A Yellow Flag, a Doctor, and Findability.
Cover Image: Masthead of Hawaii Holomua published on February 11, 1893.
Aloha Nūhou Monday!
When doing a word search online for information from the Hawaiian language newspapers, if the image of the paper itself is not clear, the resulting OCR (Optical Character Recognition) text will also not be clear.
If for instance you were searching for information on Dr. George Trousseau, you most likely will not find this article as it appears online today.1 The red text highlights areas with misread results.
Image: “Ka Hae Melemele,” Hawaii Holomua, February 11, 1893, p. 3. [Image currently online taken from microfilm.]
KA HAE MELEMELE.
C» ku mai i kei» an ou k* kakahiaka o ka Poakolo nei, mai lo* I kahama mai, lapaoa. ka mokaahi Belegica, iloko o na la holo he \ 10. me ka hae melemeie e kao ana . j ma kooa kia maa. Uaholo aka ke | I Kaaka Awa ilana o kona oneki. oia hoi o Dr. Geo. Trou?8eau, ; ■ (Palani) a mahope o ka hoike ia i ana mai iaia oka loaa ana ona ; ohua o ua moku la ika mai hepe- | ra, ua waiho koke aku oia i kana hoike imua o ka Papa Ola. a mai nope oko ia Papa noonoo aua, ua hooholo lakou e hoomalu ia na 1 ohua oua moku !a no oa ia aole : e emi iho malalo iho o 1S e like me ka mea dhu. | Ma ka auina !a o ka Poakolu nei i hoolele ia m»i ai na ohua no keia . awa ma ka Mokupuni Akuiikuii, no ka hoomalu ana.
(Hawaii Holomua, 2/11/1893, p. 3)
Basic OCR results for the same article from a digital image taken directly from the original will give the following results.
Image: “Ka Hae Melemele,” Hawaii Holomua, February 11, 1893, p. 3. [Digitized from an original newspaper.]
KA HAE MELEMELE.
Ua ku mai i keia awa ma ke kakahiaka o ka Poakolu nei, mai lo- kahama mai, Iapana, ka mokuahi Belegica, iloko o na la holo he 10, me ka hae melemele e kau ana ma kona kia mua. Ua holo aku ke Kauka Awa Huna o’kona oneki, oia hoi o Dr. Geo. Trousseau, (Palani) a mahope o ka hoike ia ana mai iaia o ka loaa ana o na ohua o ua moku la ika mai hepe- ra, ua waiho koke aku oia i kana hoike imua o ka Papa Ola, a mahope o ko ia Papa noonoo ana, ua hooholo lakou e hoomalu ia na ohua o ua moku la no na la aole e emi iho malalo iho o 18 e like me ka mea mau.
Ma ka auina la b ka Poakolu nei i hoolele ia mai ai na ohua no keia awa ma ka Mokupuni Akulikuli, ■ no ka hoomalu ana.2
(Hawaii Holomua, 2/11/1893, p. 3)
YELLOW FLAG
On Wednesday morning, the steamship Belgic stopped at this harbor with a yellow flag raised upon its foremast, after a 10-day trip from Yokohama, Japan. The Port Physician, that being Dr. George Trousseau3 (Palani), boarded its deck, and after it was reported to him that the passengers of said ship had smallpox, he immediately submitted his report before the Board of Heath, and following the consideration of the Board, they decided to quarantine the passengers of the ship for not less than 18 days as usual.
On Wednesday afternoon, the passengers were disembarked at Moku ʻĀkulikuli4 to be quarantined.
(Hawaii Holomua, 2/11/1893, p. 3)
1Along with the weekly publication, Hawaii Holomua had a daily as well. Although the article in the weekly is not easily found, the same article in the daily is.
2Even better results can be obtained by training the OCR application for specific fonts used by the particular newspaper and increasing its dictionary with traditional spellings found in the Hawaiian language newspapers.
3George Trousseau can also be found under the names Kauka Farani, Kauka Palani, as well as Kauka Torosu and Kauka Turuso.
4Moku ʻĀkulikuli (Mokuʻākulikuli) is a name for Sand Island, or Kahakaʻaulana, where people under quarantine were held. In English it was known as Quarantine Island.
Image: Dr. George Trousseau, M. D.; 1895. Pastel on paper by D. Howard Hitchcock, Bishop Museum Archives. SP 215960
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
