176 XATl'RAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



the distance. Evory liiiMi in the street invites one to linger or to turn aside 

 and explore. The sulxhied sound of a nearby waterfall, the g-urgie of the shin- 

 ing river, the calling of the l)irds, the trees, the Howers, the twining vines, all 

 cast a spell of peace and t-ontentment over the place and make one feel he 

 could stay, yes, live, and he happy forever in tliis enchanted little city hy the sea. 

 The natural points of special interest near Ililo for a tourist and a natural- 

 ist arc Coeoanut Island, Rainbow Falls, Onomea Gulch and Arch, the Akaka 

 Falls,^- at Ilonomu. and the Kaumana caves in the flow of 1881, — caves that are 

 in reality great tunnels left by the escape of the lava from the conduits that 

 brought it down from the mountain in the distance. From Hilo it is possible 

 to visit the Puna district and the flow of 1810 as a side trip. The railroad to 

 Kapoho passes over this interesting surface outbreak described above and fur- 

 nishes an opportunity for its inspection. The district is also famous for the lava 

 tree casts caused l)y tlie lava flowing through t!ie forests at Kapoho ; the Green 

 lake in a small extinct crater and the famous heiau, Wahaula.^^ A warm 

 spring witli a small pool in which the water is constantly at a temperature of 

 blood heat, ;ind a number of small craters are all objects of interest. 



The Ascent of Kilauea. 



The journey from Hilo to the volcano may be made by the railway or by 

 the wagon road. By train one may go to Glenwood, twenty-two miles on the 

 jnui-ney. As the train rumbles along over a good road bed, through immense 

 plantations of sugar-cane, and splendid forests of hard-\vood timber, by flourish- 

 ing mills and quiet retreats, one wonders if, after all, there has not been some 

 mistake, for nowhere can one see signs of the devastation by quaking earth and 

 blazing flood that are so intimately associated Avith the popular idea of a great 

 active volcano. 



The whole journey from Hilo to the crater can l)e made by automobile. 

 If the railway route be taken after the transfer at Glenwood, for an hour the 

 auto winds up over a gradually ascending macadam road, through a delightful 

 tropical forest. The splendid woods with wonderful clinging vines produce a 

 jungle of flowers and trees and shrubs and ferns. Great feathery fern trees 

 lean out over the road so that the auto is driven beneath them. Occasionally 

 these giant ferns grow into a veritable forest with many trees thirty or forty 

 feet in height. Along the roadside bright flowers spring \\\) that are often 

 familiar flowers run wild. Here a clump of Cannas or a bunch of fragrant 

 ginger; there a tangle of beautiful roses that have escaped from some abandoned 

 garden ; farther on are great masses of nasturtium and wild morning-glories. 

 Objects of especial interest are the Avild berries and the bananas l)y the wayside. 

 Thimble berries abound and are recognized as great glorified raspberries — an 

 inch or more in diameter. The ohelo, an upland cranberry, grows in patches 



12 500 feet. 



A model of this liciau that the writer assisted in assembling, may be seen in tlie Bishop Museum. 



