THROUGH HAWAII. 
341 
At daybreak on the 14th, after morning worship 
with the people who crowded our house, we made 
arrangements for our departure. Mr. Harwood re¬ 
mained, to return to Oahu in the brig Inore, lying at 
anchor in the bay, as he would thereby be enabled to 
transact some business for the mission, and also avoid 
travelling over the ravines of Hiro and Hamakua. 
Soon after six A. M. we embarked on board our 
canoe, and passed over the reef to the deep water on 
the western side of the bay. The weather was calm, 
and the men laboured with their paddles till about 
eight, when the maranai (east wind) sprung up, and 
wafted us pleasantly along the shore. We found our 
double canoe very convenient, for it had a pora (or 
stage) raised in the middle, which provided a comfort¬ 
able seat, and also kept our packages above the spray 
of the sea. The pora is formed by tying slight poles 
to the iako, or cross pieces that connect the two canoes 
together, from the foremost iako to the one nearest the 
stern. The cross pieces are not straight, but bent like 
a bow, and form an arch between the two canoes, 
which raises the pora or stage at least two feet higher 
than the sides of the canoe. When the bteeze sprang 
up, four of the men laid down their paddles, and 
attended to the sail, while one man sat in the stem 
of each canoe with a large paddle to steer. Our canoe, 
though made of heavy wood, was thin, and conse¬ 
quently light, and, as the wind increased, seemed at a 
rapid rate to skim along the tops of the waves; dashing 
through the crested foam with a degree of velocity, 
which, but for the confidence we reposed in the skill 
and address of our pilots, would have excited no small 
degree of apprehension for our safety. 
