In 1932, 51-year-old Martin Mansfield first came to Hawai‘i as a cook aboard one of the steamships on the Honolulu-West Coast run.
While in Honolulu, he met a Hawaiian who advised him to live in Hanalei, Kaua‘i, which he did, and he worked there in the taro patches for about three years.
He then moved to Waiohinu, Hawai‘i, and lived with a 91-year-old Hawaiian kahuna who, Mansfield claimed, taught him sorcery.
He’d also worked on a poultry farm on Maui before returning to Kaua‘i in 1955.
While residing in Kapa‘a, he wrote a letter to the editor of the “Honolulu Star-Bulletin,” published on March 30, 1955, which proclaimed that he could stop the flow of lava at the Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawai‘i.
In that letter he also wrote that the kahuna at Waiohinu had taught him that “the world is controlled by forces. If one can tune in with these forces, then the elements of nature can be controlled. In this way my body can come into closer contact with nature. It is similar to tuning in a radio. I am the only haole today with ‘manao oi,’ or confidence in the faith that kahunas believe in.
“I’m no faker or trying to gain notoriety. All I ask is a round trip ticket to Kilauea volcano and a place to live. Within three to nine days I should be successful. We’ll it’s up to you people.”
Later, he stated that although he’d previously never tried to stop lava flows, he had been successful in other ventures, such as making it rain in 1937 at Pahala, Hawai‘i, and that he’d once found a diamond ring by performing certain rituals. He said he didn’t know much about Madame Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire, and he would present no offerings during his chant.
Neither Trans-Pacific Airlines nor Hawaiian Airlines offered Mansfield transportation, nor did anyone else. Both airlines stated that the Civil Aeronautics Board regulations prohibits giving free rides.
In 1956, Mansfield was living at Napo‘opo‘o, Hawai‘i.
Then he vanished from the pages of history.
