The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-11-26

to the sea.
The freshet waters sought outlets
everywhere along the line and when the
! front yards of the various houses in the
| Kewalo district were overlooked the
| fish went along too and took possession
! of the temporary homes. But the sharp
eyes of the native children soon espied
! the fins of the luscious mullet and tooth
! some aholehole and instead of going to
| school the youngsters went padding
| through the puddles grabbing and
| clutching at the fish. Soon the children
were Joined by the older folks and as
! fast as yard would become inundated
| the residents all barefooted. would go
wading over the lawns with nets and
improvised fishing apparatus trying TO
| land the unexpected food which had in
an indirect way, come from the clouds.
In fact for time as long as the wa
| ters were rising the conditions in Kewa-
| 10 were Identical with those in China,
which Charles lamb has told with such
unctious humor in his Essay on Roast
! Pig, for in the Flowery Kingdom the
! people used to set their houses on fire
| to roast their pigs, while today the Ha-
waiians were eagerly prayerful that the
storm might increase and flood them
out of front and back yard alike If It
would but bring them mullet and other
fish to help forget the Inconvenience of
the being inundated.
BAD STATE OF KING STREET.
King street Eva from Punahou was
probably one of the worst thorough
fares in the city For two blocks from
| keeaumOku street to Piikoi and Vic
toria streets the road was a sheet of
water, that reached in places to the
curbs and at ithers oVerran the side
walks. Few if any of the front yards
escaped inundation. In some places
| the water rose six inches above the
| bottom steps to the houses and no
thing short of a hn1t Or
rubber boots saved the office bound
Inhabitants from getting a ducking.
Matters We're especially bad at the
corner Of Keeaumoku and King streets
for the water raced, a small sized tor
rent down Keeaumoku and dumped
nearly all the drainage from the Ma
kik valley district onto King street
and the neighbOring premises. For the
first time in it's history Pains car line
was "out of sight" Everybody who
wanted to take a car down town was
positive in this declaration and when
the cars finally did arrive they could
not get through the six inches of wa
ter that hid the track. Passengers
were transferred and the walk of a
block or more which was incidental
to this change of transportation was
far from being conclusive to good nat
ure.
From Piikoi street toward the Wal
kiki road the mauka side of the King
street had been eXcavated for the
sewer. A portion of this excavation
had been refilled but for some distance
Waikiki from Keeaumoku street the
deep holes had not been closed. IN
conscious of the hidden danger the
driver of a buggy sent his horse speed
ing on the dangerous part of the road
with the result that the horse suddenly
lunged into one of the holes leaving no.
thing visible but it's head. A crowd
Ff 40 I,, sfe.Ng
the horse and after considerable trou-
BILE succeeded in eXtricating the ami
NAL. Later in the morning the dan
gerOuS portion of the street was mark
ed by a long line of posts which the
street department set in ~Osition.
All the morning the water came pour
ing down Keeaumoku and Piikoi streets
) but gangs of men were put to work
as speedily as possible and they sue
, ceeded in turning much of the flow in
= to the storm drains and diVerting it
toward the sea so that the King street
l was eventually cleared of the floods
both az these corners as well as at the
Victoria street corner of Thomas
7 Square. Up along Punahou street the
( freshets We're very heavy and washed
E out the road in three or four places
. mauka of the college. The grounds of
the college We're also covered in places
by the water and Wilder avenue, where
the rapid transit company's track is
I being laid, was impossible.
BERETANIA FLOODS.
2 Beretania street caught fully as much
\ of the water as did King but owing
n to the slight elevation of the former
4 thoroughfare over King the water sooT
n made it's way toward King street This
: was done by way of the intersectine
q streets and the various premises il
h the block Cottage Place was as usual
: a miniature river and that little stree
v had much the appearance of cities
S along the lower Mississippi in freshe
times.
During the early morning the watel
: came bounding and leaping down Ala
e pal street from the slopes of Punch
u bowl. across Beretania into Kint
; street. 1t looked as If several of the
Chinese and Japanese stores directly
y facing Alapai street would be flooded
y but embankments were hastily thrown
up and diverted the water dowI
= South and King streets. Later il
e the morning the flow from mauka o
3 Beretania stopped but Alapai from Be
q retania to King was long the bed of
e rushing stream supplied by the floot
= on Beretania street
MOST SERIOUS FLOOD.
The worst sufferers from the flood o.
Beretania street were the residents il
Mr.. Louis Berndt's house on the Eva
bowl street. The water from Punch
bowl early began to flow down tn
narrow street and before daybreak
had swept into Mr.. Berndts yard
inundating the entire lower floor an
driving the sleepers upstairs. Fo
hours the water backed into the var
until at least four feet cover
ed the back yards while at least a foe
was on the lower floor. The sligh
grade Eva on Beretania and mauk
on Punchbowl from the makai side Q
d Beretania caused the water from thre
quarters to gather at this corner, flood
n ing the street car lines and causin
L a blockade of cars for some time. .
gang of men finally succeeded in lC
eating the storm drains and openin
them and diverting the water int
these outlets. Holes were cut in II
fence at the Berndt place and by moo
most of the water had been let out a
I though the grounds were still inur
dated.
No trains on the Oahu railroad hay
Il