Captain James Cook discovered Maui on November 26, 1778, as he sailed
southwestward from Alaska on his last voyage. His record for the day
gives us the first description of Haleakala: "An elevated hill appeared
in the country, whose summit rose above the clouds. The land, from this
hill, fell in a gradual slope, terminating in a steep, rocky coast; the
sea breaking against it in a most dreadful surf.... On the 30th ...
another island was seen to the windward, called, by the natives,
_Owhyhee_. That along which we had been for some days, was called
_Mowee_."[3]
After sailing along the eastern and southern coasts of the island of
Hawaii in its two armed ships, _Resolution_ and _Discovery_, the
expedition landed at Kealakekua Bay on January 17, 1779. Captain Cook
was worshipped as the incarnation of the god Lono, but he overstayed his
welcome, ill-will and violence taking its place. A climax was reached
over the theft of a ship's cutter, which was broken up merely for its
nails and ironware. On February 14, Cook tried to seize the aged king
Kalaniopuu to hold as a hostage until reparation was made. In the
scuffle that ensued, the Great Mariner was killed by an _alii_, who
thrust quite through his back an iron dagger, a chief article of trade
of the Expedition. Upon departure toward the northwest, the survivors
reached Maalaea Bay on February 24, on which date the journal remarks
about Maui: "This side of the island forms the same distant view as the
north-east; ... the hilly parts, connected by a low flat isthmus,
having, at the first view, the appearance of two separate islands."
The ill-fated French explorer, Count Jean Francois de Galaup de la
Perouse, arrived with his two frigates on May 28, 1786, in the bay
southwest of Haleakala that today bears his name. He recorded: "At every
instant we had just cause to regret the country we had left behind us;
and to add to our mortification, we did not find an anchoring place well
sheltered till we came to a dismal coast where torrents of lava had
formerly flowed like the cascades which pour forth their water in other
parts of the island."[4] This reference is to the latest flows of
Haleakala. See page 37.
On Vancouver's first exploring expedition to the islands, Edward Bell
made the following entry for March 6, 1792 in the log of the _Chatham_:
"... the south shore ... had by no means a very inviting appearance,--it
was remarkably high and seemed extremely barren;--from the top of the
Mountains to the waters edge are deep Gullies or ruts form'd I suppose
by the water running down,--and there appeared but little wood on this
side (except towards the Top) and as little Cultivation, here and there
we saw a few Huts and a small Village, several of which appeared half
way up."
On Vancouver's next visit, Thomas Manby recorded in the journal for
March 10, 1793: "... south side of the island which presented a prospect
not very grateful to the eye as the land was high and rugged with
frequent mounds of Cinders caused by volcanic eruptions." On March 14,
1793, the botanist A. Menzies, with some of Vancouver's crew, climbed a
valley back of Lahaina and made botanical observations.
When the first missionaries from New England came to Hawaii, Elisha
Loomis, a printer, remarked in his journal for March 30, 1820: "As we
double the northern extremity of Owhyhee the lofty heights of Maui are
on our right." The spelling, Maui, is evidently a correction made later,
as the original spelling appears elsewhere in early missionary usage.
Already by 1822, the members of this expedition had adopted the five
vowels and seven consonants of the Romance languages used today in
reducing the Hawaiian language to writing and printing. Thus, the
confusion of earlier English writers was dispelled.
Lorrin Andrews and Jonathan F. Green, ordained missionaries, and Dr.
Gerrit P. Judd, physician, were with the third mission from New England.
They arrived in Honolulu on March 30, 1828. They visited Rev. William
Richards in Lahaina and toured Maui the following summer. Extracts
concerning the trip of Dr. and Mrs. Judd were published in 1880 with an
introductory note by Albert Francis Judd, a son. In the preface, dated
May 1861, Mrs. Judd states that the sketches were "culled and abridged
from a mass of papers" without pretense of writing a history. Under the
date of July 1828, the narrative relates a Fourth of July excursion and
includes: "The mountain on the east division is Haleakala (house of the
sun), and is the largest crater in the world, but is not in action."[5]
Unfortunately, the original notes have been lost, and the reference to
the mountain by name must have been inserted at a much later date in
preparing the manuscript for publication. It would be hard to believe
that Mrs. Judd could possibly have started the fiction, "largest crater
on earth," at the early date of 1828. The Judds did not climb the
mountain during their visit, and Hawaiians were not in a position to
make comparisons among craters of the world.
On August 21, 1828, Richards, Andrews, and Green made the first recorded
ascent of Haleakala. They could not have known a name for the mountain,
for they refer to it only as "the highest land on Maui" and as "an
extinct volcano." Not until six years later was their account published.
The following quotations relate to their trip:[6] "Mr. Richards had for
years been particularly desirous of making the tour of this island for
the purpose of examining and improving the schools, etc., but having
been alone, it has hitherto been impracticable for him to leave his
family for a sufficient length of time. During the present season this
object has been accomplished." Mr. Richards had arrived in Hawaii in
1823, and had taken over the mission in Lahaina shortly afterwards at
the request of Queen Keopuolani. He had not mentioned the big mountain
in previous correspondence and reports.
"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.
"The crater of Haleakala, if so it may be called, is a deep gorge, open
at the north and east, forming a kind of elbow: the bottom of it, as
ascertained by the barometer, was two thousand seven hundred and
eighty-three feet below the summit peak, and two thousand and
ninety-three feet below the wall. Although its sides are steep, yet a
descent is practicable at almost any part of it. The inside of the
crater was entirely bare of vegetation, and from its bottom arose some
large hills of scoria and sand: some of the latter are of an ochre-red
colour at the summit, with small craters in the centre. All bore the
appearance of volcanic action, but the natives have no tradition of an
eruption. It was said, however, that in former times the dread goddess
Pele had her habitation here, but was driven out by the sea, and then
took up her abode on Hawaii, where she has ever since remained. Can this
legend refer to a time when the volcanoes of Maui were in activity?
"The gravel that occurred on the top was composed of small angular
pieces of cellular lava, resembling comminuted mineral coal. The rock
was of the same character as that seen below, containing irregular
cavities rather than vesicles. Sometimes grains of chrysolite and
horn-blende were disseminated. In some spots the rock was observed to be
compact, and had the appearance of argillite or slate: this variety
occurred here chiefly in blocks, but was also seen in situ. It affords
the whetstones of the natives, and marks were seen which they had left
in procuring them.
"Of the origin of the name Mauna Haleakala, or the House of the Sun, I
could not obtain any information. Some of the residents thought it might
be derived from the sun rising from over it to the people of West Maui,
which it does at some seasons of the year.
"Having passed the night at the cave, Mr. Baily (_sic_) and young
Andrews preferred returning to the coast, rather than longer to endure
the cold and stormy weather on the mountain.
"Our gentlemen made excursions to the crater, and descended into it. The
break to the north appears to have been occasioned by the violence of
volcanic action within. There does not appear any true lava stream on
the north, but there is a cleft or valley which has a steep descent:
here the soil was found to be of a spongy nature, and many interesting
plants were found, among the most remarkable of which was the
arborescent Geranium.
"The floor of the crater, in the north branch, is extremely rough and
about two miles wide at the apex, which extends to the sea. In the
ravines there is much compact argillaceous rock, similar to what had
been observed on Mauna Kea, retaining, like it, pools of water. The
rock, in general, was much less absorbent than on the mountains of
Hawaii.
"Mr. Drayton made an accurate drawing or plan of the crater, the
distances on which are estimated, but the many cross bearings serve to
make its relative proportions correct. Perhaps the best idea that can be
given of the size of this cavity, is by the time requisite to make a
descent into it being one hour, although the depth is only two thousand
feet. The distance from the middle to either opening was upwards of five
miles; that to the eastward was filled with a line of hills of scoria,
some of them five or six hundred feet high; under them was lying a lava
stream, that, to appearance, was nearly horizontal, so gradual was its
fall. The eastern opening takes a short turn to the southeast, and then
descends rapidly to the coast.
"At the bottom were found beds of hard gravel, and among it what
appeared to be carbonate of lime, and detached black crystals like
augite, but chrysolite was absent.
"From the summit of the mountain the direction of the lava stream could
be perceived, appearing, as it approached the sea, to assume more the
shape of a delta.
"From the summit the whole cleft or crater is seen, and could be traced
from the highest point between the two coasts, flowing both to the
northward and eastward. Volcanic action seems also to have occurred on
the southwest side, for a line of scoria hills extends all the way down
the mountain, and a lava stream is said to have burst forth about a
century ago, which still retains its freshness. The scoria hills on the
top very much resemble those of Mauna Kea, but the mountain itself
appears wholly unlike either of the two in Hawaii, and sinks into
insignificance when compared with them.
"Although I have mentioned lava streams on this mountain, yet they are
not to be understood as composed of true lava, as on Mauna Loa; none of
the latter were seen except that spoken of on the southwest side, and
none other is believed to exist. No pumice or capillary glass was at any
time seen, nor are they known to exist on this island. On the wall of
the crater, in places, the compass was so much affected by local
attraction as to become useless.
"Near the summit is a small cave, where they observed the silkworm eggs
of Mr. Richards, which were kept here in order to prevent them from
hatching at an improper season. The thermometer in the cave stood at
44°; the temperature at the highest point was 36°, and in the crater
71°. After three days' stay, the party returned to the establishment of
Messrs. Lane and Minor, and thence to Wailuku. They were much gratified
with their tour."
The name Haleakala can thus be regarded as having been formally
introduced by members of the Wilkes Expedition. As the fame of the
beauties and wonders of the mountain spread, visitors from all parts of
the globe came to make the arduous climb to the summit. Most found
shelter from the elements in natural caves. Big Flea and Little Flea
caves, a quarter of a mile from the summit, are often mentioned in early
accounts. That their accommodation was not highly relished can be seen
from a description by Damon in 1847: "... which did not hold out many
attractions, and I have good reasons for believing it already possessed
tenants that would sharply contend for occupancy with any way-faring and
luckless wight."[8] In tales of early visits, literature--especially the
Bible--was gleaned for phraseology that might help portray emotions
felt; fantastic similes and metaphors were drawn to transmit
comprehension of the scene. On a visit in 1853, G. W. Bates mentioned:
"From the point where I stood a huge pit, capable of burying three
cities as large as New York--opened before me."[9] True, New York then
lacked its present colossal stature, but a milder expression, "could
hold the whole of New York City" still is in use today. For information,
the following areas are given from _Thrum's Annual_ and the _World
Almanac_: area of Haleakala "crater," 19.0 sq. mi.; area of Maui, 728
sq. mi.; area of Manhattan borough, 31.2 sq. mi.; area of New York City,
381 sq. mi. Discomforts, silversword, sandalwood, wild dogs, cattle,
goats, the weather, and personal impressions form much of the subject
matter of early essays.
The early residents of Maui recognized the value of the mountain as a
scenic feature and tourist attraction. Their first move was for better
overnight shelter on the mountain. C. W. Dickey in 1894 raised $850 by
popular subscription for material with which to build a simple shelter
at Kalahaku Lookout. H. P. Baldwin and the sugar plantations furnished
labor and pack animals. The long trip of 25 miles to the location had to
be made on foot or by saddle, and required a full, tiring day; all
building material except rock had to be transported by pack stock. In
painfully characteristic manner, many of those for whose benefit the
sweat and toil were expended proved unworthy since they roughly abused
the structure. Windows were broken, timber in the floor and walls was
ripped out and used for firewood, and garbage and filth accumulated. A
tropical storm added to the damage by unroofing the house; Worth Aiken
raised $1,500 for its renovation and repair. In 1914-15, the cabin was
improved with a concrete floor, metal doors, and metal shutters. Two
additional dormitories were added in 1924-25 at a cost of $11,000 and
operation of the building was turned over to E. J. Walsh, manager of the
Grand Hotel, Wailuku. Usefulness dropped with the opening of the
Haleakala Road, so that on September 24, 1934 its custodian, the Maui
Chamber of Commerce, transferred ownership to the National Park Service.
The structures were razed in 1957, but plans are underway to replace
them with a modern observatory in which people may look at the scene in
glass-enclosed comfort.
In the movement to create a National Park in Hawaii in the early part of
the 20th century, the idea developed that it should consist of the
craters of Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakala. The citizens of Maui gave
full approval for including their beloved mountain. Hawaii National
Park, composed of these three sections, was established by Act of
Congress on August 1, 1916, but formal dedication was delayed until
1921. Following improvement of Halemauu Trail in 1929, a permanent
ranger position was set up for continuous attention to the area. Today
it is administered by an assistant superintendent who has a staff of two
rangers and a naturalist.
The building of a road to the summit was fulfillment of a promise to the
people of Maui when the park was created. The first step had to be
construction by the Territory of a highway from Pukalani Junction to the
park boundary near Puu Nianiau. This was completed at a cost of $504,000
in April 1933 after 39 months of work. As with similar projects
elsewhere in Hawaii, superstitions of long-ago reappeared. Although not
antagonistic to progress, Hawaiians raised a cry that all effort was
futile; the chicken god, Kalau-heli-moa, would conspire and never permit
the project to be completed. Every mishap was attributed to this
nemesis.
The Park Service completed its commitment soon afterwards at the cost of
$376,000. The road was armor-surfaced in the fall of 1935. Extensive,
appropriate dedication ceremonies were held for the opening.
With the establishment of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in
Kilauea, a strip camp of 25 men was set up near Puu Nianiau cinder cone.
Part of the time, a tent camp was also established within the crater.
Many improvements became possible through this undertaking. The
observatory building on the summit was constructed in 1936; the three
shelters within the crater, Kapalaoa, Paliku, and Holua, were built a
year later. Prior to their completion, overnight shelter was sought in
caves, the best known being Bubble Cave (see Numbered Points of
Interest, topic 15) and Holua Cave which is in the pali wall behind the
cabin.
The CCC camp was abandoned in April 1941, and its structures were turned
over to the Army that greatly improved them. During the period of its
occupancy, the Army constructed for radar installation the ugly concrete
block house that still protrudes on the summit of Red Hill. With
evacuation of the military, the CCC quarters were adapted for the
service of a concessioner to supply meals and lodging within the park.
Normal travel to Haleakala was interrupted for a year when the section
was closed following the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
Annual travel had passed the 25,000 mark in 1939. Travel for the year
1958 reached a high of 56,940 visitors.
The summit of Haleakala attracted early consideration as a site for
various scientific studies. It is a prime target for many scientific
planners, because the high mountain is situated in the middle of a broad
ocean, yet the summit is readily accessible by road. Often this
eagerness has obscured possible use of other suitable sites and has
clashed with the basic purpose of the area as a National Park. The
National Park Service strives to keep the scene as primitive as
possible, assiduously blending buildings and structures into the
landscape, whereas the non-conformist gives no thought to this but
follows the easiest way. Too often economy of construction and
operation, together with careless housekeeping, invert an attraction to
a repulsion which even the splendor of the scene cannot offset. Skyline
buildings, obtrusively strung wires, thoughtlessly gouged land, and
abandoned debris are not conducive to aesthetic experience, whatever
their purpose or whoever the offender.
[Illustration: Haleakala holiday.]
The earliest scientific study associated with the mountain concerned
weather. It is said that the Hawaiian Islands are situated near a
critical area in the Pacific which is a birthplace of weather. The
summit offers an ideal place for detection and observance of the
formation of high clouds. Much additional research is needed to provide
a steady flow of data for successful and safe operation of air
transportation. Many crashes have been blamed on lack of weather data.
The task is not always simple, as statistical readings may be confusing.
Those made on Red Hill, for example, are influenced by local circulation
set up by the heating of several square miles of black, barren lava and
cinders.
The Federal Aeronautics Administration maintains a station a mile beyond
Red Hill. In the earlier fifties cosmic radiation was studied with a
huge revolving truss located back of Red Hill. The military has set up
apparatus and teams from time to time for experiments with radio, radar,
and radiation. Finally, for the International Geophysical Year,
Haleakala summit was chosen for one of the important satellite tracking
stations supervised by the Smithsonian Institution of Washington.