The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-06-25
BY Sol. N. Sheridan.

HILo, Hawaii, June 1.-Two days,
in the life of man, is little while.
Two days, in vehicles various and over
roads that are a muck of dust where
they are not gnarled with rocks, may
come to seem like a lifetine-and then
some. We were two days from the
plantation of Honokaa to Hilo, and by
the courtesy of Manager Gjerdrum of
Honokaa we were relieved of the neces-
sity of making that distance on horse
back.
They do things in large and lordly
way, these plantation managers. My
friend, otherwise known in Honolulu as
the politically wicked Mr.. Achi, once
made reference in a speech on the
floor of the Senate of Hawaii to the
<fSugar Bar-rons with the accent
on the last syllable-meaning the own
ers of sugar plantations.
My friend, Mr.. Achi, as usual, was
mistaken. 1t is the managers of the
plantations who keep baronlal state.
Take, for example, Mr.. Gjerdrum of
Honokaa. You come to his place, look
ing rather like a tramp on horseback,
tired and dusty and sore and feeling at
war with all mankind-yourself rather
more than with any other. If ven
come, as I did, from Waimea way, over
the new road and down past the home
steads in the forest, you will have rid
den down a rocky causeway that is like
:; stone staircase whereof mischievous
Titans have removed every other stair,
and your tired, footsore horse will have
so shaken you at the end of long day
that YOU will fall rather than dismount
at the gate of a mansion set on hill, |
from which CLEAN many electric lights.
NATURES NOBLEMAN.
And you will be delivered into the |
hands of tail. handsome man in white, I
who looks like Nansen, and has in his
nature that gentle Morse strength that
will serve to the end-and do no man
harm. You will be delivered into his
hands, and will be perfectly content to
rest there. 1t was only in the most
casual way, sometime during the see
ond day at Honokaa, that | learned
that Manager Gierdrum had sent the
horses that had carried US from Wal
mea The knowledge came as no sur-1
prise. 1t seemed the natural and proper
thing for him to do a mere matter of
course. He was the kind of man who
sends horses and men, here, there and
everywhere. to DO his will.
His welcome to Honokaa was of the
same large, lordly kind. He was the
ruler of the land and we We're his
guests Wherefore, we felt that we had
an interest of proprietorsilip, ;
by right of his hospitality. And that,
I take it, is the perfection of tact.
Manager Gierdrum is the real ruler
of the plantation on Hawaii that car {
ries the largest burden of homesteaders
in proportion to its area. He carries
that burden as he carries all the rest. l
indeed, if 7 were a capitalist with s
money to invest, / think | would put 1
t in Hcnokaa because of Gjerdrum.
HOMESTEAD WORKERS.
The Honokaa settlers have their
on the uplands and at din
Ter, after we had been shown into
comfortable rooms and had bathed COM Il
ortably IN the Manager 5 house, II
lad very nearly written castle-on the il
ill, the talk turned upon sugar, of OF
curse. and plantation matters and the ol
lomesteaders. The Manager was warm a
n his praises of the Portuguese set T
lers He would not have complained to
they had turned out badly, but was b.
iainIy glad to have the men that he OF
ad, although there were not enough of ft
hem TO do any work in the fields. BY
hey were employed, for the most part, sc
bout tire mill and with the teams. m
tThey have their own little cane w
atehes up there he said, ''and the ba
omen and children take care of them dr.
y the men ride down here to work
Big