214 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
coral, common to all the islands of the Pacific 
The angles of both were worn away, and the 
attrition occasioned by the continual rolling of the 
surf on the beach, had also given them a consider¬ 
able polish. 
After travelling about two miles, we came to 
Punaruu, where the people of that and the next 
village, Wailau, collected together in a large 
house, and were addressed on the nature and 
attributes of the true God, and the way of salva¬ 
tion. In general, speaking to the people in the 
open air was preferred, as we then had more 
hearers than when we addressed them in a house. 
But in the middle of the day we usually found it 
too hot to stand so long in the sun. The services 
which we held in the morning and evening were 
always out of doors. 
We now left the road by the sea-side, and di¬ 
rected our course towards the mountains. Our 
path lay over a rich yellow-looking soil of decom¬ 
posed lava, or over a fine black vegetable mould, 
in which we occasionally saw a few masses of lava 
partially decomposed, sufficient to convince us 
that the whole had once been overflowed, and^ 
that lava was the basis of the whole tract of 
country. There was but little cultivation, though 
the ground appeared well adapted to the growth 
of all the most valuable produce of the islands. 
After walking up a gentle ascent about eight 
miles, we came to a solitary hamlet, called Maka- 
aka, containing four or five houses, in which three 
or four families were residing. 
The house which we entered was large, and be¬ 
neath one roof included their workshop, kitchen, 
and sleeping-room, without any intervening par¬ 
titions. On one side, two women were beating 
