74 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
CHAP. IV. 
Departure from Oahu—Occurrence off Ranai—Appear¬ 
ance of Lahaina—Keopuolani, queen of the Islands— 
Native dance—Missionary labours—Buhenehene, a 
popular native game—Traditions respecting some of the 
principal idols of Maui and the adjacent islands—Voy¬ 
age to Hawaii—Visit to an aged English resident— 
Description of a heiau—Native dance at Kairua. 
Eight days after the departure of Mr. Thurston 
and his companions, I followed in a small schooner 
belonging to Keopuolani, bound first to Lahaina, 
and then to Hawaii for sandal wood. Kalakua, 
one of the queens of the late Tamehameha, and 
Kekauruohe her daughter, were proceeding in the 
same vessel to join, the king and other chiefs at 
Maui. The trade-wind blew fresh from the north¬ 
east, and the sea was unusually rough in the 
channel between Oahu and Morokai. The 
schooner appeared to be a good sea-boat, but 
proved a very uncomfortable one : the deck, from 
stem to stern, being continually overflowed, all 
who could not get below were constantly drenched 
with the spray. The cabin was low, and so filled 
with the chief women and their companions, that, 
where space could be found sufficient to stand or 
sit, it was hardly possible to endure the heat. 
The evening, however, was fine, and the night free 
from rain. 
