The Hawaiian gazette., 1913-01-10


Mics Nellic" aud probably the wife
Of Rev " A. brown.
With "Miss Nellie" little Mar,
itnt clod about China. accompanied her
mistress so New York. where she was
thc object of much curiosity, and whrfc
hcr pathetic story was the subject OF
much comment Later came the news
of the discovery OF gold IN California
and with the rush 60 the western gold
fields went Mary, now q grown up young
woman.
Mites NcIhc" had died, much 90 the
..ici ot her ptutt-e. and although .gN
Ed over 90 a huily m s,lvuty uuuit
named Bates. refused TO b comiortt
for a long time. Ii was with the Bates
family that she boarded the good ship
Hope Well in the year lSiS, and set
sail, via Cape Horn, for the California
gold fields. Terrible storms drove them
out of their course, and they were many
months reaching her destination, land.
ing at various places along the South
American coast and at Mexican cities
At last they reached Monterey, there
being only two houses there at the
time of their arrival.
After two months residence at Mon.
terey, and several months in the vari
Gus mining camps, the Bates family, nc.
eompanied by Mary, again set sail,
this time for the Hawaiian Islands. to
which place Mary had long been an.
Xious to return.
Early in 1850 they landed in Homo.
lulu, then village of grass houses and
a few heavily built stores and official
buildings. Mary sent n letter to her
relatives on Kauai, who had many years
ago mourned her death, thinking that
the boat in which she had left their
shores, when a girl Of seven or eight
years, had been lost and that the oc.
cupants had been eaten by sharks, if
they had not persisted by starvation and
thirst.
When the letter reached her relatives
the girls mother and three sisters, ac.
companied by her three brothers. i'm.
mediately came to Honolulu, her father
having died. There was great rejoicing
and a luau which lasted for several
days and which was attended by hun.
dreds of natives who were very much
excited by the strange temperance of
the girl, now a handsome young WON
an, and who never wearied of hearing
her relate her experiences.
Mary had become attached TO Mrs.
Bates and her children and did not ac-
company her relatives back to Kauai,
but remained to serve her foster mother
and the little ones.
Later, she married, her husband dy-
ing after few months. She married
again and the second husband was
carried off by the smallpox. The third
time she married her husband lived
only year She married fourth
time and they lived happily together
for twenty years. He died early in
the present century.
These facts she related in the cir.
cut court during an intricate land case
which was tried before Judge Gear in
1901. She has been summoned as n
witness, her testimony being relied
upon to establish the validity of Ger.
tain patents to extensive and valuable
lands, the ancient boundaries of which
were in dispute, The old lady scorned
the services of an interpreter on the
witness stand and told her story in good
English. astonishing the court and
silencing the lawyers, as, with Hawa-
iian freedom of gesture and animated
features she related the details of her
most remarkable career.
In the twilight of her life Mary re.
lapsed into the easy way of Hawaiian
living and at her old home in Vineyard
street would be seen barefooted and
wearing hololu. Hers was fine,
strong face, in which animation was a
conspicuous feature.
When the United States senatorial
commission was in Honolulu in 1902,
one of the most interesting persons that
appeared before that body was Mary
Maihiai. The United States senators
visited her at her humble home, and
from her lips they heard her interesting
story. They were delighted with their
visit.