To describe such a scene is impossible.  A study of the map, with the figures showing elevations, will give you a better idea of it than a long verbal description.  It is an extraordinarily desolate scene.  A few wild goats scramble over the rocks, or rush down the nearly perpendicular cliff; occasionally a solitary bird raises its harsh note; the wind howls fiercely; and as you lie under the lee of a mass of lava, taking in the scene and picking out the details as the rising sun brings them out one by one, presently the mist begins to pour into the crater, and often by ten o’clock fills it up completely.

The natives have no tradition of Haleakala in activity.  There are signs of several lava flows, and of one in particular, clearly much more recent than the others.  It must have presented a magnificent and terrible sight when it was in full activity.  I did not ride into the crater, but it is possible to do so, and the natives have a trail, not much used, by which they pass.  If you descend, be careful not to leave or lose this trail, for in many parts your horse will not be able to get back to it if you suffer him to stray off even a few yards, the lava is so sharp and jagged.  As you descend the mountain on the Makawao side you will notice two finely shaped craters on the side of the mountain, which also in their time spewed out lava.  Nearer the coast your eye, become familiar with the peculiar shape of these cones or craters, will notice yet others; and, indeed, to appreciate the peculiarities of Sandwich Island scenery, in which extinct craters and cones of all sizes have so great a part, it is necessary to have visited Kilauea and Haleakala.  The latter name, by-the-way, means “House of the Sun;” and as you watch the rising sun entering and apparently taking possession of the vast gloomy depths, you will think the name admirably chosen.

If you carry a gun you are likely to have a shot at wild turkeys on your way up or down.  It is remarkable that many of our domestic animals easily become wild on the islands.  There are wild goats, wild cats, wild chickens and turkeys; the cattle run wild; and on Hawaii one man at least has been killed and torn to pieces by wild dogs, which run in packs in some parts of the island.

Sugar plantations are found on all four of the larger islands; and on all of them there are successful examples of this enterprise; but Maui contains, I believe, the greatest number, and is thought to be the best fitted for the business.  It is on this island, therefore, that the curious traveler can see this industry under its most favorable aspects.  There is no doubt that for the production of sugar these islands offer some extraordinary advantages.

[Illustration:  MAP OF THE HALEAKALA CRATER.]