390 HONOLULU. 
they use a kind of gourd, which grows to a large size, and seems pecu- 
liar to these islands; these are thin and brittle, but with the care the 
natives take of them, are extremely serviceable: they are used for 
almost every thing, as dishes, for carrying water, &c. It takes two 
gourds to make one of the baskets used for transporting articles; and 
the smaller one being turned over the opening cut in the larger one, 
effectually protects the contents from rain. Some of these gourds will 
contain upwards of two bushels. For travelling on these islands, they 
are almost indispensable. 
The gait of the Kanaka moving with his load is a quick trot, and 
he takes very short steps. The loaded calabashes, when suspended 
from the sticks, have the see-saw creaking sound that is heard from 
an easy old-fashioned chaise. 
Besides the carrying of burdens, there are many natives engaged in 
the same employments as the lower classes in the United States. 
Almost every profession of civilized nations is represented here, 
except that of law, of which, as yet, there are no practitioners either 
in Honolulu or at the other islands. 
There is no great beauty in the location of the town of Honolulu, 
nor any taste displayed in its plan; yet there are a number of com- 
fortable habitations, surrounded with young trees, intermixed with the 
grass-houses of the natives. The roads, or streets, are entirely desti- 
tute of trees, and the natives and foreign residents here seem to have 
no inclination to plant them in the town: this surprised me, for it 
would tend more than any thing else to their comfort. The high 
adobe walls, which have been introduced from South America, how- 
ever convenient they may be, certainly do not improve either the 
beauty or comforts of Honolulu; being suffered to fall into decay, 
they, in so dry a climate, add not a little to the discomforts of the 
inhabitants, from the quantity of fine dust that the trade-winds put 
into circulation for a few hours each day. But these dusty roads and 
barren plains can, in a few minutes, be exchanged for one of the most 
agreeable and delightful climates in the world, by a short ride to the 
valley of Nuuanu. The contrast is like passing from the torrid to 
the temperate zone. In this valley a number of the gentlemen of 
Honolulu have cottages, that form pleasant retreats during the hot 
season. 3 
The valley of Nuuanu is formed by a break in the central volcanic 
ridge of Oahu: it ascends gradually from behind the town, and is about 
seven miles long, by half a mile wide at its entrance. It contracts until 
it reaches the northern side of the ridge, where it suddenly terminates 
