Where Mountain Meets Sea: HAWAII'S STORY (1)

Madison's War And The Letters That Resulted From It

•• ━━━━━ •December, 1812• ━━━━━ ••

Hawaiʻi's disdain for her own handwriting and preference for dictation lasted for around the first decade or so of her life. Ink on paper smudged and ran, English grammar wasn't the most sensible, and, of course, there was the problem of translating exactly what she wished to say.

So, she found solace from the horrors of letter writing in the services of Kamalohi, a remarkable young man who had returned to Hawaiʻi after a few years of studying in the United States, bringing with him not only a wealth of knowledge but an exceptional command of the written language.

He was the ripe age of 16.

Kamalohi was not only intelligent (and English Language literate!) but also had an inherent wisdom and understanding that predated his formal education.

Hawaiʻi eventually developed a fondness for Kamalohi, finding the perfect scribe in him. He was someone who could effortlessly translate her thoughts and emotions onto paper, from ramblings in Hawaiian to English. And best of all, there were no spelling mistakes and no ink smudges.

One of the first letters sent to Britain was during Mr. Madison's War, as she heard it being called, due to President James Madison declaring war against Great Britain in June of 1812.

A few Hawaiian men left to fight, mostly on the side of the United States and sometimes on the side of the British. Hawaiʻi didn't know all the details of this war, only that it was bloody, as wars often are, and it made her so much richer.

Hawaiʻi was not ashamed to say that so far, this war had been rather in her favour, with both British and American ships stopping in her ports for trade. Money was money, trade was trade, and that only meant Hawaiʻi had more paper and ink for Kamalohi and his letters.

Hawaiʻi paced and wound a blue ribbon she had gotten as a gift around her hand before letting it go and repeating while she dictated the letter and its contents to Kamalohi, and he wrote dutifully, translating as well as he could.

"My Akua 'āina," Kamalohi said with a laugh, shaking his head as he watched Hawaiʻi's anxious movements. "You will wear that ribbon thin with all your fretting. I assure you, his Honor will care nothing for any minor imperfections."

"But I care for the imperfections," she said. "How will this... I do not even know the word for what he is... How will he know that I am worthy of the time and effort it would take? My father spent so much time and resources ensuring I was prepared, and I do not wish to burden another in the same manner."

Kamalohi's expression softened a little with understanding. "Your Grace, please trust me in that your worthiness shines through in your every word and action."

"Are you sure?" Hawaiʻi asked, once again weaving the azure coloured ribbon in her fingers.

Kamalohi nodded. "Now, if you would be so kind as to share with me the contents of your letter, I shall make sure to capture its essence faithfully."

Hawaiʻi took a deep breath and began, " 'I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. May the Grace of your god-' "

"Ma'am, you can't write "your god" on a letter to His Honour," Kamalohi said, sighing.

"Why not? It is his god. I don't wish to be rude by referring to Lono or Kū," Hawaiʻi said. "I wish to be as respectful as I possibly can be."

"Well, from my experience, any gods are touchy subjects with haole people."

"Then just put God. It will properly refer to whoever he follows, correct?"

Kamalohi nodded his head and looked back down to the paper. "I am to be writing it all in English, right?"