Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 24.djvu/134

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114 Ralph S. Kuykendall off the coast of Hawaii on the afternoon of February 16 and Mr. Stewart came on board. He told us he had been amongst the Islands a fortnight, he had come to this Island first, and not finding his consort the Butterworth here, he proceeded to the Leeward Islands, when not meeting there with her either, and not getting sufficient refreshments, he worked up again to this Island, and found that in the in- terim the Butterworth had been here and gone to Mowee. 10 At this time also the people on the Jackal related to those on the ChutJiam a wild tale about Kamehameha's having thrown up a rude fortification and mounted some cannon in Kealakekua bay, a story which was soon found to be entirely groundless. 11 Up to this time the Jackal had not been at the island of Maui, but possibly visited it later. The Butterworth, as we have seen, called at Hawaii and Maui and in all probability also visited Oahu and Kauai. 12 It seems probable that the two ships left the islands about the end of February, returning to the American coast, though as to the date of their departure from the islands we are without any direct evidence. So much for the itinerary of this visit. The relations of Captain Brown with the natives of the Hawaiian Islands furnish a more interesting and fruitful subject of discussion. It is customary for writ- ers to severely criticize the fur traders for their practice of selling firearms and ammunition to the natives, and 10 New Vancouver Journal (MS), entry for Feb. 16,1793. This is the same journal as that from which Professor Meany edited and published the part relating to the discovery of Puget Sound. A photostat copy of the part relating to the Hawaiian Islands is in the library of the Ha- waiian Historical Society. This journal was written on board the Chatham. 11 Vancouver, op. cit., Ill, 199, 208-9. 12 I have seen no direct statement that Brown visited Oahu and Kauai at this time, but it seems a fair inference that he did so. It was customary for trading vessels to make the round of the four principal islands, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai. The bargain said to have been made by Brown with Kahekili (see below), involving Oahu and Kauai, would lead us to believe that Brown called at those islands.