The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1906-07-10
BY Sol. N. Sheridan.

From the House of Chockhoo, Hawai-
hae, Hawaii, June 30.-The road by
which we went down into Kona from
our dry camp in the lava is road that
has been traversed by few men who
live. Long ago, before the history of
these Islands began to be written, ii is
said that the natives went that way
to get stone forms for their ADDE'S from
the hard rock of Mauna Kea, but that
is tale only.
All tina. is known is that the natives
did get their rock there for their
stone implements-and there are in
places in that wild region that lies be-
tween the peaks of Mauna Loa and Hua-
1alai the traces of a trail so old that in
some parts it has been covered by lava
flows whose date is forgotten, and in
other places trees have grown up in it
bust man.
"Umi's Trail" they call this road.
How few white men in these islands
have ever rode by Uni 8 Trail. How
few white men in these Islands have
ever even heard of Umi' Trail, al
though most may have read the story
of Uni as it is told in Alexander's his
tory. Uni, according to the histories,
was king over the Island of Hawaii
about 1900 A. d. That was some little
time before the advent of Kameha-
meha.
THE TEMPLE OF UNI.
1t is said in Alexander IS history that
"he built remarkable temple on the
table-land between Mauna Loa and
Hualalai, now known as 'Ahuaa-a- Uni,
which he is said to have occupied as
his headquarters. Around this heiau
he caused six pyramids of stone fifteen
to twenty feet high to be erected"
1t is i'll attempting to correct any
history-but there are seven pyramids
of stone, or the remains of seven pyra-
mids of stone, around what is said to
be the House of Uni on the table-land
that is between the mountains of
Mauna Loa and Hualaai. j have seen
and counted the seven. So have all the
others who were in the party with me.
However, it was long ride from
that dry camp of the morning over the
lava flows that date from before and
since the time of Uni to the house of
that old ancestor of the greatest of
Hawaii's kings. 1t was a long and a
hard ride, and the trail was trail that
but two men before us had ever
traversed in its entirety. Eben Low
and native assistant went that way
once, and marked the way. 1t was by
this marked way that Rawhide Ben led
us out again. i know man who will
not travel that road again.
THE TRAIL OF UNI.
We had Travelled several hours from
our dry camp when we struck Uni S
Trail, plainly marked across an old a-a
flow upon which a forest had grown up.
The trail was plain, and showed that
much work had been done upon it.
Like all Hawaiian roads of the olden
time-or most of them-it ran straight
away toward the point that it was de-
sired to reach, regardless of the topog-
raphy of the country. Uni was
trail builder, up to his date. Where
the IA was level, his men marked their
way across it by smooth going. Where
there were depressions in it, they were
filed up to the general level, much as IA
modern engineer would fill them.
Where there were hillocks to be
crossed, these were cut away if not too
high and passed over in a straight line
if their altitude forbade grading.
And this road, as smooth and as
easy as though built but yesterday, was
constructed so long ago that in the
center of it, through tine rotten lava,
lehua trees had grown up, having the
girth of the body of strong man.
Uni s slaves marched this way to the
quarries of Mauna Kea, and his cour-
iers went this way, and his armies
marched this way, it is probable, to
battle with the men of the Waimea and
Kohala country. If they battled with
Kohala men, III warrant that they
licked them.
This road, or maybe another, ran
from Kailua straightaway to Hilo, and
old tales are that the kings living at
Kailua would have mullet caught for
them in the ponds Of Waiakea in the
morning, and eat them at night, relays
of swift eouriers carrying them across
the island
THE FLOW OF FIFTY.NINE.
We lost umi's road, us we went ON,
n little before we reached the great
flow Of 1883, the flow that came boiling
out from Mauna Loa aud ran down To
the sea not very far from Kawaihao--
one Of the greatest flows that the
greatest Of the volcanoes has sent
down. over this How Ehen Low aud
bis native man bad marke the road
with dala of ,yhita mint unon the