The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-03-21

! the lava which overwhelmed it il past
Years, tho top bran chfa white and elis-.
tening like the bones Of. y skeleton.
After We had passed the blaek lava
How of 1887, which extends forabo1 ten
miles niles beyond the Kshuk1 Ranch, 81 lie.
Trees become more abundant, ard soon
I'VE were in forests Of ferns and ohii I re- 5
The road here is through he lava, and
Istraight 8s an air line railroad. Where
there are trees the road is cut, directly
through them, and if there are no trees
the road Is, equally discernable by the
leyeling down of the lava, which is piled
Eup in q wall on either side.
1 4 For hours ata time we wended our
way up hill and down, the roadbed often
ohoked with great stones over which The
Tired horses could hardly STEP When
ever there was smooth bit Of road, the
Iguide uttered shout: '@wic- kee, wicked"
and put the horses at a gallop. This was
only for short time, however, for there
is not strip OF good road fifty yards in
length in all Kama, after you have left
the sugar plantations. -.
| People in Hawaii seem to have no more
idea Of miles than they have of the car
dinal points of the compass, and that is
nil When we were half a days journey
from a.village or plantation and asked
/ the distance, the answer would be-: 'Oh,
it's too far!' If the place was only two
or three miles away, the answer would
be: "Oh, it's not too far" White men
Seem to have succumbed to this custom
OF the natives. 7 asked Norwegian the
distance to Haokenia, and he answered.:
/ "Four hours"
/ "But How many miles?" I asked.
/ II don't Know" he answered. "We
never reckon distance by miles, but by
the hours it takes to reach a place. It
may be eight, may be twelve miles, may
be six, but all the same it will take four
| hours to make it,
! At Hookenia met several coffee grow
ers.
"You want to know someth1n' about
coffee, do, you?" said a man in linen
ulster and broad brimmed Panama hat.
Eyes, / have come all the way to Kama
/ to sec the celebrated Kama coffee, which
Is said to be the best in the world"
| "'Let me tell yer somethin', yourg
man, the gentleman said, advancing to
me and laying his hand on my shoulder.
Il have the only coffee plantation on the
| island" He had the air of millionaire
| of vast importance, as he stood with his
| hands in his pocket and look of superb
GRITTY on his face.
] "How large plantation have your" I
asked. -. ~...
\ %,."Well. I have four acres of bearing
trees" he answered, ''but I'm going to
plant forty more" .,...: .
1 Hookenia is on the coast, and back of
| it is q great forest in which wild coffee
trees are growing. These wild coffee
trees are valuable, as they HAYS been
known to yield three pounds OF coffee to
the tree. Two miles and half from
Hookenia by the Mauka road one comes
upon the Morgan & McStocher planta-
ttion, which, tho it has only forty acres
IN coffee, yields twenty thousand dollars
worth per annum.
I Tho it was late in December when 7
rode up to the managers house and dis
mounted, the day was as hot as one in
August in the temperate zone. Mr.
M. Davis, the owner of the plantation,
twas reclining on the piazza in his SHIRT
| sleeves, in a steamer chair.
$50 you have come to look at my coffee
have you?" he said, starting to his feet
Oh, my approach. SWELL, come in and
have cool drink. This delightful
! weather must be little hard on you
northerners until you get used to it.. I
am a New Yorker myself, but I think
this the healthiest country in the world"
After few moments rest we took a
stroll through the coffee trees, and then
went to the mill and looked into great
box in which several thousand pounds of
coffee had been put. "By the next
steamer we ship one hundred and fifty
! bags" said MI. Davis.
After leaving this plantation the road
for miles led through forest of wild
coffee, ferns and ohia trees. Thousands
OF Japanese were busy gathering coffee,
and piles Of bags of freshly picked berries
were lying at every mile. There was
coffee everywhere, until it seemed as il
there was enough to supply the world.
The bushes grew SO dense on each side Of
the road that we could not see ten PAGES
Into. them, but the chattering of Japanese
as they picked the berries could be dis
tinctly heard ~
We: passed tho Claighall plantation,
owned by Scotchman, father the crown
princess who, since the revolution that
overthrew monarchy, has lived in Scot
land. This plantation contains seventy
/ acres, and produces some Of the finest