The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-26
Governments
HAVE No CLAIM
HonoIuIu's Oldest Resident Says
He Bought Cook Monument
Site Himself.
HELPED PAY FOR THE SHAFT
Invites Johnny Bull and Uncle
Sam to Keep Off the
Grass Awhile.
HELPED PAY FOR THE SHAFT

Great Britain does not own the site
of the Cook IS monument, in spite of
deeds to the contrary, according to the
statements of John Cook of Honolulu,
Hawaiian Islands than any other white
man now alive. He is no relation to
the man who discovered the group and
whose life-blood poured out on the
rocky shore Of Kealakekua Bay, al
though he has the same name and
comes from the same country.
Mr.. Cook says that the land of which
the monument site Is part belongs
to the heirs of A A. Todd and that
the deed is now held in trust for them
by Mrs. Rodney, of Honolulu. The land
in question was purchased from the
Princess Likelike by Cook, who paid
over the money and gave instructions
for the deed to be made out to Mrs.
A. A. Todd, the mother of his daugh-
ter-in-law, although through error the
property was decided to Mr. A. A. Todd
and passed after his death to his heirs,
the present owners.
"All this talk about the government
of England and the government of the
United States figuring about land I
bought and paid for makes me tired, -
said Mr.. Cook. "Here is the receipt
l got for my money, a receipt made
out two years before the deed by which
it is said that Likelike transferred the
land to the British government
ba
says:
Honolulu, LIST Mar, 1875.
"Received from Mr.. Cook the
sum of Two Hundred and Twenty
Five Dollars on account of pur-
chase of land in Kona.
"M. L. CLEGHORN,
"Per A. S. CLEGHORN.
On the bottom of the receipt is writ
ten: "Between 700 and 500 acres
John Cook"
"This was before the monument was
built said Mr. Cook. "There was a
temporary monument there, however,
although neither the first monument
nor the present one mark the exact
spot where Captain Cook was killed.
| know the exact spot. / had it point
ed out to me by my first wife's grand
mother. who was woman at the time
and who was there and saw the blow
that ended Captain Cooks life and saw
him in his dying agonies.
"This woman lived to a very old age
and at her death, some years ago in
Kalihi. she must have been over one
hundred and twenty-five years old. She
was old enough, at any rate, to have
had two children big enough to run
around when Captain Cook came.
T 81 knew when the present monu-
ment was being built on the land L
had paid for and it was done with the
full consent of all concerned. / con-
tributed towards the expense and
others here did the same thing. [ was
proud to help build the monument.
Cook was an Englishman and so am I.
They didn t build it on the right spot,
however The exact spot where Cook
was killed is about seventy-fve feet
nearer to the old landing. The present
monument is nearer to it than the first
one and the copper plate, which was
first put up, nailed to a cOeoanut tree.
was the farthest away of any. used
to see that plate often.''
Kamaaina Indeed.
Mr.. Cook came to Hawaii sixty-ive
years ago and has never gone away vet.
This gives him his claim to being the
one with the greatest lumber of con-
secutive years in Hawaii of any liv.
ing man. He was old enough when he
came here. he says. to do good day :
work and get a full days pay for it. !"