disorder prevailed until Captain Couch, who was absent from the ship when the fire was first discovered, arrived. He immediately corrected the mistake in reference to the amount of powder, and also informed the people concerning the probable position of the fire, which he supposed to be in the lower hold forward of the mainmast, and as the powder was in the after run, the danger was not so imminent as had been supposed. The fire, however, had so far progressed that it was considered exceedingly dangerous to take off the hatches for fear it would break forth, and destroy not only the ship itself, but also the other ships lying near. The hatches had become hot, and the quarter-deck, as far back as the companion-way, was too warm to stand upon, when the captain gave orders to scuttle her. Three holes were accordingly made in her hull, and when the captain left her deck there were already several feet of water in her hold. She continued filling and sinking until morning, when her upper deck was level with the water. Soon after daylight divers were procured to go down and stop up the scuttle holes, and cork up the cabin windows, to prepare for pumping her out. Thirty-six hours' labor of fifty men, sufficed to get the water all out, and as soon as possible the cargo was on the wharf, when it was ascertained that the ship had received but little or no damage from the fire, and but a small portion of the cargo had been injured except by the water. The fire had been principally confined to some fanning-mills, which were stored under the main hatchway. On the Monday following, the damaged goods were sold at auction for the benefit of the underwriters, and the captain went about repairing his vessel in order to proceed on his voyage to the Columbia River. The Chenamus is a fine brig, built expressly for the Pacific trade, and owned by Captain Cushing, the father of the Hon. Caleb Cushing, the present minister from the United States to China. He has established a commercial house in Oregon, and carries on an extensive trade with the settlers in that new and rsing country. In consequence of the unfortunate accident to the Chenamus, we were detained for five weeks, during which we had an opportunity of extending our observations on the missions, government, commerce, &c., of the Sandwich Islands. CHAPTER XI. View of the Sandwich Islands How formed - Volcano When discovered - Singular tradition - Names of Cook's death Population Previous condition Long and bloody war - Results Missionary statistics Effects of Missionary labor - Seaman's Chaplaincy -Romanism - - Kamahamha III Reformation - Singular custom - School for young chiefs - Influence of Missionaries - The King's Cabinet Important history of two hundred and seventy-six days Increase of Cabinet Paper King Protection - Commerce Whale Fishery Productions Society Temperance Destination of the Islands. -- THE Sandwich Islands, in common with a vast number of others in the Pacific Ocean, have doubtless been formed by volcanic action, in connexion with the operations of the coral worm. Doubts may reasonably be indulged in relation to the causes which have produced the present form of many other portions of the globe, but there can be none concerning the manner in which the Sandwich Islands first emerged from the bosom of the deep. That they have been thrown up by volcanic eruptions is evident, from the numerous old craters which appear on all parts of the islands; from the vast quantities of congealed lava every where observable; from the nature of the soil, it being nothing more nor less than decomposed lava, and from the present existence of an active volcano on the principal island of the group. This burning mountain, known by the name of the volcano of Kilawea, is situated on the island of Hawaii, or Owyhee, as it was formerly called; and from its continued action in casting up immense quantities of lava, stones, and dirt, which in some instances have been known to roll down the sides of the mountain in such vast quantities, as, in their progress, to fill up the deep ravines washed in the sides of the mountain, and sometimes to bury up the cottages of the natives with their occupants, and extending quite to the ocean, enlarging even the island itself, must be viewed as disclosing the principal cause of the formation of this interesting collection of the Pacific Isles. Though the crater of this mountain is the only flue now open through which the subteranean fires discharge themselves, yet doubtless all the old craters have, in their turn, served the same purpose; and from their appearance one is led to suppose that many of them may have been in action at the same time. There are different opinions entertained concerning the formation and continued enlargement of the coral reefs by which all the islands are surrounded. The prevailing opinion is that they owe their origin to the constant action of what is called "the coral worm." Though it appears evident that the above mentioned two causes have produced the Sandwich Islands, yet, after all, perhaps these are mere speculations, and they may have existed nearly in their present form since the period when the waters of the deluge were gathered to their original bed, and the ark rested on Mount Ararat. Be this as it may, there are ten of these isolated spots of earth embraced in the group known by the name of the Sandwich Islands. They are distinguished by the names of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kawai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau and Kahoolame. The two I have not mentioned are of no note, being small and barren, and containing no permanent inhabitants. The existence of these islands first became known to the civilized world in 1778. Captain James Cook, the celebrated English navigator, is entitled to the credit of the first discovery of this interesting group, to which he gave their present name, in honor of Lord Sandwich, his principal friend and patron in the British government. He was on one of his voyages to the north-west coast of the American continent, for the purpose of searching for a north-west passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean, when he fell in with these islands. On a subsequent visit to them, it is generally known that he fell a victim to the barbarity of the savages, the existence of whom he had revealed to the world. When Captain Cook first arrived at the islands, he was received by the natives with great veneration as a supreme being. This, in part, arose from the following singular tradition. The Hawaiians have, from time immemorial, entertained a belief in a deity, or goddess, which they called Pele. She, they believed, had the control of the volcano of Kilawea. Lono, one of the chiefs, was the friend of Pele, but when once he happened to insult her, she was angry and began to pursue him. He fled in great terror, and passing his home in his flight, he cried, "Aloha, Aloha," to his wife and children, but could not stop, for Pele was near in pursuit. Shortly he came to the shore where he found a man just landing in a fishing canoe, and, to escape the vengeance of Pele, he immediately siezed the canoe and pushed out to sea. When Captain Cook first arrived he forthwith received the name of Lono, the people supposing him to be the same personage who had left in a canoe, now returned in a much larger vessel. But the reverence which they manifested for Cook did not long continue. From an unrestrained intercourse with them, they found him to be a man like themselves; and conceiving a strong dislike for him on account of some supposed injuries which he and his men had inflicted upon them, they resolved upon his distruction, and accordingly he fell beneath the weight of a Hawaiian club, near the village of Kadmaloa, on the shore of Kaalakekua Bay, and on the island of Hawaii. A stick of cocoa set up in the fissure of the rocks a few feet from the water's edge, marks the place where the gallant navigator met his untimely fate. The population of the Islands, when first discovered, as estimated by Captain Cook, was four hundred thousand. If this was a correct estimate, during the forty-five years following Cook's discovery, we find a decrease in the population of two hundred and fifty-seven thousand nine hundred and fifty; for in 1823 we find a population of only one hundred and forty-two thousand and fifty. A census was taken in 1832, and it was found that the decrease for the nine previous years amounted to eleven |