HAW ATI. 161 
stones and small patches of earth the natives plant their upland taro 
and sweet potatoes. 
The shore on this route is a rugged line of bare rocks, rising from 
amid the white surf. There is usually a cliff of fifty or one hundred 
feet, consisting of a few layers of lava broken down into jagged points 
and islets of every shape and description. Deep caverns open near 
the water’s edge; and the breaking sea, dashing and foaming over the 
black rocks, drives furiously into their mouths, and often careers in 
lofty jets from open passages in their farther recesses. Such scenes 
excite in the beholder a feeling of wild delight, in which the ocean 
appears to participate. Besides the other features of this dreary coast, 
an occasional crater stands here and there on the shores, partly broken 
down by the waves. ‘The villagers of the region are few in number, 
and live between a mountain and a coast settlement, using the latter 
for their fishing seasons, and the former for more permanent comforts. 
About the upper village are their only taro grounds. 
Leaving the coast at Kaulanamauna, near the southwest point of 
the island, we travelled eastward to Manuka, and thence to Kailiki, 
near the southern cape. Throughout this region, a distance of twenty 
miles, there was an uninterrupted waste of lava. Forests in the dis- 
tance seemed at times to promise a change; but when reached, there 
were only scattered trees and shrubbery, which had contrived to find 
support among the blocks of lava, or in the fissures that intersected 
the surface. The best spots afforded little soil and scanty sustenance 
to the mountaineers. 
The fields of lava passed over were of the two kinds already alluded 
to. Large tracts consisted of the smooth, solid lavas, which were 
marked with rope-like lines and concentric folds, such as are seen on 
any densely viscid lquid, if drawn out as it hardens. The surface 
was undulating, owing to many rounded hillocks, or domes, and 
curving ridges, ten to twenty feet or as many yards in height; and 
often there was a constant succession of ascents and descents for 
miles. Numerous fissures intersected the lava plain; the domes were 
generally cracked or broken, and the loosened fragments had often 
fallen into the oven-shaped cavities they covered. The ridges, in like 
manner, were often broken through and disclosed long subterranean 
passages. It was evident that the domes and ridges were due toa 
bulging or expansion of the layer of lava, from the ascent of a large 
volume of vapours; for the roof of the ovens or caverns was but a con- 
tinuation of the layer either side, and had the same thickness, varying 
4] 
