248 



HA WAIL 



[letter XXVIII. 



activity, with the possibility of total failure owing to fog or 

 strong wind, combine to make our ascent an experimental 

 trip. 



The news of the project soon spread through the village, 

 and as the ascent has only once been performed by a woman, 

 the kindly people are profuse in offers of assistance, and in in- 

 terest in the journey, and every one is congratulating me on 

 my good fortune in having Mr. Green for my travelling com- 

 panion. I have hunted all the beach stores through for such 

 essentials as will pack into small compass, and every one 

 said, " So you are going < to the mountain j ' I hope you'll 

 have a good time;" or, " I hope you'll have the luck to 

 get up." 



Among the friends of my hosts all sorts of useful articles 

 were produced, a camp kettle, a camping blanket, a huge 

 Mexican poncho, a cardigan, capacious saddle-bags, &c. Nor 

 was Kahele' forgotten, for the last contribution was a bag of 

 oats ! The greatest difficulty was about warm clothing, for in 

 this perfect climate, woollen underclothing is not necessary 

 as in many tropical countries, but it is absolutely essential 

 on yonder mountain, and till late in the afternoon the best in- 

 tentions and the most energetic rummaging in old trunks failed 



to produce it At last Mrs. , wife of an old Scotch 



settler, bestowed upon me the invaluable loan of a stout 

 flannel shirt, and a pair of venerable worsted stockings, much 

 darned, knitted in Fifeshire a quarter of a century ago. When 

 she brought them, the excellent lady exclaimed, "Oh, 

 what some people will do ! " with an obvious personal 

 reference. 



She tells us that her husband, who owns the ranch on the 

 mountain at which we are to stay the last night, has been 

 obliged to forbid any of his natives going up as guides, and 

 that she fears we shall not get a guide, as the native who went 

 up with Mr. Whyte suffered so dreadfully from mountain sick- 

 ness, that they were obliged to help him down, and he declares 

 that he will not go up again. Mr. Whyte tells us that he 

 suffered himself from vomiting and vertigo for fourteen hours, 

 and severely from thirst also, as the water froze in the can- 

 teens; but I am almost well now, and as my capacity for 

 " roughing it " has been severely tested, I hope to " get on " 

 much better. 



A party made the ascent nine months ago, and the mem- 

 bers of it also suffered severely, but I see no reason why 



