Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - Kamehameha  l  (Part 11)

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Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands
" Keepers of the Culture "
A study in time of the Hawaiian Islands
Kamehameha  l 
and stories told by the ancients -- part 11
Accounts told of;
John Young
Isaac Davis
by Darlene E. Kelley
November 14, 2000

http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374

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As told by the ancients -- Part 11.

After the sailing of the ship, the people came out of their houses and
went on about their affairs. That day, John Young met a native who was
able to make him understand that there was another white man not far
away. The Hawaiian took John Young to Kealakekua where, much to his
surprise, he found Isaac Davis, who had been the mate of the Fair
American. Davis told of the taking of the schooner by the Hawaiians and
of the massacre of the crew. Although Isaac Davis had been badly injured
by both clubs and daggers, he was able to give an account of what had
happened. He told John Young that the schooner had arrived at Kawaihae
five days before. It was evening when they anchored, and thinking it
would be safer to spend the night where they were, they decided to meet
the Eleanora the following day. The natives came on board seemingly much
pleased. But Isaac said he did not like the appearance of things, and he
advised young Metcalf not to allow the people on the ship that night.
The chiefs had brought presents to the Captain and he was in the very
act of receiving them when an attack was made on the crew. In the
skirmish that followed all the white men were murdered and thrown
overboard, including Catain Metcalf's son.

Isaac Davis, himself, managed to jump from the stern of the boat into a
canoe. There was a native in the canoe, who at once attacked Davis with
a paddle, beating him until he believed him dead, and after stabbing and
clubbing him, left him in the bottom of the boat for dead. Davis was
later rescued by an American Beachcomber by the name of Isaac Riddler
and another native, half dead and half blind. They took him to their
shack.

When Kamehameha learned of the taking of the schooner, he feared
retaliation. So, when Captain Metcalf stood off shore, Kamehameha placed
a taboo with penalty of death upon the sailing of any canoe. He hoped,
by so doing, to keep Metcalf ignorant of the theft of the Fair American.
This taboo accounts for the closed houses. John Young knowing nothing of
the system of the taboo, was unaware of the situation. When Kamehameha
met John Young and Isaac Davis, he took them home with him to his own
houses, showing them the greatness kindness. Isaac Davis' wounds were
given careful attenton. He was blind for several months, but eventually
recovered his sight.

It is said many times that John Young and Isaac Davis were prisoners on
Hawaii. They were not prisoners, although a careful watch was kept that
they did not leave the islands. The Captain of an incoming ship,
learning that the two Engishmen were stranded on Hawaii, sent a letter
ashore offering them passage. The chief, Kaiana, who was especially
jealous of the friendship of Kamehameha for the two men, volunteered to
take them out to the vessel in his
own canoe, But Kamehameha,knowing the secret desire of the chief,
perhaps to destroy them. persuaded them not to go. It was with this
background that John Young and Isaac Davis began their lives in the
Sandwich Islands.

There are no foreigners in the recorded history of Hawaii, who did more
for the upbuilding of the Hawaiian people than did John Young and Isaac
Davis. It seems remarkable that two sailors, stranded among a people
whom they knew to be  at least semi-barbarous, were able to hold their
own integrity, never deviating from a strictly moral code in their own
lives. They have been called the first missionaries. They were not
missionaries, of course, but they certainly prepared the way for the
work of missionaries. Men from Botany Bay, and others who slipped in
from ships of the night, left no such good influence as they.

The friendship which developed between Kamehameha and the two men was
another astounding thing. It was not alone the fact that Kamehameha had
learned the value of the help which foreigners could give him [ for
there were several white men in the Islands when John Young arrived]
that prompted his unusual interest in Young and Davis. With his keen
insight, Kamehameha must have soon recognized in these two sailors, men
whom he could trust. He not only took them into the inner circle of his
court and made them his friends, but where ever he went, either for
business or for pleasure, they were expected to accompany him. To this
friendship, John Young and Isaac Davis responded, refusing to leave the
islands when Vancouver offered to take them back to England.

Only once did Davis and Young attempt to leave Hawaii. and the reason
they gave for wishing to go away does reveal a facet of the character of
John Young. It is claimed that Young is the only one man who dared to
stand up to Kamehameha and express an opinion, when in so doing, his
life must have been endangered. The King asked why he and Davis wished
to leave when he was doing everything he could to please them. In a few
emphatic words, John Young told King Kamehameha the truth. He said that
while he and Davis appreciated all that had been done for them, they
dared not trust the King because he was so frequently under the
influence of liquor, and that, when he was intoxicated, he was no longer
master of himself. The King was impressed, and, through the continued
influence of John Young, he became a temperate man. Later, Kamehameha
actually offered the two men a chance to leave, but they chose to remain
in the Islands, saying they were under great obligations to the King.
The two men followed Kamehameha into battle after battle, watching for
every opportuniy to do him personal sevice and to protect his life.It is
said that Vancouver gave John Young, rockets and hand-grenades to be
used only in protection of the King.

It was the spirit in which they accepted the situation, two sailors fast
turning into capable warriors, which won them high praise. John Young,
himself, told the following story. He said that it was customary in an
engagement, when Kamehameha was well on the way to winnng the battle,
the enemy yelling as they came nearer, for the King to push upon them so
rapidly that it was impossible to keep up with him. At such times a
chief would take John Young on his shoulders, and another strong chief
would carry Isaac Davis on his, and they would be rushed to the front
where they would fire, reload and fire again.

The Hawaiian warriors did their fighting in the open. They knew nothing
of ambush or strategy in war until the white man came and brought him
his firearms. The old warriors depended upon hand to hand fighting with
spears, javelins, slingshots, and clubs, along with the fierce yelling
of both sides, and the influence of the images of the war gods which
were always present. There is no doubt that Young and Davis very often
saved the day for Kamehameha. Other white men were in the ranks of the
King, but they left no special records behind them.

The jealousy of the King's friendship for John Young had steadily
increased, not only among the chiefs, but also within the priesthood. It
was finally decided to get rid of the foreigner, as he was called by the
people. Kamehameha understood this. He warned John that a kahuna was
threatening his life; that he had already built his prayer hut at the
edge of the woods and was preparing to pray him to death. John Young
replied that he would follow the kahuna's example. He, too, went to the
woods and built a small grass hut exactly like that which the kahuna had
made, and very near it. He then spread the word that he, John Young,
would pray the kahuna to death. So strong was this superstition in the
minds of the Hawaiians that, much to John Young's amazement, the kahuna
became terrified and reportedly died from fear, as he had expected Young
to do.

As an official pilot for Kamehameha, John had great responibility in
bringing ships to safe anchorage in the reef-torn waters of the bay and
out again to the open chanels of the sea. There is a graphic account of
how John Young saved the Jefferson. In the log of the ship, the Captain
wrote; " Moderate fine weather the fore part of the night. At midnight
we were about five or six miles from shore. I then went off the deck and
Mr. Boules took charge of the watch, but being negligent in keeping a
lookout and himself getting sleep while standing in for the land, about
three a.m. he ran on a dangerous reef of rocks about a mile from shore.
This immediately aroused all hands. Rushing on deck, we found ourselves
surrounded in every direction by rocks and high breakers. The ship was
heaving with such violence as threatened her immediate dissolution. It
was judged best to get our anchor out [ as the ship appeared fast ]. We
accordingly cleared the pinnace and got in the stream anchor and cable,
the ship rolling and thumping excessively hard. It seemed impossible
that she could survive the shock or get of the rocks. Three natives who
were on board [ as were Messrs. Young and Davis ] were sent ashore to
bring canoes to our assistance."

Evidently, as was the custom, John Young and Isaac Davis, with the three
natives, had gone out to meet the ship and spent the night on board. The
Hawaiians, after swimming ashore, returned with the canoes and, under
directions of John Young, the ship was released, and John and Isaac
returned to shore. John Young later told the Captain that for two days
they could not see the ship from the beach, so high was the surf. He
also said that he, himself, after the ship had left, went over the track
that the ship had made on the rocks, which were ploughed through and
broken in an astonishing manner, and the natives were diving in all
parts of the reef picking up nails and spikes.

As time passed, the influence of John Young steadily increased. It was
not only the Captains of the ships who depended on him and recognized
the authority invested in him by the King. The people of the Islands,
both native and foreign, well understood the place he held in
Kamehameha's scheme of government. He entered into every phase of the
life of the people by instructing, directing, controlling the native
workers and advising not only the King, but other men as well. He kept
men busy. But while he was a strict taskmaster, he was also a leader,
setting himself the same high standards of practice and workmanship that
he demanded of others.

For many years John Young practically controlled the commercial life of
the islands. Old voyagers tell how he and Isaac Davis gradually built up
the understanding of the Hawaiian people regarding the value of their
products. Ships could no longer get supplies such as salt. water,
potatoes, etc., in exchange for a few nails of a scrap of iron. Water
had to be carried in calabashes from the mountains, a distance of
several miles. One Capatin tells that, previously, a moderate sized nail
would purchase for his entire ship's company excellant pork for the day.

In speaking of great changes in both government and trade which followed
Kamehameha's victories, Captain Trumbull, who made rather frequent
voyages to Hawaii, gives credit to John Young. He said in his records; "
The first civilized methods of rule emanated from the house of Young."
John had been given the high rank of Kapu Chief, which placed him on
equal footing with the highest chiefs of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He was "
Chief Young," the advisor of the King.

It was in the early years of John Young's life in the islands that he
made his first marriage. His wife, a Hawaiian, while not of high rank,
was of sterling character. There were two sons born to this marriage,
Robert and James. The boys were both sent to America to be educated.
Robert joined the U.S. Navy and fought in the War of 1812. He was
captured by the British and sent to Bermuda. Nothing definate was ever
heard from him again. James returned to Hawaii and became a prominent
member of the new government, at different times being appointed
governor of the islands of Kauai and Maui. Mrs Young died during an
epidmic which swept the islands, and lies buried at Waimea. Hawaii.

Isaac Davis married a relative of the King and founded a prominent
family. He held estates on Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and O'ahu. Daughter
Betty married George P. Kaumualii. Isaac Davis' second marriage, was to
Grace Kamiakui,  and had three children of this marriage. After Isaac
Davis was poisoned and died, John Young adopted the children. Isaac
Young Davis, a grandson and one of 19 children, was the second husband
of Princess Ruth.