The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-09-14

a visit to this island is incomplete without one
accomplishes the ascent OF the great mountain OF
Maui,
HALEAKALA,
Ang!ice, "The House of the Sun" And as / did
not succeed in making the ascent, owing TO the
stormy weather that prevailed near the top, envel-
oping the peaks and half way down the sides in
clouds of mIst,-my visit yet remains TO be COM
pleted at some future time. Haleakala is a counter
part, only less in size to MauEa Loa on Hawaii, and
equally symmetrical in shape, and boasts of a huge
crater at the top dead for ever so many thousand
years., eight miles by twelve in diameter and thirty
two In circumference, with "A depth Of over two
thousand feet. The entire city Of New York might
be located in this great hole in the ground and
yet there would be room. The mountain is how
ever only about ten thousand feet high, and as 1
once looked down upon it some years ago from the
top OF Mauna kea, which lacks only City feet of
being four thousand higher than Haleakala, my am
bltoH as To getting up IN this world is satisfied.
But the excursion to the top is described an n very
pleasant one. Tue plan Is TO go prepared To camp
out,-or rather in, some of the numerous caves
aud stay over night, so that. weather permitting,
you have the magnificent sight at that altitude of
sunset and sunrise. One OF Mark Twain's best bits
OF descriptive writing in Roughing It," is his pic
tlre OF a sunrise on Haleaksla. On the way up,
there are wild turkeys, wild goats. sheep and hogs,
if you are inclined for such sport, aud plenty of
wild strawberries and Oheius.
But though the time allotted to my short vacation
did not allow of my achieving Maui's big mountain,
| spent half a day in exploring another local lion
AZ VALLEY.
This remarkably interesting valley is just back of
Wailuku. and was undoubtedly once a crater in the
ancient days when West Maui famed and smoked
with volcanic fires. The crater has tumbled out on
the southeast side, just as all the old island craters
appear TO have done, and on all the other sides the
gigantic walls are still standing, more or less worn
into grand or fantastic shapes by the action of the
elements. The valley is about four miles deep, and
down the centre flows the singing babbling brook
that perpetually waters the plain of Wailuku. On
either hand are sheer precipices, of a thousand or 30
feet, clothed with verdure TO the very tops, around
which the rain-distilling clouds are ever lowering.
Here and there, apparently cloven out of the neigh
boring hillside, stand towering alone huge masses
of rock, symmetrically rounded and smoothed as if
by art, running up to a sharp point, and covered
from base 10 apex with a bright green robe of cling
ing, climbing gerdure. A mile or SO up the valley
from the entrance and it begins to contract, cultiva-
ton and houses are left behind, and the rest is wild
nature. Until near the head of the gorge, forests
are by no means dense, having been spoiled by the
ak OF the wood-cutter. The WaiIuku planters are
wisely making amends for former devastation by
setting out young pride of India and other trees
Deep ravines, dark and wild looking, pierce the
mountains on either hand, down which considerable
streams must rush in stormy weather. The trees
are oVergrown and laden down with thickIy inter-