The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-06-06

greatly lessened the first cost Of the
road.
The next four-and-a-half miles of
the road was completed under the
supervision of John Moore at an aver
age cost of construction of S7730,
including S1730 as value per mile of
prison labor. 1t was then decided to
hasten the completion of the road
and to build it at the rate of one mile
q month.
Mr.. Bruner, who had surveyed the
road, was placed in charge. The
money soon gave out, and he was
left with the paltry sum of $1,000 a
month to pay every expense in con-
nection with the work, and to build
the road with prison labor. The
three miles built under his charge
was by all odds the hardest part of
the entire work, and it has been built
at total expenditure of $3.50 mile
or S6140, including $2260 as the value
of prison labor. Mr.. Bruner desel yes
great credit. for having the courage
to take an engine and rock-bresker
up the road from Hilo when everyone
insisted that the feat could not be
accomplished. There was a stretch
of road Just below the twentieth mile,
on which Wilson's wagon was stuck
the first time it went on it. It was
on this piece of road that the tractiop
engine was able to go just 60 feet a
day, with large force of men get
ing out rock to replace the mscadam
forced out of sight by the weight OF
the engine. There appeared to be a
bog underlying this portion of the
the road, and it took 5 feet of rock to
fill up the gap.
The road is now built through the
earth formation and is finished
to the twenty-third mile. The sue
ceeding half mile is half graded. At
twenty three and half miles the
road enters upon the pahoehoe
which is covered with sand and soil.
Some 400 feet of the worst portion Of
this has been graded and by another
two weeks the toughest piece will be
in fair shape for horseback travel.
The balance is solid pahoehoe bot
tom with sandy surface soil of four
or five inches and no one who can
ride at all, can complain of this trail.
Mr.. Bruner informed me that if
the government would give him
respectable force of men he could
have this piece of road graded to
width of eight feet by the end of
July and with it will be completed
the only difficult work remaining.
His idea is to push the road through
at a width of seven or eight feet, so
as to permit carriage travel as speed
lily as possible, and if 100 men could
be put on the work the road could be
completed to the Volcano house N
three months. He estimates that
it would require $4,000 or a
monthly allowance of $4,000 over and
above the present arrangement of
$1,000. In finishing the road it would
only be necessary to further widen it
to Is or IA feet, as travel on the Pa
hoehoe portion of the road is bound
to be rare. The lower portion of the
road has been built of mscadsm at
regular width of 16 feet.
AS the government has spent so
much money on this road the re-
quired $4,000 to open it to the final
destination should be forthcoming at
once.
1t must be remembered that fully
one half of the visitors to the volcano
are taking their first horseback ride,
80 it will be seen that a through |
wagon road to the volcano is almost |
a necessity if we are to cater to that |
class of tourists. Under the most |
favorable circumstances, to person
riding horse for the first time, the |
Journey is most fatiguing and at
tended with considerable discomfort. |
If, therefore, we can get the wagon
road through the whole distance, it
must prove of immense benefit to the
Volcano house and the steamship |
besides making this route
% the volcano an easy and comfort
able journey.
E'p ,N-r + HoOcc