ano, and then struck off to the left in a 
small path that wound in a northerly di- 
rection up the green grassy flank of Mouna 
Roa. I soon found that Honori’s cough 
would not allow him to keep up with the 
rest of the party, so leaving one guide with 
him, and making the bird-catcher take the 
lead, I proceeded at a quicker rate. This 
part of the island is very beautiful; the 
ground, though hilly, is covered with a to- 
lerably thick coating of soil, which sup- 
ports a fine sward of Grass, Ferns, climbing 
plants, and in some places, timber of con- 
siderable size, Coa, Tutui, and Mamme 
trees. Though fallen trees and brush- 
wood occasionally intercepted the path, 
still it was by no means so difficult as that 
by which I had ascended Mouna Kuah. 
To avoid a woody point of steep ascent, 
we turned a little eastward, after having 
travelled about five miles and a half, and 
passed several deserted dwellings, appa- 
rently only intended as the temporary 
abodes of bird-catchers and sandal-wood- 
cutters. Calabashes and Pumpkins, with 
= Tobacco, were the only plants that I ob- 
. Served growing near them. At eleven 
^. M. we came to a small pool of fresh wa- 
ter, collected in the lava, the temperature 
of which was 55°, here my people halted 
for a few minutes to smoke. The barome- 
ter stood at 26 inch., the air 62°, and the 
dew-point at 58°. The wind was from the 
uth, with a gentle fanning breeze and a 
clear sky. Hence the path turns North- 
West, for a mile and half, becoming a little 
steeper, till it leads to a beautiful circular 
well, three feet deep, flowing in the lava, 
its banks fringed with Strawberry Vines, 
rye by an Acacia Tree grove. Here 
© again rested for half an hour. We 
Ea "a be said here to have ascended above 
: woody country; the ground became 
| more steep and broken, with a thinner soil 
p of humbler growth, leading to- 
"mia the South-East ridge of Mouna Ros, 
h, Judging from a distance, appeared 
Part to which there is the easiest ac- 
ss, I would recommend to any Natu- 
ts who may in future visit this moun- 
SANDWICH ISLANDS, AND THE ASCENT OF MOUNA ROA. 
178 
well just mentioned, for my guide, trusting 
to one which existed in a cave further up, 
and which he was unable to find, declined 
to provide himself with this indispensable 
article at the lower well, and we were con- 
sequently put to the greatest inconvenience. 
Among the brush-wood was a strong kind 
of Raspberry-bush, destitute of leaves; 
the fruit, Iam told, is white. At four P. M. 
we arrived at a place where the lava sud- 
denly became very rugged, and the brush- 
wood low, where we rested and chewed 
sugar-cane, of which we carried a large 
supply, and where the guides were anxious 
to remain all night. As this was not very 
desirable, since we had no water, I pro- 
ceeded for an hour longer, to what might 
be called the Line of Shrubs, and at. two 
miles and a half further on, encamped for 
the night. We collected some small stems 
of a heath-like plant, which, with the dried 
stalks of the same species of Compost 
afforded a tolerably good fire. 
who carried the provisions did not make 
his appearance—indeed it is very difficult, 
except by literally driving them before 
you, to make the natives keep up with an 
active traveller. Thus I had to sup upon 
Taro-roots. Honori, as I expected, did 
not come up. I had no view of the sur- 
rounding country, for the region below, 
especially over the land, was covered with 
a thick layer of fleecy mist, and the cloud 
which always hovers above the great vol- 
cano, over-hung the horizon and rose into 
the air, like a great tower. Sun-set gave 
a totally different aspect to the whole, the 
fleecy clouds changed their hue to a va- 
poury tint, and the volume of mist above 
the volcano, which is silvery bright during 
the prevalence of sunshine, a 
fiery aspect, and illumined the sky for many 
miles around. A strong North-West moun- — 
tain-breeze sprung up, and the stars, espe- 
cially Canopus and Sirius, shone with un- - 
usual brilliancy. Never, even under & - 
tropical sky, did I behold so many stars. 
Sheltered by a little brush-wood, T lay 
down on the lava beside the fire, and en- 
tain, to have their canteens filled at the joyed a good night's rest, while my attend- 
