The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-12-10

1t is desired to make the Hawaiian
Islands a winter resort for the idle
rich. Organized plans are making 10
induce Eastern people who go to Cali
| fornia for the winter months to con-
tinue their journey TO Honolulu and
the neighboring islands. There is
every reason why people with the
time and the desire to see new coun-
tries should come out to the islands
They can spend month here COM
fortabIy and derive much entertain
ment from their stay. Not the least
interesting Of the things they would
see are the volcanoes-the extinct Ha-
leakala, whose great bulk comprises
the eastern half of this island, and XII
lauea. where eternal fires glow at the
bottom of a great chimney one thou
sand feet deep by half as great diam
eter.
The writer, with members Of the
Congressional party, assembled to the
summit of Haleakala on horseback,
spent the night there and saw the sun
rise. traversed the crater of Kilauea,
and dined on the edge of the pit, Ha-
lemaumau, on food cooked from the
heat escaping through the assures in
the lava floor, of the great crater. The
ascent of Haleakala was made on the
afternoon and evening of Thursday,
May t. On the morning of the 18th,
seventy-seven persons, the largest
party ever at the summit at one time,
saw the sun rise through the clouds
and flood with light the great, barren,
cloud-filled crater.
Maui is the second island of the
group in size, with an area of 700
square miles.
1t consists of two mountains con-
nected by a low-lying isthmus seven
miles wide at the narrowest part. 1t
is the largest area of level land any
where in the islands. Because 1t IS
fiat the islanders call it monotonous
and dreary. The lao valley back or
Wailuku town and the Koolau gulches
offer tropical scenery that can hardly
be surpassed. The lao valley is one
of the heauty spots of the world. Mt.
sEeke. on the western end of the is
land. is nearly 5000 feet high, while
Haleakala, at the eastern end, raises
its dome 1900 feet above the sea, and
is one of the wonders of the world
ON HALEAKALA'S SUMMIT.
To make the ascent of Haleakala
one must go by train along the coast
from Kahului to Paia ana there take
carriage to the Haleakala ranch,
which lies in the foothills at the base
of the great mountain. From here 1t
is a ten-mile ride over a winding,
rough trail UP the side of the noun
tain To the summit All the lower
stretches of the mountains are cover
ed with green, and thousands of cat
| tie find pasturage on the hillsides.
| The land is broken with deep gulches,
marking old lava flows, and the horses
pick their way gingerly over the slip
perry footing AS one rises, the out
| look is superb. On the level isthmus
| connecting the two halves of sthe is
/ land. the cane fields are seen marked
| off like a checker board. Beyond the
white line of surf and the curved
beaches, the waters of the Pacific
| stretch away to the horizon. We
reached the ranch house at Olinda at
| four O'Clock in the afternoon, after
/ riding for an hour through a binding
| rainstorn Two hours later, within
three miles of the summit, we saw a
| sunset more than a thousand feet
above the clouds. The sides of the
mountain were bare and covered with
| broken stones. old lava runs, and bits
of broken. dried wood where once
scrubby understood trees had grown.
1t was eight o'clock and pitch dark
before we reached the edge of the
crater. We only knew it was the
| summit because the horses refused to
go any further. They had walked TO
within a couple of yards Of the crater
walls. which drop sheer down $500 feet.
The last hour of the journey we
! could not see five feet beyond the
horses heads, and depended wholly
upon the sagacious, sure-footed ami
| mails to find their own way; they kept
| the trail unerringly.
That night it was so cold on the
summit that, although we had tents
| and blankets, we found it impossible
to sleep comfortably. and spent the
/ entire night seated around a fire.
i swathed in blankets and sweaters.
The night was as still as it was
cold and clear. The sunrise the next
morning was a gorgeous effect. The
crater of Haleakala has circumfer-
Fence of twenty miles and an area
of nineteen square miles. A score of
cones from three hundred feet to a
thousand feet in height dot the floor,
: while from out the one-time cauldron
lead two gaps, once the vents of lava
flows which cover the eastern and
southern TANKS of the mountains. The
, impression is one of rare desolatior
and grandeur.
KILAUEA'S ACTIVE CRATER.
The active crater of Kilauea, on the
side of Mauna Loa, is one of the mos
comfortable volcanoes to visit in the
world. One may do it in white canva:
shoes with perfect ease. There is {
fairly well appointed Motel on tht
edge of the crater, and one may easil!
walk in an hour the three miles from
| the top of the craters edge to tn
| smoking nit Ha1eTOaVO19u (HOuSe D