THE OAHU RAIN FOREST 



BY VAUGHAN MacCAUGHEY 



YOUR first view of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian 

 group is predestined to disappointment. During the 

 lazy steamer week of tranquil blue Pacific you have 

 indolently recalled all you ever read 

 or heard of the alluring "South 

 Seas." You picture the coral 

 beaches, the langorous palms, the 

 smiling forest against far purple 

 peaks; surf lullaby and throbbing 

 bird song ; hospitable natives whose 

 child-like pleasures and occupations 

 sweetly link them to their bounteous 

 and ever -smiling Nature Mother. 

 Pleasant day dreams, these, for you 

 are sailing to the isle of Paradise. 



The last morning of the serene 

 voyage dawns. As you are in your 

 cabin, dressing, and packing your 

 grips, a friend excitedly calls down 

 to you. You rush on deck, and in 

 that shattering instant your irides- 

 cent dream-picture of tropic isle is 

 irretrievably broken! You gaze at 

 arid, weary, time-scarred headlands. 

 A heavy surf beats relentlessly 

 against the barren cliffs. The 

 lonely shore is branded by melan- 

 choly sphinx-like craters and black 

 dead lava flows. The bare soil is 

 parched and red, as though burned 

 and reburned in fierce plutonic 

 furnaces. Where are your shimmer- 

 ing forests? Your sunny strands . . . 

 your friendly 

 palms? Here are no 

 signs of habitation, 

 save the lonely 

 lighthouse. It is a 

 dead land the 

 volcanic fires have 

 long been drawn, 

 leaving to corrosive 

 wind and water the 

 demolishment of its 

 clinkered cinder 

 heaps. And this 

 is Paradise Isle! 



The steamer, 

 running slowly now, 

 and standing well 

 out from the surf- 

 marked reef, rounds 

 Diamond Head. 

 270 



DEEP IN THE RAIN' FOREST 



It is a dwarf forest appearing very rich when viewed from 

 the lowlands but in reality made up of short, gnarled 

 trees and tall, stout shrubs. 



LOOKING TOWARDS THE SEA FROM A HIGH RIDGE 



During the rainy season in the Rain Forest landslides are common. They usually start near the top 



of a slope and cut straight narrow wounds down through the forest blanket. 



With delightful smoothness the panorama is metamor- 

 phosed by life and greenery. Now you look far back into 

 magnificent sunny amphitheatres, hung with forest drap- 

 ery, and scored by shining water- 

 falls. The valley floors are bright 

 with the vivid green of the wet-land 

 crops; their stately portals open 

 onto the basking lowlands. Bold 

 ridges separate these lovely vales 

 and rise majestically to the cloud- 

 capped mountains of the interior. 

 Your sea-weary eyes are charmed 

 by the rich and diversified green 

 of the unbroken forest, that like 

 a sumptuous tapestry drapes the 

 mountains, ridges, and valley walls. 

 This is Oahu's rain forest this is 

 the crowning scenic glory of the 

 Purple Isles. 



Before one can intelligently view 

 this radiant mountain mantle one 

 must know something of Oahu's vol- 

 canic history. This island is formed 

 of two ancient crater masses 

 Waianae and Koolau. Waianae is 

 much the older of the two and 

 existed long before the Koolau 

 Range rose up out of the sea. In that 

 early period the Waianaes supported 

 luxuriant forests, well-watered by 

 abundant rain from the perpetual 

 cloudcap. When the great Koolau 

 volcano reared itself to the wind- 

 ward, it shut off 

 from the Waianaes 

 the rain-bearing 

 trade winds. The 

 Waianaes thus grad- 

 ually lost most of 

 their original forest 

 cover; the Koolaus 

 received very heavy 

 precipitation, and 

 were soon mantled 

 by the beautiful 

 humid forest. 



My first trip 

 into the Koolau 

 Mountains elucid- 

 ated the term "rain 

 forest" and the rela- 

 tion of this forest to 

 the zones of plant 



