Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1896-02-19
leaves rustled somewhat as they do in
New England in September.

children had gone home, when carri
age, drawn by span of black horses
came from the lane and drove up to the
store. My Honolulu friends were in the
rear seat, and / fastened to greet them
They apologized for the delay they haC
occasioned, and as sson as possible we
were on our way galloping along road
which grew sleeper at every STEP
Haleakala seemed only a stones throw
away, tho it was really twelve miles &c
the peak. A cloud rested on the side as
if it loved the mountain and would no,
leave it. The main road dwindled awav
to mountain path, sometimes leading
up steep sandy plain, then across a
prairie cut up with deep gorges, or thro
a clump of trees. We crossed rayine
nearly one hundred feet deep, and scared
up flock of wild turkeys.
The ascent grew sleeper and the air
colder. At last, at about half past four,
Olinda was reached. Olinda is the sum.
mer residence Of II. p. Baldwin, the
wealthy sugar planter. 1t is large, de-
lightful house in = temperate region,
surrounded by temperate flowers, and
the grounds beautifully adorned. 1t is
well furnished and left in charge of a
Japanese, who, however, could not be
found anywhere. We climbed in at a
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 children'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 pro-
ceeded on our midnight journey 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 statement is correct.
But few words were spoken. II we were
inclined to yawn or doze in our saddles,
our horses stumbled on some round
stone and awoke us, Hour after hour we
pressed oni sometimes over bleak
mountain wild, somtimes through q
forest of dead trees blasted by the cold
mountain winds.
Before starting, Mr.. Colville had fur
nished me with an overcoat and gloves.
assuring me that would need them. I
donned them on leaving Olinda, and now
found my teeth ohatterlng with the cold.
l thought would dismount and walk
up the steep, but found after taking n
dozen steps that could hardly breathe,
The atmosphere was so light that altho
our horses went on walk they painted
as If they had been running, and often
we were compelled to halt and let them
rest. My hat blew off once and dis
mounted to get it, The exertion almost
exhausted me.
Our guide showed evidences of bewild-
erment, and though he uttered not a
word we knew he was lost. Mountain
gorge after mountain gorge was crossed
Sometimes we threaded our way along q
narrow shelf of rock on the mountain
side, with chasm five hundred feet
deep on one side and cliff fully as high
on the other. My horses foot struck
loose stone and sent 1t rolling to the aw-
full depths below.
AT last the morning star arose. 1t
looked double the size of a star The
purity of the atmosphere in this region
would certainly make 1t desirable place
for astronomical observation. We halted
to allow our horses to rest, and talked
almost in whispers. A white object ap-
peered among the rocks and coarse
shrubbery. 1t was wild bull. Wild
cattle, wild deer, and wild goats are
common in the mountains of the Hawai-
ian Islands. At sight of us this one gave
a snort and fled.
We pressed on and soon reached the
summit, tired, chilled, and benumbed,
before the first tents of rosy morn began
to appear Our horses were turned over
to our guide and l went into the stone
house to build fire, when one Of my
companions cried:
"lts coming. Let the fire go, and
hurry up"
Day had begun to dawn, and we ran,
painting and stumbling, to the highest
point of the peak which overlooks the
vast crater, five miles in diameter. Right
on the verge of that awful abyss we
paused. seized stone weighing per-
haps twenty pounds and threw it over
into the dark crater. We waited to hear
1T 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 wonder of beauty.
No pen can describe it, and no painters
brush do it injustice. All the prismatic
hues OF the rainbow in an everchanging
panorama were spread for thousands of
miles below us. The orange glow here,
the apple green there, the yellow gold
and vermillion borders, while thousands
of feet below were what seemed blue
pillows. These were clouds. As day
dawned they were ever changing, kalei-
doscopic, and chameleon in beauty. One
moment the clouds beneath were like
blue hillows, the next cold snowbanks
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 heav-
ems the clouds vanished, and the ideal
beauty gave way to the real. Such a
gorgeous scene was worth the night ride.