THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN. ' 309 



how little exertion we are capable of. As I ran up and 

 down our lofty spars a few days ago, I thought over the 

 probability of getting permission to penetrate the interior 

 of the island, to scale Mauna Loa, fourteen thousand feet, 

 and descend into its heart thousands of feet ; to take a lava 

 bath with Pele, and write a history of volcanoes in general, 

 with a concise theory of earthquakes appended, and a top 

 view of thunder-clouds. All this seemed as a good, honest 

 day's work ; heights and depths counted as nothing to my 

 aroused imagination. Only put me ashore, I thought, find 

 to scale the heavens or descend to hell will be but boys' play. 

 But on shore, belTold me ! Before my dinner is cooked, my 

 poor scurvy-tainted limbs are sore and aching under me ; I 

 am sitting, resting my prematurely old bones, on the rocks, 

 singing " Well done !" to the poor shell-divers. 



When rested, we were attracted by the shouts of natives, 

 and we sauntered to a point of rocks on which a magnifi- 

 cent surf was bi-eaking. Here we witnessed an exhibition 

 of skill in swimming, in striking contrast with that of the 

 women we had just left, and one perhaps to be witnessed no- 

 where else. Here we found a large number of the natives 

 enjoying themselves on the surf-board. It was a new sight 

 to us to see men and women playing in a surf such as we 

 would scarcely expect the natives of the water to live in, 

 such as it is questionable whether the seal and the otter 

 could have contended against; and it was with some ter- 

 ror that we watched them riding, with head inclined, on the 

 crest of a foaming wave, with the speed of a bird. They came 

 shooting forward,. almost on to the terrible rocks, against 

 which a preceding wave had broken in a deafening roar; 

 but just as they seemed fated to strike the deadly barrier, 

 just as they were on the very boiling suds of foam, the hap- 

 py, shouting performers would disappear beneath the sur- 

 face ; a moment more, and they would be seen buffeting the 



