The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-12-30
THURSDAY. DEC. 80, 1886.
VACATION DAYS IN THE TROPICS
BY REV. T. r. G. PECK.
No. w.

mo. Nv.
CRATER OF KILAUEA, Sept. 10, 1856.
am here standing on the edge of
the greatest active volcano in the
world. Vesuvius, Hcckla, Strom-
boli--even the renowned Etna--
are pigmies compared with the
monster Kilauea, with its crater of
fifteen miles in circumference and
it's vast lake of liquid fire. The
journey up to this point is not as
arduous as you might at first sup
pose. We left Honolulu in the XII
nau just four days ago, and since
then we have been stcaming from
port to port among these evergreen
isles till we finally brought up at
Keauhou the seaport nearest here.
1t was voyage rs novel in its at
fractions as it was varied in its
features. There was first of all the
island of Molokai, which we passed
in the early moonlight, the abode of
the poor lepers who are sent here
from all parts of the Hawaiian king
dom. Then the bold rocky promon-
tories of Maui rose before us, which
hold within them the grim crater of
Haleakala, thirty miles in circum-
ference, though now happily extinct.
Then through the broadcast of the
channels that separate these isles
one from another, we steamed over
to beautiful Hawaii, the loveliest
gem of the Pacific, which contains
the loftiest mountains, the deepest
valleys, the broadcast and sunniest
fields of perhaps any country of its
size in the world.
KAwA1HAE.
At one of the first stopping places
on this island, place called Hawai-
haze, my attention was drawn to an
immense platform of heaped-up
stones, where in the old barbaric
days human sacrifices used TO be
offered to the heather gods of the
island. Then, passing on, we saw
by way of contrast the spires of
scores of Christian churches peering
above the vast fields of waving
cane. Then followed immense angu-
lar precipices of rock, intersected
by long, deep, narrow valleys run
ming far up into the interior. AL
most every one of these valleys con-
tanned small river of its own broken
into vast cascades, which glistened
in the sunlight like molten silver.
For miles and miles we passed
these strange formations of rock,
shaped like the angular roof of Il
house in front, while their sloping
sides were clothed with the richest
emerald verdurc. Then succeeded
long sunny plains where no hill nor
mountain could be seen save the
huge forms of Mauna Kea and
Mauna Loa in the dim distance.
The whole day was one exquisite
panorama of hills and valleys and
cane-ticlds, with groves of palm,
mango, pandanus, oleander and
sandalwood trees interspersed with
the tall chimneys of factories and
the pretty hamlets where the sugar
makers dwell. The coast is so alb
rupt all along here that the bags of
sugar had to be lowered over the
precipices by means of cranes into
the small boats which carry them
out to the steamer, and men, women
and children who intend to take
passage have to be lowered in the
same way. We passed "beautiful
Hilo" at eleven at night, so that l
did not see it at that time, and early
the next morning we reached Keau.
hou, the point of land where We
were to take horses for the fifteen.
mile trip to the volcano. How shall
/ describe to you that wonderful
horseback feat where for miles ant
miles you dash along through i'm
mense beds of lava rock, the re-
mains of great volcanic flood will
which the slope has been inun.
dated! Then when we had attained
the ,table-land above we entered ont
of those vast fern forests for whicl
this island of Hawaii is distinguished
Ferns covering the way like a car
pet; ferns springing up into grea
bushes; ferns branching out int
immense trees; ferns of every kline
and variety, of every form ant
shape and, / was going to say, al
most of every color, too. Final,
this profuse vegetation began {,
diminish. The air suddenly be
came cooler and more bracing. Gu
horses plodded along with a NOR
agile step. Strange vapors too be
gan to show themselves, and ther
was smell of sulphur in the air
We had no idea that the crater wa
so near, or that we were alread
passing over ground which was III
mined by imprisoned fires. Yet S
it was, for of sudden there was til
"Volcano House" right before Il
and the great crater of Kllauea jus
below.
Standing on the veranda of til
house we could look right down int
the yawning chasm; not into whit
is now an ocean of fire, but what WI
once so. All that vast area who's
circumference, as have said, is /
miles, and whose shortest diamet
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