Daily American telegraph., 1852-07-12
AMERICAN TELEGRAPH.
MAKAwAo MANI, March 5, 1852
From the Friend Of Youth.
Letter from the Sandwich Islands.


My DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS: have strons
curiosity-being Yankee born, though resi-
dent Of the Sandwich Islands for nearly TWEEN
ty-ive years-to see a number of The Friend o
Youth, as hear that it is edited by the autho
of the 'Poor Little Blind Boy" poem which
/ never read without tears | am therefor,
going to tempt Mrs. Bailey to send me at leas
a single number, and shall do this by giving
you an account of an excursion | lately made
with my children to the top of Haeakala, a
mountain in my immediate neighborhood,
| suppose you need not be told that snow
and frost are things unknown at the Sandwich ,,;
Islands, except on the tops OF mountains we
are in a tropical climate, and the cool weather
here seems something like your June OF july
in a remarkably cool season. Cold rams we
freouentlv have in the winter, so that small
Ga il pleasant: but Jack Frost never enters
gardens to nip with his cruel tooth our
tender plants. But in the winter, when we
have a heavy strong wind, attended with thun-
der and lightning and copious rain, we expect
to see the mountains covered with snow Such
a storm we had last Friday night. In the
morning, when the clouds rolled from the
mountain, we saw that there had been heavy
fall of snow on the summit and down the sides
of Haleakala, the name of the mountain at
the base of which lies my field of labor. This
mountain was measured by one of Mr.. Wilkess
scientific corps and found to be 10000 feet
above the sea. AS my children had never
been nearer than fifteen miles of snow, and
there being an unusual quantity now lying on
the mountain, they begged to ascend, and see
what it might be like Accordingly, Monday
morning March lst, we made the excursion.
The first ten miles of the way the travelling
was slow, but not dificult--the ascent being
gradual, and the path plain. This part of the
mountain affords tolerable pasture for cattle,
horses, and goats The upper part is covered
with the Ohelo, species of the whortleberry,
and the American strawberry. Now and then
a good-sized tree grew near our path, also
shrubbery of various sorts, among which we
saw few small sandal-wood trees Sandal
wood, however, of which you have doubtless
heard, is very nearly extinct on Mani, and !
believe little can be found on the large island
of Hawaii 1t is said, and | believe it may be
true, that the people secretly cut down every
tree they discover, as the gathering of this wood
caused them more suffering than any one thing
since their recollection, and they fear to see
another crop in the progress of growing. At
the end of ten miles of our journey, we came
to region of great roughness The ground
was covered with decomposed lava of every
shape and size. Among these rocks and stones
many small trees are growing and at this time
of year good deal of grass. Still, there
being no path, the feet of our poor horses suf-
fered not little Added to this, the ascent
became sleeper; and as we neared the summit,
the ground wet from melted snow made The
tug Of labor more severe. Within half mile
Of the top we came within the circle Of snow,
and after twenty-five years absence, | laid my
L., kho hnoI nf al ofar
Mr. Snow. found it the veritable article |
used to handle and slide over in my childhood
played as many of my old antics as could
think of-sitting and lying upon ii, rubbing
my hands and face with it, and eating it, made
a mimic fort sc. The children scarcely knew
what to mako of it, and were exceedingly di-
ver!ed. The touch and taste of snow gave
them sensation till then unknown but on
the whole they were disappointed, saying that
it was not all that it was cracked up to be.
On reaching the top, found that the storm
had reached down some distance into the era
ter, where there still lay considerable snow.
The scene from this mountain was truly grand.
Standing on the brink of dreadful crater
large enough to contain all the cities of the
United States, and some three thousand feet
deep. with the still more lofty mountains of
Hawaii in the distance on one hand and the
mountains of West Mani, Molokai, and Ranai,
on the other, with the mighty Pacific surround
us on every side, and by some optical illusion
seeming to have lowered as high as the lofty
summit on which we stand, we felt the emo
tions of sublimity in a high degree | am never
weary Of gazing on these sublime works of
God And hope, my dear friends. that you
will acquire taste for such scenes. You have
thousand scenes of grandeur and beauty
around you, and let these lead you up to God,
your glorious author, SO that you may loathe
and forsake everything grovelling and mean
and sinful, SO that you may be truly wise and
happy.
My children succeeded in carrying to the
house an enormous icicle and ball of snow
and preserved in my silk handkerchief cake
of ice. With these evidences Of our success
we reached home in safety, but excessively
tired. Yours, with affection,
]. s. GREEN.