iS4 



HA WAIT. 



[letter XVI. 



he preached, the natives, who seemed to be very indifferent to 

 the general truths of Christianity, became very deeply interested 

 when they heard of Ora loa ia Jesic (endless life by Jesus). 

 While I was up the valley the poor people made a wonderful 

 bed of seven fine mats, one over the other, on one side of the 

 house, and screened it off with a flaring muslin curtain; but on 

 the other side there are ten pillows in a row, so that I wonder 

 how many are to occupy the den during the night. I am now 

 writing inside the house, with a hollowed stone with some beef 

 fat with a wick in it, for a light, and two youths seem delegated 

 to attend upon me. One holds my ink, and if I look up, the 

 other rushes for something that I am supposed to want. They 

 insist on thinking that I am cold because my clothes are wet, 

 and have thrown over me several folds of tafia, made from the 

 inner bark of the wautiox cloth plant (Broussonetia fiafiyrifera). 

 They brought me a kalo leaf containing a number of living 

 freshwater shrimps, and were quite surprised when I did not 

 eat them. 



Waipio, March ^th. 



It seems fully a week since I leftWaimea yesterday morning, 

 so many new experiences have been crowded into the time. I 

 will try to sketch my expedition while my old friend Halemanu 

 is preparing dinner. The morning opened gloriously. The 

 broad Waimea plains were flooded with red and gold, and the 

 snowy crest of Mauna Kea was cloudless. We breakfasted by 

 lamp light (the days of course are short in this latitude), and were 

 away before six. My host kindly provided me with a very fine 

 horse and some provisions in a leather wallet, and with another 

 white man and a native accompanied me as far as this valley, 

 where they had some business. The morning deepened into 

 gorgeousness. A blue mist hung in heavy folds round the violet 

 bases of the mountains, which rose white and sharp into the 

 rose-flushed sky ; the dew lay blue and sparkling on the short 

 crisp grass ; the air was absolutely pure, and with a suspicion of 

 frost in it. It was all very fair, and the horses enjoyed the 

 morning freshness, and danced and champed their bits as 

 though they disliked being reined in. We rode over level, 

 grass-covered ground, till we reached the Hamakua bush, 

 fringed with dead trees, and full of ohias and immense fern 

 trees, some of them with a double tier of fronds, far larger and 

 finer than any that I saw in New Zealand. There are herds of 

 wild goats, cattle, and pigs on the island, and they roam through- 



