4; 38 Ascent and Measurement of Wha-ra-rai^ 



scattered bushes here and there, and much more rugged and 

 steep than the other side ; for, in some parts of our descent, 

 we travelled over fields of loose and picked lava, so dreary and 

 rugged, that we conceived ourselves very fortunate, with all 

 our care and caution, in getting over them without any acci- 

 dent or broken bones. Our shoes were so torn and cut to 

 pieces by the lava, that we could scarcely drag them along ; 

 and the natives were severely crippled, notwithstanding they 

 had matted for themselves a kind of sandals to defend their 

 feet, and some of us were obliged to have recourse to the same 

 expedient. Our cocoa-nuts and water being expended before 

 we left the top of the mountain, we suffered greatly from want 

 of these articles in our descent, in the sultry heat of mid-day, 

 till we reached near the bottom of the valley, when our guides 

 took us a good deal out of the way, to a spring, where we 

 quenched our thirst and filled our calibashes ; and, about four 

 in the afternoon, we arrived in the valley, much fatigued, 

 when we were conducted by the chief to a deep cavern, into 

 which we descended, and found very snug quarters, in small 

 cells, for the night. In the centre there happened to be a 

 small moral, or tabooed spot, round which a variety of fruits 

 and vegetables, which had been offered to the Eatooa, lay in a 

 decayed and rotten state, and the natives now added a fresh 

 supply. 



On looking up the side of Mowna-roa from this station, the 

 lower edge of the snow upon it did not appear to be far off; 

 and, as the ascent seemed to be smooth and easy, we proposed 

 to make an attempt to reach it. But the chief and the rest of 

 the natives were very much against it, declaring that, if we 

 should chance to succeed in overcoming the difficulties, the 

 cold on the mountain was so intense as to kill us ; as we, how- 

 ever, perceived no apparent obstruction in the ascent, we were 

 resolved to try it; and, for this purpose, we examined our 

 stock of provisions, which we found rather low, but, by reducing 

 the number of our party, and adopting a frugal management, 

 there was a sufficient quantity to serve a moderate party for two 

 days, in which time, we conceived, our object might be accom- 

 plished. Having, therefore, chosen about twenty of the party, 

 with the chief to accompany us, the rest were sent down to the 

 plantations, with orders for some of them to return with a sup- 

 ply of provisions. 



Our reduced party having loaded themselves with water 

 and the remainder of our provisions, set out with us on the 

 morning of the twenty-second very reluctantly ; and after 

 pursuing a path to the eastward for about two or three miles, 

 we struck off to the right and began our ascent, as we still 



