The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-08

L
seventy five feet high, and poured over
the ledge at a place that eompletelv
blocked the way. making further prog
ress along the watercourse quite i'm
possible. We could now hear the roar
of another and still larger falls. only
little way on. The only thing re.
naming for US to do was to turn back
and work our way up the Moanui side
OF the valley. This was exceedingly
difficult to do. After five hours of the
most laborious climbing, we at last. br
two o clock, made the crest of the ridge
and could look down into the valley
below. From where we stood one could
have thrown stone into the stream
we had left. so nearly vertical was
the rock wall we had scaled From
this point we kept on the ridge. cut
tang our trail a considerable distance
into the mountains before night came
on. On our return to camp late that
night, we abandoned the stream en-
tirely and opened new trail down
the main ridge.
Owing to the injuries resulting from
his fall my boy was unfit for duty
the following day. In his stead an
cid, we!l-intOrmed mountain going ma
tive was engaged. BY an early hour
we were at the farthest point reached
the day before FoA six hours, in the
ram and fog. through tangle of ieie
and uhi (smllax) vines, over, through
and under the moss covered trees and
roots, we forced our way still further
up the ridge into the interior. 1t was
the most uncomfortable sort of wealth
ct, and taken altogether it was ex-
eeedinglv disagreeable, disheartening
work. All day long we had not seen
IA single bird that could not have been
| collected in an hour s time by patient
| " waiting under any one of the flow
ering ohia trees we had passed by in
+ the early morning on our way up the
! trail
| In the middle of the afternoon I
| took the trail knife to give the old
! guide a chance to rest. for he had been
| chopping on the path since early morn
! ing. We were working in "a particu-
iarly dense and unpromising jungle of
/ Isle, when | heard a clear, gentle,
even, inquiringlv whistled ''H-o-a'
called by some bird not more than fifty
! yards away It was moment of in
/
| doubt in my mind but that the note
was that Of the bird / had so long
sought. Making signs to the native to
hurry to me with the gun, | began to
| initiate the whistle call as best /
could. To my delight the curious black
| bird with the wonderfully curved bill,
| the object of my seeking, flew down
| and lit in tree within ten feet of
me. 1t was evident that curiosity
aroused by my ehopping had brought
/ the bird to the spot TO investigate.
Actively hopping and fitting from
limb to limb, scarcely stopping sec
| ond, eyeing ME sharply all the while,
it persisted in keeping so close to me
that l could not with safety fire even
my auxiliary barrel. Yet the restless
ness of the bird made it apparent that
| | must fire soon or lose nay chance, for
| if the bird got fifty feet from me in
| the tangle of trees and vines on the
side of the ridge, it would, in all prob
| ability. be gone from sight and for
ever. l pulled the trigger and, TO my
| CONSERVATION, my gun missed fire. 1t
! was, after all. little wonder that gun
| and ammunition failed me- for both
! had been soaking wet for three days.
| The next few seconds were moments
| Of painful INDIGESTION. To break and
reload my gun would surely frighten
/ the bird; TO use the heavy charge in
the left barrel was almost criminal,
/ but my only recourse. Without fur
Their delay / awaited myself of the
| first opportunity when the bird was
screened by limbs and fired. The
/ feathers flew: my first Black Mam0
| had been shot Shot. but not found.
A bird in the hand - in the Hawai-
ian forests is worth several in the
bush. especially the bush in Molokai.
| Though the bird was not more than
twenty five feet from me when [ fired,
and my man aud I both saw 1t start
TO fall. we searched for il In vain for
three-quarters of an hour. We look
ed carefully under the vines and ferns,
| among the underground in the trees,
in fact. everywhere, for it. even sem
ing a pool of water that had collected
in the rocks a little farther below,
/ vet not sign of the coveted Hoa
could we find. l had almost given up
all hone of finding it. and began to
save the few scattered feathers lying
about. feeling that my claim TO having
found the rare bird would have To rest
on such evidence as they could fur
nish.
As the search grew more hopeless,
. NIX native, who had assured NE IN the
morning that he had heard Of the
Hoa, but had never seen such bird
as | described it to be. now became
more earnest. as he declared to me
that the bird just shot was not the 90
the only other black bird known 70
him. As he was able to give the
roints wherein it differed from that
now almost equally rare species, felt
his remarks were valuable a. a con
vineing commentary on the scarcity OF
this bird. Here was a native hunter.
familiar with the teaching Of his
fathers. whose knowledge Of the for
est had been gained almost half cen
rurv before. who knew not only the
native names and uses OF almost every
plant we saw. but the names and hab-
itz of all the native birds, save 'this
one. declaring i 10 he unknown 10
him. Yet we who understand some
-h5rsr # [arrzra' : processes know thar