Riders on the black lava

Becoming a Hawaiian cowboy was as adventuresome and manly as anything could be. Tom Mix appeared in hundreds of cowboy films between 1910 and 1936 and had an enthusiastic audience among “cowboy-crazy” Hawaiians. Our own Ikua Purdy became “The World Champion Cowboy” at a 1908 Rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Archie Ka’aua took third place, Jack Low’s flamboyancy thrilled the crowds. The three-man Island team used Wyoming scrub horses no one else wanted, they practiced on them in a deep river to develop affinity between horse and rider. Cattle came to Hawaii in 1793 as a gift to Kamehameha I from Captain Vancouver. John Parker, a New England sailor, befriended the King and became a rancher—yep, that Parker Ranch, one of America’s largest and oldest! By the early 1940s Hawaii Ranching had a colorful international cachet through the works of best-selling novelist Armine von Tempski (her nom de plume), daughter of ranch manager Louis von Tempsy. She described Hawaiian cowboy life on Haleakala Ranch, managed by her father. “Born in Paradise,’ was her girlhood story, she wrote “Pam’s Paradise Ranch,” “Bright Spurs,” among others...Hawaii Reporter