The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-03-06

this was winter. and the little ones were no
doubt in their home down by the ever resi-
less sea.
After supper we went to bed and slept
until midnight when we awOke and atter
lunch Saddled our horses and proceeded on
our midnight journey to the House o1-the
Sun. E8"1
Onward and upward, step by stop, and
foot by foot our sleepy horses stumoIeu
top of the mountain was told that the rise
was one foot to every six, and | believe lhe
statement is correct But few words were
spoken. If we were inclined TO yaWn OF
dOZe in our saddles, our horses SIumolinS
on some round stone aW0fe us Hour aiteI
hour we pressed on; sometimes over Dieak
mountain wild, sometimes through forest
of dead trees blasted by the cold mountain
winds.
Before starting, Mr.. Colvllle had furnish
ed me with an overcoat and gloves, asSur,
ing me that | would need Them | donned
| them on leaving Olinda, and now found my
| teeth chattering with the cold. thought l
would dsmount and walk up the steep,
but found after taking dozen steps that l
could hardly breathe. The atmospht re was
| so light that althO our horses went on
walk they painted as if they had been run 1:
ming, and often we were completed 10 matt
and let them rest. My hat blew off once
and dismounted to get it. The eXertlon
almost exhausted me.
Our guild showed evidences or DeWllder-
ment, and though he uttered not word we
| knew he was lost. Mountain gorge after
mountain gorge was crossed. SOMETIMES s
we threaded our way along a narrow Shelf
of rock on the mountain side. with chasm
| five hundred fleet deep on one side and a
cliff fully as high on the other. My horses
! foot struck loose stone and sent II rolling
to the awful depths below.
At last the morning star arose IL looked
double the size of star. The purity of the
atmosphere in this region would certainly
make it a desirable place for astronomical
observations. We halted to allow our nor
ses to rest, and talked almost in whispers.
A white object appeared among the rocks
aud coarse shrubbery. 1t VAS wild pull.
Wild cattle, wild deer, and wild goats are
common in the mountains of the Hawaiian
Islands. At sight of US this one gave
snort and fled.
We pressed on and soon reached the sum-
nit, tired, chilled, and benumed, before the
first tints of rosy morn began to appear
Our horses were turned over to our guide
and | went into the stone house to Dulld a
fire, when one of my companions cried:
Its coming. Let the ire 60, and hurry
up"
Day had begun to dawn, and We ran,
painting and stumbling, to the highest 7 ant
of the peak which overloOks tie vast crater,
of that awful abyss we paused. seized
stone weighing perhaps twenty pounds and
threw it over into the dark crater. we
wanted to hear it strike the rocky bottom
No sound ever came back. 1t was lost in
the fall of thousands of feet.
The eastern horizon all spread out at our
feet, was now a wonder of beauty. No pen
can describe it, and no painters brush do 1t
justice. All the prismatic hueS of the rain
bow in an ever changing panorama were
spread for thousands Of miles below us.
The orange glow here, the apple green there,
the yellow gold and vermllion borders,
while thousands of feet below were what
seemed blue pillows. These we're clouds.
AS day dawned they were ever changing,
Kaleidoscope, and chameleon in beauty.
One moment the clouds beneath were like
blue pillows, the mex. old sn0wbanks with
ships sailing in them; next they had taken
an orange tint with flying angels among
them, then animals, until the sun arose and
behold they were clouds.
AS the sun mounted up into the heavens
the clouds vanished, and the ideal beauty
gave way to the real. Such a gorgeous
scene was worth the night ride. 1t WI s
worth morP--it was worth crossing the
ocean to behold. Five islands were in sig |
and all the great island of Mauri could e |
seen. The ships in the harbors looked like |
specks. the villages mere dots, the railroads |
mere threads, and those vast cane feIC |
were only green spots the size of ones !
hand.
Haleakala is properly named the blouse
of the Sun" Space, however, will not per
NIT description of that wonderful crater
in which the fires died perhaps thousand
years ago JOHN r. MUsICK.