THROUGH HAWAII» 
23 
not exceed 130,000 or 150,000, of which 85,000 in¬ 
habit the island of Hawaii. The rapid depopulation 
which has most certainly taken place within the last 
fifty years, is to be attributed to the frequent and deso¬ 
lating wars which marked the early part of Tameha- 
meha’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 infanticide; and the melan¬ 
choly increase and destructive consequences of de¬ 
pravity and 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 Haw aii, and some tame ones in 
most of the islands, together with flocks of goats, and a 
few horses and sheep, which have been taken there 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 mountains, 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 nu¬ 
merous ; and the notes of one kind, whose colour is 
brown and yellow speckled, are exceedingly sweet, re- 
