Polynesian., 1844-06-22
SATURDAY, JUNE %, 1914.

terial. 1.-THE plain was Of gradual formation
by successive increment, as a natural conse-
quence the surface soil would be deepest on
the inland or older portion, whereas it is of
the same thickness one hundred yards from
the sea as at the ancient line of coast. More
over, a transverse section of both the ancient
and modern beaches, exhibits a ridge COM
posed of coral in considerable fragments, en-
tire shells, Echinides, sc. mixed with a rath-
err coarse coralline sand, and if the interview
ing space were merely a succession of similar
beaches there is no reason why it should not
be similarly constituted. But instead of this
it contains only a few scattered corals in
small pieces, the shells in it are small and
broken up and the sand is very fine, much of
it being of volcanic origin; the whole appear
ing like the finer and heavier particles, now
being washed from the beach and carried
seward by the recoil and undertow of the
surf. Adding to these facts that of the dip
northward, OF the lower bed of laminar con-
crctions, think the plain of Hanalei should
be classcd among the instances of elevation
by subterranean forces. The manner in
which the strata OF cemented coralline sand
are tilted up in the vicinity of w ailua has al
ready been described. AT Anahola q few
miles North Of this, half a mile from the sea
is a remarkable beach, more than a mile in
length, consisting ola mixture ofloose %corals,
shells and sand, deposited in very regular
curved strata. From this and all the other
old beaches a sandy plain, with a thin coat
ing of soil extends to the present coast.
"That section of the coast at Kauai, de-
signated by the natives as Ma Pail, or "the
Precipices," which from Hamakoa on the
North, to Lapa on the West, extends about
twelve miles in an unbroken, inaccessible
wall of sub-columnar lava, from eighteen
hundred to twenty-five hundred feet high,
exhibits continuous traces of exposure to the
action of the waves, several feet above the
line of cavities now being worn by the surf.
cat Molokai, an island a few miles North
west of Maui. MIR. B. Mum, teacher for the
Mission, assured me that he had seen masses
of coral apparently in their original position,
imbedded in calcareous rocks, one hundred
and even one hundred and fifty feet above
sea level. | suspect, however, that here is
some error, either of calculation or observa-
ton, having seen nothing on any of the other
islands to warrant the belief in such an ele-
walton as this would indicate. Still from the
testimony of all the missionaries, there can
be no question of the fact that there are real
ly in MOlokai raised coral beaches of height
at least equal to those of Oahu and Kauai.
"By the statements ofseveral persons who
have long been residents on Oahu, the eleva-
ton there is at present going forward at a
very perceptible rate. Henry A. PIERCE,
Esq, an American merchant who has dwelt
at Honolulu for upwards ofsiXteen years, and
whose high intelligence and habits of close
observation entitle his opinion on this point to
much respect, has informed me that large
portions Of the reef on both sides of the har-
Dor, which at his first arrival were never UNI
covered by the sea, have since then risen so
much as to be now bare every tide at low
water; other parts which were within his
knowledge exposed only at that stage, are
now naked an hour before it, and the sea has
in the same time recedcd as much as thirty
feet from places where canoes were accus-
toned to land.+
In all departments of Natural Science Mr..
c. appears to be a close and diligent obser-
YER. While at these islands his time was
occupied in exploring their features. No
thing escaped his notice, from the minutest
shell to the grandest exhibition of volcanic
strife. We close our extracts by giving his
tidal observations, and conclusions respect
ing the absence and presence Of coral in
different situation in the same ATTITUDES.
The entrances to the reefs which form our
harbors he presumes to have been occa-
stoned by fresh water; which acts detrimen-
tAmong the evidences of the slow increase ofcorals, al
lude4 to on page 2, were included through inadvertence
nefs and npo "% well + known know ml reefs. . T ! 81 o sRo%ld = he sns se
aside, since il is clear that such depth might be increased
or diminished by a subsistence or elevation of the reef, anC