The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-09-14
SoLULU, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER IA 1892


ing down a steep slope of sand and
cinders, 700 feet in height, to our
camp, where a repast awaited Us,
that reminded one of the Hamilton
House. It is enough to say that our
worthy chef de cuisine was Louis
Koch, we'll known to former guests
of the Hamilton and later of the Vol
cano House.
During the following night the
thermometer fell to Ii deg. Fair.
We did not, however, suffer from
cold, although the confinement of
the blanket bags became rather irk-
some. f. small kerosene stove was
kept burning all night, which no
doubt helped somewhat to keep up
the temperature of the air within the
tent.
On Monday, the 25th, the thermo-
meter stood at 20 deg. at sunrise.
Messrs. Muir and Alexander as
cended the second highest peak on
the northwest, overlooking Waimea,
1865 feet in height to continue their
urvey. In the cairn on the summit
tin can was found, which contains
brief records of the visits of five diff
ferent parties from 1870 to the pres
ent time, to which we added our own.
A party of eight girls from Hilo,
personally conducted" by DR.. Wet
more and D. FL. Hitchcock, Esq, in
1876, must have been a merry one.
Capt. Long of H. B. Ms Ship Fan
tome had visited this spot in 1876,
and DR.. Aiming with several Kohala
residents in 1885.
The same Afternoon the surveyors
occupied the summit of Lilinoe,
high rocky crater, a mile southeast of
the central hills and little over Ii, 900
feet in elevation. Here, as at other
placer on the plateau, ancient graves
are to be found. In the olden time,
it was a common practice of the
natives in the surrounding region to
carry up the bones of their deceased
relatives to the summit plateau for
burial.
During the following night the
thermometer fell to IA and stood at
18o at sunrise. After breakfast
the surveying party assembled the
third peak, east of Lake Waiau, and
about APO feet above it, where they
took the closing sets of angles, and
connected the latitude pier with the
scheme Of triangulation.
On their return the tents were
struck, and instruments packed up
in readiness for the pack train, which
arrived about IL A. NJ Soon after
wards the fog closed in around us,
and lasted till nightfall. We bid
farewell to the lake about l 80 P NJ,
and arrived at the Kalaieha Station
before 6 P. M, without any mishap,
having stopped half an hour at
"Keanaka6oi," the Axe-makers' cave.
This is situated about a mile south
of Waiau, and a hundred yards west
of the trail, in ledge of that hard,
fine grained kind of rock, which an
cient Hawaiians preferred for their
stone implements. Here we saw the
small cave in which the axe makers
lodged, their fire place, and remains
OF the shell fish which they ate. In
front Of it is an immense heap of
stone fakes and chips some 60 feet
across and 20 or 80 feet high. Near
by several hundred unfinished axes
are piled up just as they were left by
the manufacturers, when the arrival
of foreign ships and the introduction
of iron tools had ruined their trade.
Around the entrance of the cave the
native dandelion or pualele (Sonchus
oleraceus) was growing at an eleva-
ton of 1880 feet. 1t was here that
the late DIR. Hillebrand found a
curious idol, which is still in the pos
session of his family.
On arriving at Kalaieha we learned
that the pack mules had preceded
US, and were already unloaded. None
of the costly and delicate instru-
ments employed had received the
slightest injury. All the objects of
the expedition had been successfully
attained. / know of but one other
instance on record when gravity
measurements of precision have been
made at 80 great a height.
Mr.. Preston's final report will be
looked for with interest by the scien-
tific world, and will add another
laurel to his well-earned reputation
as physicist and astronomer.
w. d. A.