The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-09-14
TWIN sCOURGEs OF HAMAKUA
DISTRICT.
Hilo Tribunes Statement of the Situa-
ton as it Was Last Tuesday-A new
Fire Started.


bune publishes the following concerning |
the Hamakua drought and fire.
The Hamakua forests are still fire |
swept and the cOnflagration was report |
ed Tuesday to be raging more fiercely
than ever. Strong winds the first of the |
week famed the flames into renewed
fury and the main line of the fire pass |
ed over to Parker's ranch, where 1t Will
sweep a stretch of forest containing !
10000 or $4,000 acres unless b is beaten
out by small army of men or unless /
the windows of the sky are opened and ]
a providential deluge is sent to quench
spreading fires. New fires have broken
out below the dead line originally cut
by Horner's men to confine the fire
to the higher attitudes and keep it out !
of the cane fields and settlements. One
of these later fires is above Paauilo
plantation and has already burned one
half the area of a 1000 acre tract, al
| ready surveyed by the Government and
soon TO have been thrown open to set
tiers by Commissioner Boyd. The dry
mould on the surface of this rich
| ground has burned to a depth of six
| inches and it is not believed that a bid
! of 81 per acre can be obtained for the
| portion burned.
The Ookala homesteads back of the
original starting point of the fire are
threatened by fire which burned back
ward along the higher slopes with the
| evident intent to devour what has been
| left in the wake of the first big blaze
The danger point Monday was in the
! koholalele strip above Kukaiau planta-
! tion. A fire which had been shoulder
! ing for two or three weeks, broke into
| a roaring flame and was making rapid
headway toward a group of Portuguese
| homesteads. A squad of men were sent
| to this point from Horner's ranch to
cut off the progress of the fire if possi-
| bic and arouse the settlers to the neces-
sity of fighting the fire at the outset and
not wait until it appears at their front
| gates.
I Albert Horner manager of Kukaiau
plantation was in town Tuesday He
has been confronting problems out in
Hamakua forest for the past two and q
halt months, that more probably belong
to military general opposing an in
Vadlng army, than to a plantation man.
aser or the lover Of a pretty gated
horse. Horner has spent $4,000 in the
effort to stop the Hamakua fires and is
now compelled to admit that the con-
migration is greater and fiercer than
!, ever. He is still of the opinion, now
ever, that the fire which has denuded
p 2OOOO acres of heavy growth of tim
Der can be controlled, stopped and en-
tlrely quenched Mr.. Horner wants 300
men, the money to pay them and one
months time. He believes with such
a force the great fire can be subdued.
When Governor Dole sent word to the
Hamakua planters that they must put
out the fire and rely on the Government
to do the right thing Mr.. Horner pro-
ceeded accordingly to raise a force of
men to fight it. None of them would
take the Governors promise however
so Horner has been systema tically pay
ing the men himself. BY the last mai
he wrote to the Honolulu agents of Ha-
makua plantations, asking them to sub.
l.I scribe mOnpV tn lxa
palgn of determination against the fire
Ihe area burned is almost wholly Gov.
ernment land and the people of the dis
trict cannot understand the supine in
difference of the Government to Gala
nifty of already large proportions and O
constantly increasing gravity.
The racing of wild flames through
the forests of Hamakua have served t.
distract attention from the curse of tn,
drought in the -canefields below Th,
rev score acres of cane actually con
sumed by the blaze are paltry and in
significant when compared with tn,
damage wrought by the withering
parching breath of the drought TIL,
report of one of the leading manager
of the district is that the cane crop 70
1902 on some 10000 acres has gone b,
the board. The young cane which ha
J. come up since last harvest and whicl
st should not be cut is being rushed to tn
IS mills as fast as laborers can get /
m there. Even now, one half of th
Is young cane is so dry and lifeless that
'e is left on the field. The plantations O,
Id which these conditions exist are Ookala
,e kukaiau, PaauilO, Paahau, Honokai
,e and Kukuihaele.
,r The drought has left Horner's ranc
Id with scarcely bucketful of fresh wa
ter. The great cisterns with capacit
l. of 100000 gallons have been exhauste
\ and the 1000 or 5000 head of cattle an
l. other stock have been taken in smal
Of bands in all directions in search o
water and pasture.
1t is thought that the drought will
lessen the demand for plantation labo
in this district and set free a larg
Is number who will go to other planta
- tions. In one settlement of 100 Portu
L guese only four remain, the others hay
De ing abandoned their homesteads to g
elsewhere for work until rain comes an
makes their farms productive Fo
Is days the roads out of Hamakua haV
lie been alive with the exodus of peopl
and stock fleeing from the drought.
- Tuesday afternoon a telephone mes
sage called Mr. Horner back to Hama
kua. 1t was stated that the wind ha
changed to southerly and the Kalop
homesteads are in the track Of the fir
Horner's coffee plantation was burn
ing Tuesday afternoon, a new $2,5(
coffee house being reported consumed.
Albert HOrnef telephoned the TflDur
Wednesday afternoon concerning III
outbreak of the new fire which calle
him home suddenly on Tuesday. tt
fire originated several hundred yarC
below the lower line of the big fire ar
was caused by two native bee-hunter
= They failed to eXtinguish the fire star
ed to smoke out the bees. The resu
Is a new forest fire which at Wedne
day p. m. had spread over about 6
acres and among other damage is bur
ing coffee. The coffee houses on Il
Horner plantation which We're report
burned are still alright.
WILL LAST THREE WEEKS.
i. b Kerr & Co. have close the