THE PEN WITH WHICH ROOSEVELT SIGNED THE FIRE CLAIMS BILL OF HAWAII.
Washington, Jan. 23. The pen with which the President signed the Hawaiian Fire Claims Bill [Bila Poho Ahi Hawaii] is a remarkable pen. This pen was made from the quill of a feather of a wild eagle, and that feather was taken from a war headdress of a wild Arapaho Indian. This pen is now in the care of Pratt to be placed in the Bishop Museum of Kamehameha in Honolulu.
This pen was gifted to the Hon. William A. Richards, a former Governor of Wyoming, and currently a Commissioner of Public Lands [Aina Aupuni]. This feather was taken by Richards from the headdress of an Arapaho Indian 18 years ago. He thought it was the right time for this feather to be put to some important use for Hawaii, therefore, he ordered one of the workers in his office to fashion the feather into a pen. Let it be remembered that this person who was given the feather to make a pen is a man of much seniority who was working in that office for fifty-one years.
(Aloha Aina, 2/7/1903, p. 1)
Ke Aloha Aina, Buke IX, Helu 6, Aoao 1. Feberuari 7, 1903.
What is the Hawaiian Fire Claims Bill??
It seems that it was to pay off those whose property was destroyed in the great Chinatown fire of January 20, 1900.
And who was Pratt ??? Mr. or Mrs. ???
You must be looking at this on a smart phone. If you look at this blog on a computer, you can see tagged terms, like names and topics. J. G. Pratt is Joseph G. Pratt from Wyoming, who becomes a lawyer here, and takes on various government positions like Post Master of Honolulu.