Dear Sir:

I have received this day a note from my father, the Rev. Titus Coan, dated Hilo, 23^d May 1874, in answer to your question about Hawaiian infanticide.¹ These are his words:

“Hawaiian Infanticide.— This was practiced on this group, but not to so great an extent as some suppose. The causes were various, one was, the desire of the mother to disburden herself of the care of nursing, that she might give herself to pleasures. Poverty sometimes led to the commission of this crime. Another cause was fear on the part of the mother that her paramour would foresake her & take another woman.

“So far as I have examined, the testimony is that infanticide made no distinction between the sexes. When one wished to be rid of a child the question of male & female had no weight in the decision.

“Such is the testimony of Paul, Barnabas, Job, & others of our old, intelligent, & reliable people. (These are old Hawaiians of perhaps 70 years: I remember them as seeming at least of my father’s age, & he was born Feb. 1; 1801—T.M.C.)²

“I would rather take the testimony of men like those I have named than all that has been published in books on the subject.

“Should I, on further enquiry, find evidence of mistake in the testimony I now send, I will report to you again.... T. Coan.”³

This is all he writes upon the subject, & I hope there may be more by & by.

—It may interest you to hear that my father was in Patagonia at the same time with yourself. He landed at Gregory’s Bay Nov. 14^th 1833, explored the country with one companion, a Rev. Mr. Arms, with the view of learning whether it was a suitable field for a mission, (Protestant American,) & deciding in the negative re-embarked at Gregory’s Bay on a passing ship Jany. 25^th 1834 & returned to the U. States. He lived with the Indians, & had some difficulty in escaping from them. He kept a journal, the substance of which is I think given in his correspondence with the “Missionary Herald” monthly (Boston, U.S., 1834).⁴

Hoping that I may be of even the slightest help to your enquiries I beg to remain, with the greatest respect, Very truly yours, | Titus Munson Coan.

P.S. I sent you on the 10^th a pamphlet & notes.⁵ | T.M.C.