140 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
which they rolled down on the heads of their ene¬ 
mies. 
Sometimes they engaged in fleets amounting to up¬ 
wards of one hundred canoes on each side. At a dis¬ 
tance they fought with slings and stones, and other 
missiles, and, at close quarters, with club and spear. 
Their fleets were not lashed together like those of the 
Society islanders. The Sandwich Islands not being 
surrounded with coral reefs, there is but little smooth 
water; and the roughness of the sea, most likely, in¬ 
duced them generally to select terra firma for their 
theatre of war. 
They do not appear to have practised many strata¬ 
gems in war, seldom laid ambushes, generally sought 
open warfare, and but rarely attacked in the night. 
Whenever they expected an action, they proceeded 
to hoonoho Jca kaua, (fix the war, or set their army in 
battle array,) for which they had a regular system, and 
adopted various methods for attack and defence, ac¬ 
cording to the nature of the ground, force of the 
enemy, &c. 
When about to engage in an open plain, their army, 
drawn up for battle, consisted of a centre and wings, 
the latter considerably in advance, and the line curved 
in form of a crescent. The slingers, and those who 
threw the javelin, were in general distributed through 
the whole line. Every chief led his own men to battle, 
and took his position according to the orders of the 
commanding chieftain, whose station was always in 
the centre. The king generally commanded in person, 
or that authority was exercised by the highest chief 
among the warriors; occasionally, however, a chief 
inferior in rank, but distinguished by courage, or mili- 
