Leper War on Kauaʻi

The Leper War on Kauai also known as the Koolau Rebellion, Battle of Kalalau or the short name, the Leper War. Following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the stricter government enforced the 1865 "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy" carried out by Attorney General and President of the Board of Health William Owen Smith. A revolt broke out in Kauai, against the forced relocation of all infected by the disease to the leper colony of Kalawao on the island of Molokai.

Background


The Leper War started when Louis H. Stoltz, a deputy sheriff, attempted to force an isolated leprosy colony in Kalalau Valley, Kauai to be deported. He was shot and killed by a leper named Kaluaikoolau known as “Ko'olau” on June 27, 1893.

On June 24, 1893 Stoltz and two other policemen went to Kalalau to enforce the quarantine law to relocate lepers to Kalaupapa, they stayed at the house of a resident on the coast of Kalalau. The policemen spent the next day devising a strategy for their task. On Monday, 26th, Stolza’s group ventured deep into to the valley were they pitched a tent. Shortly after they establish themselves a band of lepers led by Ko'olau seized the camp and chased the lawmen back to the coast. The following day Ko'olau intended to drive the sheriffs out of the valley. Ko'olau with his wife Piilani found Stolza approaching the residence of a man named Kala, Stolza had already arrested one man by the name of Paoa who was in handcuffs and was about to arrest Kala. Stolza had Kala at gunpoint when Kala rushed to the door of his house and Koolau put Stolza at his gunpoint in defense of Kala. According to Piilani, Ko'olau tripped in the process of maneuvering during the standoff. In the process of the stumble Koolau’s rifle discharged wounding Stolza. Paoa took the opportunity to pummel Stolza utilizing his handcuffed wrists on the sheriff. Stolza reclaimed his rifle and weakly got to his feet. Ko'olau fired once more dispatching Stolza before he could bring his rifle to bear on his enemies.

Kalalau Expedition
The killing was received by President Sanford B. Dole as an offence to the new government. Following the killing, Marshal Edward G. Hitchcock the Kalalau Expedition commanded by Captain William Larsen comprising a 35 man platoon from the National Guard of Hawaii, a howitzer, and representative of the Board of Health, Executive Officer Charles B. Reynolds. The men were transported to Kalalau by the Waialeale. They first stopped at Hanalei on June 30 to get information about the situation in Kalalau. They found that police were guarding the paths between Hanalei and Kalalau.

After the shooting the lepers also prepared. Koolau was to lead a party of 12 armed with six rifles and six pistols. The party included himself, his son Kaleimanu, his wife Piilani being one of two women of the group, and Paoa. At the last moment Koolau decided to leave his group with the belief the party would be pursued more vigorously because of him. Piilani refused to go with the group and stayed with her husband despite his protests, Kaleimanu also went with Koolau to stay with his parents.

Landing
The Waialeale arrived at Kalalau July 1. 15 soldiers landed at noon in two skiffs without incident, only encountering civilians. Finding the shore safe the rest of the expedition was delivered and set up camp a mile inland. Soldiers were sent to guard the stream and the colony was searched finding leper leader Reverend Kapahei “Judge” Kauai, three lepers were captured from a cave on the coast and a leper collaborator.

On July 2 Wahinealoha, the collaborator, was deputized with the intent he would talk the lepers into surrender. The expedition moved another mile inland and established a base camp called “Camp Dole”. Larsen fired five round from the howitzer against the eastern ridge of the valley with the intention of intimidating the lepers with the cannon’s reports. The platoon advanced deeper into the valley. At noon Wahinealoha returned with the message that a group of lepers were willing to surrender if Luther Wilcox were to meet with them. Wahinealoha, Kunuiakea, and Wicox met with a leper, after assuring well treatment the other eight lepers of Koolau’s party came out of hiding and surrendered. The next day, the soldiers searched for Koolau around the east ridge of the valley, but did not find him.

First assault
On July 4 Koolau was discovered by Sergeant Major J. W. Pratt's group of 15 men. Koolau was with his wife Piilani and son Kaleimanu in caves in the slope of one of the western ridge of the valley. Pratt sent a four man assault team to the cave while the remainder provided cover fire. Koolau shot the point man Private John Anderson, a Norwegian, from the well-camouflaged ledge of the cave entrance as the team neared. After being shot, Anderson knocked two of his comrades off the mountain. He would die of his wound; the other two guardsmen survived their fall but Private Johnson was badly injured and the group withdrew back to Camp Dole.

That afternoon the Waialeale arrived in Honolulu with 15 lepers.

Manuia led a group of four other lepers to Hanalei, but were caught near Haena and sent to Hanalei.

Second assault
On July 5 Larsen commanded the second assault himself with 15 men. They found the body of Anderson. Larsen had one group commanded by him to provide fifteen minutes of suppressive fire on the cave while an assault group, commanded by Reynolds, entered the cave. This time the point man was a combat veteran of the American Civil War, Private John McCabe who served in the Union Army. McCabe led the assault group up to the entrance of the cave. As he attempted to climb over the ledge to the entrance of the cave Koolau shot him in the head. Once again the group retreated, but during the withdraw, Private John Herschberg snagged his rifle on foliage and the gun went off killing him. The soldiers returned to camp with the three bodies. On July 6, Pratt commanded an artillery barrage of the leper’s position with the howitzer and the guardsmen moved on with their hunt for lepers. Unbeknownst to them Koolau and his family fled the cave during the night before the bombardment.

On July 7, Reynolds with six soldiers collected ten lepers at Hanalei that had been caught outside Kalalau aboard the Iwalani and sent them to Honolulu.

Third assault
William Owen Smith from the Board of Health found the war embarrassing and went to Kalalau himself aboard the Iwalani that had delivered the prisoners to Honolulu and was to return to Kalalau. Smith arrived on July 10 with ten fresh soldiers, supplies, and three coffins. Smith found Larsen had given up on Koolau and went to the next valley with his men, searching for lepers. After hours of argument between the two, they returned to the cave with men to find it abandoned. Patrols were sent into the surrounding area to no avail. Smith, seeing the dense vegetation for himself, decided the manhunt was in vain and called off Larsen's campaign.

Aftermath
The soldiers left boarded the Iwalani, the campaign had captured twenty seven prisoners. The remaining lepers were never harassed again, while the captured lepers were sent to Kalawao. The leper community in Kalalau had dissolved and lived in individual households. Koolau and his family lived nomadically in the valley fearing capture. First his son, then Koolau died in 1896, Piilani his wife left the valley. In 1897, William Smith's brother physician Jared K. Smith was killed in what was suspected as retaliation by a relative of lepers who were threatened with deportation. Smith's law partner William Ansel Kinney was sent as special prosecutor. A native Hawaiian named Kapea was arrested, tried, and hanged for the murder.

Popular culture
The Leper War has been cited as a successful act of defiance directed at discrimination toward leprosy and Hawaiians.

Piilani wrote about her experience which was published in 1906 titled Ka Moolelo oiaio o Kaluaikoolau, Hawaiian for The True Story of Kaluaikoolau.

The event would inspire the narrative The Folding Cliffs by W. S. Merwin.

Jack London wrote a short story about the incident titled "Koolau the Leper".