Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-07-16

her husband, when greatly exhausted, and carrying
him some distance after he was dead, struggled with
the raging for hrty-six hours, and reached the
shore in safety at last
DISCOVERY OF THE ISLANDS.
The Islands were first discovered about 60 years
ago by the English navigator Capt Cook. The num-
Der of inhabitants was then about 25O,OOO The pres
ent number is about 100000, and rapidly decreasing.
When the stately ship of the strangers appeared off
the Islands, the simple inhabitants were amazed and
perpleXed They were strangers to any floating craft
larger than canoe After medtating upon the sight
awhile, they concludedanother Island must be floating
towards them They approached the ship in their ca
noes, and, installing the hats of the men for their
heads and their garments for parts of their bodies and
seeing their white skins and bright eyes, they cried
out they are gods, they gods! AT night, when
they saw fire about their mouths and smoke issuing
therefrom, they supposed they were gods of the voco
no, and Immediately gave the name Of Lono to Capt
Cook, which appellation is still retained
Capt Cook speedily sailed to the northwest coast,
but the asonished inhabitants who had seen the ships
and the strangers, gave such eXravagant representa-
tons of them to their counymen that upon his return
to the Islands, few months AFTER they were prepared
to receive him with every demonstration of homage
and when he landed on Hawaii, actually worshippcd
him as god. They supplied his wants from their
stock of fruits vegetables animals &c, for which he
gave them some bits of hoop iron! He proceeded to
sea- but discovering that one of his masts was rotten
returned to the same place to have it repaired.
He was now less cordially received than before, but
nothing like violence shown him, until he wanton
ly and as the people thought, sacgiegiousy dospoed
one of their heather temples, which aroused their an
ger to a sufficient height to induce them to strike him
with a war.cub. He was stunned by the blow and
groaned under the pain, which convinced the natives
that he was not a god, which discovery was fatal to
Capt. Cook for they Immediately despatched him. How
different might have been the result if instead of re-
ceiying divine homage at the hands of an ignorant
people, he had humby pointed them to the great soye-
reign of the universe,
NATURAL SCENERY
The natural scenery of the Sandwich Islands is ofno
ordinary character As volcanoes which work by no
known rule have had so much to do in the formation
and arrangement of the of matter composing the
Islands, it will not be surprising that has not been
disposed in very regular order. And yet nothing is
more palpably plain than the divine wisdom which is
therein displayed. The surface, for the most part is
uneven, with many deep and almost hideous ravnes.
Yet about the sea shore the land is comparatively level
for space of some two or three miles in the interior,
an average For several reasons this is almost the
only part the land that is inhabited. All of the in
terror, from the strip around the sea which is desert
bed, is thrown up into high mountains These noun
ains ranging in height from one to fourteen thousand
feet, arrest the clouds as they are driven by the
trade winds, and they pour down therfertlizng show
ers in the mountains and on all the windward side of
the Islands. But for these mountains to arrest the
Clouds they would pass the Islands, which would
not be habitabe for want of rain The riyucts which
take their rise in the mountains run down on all sides
Of the Islands, rendering even the eeward side habta
bic, by supplying the water necessary for irrigation
where it almost never rains
Cataracts abound in this little kingdom. 1t is not
difficult to suppose that large quantities of rain falling
in the INTERIOR ten thousand feet above the level of the
not moro than thirty or forty miles long would find it
convenient occasionally, to take giant strides of sew
oral hundred feet pcrpendicuary downwards at once
perpendicular fall of four hundred feet is the great
est the writer has visited though there are others of
five, and even six hundred feet One of the most lc-
markable falls is that Of stream over giddy height
not drop of whose waters ever reaches the bottom at
all.
But the volcanoes surpass all the other objects of
interest to be seen at the Islands. The great Cra-
ter tKauea stands unparalleled upon the list of OBJ
ects of this terrible character throughout the world
The boldest trWeler, after being somewhat familiar
with objects ofthls nature stand aghast upon near
approach to this living mass of fire. 1t differs from all
other VOLCANOES i'll several respects. Instead of being
upon the apex of a mountain it is in a mountains side
Instead of being only occasionally in action this knows
no season of rest though it is not always equally ac-
tive Instead of being mere blow hole for the escape
ofsmoko and fumes and fire. the crater of Kauea is
egh; miles in extent! The largest diameter is about
three and half miles, the smallest about two miles
The depth of the Crater is HOO feet Its walls for the
most part are perpendicular and of solid lava In some
places they have been shaken down by the ever recur
ring earthquakes. At the bottom ofths Crater is the
object greatest interest," the living lake of mel
ted fire which is from mile to two miles in circum-
ference. In approaching the lake traveller generally
descends into the Crater on the wndward side, LIST,
That he may be little exposed as possible to the
smoke and suocating gases which are always arising
and, I'd, That when near the lake, its heat may be
driven directly from him.
When fairly down to the bottom of the crater, the
high and hideous walls that enclose him. the hot bot
tom beneath his feet, anG the sulphurous vapos that
assai him. beget feelings not very easily described
The bottom of the crater is paved with former
oyerilowings from the lake, which, in cooling, rested
in huge blstors, resembling fleet of boats turned bot
tom upwards. In making your way over them you
will frequently break through this thin crust and sud
denly drop from foot 20 two or three feet below
knowledge of the fact that at least it is only thin