THROUGH HAWAII. 
81 
I found him recovering from a fit of illness, received 
from him a cordial welcome, and, as he was just sit¬ 
ting down to his morning repast, joined him, with 
pleasure, at his frugal board. After breakfast, I visit¬ 
ed the large heiau or temple called Bukohola. It 
stands on an eminence in the southern part of the 
district, and was built by Tamehameha about thirty 
years ago, when he was engaged in conquering Hawaii, 
and the rest of the Sandwich Islands. He had subdued 
Maui, Kanai, and Morokai, and was preparing, from the 
latter, to invade Oahu, but in consequence of a rebel¬ 
lion in the south and east parts of Hawaii, was obliged 
to return thither. When he had overcome those who 
had rebelled, he finished the heiau, dedicated it to Tairi 
his god of war, and then proceeded to the conquest of 
Oahu. Its shape is an irregular parallelogram, 224 
feet long, and 100 wide. The walls, though built of 
loose stones, were solid and compact. At both ends, 
and on the side next the mountains, they were twenty 
feet high, twelve feet thick at the bottom, but narrowed 
in gradually towards the top, where a course of smooth 
stones, six feet wide, formed a pleasant walk. The 
walls next the sea were not more than seven or eight 
feet high, and were proportionally wide. The entrance 
to the temple is by a narrow passage between two high 
walls. As I passed along this avenue, an involuntary 
shuddering seized me, on reflecting how often it had 
been trodden by the feet of those who relentlessly bore 
the murdered body of the human victim an offering to 
their cruel idols. The upper terrace within the area 
was spacious, and much better finished than the lower 
ones. It was paved with various flat smooth stones, 
a brought from a considerable distance. At the south 
