The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1896-08-11
ABOUT KAILUA CAVES.
An Old Resident Tells of Their Pecu-
liarities.
Changes int perature-Vegetation in
Lava-when Captain Cook Was
Here Diet of the Natives.

Kate Field at Kailua the week before
her death, addressing a convention of
natives gathered in the Oldest house
of Christian worship in the islands, or
rather, the successor of the Oldest house
upon the same site. After the meeting
Miss Field visited the well-known ca
yern. called Laviakea, whose opening
is on the former premises of the pioneer
missionary, Thurston, who labored at
Kailua from 1920 to 1865. The cave is
one of the numerous lava ducts of the
island. 1t leads about quarter of
mile to the level of the sea, terminating
in a pool of brackish water at sea level
Much of the duct is narrow and low,
but it occasionally enlarges into cham
bers of considerable dimensions. Such
ducts are found in every great lava
flow. While at the front of the molten
stream the liquid spreads widely, bury
ing the land in fresh rugged rock, the
stream speedily cutters out a deep
covered main channel of six or eight
feet in diameter, in which it swiftly
shoots on its downward course toward
the end of the flow, where it breaks out
and divides in all directions.
Such ducts or caves are found every
where. Many of them have been made
burial places, where the natives an
ciently. concealed the bodies of their
dead, TO preserve the bones from viola
ton by persons desiring to use them.
For instance, the leg bones of a noted
fisherman would be in great demand
as material for fish hooks. Other bones
would be wanted, especially of high
chiefs, for use as charms by sorcerers.
A few years ago one of our dentists
penetrated one of these caves to a
great distance, and procured a large
number of ancient skull for scientific
purposes. eThis successful jobber of the
dead so aroused the ghost fears of his
guides that he had to find his way back
alone to the dwellings of the living.
Once on the slope of Mauna Loa,
about 5000 feet above the sea, left the
trail with my native guide, and entered
a lava duct seeking fresh water. We
first braided some dry glass to use for
torches. We found the cave nearly
straight, about seven feet high and ten
feet wide. 1t was peculiarly uniform
in transverse section, as if mold or
shield had been drawn through it. The
slides were quite smooth, vitrified by
the intensely hot stream shooting
through it when formed. A sort of
shelf like the transom of cabin lay
uniformly along the bottom of one side.
About 300 feet from the entrance we
found the inequalities of the floor filled
with pure, clear water, with which we
filled our gourd bottles. 1t was water
condensed from the outer atmosphere.
VEGETATION IN LAVA.
The cold night of the high uplands
reduced the interior temperature of the
cave to about 80 degrees. During the
day time, wind poured up from the sea
at rs or so degrees, loaded with moist
ure. Entering the cave and coming
in contact with the cold rock, 1t de-
posted thereon its moisture, Whlch
trickled down to the floor. All
through the arid districts the natives
used to resort to these natural stills OF
sweet water, brewed from the ocean
winds. A curious thing in this cave
was that the roof was hung with thick
festoons of what appeared to be spl-
ders' webs. On examination, these
proved to be the slender, lace-llke-
ramified fibers of tree roots. The wild
eugenia or ohia trees growing upon
the clinkers overhead had sent down
their roots through the roof OF the cave
in search of moisture.
This illustrates and explains the "a
pidity with which vegetation and even
cultivation will occupy the surface OF
the clinker or "a variety of lava
stream. The surface for several feet
in depth is composed of broken, jag
ged stone, extremely porous and rather
fragile in texture. Anything taking
root in the interstices of such a surface
will most readily send its roots down
through the crevices to any depth
finding both moisture below. and abun-
dance of nutritious mineral matter both
potash and phosphates, as well as silez
and alumina in the comminuted sur
faces of the porous rocks. On the
pahoehoe or smooth lava the compact
surfaces yield but slowly to disinte-
grating Influences and may keep g
district barren for centuries. But or
the clinkers cultivation may commence
early. In old times sweet potatoes
formed a large portion of the native
diet. 1t was common to see them
planted on recently formed clinkers
by opening small hole in the stones
to receive the young vine stem or sliI
and then killing up with pile of small
clinkers around it. In a few months
that stone heap would be full of lus-
cious, mealy tubers.
When Cook discovered the Sand
witch Islands, population of at Least
100000 natives were living in rude
abundance Half of them were on the
great island Of Hawaii Cor o. Why
hea, as Capt. Adams wrote it in 1S4S)
They lived on sweet potatoes, taro
some vans and good deal of FISH, with
a little breadfruit, pig and dog meat
and some sugar cane and bananas as
luxuries. That great population fell
off one-half in thirty years, victims to
the vices and diseases of civilization
or rather syphilization, to borrow q
urbactIv MN They now number 20 600