24 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
wars which marked the early part of Tame- 
hameha’s reign; the ravages of a pestilence, 
brought in the first instance by foreign vessels, 
which has twice, during the above period, swept 
through the islands ; the awful prevalence of infan¬ 
ticide; and the melancholy increase of depravity, 
and destructive consequences of vice. 
The natural history of the islands, as it regards 
the animal kingdom, is exceedingly circumscribed. 
The only quadrupeds originally found inhabiting 
them, were a small species of hogs, with long 
heads and small erect ears; dogs, lizards, and an 
animal larger than a mouse, but smaller than a rat. 
There were no beasts of prey, nor any ferocious 
animals, except the hogs, which were sometimes 
found wild in the mountains. There are now large 
herds of cattle in Hawaii, and some tame ones in 
most of the islands, together with flocks of goats, 
and a few horses and sheep, which have been 
taken thither at different times, principally from 
the adjacent continent of America. Horses, cattle, 
and goats, thrive well, but the climate appears too 
warm for sheep, unless they are kept on the moun¬ 
tains, which, in consequence of the keenness of the 
air, are seldom inhabited by the natives. 
Birds, excepting those which are aquatic, and a 
species of owl that preys upon mice, are seldom 
seen near the shores. In the mountains they are 
numerous; and the notes of one kind, whose 
colour is brown and yellow speckled, are exceed¬ 
ingly sweet, resembling those of the English 
thrush. Several are remarkably beautiful, among 
which may be reckoned a small kind of paroquet 
of a glossy purple, and a species of red, yellow, 
and green woodpecker, with whose feathers the 
gods were dressed, and the helmet and handsome 
