The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1896-02-19

ance. Evidences Oh Cullu OCCupdbSJ OOuie
be seen 10 'he dolls and toys and children's
books of little tots, but this was in 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
a lunch, saddled our horses and proceeded
on our midnight journey to the House oil
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 in
clined TO yawn or dose 10 our saddles, our
horses stumbling on some round stone
awoke us. Hour after hour we pressed
on; sometimes over bleak mountain
wild, sometimes through 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. /
donned them on leaving Olinda, and now
found my teeth chattering with the cold.
thought | would dismount and walk up
the steep, but found after taking 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 | dismounted
to get il. The exeriion almost exhausted
me.
Our guide showed evidences OF bewild-
erment, and though he uttered not word
we knew he was lost. Mountain gorge
after mountain gorge was crossed. Some
times we threaded our way along mar
row shelf OF rock on the mountain side,
with chasm five hundred feet deep on
one side and q cliff fully as high on the
other. My horses foot struck loose stone
and sent it rolling to the awful depths
below.
At last the morning star arose. 1t
| looked double the size of a star. The pu-
rity OF the atmosphere in this region would
certainly make it desirable place for as
| Economical observations. We halted to
allow our horses TO rest, and talked almost
in whispers. A white object appeared
among the rocks and coarse shrubbery.
| 1t was wild bull Wild cattle, wild deer
and wild goats are common in the noun
tain OF the Hawaiian 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 tints of rosy morn began
| to appear. Our horses were turned over
to our guide and l went into the stone
house to build a fire, when one OF my
companions cried:
'It's 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, We 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 wanted TO hear II
strike the rocky bottom. No sound ever
came back. 1t was lost in the fall oil
thousands OF feet.
The eastern horizon all spread out al
our feet, was now wonder OF beauty,
No pen can describe it, and no painters
brush do it justice. All the prismatit
hues of the rainbow in an everchaDgine
panorama were spread for thousands oil
miles below us. The orange glow here,
the apple green there, the yellow gold and
vermilIion borders, while thousands OF feet
below were what seemed blue pillows.
These were clouds. As day dawned they
were ever changing, Kaleidoscope, and
chameleon 10 beauty. One moment, the
clouds beneath were like blue pillows, the
next cold snowbanks with ships sailing in
them; next they had taken an orange tint
with flying angels among them, then ami
mails, until the sun arose, and behold they
! were clouds.
| As tue SUI m0uhteu up INTO The heav-
ems the clouds vanished, aud the idea
beauty gave way to the real. Such gor'
geous scene was worth the night ride. II
was worth more-it was worth cross
ing the ocean TO behold. Fiveislands were
In sight, and all the great island of Maui
could be seen. The ships in the harbors
looked like specks, the villages mere dots,
the railroads mere threads and those vast
cane fields were only green spots the size
os ones hand.
Haleakala is properly named the "Houst
Of the Sum- Space, however, will no
permit description of that wonderful
crater In which the fires died perhaps {
thousand years agr.
JOHN II. MUsIoK.