The Ocala evening star., 1922-10-03
NUALOLO REDISCOVERED

Honolulu-(By Mail to the Asso-
ciated Press).-The kingdom that
"died" but never was conquered; the
kingdom with the smallest standing
army on record, three men; the king
dom of Nualolo, behind it's walls of
mountain and surf in an almost for
gotten corner of the Island of Kauai,
is being "rediscovered."
This ancient DOMAIN, the only part
Of Hawaii which King Kamehameha
the Great could not bring under his
scepter when he routed all other riv-
ais in battle and united the islands,
has been reopened. A rope ladder
once again bangles from the Nualolo
cliffs in the Identical place. fastened
through the same holes cut in the
rocks by the Hawaiian warriors of
long ago.
The kingdom of Nualolo is on the
northwest coast of the Island of Kauai
Of the Hawaiian group. in the heart
of wonderful precipice section which
rises abruptly from the sea in almost
perpendicular cliffs from $500 to
more than 1000 feet in height. 1t
comprises nine valleys, three large
and six small, each ending at the sea
in a precipice.
There are only three practical ways
of getting into this old domain. One
is by dangerous trail upward from
the ocean front, second is by another
and sleeper trail over the mountains
from the land side and the third and
easiest, is by rope ladder from Nua-
lolo beach and thence over a narrow
winding path, cut out of the rock,
where misstep means fall to death.
The latter route recently has been re-
opened by the placing of new rope
| ladder where its predecessor hung
many years ago.
When Nualolo maintained it's indie
pendence in the face of the advances
of the Great Kamehameha, before the
days of high explosives and air planes,
three men only were needed to keep
its gates. An old Hawaiian, named
Ku, has given the following graphic
description of Nualolo's simple but
effective method of defense.
zone guard sat at the top of the
Bonopu beach precipice with pile OF
rocks at his side. Only one enemy al
time could climb the trail and in
case of attack the guard dropped q
stone on the head of each enemy as
he appeared from below, or smashed
his fingers with a rock as they clutch
ed the overhanging ledge.
cat Nualolo, where the trail is up q
ladder, one guard was stationed al
the top of the ladder with a stone
axe. AS each hostile head appeared
the axe came into play.
"On the Kamaile trail from above
on the land side, guard with pole
waited in a niche in the cliff out o.
sight of the approaching enemy
When the latter came within reacl
along the narrow pathway the guarc
would give him a shove with the pol
and 1000 foot drop did the rest"
Locked behind their barriers o
towering mountains and pounding
surf, the people of Nualolo develope
a system of agricultural irrigatio,
which remains to this day as tribut
to their industry and engineering
; ability.
According to DR.. 81. E. Gregory, Q
; the Bishop Museum. Honolulu, n
finer irrigation system ever has bee
l worked out by the Hawaiians tina
that of the ancient valley kingdom
i Every available foot of the steep vale
was made productive.
Very few persons have been able
> get into the old kingdom during Il
past three-quarters of a century, bu
the recent placing of the rope laddt
near Nualolo beach is expected to er
Nualolo's decades of isolation and r
open its historic terraces and trai
once again to the foot of man.