Sad News!

On the 19th of December, a skiff from a warship landed in Kalihi Kai, with five men on board, but four of them had died, and one was alive. Their names:

Lieut J. G. Talbot,
Peter Francis (quarter master)
William Halford (boatswain)
John Andrews (diver)
James Muir (diver)

These people were from the American warship Saginaw; this ship is familiar to those of Honolulu. Wm. Halford is the only survivor of them, and the others are all dead. Only two bodies are salvaged, the bodies of Lieutenant Talbot and James Miur, and the others are not.

This warship ran aground on an island names Ocean Island. This is their story which I heard:

While they were cruising on aboard this warship, and approached the island upon which they shipwrecked; in the middle of the night, they saw a shipwrecked vessel, therefore they went closer thinking to give aid; however, they ran aground on a coral head and broke apart before they could do anything. But there were no injuries. And because of this calamity, the Captain sent these five to sail to Honolulu and tell of their difficulty so that they would receive help; therefore, they left the island on the 18th of November past. They were travelling for 31 days until they were outside of Kalihi Kai, and they entered the surf because of the wishes of the Lieutenant, and they were slammed by the waves, and four died, and William Halford lived. He has all the documents pertaining to their troubles in his hand. They are being taken by the schooner Naonaoulaula (Fairy Queen).

In the same hour, the remains of Lieut J. G. Tolbert and J. Miur were burried on Puupoa hill. They had a fine funeral—The Americans gathered along with the Foreigners and all of us as well. Rev A. Pali offered encouraging thoughts among those gathered as well as the one who survived.

The bodies of John Andrews and Peter Francis were not found, for they were lost for good.

The remaining belongings of the nation of America is being cared for in the hands of the sheriff.

The story that this person has spoken is not completely told, for the travelling flag of the Fairy Queen is hurrying us on. You will get a little more in the Kuokoa.

David Kaukaha.
Hanalei, Dec. 20, 1870.

(Kuokoa, 12/31/1870, p. 3)