The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1870-01-08

to the Court definitely concluded, / resolved upon
a hying visit to Kona. Descending the
brown, rugged and rocky hills, on steed as mis-
cradle and dry and worn as the country between
Waiaka and the sea, reached Kawaihae as much
fatigued as if had ridden good horse fifty miles,
and was glad to find a resting place at the resi-
dence of our friend ChillingwOrth, the Deputy
Sheriff of Waimea Concluding that had for
merly sufficient experience of the lava flow on a
iadcd and tender footed steed, 1 thought would
prefer avoiding it by boat excursion. was
woke out of sound sleep at half-past the next
morning by jolly Scot who came singing into
my room,
"My boat is on the Shore 'tis light and free,'
and hastily preparing, L was soon off with a gen.
tie land breeze ripping the waves. Our boat
sped over the waters like sea-bird, the breakers
roared on the left against the dark volcanic rocks
the ocean spread away to the right, and over
head-it being the night when the earth passed
the nehuous belt-the meteoric display was
grand The fireworks of heaven Beautiful was
the silent majesty of the brilliant meteors they
flashed and streamed along the sky, like the
bright CLEANS of human hope, and then died away
forever l counted hundreds in a few minutes
of time, and the display lasted till the very beams
of day Int up the snowy summit of Mauna hea
with rose hues. Rounding the black wall of lava
that swept the fsh-pond of Kiholo, we
moored our boat at the beach of Kibolo church
at precisely six O'Clock A. NJ, two hours and
half from Kawaihae. We soon had some excellent
fish fresh from the dancing waves roasted in ii
leaves, and somepurple poi and paiai, for break
fast. We enjoyed it like native, and blessed
the that invented taro.
Seeing fresh looking and broad road that led
up the northern base Of Hualalai, sauntered out
after breakfast to make a reconnaissance. found
that the road had formerly led to the beach at
Kiholo, but the fiery torrent of lS49 had swept
over it, and where the road formerly ran through
a cocoanut grove and between the houses of ma
tive village to the sea shore, is now black and
glitIering mass of lava rolled in waves, and con-
torted in every variety of form, almost impossible
for man without the most extraordinary exertion.
Where the road was cut off, the lava beach is
high and abrupt, and so little affected by time,
that it appears if it had scarcely cooled. and
the climate is dry and the soil 50 destitute of
vegetation that the road where it leaves the lava
looks as though it was the work of yesterday.
The horses that were to meet me at Kiholo did
not arrive in time and | was forced to enjoy the
hospitality of native. l slept sound in the hale
piF to the music of the waves, and just day
glimmered in the east, was aroused by the
rival of the horses from Honalo, Kona. ss Lilo
Lilo maikail'' shouted the natives, and I arose
and was enchanted by the scene that spread
around me.
Morn dawned rosy and fresh over Kiholo The
beautiful little bay played like laughing infant
ifb fI,a fLa Act
80 Gods burning eye famed over Hualalai, it
lit up scene of splendid, yet wild and rugged
beauty. The blue outlines of the Kohala noun
tains ard the lofty Mauna Kea the great
plain of Waimea, that only seemed bounded by
the base of the dome of Mauna Kea whose sum-
init was hidden by Hualalai. Looking from the
mountain base toward the broad and regular
init, the eye first encounters a wide basln-shaped
valley, that slopes upward toward the green wave
like ridge of Puuanahulu, and the Umbrella ina
nnalu) mountain, that lies between it and Hualala.
This is a vast island, encircled by two black
rivers of lava 1t is grass-covered and FERTILE and
the outlines of timber can be traced toward Hua-
lalai 1t would make excellent cattle rancho,
and is marked by the natural boundaries, or
branches of the great lava food as it approached
the land is productive, and dry taro is raised, to-
gether with cane and variety of vegetables. At
the proper elevation it would produce coffee of an
excellent quality
The view is very beautiful from Kiholo, and if
it had supply OF fresh water, would be an ex-
cellent point to spend few days of recreation.
But we were thirsty and parched as the lava
around us, and there were no cocOanuts.
We mounted, and as the sea was chafng against
the shingly shore, we struck off to the left toward
q low red hill or the slope of Hualalai, over
straight road and through old lava flow.
withered desert vegetation languished among the
angular rocks. As we advanced we found grow
ing among these arid plants, two herbs that are
used by the native Hawaiians as tea, the koL0u
and the ktnehe, of a fragrant, spicy flavor. Deep
fssures and great caverns yawned on either hano,
where the lava had cracked or broken In cooling
during the giant commissions of Nature that swept
over the land. 1t stood like worn and solitary
arch over the wrecks and debris of an ancient
ruin. AS we advanced mp the mountain slope the
vegetation increased. We passed over the last
lava flow of 1859, where it had surged up the side
of Hualalai forming lava hill, by its combing
up, at least 1900 feet above the level of the sea-
The most liquid portion of the molten current had
then flowed down deep ravire toward the sea at
a right angle, and had left behind glittering
gass-llke surface, that glowed like furnace in
the hot sunlight Above the road was deep
lake-like reservoir, that yet appeared like vast
cauldron of boiling bitumen. Far down this
tortuous stream to the right appeared cocoanut
tree yet green and vigorous that had been spared
by the fiery current. 1t had apparently been
parted by some huge boulder, just enough
leave The cocoanut tree unscathed, and then closC
its fiery waves and rolled onward. The lava walls
that almost touch the trunk of the tree are at
least 25 feet high
Passing this overflow, shrubs began to appear
>>eEseeAded. Trees grew larger. Such as the
| ohe and the hualqma rose over the shrubbery.
| The latter bore pale red fruit like the date,