Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-04
PROGRESS or HAWAIIAN NE
TRopoLIs m 100 YEARS.
Early Traders Bartsred Cloth, Mails.
Iron Hoops, Arms and Ammuni-
tion for sandalwood.

bay. the entrance into the inner harbor
through the reef had been discovered by
Capt Brown. the MASTER of the schooner
Jackal. which. In 1T94. was the first to
drop anchor In the stream
The safe anchorage thus made known to
the mariners of the day and the certainty
OF welcome from the new ruler Of the
island advanced the port to leading place
in the opinions Of the pioneer traders. so
tain navigating these waters had secured
rude charts OF the harbor and made OF
Honolulu more or less settled headuuar-
ters
century many trading schooners put in.
their masters finding II most profitable to
barter iron hoops. nails. coarse cloth and.
later. guns and ammunition for sandal
wood Eventually this trade grew into
large proportions. foreign depots being es-
tablfshed ashore to handle the whole car
goes Of Chinese and American goods
brought here and to the other islands to
wood forests. Between December l, 1917.
and September 20. 1918. the arrival and
sailing of thirty EIGHT ships was noted in
the Journal of James Hunneweli one OF
the first foreigners to open a trading store
in Honolulu.
Coming Of Missionaries.
At the same time the natives began to
of the foreign ships. and eventually some
of these found their way to New England.
Here they attracted the attention of phil
anthropic people and as result n foreign
mission school was founded under the
| auspices of the American Board of Com
missioners for Foreign Missions. Tba apti-
tude Of some OF the Hawaiian pupils still
further attracted attention, which found
expression in the sailing of a company OF
| missionaries from Boston for ..te Sand
| witch Islands In 1919 on the brig Thaddeus,
a name which is destined to live in Ha-
waiian history az that Of the Maytiower In
the annals of America.
After months of sailing the band of mis-
sionaries reached these shores March 81.
1920, and began the work OF Christian CIV
ilization. The party numbered nineteen
Rev. Hiram Bingham. Rev. Asa Thurston.
DR.. Thomas Holman. David Chamberlain.
Samuel Whitney. Samuel Ruggles. Elisha
LOOMS, with their wives and the five chill
dren OF the Chamberlains. With them as
interpreters came some of the native grad
yates OF the Boston school,
The killing of Capt. Cook and the mas
sacreing of other white sailors on the
islands had given the impression abroad
| that there would be grave danger for the
ones daring to attack the native religion
on the ground, and tiding from the Thad-
deus was eagerly looked for in New Eng
| land for seventeen long months after the
expedition sailed. Great was the relief.
therefore. when out Of the long silence
CdiHc Inc WOIu. ue gus VI al Q
no observation-disclosures is dead--Lholiho is
! king-the tabu is abolished and the tenn
| pies and idols are destroyed.
Nevertheless there was some difficulty
experienced by the missionaries in seeur-
ing permission to land. and for eight days
after the arrival of their vessel they were
detained aboard while the chiefs debated
Two points had to be settled, one the warn
ing given by the whites already established
that the coming of the missionaries was
the entering wedge for foreign conquest
and the other the desire of the chiefs to
please Vancouver by waiting for the mis-
sionaries he had promised to send When
assured that the religion of the Aneri-
cans and English was one, and seeing that
the party was small and unarmed per-
mission was given them to land and re-
/, main on trial for year.
The Grass Town of 1920.
The Honolulu which first received the
missionaries was village of several hun
bred grass huts clustering around coral
fort substantial building recently erect
ed and being the only structure showing
any signs whatever of modern improve
ment This fort. which had been built
four years before In answer to Russian
raid. stood at the hIgE-iide mark on the
harbor shore, defending the entrance to
the stream and oyershadowing the town.
its forty guns, mounted on wooden car
rages, frowning on the walls. Beneath
these guns lay the little ships of the kings
navy and some few schooners in the san
dalwood trade
Here, in the grass houses near the site
OF the old Bethel, at the present corner of
Bethel and King streets, the newcomers
began their work, establishing the first
school in the islands and reducing the prim-
tive tongue OF the Hawaians to a written
language. The following year the first
frame house was erected, the materials
for which had been brought around the
Horn on the Thaddeus ready to put to-
gether. The king, who in the meantime
had moved his court to Honolulu and erect
ed a grass palace on the ground now occu-
pied by Hackfeld & Co., objected to the
building of such a permanent structure, no
foreigner heretofore having been allowed
to have better dwelling than the king
himself. But the opposition was overcome
and the house built on the then arid plains
to the east of the town. known for many
years after as the Mission. Here. too.
was erected the first church, a rude grass
building called the Mission Chapel
Impressions Of Pioneer.
Other missionaries arrived in 1922, and
from the journal of Rev. Charles S. Stew
art is learned the impression made upon
the expatriated teachers by the appear
ance of Honolulu while / gazed on the
thickly crowded huts Of the natives" he
wrote, seeming SO many sun-burnt ricks
of hay--and saw. with glass, their naked
inhabitants lounging about in iistless mac
tivity. l felt that had reached a strange
land" In the harbor was a stone quay
opposite the residence of the king. but as
this was tabu to commoners his party
landed at one side on the beach His walk
through the town Is further described: In
attempting to give you a sketch of my
walk you will almost think me sporting
with your credulity. The largest hut I
passed was not higher than my waist;
capable only of containing family, like
pigs in a stye, on bed of dried grass,
filled with fieas and vermin. Not bush or