176 
VOYAGE TO THE 
Our largest party, and that which examined the crater 
most carefully, however, was formed by Lord Byron, who 
was accompanied by Mr. Malden, Mr. Dampier, and several 
other officers and idlers. 
The queen, Kahumanu, in order to facilitate the expedi¬ 
tion, sent several of her vassals beforehand to construct rest- 
houses on the way, and provided a sufficient number of 
carriers for provisions, cots, and whatever else might be ne¬ 
cessary. The English were thirteen in number, and the 
chiefs and people who accompanied them swelled the party 
to nearly 200. The purveyor was the chief of the district 
of Hido, and he was attended by his kanakas in addition to 
those sent by Kahumanu, so that our march had the ap¬ 
pearance of a little triumph. 
At daylight on the 27th June we began our ascent, and 
the first five miles went off gaily enough, though the path 
was occasionally rough, and set with pointed fragments of 
hard lava, which our thick-soled shoes could scarcely guard 
us against. Our road lay along the margin of the Waikeah, 
nearly to the forest; and as we ascended, we observed the 
taro no longer cultivated in ponds, but growing in well 
weeded dry lands, and though inferior in size to that grown 
in the water-beds, not at all below it in quality. We 
skirted the wood for about a mile, and then, ere we entered 
