The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-07-04
wAIPAHEE FALIs-oNE
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!. fore, and green with Vegetation. A walk
! of about five miles brought us to the
pretty WATERFALL of Waikakaa, which
IS perhaps one hundred and fifty feet
! in height; we could only give its arrow.
| like flakes of white foam a passing
glance as they descended with quiet
roar to the dark, deep waters of the
round basin beneath, and then fastened
up the steep hill, richly robed in a
many tinted dress of green.
. Twas oft SO steep, that foot was
/ fain
| Assistance from the hand to gain,''
| but the round bald top was reach
| ed without mishap, and as we sat
down for a moment to rest, the sun
was sinking behind the blue western
| mountain ranges. A few rods further
on by the side of the rocky stream we
pitched our tent in an opening among
the trees, which place is called ssKa-
ipuhaa' (the dancing ealabash).
While our energetic cook Was making
the tea and roasting a fowl ON an ex-
temporaneous spit for supper, we lay
| on the soft grass watching his proceed
ings or specializing on the probability
of pleasant weather on the morrow.
Prospects were fattering, for it was a
delightful evening; the sky was with
'out cloud and the winds were whist. y
After supper, which was eaten by the
Pickering light of the campfire, we sat
wrapped in our blankets beneath the
brilliant stars, and listened with adj
miration and wonder to the exquisite
music which pealed out like chime of
distant sleighbells from every leaf
above and around us. The still at
! mosphere was filed with an ocean of
melody. swelling and falling like the
waves of the sea, but ceasing not for a
moment. The natives say we are in.
debted for this nocturnal entertainment
to the. land shells, but. unfortunately
for this interesting hypothesis, shells
are very scarce in the region, a few
specimens of the Helix, with one or
two diminutive varieties, being all we
could obtain; it is much more probable
that the music proceeds from some kind
of insect
When we arose In the morning the
thermometer stood at SIS deg. Some
of the party, evidently believers in cold
water, rashly plunged into the stream
for bath, but they Immediately con.
eluded that the temperature of the wa
Ter was rather too near zero to be
agreeable.
! After breakfast our party shouldered
their packs and set off once more ON
the journey; our path now took us up
a long steep hill, in whose ascent more
T. than fVVn hn,Ypc r.
proved to be the only .long climb =
we had to encounter on the whole
route, the remainder of the way being
over great plateau, cut up at inter
| walls by deep ravines. From it's top we
had fine view of the surrounding coun-
try, while in the distance the verdant
valley of Waimea, with its bit of a
| river, looked like an oasis in the desert,
! We waited a few minutes for strag-
| gfers to come up and then plunged into
the labyrinths of the primeval forest
with. which these high tablelands are
covered. and from which we only
! emerged when within short distance
of Waialeale s summit The, trees con-
sist chiefly of lehua, although the kau-
| ia, ohia, kea, and many other varieties
| are frequently met with. The trees
| throughout this forest are often cover
ed to the depth of two or three inches
with gray moss, and the ground is at
frequent intervals heavily carpeted with
the same material.
| Our party could proceed but slowly,
owing to the thick underbrush with
| which the path was overgrown: and it
/ would have been much worse than it
was had it not been kept partially open
| by the wild hogs who wander over
these solitudes in great numbers, de-
vouring an immense amount of ii root
Two or three miles from our encamp-
ment of the previous night we came
! into small open spot called Pukanae'
nae; it was here. our guide informed us
that Mr.. Whitney stopped and ate his
dinner while on his way to Waialeale
There were number of little brown
| birds, resembling very much the Wren
| hopping about among the bushes; their
Hawaiian name is Akeke: the natives
| formerly worshiped them as the gods
| of the Kuahiwi. and to this day the
ancient superstition elings to them that
if one of the birds be killed terrible
tempest will burst upon the luckless
offender and compel him to beat hasty
! retreat
Our next breathing place was on the
brink of huge amphitheater at a place
| called Haieokunuu; the scenery as
beheld from this point was exceedingly
fine; we looked down into the circular