Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-10-20
CREST LAKE | S
SHALLOW NOT
BOTT)MLESS

-
Especial star Bulletin correspondencel
HIL0, Oct. 1.-THE lake on the
summit of Mauna Kea has no bottom, !"
is statement that has often been
made to visiting tourists and mali
hinis. Often the kamaaina has bee-
told the same thing. To make belief
doubly sure, the narrator usually adds
in repetition The lake is bottom.
less.
True, the lake has appeared to
sightseers to be without bottom or of
great depth. The water within the
lake Is clear as a mirror and most Of
those who have seen it thought that
On this account they ought to be able
to see the bottom II it had one. Some
may have even carried their expert
ments so far as to plump missiles into
the lake to judge its depth
Anyway, so far as known, no one
has gone to the simple expedient of
sounding its DEPTHS, until recently.
wlieu tao explorers assembled the
mountain for this very purpose. Their
report makes the sbottomless lake"
story sound very ridiculous, for the
greatest depth they found was eight
feet and two inches.
s. w. Lycan, health Inspector locat-i
ed at Ooka1a, and George tombstone,
head carpenter of the Oookala plan
tation, were the two who made the
measurements. They were accompan-
led on the trip to the. summit Of
Mauna Kea by Ikua Purdy, manager
of Keanakole, and a Hawaiian and a
japanese boy. They made the ascent
OF the mountain prepared to remain
two weeks hunting and exploring.
To show that they, like others, had
credited the story of the lakes great
depth, they went supplied with 1000
feet of fishing line to use in making
the soundings
Lycan in telling of the ascension OF
the mountain and the two weeks
spent on its peak and the measure
Inent of the lake, says:
Early in the morning of Septem-
Der Is we started for the Mauna Kea
summit We reached the summit
about 1880 a. m After taking
good view of all the surrounding
country we went over to Waiau, the
lake, and had our lunch. We then
proceeded to measure the lake. TAX
ing one end of line around the lake,
and after winding it around pile of
stones which is about five and half
feet high, one man held that end, an.
other got on saddle horse and
stretched it tight, holding it there
with the horse about four or five feet
above the water.
H"0n this line was loose ring
through which we passed another line
and fastened piece CT iron weighing
about four pounds to the end. Hold
ing this line tight so as not to touch
the water one man walked around thei
lake paying out his line and pulling
the weight and ring out on the first
line held by the horse.
when he got his weight out toi
what looked like half way, he beganI
letting it down until the line began
to slaeken, then he knew he had
struck bottom. He pulled his weight |
back to shore aad We measured the i
length of the string that went down
several times, shifting the horse
the lake and plumbing in dir
ferent places. Fhe deepest spot, We
could find was NEAR the center. which |
was eight feet and two inches, but t9t
look at it, a person would think II
much deeper. The widest measured
222 feet and the narrpwest 29o feet
I'VE could tell By the looks Of the
shore that at times u is much higher
than BoE, possibly four or five feet
teepef at high water mark. Purdys
who has seen it a great many tines
sad it was as low now as he had
ever seen it.
Hunting On. the mountain was very
'cod, and we Toasted On Wild pig and
'ciId turkey all the tine we were
away, and brought back FIVE Wild tur
keys"