Steamer Ehrenfels
took two months to Hawaii.
****
The following
account is by a man who came on Ehrenfels
to Koloa:
In the middle of February I received a note with the
tickets. We were to arrive in Bremen the evening of February 10. In Bremen we
were met at the depot and taken to our quarters. On the streets to people
yelled at us, “O, you slaves! You have sold yourselves!” We remained in Bremen
for a couple of days. We were taken to an office and there the contract was
again shown to us and we were asked if we had read, understood, and signed the
contract. Then we were given a duplicate. One copy remained in the hands of the
company. On February 22 we were sent to Bremerhaven and direct on board the Ehrenfels down into a very Hole of Hell.
Everywhere were pillows and other things, so that we could hardly move through.
Then we had to go right back to the wharf.
On the 22nd we sailed out to sea and even though
we had pretty good weather, we were seasick already. Because below they had not
yet really cleaned, there was soon a foggy, stake odor. After several days they
put the place in order and cleaned it somewhat, so that it was a little more
pleasant. According to what I heard then, eight to nine hundred persons were on
board: men, women, and children all mixed up together.
In spite of the fact that it was not too comfortable on
board, we occasionally had pleasant times during the day on deck. Here and
there congenial groups had formed. Some played cards; others sang songs, happy
and sad ones of their home, for several passengers had become homesick. Often
quarrels took place, especially among the women who slapped one another’s faces
with wet cloths, either towels or diapers which they had dipped in salt water,
as fresh water was given only rarely and in measured amounts for drinking
water.
We had not been long on board when another evil overtook us,
namely the very tiny animals which crawl so slowly through one’s clothes and
also love to crawl over one’s bare skin. At first the search for these animals
was secret, but soon they had multiplied so greatly that we no longer had to
look for them. Instead a person would suddenly violently shake them off his
clothes right in public. Often people accused one another, “you brought them
along.” “No, you!” and in the main it was the women again who could not agree
on the question as to who had brought the bugs. Very soon, however, one mad had
received the title of honor: “King of the Bees,” for bee is the genteel name
given to the crawling animal. “King of the Bees” was also on Kauai, but I will
not name him as he has long been dead.
Matters were not very good when near the equator we struck
heat. Then the fleas came and the other things decreased.
The food on board might have been better. We always had
enough. The most unfortunate situation was in regard to bread. As there was no
bakery on board, we had to be satisfied with hardtack. I was glad whenever we
had plum soup and then I always took a second helping in the kitchen. Water
often had a bad odor and that probably accounted for the sickness on board,
especially among the children. Forty three children and three adults died on
board. When their bodies were sunk into the ocean the captain each time said a
prayer.
So the time gradually passed. The one good thing was that
almost throughout the trip we had pretty good weather. I was seasick only once,
near the beginning of the trip. But my wife felt ill at every little puff of
wind. Our oldest son also, who at the time was seven months old, for a time was
very sick. Fortunately he got well again. In the beginning of April we reached
the Straits of Magellan. Just previously, in a little town, we had taken on
board some fresh water, vegetables, and also a pilot who took us through the
Straits. The trip took almost two days and was very interesting. At night we
lay quietly at anchor and in the evening frequently the inhabitants of the
mountains, named Firelanders, approached our ship, half naked, in their canoes
and we threw down much hardtack and also clothing. They were made happy and we
enjoyed it. After traveling in a zigzag we again reached the open sea. We went
to Valparaiso, where we dropped the pilot.
Then we steamed on until we saw the Hawaiian Islands before
us and on April 27 we cast anchor before the wharf at Honolulu. Everybody was
glad to have reached the destination. A few gentlemen and the German consul
came on board to straighten out several matters. We were not allowed to leave
the ships. A guard ship was even placed next us, because the authorities
probably thought we would be warned by other Germans. Just a short time before
Germans who had arrived a half year earlier, had risen up against the
plantation, Kilauea, because of bad treatment. If these men had talked to those
on our ship, several might attempt to desert from the Ehrenfels. On April 30 a placard with large letters was posted on
board. It had the following message: “Today will be transported the people for
Kekaha and Koloa Sugar Co.’s.” And so we prepared ourselves. In the evening a
small steamer of the Inter-island Steamship Company pulled up alongside the Ehrenfels and we with our possessions
were transferred to it. On May 1, early in the morning, the steamer cast anchor
in Koloa and we were brought to shore in boats.
The above man’s
wife added this: We were too cramps. My husband and I with our baby
were to sleep on a very narrow straw mattress. I unfolded a feather mattress
which I had brought along. I was forbidden the use of it, but nevertheless, we
slept on it and nothing further was said.
Another woman: The
quarreling on board was caused by the presence of so much “trash”. She believes
the children died of measles. Their bodies were wrapped in pieces of white
cloth and lowered on a plank as the captain said his prayer.
A mother who lost a child on the Ehrenfels described her experience thus: “I was one of the few who
did not get sick on the ship. However, we lost a son, because of the epidemic.
He died very suddenly, and I was grief-stricken. Only the sight of another
mother caused me to forget my own sorrow. She had lost two darling girls from
the same disease, overnight.”
Another woman: After
being brought to shore in boats at Koloa, we were taken in oxcarts to
headquarters where a row of new houses had been built for the Germans. Of
course, rough, unplanned boards were used, and there was no smooth floor. We
were given to eat and to drink in the boarding house. In the afternoon we were
called together and divided into groups. My group was sent to the Koloa Ranch
section. There our houses were not yet finished and we had to move into several
empty kanaka huts. The next day we were still allowed to rest. We could buy
things and put our houses in order. The following day we were expected to begin
work.
Note: The above account is from a book of family history prepared by George Crosson and his wife, Juliette Otholt, for their children. There is no source listed for the account.
Note: The above account is from a book of family history prepared by George Crosson and his wife, Juliette Otholt, for their children. There is no source listed for the account.
My great grandmother, Theresa Grace Augusta Starkloff Thoene sailed with her parents, Ida and August Starkloff, and younger brother, Herman, on this ship! All members of the family survived the passage. The story is that Theresa (and I'm guessing her little brother) were tied to the deck of the ship to keep from being swept overboard during the rough passage. I'm guessing that they were on the deck due to the poor conditions in the hold and that's how they probably survived! Alexa Thoene Merrill
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