Painted by, J. Mlay Fraser LIHUE MILL AT NIGHT 19~28 KOAMALU zA4 Story of Pioneers on Kauai and of lf7Aa t 7ihe '13 u ilt in Island garden T/hat By Ethel M. Damon Volume 2 Privately Printed Honolulu 1931 Copyright 1931 by Ethel M. Damon PRINTED AT THE HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN PRESS T 4 o V The Chapters of Volume 2 BOOK III. Paul Isenberg 13 Koamalu Children Growing Up....................Pages 497 to 569 14 A New Home Within the Old............-........ ---.570 to 611 15 Life at Ebb and Flow.......................... —.612 to 672 16 Again in the Fatherland................................... 673 to 720 17 Expanding Interests..................................-...- 721 to 767 18 Affairs Political and Personal.......................... 768 to 813 19 Koamalu Transplanted.......................................814 to 860 20 The Century Turns........................861 to 931 Genealogies...............-..............935 to 940 Index to Volumes 1 and 2. BOOK III Paul Isenber~, Koamalu Children Growing Up Like a flash of sunlight, memory leaps backward so nimbly from peak to peak along life's trail that the valleys of growth and toil lie often long unnoted in shadow. Yet while we linger gladly on the mountain tops of happy childhood with Maria Rice's little sister, Baby Nana, the sudden realization comes upon us that when she was a child of five, Molly and Willy had grown to be nine and twelve, laughing Emily was almost fifteen, and Maria, the adored oldest sister, was already counting her seventeenth summer. From Tennessee Uncle Atwood was already making fun of the distended hoop skirts of the newer fashions which, in less than a year, had crossed continent and ocean to become the prevailing mode even in Lihue among quite young ladies. Koamalu was fast growing up. Toward the end of the year 1858 Maria, who was not in the best of health, made a short visit in Honolulu and during that time received two letters, one from sister Emily at school in Koloa, and one from her father at home. Between the lines of her father's loving message one fancies that the lady to whom he refers may possibly be his own oldest daughter. Koloa, December 13, 1858. Dear Maria, As the John Young is going to sail for Honolulu today, I thought I would write you a short note. Mollie is staying with me at the Doles now. She is sick today with a fever & so I am staying away from School to take care of her. Last Saturday, which was not our week to go home, Emma Smith, Willie 6 I went to meet Mollie. We started on our horses at five minutes to ten & got clear over to Lihue, by the place where Mr. Charman used to live, before we met them. So on we all went home & took dinner, 6 started for Koloa at 15 minutes past two. We were just about an hour going from Koloa to Lihue. We 498 K A M A L U raced like everything. Some of your plants have come up that Dr. Hillebrand gave you. You remember the queer man in Koloa who has a daughter Sophia. Well, he went over to Lihue mill & offered Sophia to Mr. Whipple for a wife. They say Mr. Prevost nearly died laughing at the performance. They told Mr. -- that they thought the new sugar boiler at Koloa would like Sophia, so he came back home. He is making a stone wall for Mr. Dole and says he can finish it in three hours. But they think it will be a wonder if he gets it done in a week. It looks awful stormy. I hope we shant have any more rain. Last week there was almost a flood. Maulili stream was very high. We could almost Swim to School, and the bridge between Kahookuis & Dr. Smiths was all covered with water. I believe they are going to name Mrs. Prices baby Lavinia. Clara & Marion Rowell went up there on Saturday & they say it is a very red baby. I cannot write any more now so Good Bye Your aff. sister Emily. P.S. Dont let any one see this letter. I wrote it in great haste. E. D. R. Lihue Plantation, Dec. 10th, 1858. Dear daughter Maria: We were all glad to learn that you had so comparatively pleasant a trip up. I am not very well again today. I have worked too hard for my strength, but. I dont mean to do so any more. Will you select at Castle & Cooke's the nicest sewing chair with rockers & arms, smaller than our large rocking chairs & a little larger than Anna's chair, a good size larger, & have it charged to me. Either cane seat or hair cloth, as you may judge. I want it for a new years present to a lady. We had very heavy rain the night you left & for several days after, so that we are wallowing in mud. Mr. Wilcox & Miss Bishop went on toward Hanalei this A.M. Your aff. father, W. H. Rice GROWING UP 499 But life was not filled with illness and rain and voyages to town. By common consent of the neighbors on the east side of the island, the Fourth of July was set apart for a joyous celebration, which began by meeting at the mouth of the Wailua and poling the whole party of children, young people, staid governesses, parents, ranchmen, and plantation men, on a big scow up the quiet river for lunch on its banks. Mrs. Smith's sister, Miss Knapp, who accompanied the Widemann family, was at that time the governess for their children and, in the eyes of the gay young girls of eighteen, apparently added much to the fun of the party by her dreamy abstraction. By some miraculous power, these same young ladies not only disposed of their large hoop skirts upon a crowded scow, but, after lunch, carried them up the steep bank of the river where their saddle horses awaited them, conveyances by which, in some manner even more marvelous, both hoops and young ladies were transported to the Wailua Falls mansion. Every family has its portraits. One of the Rice-Isenberg family tapestries, an heirloom indeed, was woven by Hannah Maria out of the colors and gay laughter which echoed in eyes and ears for days after the celebrated Fourth of the year of our Lord 1859. Yesterday was the 4th of July and we agreed to celebrate it by a sail up the Wailua River. We all rose early and by 10 A.M. our party started. We were, my Father, Mrs. Burbank of Koloa. Mary and Sammie Burbank, Pattie Cooke, Julia A. Gulick, Malvina Rowell, George Dole, Willie Smith, Charlie Alexander, Willie, Emily, Mary Rice and myself. G. Dole drove Mrs. Burbank in the carriage. The rest were on horse-back. I rode a new horse, Victor. We rode very slowly, tho our horses were very gay. In reaching the beach we found Mr. Hardy and Alice. Willie Andrews and Messrs. McBryde and Pomeroy there. We went into the verandah of a house to wait for the rest. Soon Dr. Smith came. He and Mr. McBryde came and talked to us 500 KOA M A L U awhile, a long time afterwards (so it seemed for that wasn't a pleasant place to wait). The carriage and the ladies with Mr. Pflueger came, and soon after, Mr. Isenberg. Miss Knapp was in one of her "abstract" moods and could not tell whether the Widemanns were coming or not. We waited till 12 o'clock and then went aboard. Such funny work as we had getting under way. First over one side and almost wrecked, then ditto the other, the sails flapping, Father and Mr. Pomeroy shouting, Mr. McBryde running all around, and general confusion. After a while we arrived at a house where there were a lot of melons for us and took them on board. We cut some and Emily sent melon boats down the river. Somebody said, "Mr. Pflueger is coming." "Is he swimming?" innocently asked Miss Knapp. Mr. Hardy sailed along in a nice canoe sometimes alongside, sometimes before or behind. The worst thing was to run ashore the other side among some rushes and drop an old man overboard who was attempting to steer the craft. We didn't wait, but as soon as we were free, went on. How many times we plumped in shore I cannot tell. Once I was sitting in an armchair when the sail gave a great lurch and Mr. Pomeroy came flying down as tho he would embrace me. I was out in a twinkling. Again, we were uncommonly far in, for Mr. Isenberg and a Native were pushing, when Mr. Isenberg's powerful arm pushed the pole in so far that it could not be pulled out, and we sailed away from it. Another time I was sitting on a low bulwark, when bump we went far into the hau bushes that hang in to the water. The bulwark was carried away and I was thrown down, safely caught by my sleeve, but laughing so that I could not rise. By some most powerful leap Mr. McBryde rose behind me and helped me to rise. He always persists that he saved me from falling overboard. Sometimes Mrs. Burbank was quite alarmed, but Pattie and I made ourselves very generally laughed at with all this and bragging of our superior sailorship. Mr. Hardy reclined on a mat in his canoe laughing at us.