THROUGH HAWAII. 
205 
an hour, when they opened their oven, and took out as 
many roots as were needed. The arum or taro is an 
excellent vegetable, boiled as we are accustomed to 
dress potatoes, but is not so farinaceous and pleasant 
as when baked in a native oven. Sometimes the 
natives broil their food on heated stones, or roast it 
before their fire; but these ovens are most generally 
used for cooking their several kinds of victuals. Pota¬ 
toes and yams are dressed in the same manner as the 
taro; but pigs, dogs, fish, and birds, are wrapped in 
green leaves before they are put into the oven. 
We saw some Muscovy ducks feeding in the garden, 
and offered to purchase one; but they said they were 
rearing them for their landlord, and could not part with 
any; they furnished us, however, with a fowl, with 
which, and some biscuit we had with us, we made a 
tolerable meal. We stopped about two hours, during 
which we did not omit to speak to the inhabitants 
respecting the Saviour. We also offered to remunerate 
them for what we had received, but they refused to 
take any thing. We therefore made the children a 
present of a looking-glass and a few strings of beads, 
and then resumed our journey over the same verdant 
country, frequently crossing small valleys and water¬ 
courses, which, however, were all dry. 
The surface of the country was covered with a 
light yellow soil, and clothed with tall grass, but the 
sides and bed of every water-course we passed were 
composed of volcanic rock, a kind of basalt, or dark 
grey compact lava, with fine grains of olivin, the dif¬ 
ferent strata lying in a direction gently inclined towards 
the sea. 
The land, though very good, was but partially cul- 
