LETTER V.] 



THE HALF-WAY HOUSE, 



49 



The track, on the whole, is a perpetual upward scramble ; 

 for, though the ascent is so gradual, that it is only by the in- 

 creasing coolness of the atmosphere that the increasing eleva- 

 tion is denoted, it is really nearly 4000 feet in thirty miles. 

 Only strong, sure-footed, well-shod horses can undertake this 

 journey, for it is a constant scramble over rocks, going up or 

 down natural steps, or cautiously treading along ledges. Most 

 of the track is quite legible owing to the vegetation having 

 been worn off the lava, but the rock itself hardly shows the 

 slightest abrasion. 



Upa had indicated that we were to stop for rest at the 

 p Half Way House ; " and, as I was hardly able to sit on my 

 'horse owing to fatigue, I consoled myself by visions of a com- 

 fortable sofa and a cup of tea. It was with real dismay that I 

 found the reality to consist of a grass hut, much out of repair, 

 and which, bad as it was, was locked. Upa said we had ridden 

 so slowly that it would be dark before we reached the volcano, 

 and only allowed us to rest on the grass for half-an-hour. He 

 had frequently reiterated " Half Way house, you wear spur ; " 

 and, on our remounting, he buckled on my foot a heavy, rusty 

 Mexican spur, with jingling ornaments, and rowels an inch and 

 a half long. These horses are so accustomed to be jogged 

 with these instruments that they won't move without them. 

 The prospect of five hours' more riding looked rather black, 

 for I was much exhausted, and my shoulders and knee-joints 

 were in severe pain. Miss K.'s horse showed no other appre- 

 ciation of a stick with which she belaboured him than flourishes 

 of his tail, so, for a time, he was put in the middle, that Upa 

 might add his more forcible persuasions, and I rode first, and 

 succeeded in getting my lazy animal into the priestly amble 

 known at home as " a butter and eggs trot," the favourite tra- 

 velling pace, but this not suiting the guide's notion of progress, 

 he frequently rushed up behind with a torrent of Hawaiian, 

 emphasized by heavy thumps on my horse's back, which so 

 sorely jeopardised my seat on the animal, owing to his resent- 

 ing the interference by kicking, that I " dropped astern " for 

 the rest of the way, leaving Upa to belabour Miss K.'s steed 

 for his diversion. 



The country altered but little, only the variety of trees gave 

 place to the ohia alone, with its sombre foliage. There were 

 neither birds nor insects, and the only travellers we encoun- 

 tered in the solitude compelled us to give them a wide berth, 

 for they were a drove of half wild, random cattle, led by a lean 



