Page:Mexico as it was and as it is.djvu/440

 Game, poultry, wild goats and hogs, fish and wild fowl, are to he had in abundance; and, although horses have been brought in numbers from the West Coast, yet they always command a high price and are greatly valued. There are no serpents, and but few insects; and, while in the interior any temperature may be gained by gradual elevation, even to constant snow;—on the coast the thermometer averages about 79° Fahrenheit, and the climate is so salubrious, equal and mild, that, in the native language, "there is no word to express the general idea of weather."

The chief harbor is at Honolulu; and the following Table will afford you some idea of the extent of the commerce of the Island previous to 1832. In 1823, from forty to sixty whalers, mostly American, were to be seen in the Isles at one time; and the trade in sandal-wood was carried on briskly.

Of the number of ships that touched at Woahoo, one of the Sandwich Islands, during the eight years ending with 1831, distinguishing between English and American, and between Whale and Merchant ships.

From 1836 to 1841, not less than three hundred and fifty-eight vessels belonging to the United States, chiefly whalers, arrived at Honolulu, each of them expending, on an average, from six hundred to seven hundred dollars. During