The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-01-14
A SUBURB HOME
Looking Up History of
New Residence.
Minister Cooper's PuupueO-Sugar
a Skeleton.

One of the new estates here in whicl
there is unfailing interest for both tn
town people and the tourists is tn,
new home of Minister H. E. Coope
in Manoa Valley. 1t is a large ston,
building after the style of the ole
On pronounced eminence with wide
drives anG sloping lawns, it is strik
ing and picturesque building. The ma.
terial is native from quarries not dis
tant and the arrangement of the in
terror, with its court and rooms open
ing off the tiled area, is suited to
country life in Hawaii most admirably
There is a priceless lanai, with a view
affording panorama from Diamond
Head to Waianae mountains.
| II may fairly be said that Minister
| Cooper has set the pace in the matter
of a suburban residence. His place
will long be noted as model of a re-
| treat after a day in town, and as an
| ideal home Besides being family
| place, it is so built as TO be we'll adapt
| ed to entertaining. The owner has put
his best thought into his Hawaiian
home and is gratified with the result.
The air out there is quite different
from the town atmosphere, yet the
place is easily accessible. Puupueo is
the name OF the estate. This is Hawai-
ian for Owl Hill as the knoll has been
called for many years. Minister Cooper
bought land in Manoa when it was
handing the handsome figures that are
now offered for the acres. Puupueo
includes a considerable tract of land
There is belief that at PuupueO,
something about seventy years ago, the
first serious attempt to produce sugar
commercially on this Island was made
The enterprise was launched, it is
thought, by a man named Wilkinson
Minister Cooper is looking up the facts
On the land lately there have been
found many evidences that it once had
buildings and machinery. The estate
must have been a scene of much labor
and activity and anxiety. Foundations
upon which rested the mill and the
engines and boilers are yet quite dis
tinct Some stone was used in con-
struction, but most of the material was
a blue brick that in all likelihood was
imported from China. One of the pits
is now used as an ash hole.
History relates that at one time I[a-
nf
Puupueo, or used it. The lower lands
could be made to produce taro and
sugar cane without much labor.
A perfect skeleton was dug up at
Puupueo a few days ago by a gang of
workmen employed in clearing land.
The laborers We're Chinese and on ac-
count of one of their suparstitiOns they
proceeded to destroy the human bones
by burning. They made a great brush
heap of dry lantana and underground
and kept feeding the pile. Minister
Cooper learned from his son of the
skeleton and tried TO get it. There
was rescued only a portion of jaw
and the teeth. The ivory had defied
the hottest fire.
The Hawaiians have many legends
concerning the owl. In ancient times
the bird was held in reverence by the
natives The story of Puupueo is that
an evil avenging spirit in the form OF
an owl overlook on the hill a man who
had been guilty of some very aggrav-
ating act. BY much appeal to the spir-
it the offender was spared.
In Thrum's annual of 1879, men
ton is made of the Manoa or Puupueo
sugar cane estate of 100 acres, with
rather the intimation that the chief
purpose of the enterprise was to pro-
duce rum. In any event after failure
at sugar business rum was made at
the place. 1t is stated in the article
in the Annual that sugar was first
made in the group on Lanai 1t is on
this Island that a new plantation is
at this day about to be established. On
Oahu, before the mill was set up N
Manoa, sugar was made in small guam
titles in a very crude way in Honolulu
This was done by pounding cane in
poi trays The Lanai sugar was made
by Chinese who brought their mill
from China and took it back again
The first sugar enterprise of any mag
nitude was inaugurated at KoIoa.
Kauai