Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1881-04-16

EDITOR SATURDAY PREss-Will you allow me
through your columns to draw attention to u mat
ter that strikes Inc of sufficient Importance and
long enough neglected. A traveller leaving Wal
mea for Hamakua, falls in the vicinity Of Mr..
Lyons church, into we'll defined system of tracks
that take him directly toward two small hills some
three miles distant. Having turned to the left Of
these hills he finds himself almost Immediately
without anything to direct his steps. Various small
tracks about equally well defined, or defned,
lead in every direction, and any one of them IL apt
shortly to fade away and leave him to exercise
his choice Of another one. Hit or miss, he must
proceed in this way for perhaps three miles, and
then If luck has favored him, he strikes the Aeku
road, and has no further difficulty. Otherwise he
may thank anyone but the road Supervisor if he
does not spend some hours in the woods happy If
he is not wet to the skin and not overtaken by
darkness. H H .
Travellers do go, even as have repeatedly done,
and as rule manage to get through without
serious difficulty But here Ia distance of say
three miles through the woods without any prop
erly defined road PROSTATE tress lie in every di
rection across any track that may choose, vet
the ground il comparatively level, free from stone
and easily worked, either By hand or with pow.
will try to be brief and relate recent experience
of mine. i have been over that road and back
about four times, at intervals of about three years,
and missed my way but once before. The day of
my last return was rainy and foggy all below WAS
running water or soft mud. / came all right to
the end of the distinct road and parsed n mud fiat
which seemed unfamiliar, yet having left that
road as it seemed scarcely four minutes behind,
three minutes more it was very evident that was
too far eastward. Wheeling somewhat sharply
into a track to the right came upon broad road
which of course must be my road, yet ,cas there
such road at this part of the route All be-
came more and more strange and the woods more
and more dense far rs the eye could penetrate the
fog. The friendly guiding hills that should have
been on the right, were gone.
This undoubtedly the road to Mana and
must be retraced, mile to that mud fiat. Choosing
between divide in the road where its definite
character ceased, l came to the mud fiat. study
of the situation revealed half dozen or more
tracks radiating from it. Striking into one which
like the others soon faded away, / went say half
mile, and then back for a new start. The sun
by this time had sufficiently declined to give a
somewhat uncertain indication of direction, and
waiting until break in the fog revealed it's true
situation, / pointed for two hills mile distant,
which proved to be old friends. shortly met a
stranger whom Iafterward learned was Mr.. Fowler,
the railroad man. He had started from Mana for
Hamakua, and found himself in Waimea, from
whence he was making new start
Inwardly wishing him better luck than had
though wet and cold, had come into sunshine
and a familiar region but here stranger on
the point of striking into disagreeable surround
ing an Improbable day in the woods. had been
fire hours and f,centy ninnes instead of the usual
two hours, and here learned that gentleman
and his wife with oti ers, some of whom-as I'M
derstood - were supposed to be acquainted with
the route, had but day or two before lost their
way and spent the night in tho woods and these
are not the only cases. Now. is this rights
Is it right that regularly travelled route should
be in such a primitive condition of " trackless
waste" that even one who has been over the route
may so easily lose his way 7 inI
We say no, and II that gentleman who spent tho
night in the woods with his wife and friends will
make himself heard, perhaps future travellers may
have reason to thank him. Yours truly,
One OF THE TRAVELLING Pubic.
Hawaii, March cd, 1881.