The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-01-22
CLOSE VIEW OF RIVER OF FIRE

part Of the island out OF the rut And |
the road should have been fixed long |
ago, for II Is the main thoroughfaro
over which people travel In going from
Kona to Kau and Hilo. Now 1t Is
blocked by mass OF hot, burning |
lava. To n section tN- miles along |
the government road nature sent down |
the lava to stunt the guavas and help
out the county-in way.
AN IDEAL SPOT.
Kona district is the ideal spot for
the small farmer and the hornesteader.
| have not visited a section on that Is
land that will compare with 1t but 1
am told the soil Is not deep enough to
nourish many OF the varieties or
growth which the small farmer Is to
depend upon for his living. Just how
far that statement Will be borne out
by the facts / cannot say saw
oranges, lines, mangoes, vegetables of
every description, papayas, pineapples,
coffee and some of the best sugar cane
| have ever seen. growing along the
route to the flow. Yes, and l saw cat
tie and sheep that seemed to have
something more than skin on their
bones. II there is anything more need
ed let 1t step forward. There are miles
of coffee trees along the road and
healthier trees / never saw. Down be-
low the road, near Kealakekua, is the
big pineapple cannery and taro dry
house of w. w. Bruner Here he not
only cans pines but prepares taro for
-four that is made up in Honolulu into
poi flour. The cane on the lands of the
Kona Sugar Company is certainly very
strong looking along the road and
am told the best of 1t is inside. Most
plantations show the best along the
road. .. 80.
AQUA VITAE FACTORY.
Near Napoopoo is the distillery
where okolehao is to be made for local
as well as foreign consumption. The
building is a large one but the sign
tells the story in smothered way.
THE Agricultural and Industrial Cor
poration of Hawaii, Limited" are the
mysterious words painted on a board
and nailed over the broad entrance.
Just why the doorway has been made
so broad may be obvious to those who
have tried the beverage made of the
| ii leaf. Perhaps the cellarman, like
Dickens character, may absorb 1t
through his pores and consequently
require plenty OF room to get in and
out of the place. 1 passed Mr.. Ed
wards and his monocle on the road as
was going toward the flow. Both
| looked well but / was informed that
the gentleman was not feeling his best.
The upper road through Kona, you
will understand, is through delight
full section. There are few if any mos
| quitoes, at night the mercury goes
down to 80 degrees. but the middle of
the day is about the average tcmpera-
ture. The road is at an elevation above
the sea SO that the view is one to be
remembered. On one side Is the ocean
and the other a gently sloping hill. The
road is as level as a floor and as free
from litter as the one through kapio-
lani Park except where have noted.
SOME PLEASANT HOMES.
At Holualoa there is a private hotel
where travellers are accommodated and
another at Kealakekua. The latter is
in rather well settled place and peo-
pie from Honolulu spend weeks in the
summer at the delightful place. Around
about are the homes of the Parises,
Wallaces, Macfarlanes and others. The
Wassmans of jelly and jam fame are
near here and SO are the Greenwells,
so there is no scarcity of company.
Further along, beyond Hookena, and
up on the government road, j. Alfred
Magoon has a fine place, a small cattle
ranch and a well-built and attractive
house. Mr.. Magoon takes his family
there occasionally and superintends the
roundup.
From this point on the houses are
ctxye ",
appearance Shops, presided over by
Japanese and Chinese, are less fire.
quent and it is not long before you
are notified that the last store is a.
few yards away.
And to those who have not started
out provided with materials for. the
refreshment of the inner man this is
the last opportunity to get such as is
kept and what will be eaten only be-
cause there is nothing else. The Chi
nese proprietor evidently has few calls
for anything more than bare necessa-
ries; If he does he cannot answer.
Apart from q few tins of sardines from
which the oil, or most of 1t, had made
its escape, some of the usual brands
of canned beef and crackers there is
nothing. You have already passed the
last saloon, where liquors are sold for
cash only, and teams are furnished as
wanted, If you are out of water and
want something with you in anticipa-
ton of long thirst that was the place
to get 1t, But you will pay cash. Al
, that place you will see orange trees
growing on both sides OF the road with
, the yellow fruit hanging temptingly
, from the branches. If you are real
good, perhaps the proprietor will lei
you shy a stone among them and bring
them down. This is only a guess,
: did not try. possibly because l had q
.demijohn of water In the phaeton and
had no occasion to stop at the place.
Next to the last house before reach
. ing the flow, and less than mile from
t where you bid adieu to civilization, is
the first house built by the late Franz
Buchholtz in Kona, During his life
time he was the experimenting small
q farmer of the country, not only In lSo
ma but in the Territory. His crops
$ were not large but they We're various
He had little bit OF this and as muci
of something else but enough of all Il
be widely quoted and the officials o
: the Republic OF Hawaii would poin
: with pride to him and show what h,
I could do. He made things grow, o
d that there is no question, but not II
s sufficient quantity to market with an,
,faf. H.. A.