200 K I L A U E A. 



great variety of fruits and vegetables. At about four o'clock, we 

 arrived at the house of our guide, Kekahunanui, who was the "head 

 man." I was amused to find that none of the natives knew him by 

 this name, and were obliged to ask him, before they could give, it to 

 Dr. Judd. 



By this little circumstance, we found that it was still customary for 

 the natives to change their names, according to their caprice, and it 

 appeared that this was the case in the present instance. I neglected 

 to put down his former name, which appeared to me as much too 

 short as the last was too long. We found him to be a petty chief, 

 who superintended lands belonging to another. He had sent on 

 in advance orders to have his large house prepared for us ; and we 

 found that it had been vacated for our accommodation ; but as both 

 Dr. Judd and I had been punished before by sleeping in a native 

 house, we preferred our tent ; and it was lucky we did so, for the men 

 informed me the house was infested with fleas. 



The view from the guide's house was quite pretty, the eye passing 

 over well-cultivated fields to the ocean, whose roar could be distinctly 

 heard. I felt great delight in again seeing it. 



The course which the subterranean stream appears to have taken, 

 is somewhat singular, and may be followed pretty accurately by the 

 direction of the steam-cracks. 



From the best information we could obtain, it appeared that the 

 lava first showed itself in the crater of Alealea-nui, and burst out 

 next within one-fourth of a mile of it on the north ; thence it appears 

 to have passed under Moku-opuhi, a cone-crater, and reappeared 

 again on its opposite side ; whence it seems to have had a long 

 subterranean course, until it reappeared near the Kaimo road. The 

 natives say, that it burst out in eight diiferent places before it reached 

 the sea. An intelligent-looking native, whom we met and took as 

 guide, who had lived near and appeared perfectly well acquainted 

 with the ground, told us, that the recent eruption was preceded by 

 three days of earthquakes ; that the lava appeared and ran down to 

 the sea within a single day, but that it was three weeks before it was 

 cool enough to bear a person on its surface. 



Having time before dark, we determined to pay a visit to the three 

 craters nearest the coast, from which they are distant less than a 

 mile and a half They are four hundred and fifty-six feet high, of 

 irregular form; and although each is distinct from the others, yet 

 they seem to have, at one time, run into each other. They looked 



