M A U N A L O A. i^^ 



sent off to meet the party from the ship, with orders for them to take 

 the route now indicated, and for him to act as their guide. 



Sergeant Stearns, in his excursions on the flanks of the party, shot 

 some mountain geese, and whether to impute it to the appetite created 

 by the mountain air, or the flavour of the bird, they certainly proved 

 a great delicacy. 



The 20th, being Sunday, was a day of rest : the natives requested 

 that it might be so, and I readily yielded to their wishes. I was 

 anxious, however, to ascertain the state of the mountain, and whether 

 there was any snow to be had on its top, for I now felt satisfied that 

 the want of water would prove the greatest difficulty I should have to 

 encounter, in remaining there as long as I intended. 



Lieutenant Budd received orders to set out with a few attendants 

 at daylight ; but after making his preparations, and having all things 

 ready, the natives refused to accompany him on account of its being 

 Sunday, as they said. I am, however, inclined to believe that fear 

 had something to do with it, for they never knew of any one havino- 

 gone up this mountain before, and thought me mad for taking so 

 much trouble to ascend it. They said that I must be in pursuit of 

 gold and silver, or something to sell for money, as I never would take 

 so much trouble, and spend so much money, unless it were to acquire 

 great riches. In the morning Dr. Judd had religious service with 

 the natives, and the day was passed without fatigue. It was a most 

 beautiful day : the atmosphere was mild, and the sun shone brightly 

 on all below us. We enjoyed a clear and well-defined horizon, the 

 clouds all floating below us in huge white masses, of every variety of 

 form, covering an area of a hundred or more miles ; passing around 

 as they entered the different currents, where some acquired a rotary 

 motion that I had never before observed. The steam cloud above the 

 volcano was conspicuous, not only from its silvery hue, but by its 

 standing firm, like an immense rock, while all around and beneath it 

 were in motion. The vault overhead was of the most cerulean blue, 

 extending to and blending with the greenish tint of the horizon; while 

 beneath the clouds, the foreground and distant view of the island was 

 of a dark green. The whole scene reminded me of the icy fields of 

 the Southern Ocean ; indeed the resemblance was so strong, that it 

 seemed only to require the clouds to have angular instead of cumular 

 shapes, to have made the similarity complete. It was perceived that 

 as masses of clouds met they appeared to rebound, and I seldom saw 

 them intermingle; they would lie together with their forms somewhat 



VOL. IV. 37 



