But they found it not there.
Once more the captain sails on with the rod,
To try if Oahu’s the wished for land:
They thrust in the staff at Salt Lake Crater,
But that proved not the land of their promise.
Arrived at Oahu, Ka-moho-alii, who still had Pele in his keeping, left the canoe in charge of Holoholo-kai and, with the rest of the party, continued the journey by land. The witchery of the Paoa was appealed to from time to time, as at Alia-pa’akai, Puowaena (Punchbowl Hill), Leahi (Diamond Head), and lastly at Makapu’u Point, but nowhere with a satisfactory response. (The words of Pele in the second verse of the kaao next to be given lead one to infer that she must for a time have entertained the thought that they had found the desired haven at Pele-ula—a small land-division within the limits of the present city of Honolulu.) Let the poet tell the story:
Ke ku nei makou e imi kahi e noho ai
A loa’a ma Pele-ula:
A loa’a i ka lae kapu o Maka-pu’u.