Born in Kekaha in 1862, Koolau (or Kaluaikoolau) became a cowboy, a famous hunter, and an expert shot with his rifle.
His wife, Piilani, was also born at Kekaha, in 1864, and they had one son named Kaleimanu.
In 1892, tragedy struck the little family when Koolau began to show noticeable symptoms of leprosy, now called Hansen’s Disease, and was declared a leper after being examined by Dr. Campbell of Waimea.
At that time, there was no cure for this disease, which causes severe disfigurement and death if left untreated.
Nowadays, antibiotic drugs developed since the 1940s provide effective treatment.
The policy of the Hawaiian government in Koolau and Piilani’s day was to prevent the spread of the disease by deporting its sufferers to the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokai, where they would be isolated for the remainder of their lives.
In 1891 and 1892, during the time Koolau became afflicted, people were being rounded up on Kauai for deportation to Molokai.
To escape the horror of forced separation from loved ones and exile to the leper settlement, some Kauai lepers fled into Kalalau Valley.
Koolau refused to be separated from Piilani, who was unaffected by the disease, and she from him, so together they joined the lepers of Kalalau Valley.
Shortly after they arrived, Kaleimanu also began to show signs of Hansen’s Disease.
Their troubles continued to mount in 1893, when Waimea Deputy Sheriff Louis Stolz entered Kalalau Valley to round up lepers for deportation to Molokai.
On the evening of June 27, 1893, Koolau shot and killed Stolz when Stolz attempted to apprehend him.
Koolau, Piilani and Kaleimanu then went into hiding, and soldiers of the Provisional Government were unable to track them down.
For about the next 3 1/2 years, Koolau, Piilani and Kaleimanu hid in Kalalau Valley.
Kaleimanu died in his mother’s arms, and when Koolau died in 1896, Piilani returned to live in Kekaha, but she secretly visited Koolau’s grave in Kalalau Valley many times thereafter.
The authorities never prosecuted her for assisting her husband, and she died at Waimea, Kauai, in 1914.
