The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1896-01-22

Honolulu dates its existence as town
from 1916. Before this date it was
mere fishing village. At the time men,
toned there were several white men on
| the islands, among them one John Young,
whose romantic career almost rivals that
of Captain John Smith. Young bad been
mate on the American vessel Eleanor,
and had been captured by King Kameha.
meha, together with sailor named Davis,
from little schooner, the Fair American.
The commander and all his crew, save
Davis, were killed by the savages, Kan.
ehameha spating 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 Kane.
hameha, John Young was made governor
of Hawaii, the largest island of the group.
Young was a maa of more than ordi-
nary ability. He became true subject Of
Kamehameha, and his successor on the
throne. 10 1915 he advised the erection
OF fort at Honolulu, to command the
harbor. He was given full power to d.
rect its construction, and, early in Janu-
airy, 1916, the fort was begun and COM
pleted 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. 1t was built of hard rock and
| had embrasures for cannon. 1t stood on
| the seward side of what is now Queen
street, and across the lower part of Fort
street. About forty guns-six, eight and
twelve poHGders-were afterward mount
ed, and the fort placed under the COM
mand OF Captain Beckley.
In November, 1920, the king moved bis
court to Honolulu, Mr.. Thurston and his
wife, two pioneer missionaries, accompa-
nying him. Ever since, Honolulu has
been the seat of government for the
islands.
In the afternoon Of the day OF my ar
rival l decided to take stroll about this
beautiful little city of the tropics and "see
the sights.
These "sights" are we'll worth crossing
continent and an ocean to see. They
are such as no pen can describe, no came
ra depict, no painter place on canvass.
The beauties and blessings which nature
has SO sbundantly bestowed on these is-
lands must be seen 10 be appreciated.
Perhaps the most beautiful tree in the
world is the Royal Palm, which grows on
the Sandwich Islands. In her forthcom-
ing book, entitled "Around the World
with the White Ribbon" Mrs. Mary Gle
ment Leavitt says:
'The Royal Palm, introduced here from
the West Indies, combining the beauty OF
architecture 10 its perfectly symmetrical,
highly polished and beautifully colored
columnar trunk, with the swaying grace
OF its long plume like leaves, easily takes
place second to none In the world"
Her description is neither overdrawn
nor incorrect. So smooth and symmctri-
cal are these "columnar trunks" that a
gentleman who was with me, asked cit
izen II they did not scrape the bodies of
the trees, or sand paper them.
There are few residences 10 the city
which are not surrounded with palms.
The city y rich in vegetation. The houses sss
very picturesque, and the grounds are
ample. TIE Honouluan thinks more OF
his lawns than OF his house. The ap-
proach to the house is generally through
a vertable flower garden. Usually there
is an avenue OF palms, between which are
numerous plants, or shrubs, crimson, ver-
million and gold. A tall cactus often
reaches the height of twenty feet, with
flowers OF every hue, and the banana
spreads its broad leaves before you. Or.
anges, dates and figs grow In the yards
and gardens. Almost everything is trop-
ical. A few plants, trees, and flowers may
be seen, which grow also 10 a colder
cline, but they reach such gigantic pro-
portions, 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 has been
imported within a comparatively recent
period. Almost every quarter OF the sub
tropical world has been laid under tribute.
Here Is the rubber tree, the banyan, the
baobab, the litchee, the avocado, the man
go, and palms innumerable. Here also,
are the brilliant and gaudy banyain will.
ea, the prolific plumeria, the night bloom.
ing cereus, and the bright and attractive
crotons. We have In this an illustration
of the beneflcent transformations effected
by the enterprise OF the foreigners In Ha-
wall. From the days OF Vancouver, the
foreign residents have been tiIeless in
introducing ornamental and useful plants
A smooth path Of crushed aud cinder-
like lava usually leads from the front gate
TO the residence, which is almost hidden
| L., o..rrannAtn.o 81 ;,h
ical verdure. There are a thousand shady
hooks and cool retreats Inviting one 10
come In and rest from the dust and heat.
The houses OF the Americans are the
most imposing and beautiful, excepting
only the public buildings. They are m ost
beautifully decorated with the greatest va
riety OF trees, flowers, plants and shrubs,
tastefully painted and ornamented. The
native Hawaiian also paints his house, and
gives much care to the ornamentation Of
his grounds, while the Chinaman's house
is implanted, but picturesque in It's ORR
entail style OF architecture. Chinese houses
in Honolulu are built just as they are in
Hong Kong. They are usually two stories
in height, small and quaint, with the bal
copy fronting on the street.
AT almost every hour you can see the
almond eyed Celestial with his Oriental |
dress even TO the saucepan shaped bam-
boo hat, a long pole on his shoulder with
q weight on each end that would stagger
common man, jogging along at a dog
trot, pace at which he never seems to |
weary. Long experience has made him |
skilful in carrying large burdens.
While passing a Chinese restaurant in
company with several of my acquaintan-
ces, we were startled by crash, and i'm
mediately there was such commotion
among the Japs aud Cinnamon that one
might have supposed the Chino Japanese
War had broken out afresh. Suddenly a
sailor from the U. S. man. of-w Ben
nington came bouncing through the