“Here (at ’Kaalimaile,’ perhaps the Haliimaile of today) we tarried overnight, intending, in the morning, to ascend the mountain, near which we were, and sleep on the highest land on Maui. We were told by the natives, that the way was long, but the ascent very easy. We suppose no English travellers had ever ascended this mountain.
“21. We rose early, and prepared for our ascent. Having procured a guide, we set out; taking only a scanty supply of provisions. Half way up the mountain, we found plenty of good water, and, at a convenient fountain, we filled our calabash for tea. By the sides of our path, we found plenty of ohelos, (a juicy berry, very palatable,) and, occasionally, a cluster of strawberries. On the lower part of the mountain, there is considerable timber; but as we proceeded, it became scarce; and, as we approached the summit, almost the only thing, of the vegetable kind, which we saw, was a plant which grew to the height of six or eight feet, and produced a most beautiful flower. It seems to be peculiar to this mountain, as our guide and servants made ornaments of it for their hats, to demonstrate to those below, that they had been to the top of the mountain.
“It was nearly 5 o’clock, when we reached the summit; but we felt ourselves richly repaid for the toil of the day, by the grandeur and beauty of the scene, which at once opened up to our view. The day was very fine. The clouds, which hung over the mountains on West Maui, and which were scattered promiscuously, between us and the sea, were far below us; so that we saw the upper side of them, while the reflection of the sun painting their verge with varied tints, made them appear like enchantment. We gazed on them with admiration, and longed for the pencil of Raphael, to give perpetuity to a prospect, which awakened in our bosoms unutterable emotions. On the other side, we beheld the seat of Pele’s dreadful reign. We stood on the edge of a tremendous crater, down which, a single misstep would have precipitated us, 1,000 or 1,500 feet. This was once filled with liquid fire, and in it, we counted sixteen extinguished craters. To complete the grandeur of the scene, Mouna Kea, and Mouna Roa lifted their lofty summits, and convinced us, that, though far above the clouds, we were far below the feet of the traveller who ascends the mountains of Hawaii. By this time, the sun was nearly sunk in the Pacific; and we looked around for a shelter during the night. Our guide and other attendants we had left far behind; and we reluctantly began our descent, keeping along on the edge of the crater.
“After descending about a mile, we met the poor fellows, who were hobbling along on the sharp lava, as fast as their feet would suffer them. They were glad to stop for the night, though they complained of the cold. We kindled a fire, and preparations were made for tea and lodgings. The former we obtained with little trouble. We boiled part of a chicken, roasted a few potatoes, and, gathering round the fire, we made a comfortable meal; but the place of lodging, we obtained with some difficulty. At length, we spread our mats and blankets in a small yard, enclosed, probably, by natives, when passing from one side of the island to the other. We were within twenty-feet of the precipice, and the wind whistled across the valley, forcibly reminding us of a November evening in New England. The thermometer had fallen from 77 to 43* (*The next morning, the thermometer stood at 40.), and we shivered with the cold. The night was long and comfortless.
“22. Early in the morning, we arose, and reascended the mountain, to its summit, and contemplated the beauties of the rising sun, and gazed a while longer, on the scenery before us. There seemed to be but two places, where the lava had found a passage to the sea, and through these channels, it must have rushed with tremendous velocity. Not having an instrument, we were unable to ascertain the height of the mountain. We presume it would not fall short of 10,000 feet.* (*This, I believe, is the height at which it has generally been estimated.) The circumference of the great crater, we judged to be no less than fifteen miles. We were anxious to remain longer, that we might descend into the crater, examine the appearance of things below, and ascend other eminences; but as we were nearly out of provisions, and our work but just commenced, we finished our chicken and tea, and began our descent.
“Nothing remarkable occurred, on our way down....”
The United States Exploring Expedition under the command of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, USN, visited Hawaii in 1840 and 1841. On February 15, 1841, Wilkes dispatched Messrs. Pickering, Drayton, and Breckenridge from Hilo to explore Maui. They were joined at Lahaina by Rev. Andrews, his son, four students of the seminary, and six kanakas to carry their food. At Wailuku they were joined by Mr. Bailey (see [page 40]). They spent the night at an elevation of 1,692 feet on the sugar plantation of Lane and Minor, two Bostonians. The story of their ascent, which is the second recorded, is told by quoting from their report:[7]
“The next day, the party set out at an early hour, in hopes of reaching the summit, but it began to rain violently, in consequence of which they took shelter in a large cave, at an altitude of eight thousand and ninety feet. Here many interesting plants were found, among which were two species of Pelargonium, one with dark crimson, the other with lilac flowers; the Argyroziphium began to disappear as they ascended, and its place was taken up by the silky species, which is only found at high altitudes. From the cave to the summit they found shrubby plants, consisting of Epacris, Vaccinium, Edwardsia, Compositae, and various rubiaceous plants.
“On their arrival at the edge of the crater, on the summit, the clouds were driving with great velocity through it, and completely concealed its extent. The height, as ascertained by the barometer, was ten thousand two hundred feet. The driving of the sleet before the strong gale soon affected the missionaries and native students, the latter of whom for the first time, felt the effects of cold. The limit-line of woods was ascertained to be at six thousand five hundred feet.
“Some sandalwood bushes were noticed about five hundred feet above the cave. Above the cave the ground assumed a more stony appearance, and the rock became now and then more visible, which had not before been the case. Where the rock was exposed it was found to be lava more or less vesicular, but no regular stream was observed. The surface of the lava appeared to be more thickly covered with earth than that of Mauna Kea, and consequently a greater proportion of soil existed, as well as a thick coating of gravel. Near the summit, bullock-tracks were observed, and likewise those of wild dogs, but no other animals were seen except a few goats.