The Opelousas courier., 1898-12-24
A LAND OF RICHES.
HAWAII THE GEM OF THE
PACIFIC OCEAN, 6
1ts Natural Wonders Are in . Glass by
Observation-Disclosures Extend to the
Bottom Of the Sea and Arc There
fore Really $4,000 Feet in Height.

IN acquiring Hawaii the United
states a gained besides one Of the
most fertile and rich islands in the
world, some of the finest mountain
Ecenery presented anywhere in the
UNIVERSAL district which, could it be
tr~ansplanted with all its grandeur of
scenery and climate, would make the
fortune Of an American hotel keeper
I'D a year. The mountains are all
volcanoes. They are a class by them
selves. They are not only the tallest,
but the biggest and strangest in the
whole world. Considering that they
reach from t. e bottom Of the Pacific
ocean (1S,O 900 / ct deep there) to over
10000 feet above sea level, they really
stand $4,000 feet{from their suboceanic
base to their peat:s. The active craters
on q islands number 300, but the
dead craters, the ancient chimneys Of
suDterranean laIa beds, are numbered
by the thousands. The islands are of
laVlc formation. Evidence of extinct
volcanoes ale so common that n
seldom notices them after a few weeks
residence on the islands. Ancient lava
Is present everywhere. The natives
know all its virtues, and while some
ancient deposits are used as a fertil-
lzer for soils, other lava beds are blast
ed for building material, and for ma
cadamlzlng 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 u~nfathomable
bottom of the sea, has slowly huilt up
a foundation and then a superstruc-
u 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 we're formed by
the bursting upward of lava beds ages
and ages ago. The marks of the tt
tanlc 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 a 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 a fountain of molten
lava spouts every minute w $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 fiatter
volcanic mountain, sixteen miles dis
tant. 1t has the greatest crater known
one nine miles across, and from 300
to 800 feet deep. And such a crater!
In it is a 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 go 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
cores of guides about the craters.
One of the many places of interest
in Oahu outside of Honolulu is the
.Punchbowl. It is an extinct volcanic
rising a few hundred feet above the
town. Another resort is the Pail, the
highest point in the pass through the
range Of mountains that divides Oahu.
1t is the fashion, and a 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
fatty to the shore. The hillsides are
not, as a rule, in a state of cultiva-
ton, although the soil is fertile. The
land is now numbered with the wild
guava, which bears fruit as big as the
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 orientaIs, make their homes, and
these are several cant plantations.
Turning the other way the sight-seer
gets one Of the famous views of the
world. From the apex of the pass
to it's northward drop is a sheer to- !
boggan-like descent of nearly 1000 |
feet. Far below the country spreads
to the eye like a relief map. 1t un-
dulates with here and there a feath-
cry farm, then a 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 a clear day has
missed half the charm Of Oahu. Ma
jestic scenery, zestful sport, glimpses
Of the savage state and delightful
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; a climate Of Edenic