The Springfield herald., 1898-09-16
A LAND OF RICHES.
HAWAII THE GEM OF THE
PACIFIC OCEAN,,
It's Natural Wonders Are in q Glass by
Themsclves-Voicanoe Extend to the
Bottom of the Sen and Are There
fore Really $4,000 Feet In Height.

III acquiring IldWHll lne Oulteu
States has gained besides one of the
most fertile and rich islands in tho
world, some of the finest mountain
scenery presented anywhere in the
universal district which, could it be
transplanted with all its grandeur of
scenery and climate, would make the
fortune of an American hotel keeper
in year. The mountains are all
volcanoes. They are n class by them
selves. They are not only the tallest,
but the biggest and strangest in the
whole world. Considering that they
reach from the bottom of the Pacific
ocean $4,000 feet deep thcre) to over
$4,000 feet above sea level, they really
stand $4,000 feet from their suboceanic
base to their peaks. The active craters
on the islands number 300, but the
dead craters, the ancient chimneys of
subterranean lava beds. are numbered
by the thousands The islands are of
lavic formation. Evidence of extinct
volcanoes are so common that one
seldom notices them after few weeks
residence on the islands. Ancient lava
Is present everywhere. The natives
ancient deposits are used as a fertil-
izer for soils, other lava beds are blast
ed for building material, and for ma
cadamizing roads. Titanic volcanic
action Is apparent on every side. Every
headland is an extinct volcano. Every
island has Its special center eruption,
which, beginning at the unfathomable
bottom OF the sea, has slowly built up
a foundation and then superstruc-
ture of lava. On the Island of Hawaii
and on Molokai are huge cracks sew
eral thousands of feet deep and many
yards in width. which were formed by
the bursting upward of lava beds ages
and ages ago. The marks of the IT,
tanic force are plainly visible. Mark
Twain is authority for saying that the
two great active volcanoes, Mauna Loa
and kilauea. are the most interesting
in the world. Certainly they are the
most unique. Mauna Loa is $4,000
feet above sea level. Every six or
seven years there is an eruption from
Its sides, and several times the flow
of lava threatened the ruin of the
town of Hilo, thirty miles away. The
crater on Mauna Loa is three miles
in diameter and 600 feet deep. Over
the crater hangs an illuminated vapor
which may be seen at night over 200
miles distant. When Mauna Loa is in
violent eruption n fountain of molten
lava spouts every minute over $50 feet
in the air, bursting into ten thousand
brilliantly colored balls like a mon
strous roman candle pyrotechnic. Then
there is Kilauea-a shorter and flatter
volcanic mountain, sixteen miles dis
tant. 1t has the greatest crater known
one nine miles across, and from 300
to 500 feet deep. And such crater!
In 1t is little lake of molten lava
all the time. At times the lava is
over 100 feet deep, and at other times
it is over 200 feet deep, according to
the pressure on it in the bowels of the
earth. Signs of volcanic activity are
present all the time throughout the
depth Of the molten mass in the form
of steam, rocks, jets of sulphurous
smoke and blowing cones. The crater
itself is constantly rent and shaken
with earthquakes. Nearly all the
tourists in Honolulu so to see the mar
velous eruptions on Mauna Loa and
Kilauea. Hotels have been built on
the mountain sides for the accommo-
dation of sight-seers, and there are
scores of guides about the craters.
One of the many places of interest
in Oahu outside of Honolulu is the
Punchbowl. 1t is an extinct volcanic
rising a few hundred feet above the
town. Another resort is the Pail, the
IT,, ,J,n ~.
range of mountains that divides Oahu.
1t is the fashion, and very good
fashion it is, to see the Pail and praise
its charms. 1t is the Yosemite of
Hawaii The view from this height
sweeps the whole island from north
to south. In the direction of the cap
ital the land slopes to a level two
miles from the sea and then spreads
fatly to the shore. The hillsides are
lot, as rule, in a state of cultiva-
tion, although the soil is fertile. The
land is now numbered with the wild
| euaya, which bears fruit as big as the
lemon, and with the lantana, the seeds
of which are scattered broadcast by an
imported bird called the minah. On
| the lower ground small farmers, most
ly orientals, make their homes, and
these are several cane plantations.
Turning the other way the sight-seer
gets one of the famous views of the
world Rrom the apex of the pass
to its northward drop is a sheer to-
boggan-like descent of nearly 1000
feet. Far below the country spreads
to the eye like relief map. 1t un-
dulates with here and there feath-
ery farm. then rice field, great sugar
ranches beyond, and in the distance
the ocean, its blue waters thrust back
by lava capes or sharp volcanic cones
and cliffs. Closer by the mountain
crags pierce the clouds. He who has
not been to the Pail on clear day mas
missed half the charm of Oahu. Ma
jestic scenery. zestful sport, glimpses
of the savage state and delightful
homes, surroundings which many
races have brought with them from
strange and distant lands or ages; an
easy life in which even revolutions are
good -humored: n climate of Edcnic
charm-these are some of the things