in the whole lot. Unlike the inquisitive and mischievous athletes
of present fame, the original and genuine Brownies, known as the
Menehunes, are referred to as an industrious race. In fact, it was
their alleged power to perform a marvellous amount of labor in a
short space of time that has fixed them in the minds of Hawaiians,
many of whom point to certain traces of their work in various parts of
the islands to substantiate the traditional claim of their existence.

Meeting thus with occasional references to this active race, but
mostly in a vague way, it has been a matter of interesting inquiry
among Hawaiians, some of whom were noted _kaao_, or legend-bearers,
for further knowledge on the subject. Very naturally their ideas
differ respecting the Menehunes. Some treat the subject with
gravity and respect, and express the belief that they were the
original inhabitants of these islands, but gradually gave way to
the heavier-bodied ancestors of the present race; others consider
that the history of the race has been forgotten through the lapse of
ages; while the more intelligent and better educated look upon the
Menehunes as a mythical class of gnomes or dwarfs, and the account
of their exploits as having been handed down by tradition for social
entertainment, as other peoples relate fairy stories.

In the Hawaiian legend of Kumuhonua, Fornander states that the
Polynesians were designated as "the people, descendants from Menehune,
son of Lua Nuu, etc. It disappeared as a national name so long ago,
however, that subsequent legends have changed it to a term of reproach,
representing them at times as a separate race, and sometimes as a
race of dwarfs, skilful laborers, but artful and cunning."

In the following account and selection of stories gathered from various