208 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
had yet seen, we reached Hokukano. Here we 
found an excellent spring of fresh water, the first 
we had yet seen on our tour, though we had 
travelled upwards of a hundred miles. While 
we were stopping to drink, and rest ourselves, 
many natives gathered around us from the neigh¬ 
bourhood. We requested them to accompany us 
to a cluster of houses a little further on, which 
they very cheerfully did; and here I addressed 
them, and invited all who were athirst, and who¬ 
soever would, to come and take of the water of 
life freely. They sat quietly on the lava till the 
concluding prayer was finished, when several si¬ 
multaneously exclaimed, “ He mea maitai ke ora , 
e makemake au A good thing is salvation; I 
desire it. They then proposed several questions, 
which we answered apparently to their satisfaction, 
and afterwards kept on our way. 
We travelled over another rugged tract of lava 
about two hundred rods wide. It had been most 
violently torn to pieces, and thrown up in the 
wildest confusion; in some places it was heaped 
forty or fifty feet high. The road across it was 
formed of large smooth round stones, placed in a 
line two or three feet apart. By stepping along 
on these stones, we passed over, though not with¬ 
out considerable fatigue. About half-past eleven 
we reached Hilea, a pleasant village belonging to 
the governor. As we approached it, we observed 
a number of artificial fish-ponds, formed by exca¬ 
vating the earth to the depth of two or three 
feet, and banking up the sides. The sea is let 
into them occasionally, and they are generally 
well stocked with excellent fish of the mullet 
kind. We went into the house of the head man, 
and asked him to collect the people together, as 
