The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1896-02-20

to greet them. They apologized for
the delay they had occasloned, and as
soon as possible we were on ou-way
gaIloping along road which grew
sleeper at every step.
Haleakala seemed only stones throw
away, tho it was really twelve miles 10
the peak. A cloud rested on the side
as if it loved the mountain and would
not leave it. The main road dwlndled
away to mountain path, sometimes
leading up steep sandy plain, then
| across prairie cut up with deep gor-
yes, or through clump of trees. We
crossed ravine nearly one hundred
feet deep, and scared up flock of wild
turkeys.
The ascent grew sleeper and the air
colder. At last about half past four,
Oinda was reached. Olinda is the
summer residence of Mr.. H. P. Bald
win, the wealthy sugar planter. 1t is
large, delightful house in a temperate
region, surrounded by temperate fl wv
ers, and til: gr' unds beautifully adorn-
ed. 1t is we'll furnished and left in
charge Of japanese, who, however,
could not be found anywhere. We
climbed in at window, made fire
in the range and prepared our suppers,
while the guide took care of the horses.
The house had deserted appearance.
Evidences of child occupancy could be
seen in the dolls and toys and child
ren's books of little tots, but this was
winter, and the little ones were no
doubt in their home down by the ever
restless sea.
After supper we went to bed and
slept until midnight, when we awoke,
and, after lunch, saddled our horses
and proceeded on our midnight jour
ney to the House of the Sun.
| Onward and upward, step by step,
and foot by foot, our sleepy horses
stumbled through the darkness. From
Olinda to the top Of the mountain |
was told that the rise was one foot to
every six, and l believe that the state
ment is correct. But few words were
spoken. If we were inclined to yawn
or doze in our saddles, our horses STUN
bling on some round stone awoke US.
Hour after hour we pressed on; some
times over a bleak llountain wild,
sometimes through forest Of dead
trees blasted by the cold mountain
winds.
Before starting, Mr.. Colville had
furnish me with an overCoat and
gloves, assuring me that | would need
them. | donned them on leaving DIN
da, and now found my teeth chatter
ing with the cold. l thought l would
dismount and walk up the steep, but
found after taking a dozen steps that
, could hardly breathe. The atmosphere
was SO light that although our horses
went on walk they painted as if they
, had been running, and often we were
compelled to halt and let them rest
Nv hat blew off once and Idismounted
to get it. The exerton almost exhaus-
ted me.
Our guide showed evidences of be
,, wllderment, and though he uttered not
word We knew he was lost. Noun.
,, tain gorge after mountain gorge wa:
crossed. Sometimes we threaded oul
way along a narrow shelf of rock or
the mountain side, with a chasm FIVE
hundred feet deep on one side and &
cliff fully as high on the other. Ny
a horses foot struck a loose stone ano
sent it rolling to the awful depths be-
low.
{ At last the morning star arose. |
I 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 horses TO rest
and talked almost in whispers. 4
white object appeared among the rock
and coarse shrubbery. 1t was vile
: bull. Wild cattle, wild deer, and will
goats are common in the mountains o
the Hawaiian Islands. At sight of u
t this one gave a snort and fled.
We pressed on and soon reached tn
summit, tired, chilled, and benumbed
1 before the first tints of rosy morn be
gan to appear. Our horses were turned
over to our guide and l went into thu
y stone house to build fire, when on
n of my companions cried:
!, "lt's coming. Let the fire go, an.
r. hurry up"
: Day had begun to dawn, and we ran
+ painting and stumbling, to the highes
n point of the peak which overlooks tn
e vast crater, five miles in diameter
t Right on the verge of that awful abys
We paused. seized a stone weighing
y perhaps twenty pounds and threw i
st over into the dark crater. We wante(
e to hear it strike the rocky bottom
u No sound ever came back. 1t was los
IS In the fall of thousands OF feet.
q The eastern horizon all spread GU
at our feet, was now a wonder of beauty
No pen can describe it., and no paint
d er's brush do it justice. All the prs
n matte hues of the rainbow in an ever
Il changing panorama were spread 70
}, thousands OF miles below US. Tn
!. orange glow here, the apple greel
I there, the yellow gold and vermilliol
a borders, while thousands of feet belo,
J. We're what seemed blue pillows. Thes
o were clouds. AS day dawned the,
o ever changing, Kaleidoscope, and cha
e meleon in beauty. One moment III
a clouds beneath were like blue pillows
the next cold snowbanks with ship
e sailing IN them; next they had take
II an orange tint with flying angels anon
IS them, then animals, until the sun arose
IS and behold they were clouds.
le As the sun mounted I'D into th