Pua ʻIliahi (Sandalwood Flower) - Bill Aliʻiloa Lincoln
He aloha nō he aloha Ka liko pua ʻiliahi E please mai hoʻi ʻoe ke aloha Oi ai ʻana ua meha   ʻAnoʻai wale ke ʻike aku A ka malu ʻulu o ka wehiwehi Ke kai hone hone nei i kuʻu poli Ke hone nei kuʻu poli   Pehea kāua e ka hoa Kaʻanoʻi a ke aloha Ka maile lau lipolipo i ka wao Ka hanu ʻaʻala o kuʻu ipo   Haʻina mai ka puana Nā dew drops ke aloha Ha`ina hou ka puana He aloha no he aloha	Lanaʻi Iliahi	Truly loved, yes truly Is the bud of the sandalwood Won't you please return my love Or I shall be lonesome   How delightful it is to see you In the shade of the breadfruit grove The sea caresses my bosom Speaking softly to my heart   What shall become of us, my friend? The desire of my heart The dark green maile leaf of the uplands The fragrant breath of my love   The refrain is told I love the dew drops Tell the refrain again Of true love
Source: N. Miller Collection, Translated by R. Bruce Denney - Abundance of sandalwood forests were discovered in 1790, and led to the "Sandalwood Bonanza", Hawaiʻi's first major commercial export. Valued in the Orient for its exotic fragrant scent and close-grained hardwood, the Americans realized its valuable trade opportunities. The vasts forests extended to the sea, but these areas were soon depleted, and harvesting went to the mountains that lacked roads for pack animals. People power was used and logs 3 to 4 feet long, 2 to 8 inches in diameter, were strapped to the head and shoulders of men, women and children and carried to warehouses along the coast. It is said that King Kamehameha I joined in the harvest and on occasion there was singing, dancing and feasting. The standard unit of measure was a picul, approximately 133 pounds, the maximum weight a man could easily carry on his back. The price fluctuated from $3.00 to $18.00 a picul and under Kamehameha I, a shrewd and clever businessman, the sandalwood trade was a source of wealth for his kingdom, bringing $400,000 in one year. He personally handled all business transactions and paid for all purchases with varying amounts of sandalwood. The death of Kamehameha I, May 1819, ended the peace, prosperity and monopoly of the sandalwood trade. Whereas King Kamehameha I had always paid cash for purchases, the succeeding aristocracy purchased on credit payable in sandalwood, a resource that was dwindling while the national debt was escalating. Pressed for payment, the makaʻāinana (commoner) was ordered into service and left their fields and taro patches idle. Many died of exposure as they harvested in the high, colder altitudes of the mountains and the first famine stalked the Hawaiian Islands. By 1827, the economy was critical. The Hawaiians called sandalwood,ʻIliahi and the wood, laʻau ʻala or fragrant wood. ʻIliahi powder was mixed with coconut oil to perfume tapa and the logs used as firewood. With no significant value to the local culture, the vast forests were plundered and destroyed within 30 years. ʻIliahi is still found in the mountains and there is a sandalwood pit, the length, breadth, and depth of a ship's hull in the Kapālama-Nuʻuanu ridge above Honolulu, and another one located in the Molokaʻi Forest Reserve.