though showers are frequent on the eastern or windof the islands, excepting in the season above mentioned, Rain falls but seldom on the western shores of any *T02{ 880 mometer was noted at 8 A. M., 3 P. M., and 8 P. M. for a year, from August, 1821, to July, 1822; the thersionaries, will show more fully the state of the weather of a meteorological journal, kept by the American mis 72 N. & N. E.] Variable. Variable. N. E. GENERAL STATE OF THE Clear; rain but once. Rain 1 day; 7 others cloudy. Rain 5 days; 7 others cloudy. April May June July Result for the 880 610 270 700 to 800 750 year. ward side, and in the mountains they occur almost daily. The soil is rich in those parts which have long been free from volcanic eruptions; but the general appearance of the country is hardly so inviting as when first discovered; many parts then under cultivation are now lying waste. The natives are in general rather above the middle stature, well formed, with fine muscular limbs, open countenances, and features frequently resembling those of Europeans. Their gait is graceful, and sometimes stately. The chiefs in particular are tall and stout, and their personal appearance is so much superior to that of the common people, that some have imagined them a distinct race. This, however, is not the fact; the great care taken of them in childhood, and their better living, have probably occasioned the difference. Their hair is black or brown, strong, and frequently curly; their complexion is neither yellow like the Malays, nor red like the American Indians, but a kind of olive, and sometimes reddish-brown. Their arms, and other parts of the body, are tattooed; but, except in one of the islands, this is by no means so common as in many parts of the southern sea. Compared with those of other islands, the inhabitants may be termed numerous. They were estimated by their discoverers at 400,000. There is reason to believe this was somewhat above the actual population at that time, though traces of deserted villages and numerous enclosures, formerly cultivated but now abandoned, are everywhere to be met with. At present it does not exceed 130,000 or 150,000, of which 85,000 inhabit 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 desolating wars which marked the early part of Tamehameha'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 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 VOL. IV.-B 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 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 numerous; and the notes of one kind, whose colour is brown and yellow speckled, are exceedingly 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 cloaks of the chiefs are ornamented. But the feathered tribes of Hawaii are not in general distinguished by variety of plumage, or melody in their notes. There are wild geese in the mountains, and ducks near the lagoons or ponds in the vicinity of the seashore; the domestic fowl was found there by their first discoverer, and, though now seldom used as an article of food, many are raised for the supply of shipping. In common with the other islands of the Pacific, they are entirely free from every noxious and poisonous reptile, excepting centipedes, which are neither large nor numerous. Fish are not so abundant on their shores as around many of the other islands; they have, however, several varieties, and the inhabitants procure a tolerable supply. The vegetable productions, though less valuable and abundant than in some of the islands both to the west and the south, are found in no small variety, and the most serviceable are cultivated with facility. The natives subsist principally on the roots of the arum esculentum, which they call taro, on the convolvulus batatas, VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS, ETC. 27 or sweet potato, called by them uära, and uhi, or yam. The principal indigenous fruits are the uru, or breadfruit; the niu, or cocoanut; the maia, or plantain; the ohia, a species of eugenia; and the strawberry and raspberry. Oranges, limes, citrons, grapes, pine-apples, papaw-apples, cucumbers, and water-melons have been introduced, and, excepting the pine-apples, thrive well. French beans, onions, pumpkins, and cabbages have also been added to their vegetables, and though not esteemed by the natives, are cultivated to some extent, for the purpose of supplying the shipping. Sugar-cane is indigenous, and grows to a large size, though it is not much cultivated. Large tracts of fertile land lie waste in most of the islands; and sugar-cane, together with cotton, coffee, and other valuable intertropical productions, might be easily raised in considerable quantities, which will probably be the case when the natives become more industrious and civilized. The local situation of the Sandwich Islands is important, and highly advantageous for purposes of commerce, &c. On the north are the Russian settlements in Kamtschatka, and the neighbouring coast; to the north-west, the islands of Japan; due west, the Marian Islands, Manilla in the Philippines, and Canton in China; and on the east, the coast of California and Mexico. Hence they are so frequently resorted to by vessels navigating the Northern Pacific. The establishment of the independent states of South America has greatly increased their importance, as they lie in the track of vessels passing from thence to China or Calcutta, and other parts of India, and are not only visited by these, but by those who trade for skins, &c. with the natives of the north-west coast of America. From the time of their discovery, the Sandwich Islands were unvisited, until 1786, when Captains Dixon and Portlock, in a trading voyage to the north-west coast for furs and sea-otter skins, anchored and procured refreshments in the island of Oahu. The island of Maui was visited about the same time by the unfortunate La Perouse. After this period the islands were frequently visited by vessels engaged in the fur trade. Capt. Douglas, of the Iphigenia, and Capt. Metcalf, of the Eleanor, an American snow, were nearly cut off by the turbulent chiefs, who were desirous to procure the guns and ammunition belonging to their vessels, to aid them in carrying their purposes of conquest into effect. The son of the latter, a youth of sixteen, who commanded a schooner called the Fair American, which accompanied the Eleanor from Canton, when close in with land off Mouna Huararai, was becalmed; the natives thronged on board, threw young Metcalf overboard, seized and plundered the vessel, and murdered all the crew excepting the mate, whose name was Isaac Davis. He resided many years with Tamehameha, who very severely censured the chief under whose direction this outrage had been committed. A seaman, whose name is Young, belonging to the Eleanor, who was on shore at the time, was prevented from gaining his vessel, but was kindly treated by the king, and is still living at Towaihae. In the years 1792 and 1793, Captain Vancouver, while engaged in a voyage of discovery in the North Pacific, spent several months at the Sandwich Islands; and, notwithstanding the melancholy catastrophe which had terminated the life of Captain Cook, whom he had accompanied, and the treacherous designs of the warlike and ambitious chiefs towards several of his predecessors, he met with the most friendly treatment from all parties, and received the strongest expressions of confidence from Tamehameha, sovereign of the whole group, who had been wounded in the skirmish that followed the death of their discoverer, but who had ever lamented with deepest regret that melancholy event. He alone had prevented the murderous intentions of his chieftains towards former vessels from being carried into effect; and it was his uniform endeavour to show every mark of friendship to those who visited his dominions. His attachment to the English induced him, during the stay of Capt. Vancouver, to cede the island of Hawaii to the British crown, and to place himself and his dominions under British protection; an act which was repeated by his son, the late king, on his accession to the sovereignty of all the islands. The natives received many advantages from the visit of Capt. Vancouver; a breed of cattle, and a variety of useful seeds had been given. Generous and disinterested in his whole behaviour, he secured their friendship and attachment, and many still retain grateful recollections of his visit. After his departure, the islands were seldom resorted |