872 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
precipice, they all jumped into the sea, and swam per¬ 
haps fifty or sixty yards, till they came to another 
ledge of rocks, upon which they would climb, and pur¬ 
sue their journey. 
After proceeding pleasantly along for five or six miles, 
we arrived at Waimanu a little before eight o’clock. 
We found Arapai, the chief, and a number of his 
men, busy on the beach shipping sandal-wood on board 
a sloop belonging to the governor, then lying at anchor 
in a small bay off the mouth of the valley. He re¬ 
ceived us kindly, and directed two of his men to con¬ 
duct us to his house, which was on the opposite side. 
The valley, though not so spacious or cultivated as 
Waipio, was equally verdant and picturesque; we 
could not but notice the unusual beauty of its natural 
scenery. The glittering cascades and water-falls, that 
rolled down the deep sides of the surrounding moun¬ 
tains, seemed more numerous and beautiful than those 
at Waipio. 
As We crossed the head of the bay, we saw a number 
of young persons swimming in the surf, which rolled 
with some violence on the rocky beach. To a spec¬ 
tator nothing can appear more daring, and sometimes 
alarming, than to see a number of persons splashing 
about among the waves of the sea as they dash on the 
shore; yet this is the most popular and delightful of 
the native sports. 
There are perhaps no people more accustomed to 
the water than the islanders of the Pacific; they seem 
almost a race of amphibious beings. Familiar with 
the sea from their birth, they lose all dread of it, and 
seem nearly as much at home in the water as on dry 
land. There are few children who are not taken into 
