The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-08-01

| llSnt ana moonlight ana look a
picnic supper at Waikiki beach.
The evening before we left Hon.
olulu some of us went to Waikiki
beach and took a moonlight swim
in the Pacific ocean on the evening
of February Fl. The weather was
delightful and the water warm.
Excursions were taken to various
other places, including the Punch
bowl, another volcanic crater on
the outskirts of the city, but it is
much inferior to Diamond Head,
An interesting trip was taken
on the Oahu railroad to the Eva
sugar plantation, where We saw
the various sugar-making opera
tons at the Eva sugar mill. The
most interest part of the trip, how
ever, was the many picturesque
pastoral scenes all along the road.
The natives only work when they
have to, and the farmers are mostly
Chinese, who rank with the most
skilled of all agriculturists. There
are various kinds of trucking farms,
but most of the men are engaged
in planting and cultivating rice.
The water buffalo, or cariboo, is
the only domestic animal used for
rice cultivation, and is a gentle
and patient but strong and un-
calmly beast. Their horns are
long, fiat and curved backwards,
but what possible use the animals
make of them l have failed to dis
cover.
Besides sugar cane and rice there
are many banana fields and toro
patches, the latter looking like
fields Of pond lilies, furnish the
root from which the natives pro-
duce the "poi," the national dish
OF the Kanakas. Many walks were
taken around through China
town" and the native quarters, also
to one of the native rice mills and
the cultivated fields just outside
the suburbs.
Honolulu itself is a beautiful
city, with the houses set in a per-
feet forest Of tropical trees and
plants, flowers and vines. Some
of the flowers are of the most bril-
liant color, particularly a mag
nenta or purplish pink flower,
which at short distance has the
effect of a mass of vivid color.
There are other varieties of the
same flower which have different
color. These brilliantly colored
flowers, however, when looked at
more closely, give one the idea
that they are made Of tissue paper
and when taken in hand look like
the colored leaves of a plant in
stead of the petals of a flower.
The most beautiful views Of all,
however, and the loveliest and
most exquisite effects Of light and
color 1 have ever seen were wit
messed when visiting the Pail.
The Pail is steep precipice over
which Kabehameha drove several
thousand of his enemies when he
conquered the island of Oahu.
The view of mountain and low
land, seashore and ocean, as seen
from the Pail, l can scarcely con-
ceive it possible to surpass. The
coloring was something truly Won
derful. There were just enough
clouds to give continually chang
ing effects of light and shade. The
translucent blue and purple grays
of the distant mountains and head
lands had all the elements of the
mysterious, that the artists love to
rave over, in perfection. The dis
tant mountainous headlands re-
minded me of nothing quite so
much as the play of light and color
in the opal.
All the elements of which dreams
are made were there. A bold,
rugged mountain range would ap-
pear to be blotted out by change
lighting caused by a different dis
position of the clouds, and the
next moment it would reappear
with great distinctness. The north
ern slopes of the mountains, some