The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-04-24
A NEGLECTED ISLAND.

mary uOurlSl, hOlOhdl Is one VI ollc
out of the way corners of the group.
1t has an evil reputation abroad, as
being the island where the lepers are |
segregated, and upon this point there
is much misconception. The average
person outside the group, and even
some of those in it, have an idea that |
the whole island is devoted to the pur-
poses of the settlement, whereas, it is
only small peninsula on the north
and two deep valleys which are used
for the lepers, and these are walled in
by lofty cliffs between two and three
thousand feet high, up which there is
but one steep path. The settlement
occupies but a very small portion of
the island. 1t is the main island that
is under consideration in this article.
Out of the general run of travel, as
undeveloped, while other portions of
the group have advanced rapidly. In
deed Molokai is going gradually back
wards in the matter of population, the
youhSNl POoPiS 'iiS io'o'iN oiiN
settling in such portions of the islands
as afford better chances of getting
work and more opportunities for what
they consider enjoyment.
But there are great possibilities on
Molokai. Some years ago there was
small sugar plantation and a mill at
Kamalo, but the mill burned down and
the plantation has become ranch.
Yet there are as good chances for rails
ing fine crops of cane at Kamalo as
ever there are at Olowalu, on Maui,
and the climatic conditions and style
of soil are very similar. Olowalu is
success. and there is no reason why
similar success should not come at Ka-
malo if sufficient capital be employed.
Water is not difficulty here, as it is
in some parts of the island. An ample
and unfailng supply can be brought
down from deep valley in the rear
of the lands.
Another spot where it should be pos
sibe to raise cane is the vicinity of
Kaunakakai. The lands there resemble,
on a small scale, those of Kekaha and
Mana, on Kauai. The objection is the
lack of surface water. There is no reg
ular stream, though during heavy
rains there is bowling torrent which
sweeps everything before. But eXper-
fence at Kekaha, Eva and many other
places has shown that water can be
supplied from artesian wells. Now Mo-
lokai is an ideal place for artesian
wells. There is a heavy rain fall in
the mountains, which form the back
bone of the eastern end of the island,
and this sinks into the soil and must
fill up underground reservoirs. Indeed,
it is often asked by the inhabitants,
where does all the water go to? Any
observer will see that it does go into
these natural reservoirs and that it
has little underground channels by
which it gradually finds its way into
the sea. Riding round the coast it is
the commonest thing possible to see
the cattle stamping the sand close to
the waters edge and thus obtaining
the fresh water that seeps through the
sand. In the matter of water supply,
portions of Molokai, if properly taken
in hand, will, it is almost certain, yield
more plentifully than either of the
plantations mentioned above, and the
chances are that there would be a nat
ural flow from the wells and pumping
might be dispensed with.
Besides the places pointed out, there
are countless spots which might be
cultivated in coffee, in fruits, in veg
etables. The mountains are pierced in
all directions with valleys, and all of
these contain fine soil. Though the
wind sweeps along the east end of the
island, as at Pukoo and Kaluaaha,
rendering the lower land unfit for any
thing but pasture, the valleys are
sheltered and afford excellent posi-
tions for almost any kind of cultiva-
ton, and in almost all of them, at the
east end, water is to be obtained. In
deed in some of the eastern valleys
there are considerable. streams, while
Halawa, at the extreme northeast, is
very garden. Shut in by lofty cliffs
on either side, at the upper end there
is wall of rock down which three
waterfalls dash, forming stable
river that supplies numerous taro
patches upon the gently sloping lands
of the valley bottom.
In addition to agricultural possibil-
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