b'ABOVE: The NightingalesAfterdeliveringtheirpayload,thedonkeyswouldbefor the purpose of developing a sort of Western ambiance were critical to theloaded with salt, fish, and other supplies, and the Nightingalesfor this newly established community. early coffee farmers on Hawai`i Island, as theywould dutifully head back uphill to the farm, sometimes mak- This new environment suited the donkeys very well. The could navigate the rockying the round trip by themselves so familiar were they withdry, rocky terrain scattered with kiawe trees and copious terrain where the coffeethe trails and task at hand. amounts of fountain grass provided the most ideal condi-trees were planted withAfter World War II, with more roads in place and a sur- tions and their most natural habitat. The population steadily relative ease. plus of Army jeeps available, the donkeys were slowly phasedgrew, and their grazing migration expanded over thousands RIGHT PAGE: Crossingout. According to a chapter on the Waikoloa Nightingalesof acres, well beyond the Waikoloa Village Association land the highway nearin Dr. Bergins book, The Hawaiian Horse (with Dr. Billyand into neighboring ranches such as Parker Ranch. Without Hualalai.Bergin), Over the years, many of these working donkeysproper management, it wasnt long before the population were released into the wilderness to fend for themselves,was deemed out of control.which they were more than capable of doing in the lushAs resort development along the Kohala Coast expanded tropical environment (near Kona). in these years, and with the opening of Queen Ka`ahamanu How did the donkeys end up nearly 45 miles away in theHighway, the donkeys were cut off from their traditional Waikoloa area?watering holes near the coast. New homes and golf courses In 1974, Bergin tells, 30 donkeys were purchased fromwere being built too, and the by-now 600 or so free-ranging Hu`ehu`e Ranch by the Waikoloa Development Companydonkeys came to be regarded as more and more of a nuisance. 9 6'