He had man
ner that made him many friends and
also many enemies, and King Kane
hameha LII was especially offensive to-
ward the lieutenant. The king sought
every opportunity to show his dislike of
Lieutenant Reynolds.
"At that time the latter was on the
reserved list Of the navy, and the king
concluded that he was not obliged to
show him the same amount Of courtesy
| ho l,, Il L., I.
the active list. But in 1861 Lieutenant
Reynolds was, upon his own application,
| put back on the active list. and after the
| close OF the war, i'll 1866, he was sent to
| Honolulu in command of the sloop-of-
war Lackawanna.
| The LackRwanna remained in Homo.
| lulu harhor for more than q wear. and
her long stay there excited the distrust
| OF King Eamehameha. ard he employed
II person detailed on the Lackawanna TO
do Il shrcwtl piece OF detective work-to
secure copies Of the dispatches of Cap
tain Reynolds II tha navy department at
Washington. The person employed for
t!AS Ciand@stine work was enamorcd of
"Ge OF the Hawaiian women Of noble
blrth and considerable wealth. aud Bill
Ragsdale. u kgnaha and one of the smart
est politicians in the }ingtlonl and a man
Of great power and influence In the royal
family, encouraged the lover in his de-
sire to marry the young woman and
promised him ultimate success if he
should secure cOllio5 e the confidential
correspondence between Captain Reyn-
olds and the navy department.
The correspondence was secured and
given to RaGsdale, who then informed
upon the young man who had PLAYED
false TO hls commander, and instead of
marrying the girl he was court martialed
and sentenced to imprisonment on tLe no.
torious Dry Tortugas. Ragsdae after
ward had to be sent to the island of Mo-
lokai, where all lcpers are exiled and |
where he died n few years ago.
The Lackawanna WAS succeeded by |
the sloop-ofwar Mohongo. of which the |
late Rear Admiral Edward Simpson was
commander, and the latter, by his diplo-
matte tact and keen Judgment, soon won
King kamehameha over, and the officers
OF the MOhongo became very popular at |
court and received every attention and
courtesy during the dozen months that
the vessel was in Honolulu harbor. King
kamehameha was succeeded on the Ha-
waiian throne by his brother Lunalilo,
popularly known as Whiskers Billy. be-
cause of his fondisess for his beard, which
was Of luxurious growth. Lunalilo also
had fondness for that which would in
ebriate, but as there was no license
law-that is, so far as selling liquor to a
native Hawaiian was concerned he
made it practice to visit friendly war
ships to satisfy his appetite.
'Lunalilo lived only short time. Kn
lakaua took Lunalilos place on the
throne, and he WAS fair successor and
succeeded pretty well in sustaining the
reputation of his predecessor as am anti
prohibitionist. He also was fond of a
good game of poker. and when simply
Prince David ho engaged in many an i'll
teresting game. Billy Emerson, the ne
gro minstrel, had as one of his gags
on the stage in San Francisco that he
once sat i'll Il poker game with five kings.
'How's that? said the middle man. Why,
held four and Dave was the other said
Billy. This was game in which it is
said the minstrel held Kalakaua for a
pot amounting to $500.
SIN 1874 Kalakaua visited this country.
coming to San Francisco on the war YES
sci Benicia. Upon the arrival of the
vessel at San Francisco, Lieutenant Com
mander w. II. Whiting, recently on duty
at the navy yard, and who has been or
dered to command the Alliance, now at
Honolulu, was detailed to take charge of
the royal party and escort it to San Fran
cisco. A good round sum was provided
for its entertainment by the state depart
ment, and the king and his party had
right royal time.
"You will no doubt recall the joke
which the officers have had on Lieuten-
ant William S. Cowles, who is now ma
val attache at the London legation, ever
since the visit Of the Queen Dowager
kapiolani to this country few years
ago. He had command of the junketing
boat Dispatch when the queen was taken
on trip down the Potomac, and in his
address of welcome on hoard he maid tbis