Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1790, as Western traders were still beginning their forays to the islands, the U.S, mer-
chant ship
Eleanora,
commanded by Yankee captain Simon Metcalfe, was looking for a
harbor after its long voyage from the Pacific Northwest. Following a day behind was the
Fair American,
a tiny ship sailed by Metcalfe's son, Thomas. While the elder Metcalfe's
ship was anchored off the southern coastline of Maui, some natives slipped close in their
canoes and stole a small boat, killing a sailor in the process. Upon learning that the per-
petrators were from the village of Olowalu (about five miles south of Lahaina), Metcalfe
decided to sail there and trick the Hawaiians by first negotiating a truce and then unleash-
ing full fury upon them. Signaling he was willing to trade, he invited canoes of innocent
natives to visit his ship. In the meantime, he ordered that all cannon and muskets be read-
ied with scatter shot. When the canoes were within hailing distance, he ordered his crew to
fire at will. More than 100 people were slain, and the Hawaiians remembered this killing
as “the Day of Spilled Brains.” Metcalfe then sailed away to Kealakekua Bay and, in an
unrelated incident, succeeded in insulting a ruling chief named Kameiamoku who vowed
to annihilate the next
haole
ship he saw.
Fate sent him the
Fair American
and young Thomas Metcalfe. The little ship was over-
run by superior forces, and in the ensuing battle, the mate, Isaac Davis, so distinguished
himself by open acts of bravery that his life alone was spared. Kameiamoku later turned
over both Davis and the ship to Kamehameha. Meanwhile, while harbored at Kealakekua,
the senior Metcalfe sent John Young to reconnoiter. Kamehameha, having learned of the
capture of the
Fair American,
detained Young so he could not report, and Metcalfe, los-
ing patience, marooned his own man and sailed off to Canton. Kamehameha quickly real-
ized the significance of his two captives and the
Fair American
with its brace of small
cannons. He appropriated the ship and made Davis and Young trusted advisers, eventually
raising them to the rank of chief. They would all play a significant role in the unification
of Hawai'i.
Kamehameha was born on the Big Island of Hawai'i, after a prophecy that he would be-
come a “killer of chiefs.” Because of this, other chiefs ordered the child to be killed, so his
mother had to sneak off to the royal birthing stones near Mo'okini Heiau on the island's
Kohala coast. After giving birth, she gave the child to a servant, who took him down the
coast to raise him in solitude. As he grew and matured, Kamehameha proved himself a
