348 VIEW FROM THE MOUNTAIN. route, and accompanied by Te Ipu, the warrior of the deputation from Taiohae, with Morrison as a guide when the rest of our companions embarked in the boats-we took a kind leave of the chief and the people of the valley, and commenced the undertaking. The hill is one of the steepest I ever ascended: in many places almost entirely perpendicular, and mounted only by clinging from one point of rock to another, and laying hold on the branches of the trees and shrubs with which it is heavily clothed. Cut off by the cliffs above, from the refreshing influence of the trade wind, with the heat of an afternoon sun beating directly upon us, it was necessary to stop every few moments to regain our breath: but the necessity soon became a delight, from the varied and beautiful views afforded at every turn of the little valley, its humble cots, and untutored inmates— strolling slowly along the margin of its streams, or reclining listlessly, after the excitement of our visit, beneath the shade of the palmy groves, whose plumelike tops were already waving gracefully at our feet. The surrounding hills wore a double green, from the strong light falling upon them; and in their brightness, presented a beautiful contrast to the broken lines of milk-white surf playing around their bases, and the deep blue of the bay and peaceful ocean beyond. When about midway up the face of the hill, after gaining the summit of one of the boldest of the projecting ledges of rock, I turned for a moment, and was at once riveted in admiration, at a new, but dis A SECOND WATERFALL. 349 tant object of wild beauty-a second waterfall at the head of a deep ravine, branching off on the west, from the beautiful valley. It was directly opposite, perhaps a half mile distant, and a hundred and fifty or two hundred feet below the level of the rock on which I stood. Tempe itself can scarce boast any thing of the kind in equal beauty. A heavy mountain torrent, in a thickly wooded dell, bursts upon the eye from a rich bed of overhanging foliage, and in one broad, bright, and unbroken sheet of seeming silver, pours itself over the cliff a hundred feet below. The pool into which it falls, is a beautiful, circular basin, thickly enclosed by clumps of trees of such rich and varied foliage-from that of the conical and dark shaded ironwood, to the white leaves and flowers of the more spreading and tufted candle-tree-as to seem the planting of a cultivated taste, rather than an irregular growth of nature. We looked down upon its quiet, and deeply shaded surface, over the tops of the trees; and had I been a heathen Greek, I should certainly have pictured, in its cocl recesses, the figures of the muses, as alone worthy such a haunt. A considerable number of the inhabitants of the village had attached themselves to our party; and added no little to the romance of the picture, as seen --some still below us, toiling up the zigzag acclivities; others at different distances above, slowly ascending, or like ourselves, occupying the top of an overhanging cliff, in momentary rest; and others again, their task accomplished, standing on the highest ridge, in strong profile against the sky, waving their mantles in kind encouragement to us below, or VOL. I. 30 350 RICHNESS AND EXTENT beginning on their part to brandish war-clubs and battle-axes over the Taipiis in the neutral ground, and making the heavens ring with shouts of daring and contempt. Our boats were, at the same time, seen pulling round the promontory into the central inlet; and all the hills around the little valley we had left, were spotted here and there with the white garments of islanders dwelling inland, who had been attracted to the sea side by our visit, and were now slowly retiring to their lowly cabins, seen peeping in.solitude from various points of the mountains. From the summit, which we at length gained, the view of both the valleys, the surrounding mountains, and of the wide spread sea, is exceedingly fine: particularly that of the neutral ground stretching far in the interior, through "Blooming wilds And fruitful deserts, worlds of solitude Where the sun smiles, and seasons teem in vain, Unheeded, unenjoyed," This ridge of the promontory is clothed only with grass; and commands an unobstructed sight in every direction. I walked along it, a mile and more up the country, examining minutely, with a glass, the whole extent of the territories both of the Hapas and Taipiis, and satisfying myself fully of their richness and susceptibility of improvement. I should think them capable of sustaining tenfold the population now occupying them-a number probably less than eight thousand. I regretted that the day was not before me, to allow of extending the excursion to the mountain's top; but perceiving the OF THE NEUTRAL GROUND. 351 boats to have arrived at the beach at Hakahaa, and fearing that our companions might be impatient for our arrival, I gave one farewell glance over these lovely scenes, and hastened below with a curiosity unsatisfied, and an admiration far from satiated. The desent was almost as precipitous and difficult as the ascent on the other side; but we made it in safety. There was much confusion and turbulence among the Taipiis collected on the banks fronting the bay, and some indications of a mischievous disposition. Several of the gentlemen had been slyly divested of different articles-a dirk from the belt and sheath of one, a pocket handkerchief from another, &c. &c. Heated and weary, I stopt but a moment amidst the noise and throng; but mounting the back of one of our boat's crew, was carried through the surf to a cutter-not, however, without having felt two or three noble jirks at my handkerchief, which I had learned too well, at the Sandwich Islands, to secure at a button-hole, to forget to do the same among our good friends here. The whole company soon joined me; and after a delightful row, at the even-tide, we again reached the Vincennes without accident. 352 ESCAPE FROM LETTER XII. DEPARTURE FROM NUKUHIVA. U. S. Ship Vincennes, at sea, It could scarce be expected, dear H } that a voyage of the world should be made without accidents and danger; and on the morning of the 11th inst., our beautiful ship narrowly escaped utter destruction. In endeavouring to get from the bay of Oomi, we were becalmed, while under the influence of a tremendous current setting dead on shore, in water too deep to let go an anchor. The ship was carried irresistibly, by the swell of the sea, against the cliffs at the base of Tower Bluff-till, it can only be said that her keel did not touch the rocks. She went stern foremost into the very breakers; and was prevented striking, only by spars thrust from the poop deck against the cliffs. To have touched, must have been inevitable shipwreck, against a barefaced rock, several hundred feet in height, with a depth of water below, which would have left the mast heads alone above the surface. For several minutes, each heave of the sea was expected to be followed, by the tremendous concussion while every face was pale with agitation, and the silence of the grave hung over the ship. The chiefs from Taiohae, were in great consternation; |