The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1906-10-26

| HONOLULU, Sept. 23.-That frs
| glimpse OF the Paradise OF the Pacifi
we so rapturous. so foreign to any OK
perience that ever came into my If
that II will never fade from memory
| Let me dwell little upon 1t one,
| more, before beginning to tell abou
what the traveller sees When ono,
among the islands.
On the morning of the seventh day
out from San Francisco, the passenger
on the steamer between the United
States and Hawaii gets his frs
glimpse of these lovely and fertile isl
ands in the South Sea. II the air IL
clear he may see for 100 miles. The
ship is blowing through the bluest Of
sapphire seas, the sky above is n dark
cerulean, and breezes in these south
ern ATTITUDES come cool and soft as a
caress to ones cheeks. The steamer
is headed toward the island of Oahu
and the harbor of Honolulu.
The earliest objects one sees as the
boat nears the Hawaiian Islands. are
the tall, serrated, black, volcanic
mountains that rear themselves sew
eral miles in the air. Presently one
discerns dozen distant waterfalls,
amid the deep tropical verdure, look
ing like silver threads on a curtain of
green velvet. Then fringes of cocoa
nut trees and towering palms along
the seashore come into view. The
strange iridescent hues Of vapors that
overhang the active volcanoes, attract
enthusiasm. Sailing past the wind
ward side of the Island of Molokai
one has glimpse of the famous leper
settlement close about the base of a
ragged mountain, where about 1900
miserable and diseased people are dy-
ing while they live.
A half hour later the bay OF Homo
lulu is straight ahead. The scene is
one of the most beautiful that may
come into any travellers experiences.
Robert Louis Stevenson said 1t was
the most charming marine view he
ever saw. The water is so clear and
blue that one can look down in 1t for
many feet. The atmosphere is soft
and pungent. The lanscape slopes
smoothly down to the water, and ser
rated volcanoes are a picturesque
background. The city of Honolulu is
ahead, with its clear white spires and
domes projecting amid a mass of
heavy foliage. To the right are tufted
palms and cocoanut trees along a
beach of white sand. Farther back
one gets vistas of green valleys, roads
bordered by white cottages set among
strange tropical trees, beds of gay
flowers and orchards of ripening fruit.
AS the steamer moves along the bay
shore the song of birds is heard and
often there is a rainbow of unusual
brilliance spanning the bay. Surely
there can be no scene like this any
where else.
The Hawaiian group of islands are
more generally known as the Sand
witch Islands. The latter name was
given them by their discoverer, Cap
tain James Cook, in 177s. in honor of
the first. Lord of Admiralty at that
time, Earl of Sandwich. There are
eight islands in the group. The dis
lance from the north to the south end
OF the chain is 1856 miles, and the area
of the islands is 1000 square miles, or
about the size of Massachusetts or
New Jersey.
Hawaii is the largest island in the
group. 1t is a little smaller than Con-
necticut. Oahu is the most populous
and has an area of 600 square miles,
Maui is the most generally fertile ISL
and. Millions Of dollars in sugar PLAN
tations and mills are invested there.
Kauai is famous for it's forests of val
liable woods and it's rice and banana
fields. The whole Hawaiian group
could be put in California eight times.
The surface Of the three larger islands
IS made up Of volcanic peaks and
heir valleys, formed by the decompo-
'ition of the lava, and partly, perhaps,
)y upheavals, too. Thus by the ele-
nents and cycles Of time have been
the many beautiful Valleys
he Manoa, back of Honolulu, with its
Inc waterfall and natural bath; Pa
olo, next beyond-the botanist's para
Elsewhere, in a circle Of one hundred |
eet, twenty-five different varieties of
erns are found; Kalihi-the wild and |
picturesque, and the historic Nuuanu
ALLEY.
There is also the famous Tao valley
m Maui-called the Yosemite of the
stands; the Waipio and Waimanu val
eys of Hawaii are wildly beautiful,
nut seldom visited on account of the
difficulty OF reaching them. On the
side of the islands the coasts
re abrupt and steep with deep raw
nes while the leeward sides are
ringed with a more or less level belt
long the seashore, which Is protect
some places by coral reefs. What
sight to remember! The spray
reaking on the barrier reefs that span
ne bay, then trailing into the coral
lrf as long, white wells!
One can find almost any kind of
Innate here. There is the soft balmy
r of the seas and valleys. 1t is said
he waters here are ten degrees colder
ian in any other place in the same
titude. Then there is the fresh, in ,
igorating atmosphere of four thou :
md feet, and finally the frost and :
low limit of $4,000 feet. The lowest |,
lie thermometer has reached in ten
ears is "a degrees and the highest SO q
,grees. This otherwise hot house }
innate is tempered by the trade winds q
r three'fourths of the year. Al
ough one needs a slight covering at a
ght there are no fire places in Ho- I,
lulu, unless few for ornament. =
delicious languor pervades the
hole region, people and plants alike.
any moment the sky may become
ercast and an unexpected shower
me down. Then, as quickly it passes
7ay and your clothes are left steam >,