Honolulu is built on an extensive flat, of great fertility. The town is pretty, and wears a tropical look; but, since the time of which I write, its buildings and surroundings have been greatly improved. Groves of cocoa-nut trees, with their long feathery leaves, and tall graceful trunks, were growing here and there in the vicinity of the town, and trees of other kinds were also abundant in and around it. Behind Honolulu stretches what is called the Nuuanu valley, a beautiful country, which, even when we first visited it, was selected as a proper locality for the villas and country residences and gardens of the officers of the government, the missionaries and merchants. On the right of the harbor of Honolulu is "Punch Bowl Hill," a large hill where once a volcano burned, but which is now extinct. The name is very suitable, for the volcano has left it more in the shape of a punch bowl than anything else. While yet some miles from the mouth of the harbor we met several canoes, containing natives of the islands, who were out fishing. These canoes were merely logs hollowed out; but they were easily managed, and, with the aid of sails, their progress through the water was very rapid. To prevent their turning over, they had outriggers fastened to their sides. A coral reef, over which the sea breaks with a tremendous roar, even in calm weather, extends nearly around the harbor of Honolulu. The entrance is very narrow, and seemed difficult of access, and as we entered, guided by a skillful pilot, a man was kept busy throwing the lead to learn the depth of the water. On the reef were the wrecks of several vessels. The water was beautifully clear, and it was easy to distinguish the bottom as we sailed along. No sooner was the anchor dropped than the decks were crowded with natives; some trying to sell bananas, oranges, cocoanuts, melons and other fruits (this was in the month of December), and others anxious to take us ashore. The monotonous character of their language, their rapid utterance, their numerous gestures, caused us to watch them with interest. We thought them a strange people. I little thought at that time that I would ever learn their language, or become as familiar with their customs as I afterwards did; for, though we had been sent on missions to the Islands, we supposed our time would be occupied in preaching to the whites. Our first duty, after securing lodgings, was to repair to a convenient mountain, on the top of which we found a steep knob that rose suddenly and formed a table of thirty or thirty-five feet in width.