The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-11-09

as--. The convict labor Of ths ISLAND would bc
-uiirirnt To- accomplish the work ia a few year.,
ani r,fplrr Iilo a Port where all the shipping Of
thc Pacific cpuld ride securely at anchor. IL j.
now m0rc caIaeipus than any other hay or harbOr
On the island and il il not subcct a. violent gales
frum any quarter.
We climbed the volcanic hills beyond the
-clp0D-bOu-c Of Punahua. hack Of IIilo, through
tall, wiry gra--, waist high. IL Was dcn-c and
massive a. an Eat IBliau or Central African jun
gle. ani imIas-ablc for horsc. Although the
mD-t beautiful l,ok-Dut and commanding the
meet extensive view of any point near the coast
"n the Hawaiian Islands, there is not pathway
leading To IL. IL requires long extrrmitIcs, strong
fsxor- and exten-ors and resolution and perreyer-
10 wade through il. We, however, made
the ascent aud we're well rewarded for our trouble
llilo lay below in all its lovcliness of rural
beauty, a regular crescent around it, symmetrical
hay. m whose quiet waters three vessels were ut
anchor we seemed overlooking vast irregular
and diversified plain extending from the sea ON
the East to tie mountain domcs, forty miles die
tant ON the Wet. and lust in the distance To- the
North AMI South. II was dotted with groves
scanned with forests and clc-ivcd with gushing
rivers. Between the belts Of forest were green,
grassy plains, with occasional farm houses and
native cottages. Immediately below and he
yOnd the dashing stream that flows into IilO Bay
i the Sugar Plantation of Amauulu, belonging to
Captain Thomas Spencer. His neat cottage of
PuucO, on the rise beyond the sugar mill, in its
quiet simplicity in the centre of his four hun
dre,i acres Of cane now in cultivation. The cane
green and vigorous in its growth, and some
Of IL the heaviest and finest have seen on the
Islands. \ count of of the showed two
hundred canes in 10 feet; they were large, long
and growing rapidly. We do not think there is
a more valuable plantation in Hawaii. 1t lies
adjoining IllO, is well watercd, exceedingly FERTILE
with fine landing facilities for tiunHng the
from any part of the plantation to the mill, with
abundance Of wood and 5000 acres Of land, the
most of it capable of producing sugar cane.
Northward on the coast adjoining Amauulu, is
the Khiwiki Plantation OF Mclchcrs x Co. This
Is also finely situated, the hourishing, green
and vigorous, abundance of water and all the
facilities necessary 10 make good plantation.
Adjoining this is the Chinese Sugar Plantation
Of Chung IIOon 4 Co., which seems to be ding
well and the cane looks thrifty.
Beyond this is the hourishing plantation of
Onomea, of Messrs. Austin x Co. We do not
know of more beautiful plantation, and one that
promises richer reward for the capital and labor
bestowed on its cultivation.
Dim in the distance beyond this, the Metcalf
Su gar Plantation and the rising hills bound the
vision.
But scattered everywhere aud lying at our feet,
taro Iatches-the upland taro-growing with
out irrigation, more vigorously than taro any
where else in deeply inundated beds. 1t is the
n, +,T Of Il. MI -
abundantly and with less labor around IIilo than
Mt any other point. As the q. spud'' to Paddy,
80 is taro to the Kanaka, and the plains around
Ililo are his Elysian felds-the Arcadia of his
- grub - dreams.
There Is little cultivation in the ocean bounded
plain that stretches toward Puma and kau.
Crown lands and long lelsgs of large lands, have
efIcctually prevented settlement and cultivation.
We stood upon Mount Halai sketched
the scene, but there three volcanic cones in Il
line, with distinctly marked crater in each.
llala or Punahoa, is the one nearest Hilo the
second is also called Ialai, though separated from
it by valley, where there is kueana. hale /.
pill and taro cultivation the third is called Pu-
hanu. The crater of the latter is less distinctly
defined than those of the two first, its summit
being hut slightly concnvc. They all mud
and water volcanoes. They never elected sCoria /.
and ashes streams of .es;y lava !; but they /
formed the plain around Iiilo, by cruptivc
dclugc of mud and water. Like the TOloGn del
Igua, water volcano of Guatemala the hot, /
stclming dclugc poured over the plain and formed .
regular layers. These visible in the unctious /
yellow, claycy soil-thc silt that uphcaved .
from beneath in liquid form. The basaltic .
formation beneath it came from Mauna Loa the .
three lateral mud cratcrs gave it the coating SOIL
they were hut the chimncys or fucs through the .
trap or basalt.
Northwest of the plantation house of Capt. /
Spencer Mt Puuco, is another crater conc, sur
mounted by haiepih This is of the same class I
those above described. and it, cruptions were I
Of boiling mud AMI water. which formed the cuat- .
ing of soil over the plain around. Blu; must .
leave You here, and write again from Kilauca.
Yours, ever. l., PAz.