The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-04

At the next meeting of the Hawaiian
Historical Society there may be present.
ed a plan of placing memorial tablets
on the different islands to mark places
of historical interest. The suggestion
has been made to members of that or
ganization to take up the question with
a view to permanently establishing the
sites. as it is believed that in the course
of a few years, not many persons will
be living in the Islands who can locate
them with any degree of accuracy.
Owing to the lapse of years since Ka-
mehameha l began his conquests and
the changes in topography, it is feared
that even now some of the places which
were famous in the days long before
the missionaries arrived from New En-
gland may not be accurately marked.
Among the points suggested fSr
marking is the landing place of Kane
hameha's armies in 1895 when his great
fleets of canoes were densely packed
along the shore of Oahu between Dia-
mond Head and Koko Head. 1t is said
that somewhere near Waialae the Ma
poleon of the Pacific personally came
ashore.
Next in importance are the various
places along the slopes or Punchbowl
and in N,,,,apn ValIav r-bara tho Ca
huans made their last stand against
the victorious armies of Kamehameha.
Prof. Alexander, when asked yesterday
concerning some of these historical
sites, said that perhaps half a century
ago he knew to a certain degree of
accuracy where some of the sites were.
He says that Kamehameha III on one
occasion accompanied several people up
Nuuanu Valley pointing out exactly
where the Chief Kaiana stood when he
was killed by a cannon ball from one
of John Young's field pieces. This place,
Prof. Alexander believes, is near James
Gordon Spencer's premises. A stone
wall was used as a defensive barrier
by the Oahuans, and Kaiana, the rene
gade and deserter from Kamehameha's
army, conducted the defense with the
Oahuan King, standing behind the wall
in full view of the Hawaiian forces, ar
rayed in his conspicuous feather cloak
and feather helmet.
The place from which the King of
Oahu commenced his flight into the
mountains to hide from Kamehameha
was known a few years ago to many
natives, but it is now thought that the
hand of time has removed most ot these
people. The King finally fell into the
hands of Kamehameha and was offered
up as a human sacrifice somewhere on
Mr.. Damon's country estate at Moana-
lua. The spot where the last of the
Oahuans went over. the Pail is not ex-
actly known, but is said to have been
at the left of the present road. Those
who did not go over the Pail at this
point, fled along the ridge to the west
ern part of the island. Kamehameha
also established his residence at Wal
kiki near the Queen Dowager premises,
and the place was formerly marked by
grove of kou trees. About fifty years
ago the last big kou tree was standing
but it succumbed sometime in the SOS
to the insects which have nearly de-
stroyed all the kou trees in the ISL
ands.
The plan suggested for preserving
these places for all time, is that stone
monuments with metal tablets attached
to each and properly inscribed with a
brief history of each incident, be plac-
ed at the following places: Landing
place OF Kamehameha at Waialae; last
Kaiana was killed; end of the battle
at the Pail where the Oahuan army
was forced over the precipice; site of
Kamehameha's Waikiki residence; and
the place where the death of the last
King of Oahu occurred. Another in
teresting place to mark is in Manoa
Valley where Queen Kaahumanu had
her royal residence.
The local landing place of the first
missionaries in 1920 is said to have been
near the present Boat Landing. close
TO Brewers wharf. where the old fort
once stood. This landing place, together
with the place why're the strangers first
yyorshinr1sd in the rrasert TEawaiahao