XIX POLYNESIANS AND THEIR MIGRATIONS 407 



are called, seem to have suffered most from the injurious 

 effects of a too rampant civilization, since from Cook's 

 estimate of 300,000 for the population in his day they are 



Fig. 53. — girl, Tahiti. 



now reduced^ to a little over 30,000 ; while that most 

 terrible of diseases, leprosy, is permeating all classes of 

 the people, although quite unknown previous to 1840. It 

 only became prevalent after 1860, about which time 



