The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1871-09-16
Letters from Hawaii No. 4.
[FRoM QUE rRAvEL1No CORRESPONDENT


lFRoM OUR TRAVELLING CORRESPONDENT
Puma DISTRACT, August Path. 1871. |
Eldhart's. % miles from Hilo.
Last night. we cam home from a bath in one of
the most delightful pools that it has been the good
fortune of your correspondent to fall in with
in his varied experience. After examining the
scholars at this place, "Kapoho," we started to
visit
AN ANCIENT HEIAU,
On the top of a mound thrown up here during
some CONFUSION of nature in ages past. W. could
trace the paved road. winding around the foot of
the hill, and skirting a beautiful grove of cocoa
nuts. Ascending the gentle slope, we reached the
temple at the base of the rude steps leading to the
top Of the ruins. Imagine to yourself lofty piles
of smoothly cut and neatly joined masonry, put
together with some sort of cement, grown hard az
the stone itself, and towering in massive dignity
even in its ruins, with huge buttresses supporting
the solid arches, with the remains of heavy battle
ments, towers and affairs ~frowning upon us as we
approached. Fancy a broad flight of steps in one
angle of the walls. that though ruined and broken
on their edges. with rank grass and graceful ferns
springing from every crevice. still affording traces
to the accustomed eye of symmetry and complete
ness of design that speaks of a high order of
architecture. Picture to yourself our weary clam
behring's over these ancien remains, and our ga zing
down into the interior of The temple. upon ruined
affairs covered with inscriptions. with symbols of
the ancient theology of the people who placed this
temple here. Imagine all this, and as much more
as you can extract from Stephens Travels in
Central America. Chipias and Yucatan," and you
will have before you a /: 5ture of ruined grandeur,
such as-yot cannot find q trace of in this, or ana
other ruin. on these islands. BY a Uery strong
exercise of a Ue1y vivid Imagination. in short, as
the Z" Marchioness" says to Dick Swiveller," by
making believe a gooC DEAL" the volcano-tossed
lava can be made to assume any and every shape
that the widest conception of a Dore in his most
fantastic moods ever delineated. A fine grove of
coeoanuts flourish within the enclosure, and one
side of the bill breaks off in sudden clefts, show
ing its unn1istdEdbe volcanic origin. Clambering
down the makai front, and traversing a ~foot-path
winding through the valley, we soon reached the
bathing place called
wAIAKEKUA,
e. The water of the gods " and looking down in
to its crystal depths through four fatboms Of
water. we could see each little stone or water
soaked branch that strewed the bottom.
The tall bare perpendicular cliff that rises sheer
on one side: could be seen as distinctly below the
surface as above. And where the water rested
against it's smooth surface, was traced a slight line,
indicating its unvarying heighth through unknown
years. Plunging in, we found the water to be of
a tepid warmth, soothing to the frame, aud still
exhilarating to the entire system. The surround
ing forest cast a grateful shade over the surface of
the pool. and finding an old log floating about,
your correspondent reclined on the same without
an effort, like some new variety of turtle. Lazily
nOatlnG on the surface or this magic water, look
ing far down as through the ambient air, into the
still depths. indulging in vague specuIations on
the days gone by, when the gods OF the isle came
here to rest in the arms OF the fair maids that had
their home in this sequestered spot. we were
brought back to a realizing sense of our mere
by the sudden advent of the school,
from the overhanging bank. whose wild
plunge rolled our :" fair maid " over, and
Hoped " in into the yielding waters.
After we had reached the surface, and disQorQed
the quart or two OF warm water that we had in
taken in when so Unexpectedly dis
rupted from our log, we proceeded to kick mp as
Big a tempest as we could. In spite Of all our
there renamed profound depths of un-
water, from which t~winkling eyes full of
IuIet mirth looked up at us. as the fair nymphs of
he pool smiled at our futile efforts to penetrate to
heir secure resting places. At last we gave it mp,
md the sc~hoOl-master, while vigorously plying his
owel. endeavOred to ally his irritation at failure, .
'y declaring that he believed our "nymphs'" :
angling eyes to be nothing but the hole in a lot :
cocoanut shells strewn on the bottom, and their :
forms branches of trees clothed in flow =
ng masses OF grass and ferns. We left the spot L
with many a lingering longing look behind" A r
title way back on the road. before turning off TO u
he " cave" we came across 'Puula church,"
ather more a-spire-ing edifce than usual. The \
is not a large one, and is similar to II
THE sCHOoLrHOUsE G
Year KapohO was bHilt after the Turkish fashion, n
e., the roof was finished first. At this point the Il
must have destroyed his plans, after the p
u ~ 4FctE0C[ ~ u ObEdSDuTK Odtut- u
for nothing further has been done to the in
ipieBi building, unless we include he rough wall !,
f stone that has been piled snder the saIae, IN y
be catalogue Of holdings. Each scholar there =
re about twenty-five all told has selected a stone p
the waii ass seat, and the pedagogue's =
hrone is distinguished from the rest by a piece Of =
Mating wbereHithal il Is decsfd. a rude wall :
the structure, through rents 10 which y
be predatory swine find easy access to the sinte- :"
ior.' The effect is peculiar, what between The
ooting OF the hogs during the night, and the play a
III gambois of the urchins in the day, the floor re- y
embles an ancient threshing floor. Notwithstand- u
~ this, the scholars have made some progress, Ii
nd are soon to have a decent building. Strolling 81
ack in the cool evening to Eldhart's we find spp- p
er awaiting us, and sit down to chicken stew, Tea, II
&c. and make such a supper as people make al
of what Tom Hood calls deep cheap sleep.
nd in the early morning we look out on ia
A MOST ROMANTIC LANDSCAPE, is
adiant with the morning sun. Beyond the broad te
reich of black lava at our feet, CLEANS the blue re
"a the shore line is marked by long lines of BE
parking foam. as the restless waves chafe and al
eat on the grim barrier of lava. The last severe b'
broke down the old cliff and almost ri
italy destroyed the ancient landing place. The OF
ID ponds scattered over this region were de- CO
and we often see clumps of cocoanut trees
aanding In pools OF brackish water, the ground Il
a which they grow having sunk down. There ID
pens behind us a series of craters, in one Of CO
hich lies uncovered a pretty lake of fresh water, th
ocked with gold fish. and surrounded by steep le
alls OF rock, and sloping bill-sides clad in green. II
rom this point TO the volcano proper are a string III
~craters, each one well worthy of a visit. tn
-mongst the trees growing here, are many fine ma
)ecimens OF the EOu, and it seems a pity that an CO
was not made to establish a plantation Of We
Il runaf V0IHroLIa - The ApAa1E-sk = Z