8 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
on nearer approach,a low isthmus, about nine miles 
across, is seen uniting the two peninsulas. The 
whole island, which is entirely volcanic, was proba¬ 
bly produced by the action of two adjacent vol¬ 
canoes, which have ejected the immense masses of 
matter of which it is composed. The appearance 
of Maui resembles Tahiti more than the neigh¬ 
bouring island of Hawaii. The southern peninsula, 
which is the largest of the two, is lofty; but though 
its summits are often seen above the clouds, they 
are never covered with snow. The high land is 
steep and rugged, and frequently marked with 
extinct craters, or indurated streams of lava; yet 
whenever the volcanic matters have undergone 
any degree of decomposition, the sides of the 
mountains, as well as the ravines by which they 
are intersected, are covered with shrubs and trees. 
In the northern peninsula there are several ex¬ 
tensive tracts of level and well-watered land, in a 
high state of cultivation ; and although this part of 
the island is evidently of volcanic formation, the 
marks of recent eruptions, so frequent in the 
southern peninsula, are seldom seen here. The 
population of Maui has been estimated at 18,000 
or 20,000, and the number of inhabitants does not 
probably fall short of that amount. 
In the month of May, 1823, a Christian Mission 
was commenced at Lahaina, the most important 
and populous district in the island, and the endea¬ 
vours of Messrs. Stewart and Richards, and the 
native teachers by whom they were accompanied, 
have been attended with the most decisive and 
extensive success. Public preaching on the Sab¬ 
bath is regularly attended by numerous audiences, 
and thousands of the people are daily receiving 
instruction in useful knowledge, and the principles 
