Statewide County HI Archives News.....Hawai'ian Cowboys - Part 1. August 20, 2008 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 September 3, 2008, 7:43 pm Keepers Of The Culture, A Study In Time Of The Hawaiian Islands August 20, 2008 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 August 20, 2008. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Hawai'i Keepers of the Culture A Study in Time, of the Hawai'ian Islands Hawai'ian Cowboys - Part 1. by Darlene E. Kelley ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Part 1 = Hawai'ian Cowboys. The Ranching Heritage of Hawai'i began with a gift from England and the assistance of Spain. In 1793, British sea captain George Vancouver gifted the Hawai'ian King, Pai'ea Kamehameha,with long horn cattle. Kamehameha placed a kapu ( royal sacred protection ) on the cattle, allowing them to roam freely. Within two decades, the animals had formed huge herds, eating native crops, and stampeding through villages, causing destruction and terror. Simular to the famed Texas Longhorn, the cattle were smart, wily, and very dangerous. The kapu had to be lifted to allw the capture of these animals. John Parker, a New England sailor, who jumped ship in 1809 and remained on Hawai'i, became a friend of Kamehameha. Parker did set sail one more time, but returned to make the islands his home in 1812, and talked the King into granting him the right to hunt the wild cattle. Now John Palmer Parker, who had been born in Newton, Massachusetts and had sailed at the age of 19 on a ship trading furs, when he jumped ship. He then again sailed on a ship to take sandalwood to Canton, China, when it was blockaded for two years. When he arrived back in Hawai'i Kamehameha I, hired him as a supervisor of fishponds and then considered him to hunt the wild cattle in the forests of Waimea. The hunt began -- Once the Kapu was lifted, other people also began hunting wild cattle, beginning the Hawai'ian ranching industry. The Hawai'ian style of ranching included capturing wild bullocks by driving them into pits dug in the forest floor. Once tamed somewhat of hunger and thirst, they were hauled outup a steep ramp, and tied by their horns to the horns of a tame steer which knew where the paddock with food and water was. Many of the ranch fences and paddocks can still be seen today -- and some remain in use -- stone walls undulating over the lava fields. Wood was too rare in many areas to use for fencing, so stones provided a sturdy and readily avilable material. By the 1830's, ranching was an important part of Hawai'ian economy. Hawai'ian hides, tallow, and beef were an international trade, and even supplied many outfits during the California gold rush. At the time, King Kamehameha III decided to take a world tour, to meet other heads of state so that Hawai'i could take her place among the nations. On that tour, the King was impressed with the skill of the Mexican-Spanish Vaqueros. He requested the King of Spain send Vaqueros to Hawai'i to train the Hawai'ians in ranching, to modernize the industry and make it more productive. The Vaqueros arrived on the Island of Hawai'i in 1832. The era of hunting wild cattle was over. With their trained ponies, intricate high-horned saddles, and lariets, the Vaqueros demonstrated handling and horsemanship as an art. They taught the Hawai'ians to make saddles, to braid the kaula 'ili ( lariat ), to craft 'uepa kani ( bullwhips ) and the metalwork for bits and kepa pele ( spurs ). In talking with the Hawai'ians, the men introduced themselves as " Espanol." The closest the Hawai'ian tongue could come to that was " Paniolo." A man who worked cattle in the spanish style was then called "Paniolo." Not only Hawai'ian saddlery, but Hawai'ian formal dress, owes much to the influence of the 19th century Spanish fashion. The man's tight waisted shirt, full sleeves, and flowing sash, and ruffled train of the woman's holoku still show their Hispanic heritage. The paniolo's hat often has the flatter crown and wider brim of its Spanish ancestor, rather than the height of the ten-gallon hat of the Western US. In 1908, three Paniolo, -- Ikua Purdy, Archie Ka'aua, and Jack Low, traveled to the World Rodeo Championships in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They were considered curiosties, and faced prejudice. Not taken seriously, they had trouble borrowing horses to use. Finally given scrubs, they trained the horses Hawai'ian style, working them in a river to prevent them from fighting. Low was unable to compete due to his asthma, but Ka'aua took third place, and Purdy won first. He was proclaimed World Champion. Having won them over with his skill, determination, and style. Purdy was given a standing ovation by the crowd. Today, Hawai'i remains strong in the ranching tradition. Those who look carefully at the older sidewalks in Hilo can still find iron rings set into the concrete. They were used for hitching horses. In Waimea, hitching posts can still be found outside of some businesses and homes. Panaewa, Waimea, and Honaunau, and other towns maintain rodeo grounds. The ranching tradition lives on in the Hawai'ian economy, music, and lifestyle. ++++++++++++++++ The Parker Ranch The Parker Ranch is among the largest ranches in the United States, spreading approximately 150.000 acres across Hawai'i's Big Island. It is also one of the countries oldest ranches, with more than over 160 years of history. As stated above the story begins in 1809, a single generation after Captain james Cook first encounters the tropic islands. A ninteen year old sailor named John Parker jumps ship and hides in a thicket, until the ship that brought him to Hawai'i drops below the hoizon. John Parker comes to the attention of King Kamehameha I, the monarch who fought to unite the islands in a single kingdom, and John is given important tasks by the King. John returns one more time to the sea for adventure in China during the War of 1812, but then returns to Hawai'i, to stay for good. Having broght back with him a new, state of the art American musket, and much shot, John is given the privilege of beig the first man allowed to shoot some of the thousands of maverick cattle that roamed Hawai'i's remote plains and valleys. These rangy beasts were the legecy of the British Captain, George Vancouver, who presented Kamehameha with 5 head just 21 years earlier. Due mostly to John's efforts, salt beef eventually replaces the increasing scarce sandalwood as the island's chief export, As the need for beef increases, so does John's fortune and influence. A year after he returned to Hawai'i in 1815, he married Keli-kipikane-o-koolakala , the daughter of a high ranking chiefess, of an old Kohala family and a cousin of Kanekapolei. She took the christian name of Rachel. The Parkers set up a samll homestead at Mana on Mauna Kea and began collecting a herd of tame cattle. He worked for the William French Co. at Waimea in 1830's, taking his pay in cattle.Parker acquired thousands of acres of grazing land on the uplands, built a sawmill, and bred a large herd. Rachel Parker bore John a daughter, and two sons, and the Parker dynasty begins, figuring prominently in the next two centuries of Hawai;ian history. As the Parker family fortune grows, the highlands of Waimea become a bustling center of trade. The family grows too and over the years, the Ranch ventures into areas outside of cattle ranching. There are good times and bad times, philanthropy and mismanagement, lawsuits and family who die to young, but the Ranch remains, In 1887, events lead to a search for a good, strong manager. Alfred Wellington Carter, a respected Honolulu businessman and judge, becomes Parker Ranch's champion, guiding its growth with a steady hand for early a half century. Between 1942 and 1945, Waimea was home to 50,000 Marines from the Second and Fifth Marine Divisions and the V Amphibious Corps as they prepared for the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Parker ranch played an integral part in hosting the Marines at what became known as Camp Tarawa. A monument to the Marines who trained there can be seen along the highway near the entrance to the Ranch Historic Homes attraction. His Son, John Palmer Parker II, did much to extend and consolidate the ranch, which was inherited by a third of the name, adopted by his grandfather after his own father died in 1864. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Continued in part 2. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/newspapers/hawaiian45nnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/hifiles/ File size: 9.0 Kb