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POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES.

CHAPTER I.

Notice of the discovery of the Sandwich Islands-Correctness of Captain Cook's narrative-Remarks on the impressions produced by its perusalActual state of the people-General account of HAWAII, MAUI, TAHAURAWE, MOROKINI, RANAI, MOROKAI, OAHI, TAUAI, NIIHA, and TAURA-Climate, population, and natural history of the Sandwich Islands-Importance of their local situation-Arrival of missionaries from America-Commencement of missionary labours among them-Circumstances of the people.

It is now half a century since Captain Cook, in search of a northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic, discovered a group of islands, which, in honour of his patron the Earl of Sandwich, first lord of the admiralty, he called the SANDWICH ISLANDS. The importance he attached to this discovery may be gathered from his own words; for, when speaking of the circumstances under which the vessels anchored for the first time in Kearake'kua bay, the appearance of the natives, &c., he remarks, "We could not but be struck with the singu larity of this scene; and perhaps there were few on board who now lamented our having failed in our endeavours to find a northern passage homeward last summer. To this disappointment we owed our having. it in our power to revisit the Sandwich Islands, and to enrich our voyage with a discovery which, though last, seemed in many respects to be the most important that had hitherto been made by Europeans throughout the extent of the Pacific Ocean." These are the last words recorded in the journal of that enterprising and intelligent navigator; a melancholy event shortly afterward occurred on the shores of this very bay, which arrested his career of discovery, and terminated his existence.

On the return of the survivors, a detailed account of the islands and their inhabitants, which was given to

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the world, excited no small degree of interest, not only in England, but throughout the continent of Europe.

The descriptions which Captain Cook's Voyages contained of the almost primitive simplicity, natural vivacity, and fascinating manners of a people who had existed for ages isolated and unknown to the rest of the world, were so entirely new, and the accounts given of the mildness and salubrity of the climate, the spontaneous abundance of delicious fruits, and the varied and delightful appearance of the scenery in the Sandwich and other islands of the Pacific, were so enchanting that many individuals were led to imagine they were a sort of Elysium, where the highly favoured inhabitants, free from the toil and care, the want and disappointment which mar the happiness of civilized communities, dwelt in what they called a state of nature, and spent their lives in unrestrained enjoyment.

These descriptions were, I am convinced, faithful transcripts of the first impressions made on the minds of Captain Cook and his companions, and in every respect correct, so far as their partial observation extended. A residence of eight years in the Society and Sandwich Islands has afforded me an opportunity of becoming familiar with many of the scenes and usages described in their voyages, and I have often been struck with the fidelity with which they are uniformly portrayed. In the inferences they draw, and the reasons they assign, they are sometimes mistaken; but in the description of what they saw and heard, there is throughout a degree of accuracy seldom, if ever, exceeded in accounts equally minute and extended. Still, their acquaintance with the islands and the people was superficial, and the state of society which they witnessed was different from what generally existed.

An event so important and surprising as their arrival, -the ships and the foreigners, the colour, dress, arms, language, manners, &c. of the latter, whom they regarded at first as superior beings, so powerfully affected the minds of the natives, that the ordinary avocations of life were for a time suspended. The news of such an event spread rapidly through the islands, and multitudes flocked from every quarter to see the return of Orono, or the motus (islands), as they called their ships. The whole island was laid under requisition to supply their wants, or contribute to their satisfaction. Hence the

immense quantity of provisions presented by Taraiopu; the dances, &c. with which they were entertained. The effect also produced on the minds of those early visiters, by what they saw during their transient stay among the islands, was heightened by all the attractions of novelty and all the complacency which such discoveries naturally inspire. Far different are the impressions produced on the minds of the missionaries who have resided for some years in the islands. Having acquired their language, observed their domestic economy, and become acquainted with the nature of their government, the sanguinary character of their frequent wars, their absurd and oppressive system of idolatry, and the prevalence of human sacrifices, they are led, from the indubitable facts which have come under their notice, to more just and accurate conclusions-conclusions in awful accordance with the testimony of divine revelation.

Although ten in number, only eight of the Sandwich Islands are inhabited, the other two being barren rocks, principally resorted to by fishermen. They lie within the tropic of Cancer, between 18° 50′ and 22° 20′ north latitude, and between 154° 53′ and 160° 15′ west longitude from Greenwich, about one-third of the distance from the western coast of Mexico towards the eastern shores of China. The Sandwich Islands are larger than the Society Islands, or any of the neighbouring clusters.

Ha-wai-i (Owhyhee), the principal island of the group, resembles in shape an equilateral triangle, and is somewhat less than three hundred miles in circumference,being about ninety-seven miles in length, seventy-eight in breadth, two hundred and eighty miles in circumference, and covering a surface of 4000 square miles. It is the most southern of the whole, and on account of its great elevation, is usually the first land seen from vessels approaching the Sandwich Islands. Its broad base and regular form render its outline different from that of any other island in the Pacific with which we are acquainted. The mountains of Hawaii, unlike the Peak of Teneriffe in the Atlantic, the mountains of Eimeo, and some other islands of the Pacific, do not pierce the clouds like obelisks or spires, but in most parts, and from the southern shore in particular, the ascent is gradual, and comparatively unbroken, from the seabeach to the lofty summit of Mouna Roa. The whole

appearance of Hawaii is less romantic and picturesque than that of Tahiti, the principal of the Society Islands, but more grand and sublime, filling the mind of the beholder with wonder and delight. On approaching the islands, I have more than once observed the mountains of the interior long before the coast was visible, or any of the usual indications of land had been seen. On these occasions the elevated summit of Mouna Kea, or Mouna Roa, has appeared above the mass of clouds that usually skirt the horizon, like a stately pyramid, or the silvered dome of a magnificent temple, distinguished from the clouds beneath only by its well-defined outline, unchanging position, and intensity of brilliancy occasioned by the reflection of the sun's rays from the surface of the snow.

The height of these mountains has been computed by some navigators who have visited the Sandwich Islands at 12,000, and by others at 18,000 feet. The estimate of Captain King,* we think, exceeds their actual elevation; and the peaks of Mouna Kea, in the opinion of those of our number who have ascended its summit, are not more than 1000 feet high. But admitting the snow to remain permanent on the mountains of the torrid zone at the height of 14,600 feet, the altitude of Mouna Kea and Mouna Roa is probably not less than 15,000 feet.

The base of these mountains is, at the distance of a few miles from the seashore, covered with trees; higher up, their sides are clothed with bushes, ferns, and alpine plants; but their summits are formed of lava, partly decomposed, yet destitute of every kind of verdure.

There are a few inland settlements on the east and north-west parts of the island; but in general the interior is an uninhabited wilderness. The heart of Hawaii, forming a vast central valley between Mouna Roa,

* In Cook's Voyages, Captain King, speaking of Mouna Kash (Kea), remarks, that it "may be clearly seen at fourteen leagues' distance." Describing Mouna Roa, and estimating it according to the tropical line of snow, he observes. "This mountain must be at least 16,020 feet high, which exceeds the height of the Pico de Teyde, or Peak of Teneriffe, by 3680 feet, according to the computation of Chevalier de Borda. The peaks of Mouna Kaah appeared to be about half a mile high; and as they are entirely covered with snow, the altitude of their summits cannot be less than 18,400 feet. But it is probable that both these mountains may be considerably higher; for in insular situations the effects of the warm sea-air must necessarily remove the line of snow in equal latitudes to a greater height than where the atmosphere is chilled on all sides by an immense tract of perpetual snow,”

Mouna Kea, and Mouna Huararai, is almost unknown; no road leads across it from the eastern to the western shore-but it is reported by the natives who have entered it to be "bristled with forests of ohia," or to exhibit vast tracts of steril and indurated lava. The circumstance of large flocks of wild geese being frequently seen in the mountains would lead to the supposition that there must be large ponds or lakes to which they resort; but if any exist, they have hitherto remained undiscovered.

The greatest part of the land capable of cultivation is found near the seashore, along which the towns and villages of the natives are thickly scattered. The population at present is about 85,000, and this will probably be greatly increased by the establishment of Christianity, whose mild influence, it may reasonably be expected, will effect a cessation of war, an abolition of infanticide, and a diminution of those vices, principally of foreign origin, which have hitherto so materially contributed to the depopulation of the islands.

Hawaii is by far the largest, most populous, and important island of the group; and until within a few years it was the usual residence of the king, and the frequent resort of every chief of importance in the other islands. Foreigners, however, having found the harbours of some of the leeward islands more secure and convenient than those of Hawaii, have been induced more frequently to visit them; and this has led the king and ́principal chiefs to forsake, in a great degree, the favourite residence of their ancestors-and, excepting the governor and the chiefs of Kaavaroa, to spend the greater part of their time in some of the other islands.

Separated from the northern shore of Hawaii by a strait about twenty-four miles across, the island of MAU-1 (Mowee) is situated in lat. 20° N., and long. 157° W. This island is forty-eight miles in length, in the widest part twenty-nine miles across, about one hundred and forty miles in circumference, and covers about six hundred square miles. At a distance it appears like two distinct islands, but on nearer approach, a low isthmus about nine miles across is seen uniting the two. peninsulas. The whole island, which is entirely volcanic, was probably produced by the action of two adjacent volcanoes, which have ejected the immense masses of matter of which it is composed. The appear