Book contents
- Frontmatter
- List of Illustrations
- Errata
- Dedication
- PREFACE
- THE HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO
- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
- LETTER I
- LETTER II
- LETTER III
- LETTER IV
- LETTER V
- LETTER VI
- LETTER VII
- LETTER VIII
- LETTER IX
- LETTER X
- LETTER X.—(continued.)
- LETTER XI
- LETTER XII
- LETTER XIII
- LETTER XIV
- LETTER XV
- LETTER XVI
- LETTER XVII
- LETTER XVIII
- LETTER XIX
- LETTER XX
- LETTER XXI
- LETTER XXII
- LETTER XXIII
- LETTER XXIV
- LETTER XXV
- LETTER XXVI
- LETTER XXVII
- LETTER XXVIII
- LETTER XXIX
- LETTER XXIX.—Continued
- LETTER XXX
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN HISTORY
- Plate section
- Frontmatter
- List of Illustrations
- Errata
- Dedication
- PREFACE
- THE HAWAIIAN ARCHIPELAGO
- INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
- LETTER I
- LETTER II
- LETTER III
- LETTER IV
- LETTER V
- LETTER VI
- LETTER VII
- LETTER VIII
- LETTER IX
- LETTER X
- LETTER X.—(continued.)
- LETTER XI
- LETTER XII
- LETTER XIII
- LETTER XIV
- LETTER XV
- LETTER XVI
- LETTER XVII
- LETTER XVIII
- LETTER XIX
- LETTER XX
- LETTER XXI
- LETTER XXII
- LETTER XXIII
- LETTER XXIV
- LETTER XXV
- LETTER XXVI
- LETTER XXVII
- LETTER XXVIII
- LETTER XXIX
- LETTER XXIX.—Continued
- LETTER XXX
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS
- A CHAPTER ON HAWAIIAN HISTORY
- Plate section
Summary
Within the last century the Hawaiian islands have been the topic of various works of merit, and some explanation of the reasons which have led me to enter upon the same subject are necessary.
I was travelling for health, when circumstances induced me to land on the group, and the benefit which I derived from the climate tempted me to remain for nearly seven months. During that time the necessity of leading a life of open air and exercise as a means of recovery, led me to travel on horseback to and fro through the islands, exploring the interior, ascending the highest mountains, visiting the active volcanoes, and remote regions which are known to few even of the residents, living among the natives, and otherwise seeing Hawaiian life in all its phases.
At the close of my visit, my Hawaiian friends urged me strongly to publish my impressions and experiences, on the ground that the best books already existing, besides being old, treat chiefly of aboriginal customs and habits now extinct, and of the introduction of Christianity and subsequent historical events. They also represented that I had seen the islands more thoroughly than any foreign visitor, and the volcano of Mauna Loa under specially favourable circumstances, and that I had so completely lived the island life, and acquainted myself with the existing state of the country, as to be rather a kamaina than a stranger, and that consequently I should be able to write on Hawaii with a degree of intimacy as well as freshness.
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- Six Months among the Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, and Volcanoes of the Sandwich IslandsThe Hawaiian Archipelago, pp. xiv - xvPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011First published in: 1875