Scenes and scenery in the Sandwich Islands, and a trip through central America; being observations from my note-book during the years 1837-1842.

Front matter

3'

V

.V

Preface

' It was designed to interweave, with the civil and political account of the nation, a series of sketches, illustrative of their present life and condition, and other interesting points, which would have enlivened a bare narrative of facts ; also, to have pictured the wondrous natural phenomena of that prolific poriion of the Pacific, the great volcanic eruption of 1840 ; and a full account of the mightiest of craters, the gigantic Lua Pele, or Kilauea, in Hawaii. But it would have swelled the volume to an unwieldy size.' 1 At an early period will be presented an additional volume, which, without being connected with the present, will give in detail all that is necessary to form a correct view of the Hawaiian Islands, their condition, prospects, the every-day concerns of the people, and missionary life as it now exists ; the two to form a succinct whole, illustrating each other.' — From Preface to l History of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands.''

VI PREFACE.

This volume is in fulfilment of that pledge. In it, I have attempted to delineate that which came within my immediate observation, during a residence of four years on the Group. As a description of the familiar life of a people, in a novel and interesting position, one which may with propriety be termed a state of transition from barbarism to civilization, it may attract the attention, and interest the sympathies, of readers of all classes.

A portion of these sketches have been previously published in journals, and had some circulation, both in Europe and the United States. Such, though revised, will readily be recognized by the reader who has met with them elsewhere.

Boston, November, 1S43.

Chapter I

Land, Ho ! — Hawaii in the Distance. Reflections upon visiting for the first time the Isles of the Pacific. Coast Scenery. Oahu. Its Capital, Honolulu. Harbor. Prevailing Winds. Former Town. Present Streets. Puahi, or Punch-bowl Hill. Battery — View from. "Whirlwinds. Fort. Governor Kekuanaoa. Militia Drill. Palace. Residence of the Premier Kekauluohi. Her Sister, Kinau — Burial of. Churches. Literary and Benevolent Institutions. Schools. Annual Festivals and Holydays. Population of Honolulu. Society, foreign and native. Groggeries. Sailor Dissipation. Police. Climate. Commerce. A Stranger's first Impressions. Native Manners. Mission Buildings. Street Scenes. Dog Feast. Saturday Afternoon. Nuuanu Valley. Taro Plant. Country Residences. Scenery of the Valley. Battle. Pali, or Precipice. 13

CHAPTER IX.

Village of Waikiki. Ruined House. Diamond Head. Ruined Temple. Manoa Valley. Singular Crater. White Man turned Savage. Little Old Man — Anecdote of. Chief hung. Forgery. Sunday at Honolulu. At Tahiti. Fashions. Remarkable disappearance of Dresses after Religious Service. Corsets in use — Out of use. Chiefs Entertainments. Extraordinary Preparations in honor of Captain Finch, U. S. N. Children of Missionaries. Danger to their Morals. Painful instances of Degradation at Tahiti. Boarding-School Estab-

Vlll CONTENTS.

lished at Oahu. Sports of Native Youth. Musical Kites. Pearl River. Ewa. Church and Station. Waialua. Manual Labor School. Its Success. Ruins of a Temple, and Site of a Tribe of Cannibals. North Side of Oahu. Legends. Love of the Marvellous. Poetry. Example of Modern Style. Shipwrecked Japanese — Account of. System of Numerals. 59

Chapter III

Koloa Packet. Voyage. Companions. Devotions of Hawaiian Crew. Appearance of Kauai. Its Situation. Harbors. Koloa Scenery. Sugar Plantations — History of. Paper Money. Counterfeit do. Sugar-cane. Quality of Soil. Profits of Sugar. Probable Success in its Culture. Effect of Foreign Capital and Enterprise upon Natives. Old System of Labor. Present. A Novel Race. Market Day. Trading. Culture of Silk. Rapidity of Growth of the Mulberry. Different Species of Silk-worms. Cross-breeds. Loss of Capital invested in Silk-business at Koloa. Fatality of the Tre c ;s and Worms. Causes. A Beautiful, but Secluded Spot. News from ' Home.' A Covetous Governess. A Singular Excursion. Mouna Kahili. A Legend. A Predatory Chieftain. Reflections upon his Fate. Valley of Hanapepe. Surf-swimming. Remarkable Freaks of Nature. A Cataract. Great Mortality at Hanapepe. A Necessary though Sudden Marriage. Good Condition of Roads. Who keeps them so. Town of Waimea. Capital of the Island. Amelia, the Governess. Mission Houses. Residences of the Rulers. A Straw Palace. A Fine Canoe. Fort. Niihau. First Introduction of Fleas. Soil of Kauai. Geological Features. Mountains. Uplands and Lowlands. Pali. Remarkable Caves. Spouting-Horn. Rivers. Great Body of Arable Land. Trades. Climate. Storms. Minerals, &c . . 87

Chapter IV

Travelling in Kauai. Horse and Equipments. Crazy Guide. Stuttering Jim. Cruelty of a Chief. Narrow Escape of a Missionary. Gov. Kaikoewa's Embryo City. His Harbor. Brig in trouble. Desire of Natives to display their Knowledge of

CONTENTS. IX

English. Wailua River and Village. An Ex-queen. Her History. Hospitality. Large Cattle. A Disappointed Sportsman. Celebrated Falls of Wailua. Singular Freak of a Chief. Two Hawaiian Sam Patches. Inland Scenery. Mauna Waialeale. Wild Swine. Dogs. Degradation of Kauaian Women. Obtain some Crania, and a New Title in consequence. Hospitality of Common People. Offices and Titles. Anahola. A Veteran of Kamehameha. Prince of Laziness. Lomi-lomi. A Temple of God's own building. A Dangerous Ford. Roads to Waioli. A Labor of Love. Valley of Kalihiwai. Hala Forest. Waioli. River and Mountains. Residents. Agricultural Operations. Silk Plantation. A Chronological Wood Pile 139

Chapter V

Island of Maui. Its Capital. Seat of Government. Palace. His Majesty, Kamehameha III. His Spouse. Products of Maui. ' House of the Sun.' Female Seminary at Wailuku. High School at Lahainaluna. Native Historical Society. Reflective and Perceptive Powers of the Hawaiians. Influence of the American Missionaries over the Common People. Discrepant Statements of Travellers — Causes of. State of Religion, as compared with the United States. Statistics. Actual Condition. Death Scenes. Comparison of the Relative Influence of Spanish Padres and American Missionaries, over their Converts. Different Phases of National Character. Admitting to the Church. Moral Sentiments — Actual Recognition of. Truth and Falsehood. Criminal Statistics. Style of Living among American Missionaries. Their Houses, Cost, &c. Their Advantages and Disadvantages. Enemies and Friends. Objectionable Biography. Privations of the Earlier Missionaries. Qualifications for a Missionary. Examples. Their Hospitalities. Labors for the Literary and Commercial World. Faults. Hostility to Roman Catholics. Extent. Anecdotes. Discontinuing Connection with the American Board. Independent Missionaries. Tendency of the Present Times. Ill Health of Females. Causes and Remedy. . 170

CONTENTS.

Chapter VI

Embark for Hawaii. Companions. A Roman Catholic Priest and Protestant Missionary. A Disputation. Coast of Hawaii. Port of Kailua. Billy Pitt the Younger. Landing. Strife among Porters. Many Call, Few are Paid. Gov. Adams — His Bulk and Character. Palacr. Church. 'Blue Laws ' revived. Cotton Factory. 'House of Gods.' 'House of Audience.' Manufacture of Idols. Battery. Cave of Laniakea. Mullet for Supper. Kapiolani. Cook's Monument. Embark for Kawaihae. Parting Respects and Wail. Mauna Hualalai — Eruption from. Roadstead of Kawaihae. Heiau or Temple. Walk to Waimea. Fire. Weather. Productions of Waimea. Men Procured. Start for Mauna Kea. Camp among Fleas. Remarkable Crater. Minerals. Wild Cattle. Horses give out — Men also. Reach the Summit. Wonderful View. A Rocky Lodging-Place. Descend. Height of the Mountain. A Snow-Balling in July. Reach the Base of the Mountain. A Bullock Catcher's Hut. ' Clinkers.' Rebellion among Men. A Bed in the Rain, and a Smoky Cave. A Cold Morning. Mammoth Raspberries. Effects of a Tornado or Earthquake. Volcano of Kilauea. A Dangerous Lodging- Place. Storm and Eruption at Night. Steam Fissures. Sulphur Beds and Bath. Extent of Crater — Shape — Age — Elevation — Interior. Descent. Black Ledge — Walk around. Burning Lakes and Cones. Gases. Beautiful Appearance of Lava. Great Heat. A Perilous Climb. Dangers of Exploration. Appearance of Crater at Different Times. Volcanic Action throughout the Group. Hawaii a Crust of Lava, with Fire beneath. Another Mutiny. Provisions gone. Mauna Loa, the Great Mountain — Douglas's Description of — Its Errors and Inconsistencies. Leave for Hilo. An over-sharp Landlord. Leave in a Pet. A Guide's Trick. Arrival at Hilo. Situation and Natural Beauties. Its Resources, Climate, Population, Exports, &c. Mission House. Schools. A New Jaunt. The Late Eruption. Immense Stream of Lava — Its Devastations. Burning Forests, Smoke, Fires, Gases, &c. Appearance at the Sea. Three Hills and New Coast formed. Salts. Steam. An Account of its First Outbreak, and Subsequent History. A Sublime Spectacle. The Ocean and Volcano in

CONTENTS. XI

Strife. Eccentric Course of the Stream — Effects. Return to Hilo. Primitive State of the Inhabitants. Sunday. A New- Way of Preaching. Feats in Swimming. A Shipwreck and Wonderful Escape. 206

Chapter VII. Central America

Different Routes. Difficulties. Embarkation for Panama. Fellow Passengers. Acapulco. Trouble. Imprisonment and Release. Admiral Du Petit Thouars. Mexican Hospitality. Gulf of Tecuantepec. Phosphorescence. Volcanoes of Guatimala. Arrival at Acajutla. Brigantine at Anchor. Shore. Roadstead of Acajutla. Surf. Boats Capsized. Custom House. A Hospitable Laity. Leave the Brig. Road to Zonzonate. Sugar and Indigo Plantations. Ruins. Age of Zonzonate. Population. A Kind Hostess. Carnival. Man Killed. A Benefit from a Thespian Corps. Country Cousins. News from Guatimala. Wars in the Interior. A Dilemma. Conclude to Go-ahead. Preparations. An Auxiliary. Leave Zonzonate. Cordilleras. Volcano of Itzalco. Dry and Wet Seasons. An Indian Village. A Meditated Attack. Change of Route. An Indian Hamlet. A Submerged Town. An Escape. A Fresh Alarm. Village of St. Helena. Bad News. A Council. A Night March. Pass through Chiquimula. Efforts to capture us. A Hard Road, and a Thirsty Party. Pass Zacapa. A Dilemma. San Pablo. A Halt. Slumbers Interrupted. Captured. An Unexpected Friend. Release. Gualan. A Surly Landlady. Mico Mountain. Isabel. Trade. Scenery of the Gulf of Dulce. Boat Navigation. Chills and Fever. Balize. Arrive Home. . . 283

MOTjOKAI.

I JfclealiaJtJ, -r

Chapter I

Land, Ho ! Hawaii in the Distance. — Reflections upon visiting for the first time the Isles of the Pacific. — Coast Scenery. — Oahu. ~- Its Capital, Honolulu. — Harbor. — Prevailing Winds. — Former Town. — Present Streets. — Puahi, or Punch-bowl Hill. — Battery. — View from. — Whirlwinds. — Fort. — Governor Kekuanaoa. — Militia Drill. — Palace. — Residence of the Premier Kekauluohi. — Her Sister, Kinau. — Burial of. — Churches. — Literary and Benevolent Institutions. — Schools. — Annual Festivals and Holydays. — Population of Honolulu. — Society, foreign and native. — Groggeries. — Sailor Dissipation. — Police. — Climate. — Commerce. — A Stranger's first Impressions. — Native Manners. — Mission Buildings. — Street Scenes. — Dog Feast. — Saturday Afternoon. — Nuuanu Valley. — Taro Plant. — Country Residences. — Scenery of the Valley. — Battle. — Pali, or Precipice.

Land, Ho ! cried a full, clear voice from the fore top-gallant yard of a fast-sailing brigantine, which, but a few years since, had worn out five weary months, on her way from Boston to the Hawaiian Islands. During that time, several of the South American ports had been visited, and a more than usually rough passage encountered in weathering Cape Horn. For forty days, in the most inclement season of that boisterous and inhospitable latitude, the little bark had contended against adverse gales, until it seemed to the exhausted patience of the crew, as if the wind could blow but from one quarter, and that ever dead ahead. But before the sunny skies 2

SOUTH SEA GROUPS.

and fairy-like evenings of the tropical Pacific, all recollection of the tempests of the south, and the long and dark and almost continuous nights, had vanished as fleetingly as a rain-squall before a driving 'trade/ The sun shone out as brightly, and the sky was as blue, as if the ocean had never roughened its surface before a furious blast ; the brigantine had donned her fair-weather suit, and royal yard and studding.sail boom were strained by the freshening breeze ; while crew and passengers wore as smiling faces, the reflection of as many joyous hearts, as if life had ever been to them all sunshine. In the every day concerns of life, there are few sounds that send a more quickened thrill through the frame, than the cry of ' land, ho ! ' to the voyager, who has spent months pent in the narrow confines of a small vessel, and whose heart yearns to greet old friends or new faces ashore, and to exchange the hard deck and his cofFin-like bed, for the green fields and ample households of motherearth.

To a novice in voyaging, the bright islands of Polynesia, celebrated in song and story, the newest and most fascinating field of maritime discovery, the themes of praise alike to the man of piety and the worldling, have a peculiar attraction. To the young American, the lands of old Europe are fields of storied interest; — of high and noble deeds — of dark and sanguinary passions. In them he sees enshrined the monuments of the proudest genius, records of glory and shame, worth and wickedness, arts and sciences, of the past and the present. In mingling with the living generation, he is every-

SOUTH SEAS. 15

where reminded of the vices or virtues of the departed.

In perspective, far different are the groups of the South Seas. They seem as the garden-spots of the earth, and distance paints them as redolent with the fragrance and luxuriance of nature. Cocoa-nut groves, uplifting their slim but stately trunks, form a clear greensward, such as fairies might delight to dance upon ; their graceful tops waving gently as the sea-breeze murmurs and sighs through them ; coral reefs, as beautiful in form and as bright in colors as the dense and flowering forests inland ; scenery rich and varied ; luscious fruits waiting but for the hand to pluck them ; the useful and ornamental of the animal and feathered kingdoms to administer to the necessities or please the eye of man ; an absence of the noxious or disagreeable, and above all, peopled with the fairest race of savages, all combined, form a panorama so fascinating that the fancy loves to linger long upon it. Imagination, warmed and invigorated by the sunniest and healthiest of all climates, continually presents an undefined yet pleasing image of a perpetual juvenescence ; nature retaining a pristine vigor and perennial green. But all their varied natural attractions, and the fictitious charms ascribed to the race whose homes they have been from time immemorial, sink into insignificance in the eye of the sober truth-seeker, who visits them not to gloat over their physical allurements, which have been so often depicted as the ease and innocency of mankind in their aboriginal state, by those who would create an Eden where only a Cythera existed, but faithfully to

16 HAWAII IN THE DISTANCE.

examine the wondrous changes which a christian benevolence has wrought upon them. AVhatever may be his nation, tastes, or pursuits, no one has ever approached their shores without sentiments of more than common interest or curiosity.

The land which was seen from aloft soon became visible from the deck. It appeared more like a white cloud, upon a dark base, resting in ether, than bond fide land. As the vessel drew nearer, the outline of a mountain was clearly distinguished, with a dense bed of snow upon its summit. It proved to be Mauna Kea on Hawaii, the loftiest peak of Polynesia, and discernible at sea to the distance of one hundred miles and more. Vessels bound to Oahu generally pass to the windward of the other islands, to avoid the calms which prevail more or less to the leeward. In drawing in with the land, the breeze usually freshens and becomes more squally with slight showers of rain. From the boldness of the shores, vessels can pass close along them, enabling the traveller to scan their general features as he is rapidly hurried by. Rising as they do, from out the central portion of the great North Pacific, midway between the continents of Asia and America, and several thousand miles distant from any lands except the barren, diminutive, and uninhabited coral islands which are sparsely scattered over its surface, mostly within the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, these islands appear like giant guardians of the ocean. They break at once upon the voyager with a suddenness and grandeur that excites his surprise and admiration. Providence seems just so to have placed

COAST SCENERY. 17

them, that they shall serve as a great ocean-hotel — an oasis in the boundless waste of waters — a spot where men of all races can meet on a neutral and hospitable ground, and there raise their anthem of praise for deliverance from the dangers of the treacherous deep, and petition for protection for the future. By day, the huge volcano of Kilauea throw up its heavy columns of smoke, and by night illuminates them by the reflection of its flames ; at either time a beacon to the approaching mariner ; a lighthouse tended by God's own hand.

Maun a Kea and Mauna Loa tower to a height of fourteen thousand feet. The coast affords a mingled, scene of precipices, some craggy, barren, and abrupt, others sloping somewhat gently, green and picturesque. Along their ravines or over their brinks leap many cataracts and cascades, bright and silvery in the sunlight ; these, mingling their streams atthe base of the hills, pour their limpid floods into the briny foam, which whitens and roars along the sea-shore. Plains covered with grass, or dotted with luxuriant groves, with here and there a native-hut partly hid in their shade, incline gradually towards the coast. The eye roving ahead perceives jutting promontories of black volcanic rock pierced with wave-worn caves, or a strip of sand beach edged by a shallow coral reef, over which the surf tumbles madly or playfully, according to the violence or lightness of the wind. Canoes are seen shooting through them, their crews balancing their totlish boats on the crests of the largest rollers, with all the skill of a circus-rider upon his steed ; now they dart rapidly inland, at times appearing as if 2*

18 HONOLULU.

ihey would be cast end over end as they are pitched along ; or else they paddle seaward and ply their nets and fishing-lines. Drawing nearer, clusters of trees are discovered ; a hamlet is seen, scattered up and down the bank of a river, and when abreast of its mouth a valley is disclosed, reaching far inland, until it terminates in a narrow and wooded dell or gorge. It gradually rises from the sea-side, teeming with little plantations, until its further extremity is lost in the vapor and clouds of the higher regions. Many of these valleys are beautiful, though secluded spots, and cannot fail to attract the attention of the most indifferent observer as he sails by them. But more of the island scenery anon. A vessel is seldom more than twenty-four hours after making Hawaii, in reaching Oahu.

On the south side of that island, about five miles from the point called by the natives, Leahi, and by the foreigners, Diamond Point, a bold and singular promontory, is the town of Honolulu, the commercial emporium of the North Pacific. For the last twenty years it has been silently growing into existence, and though its name is scarcely known to the world, it has become the central point of Christianity and civilization in this portion of the globe ; and, both from its past history and its increasing importance, is deserving of particular notice. It is the first landing-place of the traveller, the gate-way into the Hawaiian kingdom, and it is from here generally that his only impressions are received or confirmed. Too often has it been the extent of the researches of tourists, whose judgments of the group have been based solely upon their knowledge of the denizens of its capital.

harbor. 19

Soon after the discovery, in 1794, of the entrance through the reef which forms its harbor, Honolulu began to be favorably known. Its name signifies fair-haven. As a depot for trade its advantages are great, and its facilities as a resort for shipping equally so. The basin formed by the reef, is not large, but sufficiently capacious to accommodate from sixty to one hundred sail at once. The anchorage outside the reef, a mile from the town, is very accessible, and during most of the year, perfectly secure. When the wind blows from the south, which it rarely does with violence, a vessel has the choice to come inside or to put to sea. The entrance is somewhat intricate and narrow, but it is well buoyed out, and skilful pilots are always on hand. The channel is half a mile in length, and will not admit vessels drawing over twenty feet. At low water, which here falls about four feet, the reefs on either side are bare. Not unfrequently, vessels are detained outside for several days, by the fresjiness of the ' trades,' which here blow directly ofT shore, and prevent ingress, but at the same time afTord a corresponding facility for leaving. It is seldom that a vessel is detained for want of a sailing breeze. Early in the morning, before the trades set down fresh from the mountains, is the best time to bring a ship inside, which is commonly done by towing.

A few years since, Honolulu was a mere collection of straw-hovels, interspersed with a few buildings of a little better character, occupied by the chiefs or foreign residents. The whole were arranged much after the plan of the Dutch settlers of Manhat-

20 HONOLULU.

tan ; although, in this instance, cows were not the authorized surveyors of the streets, the waywardness of the tastes and dispositions of the builders effected a corresponding confusion, and narrow streets or foot-paths, and a jumbled mass of huts, stores, walls, and enclosures, was the result.

But Honolulu in 1842 wore a different aspect. It is built upon a plain situated at the outlet of several rich valleys, the chief of which is Nuuanu. The space is ample for it to swell into a large and flourishing city. On the west a small stream, running from the valley of Nuuanu, separates it from the low-lands where the greater portion of the taro plantations are located. A wooden bridge and earthen and stone causeway afford an easy access to the town, for the travel from that quarter of the island, which is the most populous. Towards the east, a fine level plain, which, when watered, becomes fertile, intervenes between the town and a barren track of volcanic rock, three miles distant, produced by the former outpourings of the numerous extinct volcanos, which in this direction constitute the chief feature of the scenery. Verdure is slowly gaining ground upon it annually, as the soil formed from vegetable deposits and the decomposition of the 'rock, increases. Tolerable carriage-roads extend for several miles in the rear of the town and on the plain, which also affords a good race-course. Between the plain and the sea is an interval of low and wet land, bordered by and based upon coral reef. The natives here manufacture considerable salt by evaporation, the salt water being exposed to the rays of the sun in shallow ba-

HONOLULU. 21

sins. The limestone of the reefs is an excellent building material, being easily cut with axes when in the water, and becoming hard upon exposure to the atmosphere. It also yields an abundant supply of lime.

Numerous wide and straight avenues, intersecting each other mostly at right angles, run through the town. Yearly it is assuming a more civilized aspect. The warehouses, and residences of the foreign merchants are principally concentrated in the western part. Many of them are of stone and are well built and handsome edifices. Some are of adobie, or sun-dried bricks. These are made from the soil in the streets, which is kneaded with the feet, water and chopped straw being mixed with it. When it has attained a sufficient consistency it is placed in wooden moulds of the size required, and then left to harden. They become very compact ; the best will scarcely yield to the blows of an axe. The walls of the houses built of them are plastered over with lime, These bricks no doubt are of precisely the same make and pattern as those required of the children of Israel by their Egyptian task-masters. Indeed, the resemblance between a group of Hawaiians, with their redskins and scanty costumes, and even the implements employed in making their bricks, are so strikingly similar to a hieroglyphical painting some four thousand years old which has been transcribed by Wilkinson, of a similar scene among the children of Ham at that date, that the picture would answer as well for one as the other. It is somewhat refreshing in this changing age, to perceive that even one of the

22 PUAHI, OR PUNCH-BOWL HILL.

good old customs of our progenitors still continue among us. And the very name of the bricks has been perpetuated with scarcely an alteration, through the many ages that have rolled on since the first adobie was made. Mr. Gliddon, the hierologist, informs us that adaub was the Egyptian word for this kind of brick, and it is still used by the Copts and modern inhabitants of that country. Doubtless the Saracens derived it from them and carried it into Spain ; from Spain it found its way to the Americas, and thence, with an exceedingly slight variation, within twenty-five years has become familiarized at the Hawaiian Islands. Continuing westward it may arrive at the land of its birth.

The dwelling-houses are chiefly situated within enclosures, a little retired from the street, and are surrounded with small but well cultivated gardens, which give them a rural and cheerful aspect. The soil of Honolulu is light and shallow, resting upon regularly piled strata of coral rock and volcanic cinders, and is formed mostly by the ashes from a neighboring extinct crater and the debris washed from hills in the rear of the town. When watered, which is done by windmills, it becomes productive. A few years ago, scarcely a tree, with the exception of the tall cocoa-nut groves which border the beach looking seaward, like watchful sentinels over the town, was to be seen within its precincts. Now the scene is widely different. Looking down from Puahi, or Punch-bowl hill, an old crater half a mile back of the town, and of several hundred feet elevation, a pleasing and novel coup flceil is obtained. Punch-

BATTERY. 23

bowl hill obtained its soubriquet in times not quite as temperate as the present ; its shape internally is much like a bowl, being a gradual and uniform hollow. Facing the town its sides are steep, and the appearances of lava and other volcanic substances from its base upwards so fresh, that one might readily be pardoned for indulging in some suspicion of its ultimate intentions ; for it appears as if nursing its wrath, and ready at any angry moment to belch forth once more its destructive fires. However, further back than Hawaiian traditions run, it has remained quiescent, and its nap does not appear likely to be disturbed ; nor does one of the ten thousand inhabitants that nightly repose within its shadow, sleep less quietly for fear of its awakening. It forms so prominent an object in approaching the town, from whatever position, that it may well be taken for the guardian genius of the place. And it could, at small expense, be easily made so. Annually, fires are seen to burst forth from its summit, followed by loud reports and heavy volumes of smoke. They are the pigmy fires of men in honor of men ; salutes discharged from sundry enormous thirty-two and forty -two pounders, which in the days of despotism were drawn up its sides and planted on its crest, at a great outlay of human strength and stupidity. A flag-staff — a stone wall — some natural embrasures in the lava rock, a fire-proof sfraw-built and mudplastered powder magazine, a few hovels, a dozen ragged urchins, an old crone or two, with as many of the sturdier sex, and a numerous colony of goats, constitute the fortification and garrison. If the bat-

24 BATTERY, VI FAY FROM.

tery was properly mounted and secured it would effectually command llie harbor and protect the town. At the present time it answers for the more peaceful purpose of a promenade, and the view from all points is well wortli the labor of the ascent. Looking inland, the mountains rise gradually until they terminate in abrupt peaks, covered with dense forests, which lie in a region of almost perpetual mist, or showers. Lower down the grass grows luxuriantly, and herds of cattle there graze until night fall, when they seek shelter in their pens. Seaward the eye roams over the boundless ocean, whose waters line the coral-bound shore with a broad belt of snow-white breakers. Beneath lies the plain, alive with pedestrians, horsemen, and vehicles of quaint or fashionable appearance ; a little farther, the town, with its intermingling of barbarism and civilization, and all its intermediate stages. Its numerous gardens, and the many trees which have been recently planted, give it a rural appearance. The fort, shipping, red-painted roofs, stone churches, spires, lookouts, (for every house of any pretensions has a queershaped box or cupalo perched near or upon its ridgepole,) the motion of the arms of the wind-mills, engaged in their everlasting pump — pump, straw hovels, and straw palaces, mud-built walls and mud-built habitations, all combine to form a unique if not harmonious spectacle. Let the enterprising pedestrian select a windy day for his view, if he would have its full value, when the dry season is nearly passed and the trades come sweeping down the heights in gusts with the force of whirlwinds. If

WHIRLWINDS. 25

he is able to maintain bis position on the dizzy height, until one of the eddying currents has swept by him, he will see it whirling and dancing over the plain, raising a dense column of dust, darkening the sun and completely hiding objects but a few rods distant. On it speeds, gathering dirt and momentum as it goes. Wo ! to the exposed, Eyes are filled, nostrils choked, and the poor victims, stupefied and blinded, know not whither to turn. Alas! for hats ; they mount to ihe upper regions ; clothes are raised from their drying places, and away they toss and whirl high in air, while the loose toga-like garment of many an unfortunate wight is wrested from his bruised limbs and hastens to join its predecessors in their aerial antics. Away rush the owners, running and jumping, while their property is dodging and flying about them, like a knowing horse that has taken leave of his master, and, keeping just a rod distant, eyes him askew, as if he would say, { bide my pleasure now.' In time, however, all is righted ; hats regain their owners' heads, and clothes take another dip in the brook ; but on speeds the whirlwind. Anxious mothers flutter about their children, like distressed hens over their frightened broods, for they well know that unless they can avoid the shock, their equilibrium and tempers are at once upset. Watchful house-keepers slam their windows, and hold their breaths and dusting-cloths, aware that full use for both will soon occur. But the saddest ruin of all is, when one treacherously overtakes a well-spread dinner-table, entering through unclosed windows and doors, covering viands and eaters with a laver of 3