The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-05-31

something had to be done or bank
ruptcy was inevitable. The manager
OF the Makawao plantation, who was,
as previously stated, the brother of the
Mr.. Spencer who had gone to Philadel-
phia to purchase the new mill, took up
his plant bodily. placed II on board a
schooner. landed IL at Lahaina and
harvested the overripe crop. By the
time the second crop was ready the
much delayed mill had arrived and had
been installed.
The first mills in use on these islands
were very unpretentious creations but
none was more 80 than the one with
which the Pioneer Mill Co. harvested
It's first crop. Three heavy wooden
rollers set upright and made to revolve
together by means OF cogwheels at top
and bottom. were the crushers. y long
lever attached at the top OF one of the
rollers, with a pair of mules hitched
at the outer end. was the motive
power. Three operators were needed.
a man to drive the mules. and two,
crouching on opposite sides of the
rollers. to send the cane in and out
Each piece went one way between two
rollers and was returned between the
next two: the Juice was then trans
ferred to the boiling kettles which con-
stituted the next department OF the
mill. The kettles were relies OF the
whaling days. "trying-out pots" and
were FIVE In number. graduated In size
and set In n row over n sort of fur
mace. the smallest being over the hot
test fire and the largest next to the
chimney. The boiling juice was ladled
from kettle to kettle and finally into
the cooling pans. Thence II went into
n centrifugal turned by means OF a
small upright engine. and leaving that
Il had been through the third depart
ment OF the mill and was sugar. The
sugar was forwarded In kegs to the
Honolulu agents and IL paid" even
when produced in such crude way.
Not more than two or three crops had
been harvested by either of the La
haina plantations when. by the failure
OF a San Francisco firm Brooks & Coz
their Honolulu agents (Walker &
Allen) were forced to close their doors.
and bankruptcy, IL seemed for a time.
would be the inevitable end OF the
young plantations. Both hung in the
balance. as II were. until a Mr.. Pitman
previously mentioned as a heavy
creditor OF the Pioneer Mill Coz gave
that plantation an opportunity to re-
cover itself by extending the time for
the payment OF money due him and
relinquishing his claims to any inter
est in the loan. The Lahaina Sugar
Co.. less fortunate. was forced to sell
TO its rival. and as most OF the cane
being cultivated for that company was
not under lease. nothing was realized
from this source. The Pioneer Mill Co.
was able TO dictate prices and buy in
this cane at a handsome profit. Eventu-
ally most OF the land on which IL stood
came into the control OF the company,
and for a time no one entered the field
10 compete with the Pioneer Mill, which
grew strong and prospered.
About 1870 tNere were still some water
rights controlled by individuals. and
Eamehameha '. together with his
prime minister. a Scotchman named F.
w. Hutchinson. and Capt. Mckee OF
Ulupalakua, undertook the establish
ment OF n new plantation. under the
name of the West Maui Sugar Asso-
citation. The plan was to assist the ma
tives to grow the cane, the company
agreeing TO buy and grind It: a plan
that could be guaranteed to result in
total failure where the land owners
were ne more detern1iAed laberers than