34 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
labours of the missionaries almost entirely to the islands 
of Oahu and Tauai; but in April, 1823, a reinforcement 
arriving- from America, enabled them to extend their 
efforts, particularly towards Maui and Hawaii. In 
order that arrangements for the establishment and per¬ 
manent maintenance of missionary stations in the latter, 
the largest, most important, and most populous island 
of the group, might be made with all the advantages 
of local knowledge, it was agreed that three of the 
American missionaries and myself should visit and 
explore that interesting island, to investigate the reli¬ 
gious and moral condition of the people, communicate 
to them the knowledge of Christ, unfold the benevolent 
objects of the mission, inquire whether they were willing 
to receive Christian teachers, and select the most eli¬ 
gible places for missionary stations. These, though the 
principal, were not the only objects that occupied our 
attention during the tour. We availed ourselves of the 
opportunities it afforded, to make observations on 
the structure of the island, its geographical character, 
natural scenery, productions, and objects of curiosity; 
and to become more fully acquainted with the peculiar 
features of the system of idolatry, the traditions, man¬ 
ners, and customs of the inhabitants,—a detailed ac¬ 
count of which is given in the following narrative. 
Before entering upon the tour, a few remarks on the 
orthography of the Hawaiian names which are occa¬ 
sionally introduced, explaining the reasons for its 
adoption, and assisting in the pronunciation of native 
words, will probably be acceptable to most of our 
readers. 
The visits which most foreigners have paid to the 
Sandwich and other islands of the Pacific, have been 
