withstanding, are filled with thickets of small trees, and to these many of the inhabitants of Maui repair for the purpose of cutting posts and rafters for their small houses. The island is volcanic; the soil shallow, and by no means fertile; the shores, however, abound with shell-fish, and some species of medusæ and cuttle-fish. The inhabitants are but few, probably not exceeding two thousand. Native teachers are endeavouring to instruct them in useful knowledge and religious truth, but no foreign missionary has yet laboured on this or the neighbouring island of Morokai, which is separated from the northern side of Ranai, and the eastern end of Maui, by a channel, which, though narrow, is sufficiently wide for the purposes of navigation.

MOROKAI is a long irregular island, apparently formed by a chain of volcanic mountains, forty miles in length, and not more than seven miles broad; the mountains are nearly equal in elevation to those of Maui, and are broken by numerous deep ravines and watercourses, the sides of which are frequently clothed with verdure, and ornamented with shrubs and trees. There is but little level land in Morokai, and consequently but few plantations; several spots, however, are fertile, and repay the toils of their cultivators. The population is greater than that of Ranai, though it does not probably exceed three thousand persons. Native teachers are engaged in the instruction of the people; many of the natives also occasionally visit the missionary stations in the adjacent islands of Oahu and Maui, and participate in the advantages connected with these institutions.

OAHU, the most romantic and fertile of the Sandwich Islands, resembling, in the varied features of its natural

scenery, several of the Society Islands,-lies nearly west-north-west of Morokai, from which it is between twenty and thirty miles distant. This beautiful island is about forty-six miles long, and twenty-three wide; its appearance from the roads off Honoruru, or Waititi, is remarkably picturesque: a chain of lofty mountains rises near the centre of the eastern part of the island, and, extending perhaps twenty miles, reaches the plain of Eva, which divides it from the distant and elevated mountains that rise in a line parallel with the north-west shore. The plain of Eva is nearly twenty miles in length, from the Pearl river to Waiarua, and in some parts nine or ten miles across the soil is fertile, and watered by a number of rivulets, which wind their way along the deep water-courses that intersect its surface, and empty themselves into the sea. Though capable of a high state of improvement, a very small portion of it is enclosed, or under any kind of culture; and in travelling across it, scarce a habitation is to be seen. The whole island is volcanic, and, in many parts, extinguished craters of large dimensions may be seen; but, from the depth of mould with which they are covered, and the trees and shrubs with which they are clothed, it may be presumed that many ages have elapsed since any eruption took place. The plain of Honoruru exhibits in a singular manner the extent and effects of volcanic agency; it is not less than nine or ten miles in length, and, in some parts, two miles from the sea to the foot of the mountains: the whole plain is covered with a rich alluvial soil, frequently two or three feet deep; beneath this, a layer of fine volcanic ashes and cinders extends to the depth of fourteen or sixteen feet; these ashes lie upon a stratum of solid rock by no means volcanic, but evi

dently calcareous, and apparently a kind of sediment deposited by the sea, in which branches of white coral, bones of fish and animals, and several varieties of marine shells, are often found. A number of wells have been recently dug in different parts of the plain, in which, after penetrating through the calcareous rock, sometimes twelve or thirteen feet, good clear water has been always found; the water in all these wells is perfectly free from any salt or brackish taste, though it invariably rises and falls with the tide, which would lead to the supposition that it is connected with the waters of the adjacent ocean, from which the wells are from 100 yards to three quarters of a mile distant. The rock is always hard and compact near the surface, but becomes soft and porous as the depth increases; and it is possible that the water in these wells may have percolated through the cells of the rock, and by this process of filtration have lost its saline qualities. The base of the mountains which bound the plain in the interior, appears to have formed the original line of coast on this side of the island, but probably in some remote period an eruption took place from two broad-based truncated mountains, called by foreigners Diamond Hill and Punchbowl Hill, evidently extinguished craters: the ashes and cinders then thrown out were wafted by the trade-winds in a westerly direction, filled up the sea, and formed the present extensive plain; the soil of its surface having been subsequently produced either by the decomposition of lava, or the mould and decayed vegetable matter washed down from the mountains during the rainy season of the year.

Across this plain, immediately opposite the harbour of Honoruru, lies the valley of Anuanu, leading to a

pass in the mountains, called by the natives Ka Pari, the precipice, which is well worth the attention of every intelligent foreigner visiting Oahu. The mouth of the valley, which opens immediately behind the town of Honoruru, is a complete garden, carefully kept by its respective proprietors in a state of high cultivation; and the ground, being irrigated by the water from a river that winds rapidly down the valley, is remarkably productive. The valley rises with a gradual ascent from the shore to the precipice, which is seven or eight miles from the town. After walking about three miles through one unbroken series of plantations, the valley becomes gradually narrower, and the mountains rise more steep on either side. The scenery is romantic and delightful: the bottom of the valley is gently undulated; a rapid stream takes its serpentine way from one side of the valley to the other, sometimes meandering along with an unruffled surface, at other times rushing down a fall several feet, or dashing and foaming among the rocks that interrupt its progress; the sides of the hills are clothed with verdure; even the barren rocks that project from among the bushes are ornamented with pendulous or creeping plants of various kinds; and in several places, beautiful cascades roll their silvery streams down the steep mountain's side into flowing rivulets beneath. The beauty of the scenery around increases, until at length, after walking some time on a rising ground rather more steep than usual, and through a thicket of hibiscus and other trees, the traveller suddenly emerges into an open space, and, turning round a small pile of volcanic rocks, the Pari all at once bursts upon him with an almost overwhelming effect. Immense masses of black and fer

ruginous volcanic rock, many hundred feet in nearly perpendicular height, present themselves on both sides to his astonished view; while immediately before him, he looks down the fearful steep several hundred feet, and beholds hills and valleys, trees and cottages, meandering streams and winding paths, cultivated plantations and untrodden thickets, and a varied landscape many miles in extent, bounded by lofty mountains on the one side, and the white-crested waves of the ocean on the other-spread out before him as if by the hand of enchantment. I have several times visited this romantic spot, and once climbed the rocky precipice from the district of Kolau, on the northern side: the ascent is at first gradual and easy, but in two places, towards the highest edge, the volcanic rocks appear to rise perpendicularly, presenting an even, and apparently projecting front, which it seems impossible to ascend; but though the passage is thus difficult, and the elevation of the upper ridge, over which the path leads, is from four to five hundred feet above the level land below, yet the natives not only pass and repass without much difficulty, but often carry heavy burdens from one side to the other. It is reported that a native female, on one occasion, carried her husband, who was in a state of intoxication, down the precipice in safety; this appears hardly possible, and the story is probably one of those fabulous wonders, with which inquiring foreigners are often entertained during their stay among the islands. On one of my visits, however, I saw a party, heavily laden with provisions for the king's household, ascend the Pari, and one of them had a pig of no very small size fastened on his back, with which he climbed the steep, but not without difficulty.