The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-07-13

sometime after Kamehameha's death,
Kaahumanu had been anxious to find
a more secure depository for her treas
ure and at length her opportunity ar
rived.
I'm 1924 Lord Byron arrived at Homo
bodies of King Liholiho and Kama
malu, and after staying sometime in
Honolulu, Byron decided TO visit the
large island in order to explore the
volcano.
Queen Kaahumanu asked for pas
sage for herself and retinue as far as
Kailua. Her request was granted and
she went on board, taking at the same
time her beloved treasure and retinue
of about fifty men to guard the same.
On arriving at Kailua the treasure
which consisted of silver dollars, stor-
ed in calabashes, was transferred to a
cave on land where it was guarded by
sentinels day and night. Kaahumanu
subsequently got the puuku or native
treasurer to gradually transfer at night
time, all the treasure to another cave
situated in another part of the district
and thus the hiding place came to be
known only TO Kaahumanu and the
lpuuku.
! "Kaahumanu was not miser, but
was boarding up the money for what
she believed was a laudable purpose.
!
and was an enthusiastic supporter of
the 'palapala and the missionaries.
Her idea was TO save up enough to
help build churches in Honolulu, La
haina, Kailua, Waimea and all other
chief centers of population throughout
the islands. She could of course get
most of the requisite materials, such
as coral or lava blocks and rough lum-
Der. for nothing by simply issuing an
order to the principal chiefs to supply
the same, but in order to get good win
dows with glass; doors, bells and other
furnishings from Boston, she would
need to provide a large sum in ready
money. 1t was with this object in view
therefore that she had been saving up
for years.
"Kaahumanu as already said died
in 1882 without having touched her
hoard or attempting to carry out her
plan, and at the time my beachcomber
friend met the puuku or treasurer, the
latter alone knew of the existence and
locality of the great Kaahumanu
treasure. The old beachcomber asked
the puuku why he had not helned him
self to the money after Kaahumanu's
death. But it appears that the puuku
was only nominally a Christian and
still chung to his old heather super
stitionS and was afraid that should he
enter the dark cave and endeavor to
take possession of the dollars he would
be seized by the ghost of Kaahumana
and dragged to the lower regions. He
had therefore up to the time of meet
ing the Englishman, neither attempt
ed to again enter the cave nor had
he revealed the secret to any one else,
until he had done so to his white
aikane.
THE old English sailor learned from
the puUku the exact situation of the
cave and spot inside where the treasure
lay concealed and when the puuku
shortly afterward died, he visited the
spot indicated and after some search
found the narrow entrance to the
cavern. He provided himself with a
candle and drinking water and after
painfully working his way along the
cave and getting about half the dis
lance towards the spot where the pun
ku told him the treasure was hidden,
he found that his path was completely
barred by lot of solid pahcehoe lava
which had apparently been dislodged
from the roof by an earthquake. He !
began to think the puuku had been let /,
ting his fancy run wild and cursed
himself at having been fooled by a |
friend. He accordingly crawled out |
again and just when about threesyards |
or so from the entrance he noticed |
something shining on the ground. On !
picking up the article he found it to be /
an old Spanish pillar dollar dated 1870. !
I'm better spirits he returned home. |
resolved to return again in the near /
future armed with proper implements
and endeavor to force his way through
the lava. AS bad luck would have it,
shortly after his visit to the cave he (
was attacked by rheumatism. the re-
suit of early hardships and the rough
life he had led for so many years. He
was bed ridden for well nigh two years
and after getting better, although he
fully determined to make a second at
tempt, he had put it off from day to
day without doing anything
This yarn of the old man naturally
interested me very much, although
was inclined to believe that he was
drawing the long bow. I stayed with