The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-03-20

this one In return:
There was a young man called Nc
Bride
Who as a poet was snide:
And when he went riding,
A gray mule bestriding.
He lost a good part of his hide
Opposite the Austin place. in an oIs,
home grounds. the party inspected the
| original rubber tree of Nahfku. II e
now a forest giant, and, to everybOdv's
/ surprise. when lightly scored by Mr.
Austin with his knife. freely exuded
+ the white sap. Mr.. Howell the civil
+ engineer. planted this tree eleven or
/ twelve years ago, having obtained th.
seed from Joseph Marsden, then Com
missioner of Agriculture Its chief
value has been in it's living proof that
Nahiku is good rubber country.
Mr.. Campbell found the landing in
fair condition. The engine he lately
had Installed to work the derrick need
ed some attention.
Mr.. Austin discussed the road cues
ton with me in riding along. The
road to the landing is not the best
that could have been devised for pres
ent conditions. as it was built to suit
the ill-fated Nahil1u sugar plantation
1t gave an uphill pull of 750 feet in
two miles when an easier grade and
shorter way to Hama was available
in the old route
Returning from the landing a short
pause was taken to take leave of the
Austins and Sylvesters. and. a short
distance beyond, the main road was
left and the expedition make a break
for the Koolau ditch trail. A diver
sion of a few rods was taken to see
the head of the famous engineering
work that carries water from the Hama.
mountains across vast gulches into
Makawao district to irrigate the great
plantations. With its feed bitches and
tunnels it is said to be seventy miles
long The trail follows the ditch clear
through, but the ditch is not always
IN sight. Often ii lodges under a
mountain spur or a mere knoll. now
for a mile or miles and
again in tunnels so short that day.
light can be seen through them.
To one riding this trail for the first
time. some of its aspects are truly an
palling. In fact the tenderfoot had
better leave his Imagination behind if
t is at all controlling of his nerves
-or the dangers are so obvious, so con-
slant and so dreadful that they must
De looked calmly in the face. A mitf-
cation of the terror, in coming from
he Nahfku side, is that the worst
places are gradually developed until
he rider becomes steeled by the fam
liarity that breeds contempt Before
he wagon road ends some Of the fea-
ures to be encountered later in the
narrow trail are passed. W. f. Pogue.
he ditch superintendent, who met the
party above the landing, showed me
vhere he had once lost a team This
vas vertical precipice about a hun
lred feet deep close to the road There
S barrfcade there now but it is awe
ome to look from the saddle almost
straight down to the rocky bottom of
he gulch.
On the four-foot trail little falling
III places like that, however. become
arelessly regarded even at places
where there is no barricade, although
the horse SHES or balks but a mat
er of six inches 1t is all day with
orse and rider, unless the rider is
pry enough to throw himself out Of
he saddle on the inner side of the
rail before his mount disappears. It
where the vertical downlook is sew
raj hundred feet that the unaccus-
omed rider of the trail requires to
eep cool and not unduly worry his
lithful beast with spur or rein.
Along the worst places Travelled to-
ay, however. there are stone parapets
n the verge of the trail These and
lie growi~g confidence one gets in an
nimal that has been broken to the
all soon leave nothing to the imagina-
on but a tremendous enjoyment of
lie sublime scenery. At scores of
oints feeling of regret is felt that
he cannot halt and reveI by the hour
the majesty of nature on every hand.
our eye becomes accustomed to drink
every different scene systematically
, that nothing be lost of 1t until the
ext one comes into view. First you
nd yourself trying to probe the abyss
rectly below. Then you survey the
lshing torrent. or the rocky bed
torrents not now in season, mean
,ring through dank vegetation in the
iddle of the gulch. Next your vision
veeps the vast mountain wall four or
7e hundred yards out from you
trough blue air, trying to take It in
ON bottom to top of its height of a
ousand feet or more. Near the op-
'sing summit line to where you are
ding you see the scratch on the cliff
de along which you have just ridden
Id wonder If you would have ven
lred upon it had you seen It broad
de first. But just then you see loom
g up ahead and overhead another
op of the same scratch and do not
onder if you will try it, for you have
me to rather like 1t and all the more
r the spice of danger now that the
ltire actually is fully realized. Yet
wv and then, negotiating a turn, with
e safety barrier gone in a washout,
Id nothing substantial TO be seen
rough the blades of grass screening
e top of perpendicular gouge with
two inches Of where the nag has
st paced his off fore foot, you find
'ursef saying to your best friend on
nth for the moment: BE good now.
my if you have any respect for me-"
At many points the turn Of a rulch
sd6 briUVG into --fa-r-