Ascent of Mauna Haleakala

ASCENT OF MAUNA HALEAKALA. MOUNTAIN OF THE "HOUSE OF THE SUN." BY W. W. CLUFF, MISSIONARY TO HAWAII IN 1854-58 AND IN 1864. This grand mountain is located on East Maui, the second largest island in the Hawaiian group. Haleakala is probably ten thousand feet above sea level, rising gradually, on three sides from the seashore, a distance of twenty to thirty miles. On the northwest side and extending from sea to sea, is the beautiful plain of Kahului. This valley, or plain, only fifty feet above sea level, is twelve to fifteen miles in width, and separates the high precipitous mountains of We3fc Maui from Haleakala on the east. This now fertile plain, for more than a thousand years past, has been the scene, perhaps, of a hundred bloody battles. Tne blood of tens of thousands of brave warriors has contributed to the enrichment of the soil. In this fertile valley, or plain, Mr. Glaus Spreckles, the "sugar king of the Sandwich Islands," owns and operates the largest sugar plantation in the world. In the top of Haleakala is the largest extinct volcano in the known world. The rim of the cauldron, or pit, being over twenty miles in circumference, and the pit itself more than two thousand feet deep. On the west side of this mountain, and well up its base, overlooking the beautiful plain and extensive cane fields below, is the native village of Kula. This town is renowned as being the place where, in 1851, Elder George Q. Cannon baptized the first native Hawaiian into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1857, the writer, in company with two other elders and three native guides, arranged to go up to the top of this great

A SCENT OF MA UNA HA LEA KALA. 415 mountain and view the wonderful "palace of the sun"—the now slumbering, but once mighty volcano! Having secured good, sure-footed saddle horses, provisions, and a blanket each, to guard against the cold in that high and rare atmosphere, we started, in the early morning, on the long, tedious ascent. The bridle path, or trail, often leading through dense underbrush and creeping vines; over ancient flows of lava, deeply furrowed and broken and so rough and precipitous, in places, that, had our animals not been remarkably sure-footed, it might have cost us broken limbs, if not our lives. High ridges of this lava rock and deep rugged ravines, caused by melted lava flowing down from the great crater above centuries ago, had to be crossed. Wending our way slowly up and over these impediments— unmistakable evidences of the wonderful forces of nature, which had, during many ages, no doubt, built this stupendous pyramid, as compared with which, the greatest monuments ever erected by man—the "Pyramids of Egypt" and "Tower of Babel"—sank into comparative insignificance. The material used by the sublime forces of nature in the erection of this grand, majestic pyramid, which will stand while the earth continues to revolve upon its axis, were forced up from the bowels of the earth many miles below the bottom of the ocean, and which, by a chemical process known to the Master Builder, was dissolved to a liquid and laid, layer upon layer, until this huge pile had attained a height of probably ten thousand feet, and whose base is over one hundred miles in circumference. Thunder, lightning, wind and rain, have combined for ages— constantly bringing their united forces to bear upon its escarped top without any perceptible diminution. According to Hawaiian tradition, the great architect of this and similar monuments, varying, however, greatly in size, on these islands, was "Pele, the beautiful and powerful goddess of volcanoes;" who, under the "great god Kane"' built, first, the island of Kauai, then Niihau, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, and Maui where for centuries she had her "sacred abode in this great Haleakala." Finally, wishing still to improve on her wonderful past achievements, she moved again to the southeast—her regular course—

416 IMPROVEMENT ERA. where she certainly did excel all her former work, by building the island of Hawaii, which is two-thirds as large as all the others combined. As a crowning effort she has erected on this island— Hawaii—three huge pyramidal monuments, either of which excel in height the "palace of the sun." In one of these she has her present abode, viz; in Kilauea, the largest constantly active volcano in the world. Here she now sits enthroned, the mightiest of all the goddesses! Here in the great living crater of Kilauea you may visit her in her new home, and where sometimes, as a very special favor, the goddess, it is said, will permit mortal eye to behold her royal person. Pele was the patron saintess of the great conqueror Kamehameha, through whose wonderful power and influence he is said to have gained many of hi? great victories during his wars of conquest and subjugation of all these islands—as one notable instance will prove. An army of four thousand warriors, led by an opposing chief, undertook to make a short cut off by an unfrequented route through the mountaios, by which means he thought to be able to take the wary Kamehameha by surprise. Enroute, this army camped at the foot of the mountain of Kilauea and during the night a great eruption broke out, and through the flowing lava, and the deadening sulphur fumes, almost the entire army perished. Thus Pele vindicated the faith Kamehameha reposed in her. On the recommendation of one of the immediate descendants of that greatly favored warrior and king—the Hawaiian will -tell you—a white man, who it is well known is a true and tried friend of the Hawaiian people, has, on a few special occasions, been permitted to behold that wonderful goddess, arrayed in her brilliant queenly apparel, gorgeou.-ly bespangled with liquid fire, as she sometimes appears on the surface of the molten lake of Kilauea* at night! A near relative of the writer claims to have been one of those favored few! He describes the event and scene as follows: Standing on the rim of the great cauldron of Kilauea one beautiful star-light night, a thick vapory mist of burning sulphur almost, entirely hid from view the lake of seething, surging, molt-

ASCENT OF MAUNA HALEAKALA. 417 en lava. In bia disappointment In- appealed earnestly to her Majesty of the deep fiery pit) Bssnring bar highnnas that be bad spent many years, in his youth and mature manhood, among her beloved Hawaiian subjects, whom he had learned to sincerely love- devoting years of his life trying to do them good—that he had beheld with admiration her wonderful achievements, in forming and shaping those beautiful islands which he dearly loved; therefore, he trusted she would graciously grant him the inestimable pleasure of beholding her Majesty on that occasion—that he could not be wholly unworthy of such favor from her Majesty; he having obtained letters of recommendation from her Royal Highness, Princess Ruth, the only surviving niece of the great Kamehameha! While thus imploring Pele, the sulphurous vapor slowly commenced to rise, revealing the brilliant.molten lake, on whese whiteheated, glowing surface, innumerable Nymph-like fairies went flitting and dancing along, sometimes suspended in air, then skipping and circling on its surface, seemingly highly delighted with their own fantastic movements and joyous sports. As he stood gazing at these gay and fairy-like dancers, he observed in the midst of them a commotion on the surface of the now placid lake; this slight disturbance sent numerous little ringlet waves which extended out as far as the fairy group of dancers; in the centre of this commotion, great bubbles floated on the surface, and in the midst of them, a pillar of lava arose some feet in air, which, however, soon settled back, blending again with the liquid element; when lo! there stood Pele, suspended in air, a few feet above the surface, in all her regal glory; queenly in very deed! Her outer robes hanging in massive folds over her shoulders and down her sides to her feet, literally bespangled with liquid fire! Her inner garment being of thin white gauze, slightly tinged a lightish blue, through which could faintly be discerned the outlines of a most perfect female form, a veritable Cleopatra, as that renowned, queenly personage appeared before Mark Antony! In her right hand she held a scroll. Only for a brief moment were mortal eyes permitted to gaze on the angelic form; the beautiful, mythical, divinity; the "Goddess of Volcanoes!" "The vapory sulphur cloud again settled down over the molten lake, and shut out the entrancing scene!"

418 IMPROVEMENT ERA. The phenomena above described is produced from perfectly natural causes, and may frequently be seen when looking down on the molten lake of an active volcano, at night. The gas jets coming up through the liquid lava, from the bottom of the crater, will produce a disturbance and bubbling on the placid surface; accompanying these gas jets is a sulphurous vapor, which, on coming in contact with the air, is curled and twisted into many fantastic shapes and forms. The glow of livid heat from the intensely heated lava is reflected on those vapory forms and unique images, twisting and coloring them with all the gorgeous hues of the rainbow! What would be more natural to a mystic-minded Hawaiian than to imagine them spirits from the shadowy deep,—the abode of Pele? When about half way to the top of the mountain, our guide, pointing off to the left of our trail to a beautiful sylvan bower in a deep rugged ravine, said: "Down in that shady grove, according to ancient Hawaiian legend, the Goddess Pele was wont to come up out of her deep fiery abode in Haleakala, and clandestinely meet and woo a mortal prince of Maui, in that deep shadowy glen!" Because the profane lovers' clandestine meetings had become so frequent and notorious, the gods through envy and jealousy caused the profane and presumptuous lovers to turn to pillars of stone! "There," said the guide, "in that secluded spot, you can still see their stone statues, standing in the attitude of lovers!" "That winding path," said he, "will lead you down to the spot" Still toiling on and up, we reached the "caves"—a noted camping place for tourists—about one mile from the top. just as the sun was sinking beneath the blue sea in the western horizon. It was a grand sight to witness the sun set from that great height. It was blood red, and apparently three times its normal size. We remained over night in the "caves." The air was light and rarified, and breathing was quite difficult; our blankets served us well that night. We were to start at daylight the next morning, hoping to reach the summit in time to see the sun rise, which is said to be a sight of sublime grandeur when viewed from the "palace of the sun"'—the mythical abode of the king of all the heavenly planets!

ASCENT OF MAUNA 11 ALEAK ALA. 419 Leaving our animals at the "caves," we proceeded on foot, the ascent being much more difficult the remaining distance. The writer being more eager, perhaps, than his companions, Started out as soon as the path wan visible, and, being I fleet walker, greatly out-distanced the rest of the party. When within half a mile of the top, on looking off on the ocean, I saw a dense cloud mass had formed, entirely shutting out a view of the sea. Looking down on this dense bank of foggy clouds, extending from the base of the mountain as far out over the sea as the eye could reach, the scene was, as I imagined, like the vast fields of ice and snow in the arctic regions. Looking off over this dreary, billowy plain, as it appeared to me from that great height, it did not require much strain on the imagination to fancy I could see the Eskimo with his dog-sled gliding over billowy ice fields in pursuit of seals and the polar bear! While contemplating this dreary scene, I observed the whole cloud bank gradually raising and extending up the side of the mountain, shutting out entirely from view every object below the dense surface, thus forcing the apprehension that it might extend up to where I was, and shut out the entire landscape, making our long, tedious climbing in vain; so, I redoubled my efforts in the hope of reaching the summit first and getting a brief view, at least, of the great crater. Judge of my great disappointment, however, when within two or three hundred yards of the top, the dense mass overtook me, and I found myself completely enveloped in a great, thick cloud, about ten thousand feet above the world below. After resting a short time, I determined to grope my way forward and, if possible, reach the destined goal. It must be admitted, however, that it was not without some fear, that if successful in reaching the top in that dense fog there was danger of falling over the precipice and down into that great abyss, two thousand feet below! The ground being faintly visible for a few feet around me, I decided to make the attempt, and did succeed in reaching the summit right at the spot where Vancouver, sixty-five years before, erected a rude stone monument, which was still standing. Kneeling at the foot of this monument, I earnestly implored the great Ruhr of the universe to cause the clouds to disperse, and permit me, his humble servant, if not unworthy, to

420 IMPROVEMENT ERA. behold the wonderful scene, now at my very feet, which had been so marvelously wrought, in ages past, through his immaculate laws! In the meantime the sun had arisen, though obscured by the fog. With the sun came a light breeze from the ocean up the side of the mountain; the two combined soon caused the mass of fog to break into great blocks, and these were wafted up the side of the mountain, and on reaching the crest were hurled down into the great chasm, where they were rolled, tumbled, and twisted by the currents of the air into all imaginable shapes and forms, producing one of the grandest, most sublime, yet most weird scenes that mortal eye ever beheld. Standing near the rude monument, and looking down into that vast cauldron, glimpses of which could now be seen through the rifts of those great blocks of rolling and tumbling clouds, my whole being was filled with awe-inspiring thought, wonder and amazement. Hundreds of cone-shaped hills were interspersed over the bottom of the great crater, varying in height from three to five hundred feet. In the top of each of these is also a pit, or crater, extending well down to their base; thus they were, in fact, so many small craters within the greater. These numerous small volcanoes had evidently served as vent holes, thrown up after the internal forces had become so far spent that the great crater had ceased to overflow. As the fragmented clouds were being wafted through the great pit, on reaching these escarped pinnacles, or cone-hills, they would dart up their steep sides, and sweep down into their chasms, but were almost immediately forced up again by returning currents. The sun's bright rays now began to penetrate the rifts in the now broken and torn clouds, tinting and gilding their tattered edges with silver, purple and gold; thus greatly intensifying the grandeur of the scene. As these gorgeously tinted clouds were carried by strong currents of air, they passed over and around these numerous small craters,—sometimes floating high and above their crested peaks, turning and curling into many fantastic shapes, some resembling huge birds of brilliant plumage. No description of "Aladdin's Cave" could excel the various picturesque views that were there kaleidoscoped in this great slumbering volcano of Hale-

ASCENT OF MAUN A HALBAKALA. 421 akala! The scene was indeed entrancing—a perfect "fairy land!" When all these clouds had dispersed or dissolved, how changed the scene! One could then look down into that wonderful crat«r, whose bottom covered an area of seven square miles, and which had every appearance of having but recently passed through the "fiery furnace." The sun, now unobstructed, poured his scorching rays down into the deep chasm, reflecting a shimmering on the darkened scoria, or volcanic ash, of which the whole interior is composed. The scene was one of desolation and death, not a living thing— animal or vegetable—to relieve the dreariness; solitude was supreme; while grand, it was weird and awe-inspiring. In contemplating this now dead and slumbering, mighty volcano, whose fires had been extinct perhaps for ages, and calling up in the mind a time when it was active, and this great cauldron was a sea of liquid fire, the mind of man is incapable of conceiving the vastness of the wonderful forces which could produce such stupendous results! Death, with all its solemnity, now reigns supreme; fire did iU work effectually; every gas or other element that fed it was exhausted; hence it must have died out from natural causes. It is claimed, we believe, by astronomers, that our moon is a "dead planet;" if that be true, then it must have been consumed by fire; certainly no other destructive element could produce such a result! Death, in all its forms, is always sad and solemn. In looking upon the death scene in Haleakala, where the life went out centuries ago, even now, in contemplating the vast wastes of desolation, still lying silent and slumbering, the mind is tilled with commiseration and the eye sheds a silent tear! 0 solitude—thou art sublime! 0 death—thou art solemn! Silence and sadness fill the human heart while gazing upon the mighty and dead volcano of Haleakala! Coalville, Utah.