Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1898-05-11
A GOLGOTHA AT WAIKIKI
Several Human Skeletons Found In
Zone Burial Blent. " +" :
Evidence That They Are Remains Of Heroes Of
the Defense Of Oahu Against Kane
hameha the Great.

IL ls strange coincidence that, |
while Minister Damon's bill to
provide for the preservation of
ancient heiaus and puuhonuas is
pending in the Legislature, a hei
au not hitherto heard of in these
days should have been unearthed
in the suburbs of Honolulu. That
is what happened yesterday.
Col. Geo. w. Macfarlane, who
lately leased the Bishop premises
at Waikiki, whereon to establish a
seaside annex to the Hawaiian
Hotel, had a gang of seven Japs-
nese at work yesterday morning
levsling OF some mounds in the
cocoAuut grove They had occa.
sion to remove a tree and adopted
the method of cutting loft the
roots. There was not much left to
hold up the tree when they knock.
ed off work for the noon hour.
AS the Japanese were approach.
ing the spot at one o'clock, the
elements performed a regular
freak. A gale ratified the foliage
of the tall palms like castanets.
The undermined tree shivered In
the blast and began to reel to its
fall. Even the ground rumbled
and, it is automatically stated, the
ava and mullet in an adjacent
pond leaped upon their fins clear
out of the water.
The Japanese happening to be
coming along on the lee side OF
the tree fstreated for their lives
before the falling bosom of des-
truction. Then an uncanny thing
happansA in reality which would
have made bold exploit of the
imagination even for Stevenson
or Verne. Flung high in the
air by the catapultic motion of the
roots was a mass of human bones
entire skulls, femurs, vertebra,
ribs, everything. One skull struck
a rstesSxx Jap in the back, and
when he turned to see the missile
he almost died of fearsome
horror.
1t was in vain to try to get that
gang to resume work at the same
spot. Only the foreman, through
fear of losing the whole employ
ment, returned. He began delv-
ing in the sofia whitish sub
J stance, either volcanic ash OF
decomposed coral sandwich
close to the surface he found an
entire skeleton. 1t was in a sit
ting posture with arms extended
over the head, as if the subject
had been warding off blow when
struck down to his ultimate tomb
There was another skeleton dis
covered not so we'll united il
frame. When a BULLETIN report
er inspected the scene at Sly
, o'clock the bones had been placed
in heap, the most conspicuous
I feature of which was row o
five skulls. Some of these hat
r perfect sets of teeth intact. Only
' one was badly broken. Anothe
8 had temple dinged in, as if from
a spear thrust.
The Golgotha thus exhumed il
. situated by the marshes at tn
Eva corner of the Bishop pre-
misses within an easy stone
u throw of the main Waikiki road
1t is in long uncared for ant
4 unimproved section of the de
mesne, some considerable distance
from the residence structures t,
t compose the hotel annex.
q Col. Macfarlane very mucl
8 doubts if Mr.. Bishop himsel
0 knew of the existence of this re-
}. msrkable deposit on the premises
n There is not, however, entire alb
Q sence of light upon the subject
9 Kaohi, very aged native womal
who was a retainer of the lat
> Mrs. Pauahi Bishop, is still livinI
! on the place. She was il
fact born there. Kaohi say
9 there was heiau on the spot, an,
, = that the bodies Of Hawaiisns slai
= in battle were buried within it
e walls. There is therefore stron
presumption that the remains no'
. disinterred are those of brsv
:" defenders of the island of Oah
against the conquest of Ka
mehameha the Great.
such is the case they sho'
"a remarkably good preservatio
[e after more than a hundred year