Jere Krischel at 01:07, 15 January 2006

2006-01-15T01:07:48Z

Jere Krischel at 04:45, 12 December 2005

2005-12-12T04:45:47Z

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786 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
after they marched out of the court-house grounds up to Queen Emma's.
I do not remember to have been brought into contact with them. As
I said, we were in a different part of the city, and I confined myself
and men to the barracks.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you have a flag when you went on shore?
Mr. JEWELL. We carried our flag with the battalion.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you raise any colors on any pole or house ?
Mr. JEWELL. NO.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU know nothing about these later transactions of
January, 1893?
Mr. JEWELL. Only what I gathered from the newspapers.
The CHAIRMAN. I would be glad to have you state anything that
pertains properly to this question.
Mr. JEWELL. In regard to this landing in 1874 I would say that
there were at that time in the pro-English press of Honolulu, and have
been since, charges made that we interfered at that time in the internal
affairs of Hawaii. But I think nobody paid any particular attention
to them. So short a time ago as December, 1892, an article appeared
in a paper called The Illustrated American, published in New York,
which charged that the American minister and American troops had
interfered in the affairs of Hawaii in 1874, and had kept Queen Emma,
who was "the rightful heir to the throne," off of the throne, and put
Kalakaua in her place. I wrote a letter denying every statement in
that paper, which I felt certain was inspired by some of the Englishfeeling
people in Honolulu. I was told afterward that that was the
case. It was full of misstatements, and I felt more or less indignation
at the way in which they talked about the disgraceful manner in which
the troops had taken part in the affairs of Hawaii. I replied to it. I
did not know but what that brought me before this committee.
The CHAIRMAN. Possibly so; but in making up your replies to that
article did you think over the whole situation as it occurred and refresh
your memory about it ?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. And you are satisfied that your statements here are
correct ?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
Senator FRYE. Have you a copy of that communication ?
Mr. JEWELL. NO; I have not in my possession.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you remember whether or not before you left the
ship with those troops Kalakaua was elected by the Legislature or was
the election pending ?
Mr. JEWELL. 1 had not been informed as to the result of the election.
We embarked our men by signal from shore—the signal was made on
this American bark—and before I knew anything about the election I
had my men on shore.
The CHAIRMAN. But the preparation about which you spoke as having
been made on the ship, to hold yourselves in readiness, to staud
by, you say was begun before the election took place ?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Some days before?
Mr. JEWELL. No, the morning of the day of the election.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU knew that the election was about to take place?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes; a special session of the Legislature had been
called for that purpose.
The CHAIRMAN. And the military preparation on the ship anticipated
the election?
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. <87
Mr. JEWELL. A few hours; yes.
The CnAiRMAN. And view of it, and in expectation that that election
would create civil commotion?
Mr. JEWELL. In the fear of it, that it might be so. I believe that
the cabinet was rather severely criticised for not having made better
preparation and for not having asked that the troops be sent on shore
earlier.
The CHAIRMAN. I suppose that this preparation was made on board
ship because of some request that had been made or intimated to the
commanding officer by the cabinet?
Mr. JEWELL. The arrangement was made between Capt. Belknap
and Minister Pierce, but it was at the solicitation of the Hawaiian
Government.
The CHAIRMAN. And in anticipation of the fact that there might or
would be civil commotion at the time the election took place?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Had you ever had anything to do with the landing
of troops before that?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Where was it?
Mr. JEWELL. At Panama ; we took possession of that town for four
or five days ; that is, so far as we could. We did not come into contact
with the people who were fighting there.
The CHAIRMAN. Was there any minister resident at Panama at that
time?
Mr. JEWELL. NO; there was a consul-general.
The CHAIRMAN. Was the landing made at his request?
Mr. JEWELL. I do not know. I knew very little about what led up
to that.
The CHAIRMAN. What year was that?
Mr. JEWELL. That was in 1872. The force of which I had command
was landed to protect the Pacific Mail Company's property. Afterward
a larger body was landed from the flagship, and went up into the
city under the command of another officer.
The CHAIRMAN. Who was that officer?
Mr. JEWELL. P. E. Harrington, at present a commander in the Navy.
The CHAIRMAN. HOW many ships did he have in port at the time?
Mr. JEWELL. Only two. The Tuscarora was lying there, and she was
about lauding her men when the flagship arrived. The landing of the
men was suspended for an hour or so until the captain could communicate
with the admiral, when they were sent on shore. My instructions were
then that I was not to go into the city, but to confine myself to the
Pacific Mail Company's wharf. There was a great deal of merchandise
which had just been landed from one of the Pacific Mail steamers.
The CHAIRMAN. What port were you at before you went to Panama?
Mr. JEWELL. We had come up from Callao, I think.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you come up for the purpose of protecting the
property?
Mr. JEWELL. NO. We came up for the purpose of taking a surveying
party down on the isthmus, which was surveying for the interoceanic
canal there. I also landed men when in command of the Essex
on the China station at the request of the American minister in the
capital of Corea. I landed men at Chemulpo and marched them up to
Seoul, Corea.
The CHAIRMAN. Coming back to Panama. Was that a political
strife that existed in Panama at the time of which you spoke?

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Jere Krischel at 01:07, 15 January 2006

Jere Krischel at 04:45, 12 December 2005