HOLIDAYS IN HAWAII 



in the clouds. At Idlewild our expedition, consist- 

 ing of six mules and four people, was fitted out, and 

 in the early afternoon we started on the trail up tlie 

 mountain. 



For several miles our way led over grassy slopes 

 where cattle were grazing, and above which sky- 

 larks were singing. This w^as one of the happy sur- 

 prises of the trip — the soaring and singing sky- 

 larks. All the way till we reached the cloud-belt, 

 we had the larks pouring down their music from the 

 sky above us. They seemed specially jubilant. It 

 was May in England, too, and they sang as though 

 the spirit of those downs and fells was stirring in 

 their hearts, under alien skies, but true to the mem- 

 ories of home. 



Before we reached the summit we came upon an- 

 other introduction from overseas — the English 

 pheasant. One started up from some bushes only a 

 few yards from the trail, went booming away, and 

 disappeared in a deep gully. A little later another 

 sprang up, uttering a cackling cry as it flew away. 

 We saw three altogether. The only home thing we 

 saw was white clover in patches here and there, and 

 it gave a most welcome touch to the unfamiliar 

 scenes. 



The cattle we passed on the way were suffering 

 dreadfully from another introduction from the States 

 — the Texas horn-fly, w^hich had recently made its 

 appearance. The poor beasts were driven half- 



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