194 SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



ments like those with which the party are provided ; and as 

 all of them would be highly interesting and useful, it would 

 give us particular pleasure to have the honor of making them 

 secured to our own country. 



There are some, however, who are of the opinion that the 

 whole affair will fall through, from the fact of the natives not 

 being able to stand cold, which is said, after an elevation of 

 ten or twelve thousand feet, to be intense* 



December 15th. To-day I visited the shore, in company 

 with a brother officer. We landed on the western side of the 

 bay. A clump of cocoa-nut trees was standing within a few 

 yards of the water's edge. Passing this we came to two 

 avenues, of about half a mile in length, lined on either side 

 with cane-plantations, taro-patches, and interspersed with 

 trees loaded with flowers of the most gay and beautiful colors. 

 One of the avenues, we were told, was entirely the work of 

 those females who had violated the seventh commandment, 

 and, like that at Tahiti, was distinguished by the name of 

 " Broom-rood." After making a short call on one of the 

 missionary gentlemen, who resides in a very neat and com- 

 fortable house situated at the termination of the road just 

 mentioned, we repaired to Mr. Pittman's. This gentleman is 

 a native of Boston, and the principal merchant in Hilo. While 

 we were sitting in his store, several natives came in, and 

 made a number of purchases, which, we remarked, consisted 

 chiefly of cotton-stuffs. We next set out to visit a brother- 

 officer and messmate, who had taken up his residence on shore 

 on account of ill-health. Pursuing a path which lay through 

 fields overgrown with bushes, we soon arrived at the banks 

 of Waikea. This river rises among the mountains in the in- 

 terior, and previous to the introduction of Christianity was 

 regarded by the natives as an object of great veneration. 



