382 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
places, some partly buried by the ruins, others standing 
just on the edge of the huge rocks that had fallen from 
above. Several houses were standing in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, but all seemed deserted. The natives said, 
that in the evening when the accident took place, a 
mist or fog was seen to envelop the summits of the 
precipice, and that after the sun had set, a luminous 
appearance, like a lambent flame, was observed issu¬ 
ing from and playing about the top, which made them 
think it was a forerunner of P616, or volcanic fire. A 
priest of Pēlē and his family, residing in one of the 
villages below, immediately offered his prayer to the 
goddess, and told the inhabitants that no harm would 
befall them. 
About ten o’clock at night, however, the whole side 
of the mountain, for nearly half a mile in extent along 
the shore, fell down with a horrid crash. Part of two 
small villages were destroyed, and several of the inha¬ 
bitants killed, but the natives did not agree as to the 
numbers ; some said twenty were killed, others only 
eighteen. The people with whom we talked on the 
spot, and at other places subsequently, could not re¬ 
collect having heard the natives who escaped say any 
thing about an earthquake at the time. 
We did not land at this place, but passed close to 
the shore, and continued to sail along at the base of 
steep mountains, 500 or 600 feet high ; and although 
nearly perpendicular, they were intersected here and 
there by winding paths, which we at first thought could 
be travelled only by goats, but up which we afterwards 
saw one or two groups of travellers pursuing their steep 
and rugged way. About noon we passed Honokea, a 
narrow valley which separates the divisions of Hama- 
