. >V) MKean « l.land - Hull. l»]atid. Mtn'tinv rDnrn t .n Arrital at Oiilm — (.eneral appear- 

 2d2 Et,dcrL U r>'» I.I»nd. HAWAIIAN GROLP, OR mu-* P r Oahu. 



p tt w rf a lu mt By pursuing separate tracks there 

 would, moreover, 1 conceived, be a better oppor- 

 tunity of searching for some doubtful inlands, and 

 of obtaining information hi relation to tbe currents 

 nnd winds. The vessels therefore parted com- 

 pany on tin' evening of (lie I4tb of August. 



On the 15th, the winds inclined more to tbe 

 south; and on tbe Ifitb, on board the Yincennes, 

 we had variable winds, veering to tbo northward. 

 I therefore tacked to the ensdwnrd, in order to 

 take advantage of tbo change of wind in making 

 easting. 



On the 18th, tbo weather was fine and tbo wind 

 still light; tropic-birds and tern were seen, and a 

 constant look-out was kept, in the expectation of 

 seeing land. This was the second anniversary of 

 our sailing from the United States. 



Chi the IDth, we made mi island in the neigh- 

 bourhood of tlie position assigned to Krinins' or 

 Gardner's Island. Its true place is in latitude 

 1 :i7 42" S., longitude 174° 40' 18" W. This is 

 a low coral island, having a shallow lagoon in the 

 centre, into which there is no navigable passage; 

 but the reef on the western side is so low that the 

 tide ciin flow into the Jajjoon. Believing this to Liu 

 the island discovered by Captain Gardner, I have 

 retained his name. 



At ten on the morning of the I9th, breakers 

 were discovered from tie- masthead, and by noun u 

 small island was seen, to which 1 gave the name 

 of the man who first saw it, — M'Keati's Island, 

 [u the. afternoon, boats were despatched to sur- 

 vey it. 



M'Kcan's Island is composed of coral sand and 

 blocks, and is three-fourths of a mile long, by half 

 u mile wide. It rises twenty-five feet above the 

 level of the sen, and has upon it no vegetation 

 except a scanty growth of coarse grass. The surf 

 was too heavy to permit a landing. 



Our observations place M* Roan's I.-land in 

 longHttdfl 174° 17' 2lT \V., and latitude- 3? 35' 10" 

 S., and it lies about north-north-east sixty miles 

 from that of Kctmns. 



Oh the 20th we made land, which proved to bo 

 a In got »n island, about sixty miles to the westward, 

 of Hie position of Sydney Island. At ten o'clock, 

 being near it, the boats were lowered and sent 

 round one side of the island, while tbe ship pro- 

 ceeded round the other. 



This island wan not found on any chart; I there- 

 fore called it Hull's Island, in honour of that dis- 

 tinguished officer of our navy. It has no doubt 

 been frequently taken for Syduey Island. Its 

 north-west point lies in longitude 172° 20' 52" W., 

 and latitude 4° 29' 4fl" S. 



Kndorbury's Island, in latitude 3° 0' S., longi- 

 lude I7l a 8 30" W., is a coral Ldaud, with a dry 

 lagoon, three miles long, by two and a half wide. 

 The southern end is the widest, and on it are two 

 dumps of stunted shrubs and plants, consisting of 

 cordia, tournofortia, portulaca, boorhaavia, &e. 

 The uortlieru end is almost bare of vegetation, 

 with the exception of a small running viue (con- 

 volvulus marituna). 



Missing Hindu's Island, and feeling that it was 

 necessary for us to be muling our way to the 

 Sandwich Islands, on account of the shortness of 

 nnr provisions, 1 tacked to the northward, after 

 having spent thirteen days in this vicinity. 



On the 23d of September wc made the island of 



Oahu, and Mood in for what tho»e who hnd been 

 there before, and professed to have a knowledge of 

 the land, said was the situation of Honolulu. They 

 all knew ita Ittcnlitv to Ik: under our lee, and I 

 ordered the eoursw accordingly. On approaching 

 tbe land there was no tow n to be seen, and every 

 one then knew that a mistake had been made, of 

 which no one was willing to assume the blame. 

 Instead of being off Honolulu, wo were under the 

 high land of Mnuna Kaala, on the west side of 

 Oahu, near the small village of Wahiai. 



The apjK-arauce of Oahu is by no means in- 

 viting; it lias a greater resemblance to the desert 

 coast of Tern than any other of the Polynesian 

 inlands we had visited, and has as little appearance 

 of cultivation. The country would he termed at 

 first sight barren and rocky. Tbe land in place9 

 is very much broken, and rises into high nd^es, 

 here and there divided by deep and narrow ravines, 

 with little vegetation, except on the mountain 

 ranges. From the published descriptions of the 

 Hawaiian Islands, I was prepared to sec them, 

 and particularly Oahu, a perfect garden. I wiw 

 inclined t« impute my disappointment to our np* 

 preach being made on its lee side, which is nn- 

 usuol; but I regret to say that any side of it, 

 when seen from the sea, is very far from having 

 an inviting appearance. 



1 now made a tark off, ond by four o'clock wc 

 saw the town of Honolulu, which is very conspicu- 

 ous from the sea, and has more the appearance of 

 a civilized land, with its churches and spires, than 

 any other island in Polynesia. 



On the morning of the 24th we came to anchor 

 in the roads, nnd found ihe tender bod arrived a 

 few days before Ufl, all well. 



On landing, a great uproar pre vailed, and groups 

 presented themselves to view, «o motley that it 

 would be difficult to describe their dress or ap- 

 pearance. There are, indeed, few places where so 

 t;reat a diversity in dress and language exists as at 

 Honolulu. Tin- majority were in well worn F.u- 

 ropean clothing, put on in the most fanciful man- 

 ner; but upon the whole, I should say that the 

 crowd were scantily covered, soino being balf- 

 drcsscd, many shirtless, none fully clothed, and 

 number* of them with nothing on but the maro. 

 1 bad been kd to expect a greater appearance of 

 civilization. The women were all rlud hi long 

 loose garments, like bathing-dresses, nnd many of 

 I hem were sporting in the water as if it had been 

 their native element. Some of these natives wore 

 the simple tapa, thrown over th< ir shoulders, 

 which gave them a much more respectable appear- 

 ance than those who were clothed in east -u IF gar- 

 ments. 



Every thing is earth-colour, with the exception 

 of a few given blinds. The streets, if so they may 

 he called, have no regularity as to w idth, and are 

 ankle-deep in light dust and sand. Little pains 

 are taken to keep them clean from offal; and, in 

 some places, offensive sink holes strike the senses, 

 in which are seen wallowing some old ami corpu- 

 lent hogs. One of these, which was pointed out to 

 us as belonging to the king, was tabooed, and con- 

 sequently a privileged personage. The walk on 

 shore, however, after so loug a confinement to the 

 ship, was agreeable. 



* )n the 30th of September, the Peacock reached 

 Oahu, all well. On parting company with the 



