Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-22
ON THE PUNCH BOWL
Views From the Height at Homo
lulu.
POSSIBILITIES OF THE ISLANDS
Work Being Done by the New
Railway.
RECENT BIG LAND SALE
RECENT BIG LAND SALE
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.


This city has an advantage over most
towns in that. while mainly built on leve!
or gentle grades. an abrupt height of 500
feet rises just behind it's central point
This is familiar TO all az the punch bowl
so called from its followed top. 1t consti-
tutes a tower of observation. an Eiffel, in
the heart of the town. Yesterday fore
noon. the mercury at 81 degrees, the air
inviting to a walk, 1 spent a couple of
hours in strolling to the summit, and TAX
ing in the magnificent prospect of which
one never wearies. Included in this land
scape are samples of most Of the leading
elements which contribute to make this Ha-
waiian group now and prospeetively valua-
be 10 its possessors. Let ME describe
some of these.
Looking due westward Immediately be-
low, are the crowded business blocks o.
the city, the wharve7 and the shipping in
the narrow harbor. where lie the United
States cruiser Baltimore. the smaller Ben
nington and for a few days the French
cruiser Duguay-Trouin, calling here for
coal Her heavy sparS contrast with the
light military masts of the Baltimore.
More 10 the right is the railway station.
whence the morning passenger train
leaving for Waianae- That point is the
present terminus of the road. 1t lies be
You'd picturesque ridge of mountain. 3,Um
feet high and twenty miles long. One flat
topped height of that ridge rises to 1870
feet Though not lofty. the Waianae range
is an interesting one. Its nearest peak be-
ing FIFTEEN miles away, II stands a little dim
IN the morning haze. In hour or so. the
flying train will have swung around its
western flank and be nearing Widemann's
sugar mill. seven miles beyond and behind
the ridge. That is thirty-three miles from
town Before May twenty-five miles more
OF track along shore to Waialua will be
opened for traffic.
On the hither side of that Waianae range
are IT view several objects of particular
interest One more to the right is Pearl
Harbor, like an inland lake. with several
DIVISIONS or reaches of water. 1t is from
SIN 10 twelve miles away. its eastern side
concealed by the two peaks of the Salt
Lake tufa-cone. OF about the same height
as Punch-bowl. The Pearl locks have been
adequately described. Beyond them TO the
left. and little north of west are con-
Spicuous the broad. green cane fields of
Eva plantation. covering five square miles
of land This led all our plantations with
Inc largest crop of 1891. over 1900 tons.
FROM Its great mill chimney pouring the
gray smoke of the damp trash used as fuel
This mill turns out 40 tons of sugar daily
while grinding. A little to the right may
be discerned the blacker coal smoke of five
chimneys where So.Oo0.000 gallons of water
are pumped daily from thirty ten-inch ar
teslan wells to irrlgate the $500 acres of
growing cane.
Still beyond the Pearl Locks, but a little
nearer and to the left are more broad
acres, not yet green. but of a ruddy brown
Ihese are the fields of the new Oahu Elan
tatton-l,S no acres lately planted. The
young care is just leafing out, but only
1alnty tints the bright rei-brown of the
SOL To the left. near the adjoining Eva
fields, glass would show the smoke of
two pairs of engines, whose plows have al
ready opened many hundred acres more
for the planting Of next summer and fall.
They hope TO get 1850 tons for the full
crop Of 30 15.0or for 1900. and 20.No tons
for succeeding years Sanguine stockhoiG-
ers would add one-third more to these fig
ures- On the nearer and lower edge Of the
plantation is conspicuous large village of
white cottages for the lab. rars together
with larger dwellings, for the numerous
white employees and overseers. On Il rise
aboye is the mansion of the manager who
has a heavy salary, and earns it, as he
ought 70. II he makes a s2,o000OO invest
ment pay well.
In the center of the village will soon be
erected the mill works for manufacturing
the sugar The mill will be the largest
one ever used here. 1t is of special interest
that it will be made here at the Honolulu
Iron Works l suppose these. works will
import the many engines used in the mill.
while making the boilers here. Until this
year all of our very largest sugar mills
hive been imported. mostly from the United
States Our local iron works have now de-
Nel0ped the fullest caDacity for sugar ma
chinery They have. moreover. the special
advantage of a long AMI highly cultivated
experience In the precise needs of the plan
tdt0as. gained in a large and thoroughly
progressive sugar country. The Eva man
aSer. Just returned from tour in Louisi-
ana, reports their mills entirely behind
the times as compared with ours in Ha-
wall.
our splendid pumps will continue to come
from the United States. Oahu plantation
as Yet has only one pair at work drawing
from twelve teu-inCh wells and supplying
2.Un acres These pumps force the water
10 heights varying from $50 TO 313 feet
through forty-inch pipe. which is carried
Obltqdely up the steep side OF the guch or
canyon in which the wells are located near
sea level. On the other side of the same
canyon another dozen of wells are being
bored for second pair of pumps From
these similar pDe will ascend the preci-
pice to distribute water to the west side of
the ol5ntatinQ. now being plowed. There
II is cxpcrted to go up 400 feet. Two miles
OF branch track from the Oahu railway
already connect with TIE wells and the mil
site. Before another year many more miles
OF track will wind up the broad slopes
among the new cane fields for the trans
portation of cane to the mill
Work for the Railway.
The railway draws a noble revenue from
these plantations. SIPS a ton is charged
for their freight. Besides their sugar
many thousand tons of coal are carried 10
their pumps. The mills burn no coal
using only the trash or refuse of the crush
ed cane stalks. which passes direct from
the rollers into the furnaces Then of
course, there are large quantities-of lum-
Der, machinery. provisions and supplies of
mammoth plantations owe their existence
absolutely and entirely to the enterprise
of the railway manager, Dillingham;. whose
planning has thus caused the creation of
five millions of new property where was
previously an arid desert which no one
thought of attempting to cultivate. The
government draws $4,000 in taxes from
them or course. these plantations could
not have been created without the skillful
development of artesian wells nor with
out the recent enormous improvements in
pumps, which reduce cost of irrigation.
fourth object visible from Punchbowl
is In the rear of and continuous with Oahu
plantation. which lies on its lower slope
II Is the wide Plateau lying between the
two mountain ranges of the island whose
ridges are sixteen miles apart at their
nearest points This plateau Is approxf-
mateiy ten miles square on its more level
areas, and mostly little over 800 feet above
the sea, but varying from 500 to 1000
1t Is all extremely smooth land, without
forest or bush. with a few narrow rayines
traversing IL. There must be not less than
10000 acres IN IL of smooth, arabic land
hare