t to any one who loves
to study nature. From where we leave our horses at the head of the
valley and commence entering the mountain, every step presents new
and peculiar beauties. The most luxuriant verdure clothes the ground,
and in some places the beautifully burnished leaves of the ohia, or
native apple-tree (_Eugenia malaccensis_), almost exclude the few
rays of light that find their way down into this secluded nook. A
little farther on, and the graceful bamboo sends up its slender
stalk to a great height, mingling its dark, glossy foliage with the
silvery leaves of the kukui, or candle-nut (_Aleurites moluccana_);
these together form a striking contrast to the black walls which rise
in such sullen grandeur on each side.

Nor is the beauty of the spot confined to the luxuriant verdure,
or the stupendous walls and beetling crags. The stream itself is
beautiful. From the basin at the falls to the lowest point at which we
observed it, every succeeding step presents a delightful change. Here,
its partially confined waters burst forth with considerable force,
and struggle on among the opposing rocks for some distance; there,
collected in a little basin, its limpid waves, pure as the drops of
dew from the womb of the morning, circle round in ceaseless eddies,
until they get within the influence of the downward current, when
away they whirl, with a gurgling, happy sound, as if joyous at being
released from their temporary confinement. Again, an aged kukui,
whose trunk is white with the moss of accumulated years, throws his
broad boughs far over the stream that nourishes his vigorous roots,
casting a meridian shadow upon the surface of the water, which is
reflected back with singular distinctness from its mirrored bosom.

To every other gratification must be added the incomparable fragrance
of the fresh wood, in perpetual life and vigor, which presents a
freshness truly grateful to the senses. But it is in vain to think of
conveying an adequate idea of a scene where the sublime is mingled
with the beautiful, and the bold and striking with the delicate and
sensitive; where every sense is gratified, the mind calmed, and the
whole soul delighted.

Famed as this spot is for its natural scenic attractions, intimated
in the foregoing description, its claim of distinction with Hawaiians
is indelibly fixed by the traditions of ancient times, the narration
of which, at this point, will assist the reader to understand the
charact