The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-09-19
KAMEHAMEHA PAID FOR
SHIRTS WITH FAT PIGS
Prof. Alexander Gives Interesting Data of
EARLY Observation-Disclosures Tells of
haWaiians Abroad.

When Kamehameha the Great bought
an ordinary shirt from trader enroute
to China in 1919. the great conouero"
little thought that the incident would
be handed down to posterity as his
torical occurrence and placed in the
archives of the Hawaiian Historical
Society Kamehameha's shirt cost him
a fat pig, and was accredited by the
trader in his ledger as being worth
about 81. 50.
Before the Historical Society last
evening Prof. w. D. Alexander read an
interesting paper on EARLY Trading in
Hawaii--1S19'' in which he told of the
Honolulu a book containing ledger ac-
counts of transactions in Honolulu in
1919. Prof Alexander ascertained that
the books were originally acquired by
the Court of Chancery in 1874 in the
settlement of the complicated affairs
of French & Graham.
1 It
China arriving in the brig Niu in
March. This was the year made
memorable, said the speaker, by the
death of Kamehameha, the succession
| of Liholiho, and the abolition of the
tabu by Kaahumanu.
The ledger accounts We're interesting
and among them is noted: 'Tameha-
meha bought two shirts, paying two
! canoe-loads of vegetables" A week
later the conqueror bought sixteen kegs
of rum, valued at $4,000 for which he
paid 500 piculs of sandalwood, valued
at $40 per Dicul.
| Liholiho purchased a number Of mus
kets, gunpowder, bullets, etc, and the
boat "Keowa" valued at $1460 for
which he paid 416 piculs of sandal-wood
and four hogs. Prof. Alexander said
the purchase of the fire arms was time
ly as they were used with great effect
in putting down an uprising eight
months later.
Kalanimoku also bought a shirt and
paid a hog for it. Kamehameha also
purchased $1,000 worth of cloth and
bought the brig Niu for s51.75O, Can ex-
orbitant price said Prof. Alexanderl,
!
| ing his note for the balance. There is
also an account with Boki, who bought
six packs of cards for which he paid IS.
The kings and chiefs ran up bills
amounting TO SCI 900, and paid in SAN
dalwood, giving notes for $4,000 Mr.
Adams found the brig to be 'rotten"
and it had to be taken to Pearl River
for reuairS.
1919, new shirt and three pounds of
tobacco. Other purchasers We're john
HarbottIe, a pilot; Thomas Meek,
George Beckley and VIM. Davis.
The traders quoted at that time Chi
nese umbrellas at So each and blue cloth
at SO a yard.
Ed Towse read a paper entitled
Some Hawaiians Abroad" devoted to
the exploits of Hawaiians who, from
vancouver's time down to the Sioux
war in the COS, have impressed their
individuality in other lands. He spoke
at length on Richard Henry Dana's
estimate of the Hawaiians he had met
on the California coast during the Span
ish occupancy, and told of the natives
VINO had joined John Jacob Astors
trading enterprises along the Columbia
river. and concluded with a glowing
account of the achievements of Frank
Grouard, the famous chief of scouts in
the United States army. who was a
PoIynesian by birth, and generally be-
lieved to be of Hawaiian parentage.
Dana first came in contact with Ha-
waiians in southern California in 1885,
many of them having reached the
coast in smugglers. One was a sailor
known as Mr. Bingham" named after
the elder Bingham. This mans front
teeth had been knocked out, it was
said, at the death of Kamehameha, and
the Americans joked him by saying
he had lost his teeth eating Captain
Cook, an allegation which "Mr. Bing-