This grayish white rock seems to lie identical with a stone used by the Hawaiians very extensively as a sinker in catching cuttle fish. I once saw a pile of them, perhaps two hundred in number, gathered from many different localities. Doubtless many of them came from this mountain because at Keanakakoi close by Waiau is the quarry from which the best of the Hawaiian adzes and poi pounders were obtained. The implements made of the white stone are elliptical, flat upon the bottom and encircled by a groove along the major diameter. To this stone elegantly col ored shells like the Mauritanian cowrie (Cypraea) are fastened by a string from which large hooks are suspended. This ap paratus is sunk in shallow water where this cuttlefish has its home. The creatures are attracted by the bright colors, approach the bait and have their tentacles so entangled in the hooks that they are easily drawn to the surface and captured. The flesh of this animal constitutes a food of which others besides natives are fond.
The stone of which the adzes are made is very fine grained and compact and of a light gray color, with a darker fracture when fresh, and it flakes readily. I do not find any notice of its petrographical character, but can understand it to he a basalt with much triclinic feldspar present. There are plenty of re jects and fragments that have been chipped off from the manu factured tools about the quarry.
The plateau is so high that men and animals are muc 1 affected by mountain sickness when traversing it. Except for the ex haustion of the horses when they reach this level there is no difficulty in riding all the way from the base to the summit. The sides of the cinder cones are steep, but the route may be made circuitous, avoiding sharp grades.
Upon a clear day the view from this summit is impressive. Be sides the lowland adjacent and the contiguous summits of Mauna Loa and Hualalai, Haleakala stands out conspicuously. Mauna Loa is marked by a serrated gap, and parts of the encircling walls are distinct, the summit being about twenty miles distant.
But the most instructive view is that of the several historic lava flows, of 1843, 1852, 1855, 188o, and 1899. They are all nar row and tortuous near their sources, spreading out low down into black extensive areas almost coalescing. Besides these others of prehistoric age can be traced—and nowhere can one be more impressed by the fact that the mountain has been built up by intermittent lava flows, and can appreciate the certainty that millions of years were required to construct this eminence.
Several of the party of the Blonde ascended Mauna Kea in July, 1825, accompanied by a "missionary and botanist." Rev. Mr. Goodrich of Hilo writes of an ascent made by him August 27, 1825. He brought back specimens of the "granite" from the summit, as well as the fine grained basalt used for the manu facture of adzes. James Jackson Jarves climbed to the summit
in 1840, bringing back specimens of "augite, hornblende and olivine." He looked into Mokuaweoweo and reported that there were no signs of activity, not even ascending vapors. In the early part of January, 1841, Dr. Charles Pickering of the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, made the ascent and noted the same fea tures mentioned by his predecessors, such as the ice and several cones of volcanic origin. In a desolate gravelly plain he found a few plants suggestive of a colder climate, probably the same that were brought back by Mr. Preston and named authorita tively, such as Cystopteris fragilis, Trisetunt glomeratum, Poa anima and Deschampsia australis.
The following notes were made by me in 1886, when I made the ascent of this mountain in company with D. Howard Hitch cock, E. L. Gulick and Mr. Burt of Hilo. Reached Bougainville goo feet above sea level the evening of June 18. This is a planta tion belonging to Judge David Hitchcock, who cultivates many fruits, flowers and vegetables.
June 19. Left Bougainville at 5:3o A. M. Walked through the jungle—a fearful mass of mud too deep for safe riding. Proceeded up the flow of 1855 for fourteen miles and then veered over to the southeast slope of Mauna Kea, reaching a mountain house, Puakala, over 6,000 feet above the sea, constructed by Mr. Hitchcock. It is sixteen and a half miles in a direct line from Hilo, thirty-five by the road. Note that the lava has a greenish color, and that canyons begin to be conspicuous.
June 2o. Spent Sunday in camp. The house is built of Koa wood.
June 21-22. Delayed by stormy weather for the start. The party killed three bullocks. The lava is partly compact with a micaceous mineral—partly vesicular and partly a breccia, covered by reddish decayed volcanic ashes several feet thick, which were thought to correspond with the loess-like material seen at Hilo, and in Kau. Reached the summit later in the day. Counted twenty-three volcanic cones, mainly of lapilli, from the summit. The party somewhat affected by mountain sickness. Saw enor mous lava bombs near the summit, made of solid olivine and white basalt. Can see into the crater of Mokuaweoweo. Re turned to Puakala.
Satisfactory observations were taken with the pendulum and compared with those made at Hilo, Kalaioha, Waimea and Ka waihae. From the determination of the densities of a large col lection of rocks gathered upon Mauna Kea and other localities upon the island, Mr. Preston estimates the mean specific gravity at 2.9o. Assuming from the results of his calculations that the density of the earth is 1.77 times the density of the mountain, the mean specific gravity of the whole earth should be 5.13.