![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/872d68f6612eeadbfdf7455ec31eb87cef27abb1-1600x1071.jpg?w=1600&h=1071&q=65&auto=format)
1890: “I WAS INITIATED IN THE MYSTERIES OF SURF-RIDING,” HENRY CARRINGTON BOLTON, FAMOUS CHEMIST, REPORTS FROM NIIHAU
New York-born chemist and bibliographer Henry Carrington Bolton visited Hawaii's Niihau, the privately-owned "Forbidden Isle," in 1890. The text below is from Bolton's academic article "Some Hawaiian Pastimes," published in the January 1891 issue of The Journal of American Folk-Lore. Surfing at this stage was at or near its low point; the revival would begin around the turn of the century. Also, B...