LETTER X. — continued. 



The Waipio Fall — "Bessie Twinker" — William Wallace-^Cities of 

 Refuge — Human Sacrifices — Legendaiy Tyrants. 



We were thoroughly rested this morning, and very glad of a 

 fine day for a visit to the great cascade, which is rarely seen by 

 foreigners. My mule was slightly galled with the girth, and 

 having a strong fellow feeling with Elisha's servant, "Alas, 

 master, for it was borrowed ! " I have bought for $20 a pretty, 

 light, half-broken bay mare, which I rode to-day and liked 

 much. 



After breakfast, which was a repetition of last night's supper, 

 we three, with Halemanu's daughter as guide, left on horseback 

 for the waterfall, though the natives tried to dissuade us by 

 saying that stones came down, and it was dangerous ; also that 

 people could not go in their clothes, there was so much wading. 

 In deference to this last opinion, D. rode without boots, and 

 I without stockings. We rode through the beautiful valley till 

 we reached a deep gorge turning off from it, which opens out 

 into a nearly circular chasm with walls 2,000 feet in height, 

 where we tethered our horses. A short time after leaving them, 

 D. said, " She says we can't go further in our clothes," but when 

 the natives saw me plunge boldly into the river in my riding 

 dress, which is really not unlike a fashionable, Newport bathing 

 suit, they thought better of it. It was a thoroughly rough tramp, 

 wading ten times through the river, which was sometimes up to 

 our knees, and sometimes to our waists, and besides the fighting 

 among slippery rocks in rushing water, we had to crawl and 

 slide up and down wet, mossy masses of dislodged rock, to 

 push with eyes shut through wet jungles of Indian shot, guava, 

 and a thorny vine, and sometimes to climb from tree to tree at 

 a considerable height. When, after an hour's fighting we 

 arrived in sight of the cascade, but not of the basin into which 

 it falls, our pretty guide declined to go further, saying that the 



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