FIG. 25. COOK'S MONUMENT ACROSS THE BAY FROM NAPOOPOO. This marks the spot where Captain Cook was killed.

times a year. It is upon Mr. Hind's place that is found the tree cotton or kokio (Kokia Rockii), a peculiar plant allied to the cotton, with gorgeous crimson flowers about four inches long (Fig. 23). The trees are scattered in the scrubby timber on rough lava southwest of Mr. Hind's house, but are not known to grow elsewhere. There is also here a forest of halapepe (Dracaena aurea), a liliaceous tree resembling some of our western yuccas (Fig. 24). The leaves are fed to cattle when there is a shortage of forage.

The next stop was made near Honaunau in South Kona, at the place of Mr. Jared Smith, formerly director of the Hawaiian Experiment Station. Mr. Smith kindly placed his cottage at our disposal. Being directly west of Mauna Loa, we made a

trip up through the rain forest to an altitude of about 3,000 feet. Ferns were here the dominating feature-a bewildering variety. Near Honaunau is Napoopoo, across the bay from which is the monument (Fig. 25) erected to mark the spot where Captain Cook was killed by the natives in 1779. At Honaunau on the coast is the City of Refuge, an enclosure used by the early Hawaiians as a sanctuary to which those in peril might flee for protection. The walls are twelve feet high and fifteen feet thick (Fig. 26).

We were taken by automobile over an excellent road around the south side of the island to the Crater Hotel near the volcano of Kilauea. The crater is at an altitude of about 4,000 feet and measures about three miles from north to south and two miles from east to west, the floor being nearly 500 feet below the rim (Figs. 27, 28). Near the south end of the crater is the lava pit, called Halemaumau, in which the liquid lava is now in a state of activity, boiling and splashing, and throwing up great fountains of spray. It is one of the most marvelous natural phenomena it has been my good fortune to observe. The view at night is especially wonderful. The red-hot lava breaks on the shores of the lake with a sound like breakers on the seacoast. Fortunately the lake can be viewed in safety from the rim, as the upheaval of the contents is not violent enough to endanger the onlookers.

FIG. 26. CITY OF REFUGE, HONAUNAU. "A stone wall twelve feet high and fifteen feet thick encloses seven acres of tabu ground; to such sanctuaries women and children, warriors worsted in battle, criminals and others in peril might flee for safety from their avengers." (Bryan, "Natural History of Hawaii.")

With the aid of Mr. Short, the kindly keeper of the Crater Hotel, we arranged for the ascent of Mauna Loa. Two saddle horses and a pack horse were obtained at the Dent Ranch near the volcano. We went without a guide, taking bedding and enough food for three days. We reached a resthouse on the east flank of the mountain at an altitude of about 10,000 feet, where we remained for the two nights. The resthouse contains

cooking utensils, a few articles of furniture, and an oil stove with a supply of oil. Water is supplied from a rainwater tank.

We started on the ascent as soon as it was light the following morning, taking a canteen of water, a light lunch, the plant pick, and our large camera with its tripod. There is no definite trail, but the way is marked by monuments. For three or four miles these monuments are staffs with white metal disks, but beyond this there are piles of stones with a white rag fastened around the uppermost stone. The lava is very rough and is very wearing upon the shoes. There seems almost an infinite variety of lava (Fig. 29) and there are many caves, craters and chasms that attract one for further exploration. Bubbly lava, covering large areas, is tiresome or even dangerous to traverse. What appears to be a hard surface proves to be a thin coating

FIG. 29. LAVA FORMATION ON MAUNA LOA (pahoehoe or smooth lava).

over air spaces varying in depth, but usually not over fifteen or twenty inches. The sudden fall through the crust produces a very disconcerting sensation. Dangerous chasms and caves abound, but may be avoided in the day time by using normal caution. The crater at the summit, a distance of about ten miles from the resthouse, was reached about 2:30 P.M. Time did not permit a descent into the crater, but photographs were taken giving a general view with snowbanks in the distance. About half an hour was spent here. One of my shoes had been dangerously worn on the sole, though thickly hob-nailed. It

became necessary to do something to the shoe to protect the sole. Fortunately I had found a discarded fruit can which we were able to utilize for the purpose, otherwise I should have been in a dangerous condition, miles from the resthouse, on rough lava, with my foot unprotected. We commenced the return at 3:00 P.M., but were able to traverse only about half the distance before being overtaken by darkness. Little progress could now be made until the nearly full moon rose about 7:00 P.M. As