182 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
luxuriance of the herbage in every direction, the rains 
must be frequent or the dews heavy. About noon we 
reached Kalehu, a small village, upwards of four miles 
from Tairitii. The kind cottagers brought us some 
fine w ater-melons, which afforded us a grateful repast 
while we rested during the heat of the noonday sun. 
Between sixty and seventy persons collected around 
the house in which we were sitting, and as I was so 
far recovered as to be able to preach, I addressed them 
from Matt. i. 21. They seemed interested, and after¬ 
wards said, that they had heard good news. We re¬ 
mained about an hour, conversing on some of the first 
principles of the religion of Jesus Christ, and then re¬ 
sumed our journey over the same beautiful country, 
which w r as partially cultivated, and contained a numer¬ 
ous, though scattered, population. The prospect was 
delightful. On one hand the Pacific dashed its mighty 
waves against the rocky shore, and on the other, the 
Jcuahivi (mountain ridges) of Kaii, and snow-top’d 
Mouna Roa, rose in the interior, with lofty grandeur. 
Our path led us through several fields of mountain 
taro, (a variety of the arum,) a root which appears to 
be extensively cultivated in many parts of Hawaii. 
It was growing in a dry sandy soil, into which our 
feet sunk two or three inches every step we took. The 
roots were of an oblong shape, generally from ten 
inches to a foot in length, and four or six inches in 
diameter. Seldom more than two or three leaves were 
attached to a root, and those of a light green colour, 
frequently blotched and sickly in their appearance. 
The inside of the root is of a brown or reddish colour, 
and much inferior to that of the arum esculentum, or 
lowland taro. It is, however, very palatable, and 
