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490 THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. [August 3, 1883. As I informed your readers in my last, we sailed from Caroline Island to the Hawaiian Islands, touching at Hilo, to visit the famous crater of Kilauea. It is this visit to the volcano that I wish to make the subject of the present communication. Scientists and naval officers, we numbered fifteen in all, and starting from the ship at the break of day, we put off to the landing stage, where our horses were waiting in readiness. Let me bring my memory back to the scene. It is a cloudy morning, but the clouds offer a prospect of a cool day, rather than a wet one. The little town, half enveloped in trees, except near the shore, where the water rolls in on the lava beach, is already beginning to be up and astir to witness our departure. A crowd of natives are minding the horses and assist us in getting ready. One gentleman is buckling on one spur that has been handed him, and another gentleman is buckling on the fellow one to it. There were not enough to go round, even at the rate of one apiece. One ingenious individual is fixing a pillow on his saddle, whilst others are seeing the pack- horse loaded with their traps. “Take this ; he's a very good horse! ” says a Kanaka to your humble servant; and being of a confiding nature, I take him. How was I to know that some more favoured individual had been told that the animal was not fit to stand the journey? Up I get, therefore, with my camera strapped to my back, wondering why on earth they put great leather shields round the stirrups. We are soon ready, and a peculiar gathering we look. Some scientific men are as picturesque on horseback as a sailor is in a similar situation. Now we are off; in fact, one gentleman is off with a vengeance, for his horse runs away with him, and he gallops along the principal street a la John Gilpin, clinging tightly to the tall pummel of his saddle, which, fortunately, is a Mexican one. It was not myself, for my steed had very little go in him. The run-away is soon stopped, exchanges horses with a member of the party who has a quieter mount, and then the start fairly commences, and with the start I will resume the past tense. We gave our horses the rein, and trotted briskly out of the town, rattled over the wooden bridges that spanned a few small streams, then, coming to a piece of smooth road, brought our horses to the gallop. Away we went, past houses and past sugar plantations, with a view of the open country on one side and Hilo Bay on the other, where the good ship Hartjord was laying at anchor, many of its officers and crew watching, probably, our progress, now in single file, and now two abreast, along the well-trodden track. Soon we passed the grove of tall cocoa-nut palms that graced the extreme point of the Bay, and then our progress became less easy. Huge blocks of lava barred the way, and over these obstacles the horses scrambled. We let them go just as they pleased, for they knew the road and its nature, whilst we did not. The road gradu ally became more difficult, and before long we found our selves entering a forest which extends for several miles. Then we saw the utility of the shields on the stirrups, without which our boots and trousers must have received serious damage, for sharp twigs and thorny branches stretched across the narrow path, making us look well to our persons ; whilst at the same time we had to accommo date our bodies to the movements of the horses. Their movements were intricate indeed. Sometimes they had to spring from block to block of slippery lava, or to pick their way amongst broken rock, and not unfrequently to plunge through water which came up past their knees, or to flounder through bog. And all this time the road—or path, rather—went up and down in a manner that caused us to wonder how the animals kept their footing. As one officer had told us beforehand, they must have been half fly and half goat, or they could never have accomplished it. You will get by no means an exaggerated notion of it if you ride a horse up and down stairs ; in fact, it would be a far safer performance. A photograph of it would have been extremely interesting, but we were too much occupied even to have time to think about it: it would be like trying to develop a plate while your house is on fire. Occasionally, the trunk of a fallen tree blocked the way, or the cry of “Mind your face!” warned one of the threatening aspect of an overhanging bough. Little time to note the nature of tree, brake, or fern : suffici ently thankful were you if you passed through them unscathed. Everything must have an end, however, and presently we emerged from the forest, and again saw the open sea, smooth as a millpond, stretched out before us. The way now was across an open plain, the trail being sufficiently conspicuous as a thin Jine of polished lava, where grass and soil had been scattered by the continual trotting of horses to and from the volcano. The riding was much easier now, but my horse showed signs of flagging. lie had a bad touch of an awkward complaint at the very outset, and, at this stage, neither coaxing nor beating would make him do more than crawl, so that 1 soon saw the rest of the party, including the guide—the guide (?) travels last—gradually drawing farther and farther away from me in the distance. What was I to do? I got off the animal, and led him for a bit; but he got worse and worse. As 1 was unable to carry the horse—or, at least, I think so—and he was unable to carry me, I tied him to a stump, where there was plenty of grass, and did the rest of the way to the “Half-way House”—a matter of five miles or more—by Shanks’ pony, who could go a pretty good pace in spite of the bad road and the heat. At the end of the plain was another wood, but of smaller extent than the first, and less rough; and happily there was no water to go through. At last I emerged once more into the open country, and on more elevated ground, getting a good view on all sides, but unable to see the rest of the party. Steadily I tramped on till at last I came in sight of some Kanaka huts, the in habitants of which gazed in wonder at the unusual sight of a traveller doing the trip on foot. I was strongly tempted to stop and expose a few plates, but the thought of my friends getting their lunch and enjoying the tit-bits restrained me; the claims of Nature are stronger than those of Art, bad luck to it. I was at last rewarded with a sight of the Half-way House, and found that my perseverance (and my legs) had brought me in only ten minutes behind the last horseman. In old days, a curious performance was gone through at this place. The traveller was seized by a party of natives and stripped; his joints were all pulled, his flesh was kneaded, and he was then thrown on his stomach, for the fattest woman there to walk up and down on his prostrate form. This violent exercise refreshed his weary limbs, and he lost all signs of fatigue. The “Loomi- loomi ” has since been done away with, and we had to content ourselves with a rest on the grass and our lunch. Then came the question, “ What was I to do about the horse ? ” It was soon settled. The luggage was divided, the pack-horse saddled, and, before mounting, I walked round my new steed and took a survey of him. He looked as if he would make a good horse when he was finished; as it was, the framework was displayed to the utmost possi ble advantage, and what more could one expect? I mounted. “Whoo! come up, you brute; what are you trying to do ? This is not a circus.” He did not like the bit. Whack! went the guide’s cowhide, and off he started. Used to being pulled along behind the guide by a rope, he hardly knew what to make of it, and gave me a good deal of trouble. At last, with the aid of the whip, he would keep trotting on, but the rest of the party were soon far ahead. At last, in trying to keep my seat during a restive but not restful moment, I lost my cowhide, and could not find it. Necessity is the mother of invention. I got out my camera-sticks, yet, not wishing to damage the animal’s framework, I looked for a soft place, and went for it. He went for it, too. With