The Voyage

Johann and Lena Otholt sailed from Bremerhaven on February 22, 1883 on the SS Ehrenfels. With them were their three little daughters, and possibly their first son, although this son may have been born at sea on the way to Hawaii. The family was being imported to Hawaii by the sugar planters as contract workers, and were destined for Koloa Plantation on Kauai. The voyage took 64 days, and was a long, difficult one for everybody. It must have been exceptionally hard on the Otholts, for their three little girls died at sea, and their only boy died in Honolulu harbor, so Johann and Lena arrived at Koloa as a childless couple.

Steamer Ehrenfels took two months to Hawaii.

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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 22^nd 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.