THROUGH HAWAII. 
215 
tivation ceased on our leaving the immediate vicinity 
of Kapapala. We saw no streams or pools of water, 
yet from the excellent quality of that furnished by the 
natives at Tapuahi, we should suppose it is to be found 
in the neighbourhood. In some parts of the islands 
where water is scarce, the natives have recourse to an 
ingenious method for procuring a more abundant supply. 
They fasten together the leaves of the pandanus (which 
are concave on the upper side) from the top of the tree 
to the lower branches, and thus form a kind of spout, 
along which the rain that falls on the tree descends into 
their calabashes, or other vessels, placed underneath 
these vegetable aqueducts for its reception: by this 
means, during a shower, they often procure a tolerable 
supply. 
After travelling between three and four miles, we 
reached Keapuana, a large cavern, frequently used as a 
lodging-place by weary or benighted travellers. The 
sun was nearly down, and the guides proposed to halt 
for the night in the cave, rather than proceed any further, 
and sleep in the open air. The proposal was agreed 
to, and when we had gathered a quantity of fern leaves 
and grass for our bed, and collected some fuel for the 
evening fire, we descended about fourteen feet to the 
mouth of the cavern, which was probably formed in the 
same manner as those we had explored in the vicinity 
of Kairua. The entrance, which was eight feet wide 
and five high, was formed by an arch of ancient lava, 
several feet in thickness. The interior of the cavern 
was about fifty feet square, and the arch that covered 
it, ten feet high. There was an aperture at the northern 
end, about three feet in diameter, occasioned by the 
falling in of the lava, which admitted a current of keen 
