236 HAWAII. 



and personal superintendence of the missionaries. At the last exami- 

 nation of these schools, eight hundred were present, four hundred 

 and sixty of whom are able to read, several can write, and a few have 

 made some advancement in mental and written arithmetic. Of the 

 adults in the schools, there were one thousand one hundred who could 

 read intelligibly. 



The church was organized in this district in 1838, and in 1840 

 there were nine hundred and fifty who professed Christianity, though 

 it is believed that all are not Christians. 



Mr. Bliss states that the people of Kohala are intemperate in the 

 use of tobacco, and that he has known some deaths from this cause. 

 He, however, bears testimony, that there is some reformation in regard 

 to this debasing habit. 



The diseases are very similar to those mentioned in other places, 

 with the exception of several cases of decided consumption which 

 have been met with. The climate is believed to be, upon the whole, 

 more healthy than other parts of the island, and the weather is 

 generally cool, with a bracing air. 



On the 12th of February, I witnessed an interesting sight, — the 

 chase of blackfish, of which a school was seen in the afternoon in the 

 bay. Upon this, the natives who were fishing, and those on shore, 

 put off in their canoes to get to seaward of them : when this was 

 effected, they began making a great noise, to drive the fish in; and 

 finally succeeded in forcing many of them into shoal water, from 

 whence they were dragged on the beach, when about twenty of large 

 size were taken. I measured one, which was eight and a half feet 

 long. The whole scene was animated, and the fish seemed com- 

 pletely bewildered and exhausted from fright. They afforded a fine 

 feast to all the inhabitants of the bay, besides yielding plenty of oil, 

 of which they are very fond. The moment a school of porpoises is 

 discovered, it is their usual practice to drive them in, gently at first, 

 but when they are sufficiently close, a loud clamour begins, in which 

 old and young of both sexes join. 



Mr. Drayton was, with tiie exception of Dr. Pickering, the last to 

 visit the crater. On the road to Keaui, the former examined a curi- 

 ous cave, called by the natives Pariorii, which is said to have been 

 one of the dancing-halls of the attendants of the goddess Pele. This 

 legend also points out the drums upon which the music was per- 

 formed. These are hollow cones or pillars, formed by the lava 



