Mexico weekly ledger., 1900-05-10
HOME R 0 HONOLULU.
". ". Mckinney. Who Has Been in
the Hawaiian Islandh Writes
Interestingly Of Them.

c-orrespoaesnce Of he LKp0Ez. IL
MEXICO, No, May Shaving Just
returned from Honolulu and the
Hawaiian islands, where ! have been
employed by the government for the
past year, 1 thought something OF
these Islands and their people would
be Of interest to your numerous read
ers.
We arrived in Honolulu hErbor in
the night; all wal excitement among
the passengers who were making their
FIRST visit to the "Paradise Of the
Paciac.n A thick mist wal falling
from 8 cloudIess sky. We were tole
this was q very common phenomena
and that It often occurred during the
day when the sun was shining. 1
afterwards found this to be true; 1t lie
called HIi1uid sunshine" Wearied
with watching and specializing as TO
what we should see when daylight
came we turned In. ! was awakened
In the morning by q great shouting
and humping and bustling about on
the deck thinking the ship must be
afire or sinking, l hurried on deck to
find 1t was only the "kanaka" steve
dores unloading our cargo. These
"kanakas" can make more noise and
do less work than any people on
earth. Climbing up the rat-lines on
the mast 1 obtained my first view of
Honolulu.
On q narrow crescent shelf for four
miles along the coast stretched the
city founded in the 18th century, yet
only boasts Of a population Of $1,000.
the fruit Of misrule of by-gone days.
To our right stood Diamond Head
stately, grand and alone, towering
nearly 1000 feet above the sea, thu
sentinel guarding Honolulu harbor
from which shines the Diamond Heat
light, warning ships OF the grea
coral reefs which almost entirely sur
{. round the island of Oahn.
Inside the coral reef and q mile thi
! side of Diamond Head lie the famou
. bathing resort, Waikiki beach.
al Looking inland we see what ap
! peared to be q great towering mass Q
/. ruined castles; upon looking closer W
see ii was only great pyramids an
n piles Of lava-rock thrown into fan
tastic shapes by the birth throes G
nature when the islands were Dor
q of the sea. There q little TO our righ
and about q mile away stands tn
extinct crater, Punch Bowl, whic
would hold all the punch ever made.
Directly in front OF Us run the fer
' tile valley Of Nunann up which Kan
ehameha I. drove the natives Of Oah
and almost extermtnated them, hun
! dreds leaping from the great preci
pice, the Pail, at the end ofthe valley
This valley is about one mile wide an
! six long, terminating at q precipice G
! 1000 feet sheer descent. At the foe
1 of the precipice there are q gres
number of skeletons Of the warrior
who lesped to death rather than sur
Z render.
= To our left stretched q fertile low
2 land. We could zee the buildings o
+ the great Erva sugar plantation Q
10000 acres through which runs tn
oahu railroad seventy miles in Iengt
and the only railroad on the Island.
Climbing down I started up town
meta kanaka policeman, inquired tn
way to Col. Rhuiens' ONCE; was toll
it was Mauka on fourth street. I tol
a him / supposed he knew and starte
on. I met an American and no wen
with me TO the ofice. On the way b
/, explained there was nc north, south
! east or west, but Mauka, toward th
mountains; Makai, toward the sea
Erva, to your right when facing tn
sea, and Waikiki, to the left.
thought what q paradise for cur
!, oeoAS PoAitAOAonS nv nokeni w 1onss
no east, no west.
AL Well, I shall not consume muc
4 more Of your valuable space tn
time; some future time l shall tell {
q the people, their customs, their n
4 ligion and about the plague ana th
! burning of thirty acres of dwellings /
\ Honolulu in her fight against it. III
duties enabled me to visit all the othe
inhabited islands. I learned to spes
! the Kanaka language quite iuantl
and, being Of a very inquisItive turn {
mind, learned much from the Odd
a natives which would perhaps would b
interesting to your readers. You
truly, w. W.. MCKINNEY.