The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-11-27
Kauai Scenery.

We long for the descriptive pen Of a Scott that
we might picture to you, as they appear TO us,
some OF the choice bits Of scenery or the ishnd
which are far too little known Where we PIC
nieked yesterday, formerly resort of the an
eicnt Kauaian kings; an anphiiheatrc among
the hills; Iiitle circular lake IN the centre hllsd
with rushes, fringcd with the deepest, denset
green Of ohia and orange, OGt from the recesses
OF which fash the light OF the crimson fruit
Here, and there, and higher up, the kukui hang,
Out is silvery foliage which contrasts clearly and
beautifully with tine darker Of woods
Higher and higher rise the prccipitous sides till
you look upward nearly fifteen hundred feet, past
the crowded ranks Of trees and shrubs, up where
the vegetation IL more sEunted, or the distance
makes it look 80, up To the top OF the cncircling
walls, where the clouds couie surging over like
billow, und the whole Is before you like picture.
You think OF the Coliseum ut Rome; the little
Lake in the centre Is the arena, and when the
wind comes roaring down the hollow, il is like
the applause OF the vast multitude with which
you people the surrounding heights. Rarely Is
80 much of grandeur and beauty seen within so
small an area
Another scene valley whose sides arc per-
pcndicular walls of rock, bare Of all but here
turreted tors Of the cliffs, many hundreds of feet
above, stand out clearly against the blue sky, or
white passing cloud like the castellated SUBMITS
of some old mcdiaeval fortress. \ rapid river
covers nearly half OF the narrow bottom of the
valley.
Farther up, the sides less precipitous and
more broken, and are covered with clumps OF
trees and vines, which nearly hide the rock, or
here and there expose a jntting crag in its royal
setting of emerald. Little cascades come lcaping
down the cliffs, now hid, now appearing again,
tenderly embraced by clustering ferns, their fall
lovingly broken and -oftened by mosscs of many
kinds that creep up over the rocks and smooth
the sharpness Of the descent with their yelvcty
covering. Further ON the valley ends in n cliff
more than two hundred ieet high, over which the
stream tumbles frUm a brink Of prismatic
basalt; falling fifty feet, it meets jutting rock
from which to the pol beneath it spreads out in
n sheet Of foam OF snowy whitcness- The place
almost n grUtto only the midday sun shines
to tile bottom. Ferns and mosscs fcstOon the
walls and dip into the waters. The wind which
comes whistling down with tho falls bears or the
spray to mingle with that or the score of little
waterfalls below. to baptizs all the valley with
dew and freshness.
Once let me take you toward the centre
OF the island, to the top vi little cone tie
edge Of a gorge. Half the island is in sight.
Below you, almost under your feet, Is q rushing
river; it looks rs If you might throw stone
into 10; yet, so great i the height on which you
stand, that the roar Of It's waters does not come
up to you, and they break into foam over the
rocks or the river-bed in silence you must speak
of the depth, not in hundreds of feet, but in
thousands. The valley is Yosemite. Far away
10 the left waterfall pOurs into the abyss,
while il seems TO hang in the air from the brink
like n light robc fiuttcring. and swayed to and
fro by the wind il does not reach the bottom.
Beyond the other brink of the valley, toward the
highest part of the island, is bowling wilder
ness OF deep defiles, and gorgcs, and forests un-
trod by man, almost inaccessible.
Behind you the horizon rises till it blends with
the sky without any defined dividing line: and
away up, you can hardly tell whether in the sky
or in the sea, are the islands Of Kaula, and
Niihau, and Lehua. The scene is too enchanting
to leave until the sun throwing back its shafts
and bars Of light and shadow through the clouds,
which are rolling over the ocean far below, re
minds you that night is coming on, and, scratch.
ING YOUR names on n slab of basalt under the
name of Lot Kamehameha, and others of les
note YOU give q last look, and hasten down tc
your tent, supper, and blankets.
MALE WREATH.