The record-union., 1896-01-21
HAWAII, THE PEARL OF THE
PACIFIC
Second Of a Series Of Letters by John
R. MuSick.
The City of Honolulu--A Bit of It's
History, and Climb up to
the Punch Bowl"
fCopyright. 1895, by Funk & WagnalIs Com-
pany, New York;

(Copyright, 1895, by Funk & Wagnalls Com-
pany, New York;
Honolulu dates its existence as a
town from 1916 Before this date it
was a mere fishing village. At the
time mentioned there were several
white men on the islands, among them
one John Young, whose romantic ca
reer almost rivals that of Captain John
Smith. Young had been mate on the
American vessel Eleanor, and had been
captured by King Kamehameha to-
gether with a sailor named Davis from
little schooner, The Fair American. The
commander and all his crew, save
Davis, were killed by the savages,
Kamehameha sparing Young and Davis
only because they were expert in the
use of firearms. When all of the Islands
had been brought under the control OF
Kamehameha, John Young was made
Governor of Hawaii, the largest island
of the group.
Young was man of more than ordi-
nary ability. He became a true subject
of Kamehameha, and his successor on
the throne. In 1915 he advised the erec-
tion of a. fort at Honolulu, to command
the harbor. He was given full power to
direct its construction, and, early in
January, 1916, the fort was begun and
completed the same year. This fort
was nearly square, measuring between
three and four hundred feet on a side,
with walls about twelve feet high and
twenty feet thick. It was built of hard
rock and had embrasures for cannon. 1t
stood on the seaward side of what is
now Queen street, and across the lower
part of Fort street About forty guns
six, eight and twelve pounders-were
afterward mounted, and the fort placed
under command of Captain Beckley.
In November, 1920, the King moved
his court to Honolulu Mr. Thurston and
his wife, two pioneer missionaries, ac-
companying him. Ever since, Honolulu
has been the seat of Government for
the islands.
In the afternoon of the day of my ar
rival 1 decided to take a stroll about
this beautiful little city of the tropics
and ''see the sights"
These sights" are we'll worth cross
ing a continent and an ocean to see.
They are such as no pen can describe,
no camera depict, no painter place on
sanvas. The beauties and blessings
which nature has so abundantly be-
towed on these islands must be seen to
be appreciated.
There are few residences in the city
which are not surrounded with palms
The city is rich in vegetation. The
house are not usually grand or impos-
ing, but very picturesque, and the
grounds are ample. The Honoluluan
thinks more of his lawns than of the
house. The approach to the house is
generally through a veritable flower
garden. Usually there is an avenue OF
palms, between which are numerous
plants, or shrubs, crimson, vermillion
and gold. A tall cactus often reaches
the hight of twenty feet, with flowers
of every hue and the banana spreads its
broad leaves before you. Oranges,
dates and figs grow in the yards and
gardens. Almost everything is tropical
A few plants, trees and flowers may be
seen which grow also in a colder chine,
but they reach such gigantic proper
tions and are of such gorgeous colors as
to be hardly recognizable. Great trees
that look as though they might have
had fifty years of growth, were planted
by people who are still in middle age.
Walk into one of the numerous yards
where plants and trees and vines are
growing, as though on their native soil.
and you will find that every one of them
slas been imported within a compara-
lively recent period Almost every
quarter of the subtropical world has
been laid under tribute. Here is the
rubber tree, the banyan, the baobab,
the lftchee, the avocado. the mongo and
palms innumerable. Here also are the
brilliant and gaudy banyan villea, the
prolific plumeria, the night-blooming
cereus, and the bright and attractive
crotons. We have in this an illustra-
tion of the beneficent transformations
effected by the enterprise of the for
eigners in Hawaii. From the days of