246 M. HOFFMAN'S JOURNEY TO MOU-NA-ROA. 



been fully prepared for encountering the vio- 

 lent and continued storms of the North, and 

 I waited the return of our mineralogist, M. 

 Hoffman, who had gone to O Wahi, for the 

 purpose of climbing the mountain Mou-na-roa, 

 in which however he did not succeed. By com- 

 mand of Queen Nomahanna, assistance had in- 

 deed been afforded him ; but the two Kanackas, 

 who accompanied him as guides, refused to pro- 

 ceed farther than seven thousand feet above the 

 level of the sea, or about half-way up the moun- 

 tain ; a height to which the most courageous 

 O Wahian will scarcely venture, from fear partly 

 of the spirits which haunt the summit of the 

 mountain, partly of the cold, which is almost 

 too severe for an inhabitant of the tropics to 

 endure. At this point the Kanackas threw 

 themselves flat upon the earth, nor would they 

 stir another step, although certain of punish- 

 ment for their refusal. In vain M. Hoffman 

 tried to shake their resolution, first by offering 

 them large presents, and then by threatening 

 them with a loaded pistol ; they were immove- 

 able, and he was forced to return. His expe- 

 dition, ho wever, was not altogether fruitless : 



