The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-03-03

HE mortimer which has been blow
ing for several days past got a
straight shoot through the Pail
and descended upon Honolulu yester-
day with a force which turned the at
tention of the oldest inhabitant to the
thoughts of a hurricane. While the
windgauge at the residence of Profes-
sor Lyons showed only rate of about
fortyfive miles an hour, certainly
there were moments yesterday, and
during Saturday night, when this rate
was well nigh doubled.
The story of the damage of the storm
runs as a history of the nights and
days from Luakaha to Waikiki and
Kalihi. Everywhere there was a gale
which would not be denied and which
swept away fences, and in many in
stances. knocked down trees. The most
remarkable damage was done To the
old church in lower Punchbowl street,
which has been deserted for some time,
and where the wind. getting free en-
try, carried away the roof and then
blew down the walls.
All that prevented great harm was
the gusty nature of the winds. AT Lua-
kaha, the roof was blown off one of the
smaller buildings, but the particular
gust passed, and there was no greater
damage done to the buildings. Houses
on Pacific Heights and Tantalus rock
ed, but held. AS it was, Honolulu was
swept until weak trees and fragile
boughs strew the roadways, telephone
and electric light service is interrupt
ed and travel is accompanied by dam
gers from above.
At Waialae there was we'll nigh
hurricane. A deal Of damage was done
at the residence of d. p. r. Isenberg.
One cocoanut tree was blown down.
falling upon one wing of his house.
and cutting it through. There was no
one there at the time and the loss is
confined to the structure and the con-
tents of the room. In addition there
were several other trees blown down,
there being both cocoanut and alga-
roba trees among the ones destroyed.
At the Hawaiian Hotel Waikiki an
mex there was storm which threaten
ed to sweep away the old cocoanut
grove. The wind swayed the trees like
pendulums but only one gave way.
This one was back in the field, and its
falling did no damage. There was one
of the large algaroba trees blown down
as well. but it did little damage in fall
ing.
Last night a visit to Kapiolani Park
discovered that there seemed at least
one half of the trees in the park down
under stress of weather As the trees
in falling broke others. blocked the
roads and prevented any one from
crossing through the park, the entire
damage was not known. The loss IN
the trees will not be less than one
third of the valuable ones in the dis
trict. covering pines, algarobas and
ironwood trees. Commissioner Wray
TayIor expects to find that many of the
thriving trees of Nuuanu nursery nave
been destroyed, as recently when the
wind was not nearly so high as at pres
ent. there was great damage done In
the CITY many rare trees and shrubs
suffered and bananas were whipped to
ribbons and many destroyed.
The first interruption of traffic which /
occurred to the Rapid Transit road
was that of last evening, about 9;l3
o'clock A telephone wire fell across /
the trolley wire at a point opposite to /
Instantly there was grounding and
cutting of off the current This de-
Iayed the car about twenty minutes
for the current had to be shut off and
he wire removed. The excess of cur
rent burned out all the telephones on
The line.
The wind reached terrible force at
The peninsula There were more than
dozen great trees blown down. The
principal ones were on the place of B. +
F. Dillingham;. who lost eight shade
-rees. while W. w. Hall saw three fall /
All along the peninsular there were
,aIIen trees and some of the roads were
,losed.
The greatest damage resulted in the
extremes Of the city. Saturday after
noon there was a gale which swept
,ver Kapiolani Park. and which made
L impossible for the polo players to
AIRY through their game. The result
vas that while the players and specta-
crs struggled to see the play, they
we're entertained by the crashing OF
alHng trees and the swapping OF brittle
coughs The roads OF the PARK were
strewn with the debris of 1he gale