The times., 1899-10-01
OLDEST LIVING WOMAN
KepoOlele Apau Said to Possess
That Distinction.
She Is Hawaiian, and the Anthem
for by Reliable PeopIe-A Connect
ing Link Between the Distant
Past of the Island and the Present.

The oldest woman in the world, accord
ing to official census reports, lives in Ha-
waii, and is 124 years of age. Her name is
Kepoolele Apau, and her claim TO ad-
vanced age has been thoroughly investigat
ed by Hon. Alatau I. Atkinson, the gen
eral superintendent of the Hawaiian cen
sus Mr.. Atkinson is now in Washington
receiving instructions on the new cen
sus tc be taken in Hawaii.
.'The Oldest inhabitant in Hawaii, pos
sibly of the world" said Mr.. Atkinson to
the reporter, SIS Kepoolele Apau, of Homo
lulu. By careful investigation 1 found in
this person a curious and most important
historian, linking the past with the pres
ent Hawaii.
Among the census returns received in
my Office were many which gave ages
of natives varying from 100 to 10 years,
and SO on. These cases l had investi-
gated by the district superintendents; but
when l came across venerable woman in
Honolulu who claimed to be 124 years
of age, / thought it was time to make in
vestigation on my own account
"To carry out this investigation | re-
quested Professor Alexander and Mrs. Ma
luina to accompany me. Professor Alex
ander has a worldwide reputation as an
historian of the islands, as man of ex-
act thought and of the highest culture
Mrs. Nakuina is Hawaiian woman of
high education, both in English and her
own language, and has also very thor
ough knowledge of the history of the
country. For myself, my training as
newspaper editor has made me ready to
watch for facts, and a long period of work
as inspector general of schools has forced
me TO value evidence and weigh 1t care
fully | give the above statement because
! wish the deductions We have made to
bear the stamp Of exactitude, the case be-
| ing a peculiar one and likely to be doubt
| ed
.on entering the house we found the
aged woman sitting upon the floor. She
was attended by two women, one of whom
was the wife of a grandson. She was very
deaf and though not blind, could not see
very clearly However, when held dol
lar in my hand she saw it, put out her hand
for it, and placed il in her pocket. rms
was at the close of the interview, but L
! mention it here to show what her faculties
were.
Professor Alexander, after some pre-
| liminary remarks, in order not TO alarm the
| venerable woman, suggested number OF
| historical questions which were put by
Mrs. Nakuina. From these questions we
Learned that she remembered the aboitlon
of idolatry and that she reeoliected the
| war in that connection. She stated that
she was a married woman and an attend
ant of Kapiolani l. when the latter de-
| scended into the crater of Kilanea and
| broke the tubu, and that her name was
| changed from Kepoolele to Apaia in eonse-
ouence of the event She then told usher
ideas coming more quickly as she contin-
ued talking-that she remembered heona
being killed at Kawaihae. This occurred IN
1871. The event is thus described in Al
exander's History of the Hawaiian People.
page 1872:
The Slaughter of keona.
Toward the end of the year 1871, two
of Kamenhameha's chief counselors, ka-
manawa and Keaweaheulu, were sent on
an embassy to the Keona warrior at ka-
buku. in Kau. Keona's chief warrior urg-
ed him to put them to death, which he in
dignantly refused to do. By smooth
speeches and fair promises, they persuaded
him to go to Kaiwaihae and have an in
terview with Kamehameha in order to put
an end to the war; which had lasted nine
years Accordingly, he set out with his
own double canoe accompanied by Kea-
weaheala, in another canoe, and followed
by friends and retainers in other canoes.
AS they approached the landing at Kaiwai-
bae Keeaumoku surrounded Keona' s
canoe with number Of armed men. See
ing Kamehameha on the beach, Keona
called out to him, Here ! am, and re-
| ceiyed the reply Rise up and come here
that we may know each other" AS Keo-
ma leaped ashore, Keeaumoku killed him
with a spear. All the men in Keonas S
canoe and in the canoes of his immediate
company were slaughtered but one When
the second division approached kamena-
meha gave orders to stop the massacre
The bodies of the slain were then Laid
upon the altar as an offering TO the blood
thirsty divinity of Kukuilimoku. That OF
Keona had been previously baked In al
oven at the foot of the hill as last indig-
nity This treacherous murder made ka
mehameha master of the whole Island o
Hawaii, and was the first step toward tbs
consolidation of the group under one gov
ernment We may admire the edlhct
whose foundation he (Kamehameha) laid
but we must note that one OF It's corner
stones was laid in blood
Finally Kepoolele Apau volunteered tn
: information that she remembered the dig
ging of the well in Kau, and that sh'
; was a child at the time, similar to a chill
running about the house-a child Of be
? tween six and seven years. This event oc
CURED in 1871 and is described in Fornan
= der's history This would make her IL
) years old according to exact calculation
5 but it is quite permissible to allow her
| couple of years more, as she claims.
Il followed up another method OF inves
tigation and enquired how many children
= she had tracing their descendants Thi
e | was enabled TO do to the fifth generation
d Allowing the ordinary thirty years for
I generation, four generations would Civ
12o years and we can easily allow fou
years for the fifth, bringing out her age a
what she claims by an entirely diferen
method of investigation. We were there
= fore satisfied that the aged woman ha
spoken the truth.
What a curious link she is with tn
past! She must have been little, tod
: ding child when Captain Cook went
a the Hawaiian Islands. She has seen th
4 monarchy of Hawaii consolidated. and sh
h has seen its fall. She remains today
: monument of the past but one which mus
+ soon glide away and pass to the great un
known"
Emma NJ Nakuina and w. ID. AleXandt
u have certified that the above statement
are correct.
History of KeepoIeIe Apau.
a ''Kepoolele Apau was born in Keahiala
= la, in Puma, Hawaii, and was about 81
years old when Kamehameha made the a
.r tempt to sink well at Kalae, in Kau. Ks
J. pooIele, her first name, called after
le chief. KaIakauiani This chief was al
= cused of having caused the death of SON
= high chiefs by sorcery. and a petition VIZ