Book contents
- Frontmatter
- List of Illustrations
- Errata
- Dedication
- PREFACE
- THE HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO
- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
- LETTER I
- LETTER II
- LETTER III
- LETTER IV
- LETTER V
- LETTER VI
- LETTER VII
- LETTER VIII
- LETTER IX
- LETTER X
- LETTER X.—(continued.)
- LETTER XI
- LETTER XII
- LETTER XIII
- LETTER XIV
- LETTER XV
- LETTER XVI
- LETTER XVII
- LETTER XVIII
- LETTER XIX
- LETTER XX
- LETTER XXI
- LETTER XXII
- LETTER XXIII
- LETTER XXIV
- LETTER XXV
- LETTER XXVI
- LETTER XXVII
- LETTER XXVIII
- LETTER XXIX
- LETTER XXIX.—Continued
- LETTER XXX
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN HISTORY
- Plate section
- Frontmatter
- List of Illustrations
- Errata
- Dedication
- PREFACE
- THE HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO
- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
- LETTER I
- LETTER II
- LETTER III
- LETTER IV
- LETTER V
- LETTER VI
- LETTER VII
- LETTER VIII
- LETTER IX
- LETTER X
- LETTER X.—(continued.)
- LETTER XI
- LETTER XII
- LETTER XIII
- LETTER XIV
- LETTER XV
- LETTER XVI
- LETTER XVII
- LETTER XVIII
- LETTER XIX
- LETTER XX
- LETTER XXI
- LETTER XXII
- LETTER XXIII
- LETTER XXIV
- LETTER XXV
- LETTER XXVI
- LETTER XXVII
- LETTER XXVIII
- LETTER XXIX
- LETTER XXIX.—Continued
- LETTER XXX
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN HISTORY
- Plate section
Summary
This is the height of enjoyment in travelling. I have just encamped under a lauhala tree, with my saddle inverted for a pillow, my horse tied by a long lariat to a guava bush, my gear, saddle-bags, and rations for two days lying about, and my saddle blanket drying in the sun. Overhead the sun blazes, and casts no shadow; a few fleecy clouds hover near him, and far below, the great expanse of the Pacific gleams in a deeper blue than the sky. Far above, towers the rugged and snow-patched, but no longer mysterious dome of Mauna Loa; while everywhere, ravines, woods, waterfalls, and stretches of lawnlike grass delight the eye. All green that I have ever seen, of English lawns in June, or Alpine valleys, seems poor and colourless as compared with the dazzling green of this sixty-five miles. It is a joyous green, a glory. Whenever I look up from my writing, I ask, Was there ever such green? Was there ever such sunshine? Was there ever such an atmosphere? Was there ever such an adventure? And Nature—for I have no other companion, and wish for none—answers, “No.” The novelty is that I am alone, my conveyance my own horse; no luggage to look after, for it is all in my saddle-bags; no guide to bother, hurry, or hinder me; and with knowledge enough of the country to stop when and where I please.
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- Information
- Six Months among the Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, and Volcanoes of the Sandwich IslandsThe Hawaiian Archipelago, pp. 353 - 359Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011First published in: 1875