One of my favorite people in Hawaiian history is Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. She was no fairy-tail princess, wan and retiring, but a dynamic woman of mana, strength, and personality. This is the story of how she saved Hilo from the 1880 lava flow.
Public Domain image.
Caught between fire and water, lava and tidal wave, torrential rains from above and writhing earth below, true Hiloans have a unique ability to remember the past and prepare for the future while living in the moment. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, say your prayers, and Good Lord willing, you’ll never be caught short,” my grandmother used to tell me.
On May 1st of 1880, Mauna Loa began a spectacular summit eruption. High lava fountains which were clearly visible form Hilo created anaa flow which branched north toward the Saddle Road and southeast across Kapāpala Ranch. The southern flow is still visible as the dark brown area one sees when driving from Volcanoes National Park towards Kaū.
On November 5th, the eruption’s character changed, and it began moving toward Hilo. By the end of November, the fountaining had mostly stopped. A new vent had opened downrift, from which the smoother pāhoehoe was flowing through a series of lava tubes – moving steadily toward Hilo.
Soon the forests of Waiākea Uka were burning. The glow could be seen from Hilo, and the methane explosions sounded like distant cannon fire. By late March of 1881 the flow was just above Kaūmana, and by early June within five miles of Hilo.
Hilo’s stoic citizens conducted a “Day of Christian Prayer.” The flow continued. A few of the less stoic packed up and headed for Honolulu, not necessarily a better choice. The nation’s capitol was under a smallpox quarantine at the time. While refugees were accepted, no one could leave.
June 26th, even the most stoic, and prayerful, admitted Hilo was in danger. The flow had entered Hilo’s stream channels and picked up velocity. The Reverand Titus Coan wrote that the flow “came rushing down the rocky channel of a stream with terrific force and uproar, exploding rocks and driving off the waters. Hilo was now in trouble. . . we were now in immediate danger. Its roar, on coming down the rough and rocky bed of the ravine, was like that of our Wailuku River during a freshlet, but a deeper and grander sound. Explosions and detonations were frequent; I counted ten in a minute. The glare of it by night was terrific. The progress of the flow was by now 100-500 feet per day.”
Rushing down Waipāhoehoe Stream, the Kaūmana portion of the flow would likely be directed by the terrain toward Puʻu Hālai – and the prison which lay at its foot. Judge Severance had a protective moat dug around the prison.
The Waiākea portion of the flow was threatening the sugar mill. A stone wall built to divert the lava. The king, David Kalākaua, was not ignoring Hilo’s plight. He was touring in Europe, and in the days of sail, the world was far larger than now. But Princess Ruth, Hawaii Island’s governor, was at the capitol and making arrangements to help her people as soon as the quarantine was lifted. Finally, the all clear was given in July. By the time Princess Ruth reached Hilo, a narrow branch of the flow had crossedAlenaio Stream and was past where present day Komohana Street now lies, oozing to the very foot of Puu Hālai.
Ruth Keelikōlani, great granddaughter of Paiea Kamehameha, and governor of Hawaii Island, was a traditionalist who worshiped the gods of her ancestors. Larger than life in spirit, she had a body to match. When her carriage horse could not pull her up steep Haili Street, prisoners from the Hilo Jail were recruited. The several men accomplished what the horse could not.
On August 9, Princess Ruth approached the lava at the foot of Puu Hālai and made offerings to Pele of chants and prayers, brandy, 30 red silk scarves, and a lock of her own hair – doubly sacred by virtue of being from her head as well as by the fact of her royal lineage.
In Hawaiian culture, the head and hair are sacred. They are the part of you closest to God. In our culture, you never touch someone else’s head or hair. A gift of one’s own hair is a very special gift, indeed.
Ruth’s great grandfather, Paiea Kamehameha, had offered his own hair to Pele and stopped the lava flow at Kaupulehu only 80 years before.
That night the Princess slept at the edge of the flow. By morning Pele’s anger was appeased. The flow had stopped.
Hilo, and Puu Hālai, and the Hilo Jail with it’s strong inmates, were spared.
The remains of the flow can still be seen in Hilo today – the lovely homes near the University of Hawaii with their elegant rock gardens are one reminder. As the flow is so new, there is no soil yet where it flowed. So rocks are all those gardeners can grow! But the more famous reminder of the 1880-81 flow is Kaūmana Caves. Five miles above Hilo, the caves were part of the network of lava tubes through which the magma approached Hilo. When the ceilings collapsed, they revealed the caves.
I have an especial love for this story, for if the lava had flowed another day, the site of my home might have been destroyed, and I would never have lived here on beautiful Puu Hāla`i.
More on Princess Ruth
Kamehameha Schools – Keʻelikōlani
Women’s History in the Pacific, US National Park Service
Hoʻokuleana – Princess Ruth
The Garden Island: ISLAND HISTORY: Kipu Ranch and Princess Ruth Keelikolani
Wikipedia