PRIESTESS OF PELE. 311 
(the name of the volcano,) will live with me in the 
bright fires there.” I said, Are you Pele ? She 
replied, Yes; and was proceeding to state her 
powers, &c. when Makoa, who had till now stood 
silent, interrupted her, and said, “It is true you 
are Pele, or some of Pele’s party; and it is you 
that have destroyed the king's land, devoured his 
people, and spoiled all the fishing-grounds. Ever 
since you came to the islands, you have been 
busied in mischief; you spoiled the greater part oi 
the island, shook it to pieces, or cursed it with 
barrenness, by inundating it with lava. You never 
did any good; and, if I were the king, I would 
throw you all into the sea, or banish you from 
the islands. Hawaii would be quiet, if you were 
away/' 
This was rather unexpected, and seemed to 
surprise several of the company. However, the 
pretended Pele said, “ Formerly we did overflow 
some of the land, but it was only the land of those 
that were rebels, or were very wicked people.* 
Now we abide quietly in Kirauea.” She then 
added, It cannot be said that in these days we 
destroy the king’s people.” She mentioned the 
names of several chiefs, and then asked, who de¬ 
stroyed these? Not Pele, but the rum of the 
foreigners, whose God you are so fond of. Their 
diseases and their rum have destroyed more of the 
king’s men than all the volcanoes on the island. 
—I told her I regretted that their intercourse with 
foreigners should have introduced among them 
diseases to which they were strangers before, and 
that I hoped they would also receive the advan* 
tages of Christian instruction and civilization, 
* Broke the restrictions of the tabu, or brought no 
offerings. 
