52 



HAWAIIAN GUIDE BOOK. 



pasture and wood, the road, which at first is good, 

 growing worse and worse, until in the Hamakua swamp, 

 he reaches the worst road in the Kingdom, consisting of 

 an unbroken series of ridges formed by the feet of ani- 

 mals, their hoofs sinking into the mud so deep that their 

 bellies rest on the ridges. After getting through the 

 swamp, the road lies over pahs and through valleys not 

 less than twenty, some high up where the horizon is 

 fifty miles at sea, and the bottom of the ravines, thous- 

 ands of feet below ; so on up and down, over ridges and 

 through deep canyons that may appropriately be called 



THE SWITZERLAND OF HAWAII. 



" Nothing can be more enchanting than this wild and 

 ever changing panorama.* Each valley that we enter 

 seems more charming than the one just passed — some 

 new and more fascinating scenery, some more singular 

 precipice or mountain spur, some more beautiful water- 

 fall or cascade is ever attracting the eye. From the 

 sea-shore to the mountain summit, stretch dense forests 

 of tropical growth, in places a perfect jungle, the dark 

 green of the orange, koa, pandanus, and ohia, forming 

 a marked contrast to the bright silvery leaf of the ku- 

 kui. One of the most beautiful valleys is that of Waio- 

 huli, about eight miles west of Nahinu. Several streams 

 come rushing down from the mountain and their course 

 can be traced far up, by the frequent waterfalls and cas- 

 cades, which appear very picturesque among the dense 

 foliage around them. When it rains here, the drops 

 fall merrily, and in an hour the effect is apparent in the 

 rapid, swollen streams. Frequently after a day's rain, 



• From a sketch by the Editor, published in 1868, In the Advertiser. 



