The poet of the
Kualii mentions the hill thrice--once in connection with the legend of
Maui, once when he likens the coming forth of the sun at Kauwiki to the
advent of Ku, and in a descriptive passage in which the abrupt height is
described:
Shooting up to heaven is Kauwiki,
Below is the cluster of islands,
In the sea they are gathered up,
O Kauwiki,
O Kauwiki, mountain bending over,
Loosened, almost falling, Kauwiki-e.
Finally, Puna, the easternmost district of the six divisions of Hawaii,
is a region rich in folklore. From the crater of Kilauea, which lies on
the slope of Mauna Loa about 4,000 feet above sea level, the land slopes
gradually to the Puna coast along a line of small volcanic cones, on the
east scarcely a mile from the sea. The slope is heavily forested, on the
uplands with tall hard-wood trees of _ohia_, on the coast with groves of
pandanus. Volcanic action has tossed and distorted the whole district.
The coast has sunk, leaving tree trunks erect in the sea. Above the
bluffs of the south coast lie great bowlders tossed up by tidal waves.
Immense earthquake fissures occur. The soil is fresh lava broken into
treacherous hollows, too porous to retain water and preserving a
characteristic vegetation.
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