THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 499 



study of the skeletal peculiarities of a savage race, by the exami- 

 nation of long series of crania and skeletons, as here. Other 

 burials occur in caves inland, where the bodies are found in a 

 dried mummy-like condition. 



All the bodies at Waimanalo were buried in a doubled-up 

 posture. One which was exhumed with care in situ, was buried 

 with the knees bent up to the chest and the head bent forwards, 

 and was placed resting horizontally on the back. Chips and 

 fragments of basalt were found around all the graves, but no 

 implements of stone. 



The ship moved to Hilo, in the island of Hawai, in order 

 that a visit might be paid to the crater of Kilauea. A Petrel, 

 possibly Procellaria vostrata which occurs at Tahiti, and a 

 Stormy Petrel (Oceanitis), were seen about the ship between the 

 two islands. These birds do not seem to be included in lists of 

 the avi-fauna of the group. The appearance of the great 

 volcano of Mauna Loa is most remarkable. The slope of the 

 mountain, as seen from the sea, is so gradual that it seems 

 impossible to believe that it rises to a height of nearly 14,000 

 feet above sea level. The cause of the peculiar form is the 

 extreme fluidity of the lava, of successive flows, of which the 

 mountain is composed. It has run out almost like water. 



Kilauea is a secondary crater on the side of the Mauna Loa, 

 at a height of about 4,000 feet. The island of Hawai is much 

 more fully clothed with verdure than Oahu, and has none of 

 the desert appearance of the latter. The journey to Kilauea is 

 a tedious and monotonous ride. The ascent is so gradual that 

 it is hardly perceived. 



The track leads first through a fine belt of forest near the 



shore, and then emerges on a weary expanse of open country, 



entirely devoid of any fine trees, and mostly covered with a 



scanty, low, moorland-looking growth, with Screw-pine trees 



here and there. The track is scarcely marked on the bare 



surfaces of the lava flows, which look almost as fresh as if the 



lava had only set the day before. These surfaces are covered 



in every direction by ropy projections, curved lines of flow, and 



small rounded ledges showing where one part of the flow has 



run over another. 



kk2 



