12 N'oies 071 the Haxcaiian Rat. 



a breadth of a quarter of a mile. The resultant stretch of volcanic 

 rocks and soil divides the two series of dunes. The present trend 

 of lao is westward, and it is now undermining the dunes on that 

 side, leaving a high bank of drj', rolling sand. The eastern series 

 of dunes is now well covered with fodder trees {Prosopis juliflora) , 

 but on the dry, western series the vegetation is merelj' a thin 

 growth of dune grasses and weeds; its upper strata are changing 

 into aeolian sandstone. 



Crowning two of the high dunes of the latter series, and about 

 three hundred feet apart are the foundations of the old temples 

 Pihana and Halekii. The foundations are loose, dry-laid, water- 

 worn stones, piled up over a century ago by the Hawaiians. Such 

 stones are .seldom seen on the dunes, and when found there, their 

 presence is traceable to human agency. Generally near them are 

 stunted lantana shrubs. The Pihana and Halekii dunes are more 

 or less isolated from the surrounding volcanic soil and rocks b}' 

 other sand-hills or bare sandy slopes ; Halekii more so than 

 Pihana. 



The rat specimens first noted here were a few scattered leg 

 bones among the remains of the offerings — human, pig, dog and 

 fish bones, shells, etc., on the surface at Pihana. Offerings at 

 temples ceased a century ago, and the large mammal bones were 

 almost completely destroyed by w^eathering. The rat bones were 

 in a good state of preservation, and unless they had been recently 

 uncovered by the sand shifting, they post-dated the other bones. 

 The}^ were from mature animals, and probabh' the native rat. 

 Half of Pihana 's foundations had slid down the steep bank which 

 the stream had undermined, and the offerings were found on the 

 reinaiuiiig portion of the stone floor and on the sliding sand. 



Halekii temple had not been disturbed by the stream and was 

 five hundred feet distant from it. A recently dead rat was found 

 there exposed to the weather on one of the foundation stones. 

 It had been dead probably less than ten days, as the e3'es were 

 present in position. Decomposition of the soft body parts was 

 complete, and the flesh of the legs and tail had dried. There was 

 still a marked odor. The fur was present, except on the right 

 side, on which the animal was lying. The writer has little hesi- 

 tation in identifying the specimen as a native rat, from the color 



of the fur and the size of the animal. 



[262J 



