James Jarves was born into wealth, Boston, 1820. He was bound Harvard in 1833, but failing health and impaired eyesight compelled him to give up study.
So he travelled through South America and the Pacific islands, settling in 1838 on the Hawaiian islands, and this is where it gets good: In 1840 he established "The Polynesian:" first newspaper published in Honolulu.
In the spring of 1841, British residents
objected to their Native Hawaiian servants being drafted for roadwork.
They lodged a protest with the British consul, Richard Charlton. The
Polynesian, edited by 22-year-old James Jackson Jarves, published the
protest, the official response by Governor Kekuanaoa, and commentary by
the editor.
Consul Charlton was infuriated by Jarves' remarks. So accompanied by an English ship master, Charlton went to Jarves' house and attempted to horsewhip him. The Englishmen were driven off by friends of Jarves, who suffered only minor bruises and abrasions. Charlton and his companions were fined $6.00 each for assault--the maximum penalty under the law.
In 1844 Jarves received the title of director of the government press, and his journal becoming the official organ of the Hawaiian government. He returned to the United States in 1849, and soon afterward received from the Hawaiian government the appointment of special commissioner to negotiate treaties with the United States, France, and Great Britain.
Under the nom d' plume "Peter Goabout" Jarvis published a column in the Poynesian under the heading, " Drippings From My Journal". These have become pearls of anthropological insight and we include some in AAOK for your enjoyment