(Instrumental music)
NARRATOR Today on Spectrum we visit the Garden Isle,
Kauaʻi. An island of dramatic scenery and stark contrasts. Where birds flock, artwork is
sketched, paintings displayed and the famous mokihana maile lei is gathered and composed.
Where legends are still told and the legacy left by the missionaries and the sugar planters
is examined. They say Kauaʻi lies in the track of the trade winds. In the 18th century, Kauaʻi
was the first point of Hawaiian contact with the outside world. Captain James Cook arrived for
the first of many British ships of exploration, seeking a safe port for English fur traders where
they might be wooded and watered. Once in Kauaʻi, the voyagers discovered that the Hawaiians living
here had perfected an ancient method of producing a highly valued commodity - salt. By creating
a series of salt ponds, the Hawaiians of Kauaʻi were able to convert seawater into salt crystals,
which were then used as a fish preservative and a condiment. This was an improvement over the
voyagers’ previous experience in Tahiti, where the natives dipped every mouthful of food into
seawater before eating it. These salt ponds are an example of native ingenuity seizing the advantage
of Kauaʻi's long dry season. In olden times, Kauaʻi was the only island to suffer from famine
due to drought. Yet to the Hawaiian, land was just as vital as water. For the two were inseparable as
the source of sustenance. For survival, the chief and his dependents had to control three kinds of
land: mountain for wood, birds and freshwater, kula land or level uplands, to build houses
upon to grow pili grass for thatching roofs, and for dry land taro fields. Finally, kahakai,
the land marked by the sea, where taro and coconuts were planted, the ocean was fished, nets
was spread, and inland fish ponds were cultivated. Legend tells us that this fish pond was built
by the menehunes in a single night. These little work people stood in two rows for 20 miles
across the southern hills from Makaweli Valley, passing the stones from hand to hand. Today,
busy hands now select freshwater prawns from ponds well planted with these delicacies. Using
nets, baskets and boxes, aquaculture is the name given to this new form of cultivation in Kauaʻi.
The arrival of missionaries marked a new era in 19th century Kauaʻi. At the urging of the
Hawaiian people, the Waiʻoli Mission House and Church were founded at Hanalei. Following
the ministers camemissionary teachers such as Abner and Lucy Wilcox, who began teaching
Hawaiians how to read and write their own language. Here is Robert Schleck, curator
of the Waiʻoli Mission House Museum.
Robert Schleck
Abner and Lucy Wilcox came here to Waiʻoli Mission House in 1846, along with their seven
sons, they came here as missionary teachers. The missionaries' influence was religious as well as
educational, and they, the Wilcoxes, trained their seven sons down in their, their mission school.
Their influence continued with the education of their several of their sons on the mainland who
went to the mainland to study new technologies which could be used here in Hawaiʻi. The greatest
influence of missionaries on Kauaʻi is of course religion and this is obvious through churches
here at Hanalei and and around the island. (Choir singing: Hoʻonani i ka Makua Mau, Ke Keiki
me ka ʻUhane nō, Ke Akua Mau hoʻomaikaʻi pū)
NARRATOR
Among the missionary descendants, several chose to become sugar planters. Here's
Barnes Riznik on plantation life in Kauaʻi.
Barnes Riznik
Plantations on Kauaʻi are interesting as they aren't all the islands, but they're
especially interesting because the earliest sugar grown and the beginnings of the sugar industry in
Hawaiʻi were right here on Kauaʻi in the 1830s at Kōloa. By the time of annexation 1898, you had
here on this island, you had nine plantations in operation. That's interesting today because
they're only four plantations still operating. But if you start on on the west side of the island and
run right around to the North Shore, you'd find that there were plantations located everywhere,
growing sugar. The impact of sugar on on Kauaʻi, of course, can be measured in several ways. The
physical appearance of the island, really the natural history of modern Kauaʻi is somewhat
shaped by sugar. The crop fields themselves, the irrigation systems, the cane haul roads,
roads, the former, former railway track beds, all of those, of course, give us a look of the
land that is directly attributable to sugar. But the impact of sugar is, it's, it's seen in, in
social ways as well. If you had nine plantations, that's that's where people were living. They
were living on the plantations, they were living in camps. And of course, as we know, each
plantation had more than one camp. At the time, let's say of annexation, or 1900, Grove Farm
had four camps, later expanded that to more than six. And if you look at the plantations
in terms of the social impact, it's the multi, multicultural life of the plantations that
give Hawaiʻi its, its own unique history. People coming, beginning, of course, with the
Chinese starting to work with Native Hawaiians on the plantations, and followed by Portuguese
and Japanese and then, of course, by Filipinos, you then have people bringing their own culture
and planting that here in Hawaiʻi and adapting to, to Hawaiʻi, to this place, and, and then finally
to to the United States itself. And that meant that on each plantation you had peoples who, who
brought with them their language, their music, their crafts, their family traditions, that
it's what we identify so much today as a part of Kauaʻi lifestyle.
Elsa Holtwick I've known him for quite a number of years, and he
had worked 50 years for one of the plantations on Kauaʻi. Came over when he was 20. In 1975, he came
to us to work in a subsidized employment program for senior citizens called the senior community
service employment program. And we discovered he could make these marvelous baskets. And that he
was also an excellent teacher. He's very patient, and he's taught many dozens of seniors to make
these beautiful baskets and they take a long time to make, but they can sell all they make if
they want to part with them. They don't always. We think Mr. Gascon is pretty special man. These
baskets are exceptionally durable. They just never wear out. I bought one from him that was 20 years
old and he gathered eggs and fish and taken into the ocean and it was just like new and just strong
as carved wood. They really are special baskets.
NARRATOR
In the 19th century, a colony was established on Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi to
separate cases of confirmed leprosy from the rest of the population. When a was deported by ship to
Kalaupapa, he was sometimes allowed to take his wife with him, but not always. On Kauaʻi, Koʻolau
the cowboy contracted leprosy, was deported and after being denied the company of Piʻilani his
wife, he jumped ship, defied the authorities and lived as a desperado on the run. Here's Val
Knudsen to tell us about Koʻolau, the runaway.
Valdemar Knudsen
And so he was an outlaw, he had jumped ship. And they fled and they fled
to Kalalau Valley. And it was wasn't until three or four months passed by that the Sheriff Stoltz
found out that Koʻolau had not reached Kalaupapa. And so he determined to see if he could find him.
NARRATOR What did the sheriff have in mind?
Did he know that Koʻolau was armed, dangerous and an expert shot?
Valdemar Knudsen All of a sudden, one day, a young runner came up
into the valley saying to Koʻolau, "Sheriff Stoltz is landing and he's carrying a gun." And Koʻolau
was a very fine goat hunter and he had a an Austrian needle gun. I've seen it. It was a pretty
good rifle. And he armed himself to and went down on the flat of Kalalau, which is just above the
stream on the north side and there's a great big rocks as high as this. And so he stood behind this
rock and Sheriff Stoltz came up the trail. Well, finally, when Stoltz was within 10 or 15 yards
Koʻolau stood up from behind the rock. And he said, "Here I am, I understand you're looking for
me." And he had his gun like this. And Sheriff Stoltz said, "You are an outlaw and I've come to
take you dead or alive." And Koʻolau said I'll go to the settlement if I can take my, my māpuana
with me, my, my wife with me rather and Sheriff Stoltz said, "I have come to take you alone
dead or alive to the settlement." With that, he lifted his gun, but cola lifted his gun far
quicker and shot Stoltz dead with one shot.
This is big trouble for Koʻolau, should he
continue to run and hide in the trees the mountains are the case of Kalalau Valley?
He must have for when the sheriff failed, others followed.
Valdemar Knudsen About a month later the Provisional Government
feeling that this sort of a revolt could not occur or be allowed to occur, sent a company of
man under a very fine leader to scour Kalalau Valley and to again take the fugitive Koʻolau dead
or alive. Now they couldn't find him. Koʻolau had been sitting up in his cave watching the ship
land and watching these guys run all around the valley and he was feeling pretty smug
I guess. And oh, but however, the last day, the captain, who was a good mountaineer, he
climbed the ridge to see if there wasn't one last chance of finding Koʻolau and as he pulled himself
up over the ledge, he looked right down Koʻolau's gunbarrel and Koʻolau shot him. And as he fell
there were two privates with him. And they they all fell off this very narrow ridge and died of
the fall. He was already dead, but the two G.I.s were dead after they fell about 500 feet.
Surely the authorities did not cease their efforts to bring in a law breaker. Is his fate
now sealed? Indeed Koʻolau's future looks grim.
Valdemar Knudsen
After Koʻolau disappeared that time no one could find him. The hunt was given up. And
according to my dad, he was walking up the valley and there was a braze - nice, new house up there.
And my father said to wahine hele lā, "Well, whose nice new house is that?" And wahine hele lā said,
"Wai lā, whose indeed." They had burned Koʻolau's house down as in retribution, I suppose. When
they landed there they went searched his house, the grass shack and they burned it down. So nobody
really knows where Koʻolau hid during those last days with the troops leaving, but he was back in
Kalalau living and he died in Kalalau Valley.
NARRATOR:
Veteran lei maker Irmalee Pomroy specializes in searching out the indigenous
materials that make up her mokihana lei. She has a keen eye for these woodland materials, most
of which go unnoticed by the casual observer.
Irmalee Pomroy
We made leis when we were little children. It was fun making leis. I
have nine brothers and sisters in my family. And we've always had a beautiful garden in our yard.
And whenever May Day came along, we would make leis for that particular celebration. Not all of
us like to make leis, it was mostly my sisters and I who liked to do this. And it was a fun kind
of thing. It was only after I got married that I really got into making leis. We used to go up into
the forest and gather many of the indigenous kinds of plants to put into these leis because they are
beautiful. Each island has a special lei. Here on Kauaʻi our special lei is the maile mokihana lei.
Here we have mokihana. Mokihana grows here in our forest and it's very seasonal. If you do not know
what to look for when you're in the forest, you will never, ever find the maile or the mokihana
because it is not fragrant in the forest. After you pick it and crush the bark of the maile,
then you have this wonderful fragrance. After you pick the mokihana and gather it and pierce
it with a needle then you have the wonderful fragrance of the berry. These two leis are made
separately and then they are entwined together. And when you are through you have one of the most
beautiful and most ancient of all Hawaiian leis.
Irmalee Pomroy
Maile leis are worn by everybody. They're not special leis for special people. Everybody
can wear a maile lei and this is why the maile lei is such a popular lei. This lei is gathered
in the forest in sections. Each section is tied together to make a longer single lei. These single
leis number from four to eight strands. It depends on how much maile you have. And it depends on
how important the person you're going to give this lei to. After you finished making the single
strands of maile lei, you put them together and then you tie them together by spinning them.
On Kauaʻi this is how the maile lei is done. They spin it together. This technique is called
wili. On Hawaiʻi, the maile lei is tied together and this is called kīpuʻu. On Oʻahu and Maui
the maile lei is braided in three sections are taken and then braided and this is called hili.
(Music: Iā ʻoe e kuʻu pua lei mokihana Hoʻi mai e welina like i ka ʻolu)
(Leaves rustle)
(Instrumental music)
(Music: Eia ko lei nani ua lawa Pua onaona i ke kakahiaka)
NARRATOR: To the Kōkeʻe Museum located in the Kōkeʻe
State Park is the headquarters for naturalist birdwatchers hikers and biologists. Here
local mountain plants and animals may be seen and studied in their natural habitat. Here to
introduce us is the museum's association director, Winona Sears.
Winona Sears The Kōkeʻe Natural History Museum was started
to tell the story of Kōkeʻe. The people who live up here find it very, very important that the
things that grow here endemically are preserved. That the people who visit this value the things
that are only here, and found nowhere else in the world. There are many plants that grow only
here, the and some that are related to others, like the native begonia that has such a beautiful
blossom and grows over across the way from here. There are many birds that are found only here.
The honey creepers that Darwin was excited about and mentioned in his works, although he didn't
come here to study. David Boynton has done some magnificent bird pictures. He has spent a great
deal of time up here in his photograph - and his photos are used by the Hawaiʻi Audubon Society to
depict things and also by the Nature Conservatory. And he introduced Sheryl Boynton to us and she
has done some of these marvelous paintings that we're so proud of.
NARRATOR The Boyntons, David and Sheryl are birdwatchers
with a purpose. David photographs them and Sheryl draws them. Sometimes close at hand.
Sheryl Boynton It's lucky we've got the shearwater this time. I
guess this is the time of year when the Newells do their fledging and leave the nest and
head down below to head out to sea for a couple of years. We're lucky we've got this guy
in a box with us right now. He is a young one, I think he's still got the down on him,
David. Looks like he got a visitor.
David Boynton
This is a threatened species. And every year hundreds of these crash into the lights around
Kauaʻi and I pick up the ones out on the west side and band them and as soon as possible release
them. Take them down to the beach so that they can go fly off to sea. And once they're released,
they'll be out at sea for about four years or so. But it's a real nice opportunity for Sheryl to
be able to have these birds close by for drawing.
Sheryl Boynton
I much prefer to work from the live model rather than, say from study skins
from the museum. Although those are helpful too or from photographs. A camera is a good tool to have
it can record details that possibly at a distance your eye can't perceive at the time. And your
study skin can give you hands on information. You can see how the feathers lay and maybe what the
colors are and move the bird around in the light. Because of course the colors of the feathers
do change with the light. I'd much prefer to be outside where the birds are found because I think
that they lend a sense of life to a painting. The, the gestures and attitudes that a bird assumes
in doing what he does normally. I guess the head is the last place where that down is lost.
Could you hold his foot out for me for just a second please? Yep, so I can see. David: He's
about to get my thumb in his, ow! Sheryl: Hold still little guy. Yes, you'll be released very
soon. David: He's very rambunctious. Sheryl: All right. He's got pink webbing between his toes.
That's a distinguishing character for the Newell Shearwater. Oh there goes a pair of something.
Let you take a look and see what you see.
(Camera clicks)
NARRATOR Sheryl Bolton's paintings hanging out in
the Kōkeʻe Museum as well as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. These paintings off
of the viewer are colorful opportunity to study the rare forest and sea birds of Kauaʻi. Will
they grow so rare that they become extinct? For it is a curious fact that Hawaiʻi is the
source of more extinct species of bird Live, then all of the other continents combined.
The Newell Shearwater is of special interest to residents of Kauaʻi. Here local citizens may
contribute to the protection and release of these endangered seabirds. The Newell Shearwater
release program is directed by Dan Moriarty, ranger of the Kīlauʻea bird sanctuary, a
refuge and home to the local nesting seabirds.
Dan Moriarty
Kīlauʻea is a 32 acre site on the northern part of the island of Kauaʻi and basically its purpose
is twofold. It's a nesting area for four species of seabirds, and also provides an opportunity
for the public to view Hawaiian seabirds, one of the few areas in the state where you can see an
abundance of seabirds. This is a young Wedgetail Sheerwater. You notice that it doesn't have any
primary feathers, it's about five weeks old. This is a more mature bird. You notice the primaries
are well developed, it's about two months old. Normally these birds burrow in a hole which they
dig into the ground. In this case, it looks like the adult took advantage of this piece of plywood
laying here and constructed its nest underneath the plywood. The refuge of Kīlauʻea point offers
a number of attractions is the historic Kīlauʻea lighthouse. And of course there's wide vistas of
the coastline. And of course the nesting seabirds, the red footed boobies and the red tailed
tropic birds the Wedgetail shearwaters and the frigatebirds.
NARRATOR Kauaʻi is a cohesive community bound together by
its isolation, its heritage of respectful land and sea and by its peoples abiding loyalty to their
native soil. If for some reason they should leave Kauaʻi, many feel compelled to return. There is
an old adage about this island coined long ago. It says that all good things come to Kauaʻi
at last. Join us again on our next spectrum.
(Music: Aloha ʻoe la! *Instrumental*
O Kalalau pali 'ʻaʻala hoʻi e Ke ake ʻia aʻe lae ka wahine, ʻAʻala ka pali i ka
lauaʻe lā ʻea, I Honopu Waialoha, Aloha ʻoe la!)
