The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-08-11
(BY SOL. N. sHERIDAN.)

Did II ever fall TO your lot TO go on
personally conducted excursion in
quest OF an old Hawaiian Heiau, or
temple OF worship? That has fallen
to my lot--and 1t was most pleasant
ly conducted excursion. II was con-
Quoted by Mr.. E. NJ. Boyd, Secretary
OF the Promotion Committee, and Mr..
Fred. c. Smith, General Passenger
Agent OF the Oahu Railway Company.
and two more efficient conductors are
seldom sent out in charge of one small
party. The excursion, which took place
yesterday, came about in this way: A
little time ago. Mr.. Thomas G. Thrum,
antiquarian and historian. came upon
the ruins of an. old Hawaiian heathen
temple at a point about four miles be-
yond the Haleiwa Hotel. and within
plain sight from the railway and the
public road. This was. in many ways,
a most remarkable find. 1t is perhaps
the closest heiau to Honolulu, since the
destruction of the one at Moiliili, and
the wonder is that 1t had been lost to
knowledge so long. In fact, it would
| not, perhaps, save for the fact that
1t has been taken all these years for a
cattle pen. Indeed. from the line Of
the railway and from the public road,
! too, 1t does look precisely like a cattle
pen lying back against the steep slope
of the hill.
FINDING THE TEMPLE.
But, when Mr.. Thrum made known
! the facts of his finR of course the in
| terest of all concerned with Hawaiian
antiquities was aroused. The Histor-
lcal Society members talked of the
matter, and the Promotion Committee
took the thing up. A heather temple
of the old days, a genuine antique,
was worth while as a tourist asset.
And out of this various interest in the
matter grew the personally conducted
excursion of yesterday over the oahu
railway.
For, IL the heiau was to be preserv-
ed, 1t was essential that experts should
be consulted upon its preservation. No
experts could be so well advised as
to the proper steps to take as those
OF the Historical Society. Nobody had
a more legitimate interest in bringing
these experts to view the heiau than
the Promotion Committee. Therefore,
Mr.. Fred Smith was called into the
consultation, and Mr.. Boyd sent out
his invitations for the personally con-
Quoted excursion.
REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING
All those who had been invited could
not go, unfortunately, but the gather
ing was representative. In the party
were Or. Serene Il. Bishop, DR.. N. B.
Emerson, Thos. G. Thrum, Prof. Will
liam Alason Bryan, assistant curator
at Bishops, Museum, President Griffith
of oahu College. f. S. Dodge of the
Bishop Estate and w. w. Hall, Treas
urer of the Historical Society. The
party gathered at the Oahu Railway
Station, and was whirled away down
the road, in a private car and driz-
Zle of rain. The car was most COM
Portable, having an observation plat
form and cosy chairs and all the COM
forts that go with modern railway
travel. The drizzle of rain was moi
at all uncomfortable, serving to cool
the air of what might otherwise have
been hot day, but it did not give
promise for a successful excursion for
purposes of observation. Which only
goes to show that the weather is un-
certain. even in Hawaii. for while the
sun shone at no time during the day
the rain presently went away mauka
and the day> became perfect for the
purposes of the expedition. II It had
been made to order, it could not have
been better.
DOWN THE ROAD.
Away and away through the rice
fields and the kiawe thickets that lie
on this side OF Pearl City, the special
train sped fast, riding as smoothly as
IL might have done on one of the big
mainland railroads. You may not have
noticed that the Oahu road Is perfect
ly ballasted, and in fine order. and
that its trains run with little Jar OF
high speed. But that is the fact. Past
the wide cane fields of Eva and Oahu
and the sisal plantation, the train
rushed onward, and around the noun
tains that come down close to the line
at Waianae. They are rugged hills
opening back into a succession Of beau.
tiful valleys at the far heads of which
tower cliffs serried with waterways
! dropping straight down, 1t seems fol
thousands of feet. And on the other
hand, is the blue sea. 1t was still
sea, yesterday, until Kaena Point was
passed. Then the rollers came DASH
ing in upon the rocks. M
\ ALL MEET AS EQUALS. 4
J Still on and on sped the tram, and
presently the cliffs fell back for the
land of Waialua and. with a sugar
mill in the background. there appeared
the little white targets that mark the
holes OF the Haleiwa golf course The
train rushed by the depot at waialua,
to the amazed wonder of a lot OF little
Japs and Chinese and native children
and the evident amusement of a couple
OF very bright looking small haole boys
who waved their hands and smiled az